The Newark City Council unanimously passed a law Monday that could dramatically affect the way University of Delaware students party off campus.

It's a rule that students who live in off-campus housing fear could be used to shut down the parties that are so famous the university was named the country's No. 1 party school last year by the Princeton Review.

Alan Carlsen, president of the UD Interfraternity Council, said during Monday night's meeting that a law punishing "unruly" behavior in Newark would hand troubling discretionary power to police.

UD student Mark McClafferty, who said he was in a fraternity, said some students would transfer if the law passed because it would tarnish UD's "rich history" of partying.

"This school has been here longer than anyone in this room today," he said.

Speaking in favor of the legislation at the council meeting were numerous longtime residents of Newark, fed up with what they called "super-parties."

Dubbed "the unruly social gathering" law, the legislation allows police to give the hosts or organizers of a party with as few as four people a citation that would require a fine and community service.

Officials say the law will reinforce respect among neighbors, but college students worry the law will shut down smaller parties along with the big ones.

“The whole point of the law is to give people their quality of life back in the community by trying to deter the parties from even happening,” said Sgt. Greg D’Elia, the ordinance’s sponsor, before the meeting. “The community brought this to our attention.”

“I happen to live in a 12-person house,” said Zachary Conner, 20, a junior accounting major before the meeting. “So if I am sitting outside with my roommates, the cops would technically be able to come up and cause an issue."

The Newark Police Department would be implementing the changes Tuesday, D'Elia said. The ordinance will be in full effect before this weekend's St. Patrick’s Day, a historically disorderly day at the University of Delaware.

Bringing back peace and quiet

The unruly social gathering law creates a civil violation that will not go on a person's record or require a court appearance.

An unruly social gathering is defined as any assemblage of four or more people on a private property where police observe at least three behaviors that threaten “health, safety, and good and quiet order.”

Some of these behaviors include attendees of the event being publicly intoxicated, blocking public rights of way, publicly urinating, trespassing or drinking underage. The party can also be targeted if there is excessive litter on the lawn, people on the roof, alcohol accessible to people under 21 or noise audible across property boundaries, among other things.

First-time offenders are required to pay $500 and complete 20 hours of community service. The penalties increase with each offense: $1,000 and 32 hours for a second offense, $1,500 and 48 hours for a third offense and $2,000 and 60 hours for each subsequent offense.

The law does not replace current criminal citations. A host could be cited with the new law and also for other violations, such as noise or underage drinking.

If the ordinance is not as effective as expected, the council will consider implementing a second part that also would hold landlords accountable, officials said.

After public discussion Monday night, the ordinance passed with one amendment to eliminate the section that defines having "alcohol readily available" to people underage as "a container holding 660 or more ounces of an alcoholic beverage that attendees under 21 years old can access without impediment" or "multiple containers of alcoholic beverages of 6 ounces or more that attendees under 21 years old can access without impediment."

Will this work?

At Towson University, where the Social Host-Unruly Social Gatherings ordinance passed in 2016, the number of gatherings cited for unruliness declined sharply in two years. Off-campus disorderly complaints decreased from 50 in the 2015-2016 school year to 25 in 2016-2017. By 2017-2018, there were only 12 complaints. Towson had few repeat offenders.

D’Elia hopes the ordinance will not only improve residents' quality of life but will also help protect students from binge drinking, as well as assault and other forms of aggression that can occur at large parties.

Conner, who is the health and safety vice president for his fraternity, is not convinced this law will benefit students.

“I think it is actually a detriment to my position of looking out for people’s health,” Conner said. “Instead of stopping parties, people just look for more ways to be secretive about it, which causes more unsafe environments.”

Two’s company, three’s a crowd, four’s a super-party

The ordinance claims to target “super-parties,” but requires only four people to qualify a gathering as potentially unruly.

A motion to increase the requirement from four to 10 was denied by council members before the bill was passed.

Current laws allow up to 150 people to gather without a permit. The council did not want to decrease this number, but also did not want to require officers to count 150 people at a rowdy gathering, said Councilman Chris Hamilton of District 4.

By requiring four people, Newark is following a precedent set by communities such as Ventura, California, and Towson, Maryland, with similar ordinances while also providing flexibility for the police, according to Hamilton.

Councilman Jerry Clifton of District 2, who agrees the ordinance fosters respect, said that requiring only four people allows for consistent enforcement.

“It is important to remember that bad behavior doesn’t take a particular number of people," Clifton said. “Bad behavior is bad behavior.”

Conner, who lives in the 12-person house, and Ryan Yohn, 20, a junior accounting and management information systems major, said before the meeting that they don't think police would automatically target small groups.

"But the fact that they have the ability to is concerning," Yohn said.

'Parties will go on'

Jesse Prosser, 20, a junior at the university, wondered how the new law would affect her street. By 11 a.m. on most Saturdays, music starts flowing down Choate Street, she said. Students sit on their porches with drinks in hand.

“It is definitely a party street,” Prosser said. People arrive all day. The music gets louder, and cops patrol, warning the students if things get loud, she said.

If a party is shut down on another street, everyone heads to Choate, and police will make people leave because cars can’t get down the street, she said.

Although Prosser has never been bothered by the activity on her street, she knows one house with elderly residents frequently calls the police and complains about noise.

Even if police aggressively enforce the law, Prosser doesn’t think the ordinance will have a significant impact.

“My bottom line is that it will add more work for the police officers and it will be an annoyance to students, but parties will still go on,” Prosser said. “I mean we’re the number one party school in America."

Contact Leanna Smith at lcsmith@delawareonline.com. Contact Karl Baker at kbaker@delawareonline.com or 302-324-232.

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