City Settles with Coalition

By Lookout Staff

April 18 -- Months after filing suit, a local group will get to view City documents related to the proposed redevelopment of Santa Monica Place, the struggling indoor mall Downtown.

Under a settlement approved by the City Council last week, the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City (SMCLC) will receive nearly $36,000 in attorney's fees and be given access to documents related to meetings with the Macerich Corporation, the owners of the mall.

"Today is a victory for Santa Monica residents, the press and for a fair, transparent public process," said Diana Gordon, spokesperson for the coalition, which filed the suit last fall.

The grassroots group made up of an eclectic mix of residents and civic leaders charged that the City was highjacking the public process and stonewalling the group's efforts to obtain information on the proposed plan to rebuild the 25-year-old mall.

Macerich's initial proposal called for three 21-story condo towers, an apartment building, an office building and a park perched above two floors of retail. The plan was scrapped after public opposition.

After the City Council ordered staff to start from scratch on the development, City officials conducted an extensive public outreach that included a series of community meetings, workshops and telephone polls.

Most recently, however, the mall's development has been placed on hold until Macerich determines how to fill the void left by Robinson's-May, an anchor department store which closed its doors earlier this month.

Many in the community, Gordon said, felt their input was being ignored, leading to the legal challenge.

"SMCLC was forced to sue the City almost a year ago after it repeatedly
refused to make public a significant number of public documents relating to
Macerich's plans to redevelop Santa Monica Place," stated a press release issued by the group.

"Only after the lawsuit was filed did the City produce many documents it had shielded from public view," Gordon said in the statement. "Suing the city was a last resort. We are gratified that the city accepts its obligation to produce these documents to the public."

Despite last Tuesday's council vote, the legal squabbling over how much the City knew about the project and how closely they are working with Macerich goes on.

According to the coalition, another public records request is pending with the City for development agreements it has entered into and documents relating to its monitoring of developers' compliance with these agreements.