A motley mix of flaming chain saw jugglers, Rollerblading guitarists, hulking bodybuilders and similar figures have long made Venice Beach one of Los Angeles' most unusual attractions.
But with fierce competition for tourist dollars, the artists and vendors who entertain crowds and peddle their wares on the waterfront have had a protracted conflict with nearby brick-and-mortar merchants.
City leaders thought they had finally found a fix by introducing another unlikely group of characters to the beach scene: art critics with badges and guns.
Artists are required to buy permits to perform along the storied oceanfront walkway, where they are allowed to sell their creations but not commercial merchandise. Los Angeles police officers who patrol the boardwalk have been asked to root out objects for sale that are deemed more commerce than art.
The distinction has proven difficult to define, however, and enforcement of the new law has generated some bad vibes that have reverberated not only through Venice's famously mellow atmosphere but also into the marble-lined corridors of Los Angeles City Hall.
The beach community has perhaps the world's only police station with a Jim Morrison quote etched into its wall, but officers recently told artist Joel Batz to stop selling portraits of the Doors singer and other pop culture icons that he painted on plates.
“It's insane,” Batz said last week as he worked on a traditional canvas painting. “They're restricting creativity.”
While acknowledging that there are gray areas, local business owners have largely hailed the new ordinance as the long-sought solution to a vexing problem.
“My big issue as a business owner is unfair competition and unfair sales of merchandise,” said Steve Heumann of Sidewalk Enterprises, which leases retail stalls on the boardwalk. “The new ordinance has gone a very long way to taking care of that.”
The ordinance arose from a legal battle last year in which the city agreed to scrap earlier, more restrictive regulations after vendors brought a First Amendment lawsuit with help from the American Civil Liberties Union and National Lawyers Guild.
For much of 2005 there were few restrictions on boardwalk vending. Street performers were joined by opportunistic merchants, Heumann said.
“They're part of what makes Venice funky and unique and quirky and wonderful, and they're also part of what brings visitors here, but to go downtown and buy a bunch of products and turn around and sell them here, that doesn't make sense,” he said.
Like many other store owners, Sam Chaaban complained that his boardwalk jewelry and clothing store had to compete with street vendors selling the same products but without the daunting expenses of rent, business tax and code compliance.
“They don't have responsibilities or obligations to the city and the landlord, and they sell the same products, so they can undercut you,” he said.
After a series of town hall meetings that drew hundreds of merchants, performers and residents, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed the new ordinance this year.
Councilman Bill Rosendahl, elected to represent the area in 2005 after a career in television, called the new ordinance an “open-ended, flexible, community-based approach.”
Some street artists have warmed to the new rules.
“It's been great because for me it assures I have a place to go and I won't offend anybody,” painter David Lasker said.
But others have chafed under the increased police presence and crackdowns on excessive noise. A group of aggrieved vendors has taken to attending almost every City Council meeting.
One Venice performer has danced around the council chambers singing disco songs in a creaking falsetto voice, while another has shouted racial epithets in the presence of schoolchildren while accusing officials of targeting him because he is African-American.
The outbursts might lead to another First Amendment showdown as the council has called for new restrictions on abusive speech during its meetings.
“We expect . . . decorum in this chamber,” said Councilman Bernard Parks, a former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. “This is the Los Angeles City Council; it is not a playground in Venice.”
At least one local law professor has challenged the constitutionality of the proposed regulations on public comments, and the ACLU is monitoring the situation.
Carol Sobel, the lead lawyer in last year's lawsuit targeting the old Venice Beach ordinance, said she is monitoring the city's new boardwalk law as well.
“I think it has problems, and I think a lot of the problems have to do with the enforcement,” she said.
Stephen Fiske, a musician and 32-year Venice resident who counts many of the street performers as friends, agreed. He said he knows artists who work with crystals, candles, stones, mirrors and various forms of jewelry who are no longer allowed to sell their goods.
“It's left up to the police officers to make those distinctions, and then there are inconsistent judgments,” he said. “The way the police are enforcing (it) is a big mismatch for the spirit of Venice.”
An LAPD spokeswoman said there is no list dictating which items can and cannot be sold, and when something is in question, officers take a photo and have city attorneys make a decision.
Councilman Rosendahl hopes to iron out the differences by getting the various parties to meet periodically to refine the ordinance and its enforcement.
“Venice Beach has a life unto itself,” he said. “So we need to keep looking at and revising the rules.”
