CITY HALL – The question of whether or not Santa Monica will have nativity scene displays in Palisades Park this year remains undecided.
The City Council begged off a final decision to eliminate an exception that allows unattended displays in Palisades Park in December after previous discussions about the current budget and a field-sharing agreement with the local school district ran long.
If council members approve the change at their June 12 meeting, a coalition of churches could not continue a 57-year tradition depicting the Christian nativity story in Palisades Park at Christmastime.
Other groups that have put up displays in the past, including the Chabad in Santa Monica and atheist groups, would also be banned.
Public comment still proceeded past midnight, with those for the continuation of displays defending them on the basis of tradition and those against the displays claiming that the religious displays had no place on public land.
Both relied on free speech to defend their points of view.
Hunter Jameson, the spokesperson for the Save Our Nativity Scenes (SONS) campaign, asked the City Council not only to reject the proposal to ban all displays, but to ensure that all 14 nativity displays get space in the park.
“I ask you to meet your constitutional obligation and responsibility to enable the exercise of free speech in Palisades Park, including the restoration of entire 14-booth nativity scene display in December,” Jameson said.
The City Council will take the issue up for deliberation at its June 12 meeting. Members of the public will still be able to speak on the issue.
Taxi cabs
The council gave preliminary approval to a taxi cab company that’s looking to break into the local taxi market by buying up an existing franchise holder.
City Hall created a process in 2010 that awarded five companies the right to operate taxis within city limits. One of those, Metro Cab, has since indicated that it wants to sell its business to All Yellow Taxi for $2.8 million.
Included in that sale would be the franchise, if the council gave the thumbs up. Metro Cab’s fleet only operates within Santa Monica. Without the franchise, All Yellow would only be buying its cars.
Owners of other taxi cab companies came to speak against the franchise transfer, which they described as a circumvention of the competitive process which ultimately gave five companies franchises to work in Santa Monica.
“It would be fair to everyone to do the competitive bidding again,” said Yevgeny Smolyar, president of LA Checker Cab. The company came in tenth in the ranking city officials did to award the franchise. All Yellow ranked sixth.
Metro Cab, which couldn’t live up to the terms of the franchise, was considered the strongest of the companies that applied.
ashley@www.smdp.com
