Trump parties no fun for neighbors; council mulls limiting events requiring major road closures

President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence has become the White House of the South of sorts, but those who live in Palm Beach want to shut down the resort’s frequent, large parties because of road closures that cut the town into two.

The Palm Beach Town Council will consider a proposal Tuesday to “limit the number of events at Mar-a-Lago.” It is battling the Secret Service over shutting down the main road around the resort after the July 13 assassination attempt that nearly killed Mr. Trump.

Mar-a-Lago’s guests don’t necessarily contribute to the traffic congestion because they are pre-screened and bused into the 17-acre Mar-a-Lago estate from West Palm Beach.

Commissioners cited “the wrong optics” and said residents resent the security bubble around the resort that hinders their movements on Palm Beach. Meanwhile, hundreds of guests can stream into the club for parties and galas.

“Every day, every night, it’s a party at Mar-a-Lago,” Planning and Zoning Commissioner Victoria Donaldson said at last week’s hearing on the town’s traffic congestion. “And I think this is what is making people a little annoyed, the optics of … everybody having a great time at Mar-a-Lago and we can’t get across the road.”

Since his election to a second White House term on Nov. 5, Mr. Trump has hosted a series of large gatherings at the club and has welcomed a string of VIPs and world leaders.

Guests have included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Argentine President Javier Milei, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and a parade of contenders for Cabinet positions.

Mar-a-Lago hosts frequent, glitzy soirees chronicled in the news and on social media. On the streets outside, fuming residents wait hours in traffic to get around the narrow island.

“We keep seeing the holiday parties, and we’re all stuck,” Ms. Donaldson said.

The Secret Service erected the blockade around Mar-a-Lago this summer after a gunman shot Mr. Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet hit Mr. Trump’s ear. The shooter killed another rally attendee and injured two others. A second attempted assassin was arrested a month later at Mr. Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach.

On July 20, a week after the first assassination attempt, the Secret Service shut down a portion of South Ocean Boulevard, the main road running north to south on the 18-mile-long barrier island. The road runs alongside Mar-a-Lago, and the concrete barriers prevent anyone from driving by the resort. The barriers cut the island into two, blocking residents from driving through Palm Beach and causing gridlock.

The traffic problem has worsened as more people cram onto the island and into Mar-a-Lago for the busy winter season.

Frustrated town officials have threatened to shut down the resort, which is in a residential area. Mar-a-Lago can hold events through a special agreement with the town that officials are considering yanking.

“In my mind, if the road is closed, the Mar-a-Lago Club is closed,” Palm Beach Mayor Danielle Moore said at a Town Council meeting in August. “There’s no way in God’s green earth that they can bring 350 people into that club. It’s completely illogical that you’ve got a road closed, and then you’re going to let 350 strangers into your club.”

A spokesperson for the resort did not respond to an inquiry from The Washington Times, nor did a representative for the Town Council.

The town has done nothing to stop the Mar-a-Lago gatherings, but the threat of action increased after the Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously on Dec. 3 to limit the resort’s parties as part of traffic mitigation recommendations they will deliver to the council on Tuesday.

“That’s a residential neighborhood, and it’s clearly not being used in a residential [way],” one commissioner said. “I know the mayor and the town attorney are working on it, but as for residents, it’s very frustrating that that’s happening.”

The Secret Service closed the same road in front of Mar-a-Lago when Mr. Trump was president but implemented the restrictions only when Mr. Trump was at the resort.

Although the Secret Service agreed in August to lift the traffic restrictions when Mr. Trump is not in town, the president-elect and his transition team aren’t going anywhere for a while. They are hunkered down at Mar-a-Lago as they plan his new administration.

Mr. Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

The former and future president moved to Mar-a-Lago after he left office in January 2021 and made the resort his permanent residence.

Through a spokesperson, he made it clear that he did not want to disrupt the flow of traffic in the town.

“President Trump, the Trump family and the Mar-a-Lago Club do not want to inconvenience anyone, especially their neighbors and greater community in Palm Beach,” a Trump family representative said in a news release obtained by the Palm Beach Civic Association. “The Trumps have been members of the community for 30 years. It is their home, and they share the sentiments of fellow town residents.”