sr-022310-7cCity Council Meeting: February 23, 2010
Agenda Item: ~' "'~
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Lee E. Swain, Director of Public Works
Subject: Neighborhood Impacts of Group Exercise on the 4t" Street Median at
Adelaide Drive, the Stairs, and the Surrounding Neighborhood
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that Council
1) Review the actions already taken by staff to address neighborhood impacts
arising from use of the Adelaide Stairs and 4th Street median for fitness training
2) Approve the proposed ordinance regulating use of medians and parkways; and
3) Provide direction regarding additional possible actions relating to restrictions on
stair use and parking and to the possibility of providing alternative recreational
stairs.
Executive Summary
The 4th Street median south of Adelaide Drive and the stairs connecting Adelaide to
Santa Monica Canyon are regularly used by classes, groups, and individuals for fitness
training activities; neighbors have repeatedly expressed their concerns regarding a
range of adverse impacts upon their residential neighborhood. Last year, City staff
surveyed neighborhood residents and conducted two well-attended community
meetings which yielded a broad agreement on seven ways to address concerns.
Council reviewed these possibilities and gave direction on implementation. This report
summarizes the efforts undertaken since then and seeks additional Council direction on
restricting use of the stairs and other options for addressing the needs of both. residents
and members of the fitness community.
Background
This set of issues arises partly because of the physical characteristics of the setting.
The area surrounding Adelaide and 4th St. has always been an R1 neighborhood with
unusual attributes. These include the stellar views of Santa Monica Canyon and the
sea from Adelaide Drive, the exceptionally wide grassy median on 4th St. and the two
old, steep stairways connecting Adelaide Drive at the top of the bluff with Entrada Drive
in Santa Monica Canyon below. One of the stairways is located near the intersection of
Adelaide and 4th Streets in the Coastal Zone. The other is located about 700 feet to the
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east, outside the zone. These stairs have long been used for physical fitness training,
and this use has impacted the Adelaide neighborhood.
In the mid 1990's, residents petitioned the City to establish a preferential parking zone
to ease the parking problems created by a combination of two factors: the physical
characteristics of Adelaide Drive, which is narrow and can only accommodate parking
on one side, and the increasing numbers of persons flocking into the neighborhood for
fitness training. On March 26, 1996, the City Council adopted an ordinance establishing
a 24-hour preferential parking zone.
The Coastal Commission asserted jurisdiction and questioned the 24-hour restriction.
In response, the City modified its parking restriction so that permits would only be
required between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m., and reserved its right to challenge the
Commission's jurisdiction but filed an application for a Coastal Permit. That application
was denied, and litigation followed. In that litigation, the City challenged the
Commission's jurisdiction over preferential parking; and neighbors intervened.
Ultimately, the Coastal Commission issued the permit, and the litigation was dismissed.
In recent years, use of the stairs and median for .fitness training has increased.
Commercial activities such as "boot camps" and other group fitness training proliferated,
particularly on the median and stairs. Neighbors again turned to the City for assistance.
The Santa Monica Police Department began enforcing an older law that prohibits
activities other than walking and jogging on medians, and legal challenges were
threatened relating to the validity of that ordinance. The City surveyed residents of the
neighborhood and conducted two, well-attended community meetings.
On April 7, 2009, staff reported to Council and made the following recommendations:
restricting commercial and/or group use of the median, consolidating and updating
signage to provide direction to the nearest public restrooms and parking, providing
regularly scheduled trash pickup, exploring restricting access to the stairs and
strengthening parking restrictions, encouraging residents and stair users to form a
working group, and assessing the feasibility of providing alternate recreational stairs,
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perhaps connecting Palisades Park with the Annenberg Community Beach House. The
Council approved these suggestions, directing staff to move forward and report back.
Discussion
Most of the recommendations have been implemented. Signage has been consolidated
and improved. It directs members of the public to the public restroom and parking
facilities on Ocean Avenue and also to other stair ways. Regular trash pickup has been
instituted for the intersection of 4th and Adelaide. Additionally, although a "good
neighbor" working group was encouraged by the City, staff is not aware that a working
group made up of residents and users has yet formed.
Staff has also looked into grant opportunities to explore the feasibility of alternative
recreational stairs at Palisades Park with possible access to the Annenberg Community
Beach House; however no grant opportunities have been identified. Staff is unable to
recommend a new capital project at this time due to limited resources and financial
constraints.
