The Florida resort that GOP nominee Donald Trump calls home could soon be closed down.
Officials in Palm Beach are trying to figure out how they will deal with the indefinite closure of a city road that runs near Trump’s estate at Mar-a-Lago. That road is being closed by the U.S. Secret Service as a security measure.
One remedy that’s been discussed by city officials is shutting down the Mar-a-Lago Club, which operates on that property.
The Palm Beach Daily Times reported recently that the Palm Beach Council this week directed staff members to research “what might be able to be done” regarding the closure of South Ocean Boulevard, which commenced on July 20.
Secret Service directed to the road to be closed following the assassination attempt against Trump that happened at a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
There’s a “curve” of the road that’s only 75 yards from Mar-a-Lago’s front door, Paul Eckloff, a former Secret Service agent, explained to the Daily News. That’s a lot shorter than recommendations that are made by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The recommendations say there should be a mandatory evacuation space of 106 yards for any cars, 130 yards for all vans or SUVs and roughly 213 yards for all small trucks, since they can be loaded up with explosive materials.
At this week’s meeting, Danielle Moore, the mayor of Palm Beach, accused the GOP nominee of trying to have the best of both worlds for himself.
Julie Araskog, a city council member, raised the issue of what might happen if the Mar-a-Lago Club were to re-open in the fall, which would come right as more people would flock to the region as it got cold where they lived and wasn’t as stunningly hot in Palm Beach.
Moore responded:
“In my mind, if the road is closed, the Mar-a-Lago Club is closed. 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.”
She added that it’s inconsistent that there is increased security in the area near Mar-a-Lago — which is the primary residence for Trump — at the same time that the Club wants to host hundreds of people at events.
As the mayor continued:
“You can’t have it both ways. Either the club’s open or not.”
Mar-a-Lago is allowed to operate as a private social club in Palm Beach thanks to an authorization the Town Council gave to Trump back in 1993. That was done under a “special exception use in a Palm Beach residential zoning district,” as the Daily News reported.
If the town’s government decides that any parts of the “declaration-of-use agreement” have been violated, it can revoke the occupational license for the club.
Trump is only allowed to live at the club because he fits under a zoning code in the town that says only a “bona fide employee” is allowed to live there.
If Palm Beach forces the closure of the club, it’s not certain whether Trump would still be able to live there.
