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# Making Main Street more foot friendly
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/making-main-street-more-foot-friendly/
- Published: 2003-01-28T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T01:24:30.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Business, Main St, #archive-import

*Santa Monica Playhouse may get $75K from City Council*

*By Daily Press staff*

Merchants and shoppers want to revitalize Main Street so it’s more of a pleasure to walk along the sidewalks, eat outside and check out the latest sales in the stores.

But current city laws don’t allow much of that to happen at the moment. The City Council will consider tonight a new revitalization plan designed by the Main Street Merchants Association that would allow businesses to have outside dining, as well as menu boards and merchandise display tables on the sidewalks.

Various businesses have been cited recently by the city for having “sandwich boards” outside their shops that display information about the day’s sales, and lunch and dinner specials. Some businesses have had to pay as much as $500 in fines.

Council members Mike Feinstein and Pam O’Connor are spearheading the effort to clarify the laws. They want city officials to look into what could be changed to make life easier for Main Street businesses.

When the community first began map-ping out how Main Street should function more than a decade ago, it was collectively agreed upon that it should be pedestrian-oriented and have a villagelike atmosphere.

But the plan was never formally adopted. Current laws are confusing to interpret, leaving many merchants unsure of what they are allowed to do in front of their stores, business owners say.

Hundreds of letters have been submitted to the City Council by merchants and citizens which ask Main Street businesses to be allowed to have more outside dining and become more pedestrian friendly.

“This helps Main Street businesses improve their business and meet the demands of the public,” said Gary Gordon, executive director of the Main Street Merchants Association. “The public is very enthusiastic about this.”

The association will present its plan tonight at City Hall. The Council meeting begins at 5:45 p.m., however the plan will be discussed toward the end of the meeting. and artifacts from Santa Monica’s history. The museum presents changing exhibitions showcasing various aspects of the city history through lecture series, film showings, and a host of community events.

The museum’s funding request was prompted by the Outlook Newspaper’s donation of its entire archive of photographs and newspapers covering more than 120 years of Santa Monica. The museum is planning to preserve 250,000 images and negatives from the collection and catalogue 30,000 images to make them available to the public, of which 6,000 images would be on-line. The Council also plans to build a new library on Sixth Street and Santa Monica Boulevard. If the project is approved, it will to take about two years to complete. The council is expected to award a $136,845 contract to Beltmann Group, a company that will move the library’s contents in and out of the building.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/012803-04_01.jpg)

(Left) A passerby checks out the daily lunch special on the menu board outside of the Library Ale House on Monday. (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/012803-04_02.jpg)

(Left) A passerby checks out the daily lunch special on the menu board outside of the Library Ale House on Monday. (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 28, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/012803.pdf?ref=smdp.com)