sr-84olympics info itemPD:TM:JFK:tm Santa Monica, California
INFORMATION ZTEM
T0: Mayo and City Council
FROM: i Staff
SUBJECT 84 Olympic Games
INTRODU ION
The City of Los Angeles will host the 23rd Olympiad from July 28
through August 12, 1984. At the request of the City Council,
this report was prepared as an overview of the potential concerns
and opportunities which the Olympic Games pose for the City of
Santa Monica. Also presented in this report is a procedure by
which staff will prepare a comprehensive report on the Olympics
for presentation to the City Council at the January 24, 1984
Council meeting. This second report will address all the issues
raised here as well as contain recommendations for Council
action.
BACKGROUND
Staff Approach to Planning for the Olympics
City staff views the Olympics in two ways. The first obligation
is to ensure that potential problems which may arise for
residents and visitors are foreseen and resolved. The City goal
should be to run as smoothly with the presence of the Olympics as
it does without them.
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The second objective of staff is to identify areas of opportunity
which the Olympic Games create. Over two billion television
viewers will watch portions of the games, and 200,000 visitors
are expected to come to this area. This is an opportunity for
Santa Monica to show the world that it is an inviting, beautiful
and diverse community, which is the objective of the Convention
and Visitor's Bureau's tourism promotion efforts. City streets,
parks and beaches should be as clean and safe as possible, and
tourist services should be improved and fully operational.
Staff through this information report and in the subsequent staff
report to Council will attempt to identify both problems and
opportunities and will recommend actions aimed at both minimizing
problems -and maximizing opportunities during this unique period.
Expected Impact of the Olympics
Before discussing the impact of the Olympic Games on Santa
Monica, it is appropriate to present a brief picture of what
effect Olympic related economic and population factors will have
on the greater Los Angeles area.
Zt is estimated that 8.5 million people will attend the events of
the Games, the majority of whom already live in Southern
California. Approximately 200,000 visitors will be in the Los
Angeles area during the Games. In addition, 14,000 athletes and
team officials plus 5,000 members of the Olympic family and
government officials will be in attendance. Olympic villages for
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the athletes have been established at UCLA and USC. UCLA, with
its close proximity to Santa Monica, will house approximately
8,000 U.S. and foreign athletes. The Los Angeles Olympic
Organizing Committee (LAOOC) has contracted with the
Miramar-Sheraton, the Huntley House and the Bay View Holiday Inn
(formerly the Inn at Santa Monica) to provide rooms for visiting
dignitaries and members of the Olympic "family".
Economic Research Associates (ERA), an independent Los Angeles
based research and consulting firm, has conducted a study and
concluded that the Olympic Games will inject $3.3 billion into
the local economy. This includes $68 million in state and local
tax revenue. The LAOOC has made a firm commitment that the games
will pay for them-selves and there will be no cost to the
taxpayers. This applies to the State Government, the County and
City of Los Angeles, and those cities where venues are located.
In effect, the LA00C's policy is to pay only for assistance in
terms of equipment and resources that they request in support of
a specific event. Presently, City staff is meeting with an LAOOC
representative, William Bedford, to negotiate a contract that
will specifically identify the financial responsibilities of the
LAOOC for Olympic related activities within Santa Monica.
Because Santa Monica College was chosen by the LAOOC as the venue
-site for the start of the Women's and Men's Marathons, Santa
Monica will be directly impacted by the Games. The Women's
Marathon, which is a first time Olympic event, will be held on
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August 5, 1984, at 8 a.m., with approximately 60 entrants. The
Men's Marathon will be held on August 12, 1984, starting at 5:15
p.m., with approximately 150 entrants. The late afternoon
starting time for the Men's Marathon was decided upon so that the
conclusion of the event will coincide with the closing Olympic
ceremony at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Both races will proceed
along a circuitous route, 8.3 miles of which is in Santa Monica,
finally concluding at the Coliseum.
Staff Planning Activities
Planning for both the marathons and security measures has been
underway since December 1981. At that time, the Chief of Police
appointed senior staff members as representatives to attend all
pertinent LAOOC meetings. The LAOOC then formed a subcommittee,
the Independent Cities Committee, composed of representatives
from all of the cities selected as venue sites of which SMPD is a
member. The committee is primarily involved in the Olympics
related security operations and the coordinating of the
inter-city marathon route.
In mid-1982, the City Manager directed that an intra-city
Olympics Committee be established to better coordinate the
efforts of all City departments. The .police department was
assigned to chair the committee, the principal purpose of which
is to identify potential Olympic related problems within each
department and to develop effective solutions. Included in the
committee is a representative from Santa Monica College because
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of its responsibilities as the marathon venue site. The
committee, which first met in September 1982, initially convened
on a quarterly basis. Currently, the committee meets monthly
with representatives from each city department in attendance.
