Agree with the policy of LA Fitness. Always some want-to-be big fish in a little pond (LA Fitness, etc) who tends to make the most noise, seek the most attention or wants everything on his own terms.. Mats, or not, most of those floors (some on the second or third floors) were not designed/reinforced for heavy pounding. The owners/managers have a money investment, heavy insurance contracts and leasing responsibilities; all the price of doing business in the commercial gym industry. Plus an increasing tax rate, which seems to be going up, month by month.
When training, really no good reason to drop weights, just to prove how heavy they are by the sound they make hitting the floor. Lots can be said for negative control of a weight and the benefits gain by that. Which few BB'ers seem to understand.
If really serious about lifting heavy, there are quite a few PL' ng or Olympic training sites around. They are all equipped for very heavy and abusive lifting. The moment you walk into one, the sounds of plates hitting the floor or PR's, seems to go on forever.