Beverly Hills Bans Trick-Or-Treating, Other Activities

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — In a year when the coronavirus pandemic has changed the scope of normalcy, an autumnal holiday rite of passage has been added to the list of prohibited activities within the Beverly Hills city limits.

City officials announced Tuesday night that trick-or-treating has been banned later this month as part of an urgency ordinance that was passed by the Beverly Hills City Council. In addition to house-to-house trick-or-treating, residents will not be permitted to do car-to-car trunk-or-treat activities and people may not hand out candy or other items to any person outside of their homes.

In one of the more unique banned activities as part the ordinance, residents face a city citation if they spray shaving cream on others (except within their home or residence or for licensed barbers on their customers), according to a news release issued by the city.

“While I know this is disappointing news, especially to our children, we believe this is the responsible approach to protect the health of the community,” Mayor Lester Friedman said in a news release.

City officials did not specify in the news release what the penalty for breaking the ordinance would be, but said that those who do face a citation.

In addition to the ban on Halloween night activities, city officials announced that the following streets will be closed to pedestrian and vehicle traffic, except for those who live in these areas from 6-10 p.m. on Oct. 31

• Carmelita Avenue at Wilshire Boulevard
• Walden Drive Southbound at Elevado Avenue
• Walden Drive at Santa Monica Boulevard
• Carmelita Westbound at North Linden Drive
• The alley between North Linden Drive and Walden Drive from Santa Monica Boulevard to Elevado Avenue.

On Tuesday, state and Los Angeles County health officials advised against trick-or-treating, citing ongoing concerns over the lack of social distancing and public gatherings. However, both agencies stopped short of prohibiting activities such as trick-or-treating.

City officials announced in the release that the Beverly Hills Community Services staff is working on virtual Halloween activities to allow for safe and socially distanced activities. Details will be released soon at beverlyhills.org.