Санта-Моника хотын захиргаа Waymo компанийн цэнэглэх станцуудыг нийтийн эмх замбараагүй байдал үүсгэж байна хэмээн үзэж, шүүхээс шөнийн цагаар ажиллахыг нь хориглосон шийдвэр гаргууллаа.
Санта-Моника хотын дээд шүүхийн шүүгч Брэдли С.Филлипс даваа гарагт гаргасан шийдвэрээрээ Waymo компанийн Broadway гудамжинд байрлах станцуудын үйл ажиллагааг шөнийн 23:00 цагаас өглөөний 06:00 цаг хүртэл зогсоох урьдчилсан захирамж гаргажээ. Шүүгч дүгнэлтдээ тус компани дуу чимээ, гэрэлтүүлэг, замын хөдөлгөөний асуудлыг шийдвэрлэх гэж оролдсон ч орон нутгийн иргэдийн тав тухыг алдагдуулсан хэвээр байна гэж үзсэн байна.
Хотын захиргааны баримт бичигт дурдсанаар, оршин суугчид Waymo-гийн үйл ажиллагааг “сансрын хөлөгтэй зэрэгцэн амьдрах”, “эцэс төгсгөлгүй чимээ шуугиантай хот” хэмээн тодорхойлж, шөнийн цагаар ажилтнуудын яриа болон тээврийн хэрэгслүүдийн дуу чимээ нь барилгуудын дунд цуурайтаж, иргэдийн амгалан тайван байдлыг алдагдуулж буйг эсэргүүцсэн байна. Сургуулийн өмнөх насны хүүхэдтэй болон гэртээ ажилладаг иргэд дуу чимээний улмаас нойргүйдэх, ажлын байрны нөхцөлөө өөрчлөхөөс өөр аргагүйд хүрсэн гэдгээ мэдэгджээ.
Waymo компани өөрийн зүгээс шүүхэд гаргасан нэхэмжлэлдээ нийтийн эрх ашгийг зөрчөөгүй гэж үзэж байна. Тус компани дуу чимээг багасгахын тулд нэмэлт ажилтан ажиллуулж, програм хангамжийн шинэчлэл хийх, гэрэл болон дуу чимээ тусгаарлагч суурилуулах зэрэг арга хэмжээ авснаа мэдэгдсэн юм. Гэсэн хэдий ч шүүхээс хэргийг бүрэн шийдвэрлэх хүртэлх хугацаанд дээрх хязгаарлалтыг мөрдөх шийдвэр гаргав.
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A judge has issued a preliminary injunction sought by the city of Santa Monica, preventing overnight operations at the two Waymo LLC Broadway recharging stations, finding they are public nuisances.
“While the evidence shows that the parties have attempted to mitigate the noise, lights and traffic, it does not show that those efforts have been sufficiently successful to eliminate the public nuisance that is created,” Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Bradley S. Phillips wrote in his final ruling issued Monday.
The judge said Waymo is prevented, pending trial, from operating the Broadway Lots between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Phillips had heard arguments July 22 and taken the case under submission.
In their court papers, attorneys for the city stated that those living near the stations have used such terms as “mini-Las Vegas,” “living next door to a spaceship,” “a circus” and “a city that never sleeps” to describe their plight.
The group Santa Monica for Renters Rights backed the requests for injunctive relief sought by the city and the City Council.
“SMRR is deeply disturbed by the disruptions and the burdens imposed on residential neighbors as a result of Waymo’s current operation of the lots,” a letter written on the group’s behalf stated. “It simply is not acceptable that residents should be forced to endure sleepless nights in their homes.”
According to the city’s court papers, residents are disturbed by Waymo lot workers talking in the middle of the night as well as the sounds of the Waymo vehicles, which the city contends “echo off buildings along the alleys like a canyon.”
Although the alleged nuisances have cost residents the peace and quiet enjoyment of their homes, repeated requests from the city to abate the problem have been rejected, the city alleged.
In a sworn declaration, resident Paula Achter, who works from home, said she had to adjust her sleeping habits and do her job from a different location in her apartment due to the noise from the Waymo vehicles passing by her building. She further said that humans are not the only ones being bothered.
“I used to hear birds singing in the morning from my apartment,” 69-year-old Achter said. “I’ve noticed I don’t hear them anymore. I believe that they have nested elsewhere due to the Waymo frequency.”
Victoria Benchuk, a single mother of a 5-year-old son with autism, said in her declaration that the Waymo lot near her building opened a few months after she and her boy moved into their apartment in October 2024.
“When there are multiple Waymos stopped in the alley, the noise from the motors, the beeping and the people talking and working in the Waymos lot wake up my son two to four nights a week and he has trouble getting back to sleep,” Benchuk said. “I often have to bring my son into the living room where I sleep to help him settle back down.”
Benchuk further said her son did not have the same sleeping issues before the Waymo lot opened or when they lived in their prior apartment.
In its own lawsuit filed against the city, Waymo denies a public nuisance existed and contended the company hired more staff, implemented software updates to reduce noise levels and frequencies, installed light and noise barriers and modified “vehicle behaviors” in the area.
“These changes resulted in a material decrease in noise and light levels during Waymo’s overnight operations and traffic congestion in the surrounding areas was reduced,” according to the Waymo suit.
Waymo also contended that the nuisance was actually created by local residents’ interference with the company’s operations during the relevant hours.
