In wake of ‘Party Mom’ case, Los Gatos council passes teen drinking ordinance

In the wake of Los Gatos “Party Mom” Shannon O’Connor‘s arrest last year, Los Gatos Town Council passed an ordinance Tuesday evening that holds adults responsible for underage drinking and drug use.

Under the new ordinance, adults could be fined for hosting events where alcohol or drugs are “served to, consumed by, or in the presence of minors,” regardless of whether the adult is present or not. Fines start at $1,500 for the first offense and increase to $3,000 for subsequent offenses.

“Problems associated with underage social gatherings on private or public property are difficult to prevent and deter unless the Los Gatos Police Department has the legal authority to direct the social host to disperse the gathering and to cite the social host,” the ordinance reads.

“Whatever the cause or way it may have started, it gives the youth and parents an outlet to be accountable and to help avoid situations that can be much more deadly and dangerous, such as drinking and driving,” Sasha  Balasingam, chair of the youth commission, said. “We saw the need for this ordinance to be updated as it gives us all the avenue to reach out if there’s a party out of hand.”

Town attorney Robert Shultz, who retired last year and is currently working in an interim capacity, presented the first reading of the ordinance, which passed unanimously.

“My first draft had a much lower fine, but the youth commission actually wanted to increase it to make it more of a deterrent,” Shultz said.

Some councilmembers and members of the public said they wanted the fines to be higher for offenders.

“I’m questioning how a fine mitigates the problem, because in Los Gatos, the fine might be a drop in bucket, if you will,” Councilmember Mary Badame said.

Police Chief Jamie Field said the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department and the youth commission will have representatives with information on the new ordinance at the town’s Spring Into Green event Sunday, April 24.

The department has also been in contact with the superintendents of both school districts, and they are in “full support of this ordinance” and offered to help inform the public about it, Chief Field said.

The ordinance comes a few months after Los Gatos mom Shannon O’Connor was arrested on 39 charges, including felony child endangerment and misdemeanor furnishing alcohol to minors, for organizing alcohol-fueled sex parties for her freshman son and his friends.

Council tasked the town attorney and youth commission with reassessing the town’s Social Host Ordinance last November, following the news of O’Connor’s arrest.

At that meeting, school district officials presented nationwide statistics from 2018-2019 that showed Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District students consumed alcohol and drugs at a rate disproportionately higher than neighboring schools.