Council Backs New Rules for Street Performers

Street performers in Santa Monica will be allowed to perform for more hours and at higher noise levels, but they won’t be able to dictate the prices of any merchandise they might want to sell, city officials said Wednesday.

In a 4-3 vote, City Council members voted that street performers must offer their compact discs, T-shirts and other wares to the public for a donation, and must post signs to that effect.

Mayor Pam O’Connor voted against the ordinance, saying that it lacked appropriate exemptions for vendors of newsletters, pamphlets and bumper stickers.

Deputy City Atty. Barry Rosenbaum said the ordinance represented a loosening of most of the restrictions that apply to street performers. It increases the total number of hours during which performances are allowed from 68.5 hours to 100.5 hours a week and raises the acceptable noise levels for performers during the Third Street Promenade’s busiest hours.

Ned Landin, a guitarist who performs on the Promenade, said he regarded the restrictions on merchandise sales as an abridgment of free speech. He said performers have been working with lawyers on possible legal challenges to the ordinance.

The law will take effect 30 days after its second reading, which Rosenbaum said will probably take place Oct. 14.