SOLANA BEACH — Solana Beach may have been the last city in North County to ban booze on its beaches, but it’s the first in the area to adopt a policy to improve public safety when it comes to selling and serving alcohol.

The responsible beverage sales and service ordinance, which went into effect July 1, requires training for anyone who sells or serves alcohol or owns or manages an establishment licensed to do so.

The course, which must be certified by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, is a tool to help servers and managers develop the knowledge and skills to recognize the signs of intoxication, properly check ID, refuse service to underage and intoxicated patrons and learn the law and liability related to alcohol sales.

“It’s simply training for the people that are going to serve the alcohol,” said Dismas Abelman, deputy fire chief. “It raises their level of awareness.” He said it also provides them with strategies to diffuse a situation rather than escalate it.

“There is a track record of success,” Abelman said, citing an 11 percent reduction in fatal alcohol-related car crashes within the first year the program was implemented in Oregon, where it began.

After Poway enacted a similar ordinance more than three years ago, drunken driving arrests of patrons who visited businesses where employees completed the training were reduced by nearly half, according to Marian Novak of the Responsible Hospitality Coalition.

According to one survey, 81 percent of teenagers in San Diego County say alcohol is easy to obtain, and 33 percent routinely get it from retail outlets.

Of the 51 businesses licensed to sell alcohol in Solana Beach, eight are for off-site consumption. These include grocery stores and minimarts. The remaining 43 licensed to sell for on-site consumption include restaurants and bars. Novak said at least half of the businesses in Solana Beach voluntarily provided training before the ordinance was enacted.

“We’ve always done it,” said Patti Gilstrap, co-owner of Surf & Saddle, which has offered training for its employees for 14 years. “It’s probably the most valuable information they could receive,” Gilstrap said.

Although the new law will require recertification every two years, Mike Gabbard, general manager of Pizza Port, said his employees attend training annually. “Every time we do the class there’s something to be learned,” he said.

Alcohol licensees must maintain a current list of employees and the issue dates of their certification. Training is free and takes between three and four hours.

The ABC holds classes twice a month in San Marcos and downtown. A course will be offered from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 26 at La Colonia Community Center, 715 Valley Ave. Attendees must stay for the entire class to receive certification. For more information, visit www.abc.ca.gov.

Businesses that open after July 1 have 30 days to complete training, as do all newly hired employees. A violation will be considered a misdemeanor and may result in revocation of an existing business certificate issued by the city or denial of a future certificate.

According to the ordinance, which was introduced at the Nov. 28, 2007, council meeting and adopted two weeks later, a better trained staff will help businesses protect their licenses and reduce their business liabilities..