> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Cleanliness, safety and vagrancy are top priority - URL: https://www.smdp.com/cleanliness-safety-and-vagrancy-are-top-priority/ - Published: 2003-04-30T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T02:06:28.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Business, Downtown, #archive-import, Homeless *Bayside to focus on safety, marketing, relationships* A group of officials charged with managing downtown recently ranked the most critical issues facing businesses in Santa Monica. As in years past, the cleanliness and safety of the Third Street Promenade are the biggest concerns for merchants, residents and tourists. The board of directors for the Bayside District Corp., a nonprofit organization that runs downtown with the city, recently placed cleanliness and vagrancy as their top priorities, followed by parking and traffic issues. With a macro perspective in mind, officials said they can now make the most of their limited resources. Balancing the mix of retail and restaurant merchants downtown came in as the third priority, according to a tally of board members’ votes. Bayside plans to increase its marketing efforts, which is its fourth priority. Strengthening Bayside’s relationship with neighboring communities and the Santa Monica Pier placed as the fifth priority. “This is the top of the list,” said John Warfel, chair of Bayside’s board. “This is where we want to focus our energies going forward.” Board members said they ranked cleanliness and vagrancy first for a number of reasons. Because of its aging infrastructure, the Promenade requires daily maintenance to keep it competitive. The long-standing vagrancy issue comes from complaints by tourists and business owners who say consumers are turned off by excessive panhandling, and apparent safety and health concerns posed by Santa Monica’s large homeless population, board members said. Two laws aimed at curbing Santa Monica’s homeless population were passed last fall. One, which prohibits public feedings in outdoor spaces, is tied up in a First Amendment lawsuit and not currently being enforced. Police recently began issuing warnings to violators of the second law, which bans sleeping in doorways downtown. Parking and traffic issues are second most important to the success of businesses downtown, board members said. Many shoppers are turned away from downtown Santa Monica because of heavy congestion and the difficulty of finding a parking space, officials said. A plan that combines building new parking structures and upgrading the existing ones is currently winding its way through the city’s review and approval process. Bayside also hopes to establish a comprehensive valet parking plan for visiting shoppers. Board members ranked as third most important the ambiance created by the mix of retail and restaurant venues downtown — as well as the mix of chain stores with independent businesses. Many blame the high rents being charged downtown for the decline in restaurants. The Promenade Task Force, a group formed to address that issue along the Promenade, recently drafted a series of recommendations which are headed to the Santa Monica City Council for approval. The suggestions would make it easier for restaurants to open or expand their outdoor dining. It also would ease restrictions on “sandwich board” sidewalk advertisements, while increasing the number of vending carts, among other things. To protect the unique character of the Promenade, the board agreed to recommend limiting retailers to 50 feet of store-front and offer incentives to independently owned businesses. Marketing efforts were deemed the fourth most important issue by Bayside board members. Planning for the holiday shopping season already has begun and board members said they hope Santa Monica will have another successful year. Last year, the Promenade alone saw a 17 percent spike in fourth quarter sales over the previous year. Cooperative campaigns with a number of newspapers and radio stations will be accompanied by the return of “Winterlit,” an event that attracted thousands of visitors to the Promenade last year with celebrity appearances and artificial snow. Though Winterlit cost $500,000, officials said it was worth the price tag because of the amount of television and newspaper coverage it attracted. The “Scrooge” campaign also will return to downtown this winter. This will be the third year for the Dr. Seuss-themed campaign, where a costumed Scrooge surprises shoppers and reluctantly hands over gift certificates. Also on Bayside’s top five list is building on its relationship with its neighbors, including Santa Monica Place and the Santa Monica Pier. By working coopera-tively, board members said they hoped to solidify Santa Monica and make it an even more attractive destination. “We’ve got all these beautiful venues that people come to and we need to keep that connected,” said Ruth Ewell, a board member and owner of the Ye Olde King’s Head pub downtown. “We don’t want to lose track of these big issues,” she added. “They will be at the forefront of what is our charge.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 30, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/043003.pdf?ref=smdp.com)