The Montgomery City Council voted unanimously to revoke the business license for Suburban Studios, located at 5115 Carmichael Road, following a show-cause hearing held during its December meeting.

A city police representative told the council the department had recorded 261 calls for service to the property in the past year, not including roughly 51 fire-department calls, and described multiple shootings and numerous shots-fired calls connected to the site. The hearing began with owner Aiden Patel appearing before the council to answer why his license should not be revoked.

Patel said the property recently moved to owner-operated management and that the owners have installed about 30 security cameras, added exterior lighting, converted exterior doors to exit-only, and evicted roughly 35 guests — changes he said reduced problematic occupancy and revenue by about half. He also said the property is implementing an ID-scanning system intended to screen prospective guests, though he acknowledged the software was still in the process of being activated.

Council members pressed Patel on whether the security measures were already functioning and whether absentee ownership contributed to recurring problems. One council member noted the high number of police calls and questioned whether the volume of calls had diverted police and fire resources from other neighborhoods. Mayor Reed and other council members said property owners must be held accountable, calling absentee ownership and a failure to maintain safe operations unacceptable on a major corridor like Carmichael Road.

After closing the hearing, the council moved, suspended the rules, and adopted a resolution to revoke the Suburban Studios business license. The motion passed by unanimous vote. The mayor urged Patel to return with a clear operational plan if he hopes to regain permission to operate in the city.

The action is a formal revocation of the local business license; the council did not adopt any additional remedial conditions at the time of the vote. The owner was told the council would expect a concrete plan and improved management if a future application is considered.