State Commission to Vote on Controversial Venice Zip Line Proposal

The California Coastal Commission will soon determine the fate of a proposed Venice Beach zip line, previously opposed by members of the Westwood Neighborhood Council.

The Coastal Commission on Feb. 7 will consider granting a temporary three-month permit to Greenheart Conservation Company to install the ride, Venice-Mar Vista Patch reported.

Discussion over the zip line began in May 2012, when Councilman Bill Rosendahl introduced the idea, which the Venice Neighborhood Council approved on the condition that the ride be dismantled at the end of its three-month trial period. The 750-foot zip line would zoom people between the bike path and the boardwalk near the skate park and Windward Plaza, just before the basketball courts. 

Westwood Neighborhood Council members in August unanimously voted to adopt a motion against the zip line, calling the attraction "incompatible with the historical values and vision of our city's parks as they will have negative traffic, noise and visual impacts."

And even though the zip line would be built in Venice, it still impacts the Westwood community, board member Lisa Chapman said at the August meeting.

"When these things come up they do tend to inch toward us as well," she said.

Read the full Venice-Mar Vista Patch story here.

—Patch editor David Carini contributed to this report.