Ordinance to focus on teen alcohol use
By Paul Koepp
Staff Writer
Underage drinking is the target of two ordinances introduced Tuesday by the Township Council.
The council introduced one ordinance that would prohibit the possession or consumption of alcohol on private property by underage drinkers, as well as another requiring beer kegs to be registered prior to sale. They could be adopted after public hearings at the Sept. 25 council meeting.
The first proposed ordinance would allow the driver’s license of a minor caught drinking alcohol on private property to be suspended or postponed for up to six months after the minor is of legal age to drive. It also establishes a fine of $250 for a first offense and $350 for subsequent offenses.
The keg registration ordinance would require retailers to place an identification label on every keg sold so that police can track the purchasers of kegs found at parties where minors are discovered drinking. Retailers must keep a record for 90 days of the buyer’s driver’s license number, the date and time of the purchase, the keg’s identification number and the buyer’s signature.
Councilman Joe Camarota said township groups like SUDZ, Stop Underage Drinking Zone, had petitioned the council to look at measures similar to those that have been adopted in nearby towns to crack down on underage drinking.
”It’s a good control to give police another instrument to stop underage drinking,” Mr. Camarota said.
He said he was especially impressed by the way Township Attorney Don Sears crafted the private property ordinance to focus on groups of unsupervised underage drinkers, creating exceptions for religious festivals and situations where parents are in charge.
Mr. Sears said the ordinance was not designed to be overly invasive, pointing out that police would still need probable cause to go on to private property.
Mr. Camarota also said the punishment of putting underage drinkers’ driver’s licenses in jeopardy would be more effective than fines.
”Fines can be irrelevant because the parents often pay them,” he said. “This puts the onus on the minors because it could suspend or postpone their license for up to six months.”
Linda Surks, of the Municipal Alliance and the local branch of the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence, said that nine towns in Middlesex County — Edison, Metuchen, Woodbridge, Sayreville, South River, Spotswood, New Brunswick, North Brunswick, and Old Bridge — have adopted forms of the private property ordinance.
”This is a fabulous initiative they’re undertaking because they’re really leading the pack,” Ms. Surks said. “It’s really important because we know there is underage drinking in the township.”
”Alcohol affecting the teenage brain is a critical issue,” she said. “We’re trying to protect young people from the problems that alcohol can cause in their lives.”

