West Palm Beach magistrate fines short-term rental manager $15,000 after large advertised party tied to later shooting

The City of West Palm Beach’s Code Enforcement Special Magistrate ordered a one-time $15,000 fine July 1 after finding that a large, advertised party at a short-term rental required a special-event permit that was not obtained. Patrol Officer Brian Mat testified that police encountered a large crowd at the rental, smelled marijuana and saw alcohol; body-worn-camera footage and incident reports were admitted into evidence.

Officer Brian Mat said officers encountered what appeared to be juveniles at the gathering, that the event had been advertised and that security on site confirmed underage drinking. Mat told the magistrate the city received subsequent calls that night, and that a later incident connected to the crowd culminated in a shooting and property damage in the neighborhood. "As we approached the people having the party, we told them…it seems to be a graduation party. Pretty sure underage people were there," Mat said during testimony (see hearing evidence).

Sebastian Perez, the property manager who appeared on behalf of the rental owner, acknowledged the event and said the booking arrived with a fraudulent ID. Perez said he had used noise-monitoring systems and other guest safeguards in the past but that the monitoring device had failed and that the booking came through Booking.com. He told the magistrate he had stopped taking short-term bookings for that unit and moved to longer-term leasing arrangements after the incident.

City counsel asked the magistrate to assess the maximum one-time fine authorized by code, citing the size of the crowd, the use of alcohol and drugs and the subsequent public-safety consequences. The magistrate said the event produced "substantial and irreparable" costs to the city and concluded the burden for ensuring compliance falls on the property owner/manager. He imposed the full $15,000 fine authorized under the city's code and closed the matter.

The magistrate’s order states that a special-event permit was required and was not obtained. The order noted evidence of underage drinking and confirmed the city introduced body-worn-camera video and incident reports into the record. The manager said he would provide the magistrate’s office any follow-up documentation and confirmed the unit would no longer host short-term rentals. The magistrate’s written order will set payment, appeal and enforcement details.