O2271F:\atty\m u n i\share\laws\mj m\P romen adeBenchesOrd 2d
City Council Meeting: September 9, 2008 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2271 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA PROHIBITING SOLICITING FROM PUBLIC CHAIRS AND
BENCHES ON THE THIRD STREET PROMENADE
WHEREAS, the Third Street Promenade is a three-block pedestrian street in the
heart of Santa Monica's downtown and a major attraction for residents, workers and
visitors; ahd
WHEREAS, tens of thousands of people visit the Promenade and adjacent areas
of the Transit Mall every week; and
WHEREAS, among the visitors to the Promenade and Transit Mall are many
elderly people, young children, persons with limited mobility and others who need to sit
and rest during visits to the Promenade; and
WHEREAS, the Promenade and Transit Mall have a very limited seating capacity
relative to their number of visitors; and
WHEREAS, the public benches and chairs on the Promenade provide seating for
only about 100 people; and
WHEREAS, adjacent areas of the Transit Mall have seating for only about 200;
and
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WHEREAS, during more crowded times, there are as many as 5,000 to 10,000
people per block on the Promenade; and adjacent Transit Mall
WHEREAS, because the amount of public seating is so very low relative to the
number of visitors and because many visitors have special needs for respite, the City
must preserve the shared use of the limited seating for its purpose of facilitating
temporary respite; and
WHEREAS, panhandling and other forms of solicitation are very common on the
Promenade and adjacent Transit Mall; and
WHEREAS, persons soliciting donations have begun using the Promenade and
Transit Mall chairs and benches as a location for their activity; and
WHEREAS, such persons tend to locate on one chair or bench and use it for an
extended period of time as long as several hours or more; and;
WHEREAS, this extended use of the public seating for extended periods of time
for personal gain monopolizes the limited seating and defeats its purpose of shared
temporary use; and
WHEREAS, in order to preserve shared use of the Promenade and Transit Mall
seating, the City Council has already prohibited use of the public seating for street
performance; and
WHEREAS, in order to further protect shared usage of the limited seating, it is
also necessary to prohibit solicitation from public benches and chairs on the
Promenade; and
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WHEREAS, prohibiting solicitation from the chairs and benches will not prohibit
any person or groups of persons, including panhandlers and other solicitors from using
the street furniture for temporary respite; it will merely ensure shared use; and
WHEREAS, prohibiting solicitation from the street furniture will not discriminate
based upon the content of any solicitors message; rather, if will simply restrict the
location of the activity of solicitation; and
WHEREAS, prohibiting solicitation from street furniture will not prohibit anyone
from soliciting on the Promenade or elsewhere; merely from using the street furniture for
that activity; and
WHEREAS, enacting this prohibition will ensure that the chairs and benches on
the Third Street Promenade and adjacent Transit Mall are available for shared use by
all who need temporary respite.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 4.54 is hereby amended by
adding Section 4.54.035 to read as follows:
4.54.035 Soliciting is prohibited while seated on
or otherwise using a public bench or chair on the Third
Street Promenade or on either Santa Monica Boulevard or
Broadway in the blocks between the west side of Second
Street and the east side of Fourth Street.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such
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inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any .section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would
have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage
of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the
official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This. Ordinance shall become
effective 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
I
MA HA J S MO RIE
City ttorn
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Approved and adopted this 16th day of September, 2008.
State of California )
County of Los Angeles) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Maria Stewart, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that the
foregoing Ordinance No. 2271 (CCS) had its introduction on July 23`d, 2008, and was
adopted at the Santa Monica City Couhcil meeting held on September 16'h, 2008, by the
following vote:
Ayes: Council members: Genser, Holbrook, McKeown, O'Connor, Shriver
Mayor Katz, Mayor Pro Tem Bloom
Noes: Council members: None
Abstain: Council members: None
Absent: Council members: None
A summary of Ordinance No. 2271 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to California
Government Code Section 40806.
ATTEST:
Maria Stewart, City Clerk