SR-082090-8B
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City Council Meeting 7-30-96
88
Santa Monica, california
JUt 3 0 1996
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: city staff
SUBJECT: Ordinance Amending Santa Monica Municipal Code section
3 . 12 . 350 By Deleting The Present Prohibi tion Against
standing On Public Sidewalks And Replacing It with A
Prohibition Against sitting Or standing On Public
Sidewalks In The Promenade During Specified Hours
Introduction
At its meeting of June 11, 1996, the city Council discussed
changing conditions
on the Third
Street Promenade
(the
"Promenade").
The Council directed staff to evaluate any
possibilities for improvement, including the possibility of
proposing an ordinance which would prohibit sitting or lying on
public sidewalks in the Promenade.
This Staff Report and the
accompanying proposed ordinance are presented to the Council in
response to that direction.
The ordinance would add a new
prohibition against sitting or lying on sidewalks in the Promenade
during
specified peak hours
and would
delete
an
old,
unconstitutional prohibition against standing on sidewalks.
Discussion
At the June 11, 1996, Council meeting, members of the public spoke
to the Council regarding their concerns about changing conditions
on the Promenade. Several speakers expressed concerns about new
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88
JUt 3 0 1996
and growing problems relating to anti-social behavior by some
individuals and groups in the promenade, congestion in the
Promenade during peak hours, and the potential or actual adverse
consequences to businesses of anti-social behavior and congestion
on the Promenade. Other speakers urged that any proposed
restrictions be carefully considered so that the Promenade could
continue to serve as a pleasant gathering place for all of the
City's residents and visitors.
written comments were also received from local business owners or
operators, visitors, neighborhood associations, and the Chamber of
Commerce concerning new developments in conditions on the
Promenade. The comments reflected concerns about groups and
individuals intimidating passersby, monopolizing the seating areas
around the topiary fountains, and obstructing pedestrian traffic by
sitting or lying on the public sidewalks.
Certain of the concerns expressed at the meeting involve safety
hazards relating to overcrowding on the Promenade during peak
hours. The Police and Fire Departments report that at peak hours,
which are Friday and Saturday evenings approximately between 8:00
p.m. and 1:00 a.m., as many as 25,000 City residents and visitors
may be present in the three blocks that constitute the Promenade.
Crowds may be even larger at special events or on weekend evenings
in the summertime. Moreover, with the recent opening of Pacific
Park on the municipal pier, safety personnel report that crowds on
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the Promenade have increased, particularly after Pacific Park
closes and the crowds move from there to the Promenade. Police and
Fire Department personnel report that when crowds in the Promenade
reach tens of thousands, it is imperative that the flow of
pedestrian traffic be unimpeded in order to preserve public safety.
various impediments to the flow of pedestrian traffic exist in the
Promenade. A number of stationary objects are located on the
Promenade sidewalks, and traffic must flow around them.
Additionally, crowds tend to gather and stand around some street
performers. These crowds also block pedestrian flow. The result
of these two factors is that, during peak hours, pedestrian traffic
tends to flow mainly at the edges of the Promenade, adjacent to the
buildings, because other areas are obstructed. Additional
obstructions during peak hours, by persons sitting or lying on
these portions of the sidewalk, can significantly compound the
hazards attendant upon many, many people attempting to move through
a small space.
Existing Municipal Code section 3.12.350 addresses sidewalk
blockage in business distr icts . However , it is not well conceived.
It provides that U[i]n any business district, no pedestrian shall
stop or stand on a sidewalk, except as near as is physically
possible to the building line or curb line.1I In the opinion of
legal staff, this prohibition would likely be found
unconsti tutional as overly broad since most persons using the
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sidewalk do so while standing. Moreover, the section is also vague
because it leaves uncertain where one cannot stand. Therefore,
the city Attorney has advised the Police Department to refrain from
issuing citations under this section because it is
unconstitutional.
The accompanying ordinance would replace the unconstitutional
language of section 3.12.350 with a new law similar to the
ordinance of the City of Seattle which was recently upheld as
constitutional by the federal appellate court. This new law would
preclude persons from lying or sitting down on a public sidewalk,
or upon a blanket, chair, stool, or any other object placed on the
public sidewalk during the. hours of 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. on
Friday and Saturday nights in the Third Street Promenade. The
ordinance would establish various exceptions to this general
prohibition. There would be exemptions for: si tting on the
sidewalk due to a medical emergencYi sitting on a sidewalk while in
a wheelchair or similar device; operating or doing business at a
commercial establishment which is conducted on the public sidewalk
pursuant to appropriate permits; sitting on a bench which is
located on a public sidewalk; and sitting on a public sidewalk in
a bus zone while waiting for a bus. The ordinance would further
provide that no violation would occur until after the potential
violator had been informed of the prohibition and persisted in
sitting or lying on the sidewalk.
