Helenans who allow underage drinking parties on their property may soon face consequences, including a civil fine.

An ordinance city commissioners will consider Monday would cite adults who allow people under the age of 21 to drink in their residences with a municipal infraction. Landlords whose tenants host underage drinking parties on their properties also could be held accountable. The maximum fine per incident under the ordinance would be $300.

Supporters say the law would close a loophole and make party hosts responsible for the underage drinking they allow. People who buy or supply alcohol to minors already face consequences, along with businesses who sell to people under the age of 21. Underage drinkers also face minor-in-possession charges. Law enforcement issued 666 MIP citations in 2006.

“Teens are being held accountable, businesses are being held accountable — so the gap in our community is really those adults who are providing alcohol socially,” said Drenda Carlson, director of Youth Connections, the organization that worked with city officials to develop the ordinance.

City commissioners supported the ordinance in an initial vote a few weeks ago. They’ll hold their final vote following the public hearing Monday. The meeting is set to begin at 6 p.m. in the third-floor chambers of the City-County Building.

Carlson said the community has set too low a standard for kids when it comes to alcohol use. She said teenagers tell the organization adults simply expect them to drink. The ordinance, she hopes, will be a step toward changing Helena’s attitude toward underage drinking.

She used the example of parents who allow their children and their friends to drink in the basement or in the garage, thinking it will be safer because the kids won’t get behind the wheel.

“It’s really setting a very low standard, very low expectations for kids,” Carlson said. “Our community norms say drinking is normal.”

“When kids drink, they binge drink,” she added. “They make poor decisions about sexual activity. They make poor decisions about drinking and driving.”

Kelsey Fanning, a recent high school graduate, said she hopes the ordinance will change the community’s attitude.

“And hopefully once we’ve got our community leaders and adult role models modeling a more positive behavior,” she said, “then we will start to see not only a shift in the way adults react and interact with youth regarding alcohol, but also decisions from the youth themselves about whether or not to use alcohol at a young age.”

Fanning said she often hears her peers argue that 18 year olds, who have the ability to vote and go to war, should be able to crack open a beer with their buddies.

“I would be delighted if young adults could sit down and have a glass of wine or have a beer or two and do it responsibly, but the unfortunate truth is that in our community, and as a nation, we’re unable to have that healthy, positive relationship with alcohol,” she said.

Adults under the age of 21 can be cited under the ordinance if they’re hosting a party.

Landlords who knowingly allow parties can be cited. If a party is busted up at a landlord’s property, that owner will get a notice of the incident and won’t be fined if he or she didn’t know about the party beforehand.

“If the landlord chooses not to do anything and it happens again, the landlord can be cited as a social host,” Carlson explained.

Bruce Desonia, president of the Helena chapter of the Montana Landlord’s Association, said he doesn’t plan to oppose the ordinance at the public hearing. He noted he doesn’t speak for all landlords in town, but said he received no negative feedback when he sent copies of the ordinance to the association’s membership. “I think I understand the intent … as far as setting some boundaries and certainly placing some responsibility on homeowners,” Desonia said.

Carlson, when asked if underage parties might simply move outside the city limits if the law’s approved, said the community can’t change everything at once.

“We have to make changes a step at a time,” she said. “This is one step to making things better in our community, to changing the norms in our community.”

She said state law doesn’t allow counties to create similar ordinances, but said a legislator from northwestern Montana plans to introduce a bill in the 2009 session to address that issue. She also noted 24 other states have social-host statutes on the books. Carlson said the community must continue to educate youths about the dangers of drinking and work to provide alternate activities. A social-host ordinance is not a cure-all, she said: “It’s one tool.”

Underage drinking in Helena and statewide

- According to a 2005 study conducted at Carroll College, 47.2 percent of students reported binge drinking in the prior two weeks. Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more drinks in a sitting.

- In a 2006 survey, 40 percent of Lewis and Clark County 12th-graders reported binge drinking in the prior two weeks.

- Over the past five years, one in six eighth-graders reported binge drinking in the prior two weeks, according to surveys.

- The average age for taking a first sip of alcohol in Montana is 13. The average age for first regular use is 14, according to a 2006 statewide assessment.

- 18- to 20-year-old drivers in Montana had the highest incidence of fatal alcohol-related crashes in 2006 by age group.

- Nationally, more teenagers die from alcohol than all illegal drugs combined.

Reporter Larry Kline: 447-4075 or larry.kline@helenair.com