The mayor of Los Angeles, California, said Wednesday that he’s authorized the city to shut off utilities at homes where large parties or gatherings are being held.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said residents who threaten public health or safety are subject to having their electricity and water cut off. The Los Angeles Times reported that starting Friday, police can ask the city shut off utilities to a home if they verify a large party is occurring on the property and determine it’s a repeated occurrence.
Garcetti said the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has 48 hours to act once police make the request.
Posted by City of Los Angeles on Wednesday, August 5, 2020
Garcetti said that since nightclubs and bars are closed, “house parties have essentially become nightclubs in the hills.” The homes typically hosting these large gatherings are usually vacant or are used for short-term rentals, the mayor explained.
CBS reported that Los Angeles has a city-wide ordinance that bars house parties that pose a public health threat. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, essentially all large gatherings fall under this category. Violators could be fined under the ordinance. Repeat offenders could face a misdemeanor.
CNN’s coronavirus case tracker says that more than 530,000 Californians have been diagnosed with coronavirus — and more than 9,800 of them have died. Nearly 40 percent of the state’s cases have been reported in or around Los Angeles County, according to the county’s health department.
“The consequences of these large parties ripple far beyond just those parties,” Garcetti commented. “They ripple throughout our entire community because the virus can quickly and easily spread.”
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[Featured image: City of Los Angeles/Facebook]
