Party-house crackdown

City Council draws the line



NOISE COMPLAINT—A gated home at 3356 Adamsville Ave. in Calabasas is often rented out for parties. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

NOISE COMPLAINT—A gated home at 3356 Adamsville Ave. in Calabasas is often rented out for parties. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

The Calabasas City Council voted to adopt an ordinance giving the city more power to crack down on houses that are rented out for loud parties. The ordinance gives sheriff’s deputies more power to shut down house parties that are creating a neighborhood disturbance.

Mayor Fred Gaines said the goal is not to punish residents who throw parties that grow loud, but to give the city a mechanism to prevent the running of for-profit party-house rentals in Calabasas.

“With this ordinance (deputies) can now observe the activities that we’ve put into the ordinance, and that gives them the ability to go in or to engage in the situation,” Gaines said. “If the party is meeting the requirements of that ordinance, then now they can go in, and if people say, ‘Hey, this is my house, this is my party, it’s my daughter’s wedding,’whatever it is, they’re going to tell them to tone it down. But if they go up and they’re told no one is in charge—there’s 150 people and a DJ and alcohol and nobody’s in charge—the sheriff can theoretically make an arrest.”

Gaines said any arrest would depend on the situation. If the party keeps going after deputies have given a warning, they could potentially arrest the person violating the ordinance—it could be a DJ responsible for music that’s too loud or the person supplying alcohol.

The ordinance amends city code to redefine “loud, unnecessary and unusual noise” and adds a new chapter relating to unruly gatherings.

Under the new definition, the ordinance can be violated based on the level and duration of the noise, its proximity to neighbors, the time of day and whether it’s produced by a commercial or noncommercial activity.

An unruly gathering means a party of eight or more people that creates a disturbance either through noise, traffic congestion, littering, using sound amplifiers or violating state fire and building codes, among other factors.

One house in Calabasas, a property in the 3300 block of Adamsville Avenue, has received multiple complaints about loud gatherings.

At a November 2017 council meeting, city staff gave a presentation about legal and illegal profit-generating activities in a residential home. Garage sales and home rentals are legal without obtaining the city’s permission. Operating a commercial retail business, event rentals and party houses are always illegal.

At the Nov. 8 meeting, several residents of Adamsville Avenue spoke to the council about the unoccupied house on the street that was regularly rented out for all-night raucous parties that kept the neighbors awake and left the street littered with trash. The events were advertised online and seemingly open to all.

The house is available for rent through Airbnb, an online hospitality service where homes can be rented to people looking for a place to stay. Homes are typically rented to vacationers, but properties can be rented out for other purposes.

The Airbnb listing for the Adamsville house says renters are prohibited from hosting parties, but events would be considered if renters paid an additional fee and deposit.

Gaines said that because there is only one such house in Calabasas, it’s important to address the problem before it grows and “nip it in the bud.”

“I’m happy that we’re acting. This came up in November, and here it is January and we’re already bolstering our laws. That’s pretty quick in govern- ment terms, I think,” Gaines said. “We’re trying to take as quick action as we can and make it known out in the world that if you’re going to do this in Calabasas we’re going to come down on you, and hopefully (these people) go find somewhere else to do what they’re going to do.”