Bayside considering restricting performers
THIRD STREET PROMENADE — Street performers here have become too loud for their own good, according to merchants, shoppers and the street performers themselves.
“I don’t even try to come and play at night or on the weekends. It’s just too crowded and too noisy,” said aspiring singer/song-writer Mary Wild, a native of Italy who came to Santa Monica two months ago after hearing about the Promenade’s legacy of live performers who have gone on to sign lucrative record deals.
“After 6 p.m., it just gets too competitive,” Wild said as she packed up her acoustic guitar, microphone and speaker following a performance Tuesday afternoon. “You have three or four or five people jamming, and they just drown you out.”
“After 6 p.m., it just gets too competitive.” — MARY WILD Singer/songwriter
Wild isn’t the only one concerned. The noise issue surfaced Tuesday during a meeting of members of the Bayside District Corp., a nonprofit organization that manages downtown in conjunction with City Hall. Members of Bayside’s land and asset management committee discussed ways in which to modify a law regulating street performances to make it easier for police officers and a liaison hired by Bayside to catch repeat offenders in the act.
“We have an ongoing noise problem, and we need to discuss solutions,” said Kathleen Rawson, executive director of Bayside. “Enforcement is slowly improving, but we still have some basic decisions to make.”
For some time, city officials have received complaints from merchants, residents and visitors about the level of noise created by street performers. This led the City Council in 1999 to pass a law regulating the number of performers per block and the level of noise they are allowed to create — 87 decibels during the day and 107 decibels at night. The law also requires performers to rotate locations every two hours.
The law seemed to work at first, performers said, but after a while they began to see a lack of consistent enforcement, which led some performers to crank up the volume without consequence. This created a domino effect, leading to more and more performers turning up the dial to compete for the attention, and the money, of passing people.
“They just don’t have money for enforcement,” said veteran street performer William Roberts as he played soothing acoustic music on his guitar near the Famima market on the Promenade. “Some performers feel entitled, like they run the show, so they think they can get away with anything … Without performers, the Promenade would be just like any other mall, but there has to be something the city can do to protect those who are following the rules and punish those who insist on breaking them.”
Currently, officers must take a reading of the performer’s decibel level, which can take anywhere from five to 30 seconds for an accurate reading, police said. During that time, a performer can turn down the volume and avoid getting a ticket.
What many often do is turn down the volume when they see police coming from a block away, and turn the volume back up once the officers leave, police said.
If a performer receives two citations by officers, they can have their permits for performing revoked and be banned from performing on the Promenade for six months, Bayside officials said.
Police said they have stepped up enforcement of the law and have issued several citations, which could lead to the revocation of three performers’ permits.
Stephen Bradford, Bayside’s venue manager, is also responsible for monitoring the performers to make sure they are complying with the law, but he is not a sworn officer, nor does he carry a weapon. He is also not allowed to issue a citation for violating the law.
“That’s a problem,” Bradford said. “The other night, a performer was arrested and another charged with interfering with a police officer. It got really hairy, with people threatening police. If you put someone in that situation who is not trained nor has the authority to arrest, that could be dicey.”
Bradford recommended hiring more officers “as the best solution.”
Other members of Bayside suggested the law be changed to further limit the number of performers per block. Currently, those playing music must be 40 feet from one another, essentially limiting the number of performers per block to 40. Extending the limit to 50 feet could further reduce the number of performers, which has the potential to lower the noise level, Bayside members said.
There was also talk of having the City Council lower the decibel level further to help eliminate loud acts.
The Bayside committee will report to the Bayside board, which could make recommendations to the City Council to restructure the ordinance or hire more officers for the Promenade beat.
“Something needs to be done,” said political activist Vincent Garofalo, who can often be seen on the Promenade. “Street performers add an ambiance to the Promenade, but at what cost? I’ve been coming here for six years, and it’s getting harder and harder to have an intelligent conversation. It really has become difficult to work here.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 19, 2006. Read the original PDF.