As to the concerns about commercial use of the 4th Street median, legal staff has
drafted a proposed ordinance, which accompanies this report. It would delete the
current Municipal Code Section prohibiting the use of medians for any activity other than
jogging or walking, which is basically unenforceable. That section would be replaced
with two new prohibitions: one against using the median strips and City parkways for
any commercial or business purpose,. and the other against placing any exercise,
physical therapy or similar equipment on a median strip or parkway. These prohibitions
are recommended because they would address the .highest impact uses of the medians
and parkways which are the least compatible with residential settings. At the same
time, they would continue to allow individual and noncommercial group use of the
medians for walking, jogging, and passive recreation. In addition to establishing these
prohibitions, the proposed ordinance includes a statement of purpose, intended to guide
interpretation and enforcement, as well as a penalty provision.
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The issues of further restrictions on use of the stairs and on parking are more
challenging. Staff has investigated ownership of the stairs. Based on the results of that
investigation, staff believes that it may be possible to gate the eastern stairway so that it
could be closed at the top between dusk and dawn. This would have the advantage of
curtailing the stairs use for fitness training during hours when neighbors most need
quietude. However, the City of Los Angeles has reservations about any closure. And
both stairways are mentioned.in the City's coastal access plan, even though only the
western stairway is in the Coastal Zone. Therefore, staff needs Council's policy
guidance on whether to pursue the possibility of nighttime closure.
Similarly, staff seeks guidance on the possibility of attempting to further restrict parking.
The Coastal Commission will likely take the position that its approval is required for any
change in the current preferential parking restrictions. On the other hand, there
continues to be a legal basis for challenging the Commission's jurisdiction based on the
Vehicle Code provision that gives the City full authority to create preferential parking
zones. Whether to pursue this possible option is a policy decision for Council.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
Costs associated with adoption of the ordinance are minimal. It would be enforced by
existing personnel. Likewise, the costs of closing one stairway at night are minimal.
SMPD had indicated that a park ranger or other existing staff could close and open the
gate. Any litigation would be handled by the City Attorney's office.
Prepared by: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
~~ ~ ~_ ~,,
Lee E. Swain Rod Gould
Director of Public Works City Manager
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f:\mun i\share\laws\mjm\4thStMed ianORD022310
City Council Meeting: 2-23-2010 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE 4.20.010
RELATING TO THE USE OF MEDIAN PLANTING STRIPS AND PARKWAYS
WHEREAS, many of the City's residential and other streets are enhanced by
grassy median strips and parkways; and
WHEREAS, these medians and parkways enhance the aesthetic quality of
streets and neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, the grassy medians and, to a lesser extent parkways, also serve to
enhance residents' quality of life by providing spaces for limited recreation, including
walking, jogging and more passive activities, such as lounging or picnicking; and
WHEREAS, in recent years, persons have begun conducting commercial and
other high-impact activities on the medians and parkways including exercise classes,
physical therapy sessions, and weight training; and
WHEREAS, the medians and parkways are not intended, designed or maintained
for these uses; and
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WHEREAS, such high-impact and concentrated uses damage and degrade the
medians and parkways and otherwise negatively impact neighborhood quality of life;
and
WHEREAS, in order to preserve the medians and parkways for their intended
purposes, it is necessary to impose these reasonable restrictions upon their use.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 4.20.010 is hereby amended
to read as follows:
4.20.010 Use of median planting strips and parkways.
to~.,.,.,,,~o ~ ~tinn~ °dd°d by ~rd. ":^. Q^2CC~, ^dopt°d ~~2Li~vi
--r~.~-..,., ,
~UrpOSe:
(a) Median strips and parkways planted with grass
are intended to enhance the aesthetic qualities of
neighborhoods and streets and to also provide limited
opportunities for recreation including walking, logging
and respite. However, they are not intended for, and
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cannot sustain concentrated and high-impact use, .
including use for commercial or business purposes.
The following prohibitions are intended to preserve
grassy medians and parkways for these specified
purposes.
(b) Prohibitions
(1) No person shall place or use any
exercise, physical therapy ar similar equipment on a
median strip or parkway.
(2} No person shall use a median strip or
parkway for any commercial or business purpose.
(c) Penalties
Any person violating this section shad be guilty
of a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable by a
fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00
per violation or by imprisonment in the County Jail for
a period not exceeding six months, or by both fine
and imprisonment or shall be guilty of an infraction
which shall be punishable by a fine of not Tess than
One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) but not more than
Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.OOZ
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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 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:
~dc~
MA HA JONES MO RIE
City Yforn~~
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