The long term fate of a local recreation institution remains unclear after Santa Monica City Council approved of a new tenant for its space on the Santa Monica Pier.
At Tuesday’s Council meeting, direction was unanimously given to the City Manager to negotiate and execute a License Agreement with Santa Monica Amusements at 370 Santa Monica Pier, a spot currently occupied by the Santa Monica Trapeze School. Santa Monica Amusements, which also operates Pacific Park, intends to use the 10,000 sq ft space for an obstacle "Rope Course," a junior version of the course, a 30-ft tall climbing tower and a Pier history museum. The three-year license would pay the city a minimum of $300,000 per year, plus percentage rent participation costs.
An agreement with Santa Monica Amusements would mean the end of an era for trapeze arts on the Pier, a 17-year relationship that began as Trapeze School New York, rebranded as Santa Monica Trapeze School this past year under the leadership of owner Kenna Stevens. The license to Trapeze School New York expired in 2017, with the location operating on a month-to-month basis since that time. Council-approved Pier Leasing Guidelines dictate that when leases expire, "opportunities must be made available to the public in an open and competitive process," with the City soliciting proposals for short-term use. The short-term duration for usage is due to the upcoming Pier Bridge replacement project, which "provides an opportunity for the City to work with stakeholders to reimagine uses on the Pier," per the City Staff Report on the subject.
Following an evaluation process, an evaluation panel recommended accepting the Santa Monica Amusements’ proposal. Generally, leases of three years duration or shorter don’t require Council approval, however Council authorization was requested by staff due to the company being an existing Pier tenant. Operators are discouraged from having multiple Pier leases unless there is a finding of "exceptional community benefit," with staff stating that the inclusion of a history museum fulfills benefit guidelines.
Pacific Park Vice President and General Manager Jeff Klocke called Stevens an "amazing neighbor" on the Pier, and stated that a short-term license agreement was prepared to allow Stevens to operate "through the transition," which would be through at least December.
"In our opinion, we’d love her to stay in the space through December, and if she finds a location somewhere in Santa Monica, which we are super hopeful she does, in whatever way to support her … we’re willing to do whatever it takes," Klocke said. "We’ve had a longstanding partnership with her, and this is a challenging situation, but we’re here to try and help."
City Staff, including the Economic Development Team, has been working with Stevens to find "viable" relocation opportunities, but has hit snags with several of the options. Obstacles include City Municipal Code limiting structures at city parks as well as a needed 40 feet of sky clearance for mid-air trapeze, potentially ruling out a space at the Santa Monica Airport due to the departure and arrival of flights. However, many of the evening’s stakeholders remained thinking that the trapeze school is Pier-worthy, including Vice Mayor Lana Negrete, who said "as much as" she loves Pacific Park, the organization is "the big guys" taking over the space.
"It’s really sad, it’s a unique experience, it belongs on the Pier," Negrete said. "I myself got to fly, out of fear, when my daughter had her birthday party there … I’m afraid of heights but that all went away when I had that experience, and I thought, wow, this is the place to have it. You don’t want to be in the parking lot in a business park, it belongs on the beach. Not just because of the view that you have, but it’s just this really unique experience that kind of draws both locals and tourists alike."
Councilmember Oscar de la Torre added that while the Santa Monica Amusements proposal "checks a lot of boxes" regarding the Pier Leasing Guidelines, he found it "heartbreaking" that the trapeze community will be displaced.
"Whatever we can do as a city to keep the [school] still [operating] around the beach area, I’m very interested in some [solutions to] make that happen," de la Torre said.
One area in the proximity of the Pier is the space surrounding old Muscle Beach, with Mayor Phil Brock stating it may be worth asking the California Coastal Commission if that space can be used, even if an answer from the commission in the short-term is unlikely. Other potential new spaces discussed included an activation at Lot 27, formerly the Parking Structure 3 site on 4th St between Santa Monica Blvd and Arizona Ave. The space is also currently slated to hold a 360-degree immersive ‘dome’ activation using children’s animated character Haibu as a draw.
Another spot broached was 19th St Community Garden, which Stevens said would be a potential challenge for her setup, which takes up the space of about three tennis courts side-by-side.
"While it would be a very tight fit for us, we would celebrate that land, it would see more love than it has ever seen," Stevens told Council. "I want the school to stay in Santa Monica because for 14 years, I’ve been hiring locals, I’ve been hiring people who ride the bus and my students ride their bikes."
One of those students, Samohi junior Naomi Gage, said Pier goers are consistently in awe of their abilities, as passersby always view free shows put on for the community.
"[What] we have created here is not motivated by profit or monetary gain, but [for] the shared joy of flight," Gage said. "The Santa Monica Trapeze School provides the Pier with something truly extraordinary. I’m not trying to discount the enjoyment [we] find in the amusement park, but nothing can compare to the wonder and meaning residents and travelers alike find in the trapeze school."
Stevens told the Daily Press that she has also had discussions with a space in Eagle Rock, but does not want to leave local ground for the sake of her dedicated staff and students.
"It’s not easy to build [this team], and I finally have a really good staff [of] people who are kind of amazing creators of the circus arts," Stevens said. "If I go to Eagle Rock, I instantly lose 80% of them. My business is not just me, I have to have a team."
