Fitness Carter: Santa Monica To Begin Charging Fitness Instructors To Train In Parks

Photo of the Santa Monica Pier's amusement park from the air by Atwater Village Newbie via the LAist Featured Photos pool ^[1] on Flickr

If you were used to getting your work out on in Santa Monica, you might be out of luck soon—the City Council decided Tuesday night to start charging fitness instructors who hold classes or private sessions in public parks.

Fox News reports ^[2] that fees will be on a sliding scale, but will likely start around several hundred dollars. The move comes, they note, after residents complained repeatedly that exercisers and their teachers were crowding them out of Palisades Park.

The Huffington Post notes ^[3] that some residents also complained about barbells and other fitness paraphernalia being left lying around the park and beaches. "It's starting to look like a 24 Hour Fitness gym out there," former Olympic track star Johnny Gray told the site.

According to the LA Times ^[4] , the debate has been raging about this issue for some time, and came to a head earlier this year when regulatory guidelines were drawn up. The newspaper reports that councilmembers were in conflict during the debate on Tuesday, but that they finally voted 5-1 to set restrictions stating that training is prohibited on Sundays.

The regulation requires review before it becomes law, and that councilmembers will take it up again in a year.