Coronavirus: LA mayor OKs power, water shutoffs at party houses hosting large gatherings

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Wednesday that he is authorizing water and power services shut off at houses, business and other venues hosting large gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic.

The mayor’s edict will go into effect on Friday, KTLA reported.

“Starting on Friday night, if LAPD responds and verifies that a large gathering is occurring at a property, and we see these properties offending time and time again, they will provide notice and initiate the process to request that DWP (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power) shut off service within the next 48 hours,” Garcetti said at a news conference.

Nightclubs and bars have already been closed in Los Angeles. Garcetti said his order will target “large house parties” that have become “nightclubs in the hills,” the Los Angeles Times reported. The mayor asserted that the gatherings often occurred at vacant homes or residences used for short-term rentals.

“The consequences of these large parties ripple far beyond just those parties,” Garcetti told reporters. “They ripple throughout our entire community because the virus can quickly and easily spread.”

The move comes after an early Tuesday morning shooting near a large party at a multimillion-dollar home on Mulholland Drive left one woman dead and four other people injured.

About 200 people were at that party.

DWP spokesperson Josh Rubenstein told KTLA that the Los Angeles Police Department follows the city’s order, which says the ban “does not apply to gatherings within a single household or living unit.”

“By turning off that power, shutting down that water, we feel we can close these (larger) places down, which usually are not one-time offenders, but multiple offenders,” Garcetti said.

Los Angeles Councilman David Ryu introduced a motion Wednesday to increase penalties and provide additional enforcement options against property owners who defy city laws, including the city’s 2018 party-house ordinance, the Times reported.

“Despite a pandemic that has killed thousands in Los Angeles, some homeowners are choosing to put everyone at risk by renting out their homes to massive house parties,” Ryu said. “This is irresponsible bordering on deadly, and it must be stopped.”

As of Wednesday, Los Angeles County has recorded 197,912 coronavirus cases and 4,825 deaths attributed to COVID-19, KTLA reported.

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