places that are restricted. There’s a lot of house cleaning going on, getting groups back where they belong. Unfortunately, that takes the attention away from ordinary duties of public safety.”
Instructors who seek permits are happy City Hill is addressing the issue. They feel unregulated camps are taking advantage of Santa Monica’s generosity and are showing little respect for those who have paid their dues.
Pat Murphy, of Learn to Surf LA, has been pushing City Hall for years to come up with a better process for permits, having sent a letter to the City Council in 2006 stating that the permit process made it difficult for surf instructors to run viable businesses because of the lottery. No one knows from one season to the next if they will be able to obtain a permit, putting them in limbo.
“They should be providing permits for more than one year so that there is some predictability involved,” said Murphy, who had an Open Space permit this past summer. “Last year, we didn’t know we were going to get a permit until a month and a half before the season started. That’s not enough time to prepare and it forces people to scramble. It’s really just a crapshoot.”
Murphy also said permits should be issued to those groups with a proven track record and who have plenty of references instead of holding a lottery. That way, City Hall could feel comfortable knowing that instructors are qualified and will follow the rules, limiting the chance of something going wrong, exposing City Hall to a potential lawsuit.
“It just makes sense to me that (city officials) would want to know who they are dealing with, who’s in the water and that they are representing Santa Monica well,” Murphy said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 3, 2007. Read the original PDF.