Late-night noise and lights are back at Waymo's Broadway charging lots after a California appeals court paused the city's overnight ban, and Santa Monica has until Aug. 24 to respond in court.

The Second District Court of Appeal issued a temporary stay on Friday, Aug. 14, lifting the preliminary injunction that had shut down Waymo's autonomous vehicle charging operations at 1222 and 1310 Broadway between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. The city must now file its opposition brief by Monday, Aug. 24. Waymo may reply by Wednesday, Sept. 2, according to the Santa Monica Sun.

For residents who had just gotten two weeks of quiet, the reversal stings. Councilmember Lana Negrete wrote in her Aug. 10 newsletter that neighbors were reporting they could finally sleep in their own homes again. Four days later, the court undid that relief.

Court documents filed earlier in the case describe residents comparing life near the lots to living in a "mini-Las Vegas" or "next door to a spaceship," with vehicle sounds that "echo off buildings along the alleys like a canyon."

The city said in an Aug. 14 press release that the Court of Appeal temporarily stayed the injunction pending Waymo's challenge. The city maintains its public-nuisance case is strong.

How the fight got here

The two lots, operated by charging company Voltera Power on property owned by SMF Property Holdings LLC, have hosted Waymo's fleet since November 2024. The City Council voted 6-0 in November 2025 to declare overnight operations a public nuisance and order them to stop. Waymo sued the city on Dec. 17, 2025, and the city countersued.

Superior Court Judge Bradley S. Phillips sided with the city on July 27, barring overnight operations while the case proceeds. "Our residents' ability to sleep peacefully in their own homes is not negotiable," Mayor Caroline Torosis said on July 28, after the ruling was issued.

Waymo appealed within days. After Judge Phillips denied Waymo's request to pause his own order on Aug. 8, the company took its stay request to the appellate court, which granted it on Aug. 14.

What comes next

The city's Aug. 24 filing is the next milestone. Until the appellate court rules on whether to keep or dissolve the stay, overnight charging continues. A status conference on potential long-term remediation measures at the Broadway sites remains scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23.

Santa Monica's fight is also rippling regionally. Culver City's council voted on Aug. 14 to reject a moratorium on autonomous vehicle fleet facilities, even as officials cited Santa Monica's noise complaints as a cautionary example.

Chief Deputy City Attorney Romy Ganschow is leading the city's case under City Attorney Heidi von Tongeln.