The City Manager's Office and the Police Department will function
as a team to coordinate the writing of the Olympic report for the
January 24, 1984 City Council meeting. The report will be
developed in cooperation with each City Department Head and the
intra-city Olympic Committee. It will specify recommendations
for Council action including all plans and any resolutions or
ordinances as may be necessary. It will detail anticipated
revenues and expenditures, and will make budget modification
recommendations as appropriate. The timing of this report will
permit ordinances the Council may wish to adopt to be forwarded
to the City Attorney and subsequently returned and adopted prior
to the start of the Olympic tourist arrival.
The team will also act as liaison with City agencies and
committees involved in Olympics planning in order to generate and
coordinate appropriate activities in Santa Monica. To date, the
Convention and Visitor's Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce and the
Arts Commission have been advised of staff's planning activities
and solicited for information. Their participation will also be
detailed in the January 1984 report.
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ISSUES AND CONCERNS REGARDING THE OLYMPICS
The following is a description of the issues and opportunities
raised by the presence of the Olympics which have been identified
by city staff. The January 24 report to Council will respond to
each issue raised.
Airport
Santa Monica Airport is located within close proximity (3 - 15
miles) of eleven sport events. It is, therefore, expected to
experience a greater increase in air traffic than any other
general aviation airport in the area. More air traffic will
result in increased noise levels, more frequent violations of the
City's noise ordinance and an increase in demand for aircraft and
auto parking. There may also: be revenue opportunities associated
with increased airport activity.
City Attorne
During the period of the Olympics, complaints are anticipated
from homeowners that certain single-family residences are being
used for transient housing. Any influx of transient occupancy in
single-family neighborhoods is likely to generate complaints.
As a result of Olympic traffic congestion, it is likely that
there will be an increased number of accidents within the City.
Many persons involved in accidents may be foreign visitors. The
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City may end up as the defendent in lawsuits in which it has
little or no involvement because it is the only party to sue.
During the period prior to the Olympics, the City Attorney's
Office anticipates receiving an increased number of complaints of
the landlord-tenant variety. These complaints may arise out of
situations where landlords are seeking to participate in the
lucrative Olympic housing market at the expense of their exist-
ing tenants.
Civic Auditorium
The 1984 Olympics should not present any problems for the Civic
Auditorium. There are no activities scheduled for August 5 and
August 12, 1984, which are the dates of both the marathon events.
One possible impact on the Civic Auditorim may be the loss of a
trade show or conference due to lack of adequate housing.
The Olympic Arts Committee has expressed an interest in using the
facility for a presentation of contemporary music events,
however, their scheduling in this area is incomplete and no firm
commitment has been made by them.
For the Civic Auditorium, the Olympics are viewed as an oppor-
tunity for increased scheduling.
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Citv Clerk
The City Clerk's office may be expected to provide information
and referrals for assistance to Olympic visitors. Information
sought may include City statistics, services and activities
offered within the City, listings of foreign embassy offices,
passport offices, hospitals and so forth.
Finance Department
Business license issuance and inspection activities will be
significantly impacted due to the expected increase in the number
of street vendors in the city. It is anticipated that a large
percentage of these vendors will not obtain business licenses
until cited by roving inspectors. When cited, the vendors will
then proceed to City Hall to pay the business license tax and to
obtain a license. The over-the-counter requests will have an
impact on the Treasury because of the processing of cash, and on
Data Processing because of the printing of the licenses.
Fire Department
It is anticipated that there will be a significant increase of
vehicular traffic, which may cause a delay in response times.
Traffic accidents requiring paramedic intervention could also
result from the traffic problem.
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There will be language problems with foreign visitors unable to
speak English, who will be in need of emergency services and
unable to properly call or communicate with Fire Department
personnel.
Redeployment of personnel and apparatus may be required during
the Marathon events in order to provide an effective emergency
response capability in areas adjacent to the running course.
Increased airport use may result in the need for additional
aircraft emergency standbys by Fire Department personnel and
equipment. If heads of state and other dignitaries land at the
airport, a standby of personnel and equipment may be required.
Emergency response capability is significantly reduced during
these standby details.
General Services
It is estimated that during the period of the Olympics, refuse
collection will be approximately 10 percent higher than normal
because of the large number of quests staying in Santa Monica
residences. The increased population will also tax the sewer and
water facility usage by up to 10 percent. Portable restrooms may
have to be provided at certain locations at City expense. All of
the aforementioned facilities, as well as the streets and
sidewalks, will be put into the best possible condition prior to
the Olympics so that repairs and maintenance can be kept to a
minimum during the period of the games.
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The two marathons will put approximately the same personnel
demands on General Services as those needed on the 4th of July.
The entire Maintenance Division will be needed to clean up after
the two events are over.
In order to reduce street congestion and traffic, the issuance of
movie and construction permits will need to be curtailed. Block
permits for street closures and meter bags sales will need to be
curtailed as well.
Revenues could be realized if the City makes special arrangements
with private parking operations to use lots for the 14-day
Olympic period and for the two days of the marathons.
