As the moon rises, Main Street Santa Monica becomes one heinous mess of a nightlife zone, with swaying students spilling out of doorways, smokers choking the sidewalks, and uniformed and undercover cops lurking on every corner, all with crappy dance music serving as a soundtrack. Now neighbors are pissed and the city is trying to tighten the zoning regulations surrounding what actually designates a restaurant in an attempt to keep food service destinations from devolving into party central. Venice Patch reports that four businesses have been cited with compliance complaints, with The Victorian and Basement Bar among those at the center of the controversy. The venue has installed carpeting and beefed up security to put the hush on its customers. But that’s not the scariest part of the story.
More threatening than being awoken by a peeing, littering, jaywalking club-goer, a few voices at City Hall have actually suggested an all-out ban on speaking outdoors on Main Street at night. Fortunately, an attorney is quick to confirm that a ban on one’s outside voice would be unconstitutional. But the very idea of someone proposing such a prohibition is a little alarming, no? After all, we were promised we’d be fighting The Taliban abroad so we wouldn’t have to fight them at home.
Main Street’s Nighttime Popularity not so Popular With Neighbors [Patch]
