Downey, CA Public Conduct: Loud Party Ordinance (2026)

Section 4601, added by Ordinance 967 in 1993, is Downey's "second response" cost-recovery law for loud parties and gatherings. The Council found a growing trend of large parties at rental facilities and private homes disturbing the public peace and requiring police services beyond what the department normally provides, and decided it is fair to make the hosts of those events, not other taxpayers, cover the extra cost. Once an officer at the scene of a party determines there is a threat to public peace, health, safety, or general welfare and gives a first warning, any second police response to that same threat within 12 hours is deemed "special security assignment" work.

The person in charge of the premises and the person responsible for the event are jointly and severally liable for that cost; if either is a minor, liability shifts to the minor's parents or guardians. Recoverable costs include all personnel costs, at each officer's actual rate of pay, plus damages to City property or injuries to City personnel, and the Chief of Police reports the personnel used and hours worked to the Director of Finance, who bills the responsible party. The minimum service fee for a second response is $50, and an unpaid bill becomes a debt owed to the City that the City can pursue through its ordinary collection remedies, on top of any other legal remedy available to it.