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Venice Beach Zip Line Has City's Blessing, But Its Opening Might Be Postponed Until Next Summer
Venice Beach (Photo by zepher5150 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
The city approved plans to put a 700-foot zip line over Venice Beach for three months, despite an appeal from residents who said the attraction would block ocean views, make it harder to find parking and make the beach even noisier.
The zip line was supposed to go up this July during peak summer months, but the company that wants to bring the zip line to Venice Greenheart/Flightlinez said that it will be postponing its plans for the zip line until next summer. After all, it still has one more hurdle: it must get the approval of the California Coastal Commission.
The Board of Public Works approved the 3-month permit in large part because of budget concerns, City News Service reports. The $20 per ride zip line could generate between $150,000 and $300,000 over a three-month period during the summer and $900,000 if the project were extended for a full year, according to the Department of Recreation and Parks.
The department vowed that two-thirds of that money would go right back to Venice Beach and would fund more power-washing of the boardwalk, more trash pickup and possibly even the renovation of restrooms, CNS reports.
The appeal agains the zip line was filed by Venice resident Gail Rogers, who took issue with the project's 16-foot-wide, 50-foot-tall towers that she said would block views of the coast in violation of the California Coastal Act. She also claimed the zip line would alter the character of Venice Beach.
Commissioner Steven Nutter, a Venice resident, admitted that it would change the character of the area but he said there's still plenty of solitude to be found just north or just south of Venice:
"While this will turn that part of Venice into a bit of a circus, there's plenty of beach, there's plenty of solitude. You just have to head south towards Dockweiler. You just have to head north towards Malibu. There's plenty of places where you're not going to hear the noise."
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Venice Beach Might Get a Zip Line
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