A three-block-long water slide that was to open in downtown Los Angeles for one day later this month has been denied a city permit, organizers said Friday in an email to supporters and a post on the group’s Facebook page.
Slide the City, which successfully organized similar events in other cities, has already sold thousands of $15 tickets for the sold-out Sept. 28 event.
"After tirelessly working with the City over the past 2+ months we received word that our permit is being denied," the announcement reads. "We have been working even harder over the past few days to resolve any issues the City may have but it appears there is no resolution."
When the event was announced, residents concerned about the drought launched a petition to keep it from happening, worried about what would happen to the water used for the 1,000-foot-long slide. More than 10,000 people signed the petition.
"It was denied primarily for the statewide drought emergency," a spokesman for the Bureau of Street Services said Friday.
Organizers worked with Councilman Jose Huizar's office and then announced plans to irrigate Griffith Park for a day with the water used for the slide at the end of the event.
The spokesman said that plan had not been vetted by the Department of Recreation and Parks, and there were some concerns about using the water for irrigation.
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He said organizers could appeal the decision, but they had not yet done so, to his knowledge.
“Whether this is a direct result of the drought or something else, we want to assure all of our participants and vendors that we have gone through every appropriate permitting step required,” Slide the City wrote in its Facebook post.
“We have even jumped through many additional "hoops" the City has created in the hope that they would see that we were flexible and willing to work with them.”
The group said it will refund ticket purchases as requested, and will continue to work with the city to bring the event to Los Angeles.
