Los Angeles is considering restricting tour buses from traveling near a home once owned by Marilyn Monroe, under a proposal backed Friday by the City Council.
The Brentwood home was designated a historic landmark by the city in June, a move that helps protect the residence from demolition, after its new owners began preparing to tear down the house.
Monroe bought the house for $75,000 in 1962 and died there six months later, apparently of an overdose. City Councilwoman Traci Park, who represents the area where the house is located, argued that demolishing the house “would be a devastating blow to historic preservation.”
The owners sued the city for seeking to make the house a landmark, claiming it had undergone major alterations since Monroe’s death. “There is not a single room in the house that has any physical evidence that Ms. Monroe ever spent a day in the house,” the complaint said.
In June, a judge denied the owners’ request for a preliminary injunction to halt the landmark designation process. The city council voted shortly afterward to recognize the house as a landmark.
Amid the debate over the Brentwood home, neighbors had complained that a wave of tourists and fans was bringing unwanted traffic to the area.
Park proposed that the Los Angeles Department of Transportation evaluate whether to restrict tour bus operations on two stretches near the historic home, one on 5th Helena Drive and the other on Carmelina Avenue.
The City Council voted 13-0 Friday to move forward with the assessment, a step that could ultimately lead to banning tour buses at certain times or all times.
Times reporter Jack Flemming contributed to this report.
