Dear Santa Monica Neighbors,
As we enter the summer, and as the slow economic recovery from the shutdown continues, and candidates for our local offices begin to be endorsed by our various organizations, to ask what we want for our city in the next four years.
I believe that we could benefit from a shared vision of what we hope Santa Monica will be in the future, so that we can make decisions about candidates and platforms based on the extent to which they contribute to that shared idea. I’d like to ask that we begin discussing what we DO want. Here’s a first draft of some ideas for discussion.
I want a vibrant, thriving, community of people who treat each other with respect.
I want a Santa Monica made up of comfortable, friendly neighborhoods, each of which is served by neighborhood businesses, schools, libraries, parks and other amenities.
I want a diverse city, with people from all backgrounds, levels of educational attainment and economic resources to live together and to grapple together with the real challenges that diversity brings.
I want a Santa Monica where those that work here can and do live here, whether they are publicly or privately employed. This means that we must build more housing of all kinds, for all sorts of people and families, including allowing and even encouraging more, and larger apartment buildings and mixed-use buildings along our major thoroughfares and business streets. Planning more bustling, busy, thriving avenues near quieter, more tranquil streets will make Santa Monica more walkable. More workforce housing will reduce traffic, strengthen neighborhoods, and support local businesses.
I want our teachers, our librarians, our first responders, our planners, building inspectors, sanitation workers, and all other public employees to be able to live here. I want our city department heads, especially high visibility folks like our school Principals, Police and Fire Chiefs, City Manager, etc. to be required to move here, of course that will mean that we will have to ensure that they have the ability to do so. There must be adequate, desirable housing that they can afford.
I want the privately employed, from the lowest paid to our well-compensated tech workers, to be able to afford to live here — and to want to live here. Most importantly, I want our children to be able to live here — and to want to do so. This means that we must have housing that is affordable and desirable at all levels, from simple starter apartments to family homes of different kinds.
I want many different ways of getting around town without getting into a car. I want true safe routes not just to school but also to the grocery store, the pharmacy, restaurants, parks, health care, recreation and businesses. I want some streets to be turned into true slow streets, with separated walking and biking paths. I want more streets like 17th Street and Broadway, with fully separated bike paths. I want buses that run more often, on time, and which get us where we need to go reliably and in a reasonable amount of time. And I want the good rental ebikes, the ones that can be pedaled and which have seats that can be adjusted. I want it to be easy for anyone in Santa Monica to get to anywhere else in Santa Monica without having to drive — or to take our lives in our hands to walk or ride a bike on a street where speeding, impatient drivers make it unsafe.
I want a renewed and expanded set of public facilities and amenities – schools, libraries, parks, recreation, performance venues etc.
I want a robust library system, well-funded, professionally staffed, with extended, fully open hours in every one of our branches. I know my own daughter’s childhood was profoundly enriched by the children’s librarians and programs at the Ocean Park and Fairview Branches — from babyhood through High School. When she was in elementary school we could go to Fairview or the Main Library any evening after I got home from work. I cannot imagine the lost opportunities of all the children that are growing up here without those opportunities. We also saw our neighbors, had more casual conversations, and wound up strengthening connections.
I want public services that function well, and which are provided by city staff who feel valued and properly compensated. This requires us — all of us, and especially our elected officials, to treat our city staff with respect. And, our city staff must also be trained in client and customer service, de-escalation and mediation, and they must be supported, with their expertise and experience valued.
I want a city that leads in climate resilience and responsible practices, without needing to be at the cutting edge. Let’s have more, and but simpler incentives for lowering water use — let’s stop over-regulating and being so prescriptive in giving out money for ripping up lawns and instead simply incentivize low water use by having more. Lets have more, and much steeper, tiers of water use for both homes and businesses. Let’s commit to the city switching gradually (as lights need to be replaced) to dark sky compatible, wildlife friendly lighting systems, and let’s offer incentives for those that make such switches themselves. Let’s bolster our own city electrical grid and do everything we can do encourage everyone to put in efficient, electrical heat pumps for HVAC and for water heaters; let’s put solar panels over every public parking lot (that provides parked cars with shade and produces energy). Let’s use local landscape architects and plant locally appropriate, pollinator and local wildlife friendly gardens. And let’s make more community gardens.
Supporting all of this means increasing our tax base, of course. We cannot have a 25% vacancy rate in downtown Santa Monica. Nor can we afford to have our Sunset Park Business Park half-moribund, or the airport. We cannot allow our assets — the Civic Auditorium, the branch libraries and other spaces to sit unused.
I want a thriving Downtown filled with destination hotels and successful businesses, at least some of which are unique and not found just anywhere else. Let’s find ways to fill up our empty storefronts, and for those that haven’t filled up yet let’s ask their landlords to do more. Is it time for a vacancy tax on long-empty commercial real estate? Let’s get creative and perhaps pilot some business development zones downtown if need be (can we make our own version of Mercado La Paloma?). Let’s look at ways to bring true signature anchor businesses here. Can we create a little business development brain trust? Could they consider a range of ideas? What would it take to bring short term attractions like Luna Luna here to Santa Monica? And to a place that would have spillover to other businesses? Could we ask an LA institution like a Porto’s to take over the old Barnes and Noble? Could we explore having if one or more of the big museums open a branch in downtown — or set up a state of the art gallery and bring shows from each of them in turn? And what can we do to support our existing local, businesses, especially the independent businesses? To help them thrive and grow?
We are world famous, but how can we be that world-class destination that satisfies our visitors and provides us lucky locals with the revenue to live in a comfortable, well-resourced neighborhood in our world-class city?
I do hope, dear neighbors, that you will all speak up about what you want, so that we can build our future here together, and hopefully, open the possibility that our children and their children can live here, something they will be unable to do unless we create a much wider range of housing and employment opportunities for them. I hope you — we — will all pay attention to who our candidates for local office are, and vote for those who truly stand for what we all want.
With hope and gratitude. Thank you,
Karen Wise