As Santa Monica’s City Council moves to create a permanent entertainment zone allowing open-container alcohol consumption along the Third Street Promenade, members of the Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. (DTSM) board has raised serious concerns about security, enforcement and cost.
While Councilmembers described the plan as transformative during the April 23 meeting, DTSM board members took a more measured view during their subsequent discussion, emphasizing the need for clear safeguards and realistic budgeting before launching the first-of-its-kind program in Southern California.
Under the plan, patrons would be able to purchase alcohol from licensed businesses and carry it within a designated zone from 8am to 2am, seven days a week. The idea, authorized under Senate Bill 969, was initially presented as an event-driven pilot program. However, members of the City Council voted to expand it immediately to a daily schedule.
"This is the biggest thing that has happened on the Promenade since it was built," CEO Andrew Thomas effused, adding, "But we need to make sure we do it right."
Treasurer Eric Sedman voiced particular concern over monitoring alcohol consumption in public space, questioning how enforcement would work when visitors could bring unauthorized alcohol or walk outside the designated boundaries. The current thinking includes some form of wristbands issued at participating bars or a large, clearly identifiable cup of sorts, but none of these solutions are foolproof.
"We have to establish the policies to make sure that it is monitored," Sedman said. "Things need to change frequently enough that they cannot be duplicated and there cannot be sequencing where people can anticipate what will be available as far as wristbands or cups."
Board members also questioned the practicality of policing an open-container zone that spans three downtown blocks, especially given already stretched police resources. DTSM leaders suggested that private security would need to play a major role, along with better signage and clear demarcation of the zone’s boundaries.
"I have a hard time believing that it is ever going to be enforced," board member Jon Farzam said. "The police department is not going to be patrolling and looking for violations."
Thomas said city staff are exploring cost-saving measures, including expanded use of contracted private security and flexible staffing models. He referenced a San Francisco case study where similar programs reportedly cost about $50,000 per day during large events, although the final price for Santa Monica remains undetermined. Still, the potential costs did not temper concerns about public safety.
Board members discussed risks such as increased public intoxication, more alcohol-related disturbances and the added complexity of interacting with the city's homeless population, some of whom struggle with substance abuse issues.
The board also debated whether the zone should remain limited to the Promenade or expand to nearby streets and alleys. Some small business owners urged expansion, arguing that restricting the entertainment zone to the Promenade would favor larger businesses and national brands already able to afford the area's high rents.
However, most DTSM board members agreed that initial implementation should be limited to the Promenade to ensure the zone could be properly managed before considering expansion.
"If we start including businesses beyond the Promenade, we are biting off a lot more than we know we can chew," Sedman said.
Some suggested that if the program proves successful, the city could later add alleys and parts of Second and Fourth Streets, where smaller, independent businesses are located. But others warned that stretching the zone too broadly at the outset would make effective security impossible.
Even among supporters, there was general agreement that the open-container allowance should not exist in a vacuum. Board members advocated for integrating it with curated events such as outdoor concerts, festivals and cultural celebrations, saying that tying alcohol sales to organized programming would reduce risks and enhance the visitor experience.
Board members also stressed that businesses participating in the zone should take responsibility for cleaning the public areas outside their frontages, much like business owners do in some international cities.
Following the discussion, Sedman made a motion, seconded by Leo Pustilnikov, to recommend that the Santa Monica City Council approve the expansion of the Entertainment Zone on the Third Street Promenade to operate seven days per week.
Despite the concerns, the motion passed with Michele Aronson, Luke Cain, Michelle Cardiel, Jon Farzam, Edna Galindo, Eric Sedman, Susan Cline, Julia Ladd, Lucian Tudor, Leo Pustilnikov, Berta Negari and Joshua Gilman all voting yes. Bruce Fairty abstained.
Fairty told the Daily Press his reason for abstention was that he was divided between limiting the entertainment zone to just the Promenade or expanding it to include the alleys. “Since the vote limiting it to just the Promenade was approved by a substantial majority I didn’t feel it necessary to weigh in with my vote given I was genuinely torn,” he said.
Unless the Council decides to pilot the ordinance, the zone would become permanent from the first day. Despite ultimately supporting the proposal, several board members remained uneasy about the practical challenges. They also expressed hope that any new revenue generated by increased tourism and business activity would be reinvested into supporting security, maintenance and broader downtown revitalization efforts.
When the Daily Press asked Sedman how concerned DTSM was with regards to a potential increase in drunk and disorderly incidents and arrests, the extra cost of security and police overtime and even a potential rise in storefront vandalism, he said, “I think there's going to be challenges and that's why I want to make sure that we limit the area as a test vessel to see how it can be monitored and securitized.”
Sedman even made a tenuous comparison to Bourbon Street in New Orleans. "I am cautiously optimistic," he said, adding that Santa Monica “must strike a careful balance between generating new revenue and maintaining public order.”
City staff are scheduled to return to the Council in May with a final ordinance based on the Council’s revised direction. If approved, the first activation could take place during the Pride on the Promenade event in June.
