Until now, Kennedy Park had few controls on alcohol, in contrast to nearly all other city parks — where alcohol is generally banned.

The goal isn’t to prohibit picnickers from having wine and beer at Kennedy, but to require them to identify themselves in advance when they fill out an application to reserve a picnic or barbecue space, Greg Coleman, recreation superintendent, told the City Council Tuesday.

No longer will carloads of people be able to drive to Kennedy, pile out of their vehicles and start drinking if they don’t have a site reservation, he said.

The growing popularity of Kennedy Park for weekend recreation has been accompanied by more disturbances, including large brawls involving 30 people or more, Police Sgt. Debbie Peecook said.

“For a while this summer we were having a brawl every weekend,” Peecook said. “We had one where a police windshield got smashed. Another time they’re breaking 40-ounce bottles over people’s heads.”

It got so bad that police had to assign three to four officers to Kennedy on crowded Sundays, when 300 to 400 people congregate in picnic areas, she said.

Under the old system, drinking was restricted to “designated areas,” but they were sometimes hard to define, Coleman said.

Now, drinking will be allowed in designated areas and only if a group has a permit for alcohol consumption.

It will be easier for police to identify who is entitled to drink, Coleman said. People drinking outside their designated area will be warned or ticketed, depending on circumstances.

Alcohol will remain prohibited in parking lots, children’s play areas and by the boat launch.

No alcohol is permitted in the rest of the city’s park system, except, by permit, at Veteran’s Memorial Park and Dr. Dwight Murray Plaza, Coleman said.

That’s the law, but practically speaking, someone drinking a beer in a neighborhood park is not likely to face interference unless they are causing a problem, Coleman said.

The city does not have a “beer SWAT team” that sweeps in on couples enjoying an alcoholic libation, he said.

This is not the case at Fuller Park in Old Town, where drinking alcohol has become a “huge issue,” Peecook said. Police write a lot of citations at Fuller Park as well as at the city park on Riverside Drive and at “the Triangle” at Division and Franklin streets, she said.

All three areas are places where the homeless hang out.

It costs $84 to $231, depending on the number of people to be accommodated, to reserve picnic areas at Kennedy Park for the day. On summer weekends,  nearly every area is reserved, Coleman said.

Under the proposal, a family that wanted to drink alcohol but needed only a single picnic table would still be required to reserve an entire group picnic area if they wanted to drink legally.

The permit system “allows us to manage the facility and make sure that uses are compatible,” Coleman said.

Site reservations are shared with police so they will know the numbers of people who will be at the park.

For corporate events, the city may require that insurance be taken out to indemnify the city in case there is an accident, Coleman said.

For big groups involving electrified music, the Community Resources department may require extra security, bathrooms and trash receptacles, he said.