Here’s how Tybee Island is cracking down on underage drinking this spring

The annual Tybee Island beach party, Orange Crush, could be quieter this year after city council voted in favor of an open-air drinking ban for the second year in a row.

Tybee Island’s city council voted to approve a temporary ordinance for the weekend of and the weekend before Orange Crush; April 13-15 and 20-22, WSAV reported. The move is an effort to limit the amount of underage drinking and other alcohol-related safety issues.

City officials enacted a similar ban in 2017 for the weekends of April 14-16 and April 21-23, prohibiting unpermitted amplified music on the beach or in the beach’s surrounding parking lots. Public consumption of alcohol was also banned for the entire city those two weekends, excluding permitted businesses such as sidewalk cafes.

“What I had wanted to do is impose alcohol restrictions on the week on spring break for most colleges locally which is March 12-16,” Mayor Jason Buelterman told WSAV. “And then also to impose them on whatever dates Orange Crush is scheduled for.”

In January 2018, city officials said they wouldn’t be approving an alcohol ban this year, according to WTOC.

The website for the beach party indicates about 100,000 people between the ages of 18 and 35 are expected to attend the April 19-22 music-based event.

This story was originally published February 26, 2018 at 7:21 PM with the headline "Here’s how Tybee Island is cracking down on underage drinking this spring."