The Santa Monica City Council is expected to take a significant step toward converting Santa Monica Airport into a public park after the facility closes in 2029.
Council members will provide direction to planners on what features to include in a draft project design, selecting from options identified through an extensive public process conducted by Sasaki design firm and city Public Works staff. After additional public outreach this fall, Sasaki will produce a draft design for council consideration and approval in December for environmental review.
The Santa Monica Great Park Coalition and Santa Monica Airport2Park Foundation will host a "Rally for a Great Park" at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in front of City Hall before the council meeting. Former mayors and coalition representatives are scheduled to speak.
"We applaud the City of Santa Monica and the planners for having kept to the schedule of planning for the Great Park," said Neil Carrey, president of the Santa Monica Airport2Park Foundation. The groups are urging the council to choose park elements that comply with Measure LC and can be financed with existing or predictable funding.
Measure LC, added to the city charter in 2014, requires non-park uses on former airport land to be approved by public vote. According to a January opinion from the Santa Monica city attorney, compliant park features may include traditional park uses that the City Council adds to definitions of park uses in the city's zoning code.
Carrey said the foundation urges the council to expand zoning code definitions of park uses to include traditional features like farmers markets or cafes that received public support during planning.
The Santa Monica Great Park Coalition, founded less than a year ago, consists of more than 60 organizations representing more than 20,000 participants and more than 700 individual supporters, said John Fairweather, coalition president. Members have submitted more than a dozen letters showing how they can use and support the park.
Five city commissions have passed resolutions supporting a Measure LC-compliant plan: the Airport Commission, Arts Commission, Commission on Sustainability, Environmental Justice and the Environment, Recreation and Parks Commission, and Urban Forest Task Force. The Community Gardens Advisory Committee and Santa Monica Democratic Club also support the plan.
Santa Monica Airport is scheduled to close Jan. 1, 2029.
Edited by SMDP Staff