Raising the bar

Proposed ordinance would require training alcohol servers, sellers to just say no

By Steven Mihailovich

An effort is under way to create a city ordinance requiring businesses in San Marcos that sell alcohol to have employees trained and certified in responsible beverage service.

The push is coming from the North Inland Community Prevention Program (NICPP), which is funded by the county. It made its case for such an ordinance before the city’s Student and Neighborhood Relations Commission in July.

Clark Kiser, NICPP director, said statistics show that some San Marcos establishments, particularly in Old California Restaurant Row, have become hot spots for excessive drinking.

That is particularly troublesome to Kiser because the city is home to Cal State San Marcos and Palomar College.

“We’re trying to encourage the city to look at that,” Kiser said. “We want them to look at some places that are having difficulties when transitioning from restaurant to nightclubs. The better trained they are, the more likely they won’t serve to excess.”

A 2007 survey taken in DUI programs run by the county’s Health and Human Service Agency identified several bars and restaurants in San Marcos as being the last place program participants had drinks before being arrested.

Between January and July of this year, 144 drivers were cited for DUI in San Marcos, and there were 46 alcohol-related collisions in the city, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.

Underage drinking would also be targeted by the ordinance.

According to a California Healthy Kids Survey done by the state Department of Education, 30 percent of ninth-graders and 46 percent of 11th-graders in San Marcos reported using alcohol in the previous month.

San Marcos has 54 retail outlets and 86 bars and restaurants licensed to sell alcohol.
(to be continued...)

This is a good proposition.