We, the Venice Dogz: An Alliance for the Preservation of Venice, are delighted to hear of Snap Inc.’s departure from Venice and we hope they continue to move out of their remaining locations.
Although they have a right to work wherever they want just like anyone else, their expansion and overpayment of so many properties in our small community and their concerted mentality of using our Venice as their own “corporate campus” has caused substantial damage by pushing out many other beloved small businesses and residents.
This egotistical outlook combined with their huge presence has also led them to breaking zoning laws, taking parking away from residents, prohibiting beach access for beach-goers, and utilizing an overwhelming amount of private security guards that have harassed residents in public areas and made our streets unwelcoming, in addition to other problems including overflowing trash bins, traffic congestion and more.
Their security guards are onerous and unnecessary, and promote the concept of disassociation between Snap’s employees and the community at large. Furthermore, their behavior has encouraged others to do the same. We see this as a mirror image of the activities that drove most of the middle class out of San Francisco.
We urge our political representatives of the Venice Neighborhood Council, Los Angeles City officials, City Councilman Michael Bonin and The California Coastal Commission to enforce and uphold the many zoning and coastal use laws that are currently being completely ignored.
These laws were written for a reason: to protect the quality of life in a neighborhood. We, the residents of Venice, are very protective of our community and we urge all stakeholders, property owners and all relevant politicians to be mindful of this special area that is unlike anywhere else in the world, and such unjust actions in the future will not be tolerated.
Sincerely,
The Venice Dogz: An Alliance for the Preservation of Venice.
