Editor:
City Hall's lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration may resonate with many of us, but the impact of the process and outcome are at best far fetched and unknown and potentially have terrible consequences for property owners ("City Hall sues FAA to gain control of SMO," Oct. 31). Beware of this dog, it is not on its leash.
We need our city to initiate and codify a community-wide goal for the future of the Santa Monica Airport before the outcome is just stuffed down our throats. As an example, Santa Monica has no codified plan for a park at SMO. Our City Council is suing the FAA on behalf of whom and what for?
Right now we need to really focus on the quality of our lives. The emphasis of City Council and management and all sorts of incentives and benefits needs to be seriously revised. It's time Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights and homeowners and business organizations to elect and hold to the fire council members who reflect and are concerned with the desires and quality of life for people that live here now, and not for people that may or may not move here 20 or 30 years from now. If we improve the quality of our town for those who live here already, people that move here in the future will also be much better off. There is plenty of evidence that suggests young people do not want to come here, and that many want to move because of the traffic, ugly buildings, density, and proposed massive developments.
We can include it, and we need a citizens participation section in our General Plan right away! There are some great examples of other incorporated cities in California that have a specific section dedicated to implementation of community input.
Ken Robin
Santa Monica
