After five months, city council canned the controversial drinking games ordinance at Tuesday's meeting.

Instead, litter, party noise and beer pong tables may be targeted with code revisions and more stringent punishments for violators.

First introduced in October, the ordinance banning drinking games was tabled three times, drawing large crowds of students and residents.

The ordinance failed with a vote of 4-1 Tuesday, with the strengthening of the nuisance ordinances as a potential compromise.

The idea of revising existing regulations was pushed at the March 6 council meeting by Carole Katz, a member of the Student-Community Relations Committee.

"I don't think the (drinking games ordinance) is the right way to approach the issue," Katz said at the March 6 meeting. "Amend, strengthen and enforce the laws we already have on this subject."

The three ordinance revisions introduced Tuesday involve the noise, litter and outdoor furniture restrictions. The changes will face council for a second reading April 3.

The revised noise ordinance would crack down on loud vocal noises from private property. Previously, one had to be in the public right-of-way to be cited for yelling or shouting, said Oxford Law Director Steve McHugh.

The litter ordinance would increase the degree of misdemeanor and fines involved.

"The challenge right now is that $100 fines do not seem to be working," said Mayor Jerome Conley.

Currently, the first three violations bring $100 fines and subsequent citations are $250.

With the new ordinance, the first litter violation would cost $250, $500 for the second, $750 for the third and $1,000 for further violations.

These higher misdemeanors can include jail time, but McHugh said it would be "highly unlikely" judges would impose jail for litter violators.

The outdoor furniture ordinance revisions will include tables and beer pong setups as violations anywhere outside, including on front and rear porches.

Police Chief Stephan Schwein said that the department currently does not cite for outdoor furniture as long as it is being actively used. This would extend to beer pong tables outside unless council directed or specified otherwise in the ordinance, Schwein said.

"It means you can't store these things out there but they can play them out there," Schwein said.