Beverly Hills Cracks Down On Big Parties

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Everything is closed. Many people are working from home. Months of quarantine can feel like there’s nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no one to see.

It’s unsurprising that more and more house parties have been creeping up in Beverly Hills and around Los Angeles, despite a county order banning them since March.

After a deadly shooting Monday at a Beverly Crest house party that had hundreds of guests left a 35-year-old mother dead, L.A. County health officials issued a legally binding order banning gatherings during the pandemic, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti authorized the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to shut off utilities to repeat offenders hosting ‘egregious’ gatherings.

Earlier in the week, a large wedding reception in Holmby Hills and a big party at a Hollywood bar made headlines. Earlier in July, a large party at the Calabasas home of YouTube star Jake Paul resulted in the city promising to swiftly break up any gathering larger than 10 people.

In a statement Wednesday, the L.A. County Department of Public Health said that violating the order prohibiting parties is “a crime punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both.”

Health Director Barbara Farrer noted that that officials respond to more than 2,000 violation complaints every week.

However, there has been some mixed messaging about the exact nature of the order. Originally, the ban did not apply to gatherings within a single household. But on Wednesday Farrer said that private parties are not allowed in houses.

Beverly Hills has seen an increase in calls regarding large gatherings, city spokesperson Keith Sterling told the Beverly Hills Courier. A public caller during a July 21 City Council study session reported “numerous mass gatherings within dwellings throwing parties, gatherings, and other such events where social distancing is not being adhered [to.]”

In that same meeting, the council approved $170,000 to law firm Dapeer, Rosenblit, & Litvak to prosecute code violations and parties. The city has traditionally been stricter than neighboring Los Angeles: while the LAPD has sometimes expressed ambivalence about breaking up gatherings in private homes, Beverly Hills Police Department spokesperson Lt. Max Subin told the Courier that the city’s police quickly disbanded a July 25 party in Trousdale Estate, and cited the homeowner for violating a city noise ordinance.