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# Santa Monica Council advances 50-foot buffer zone around protested homes
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/protesters-could-face-new-restrictions-city-council-adopts-ordinance-to-protect-targeted-residences/
- Published: 2008-01-24T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T18:08:19.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Ordinance creates 50-foot buffer zone*

CITYWIDE Protesters planning to stage demonstrations at the homes of animal testers or the subjects of other volatile issues might soon have to take a step back, 50 feet to be precise.

The City Council on Tuesday adopted the first reading of an ordinance that creates a 50-foot buffer zone around residences being targeted by protesters. A second reading, formally putting the ordinance into effect, will be scheduled at a future council meeting.

The intent of the proposed law is to allow free speech while creating some privacy for the targeted homeowner.

If passed, City Hall would follow several other municipalities in Southern California that have passed similar measures. In Los Angeles, protesters are limited to a 100-foot distance while in San Diego County, picketers cannot come closer than 300 feet, according to Sgt. Jay Moroso of the Santa Monica Police Department.

Other cities have taken more restrictive measures — in San Diego, the City Council passed an outright ban on residential picketing in 1993.

There have been several residential protests in Santa Monica the past several years, most recently in March when animal rights activists staged a demonstration in front of the home of Nelson Freimer, a UCLA professor of human genetics whom activists alleged experiments on monkeys.

A few years ago, during a protest in Sunset Park, a resident in an unrelated home suffered a heart attack, according to city officials. While the heart attack has not been officially attributed to the protest, it is an example of how such activity could disrupt a neighborhood and cause complications.

Pamela Feodin, one of the protesters that has demonstrated in front of Freimer’s home, spoke out against the proposed ordinance on Tuesday, saying that the 50-foot buffer zone would just push the picketers closer to the homes of neighbors that have nothing to do with the subject of the demonstration.

“Our forefathers fought and died in order to give the public (the right) to redress our grievances to picket on taxpaid sidewalks and this is what I’ve done,” Feodin said.

Councilmember Kevin McKeown touched on Feodin’s concern, adding that Santa Monica is a dense city.

“While protesters may have an issue with a particular resident, they probably don’t have issue with people who live 50 feet away,” McKeown said.

Mayor Pro Tem Richard Bloom, who happened to be in the home of the heart attack victim during the protest, said he supports the ordinance, adding that security is something that is valued in residential neighborhoods.

“We are talking neighborhoods here and there are families present who experience this as well,” Bloom said.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/012408-02_01.jpg)

POLICE PRESENCE: Santa Monica Police officers protect a home that was targeted by animal rights protesters last year. (Photo: Photo courtesy)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 24, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/012408.pdf?ref=smdp.com)