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In the course of preparing this staff report, we were advised by
safety personnel that public safety in the Promenade is also
threatened by the presence of persons using skates or skateboards,
particularly during hours of peak congestion. In the past, the
Council has considered the possibility of a complete prohibition
against skating and skateboarding in the Promenade. The Council
also considered prohibiting only reckless skating. The council may
wish to revisit the issue of skating on the Promenade. For
example, the Council could consider banning skating and
skateboarding during peak hours in the same way that the presently
proposed ordinance would ban sitting or lying on the sidewalk
during such hours.
other concerns discussed at the Council meeting of June 11, 1996,
relate to anti-social conduct and possible misuse of the topiary
statuary in the Promenade. Much of the anti-social conduct
described at the Council meeting is already unlawful. As to that
conduct, no legislative response is necessary; the conduct may be
addressed through enforcement. Issues relating to the condition of
the topiary statuary and their use are being evaluated by staff.
One of these issues is whether replanting is necessary or
desirable. We understand that staff has not yet concluded its
evaluation.
staff is also evaluating whether City ordinances regulating noise
and street performance should be modified. Pending completion of
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this evaluation, the Police Department will continue to enforce
existing noise limits.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying ordinance be
approved on first reading.
~h J....,.c-~
~r
ames T. Butts, Jr., Chief of Police
ames Hone, Fire Marshall
"arsha Jones Moutrie, city Attorney
'laudia Thompson, Legal Admin. staff Asst.
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f:\atty\muni\laws\mjm\sit2.ord
City council Meeting 7-30-96
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER
(City council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA DELETING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL
CODE SECTION 3.12.350, RELATING TO THE USE OF PUBLIC
SIDEWALKS, AND REPLACING IT WITH A PROHIBITION
AGAINST SITTING OR LYING ON SIDEWALKS IN THE
THIRD STREET PROMENADE DURING SPECIFIED HOURS
WHEREAS, pUblic sidewalks are created and maintained for the
primary purpose of enabling pedestrians to safely and efficiently
move about from place to place; and
WHEREAS, ensuring the free flow of pedestrian traffic promotes
pUblic safety by, among other things, minimizing the risk that
pedestrians will jostle one another, collide, trip, or fall, and
ensuring that persons may avoid any dangerous situations which may
occur on public sidewalks; and
WHEREAS, ensuring the free flow of pedestrian traffic is
particularly important to the safety of the elderly, the very
young, disabled, vision-impaired persons, and others who are less
able to navigate through crowds and around obstacles or hazards;
and
WHEREAS, during certain peak hours, the public sidewalks in
The Third Street Promenade (the "Promenade") are prone to
significant crowding and congestion; and
WHEREAS, such crowded and congested conditions may hinder the
1
work of public safety personnel seeking immediate access to
emergency situations; and
WHEREAS, sitting or lying on the public sidewalks on the
Promenade during the hours of greatest congestion interferes with
the primary purposes of the public sidewalks, threatens public
safety, and damages the public welfare; and
WHEREAS, public sidewalks in commercial districts facilitate
the delivery of goods and services, and provide potential customers
with convenient access to gOOds and services; and
WHEREAS, the public welfare is promoted by economically
healthy commercial areas in the city which attract people to shop,
work and recreate; and
WHEREAS, economically healthy commercial areas provide easily
accessible goods and services, employment opportunities, the tax
revenues necessary to support essential public services, and the
economic productivity necessary to maintain and improve property
within these areas; and
WHEREAS, in some circumstances people sitting or lying on the
sidewalks deter many members of the public from frequenting
economically healthy areas, which contributes to undermining the
essential economic viability of those areas; and
WHEREAS, business failures and relocations can cause vacant
storefronts which contribute to a spiral of deterioration and
blight which harms the public health, safety and welfare; and
WHEREAS, there are numerous other places wi thin the City where
sitting or lying down can be accommodated without unduly
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interfering with the flow of pedestrian traffic,
impairing
commercial acti vi ty , threatening public safety or harming the
public welfare; and
WHEREAS, these numerous other places in the city include City
parks, beaches, common areas open to the public, and generally on
private property with the permission of the property owner,
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1.
Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 3.12.350 is
amended to read as follows:
3.12.350.
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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 inconsistencies and no further, is
4
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~
MARSHA JO S MOUTRIE
City Attorney
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