Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley and Santa Maria’s City Manager prepares for the Social Host Ordinance at the City Council Meeting
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The city manager of Santa Maria has collaborated with Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley (FBSMV) since 2020 on the Social Host Ordinance. This proposal is on the agenda for this week's city council meeting.
“We want to do a lot of education in the front end. We want to make sure that people know that it's illegal to provide alcohol or marijuana to youth and that we're educating our community so that this does not happen", said FBSMV Programs Director Dawnette Kingsley-Smith.
The recommendation is to add a new Chapter 6-15 to the Municipal Code -- the Social Host Regulations. The efforts are to develop the Social Host Ordinance to support Santa Maria's youth and to provide them with a platform for education and prevention.
“This would be a better tool to support parents and the police department when it comes to deciding to use alcohol or marijuana", said Santa Maria City's Public Information Officer Mark Van de Kamp.
Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley is an organization that helps educate and inform the community about substance abuse and provides helpful resources.
“The owner of the property where the event is taking place does need to take responsibility", said Van de Kamp.
A Social Host refers to any person, who is responsible for providing or permitting the use of alcohol or illegal drugs for minors. If passed the Social Host Regulations Ordinance is said to be positive for the community and enforce punishment and prevention.
