If underage people are found drinking and smoking in your home, the Campbell Youth Commission wants you to be held responsible.

The youth commission is developing new rules aimed at cracking down on underage drinking and drug abuse in the city.

At its Feb. 21 meeting, the city council voted 4-1 to approve development of what the commission is calling a “social host ordinance” they say would put the responsibility on homeowners and parents if minors were found with alcohol and drugs on their property, whether they knew about the activity or not.

According to the commission’s proposed ordinance, failure to follow regulations could result in citations or arrests, a fine or jail time. Regulations would include monitoring alcohol and marijuana access for people under 21 and verifying the age of each guest.

The council and youth commissioners paid special attention to the proposed wording as to whether homeowners and parents should be liable if they didn’t know imbibers were underage.

“It is encouraged for our city to have this wording because the parent should be held responsible when it is in their own home,”Benjamin Nikitin, a youth commissioner, told the council. “In the city ordinances that we have looked at, like San Diego, they actually do not hold the people who did not know about their child or other children either having alcohol or marijuana at the home responsible.”

The wording did not sit well with Councilman Jeffrey Cristina, who cast the lone dissenting vote. He said there is a “gray area” for parents who did not know alcohol or drugs would be consumed.

“I actually know someone that got in trouble for the unknowingly part,” Cristina said during the meeting. “The homeowner was punished pretty aggressively financially as well as looking at jail time. It was a really expensive situation. It’s a real hard one for me. That’s the only spot that I’m hung up on.”

The Campbell Police Department reviewed the information from youth commissioners and voiced support for the ordinance, including the use of “knowingly or unknowingly” that would allow police discretion to deal with parents or homeowners on a case by case basis.

“This would be another tool for us to use,” said police chief David Carmichael. “It’s a pretty simple solution of consequences for the parents, rather than having to prove that they provided alcohol to the minors.”

The youth commission will now work with city staff to develop appropriate language for the proposed ordinance. Commissioners will return to the council in the future and present a draft ordinance to the council for possible approval.

The council directed commissioners to examine other local social host ordinances to see what could be used in Campbell.

Within the Santa Clara County 11 cities have a host ordinance. Those cities include Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Sunnyvale, according to the staff report.

Councilwoman Susan Landry also suggested commissioners begin planning how to educate adults and underage residents about the ordinance if it were implemented.

The dollar amount for fines for parents or homeowners where underage people consumed alcohol or drugs would be determined with assistance from city staff.

The youth commission is made up of 15 Campbell residents in grades 7-12 who serve one year terms. The commission gives advice and makes recommendations to the council on matters that pertain to youths in the city.