The city Park and Recreation Department’s advisory board voted 8-1 on Aug. 19 to endorse a 24-hour ban on alcohol consumption at Kate O. Sessions Park in Pacific Beach. The matter will now be sent to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Council for consideration, most likely in early fall, said Clay Bingham, deputy director of Community Parks Division 1. Officials cite a connection between alcohol use at the park and a growing number of complaints to law enforcement in the wake of the nearly three-year-old beach alcohol ban. Advisory board members said in 2007, San Diego police received 96 calls for service at the park. In 2009, police received 281 total calls, and year-to-date numbers for 2010 are already at 171, according to documents. Bingham said if the ban at Kate Sessions is adopted, he does not foresee the problems associated with drinking at that particular park moving to other area parks because few others possess the same grassy, hilltop attributes. Michelle Youngers is a member of Friends of Kate Sessions Park, a committee of City Beautiful of San Diego Inc. “Our goal as part of our organization is to preserve the park and accessibility to the park for all user groups and to keep it a safe environment for all user groups,” Youngers said. She has lived near Kate Sessions for 20 years. She said she and her family do not use the park as much as they used to. The possible amendment to the San Diego Municipal Code 56.54 — subject to City Council approval — would call for a 24-hour ban to augment the existing beach alcohol ban. Rob Rynearson is treasurer of FreePB.org, a grassroots organization whose mission is to “prevent the erosion and promote the expansion of individual rights, privileges, and freedoms in San Diego with an emphasis on public parks and beaches.” Rynearson said FreePB.org believes there are alternatives to the 24-hour ban. He would like to see the Park and Recreation Department’s advisory board address the fact that there is an unfulfilled need in the city to have an area where responsible adults can go to publicly gather with friends and family to drink. Until that happens, however, police officials said they will continue to enforce existing ordinances. “Whether we are talking about the beach, Garnet Avenue or Kate Sessions Park, unfortunately, alcohol has a part in that, and that certainly can create challenges,” said Capt. Chris Ball of the police department’s Northern Division.