The City of Kingston may have a powerful new enforcement tool to stop rowdy house parties, starting as soon as St. Patrick’s Day.

After months of public consultation, city staff recommend councillors approve the city’s first ever Nuisance Party Bylaw.

“These parties have the potential to create a substantial risk to the health and safety of participants and to neighbourhoods and have constituted a persistent disruption,” according to a staff report.

The bylaw’s intended purpose is to clamp down on rowdy behavior at large social gatherings or house parties. It essentially puts the onus on tenants or landlords to control their party participants.

Under the proposed by-law, Kingston police will have new powers to declare that a social gathering constitutes a nuisance party. After a verbal notice is issued, all party-goers would have to immediately leave the property and, if they don’t, the party host or any visitor faces a stiff $630 ticket. The set fine is $500 plus a victim fine surcharge.

City officials say the $630 fine is in keeping with what other Ontario municipalities such as London and St. Catharines are charging for similar bylaws, where initial fines range from $305 to $880.

“The bylaw incorporates concepts from Nuisance Party by-laws passed in other Ontario municipalities, revised where appropriate, to provide further clarity and ensure enforceability,” said staff.

Individual repeat offenders could face heftier fines ranging from $10,000 to $25,000, while a corporation or even a landlord could be fined up to $100,000 for subsequent offences.

Officials refined the bylaw, reflecting public comments, to require that landlords be notified of any nuisance party so they can take steps to prevent a future occurrence.

A nuisance party is defined as meeting one or more criteria, including; public intoxication, the unlawful sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages or controlled substances, damage or garbage on public or private property, obstruction of vehicle or pedestrian traffic, excessive sound such as loud music or shouting, unauthorized fireworks, public fights, outdoor public urination or defecation and gathering on rooftops.

The rooftop drinking practice, known as ‘brewfing,’ has become a growing concern among police and politicians as people drink alcohol on porch and rooftops – a common scene during student street parties.

Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson has voiced support for a nuisance bylaw in the past.

“We shouldn’t have to wait until someone dies before we can take the steps that we need to take to be able to curb this unacceptable behaviour. We need to draw that line.”

The mayor has said such a bylaw would give police more powers to disperse large crowds that are spilling onto streets, yards and rooftops of private residences, though he insisted it’s not meant to target students.

Police and city bylaw officers will continue to enforce unlawful gatherings, liquor, trespassing and other Criminal Code infractions, plus municipal bylaws such as noise, littering and parking.

The addition of a nuisance bylaw is just one more tool for authorities.

“By-laws of this nature have been demonstrated to serve as an additional tool for local enforcement, bridging the gap between existing by-laws and charges under the Criminal Code,” explained a staff report.

The proposed bylaw will be presented to the administrative policies committee for approval Feb. 8. However, the final decision rests with city council.

It’s not the first time Kingston has considered such a bylaw. A past council opted to take ‘no action’ when a similar version was presented in 2010. However, the idea resurfaced following two nights of booze-fueled street parties that coincided with Homecoming weekend at Queen’s University in mid-October 2017.

Police laid 330 charges, mostly for public intoxication and other alcohol-related offences, while arresting 33 people in the University district. In addition, hospital staff said that weekend was their busiest ever due to the number of alcohol-sickened students.

Similar boisterous off-campus street parties have erupted during St. Patrick’s Day and Frosh Week in past years.

City officials say a public education campaign involving tenants, landlords and neighbourhood groups will be launched if the bylaw is approved, which could happen by late February or early March.