DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Volusia Sheriff’s Office and Daytona Beach Police Department are joining forces and declaring a special event zone ahead of unpermitted parties planned for this weekend in Daytona Beach.
This comes after unruly crowds took over the city over last weekend.
It gives law enforcement the ability to double fines or arrest people who commit crimes within the zone.
Eyewitness news asked city leaders why this enforcement didn’t happen last weekend.
A spokesperson said the city isn’t focusing on what didn’t happen last weekend; instead, leaders just want to do what’s best going forward.
During a news conference Tuesday, Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said he doesn’t need permission to put one of these zones in place, but the police chief does.
Businesses are frustrated the city didn’t take action sooner.
Louie Louizes and his family have owned businesses on the boardwalk for nearly 80 years and in the past decade, he’s seen a drastic shift.
“I mean the videos. My friends up north are like what is going on there. It’s embarrassing for me I lived here my whole life. I grew up in this store,” said Louizes.
The sheriff’s office said event promoter Aliyah Brooks was responsible for the chaos. She’s officially been sent a certified letter warning her she’s responsible for law enforcement response and clean up caused by her pop-up party and any future events she’s promoting.
“You promote a truck event. You promote a takeover event. We are coming after you financially,” said Chitwood.
The event left litter and damage on the beach, forcing several shops to shut down all weekend.
“If you didn’t make it 30 years ago, unless you are a big developer, you’re never going to make it now. I’ve basically given up because no one cares,” said Louizes.
The special event zone stretches from University Boulevard to Silver Beach. It starts Friday at 11 a.m. and goes into Sunday. The sheriff said he will decide on Tuesday when it will officially be broken down.
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