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OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- A proposed alcohol ban at Pineview Reservoir has been scaled back to just Cemetery Point, and will be voted on by the Weber County Commission Tuesday night.
The ban originally would applied to all beaches along the lake.
"It doesn't deal with Anderson Cove or Middle Inlet anymore," said Chief Deputy Sheriff Chris Zimmerman. "It's not near as severe as everybody is thinking."
If it's approved, alcohol would be outlawed at Cemetery Point's beach, parking area and in the shallow water around the beach. The affected areas would be clearly marked, Zimmerman said.
The proposal came out of between sheriff's deputies and their counterparts at the U.S. Forest Service. The two share law enforcement duties at the 2,870-acre lake.
The Forest Service had initially proposed banning alcohol at all three beaches after noticing a steady rise in the number of alcohol-related incidents over the years.
That could still happen, Zimmerman said.
"We're using this as the test area," he said. "If we feel like we need to expand it, we'll look into that. Or if we need to eliminate it, we could do that, too."
At Cemetery Point last year, 22,206 paid the $6 per car admission, said Rick Vallejos, recreation manager with the Wasatch-Cache National Forest's Ogden Ranger District.
"If you figure on three people a car, that's a lot of people, and that's just at Cemetery Point," he said, adding that drinking can cause many problems with such a crowd.
"We're very serious about trying to provide good, family recreation opportunities," he said. "This is often a tactic that's used to do that. Whether it works or not, only time will tell."
If the alcohol ban is approved, "We'll warn people for at least 30 days, probably all through June," Zimmerman said. "We're not out to punish people."
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
