The Airport Conversion team is holding a meeting this weekend to both allow stakeholders (residents, business owners, workers, Mar Vista residents, etc…) to provide input on how the city can turn the airport into open space after the airport is closed in just over four years.
The meeting will be held in the Memorial Park Gym (1401 Olympic Boulevard) this Saturday, December 7 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm.
At the meeting, the consultant team will share the results of its most recent survey, conducted earlier this fall and begin the next round of collecting community feedback. Instead of the traditional open-microphone style of public meeting, attendees will be asked to take part in three activities that will take approximately 15-20 minutes each to help the city further narrow down options and plan for next steps.
After decades of advocacy, the city won a legal battle nearly 8 years ago with the federal government and as a result can close the airport on January 1, 2029. The airport takes up 227 acres of public land, roughly 5% of the size of the entire city. Combined with existing sports fields and adjacent Clover Park, a future airport park could be as large as ⅓ the size of Central Park in New York.
While Santa Monicans have been mostly united in their desire to see the airport closed and the land be converted to open space, there is still a lot of discussion on how to pay for it and whether or not housing should be allowed. A 2014 ballot proposition passed overwhelmingly by voters requires that any use of the airport land after closure be used for open space or educational purposes unless the residents pass a referendum allowing it.
Nevertheless, advocates for building more housing in Santa Monica see a win-win where some of the land could be set aside for housing that could help fund both the construction and upkeep of the open space that residents long for. One pro-housing group sent out an email to supporters urging them to attend Saturday’s event.
“While the country is facing a storm of uncertainty regarding national policies, with a 6-1 pro-housing majority on the incoming city council, we are hopeful to work locally to advance housing access for people cut out of the Santa Monica market. Please come and join us in making this vision a reality.”
A coalition of open space advocates, community groups and others have formed the “Great Park Coalition” (GPC) to urge the city to use all of the land for parks and educational purposes. The group boasts a mix of progressive local organizations including Santa Monica Spoke and Team Marine, community organizations, athletics clubs and even NIMBY groups such as the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City.
The GPC also emailed supporters urging them to come out on Saturday.
“We all have heard that democracy is not a spectator sport and the SMAC Project is no different. If we fail to participate here and to share our views, others may make the decisions for us.
Can you imagine enjoying or taking your children or grandchildren to a park you helped create? This is that moment – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help shape the Great Park for our own and many future generations to come.”Other groups have been active in urging the city to do something else with the land that will be available once the airport is closed. Supporters of the “Great Innovation Park” concept believe that the airport could be replaced by an air-taxi center that could help fund educational and open space opportunities on the rest of the land. Santa Monica based private school New Roads has also emailed supporters to ask that space be preserved for educational opportunities.
