There’ll be an Indiana Jones moment at City Council tonight (December 19th), the equivalent of the dramatic scene in the George Lucas movie where Indie realizes that “X” really DOES mark the spot. And the treasure we’re looking for? More than two hundred acres of prime parkland our city bought for public recreation back in 1926, which has been buried under layers of asphalt and concrete for more than 80 years. We lost it when, patriotically enough, Santa Monica loaned the land to the Federal Government after Pearl Harbor, and in the process left us one of the lowest ranked cities in California for open space. The war ended in 1945, but once something has been handed over to Washington, it’s hard to get it back. (Remember the Ark of the Covenant being wheeled into that immense government warehouse? A bit like what happened to our park.)
Amazingly, however, after years of campaigning, and despite the best efforts of private pilots and big corporations, the government has agreed to let us have the park back at midnight on December 31, 2028. That’s still some years off, but something as important as this needs to be planned. Which is why next Tuesday is so crucial.
That’s the meeting where the City Council should direct a consulting company called Sasaki Associates to start working out how to turn the airport back into a park. Sasaki is a good choice: around the world they’ve already converted 10 airports into parks. But here’s the danger — what if they’re asked to look at the possibility of doing something else with the land? Like covering it with roads, traffic and houses?
Sadly, there are plenty of people who’d like that to happen: there’d be huge profits to be made if developers got their hands on this precious open space. And of course there are powerful corporations who want the airport to stay open because it’s so convenient for their CEOs to be able to fly private jets in and out of Santa Monica.
But fortunately, less than 10 years ago, after a hard-fought campaign and a democratic vote, the people of Santa Monica decided overwhelmingly (60/40) that when the airport closed, the land should become a park again. That was “Measure LC,” and the Council should tell Sasaki that anything they consider for the land should comply with that.
If they tell them to consider other uses — like building a huge new housing development – it could be like that other Indiana Jones moment, when Belloc steals the Ark of the Covenant and makes off with it. But anyone contemplating that should remember what happened to Belloc and his allies at the end of Raiders: suffice it to say, it wasn’t good.
We’re on the point of uncovering our Lost Park, and creating something for which our children and generations of children to come will be hugely grateful: a green, peaceful oasis in the midst of the city. Let’s not blow it. To all our City Council members we say, with great sincerity (and quoting another Indiana Jones movie) — “Choose wisely.”
Gavin Scott, local resident, airport-to-park activist