The following is a submission from the City of Santa Monica.
The city of Santa Monica Wednesday released a draft of the Guiding Principles for the Airport Conversion Project, ahead of the Dec. 7 community event to share them and gather community feedback.
The Guiding Principles, along with community feedback, are set to be presented to the City Council in early 2025.
The principles are value statements describing the aspirations and expectations for the conversion of Santa Monica’s future “Great Park” and supporting uses. They are the result of months of community engagement through online surveys, community member comments, in-person workshops, community conversations and pop-up events, as well as from adopted city policy. These principles will be used to explore design scenarios in Phase 3 of the project and serve as definitions of success.
The project design team will use these principles to vet and evaluate park features, amenities, programs, technical performance requirements, financial strategies, phasing and implementation approaches. Each guiding principle includes a thesis that provides the value declaration; a description that expands on the thesis to explain the breadth and depth of the concept; and key goals.
The draft guiding principles are:
- Start with Nature — consider environmental impacts, build community resiliency against climate change, provide spaces to immerse in nature, support biodiversity and animal habitats
- Inspire Wonder — provide a space for community connection that’s welcoming to all, with spaces for events, celebrations, athletics and to showcase creativity and art
- Balance Economics — achieve economic equilibrium by balancing revenues with construction, operations, maintenance and programming costs
- Amplify Versatility — prioritize amenities for daily use, support active recreation, balance active and passive spaces, provide space for performing arts and big events
- Celebrate Place — embrace the layers of the city’s history and share stories of the place and the region, celebrate innovation and inspiration, foster a sense of community and collective ownership
To read the in-depth description of each guiding principle, click here.
Members of the public are invited to hear more about the principles and how they were distilled from the results of the first half of Phase 2 community outreach at a community event on Saturday, Dec. 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Memorial Park Gym, 1401 Olympic Blvd. Parking is limited, so alternative transportation is recommended.
The Santa Monica Airport Conversion Project is a once-in-a-lifetime planning effort for Santa Monica to create a preferred scenario for the airport site when aviation operations end in 2028, centered on a great park and consistent with Measure LC. There are five distinct planning phases within a 21-month process, anticipated to conclude with the adoption of a preferred scenario by the Santa Monica City Council by the end of 2025.
For more information on the Santa Monica Airport Conversion Project, visit smacproject.com.
