Airbnb ‘party house’ in Glendale shut down after police visits

The owner of an approximately 4,000-square-foot Glendale home advertised as “party central� on Airbnb.com, an online vacation rental platform, has agreed to stop renting the house specifically for parties after having six festivities shut down by Glendale police since October.

The listing advertising the house on Airbnb.com, which was taken down this week, described the house as an “entertainer’s outdoor paradise� fit with Jacuzzi, pool, a gazebo and an “exclusive estate� that could accommodate up to 200 people for “weddings and receptions, retreats, reunions, surprise parties or whatever you can imagine!�

Neighbors of what critics say is a “party house� in the Glenwood community told the Glendale News-Press that the constant partying in the 1300 block of Norton Avenue was interfering with their sleep in the early-morning hours. They said they’d find beer bottles in the street, people fighting on the sidewalk in the early-morning hours, parking clogged and loud music blaring.

“First, I felt angry, mad, and then after a few parties, you feel kind of like helpless; you can’t do anything,� said Andrew Gorgyan, who lives next door to the house.

Frank Higginbotham, who lives across the street from the house, said he saw tour buses with about 30 people pull up to the residence for a party about two weeks ago.

Earlier in December, neighbors, said, there was one party that had to be shut down using a powerful spotlight from a hovering police helicopter and several police officers.

“This was like a war zone,� he said, adding that parties have been going on every weekend for months. “Every night I came home, I was scared to think about what I was going to find here.�

It isn’t the first time communities have clashed with Airbnb.com rentals. In Silver Lake, the popularity of Airbnb sparked heated Neighborhood Council meetings as some feared the prevalence of short-term rentals was negatively affecting their community atmosphere.

As of Thursday, the party house listing was off the site, but the location was still being advertised for short-term stays from $150 to $280 a night.

The property is co-owned by Loeiz Rafisiman, a Beverly Hills real estate agent, who said she had a one-year lease with Greenfield Properties and is looking for a long-term tenant that won’t rent the house out to vacationers.

“We are taking control of this situation,� Rafisiman said. “But it takes time. It won’t happen overnight.�

Other cities have created ordinances to curb issues with short-term rentals. Big Bear requires city licensing and inspection of such establishments and a 16-person maximum occupancy.

Glendale city attorneys are now reviewing possible solutions to similar party houses that may crop up in the future, said city spokesman Tom Lorenz.

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Brittany Levine is a Times Community News staff writer.