By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-02 00:16:52 | Updated at 2026-08-02 19:44:38
19 hours ago
An iconic California beach town's frustrated locals have clinched an important legal win after complaining that a noisy Waymo charging station had been keeping them up all night for more than a year.
Waymo was ordered to stop using two charging facilities from 11pm to 6am in Santa Monica on Monday in a preliminary injunction granted by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bradley S. Phillips.
Santa Monica has an ongoing public nuisance lawsuit against Waymo, which has faced repeated complaints from residents over its neighboring stations at 1222 and 1310 Broadway.
The Broadway charging stations are across the street from a private school and apartment buildings.
Locals have alleged that Waymo was disturbing their sleep and ruining their peace.
Santa Monica resident Christopher Potter, who started a petition against the stations, said his home was now next to a 'hub for noise pollution.'
Potter lamented how the 'once peaceful neighborhood' had allegedly been plagued by 'the constant 'beep–beep–beep' sound' of Waymos.
Waymo, which is appealing the ruling, first began using these charging facilities in January 2025, according to ArsTechnica.
Waymo was ordered to stop using two charging stations in Santa Monica, California, including one at 1310 Broadway, for alleged public nuisance concerns
Christopher Potter, a local who started a petition against the alleged 'noise pollution' caused by the stations near his home, shared this photo of several Waymos being charged
The City of Santa Monica said 'persistent overnight noise, lighting and traffic impacts that disrupted sleep, comfort and basic livability in their homes' had been reported by locals
The injunction said that the Waymo stations' 'continual noise, lights, and traffic generated' was 'offensive' to residents and interfering with their 'peace, quiet and comfort.'
Additionally, the order noted that Sean Bugee, Waymo's Los Angeles operations site lead, had made a declaration which was described as largely 'inadmissible hearsay.'
Bugee allegedly told the court that he had found 'minimal activity or noise' during 'multiple overnight periods at the lots' in question.
The legal filing rejected Bugee's claims and called them a 'self–serving assertion.'
'Notably, he does not identify where he was during those overnight periods and certainly does not testify that he was attempting to sleep,' the letter added.
According to the document, Waymo had argued that granting the injunction would prevent the autonomous car company from providing its rideshare services in Santa Monica from 11pm to 6am.
Waymo allegedly argued that this could harm the public interest 'because its ride–sharing services are purportedly safer during those hours than the alternatives,' the letter claimed.
The court pushed back and said that Waymo could still use vehicles that had already been fully charged and cleaned but not deployed during those overnight hours.
In a parenthetical note, the order added that Waymo's counsel had 'cited the fact that Waymo vehicles frequently pick up riders at the beach and ferry them down Broadway.'
'Between the hours of 11:00pm and 6:00 am?' the filing read. 'The Court thinks not.'
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bradley S. Phillips granted the preliminary injunction, which said the stations' 'continual noise, lights, and traffic generated' was 'offensive' to residents
The Waymo electric autonomous taxi charging station at 1222 Broadway was the second one mentioned in this week's injunction
Santa Monica has said that residents living close to the charging stations had reported 'persistent overnight noise, lighting and traffic impacts that disrupted sleep, comfort and basic livability in their homes.'
In his petition, Potter said that it was 'imperative that Waymo … respects the right to peace and tranquillity of the residents of Santa Monica by lowering the sound of their autonomous vehicles and operating during appropriate hours only.'
One resident who claimed to live within a block of the charging stations said 'opening the window makes it sound like I'm living on life support.'
A separate local noted that she was 'nuts with rage' because she was of older age and 'desperately need[s] good rest to stay healthy.'
Another resident, Dylan Moore, said he was already noticing a difference after the injunction.
'I took a walk around last night, and gosh, it's amazing,' Moore told Ars Technica.
Moore, who founded a site called WaymoProblems, said he was now able to hear his own thoughts.
'It's not a fleet of locusts descending on the neighborhood,' he said. 'It's incredible.'
Waymo, which is facing an ongoing public nuisance lawsuit from the city of Santa Monica, is appealing the ruling concerning the charging stations
In the preliminary injunction, the judge pushed back on what he described as a Waymo operations site lead's claims that there was 'minimal activity or noise' at the charging stations
Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis lauded the ruling and said Tuesday that the city's 'residents' ability to sleep peacefully in their own homes [was] not negotiable.'
'This ruling affirms what our neighbors have been telling us for more than a year, and it delivers relief while the case moves forward,' Torosis added.
Torosis insisted that Santa Monica welcomed the 'future of transportation, and autonomous vehicles and the infrastructure that supports them have an important place here.'
She said the city was prepared to work with Waymo on 'solutions that let their operations and our residents' quality of life coexist.'
The legal case will continue on October 23, as a status conference has been scheduled for potential remediation measures and the status of potential curb cuts.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Waymo and the Santa Monica city government for comment.