Library
The Library Department does not anticipate that any significant
additional demands will be placed on it by the influx of visitors
to the Olympics. It is expected that the greatest impact will be
£elt from people who already use the libraries requesting
information about current and past Olympic events and activities.
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Personnel
The Personnel Department is responsible for staffing the
Information Booth in the City Hall Lobby. As U.S. and foreign
visitors arrive in the area, there may be an increase in requests
for information which would interfere with employees performing
the basic work of the department.
Also, there is a lack of basic referral information for Olympic
events, housing, medical care, and other related social services.
City employees and volunteers may need to be trained to perform
referral and problem solving services.
Police Department
The Police Department has identified three major areas of
responsibility. First, the two marathons will need traffic and
crowd control. Preliminary planning is underway with four other
jurisdictions through which the marathon course is routed. All
department resources, Santa Monica College Police, and volun-
teers provided by LAOOC will be needed. Secondly, security for
the athletes, team officials and members, and VIP's must be
provided during their time in Santa Monica. The U.S. Secret
Service has the primary responsibility with the police department
functioning as a support unit. If necessary, additional support
will be available from the tactical teams of the F.B.I. and the
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Third, general police
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services and protection of the many domestic and foreign visitors
in the City, must be provided including 24-hour beach and park
patrol.
Foreign guests in hotels will require multi-language crime
prevention information. The Police Department will need to
develop this material and arrange for multi-language capability
in receiving calls to the Department.
Finally, it should be noted that Santa Monica College has been
selected as a training site for athletes in track and field and
team handball events. One hundred participants will train daily
at the facility, which will not be open to the public, for
approximately two weeks prior to the start of the actual events.
The department does not expect to be involved in security because
LAOOC has assumed responsibility for providing private security
officers to assist the college police during the two week
practice sessions.
Recreation and Parks
It is primarily the responsibility of Recreation and Parks to
insure that the City has a clean, well-tended appearance during
the period it is spotlighted by the Olympics. To that end, there
will be a need for increased litter and trash pick up and more
frequent restroom cleaning in Palisades Park and the beaches.
Beach lots also will need additional cleanup plus extra parking
lot attendants. The games can be used as an opportunity to
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display a clean and beautiful Santa Monica to visitors and
television viewers to enhance the City's tourism promotion
objectives.
Transportation
Due to the fact that the Municipal Bus Lines serve a much larger
area than just the City of Santa Monica, the potential impact of
the Olympics on our transit service is very substantial. Three
major Olympic venues will impede our service area. First, UCLA
with tennis exhibition (10,000 people), gymnastics (12,500
people) and the Olympics Village; second, Loyola Marymount with
weightlifting (4,500 attendees); third, Coliseum/Exposition Park
which will affect patronage on our Line 10 Freeway Express. In
addition, the two marathon events will cause a temporary
disruption of some of our Sunday service.
The following issues are being explored through the inter-agency
committees and informal working groups: Traffic congestion on
freeways and at UCLA and the concomitant need for bus only
streets or bus only lanes; increased use of regular service
necessitating "wildcat" schedules; access to UCLA from park and
ride lots; and ensuring adequate printed public information on
bus service and schedules.
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Community and Economic Development
Regarding economic development, the C/ED Department has
identified two concerns. The first is an anticipated increase in
the number of licensed and unlicensed street vendor operations,
which may result in enforcement, collection and licensing
problems. The second is the difficulty businesses may face
dealing with foreign currency exchange.
In terms of economic development, the Olympics are largely seen
as an opportunity for business and for the advance of the City's
tourism promotion objectives.
Regarding housing, the influx of visitors to the City and the
limited number of available hotel/motel rooms may result in
violations o£ the City's zoning regulations, such as
single-family homes being used for transient housing and the
erection of temporary housing structures such as tents. The
unlawful renting of garages or lots for parking recreational
vehicles or the parking of these vehicles on streets may create
problems. Another problem may be an increased need for emergency
shelter, as congestion may increase the difficulties for the
homeless and others may arrive in the City with expectations of
being able to find appropriate shelter but discover nothing is
available.
The community service function of the C/ED Department anticipates
problems in providing emergency health care services to those who
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do not have apporpriate health insurance. There may also be a
need for temporary first aid stations in the vicinity of the
beach. Disabled visitors may be faced with difficulty in
obtaining accessible accomodations and transportation.
The Santa Monica Pier facilities may be inadequate to handle the
expected increase use. Temporary restroom, telephone and water
fountain provisions may be required. There is also a concern
that a safe method of evacuating people from the western end of
the Pier be developed in time for the Olympics. Security, as
with the rest of the City, will need to be upgraded.
PREPARED BY: James Keane
Chief of Police "
Lieutenant Tom Mapes
Helen Benjamin
Administrative Analyst
Peggy C. Gardels
Assistant to the City Manager
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