The Los Angeles Times had an article today entitled “Taming the Boardwalk” regarding what has been discussed this past year for making the Ocean Front Walk safe.

Writer stated Councilman Mike Bonin is “also talking about eventually appointing a governing board to oversee the boardwalk, to keep a lid on problems and plan for its future.”

Councilman Bonin was queried on this statement and this was his reply in an email:

What I have said, on several occasions, including VNC (Venice Neighborhood Council) and the Venice Chamber, is that among the many things I am doing for Venice Beach is a long-term governance plan. Currently, no one is really in charge, with muddled and confused jurisdictions between Recreation & Parks, Public Works, County Beaches & Harbors, etc, etc.

I’m looking at how other major public facilities with millions of visitors are run, and that includes looking at some of joint powers agency or something, with reps from all the stakeholder agencies and the community, to actually manage the place, hire a director or general manager, and get some coordinated, proactive thinking about programming, maintenance, safety and security etc.

Venice Beach is a park, a neighborhood, a business district, and one of the most popular tourist attractions in Southern California. Not having someone solely focused, full time, on how to balance and manage that seems fundamentally wrong.