Neighbors react after rowdy Potomac, Md. pool party: ‘Where was the county?’ - WTOP News (2024)

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Mindy Farber and John Camp came home from dinner on Saturday, May 25, and found their quiet neighborhood packed with cars.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Farber told WTOP.

The house near them on Stapleford Hall Drive had become the site of a reportedly raucous pool party, with tickets apparently being sold on social media for an event called “WetDreams Mansion Pool Party,” the couple said.

“I don’t think I’d advertise a party at my house as a ‘wet dreams’ party,” Camp said.

“People were just going up and down the streets, screaming profanities,” Farber said. “Women were coming out in extremely provocative clothes.”

Farber and Camp told WTOP they smelled drugs and saw illegal fireworks at the party.

‘Where was the county?’

Camp said he reached out to local police and fire departments.

Farber said when her husband called police and fire departments, they were “not helpful.”

“Where was the county when you call 911 and 311? Where were they?” Camp asked.

Camp said one police officer came to the scene the night of May 25, but did not approach the house.

Montgomery County police spokeswoman Shiera Goff told WTOP the department is investigating the party.

In an email to WTOP on Monday night, the county government said a “notice of violation” was issued to the property owners for illegal misuse “of their residential property for a public (for-profit) event.”

“This kind of large-scale commercial enterprise, especially one that disrupts the peace of our residential neighborhoods and violates county regulations, has no place in any neighborhood in Montgomery County. We are committed to protecting our community from these disruptive and illegal activities,” County spokesperson Scott Peterson said in a statement.

County Council President Andrew Friedson’s office told WTOP that Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services and Housing and Community Affairs are investigating along with other county entities, what could be, at minimum, a commercial use violation.

The six-bedroom Potomac house, listed on both Vrbo and Airbnb, was used as the site of the party.

Camp and Farber said attendees were able to purchase cabanas with liquor bottles and hookah pipes starting at $1,000 and going up to $2,000.

The party began around 5 p.m. Saturday and lasted five hours, according to the couple. The pool party appeared to be organized by the groups “Swag” and “Fresh Geek Events.”

Farber and Camp said they contacted state Del. Linda Foley (D-Dist. 15), who represents the area.

On Monday, Foley told WTOP that there were “indications” that sponsors of the party were going to host a similar event in the future.

“If current state laws cannot prevent this (kind of event) from happening in our neighborhoods, I’m investigating if state laws need to be put in place to protect our neighborhoods,” Foley said. “The streets are not equipped to handle that kind of a crowd. That kind of attendance is concerning, and how it was advertised.”

Foley added, “I have asked county officials to make sure that we could keep this from happening again.”

Camp said “a lot of professionals” live in the neighborhood, as well as kids.

Farber, Camp and Foley all said they do not want to ban parties completely from the neighborhood. Rather, they want to ban “for-profit” parties with larger crowds of people.

“I think the investigation should be: Where was the breakdown with the county?” Camp said, in reference to the ongoing investigation into the house party. “Because nobody did anything.”

WTOP’s Shayna Estulin contributed to this report.

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