DEL MAR — By Bianca Kaplanek

DEL MAR — They may or may not be hot, but Del Mar beaches will definitely be dry this Fourth of July. City Council voted unanimously at its May 5 meeting to ban alcohol possession and consumption on all public property throughout the Independence Day weekend. The 84-hour ban will be in effect from 6 p.m. July 3 until 6 a.m. July 7. Violators will be fined $100 for the first offense, and $200 and $500 for second and third offenses, respectively.

Del Mar remains one of only three cities in the county that currently allows drinking on its beaches the rest of the year. But the city has banned alcohol during the July Fourth weekend since 2002. It adopted an ordinance allowing the ban in December 2001 due to alcohol-related problems in previous years, including a 2001 fight that involved hundreds of people and resulted in three arrests and at least two injuries.

Councilman Henry Abarbanel said the ban has been “enormously beneficial to our residents.”

Council members also supported asking the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority to send letters to Southern California Edison, Caltrans, Poseidon Resources and the city of San Diego to ask for financial support to underground nine utility poles in the lagoon. The goal is to have the poles removed before the lagoon restoration project is complete. The estimated cost to underground them is $1.9 million.

The May 5 meeting began as usual, but after the flag salute, council and staff honored Mayor Dave Druker for his 12 years of service, which make him the longest, continuously serving elected council member. The celebration included a cake with trick candles and a round of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.”

“It’s been … a very huge privilege for me to represent the community,” Druker said. “It is a great honor.”

Councilman Richard Earnest echoed remarks made by his colleagues and residents when he said Druker always approached issues with a “sense of good will and purpose for the community.”

“It’s going to be hard for us to fill your shoes,” Earnest said.

Druker’s first council meeting was May 6, 1996.