WAILUKU — Beachgoers may have to leave their beer coolers, wine bottles and spirits in their cars soon when they go to Charley Young and Honokowai parks.

Maui County Council Member Jo Anne Johnson has introduced a bill that would ban alcohol from the two county parks. She said she and some of her colleagues and police have fielded a number of complaints from families and nearby residents who have had conflicts with drunken people — who are often regulars — at the popular South and West Maui beaches.

"We have had reports of families who are subjected to abusive and unruly behavior and do not want their children to be exposed to some of those things that are happening in the parks; and I don't blame them," Johnson said.

On Friday, the County Council voted unanimously to forward the potential ban to Johnson's Economic Development, Agriculture and Recreation Committee for discussion. However, Johnson said they probably won't take up the matter until after the County Council completes the fiscal year 2010 budget in mid-May.

Maui County has dozens of beaches and parks. Alcohol is prohibited in only a handful of them, Johnson said.

It is illegal to drink alcohol on state-owned beaches without a permit, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement. And the City and County of Honolulu prohibits alcohol at all its beaches.

Last year, a similar bill by Council Member Michael Victorino, which would have banned alcohol consumption in Maui parks with playground equipment, got nowhere with the council.

Recently, Charley Young Park neighbors complained about daily volleyball parties that they said were disruptive. They removed underbrush and dead trees as a way to mitigate the problems. Some of the ensuing back and forth between the sides also has made it into the letters section of The Maui News.

State Rep. Joe Bertram III, who lives near Charley Young, said that the groups are "loud, raucous, screaming and yelling," and they make life unbearable for residents next door.

"It's like living next to a sports bar," he said.

An alcohol ban at the beach could help, he said.

Johnson said she has been working with Maui Police Department division captains in Kihei and Lahaina; and this does not seem to be an issue in other county parks.