Thinking of having a little shindig for your next birthday? Want to have a party to celebrate your promotion at work? How about getting together and having dinner with a few friends out on your patio? Well, you better think again because any one of those activities could land you a hefty fine, a certified letter to your landlord and, if you’re under 21, another certified letter to your parents. Plus, you and the aforementioned parties will be billed an undisclosed amount of money, as soon as the city determines how much they want to charge you for sending an officer out to issue the warning and/or citation.

These are all part of the city’s revision of the Santa Cruz Municipal Code Chapter 9.37 pertaining to “loud� or “unruly� gatherings. In response to years of complaints by neighbors plagued by student parties, the city council is making sweeping changes to the ordinance that will affect every one of us, student or not, if you ever want to gather with more than one friend at a time, that is.

See also: Open Letter to SC City Council Re: "No Party" ordinances