Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Neighbors urge council to relocate Santa Monica Trapeze School, citing privacy and noise
Summary
Multiple Dewey Street and Mar Vista residents told the City Council that the city-approved Santa Monica Trapeze School, sited adjacent to single-family homes, is "fundamentally incompatible" with the neighborhood and asked the council to relocate it to a commercial or industrial site or require relocation terms.
Dozens of neighbors told the Santa Monica City Council on April 14 that a newly permitted trapeze school near Dewey Street has created severe privacy and quality-of-life concerns for adjacent residents.
At the start of public comment, Patrick Bolick, a Los Angeles business owner, said the project "is fundamentally incompatible with the neighborhood it will border," arguing that the aerial platform, amplified voices and music, public crowds and seven-days-a-week hours placed 30 to 35 feet from private yards create an unmitigable intrusion. Other Dewey Street neighbors described doorbell surveillance, lights, and an increase in foot traffic; one speaker said the petition opposing the site had grown to about 350 signatures.
Neighbors said they appreciated staff and council engagement since their March letter and thanked Deputy City Manager Peter James and Public Works Director Chris Dishlip for meeting with residents, but several said the only acceptable outcome is relocation to a nonresidential site. "If this were placed directly behind your home, would mitigation be enough or would you expect action?" one resident asked the council, urging immediate relocation rather than mitigation.
Why it matters: The dispute raises land-use questions about compatibility of commercial amusement uses at the residential edge of the airport-adjacent neighborhood and highlights the limits of post-permit mitigation when neighbors say physical sightlines and near-constant operations cannot be fixed by noise or schedule conditions.
What council heard: Speakers described repeated failures of notification and asked the city to prioritize relocation solutions. City staff and council acknowledged recent staff outreach and onsite visits; Deputy City Manager Peter James told the council staff had engaged directly with neighbors and the operator and was exploring options. Residents urged council to use its authority to require a commercial/industrial relocation or to require the operator to find a site better suited to a high-intensity public attraction.
Next steps: Council did not take a final vote on the trapeze school's permit at the meeting but the volume of public opposition prompted multiple council members to press staff for expedited follow-up. Staff has been asked to continue direct engagement with neighbors and to return with options that include relocation pathways or enforceable mitigation and communications protocols.
