Alcohol banned from Mom’s Beach in Forestville

Sonoma County parks officials have banned alcohol possession and use at a popular Russian River park in Forestville, an action imposed days before the Fourth of July draws thousands of revelers to the river and one aimed at curbing public drunkenness and other bad behavior that county officials say has disturbed neighbors, soiled the park with litter and human waste and led to fights.

The ban, which went into effect Wednesday, covers the Forestville River Access, commonly known as Mom’s or Mother’s Beach, located just upstream from the Hacienda Bridge. Notices about the alcohol prohibition went up last week around the entrance and parking area.

Violation of the new order is a misdemeanor, punishable by fines up to $1,000, though a first offense would likely draw much lower penalties, subject to a judge’s deliberations, said Jim Nantel, deputy director of Sonoma County’s Regional Parks department.

The county is working to educate the public and plans to issue warnings before any formal action is taken.

“Initially, we are informing people that they need to leave the park or remove the alcohol from the park,” Nantel said, “but if they continue, we will issue citations.”

The move sets Mom’s Beach apart from most other county-run Russian River beaches, in part out of regard for its proximity to residential housing along a narrow lane called River Drive, roughly parallel to River Road, the main thoroughfare along the lower waterway. The park runs behind many of River Drive’s homes and is accessed by a pathway running between homes.

Only Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach and the Guerneville River Park, a small picnic area, are off-limits to alcohol use, the parks department said.

Drinking is permitted at nearby Steelhead and Sunset beaches, both also located in Forestville, as well as Cloverdale River Park and Riverfront Regional Park near Healdsburg, parks personnel said.

The alcohol ban arises from frustration on the part of neighbors who have borne the brunt of the growing popularity of the park, which is served by a small parking lot with just 17 spaces and, until a few months ago, had a single portable bathroom. It now has two.

Officials say the ban is aimed at curbing public drunkenness and a variety of bad behaviors that include everything from littering to public toileting, underage drinking, noise and fights, often in people’s yards.

“People go into the beach sober. They come out plastered,” said Gina Voight, a local resident. “They’re urinating all over the streets. There’s garbage. There’s fights. There’s car accidents. You name it.”

Parking across driveways and partly blocking the roadway also is a critical issue, neighbors and law enforcement officials say. Residents say they can’t exit or enter their own neighborhood on busy days.

“There does not seem to be any awareness, by the visitors, that they are in a neighborhood,” one resident, Kathy Anderson, said. “There is zero regard for the residents of this community.”

A small group of neighbors met at the beginning of June with west county Supervisor Efren Carrillo, law enforcement representatives, parks officials and others to discuss the situation. Because so many of the negative behaviors seemed to result from intoxication, county officials decided to ban alcohol there, Nantel said.

“We’re trying to ensure that these areas are enjoyable for everyone who chooses to be out there,” Carrillo said.

On a hot afternoon Wednesday that drew well over 100 people to the gravel beach, kids frolicked in the refreshing waters, shrieking and yelling. County park rangers were on hand to notify beachgoers of the new rule, requiring several parties to return to their vehicles with beer and, perhaps, other drinks they were forced to leave behind. A handful of others still looking for parking appeared to head off to other destinations after hearing the news.

Some visitors said they would probably choose to go to other beaches in the future so they could relax with a beer or some wine under the sun. But many also said they understood, even welcomed, the effort to reduce rowdy and, sometimes, unsociable behaviors at the beach.

“I appreciate it,” said Dawn Caccavale of Santa Rosa, who was in the company of three young kids and other family members. “Teenagers drink - let’s get real about that - and once you get drunk teenagers and kids together, that’s a problem.”

The alcohol ban would contribute to safer water recreation and driving, she said.

But one young Rohnert Park woman said she was bummed about the alcohol ban, given the beach’s otherwise welcoming environment. She said she had never observed any problems with drinking in the past.

Her friend, former Sonoma County resident Gina McIntyre, now of San Jose, said she resented that the overindulgence of some beachgoers “ruins it for the rest of us who want to drink more responsibly and just relax.”

“This is going to be a good thing,” said resident Peter Gilmore, whose fence was once broken down by a beach visitor trying to haul a kayak through his yard on the way to the road.

He gestured toward a roadway already clogged with idling vehicles and lined with parked ones.

“This is just the beginning,” he said, sighing.

CHP Officer Will Jimerson ticketed numerous vehicles Wednesday and said he expected to tow some. Last week, he said he wrote 30 tickets on a single day, either because cars were partly in the roadway, they were turned the wrong direction or they otherwise blocked driveways.

Some River Drive residents, though grateful for the attention, are skeptical about the potency of the alcohol ban, questioning whether it will be adequately enforced once the coming holiday is over and whether it can make up for lack of infrastructure at the park, which drew in excess of 1,300 visitors on Memorial Day last year, according to a county head count.

“It’s come one, come all,” said Bill McKinley. “There’s no supervision down there.”

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.