You’ve bought the Natty Light. You’ve booked the perfect DJ to play off your porch. You’ve been dreaming of this weekend since you signed the lease to your house on High Street.
You’ve put in the work, so here’s what you should do to keep that party rockin’:
Know about the Nuisance Party Ordinance
It’s basically a city law that says that if an officer sees a disorderly party or one breaking other specific laws then it is considered a nuisance and shut down, Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said. The other specific laws include fighting, blocking the sidewalks, littering and public disorderly conduct, such as public urination.
“Most parties in town are alcohol based,” Pyle said. “Once consumption of the aggregate becomes problematic and cooperation becomes problematic because of the groupthink and the alcohol consumption, that’s typically when we (use) the ordinance to shut down a party.”
Keep track of who’s drinking on your lawn
Police don’t go seeking out underage partiers, but if they’re stumbling around and an officer sees they’re all coming from the same house, the party throwers look irresponsible, APD Reserve Commander David Malawista said.
“The notion is to have a good time, enjoy yourselves, but be responsible, make sure nobody is getting hurt, nobody is being so intoxicated they’re no longer able to care for themselves,” he added.
If you are hosting and partiers are trying to start fights or being problematic in other ways, you can ask the police to remove troublesome people.
Manage the garbage
When hundreds of festgoers are outside drinking, those empty cans and bottles need to go somewhere, and people aren’t always reliable to place their empty containers into recycling bins.
Party throwers need to account for trash and litter and make a plan for keeping things clean throughout the day, Pyle said.
“You can see what parties are taking their responsibility (to be responsible) to heart and which aren’t,” Pyle said. “The ones that aren’t, are typically the ones that get shut down very quickly.”
Just shut things down when you need to shut things down
If the police ask you to shut down a party, it doesn’t mean you will be arrested or even cited, unless you don’t listen, Pyle said. Officers leverage the party ordinance and most people are pretty cooperative.
When people stick around the party after it has been shut down or the host refuses to end it, police can cite them for $50 or $100, he added. People are then arrested if they still refuse after they’re cited.
So if you’re asked to shut things down, it’s probably not a good idea to defy the police. Remember, there’s always next fest.
Maggie Campbell contributed to this report.
