City Council

E.1. RAINBOW DISTRICT [L. BIERY, P. KESPRADIT, L. D’AMBROSIA]:\nSUBJECT: The City Council will receive an update on the Rainbow\nDistrict and consider approving various programs to enhance it.\nRECOMMENDATIONS: 1) Direct the City Attorney and staff to return with\nan Ordinance to formally designate the Rainbow District as businesses\nwithin the boundaries of the area generally described as Santa Monica\nBoulevard from La Cienega Boulevard on the east and Doheny Drive on\nthe west; 2) Direct staff to hire a public relations firm and work with Visit\nWest Hollywood to promote the Rainbow District and its points of interest\n(One-time cost: approximately $30,000); 3) Direct staff to hire a social\nmedia marketing firm and work with Visit West Hollywood to lead the\nRainbow District social media posting and content creation to promote the\nRainbow District and its points of interest (One-time cost: approximately\n$65,000); 4) Direct staff to produce Rainbow District-specific wraps for\nalready existing utility boxes and big belly trash cans that are located\nwithin the area (One-time cost: approximately $25,000); 5) Direct staff to\ndesignate a select number of street pole banners at the entrance points to\nthe Rainbow District on Santa Monica Boulevard at La Cienega Boulevard\nas well as on Santa Monica Boulevard at Doheny Drive and design, as\nwell as produce, street pole banners to create gateway brand identification\nof the Rainbow District (One time cost: approximately $15,000); 6) Direct\nstaff to work with Visit West Hollywood to produce Rainbow District-\nspecific visitor guides to showcase points of interest and general\ninformation about the District (One-time cost: approximately $15,000); 7)\nDirect staff to explore increasing the number of designated rideshare "drop\nzones" in the Rainbow District (potential loss of parking meter revenue); 8)\nDirect staff to implement a one-year pilot program expansion of The\nPickUp trolley service to operate on Thursday evenings during Daylight\nSaving time to begin this year on July 1, 2025 (Pilot operating cost:\napproximately $65,000); 9) Direct staff to extend the operation of the City’s\nfive-story parking structure located adjacent to the Rainbow District by one\nadditional hour, extending operations from closing at 2:00 a.m. nightly to\nclosing at 3:00 a.m. nightly (Anticipated cost: nominal); 10) Direct staff to\nimplement a one-year pilot program for City-sponsored special events\nsuch as an LGBTQ+ nighttime movie series or live concert series to\nproduce events within the Rainbow District (One-time cost: approximately\n$100,000); 11) Amend the Outdoor Dining in the Public-Right-of-Way\nEligibility and Design Guide specifically for businesses located on the\nsouth side of Santa Monica Boulevard between San Vicente and\nRobertson, to update the required dimensions for set backs for outdoor\ndining and path of travel where sidewalks are equal to or greater than 19\nfeet wide and where tree wells or other public infrastructure are set back\nfour or more feet from the curb (Anticipated cost: nominal); and 12) Direct\nstaff to work with the Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission to explore the\ncreation of a mural festival program within the Rainbow District to activate\ncommercial building facades and alleys with large-scale murals (One-time\ncost: approximately $90,000).