Party Crews Curbed at Pensacola Beach

The SRIA yesterday approved new rules regulating "weddings, parties or gatherings of 35 people or more on Pensacola Beach." Application forms will have to be signed by the party sponsors as well as the leaseholder:

That application restricts parking for the event, and limits music to no later than 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
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Violating the terms of the application could lead to something as minor as having vehicles towed or as punitive as putting the leaseholder in default of his or her lease agreement.

The new ordinance is aimed at a nascent but growing "party crew" business that's been wrecking the beach experience and depriving many residents and tourist families of sleep for days and nights on end.

As we mentioned earlier, it seems to have begun in response to tough economic times. Real estate gamblers who suddenly found themselves underwater on their mortgages, or just plain Greedy Gertas, converted or built "McMansion houses in single-family residential neighborhoods to function like party hotels so they could host raucous beach bashes 24/7."

Fulltime beach residents hosting parties in their own homes are intended to be exempt from the regs.