> ## 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. # Space odyssey: Dealerships continue to grapple for room - URL: https://www.smdp.com/space-odyssey-dealerships-continue-to-grapple-for-room/ - Published: 2005-06-21T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T07:16:45.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Business, Santa Monica, #archive-import “I don’t think Santa Monica has ever given any special favors to dealers,” said Fred Robbins, who owned a Santa Monica BMW dealership through the early ’90s. There is just no practical solution to the problem, Bar-El said. Forcing dealers to unload on-site would leave them with even less lot space for inventory, possibly crippling business. Many dealerships don’t have the space for trucks that are at least three times longer than the average SUV. Plans to move inventory to a central location on the eastern end of Olympic Boulevard have been batted around for years, but the reality is impractical, Bar-El said. Dealers would have to drive each individual car to the lot, inconveniencing employees and customers alike. City Councilman Herb Katz, whose wife manages the Santa Monica Mercedes Benz dealership and whose architectural firm works with dealerships in the city, said the side streets off of Santa Monica Boulevard are wide enough to easily accommodate both residents and trucks without any conflict. While they may be annoyed, the situation poses no real threat to residents. “I’m sure there are some people who wish the car dealers would just leave town,” Katz said. “But where do they think all the money comes from for all the social programs they want?” The push to revise auto dealership standards began in 2001, when the Santa Monica Auto Dealers Association (SMADA), which represents many of the city’s dealers through the chamber of commerce, confronted City Hall with its grievances. They argue that the rules governing dealerships are so restrictive they make competition with dealerships outside of Santa Monica impossible. If dealers were to continue to invest in the city, according to the SMADA, some revisions had to be made. Four years later, most car dealers are now pleased with City Hall’s “good faith efforts” to work with them after years of struggle, said Chris Harding, a lawyer representing SMADA. But tensions between dealers and their neighboring residents continue. Cramped conditions have caused the two groups to scuffle over everything from noise control to parking. Car dealerships started setting up shop on the strip of Santa Monica Boulevard between Ninth Street and the city’s eastern edge during the 1950s. Half a century later, the surrounding areas have become intensely developed with homes, apartments and businesses — turning a once sprawling area into an overcrowded corridor where residents and businesses must compete for space and parking. When combined with the increased pressure car dealers must face to make a profit, the situation is ripe for conflict, according to officials within City Hall. Both sides have accused officials of ignoring their needs in the past. Dealers have long complained that restrictive zoning laws do not give them space to store inventory, or even allow for their employees to park. Meanwhile, residents in the Mid-City neighborhood have complained about everything from test drivers who speed down residential streets to a perceived general disrespect from car dealerships towards their neighbors, said Joan Charles, former president of the now-defunct Mid-City Neighbors neighborhood group. And parking shortages have been a major cause of conflict for years. The revised standards address the parking deficit with multi-story garages in residentially zoned lots, which would be built and paid for by the individual dealers. The provisions would only allow dealerships to build on lots they already own but have been largely unable to use because of city zoning laws restricting commercial activity. All garages would have to comply with zoning standards, so a dealer couldn’t build an obtrusively large structure. But some residents are expected to be opposed to new development in the area, Bar-El said, fearing the structures will ruin the residential feel of the neighborhood or increase traffic down side streets. “It’s a mixed reaction,” she said. The new standards also will give dealers the option to increase the size of their showrooms and build underground parking, although few dealers likely will, Harding said. “It’s all about flexibility,” he said. “It is important to have the options.” While the new provisions will go a long way towards repairing dealer-City Hall relations, they will not solve all problems dealers face in Santa Monica. The city’s dealers will still operate on lots much smaller than those in competing Orange County, where sprawling auto malls shape the landscape, said Robbins, who now has a dealership in Encino. Still, Harding said the provisions will grant some relief to dealers. He said he hopes the provisions also will reduce hostility with residents. “Dealers do not want to be at odds with their neighbors,” he said. “Their neighbors are their customers.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/062105-15_01.jpg) (Photo: Rob Wynne/Special) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 21, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/062105.pdf?ref=smdp.com)