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Council upholds conditions on Venice gym after neighbors cite noise, vibration
Summary
After months of complaints from residents about loud impacts and vibrations from a gym beneath condominium units, the City Council adopted PLUM committee recommendations imposing operating and corrective conditions intended to reduce noise and preserve residential livability.
The Los Angeles City Council on Aug. 9 denied an appeal by a gym operator and approved a set of conditions intended to reduce noise and vibration from Powerhouse Gym, which operates beneath residential units in a mixed-use building in Venice.
Neighbors and condo owners described repeated, strong impacts from free weights and machines that they said “wake you up” and “feel like an earthquake.” George Shohat, representing the building’s homeowners association, said the gym’s operation had caused “terrible havoc” for residents and that seniors in HUD-subsidized units were using “earplugs and sleeping medication.” Resident Justin Dartis said he was preparing to sell his unit because the problem was intolerable.
The gym’s lawyer, Hillary Arrow Booth, told the council that the gym has spent money to mitigate noise — rubberizing weights, rearranging equipment and removing approximately 3,000 square feet of gear — and said a narrow change to a single operating hour was necessary to avoid putting the business out of operation. Booth said most of the gym’s equipment is free weights and weight machines and that restricting their use during a morning hour would make the facility unsustainable.
The Planning and Land Use Management Committee recommended a compromise: allow the gym to open at 6 a.m. but prohibit use of free weights and weight machines during the 6–7 a.m. hour. Committee chair Councilwoman Myszkowski said the measure aimed to balance business activity with the city’s obligation to preserve residents’ livability in a mixed-use building. The zoning administrator’s report and committee record documented multiple police calls and detailed inspections that supported corrective conditions.
Residents and other speakers told the council they doubted the gym would comply without strict enforcement and questioned whether the conditions would be sufficient. Supporters of the PLUM report noted the committee tailored conditions to the site, including noise-control measures, required periodic meetings with the vice or police unit to address ongoing enforcement and a schedule for compliance checks.
The council adopted the PLUM recommendation. The roll call showed 10 ayes; the item passed. The conditions include operational limits, noise mitigation measures and a requirement that the business meet with police vice unit staff to develop on-site practices and monitoring. Council members said the measures are intended to preserve residents’ ability to sleep and live in their homes while allowing commercial activity where it is already permitted by CUP with conditions.
If the corrective conditions fail to abate the disturbance, council members said the city can revisit the permit and other enforcement options. Neighbors said they will monitor compliance and report violations to code enforcement and the Police Department.
