Street Performers’ Emergency Bill Is Tabled

Carolanne Sudderth
Mirror Staff Writer

Attempts to push through long-considered amendments to the street performers’ law as an emergency ordinance stalled at the Santa Monica City Council meeting Tuesday night. In response to suggestions from 30 speakers, most of whom were themselves either street performers or City officials, members of the Council proposed so many additional changes that City Attorney Marsha Jones Moutrie finally said that the number of changes the Council wanted would preclude her office from presenting them with a revised document until next week.
   Proposed changes to the current ordinance include: Umbrellas, canopies, and tents would be prohibited unless specifically authorized by the City.
   All violations (of this ordinance) would be downgraded to infractions.
   Performance hours would be lengthened on holidays as well as on weekends.
   "Donative vending” would be totally eliminated.
   Equipment, furniture, and props would be limited to that which can be carried by one person in one trip.
   Sandwich boards would be prohibited. Performers and vendors would be required to rotate every 2 hours on even-numbered hours at least 120’ in a north-south direction.
   The number of items that can be displayed for sale at any one time would be limited to five. (This would not apply to heartland vendors, some of whom sell bumper stickers.)
   Ten feet of distance would be required between performers and forty feet between equipment and stores. Heartland vendors ( those whose wares make political statements) would be restricted to one table 4’ x 8’ x 3’(height). All others, to 4’ x 4’ x 3’. “It’s not perfect, but I think it’s something everybody can live with,” Kathleen Rawson said. Director of the Bayside District Corp., Rawson chaired the working group that formulated the ordinance.
   Moutrie said the revisions would make the law easier to understand and easier to enforce.
   The performers were divided on the rotation issue. Some favored it because of the difficulty of finding a good spot.
   Others, including one-man band Arthur Nakane, objected, saying it was unsafe. “ One time I counted 42 performers,” Nakane said. “Can you imagine the chaos with 42 performers moving at once?” He then blew a note on a large wooden train whistle that he uses to clear a path through crowds.
    Still others said that artists risked damaging their paintings if required to move every two hours.
   All agreed that the council should consider the amendments carefully. As an emergency ordinance, it would be effective immediately on passage by the Council. One handwriting analyst, who claimed an Ivy League Law degree, threatened a lawsuit if the ordinance passed. “I shall surely bring a broad-based lawsuit against the city. “ I can put $100,000 worth of effort to this without spending money and I shall certainly do so if you pass this ordinance.
   Richard Bloom moved to amend the ordinance to exempt vendors from the rotation requirement. Council members Michael Feinstein and Kevin McKeown countered, Feinstein arguing that the ordinance would set different standards for vendors, McKeown saying that requiring vendors to move, and move quickly would ensure that they could to do so in the event of an emergency. The motion failed 5-2, with only Mayor Pam O’Connor joining Bloom in support.
   After the table size limit was established to everyone’s satisfaction, there was some discussion as to the number of chairs that could be placed around the tables and whether chairs must be inside the area allotted for tables.