Letters: On the Target Vote, Transit Mall and Education

February 24, 2001

Dear Editor,

It is about time that a City Council thinks about consequences to its city rather than focus on the financial benefits.

Not only would Target add to an already existing problem, just the development of the store alone would be a complete nightmare for everyone in the area. Target Stores does not care about anything but making money. I found the direct mail pieces misleading.

Tell (Council members Ken) Genser and (Pam) O'Connor to get on the DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES BOARD. Maybe they can sit and focus on clogging up the streets somewhere else -- as if it's not an existing problem already.

Their attitudes is exactly what has gotten Los Angeles in this situation now -- why not focus on alleviating traffic and congestion and focus on public transportation -- ever consider routing 'THE WAVE" up into Northern Santa Monica??

Congratulations to the ones that voted against TARGET and had the best interest of the City and People of Santa Monica in mind!

Summer A. Gourdin
(A 5th Street Residence)

February 23, 2001

Dear Editor,

Sadly, Santa Monica has lost an excellent opportunity to build a more diversified and dynamic urban center. Any commercially viable project built on this (the proposed Target) site will produce substantial traffic, without the countervailing benefits of affordable shopping for our residents.

Also, those likely to shop at Target are far more likely to use public transportation than those who can afford a $200 dinner for two, or a $750 trendy leather jacket. Yet, the most likely alternative for this site, an office building with trendy retail on the first floor, will still produce substantial traffic without the downtown economic diversification we urgently need.

Council members Ken Genser and Pam O'Conner were right to support this project. Those who argue that they like Target but not at this location missed the three realities raised by Council member Genser. First, there is no other option available. Second, if there were, it would have more negative impact upon residential areas located away from the main streets and the freeway than this project will have on the downtown area, just a few hundred yards from freeway off-ramps and on-ramps. Third, here was an opportunity to build a downtown shopping area that reflects the needs of all economic segments of our population, not just the most affluent.

I feel Council member Genser's analysis was especially thoughtful. Usually, stores like Target hurt downtown areas by building outside the City and drawing shoppers away from the downtown area. Here, Target was pioneering with a downtown location. Usually, stores like Target hurt the large number of mom and pop low cost stores. Here in Santa Monica, the opposite is true. Our Third Street mall has mostly large chains selling luxury items.

I felt that Council member Genser's patient analysis deserved more than a constant "It's the traffic stupid" retort. We all know that it is the traffic and we are not stupid. What was not honestly addressed is that any other commercial development on this site will produce substantial traffic and worsen the high-cost, economic gentrification of our downtown area.

If we are going to have substantial new traffic by any major development of this site, why not get something the community could really use? We lost a wonderful opportunity to build a diverse urban shopping area, something so many intelligent people really wanted.

Paul DeSantis
Santa Monica

February 22, 2001

Dear Editor,

I will not comment on the quality or the literary value of Mr. Larmore's poem and song, but only to encourage him to keep it up. I like poems better than law suits. I support the transit mall because I believe that we all need to leave our cars at home and learn to use public transportation.

A few days ago I made an effort to go downtown and rode the red line all underground. It was great, efficient, clean, quick and reminded me of what New York is not. I know all about the costs and the mishaps and the history of that line, but if we lived within four blocks of that subway we would use it all the time.

My problem with the transit mall in Santa Monica is I don't know why it is not planned to expand to all our city limits.

Bruria Finkel
Santa Monica

February 21, 2001

Dear Editor,

A couple of people I talked to last night at City Hall were complaining about Denny Zane's special coverage on the Target issue in a recent Lookout. So what if he's the "former mayor"? It's just more SMRR social engineering propaganda.

A "letter to the Editor"-- Yes. But, a special column? No. I agree. Why are we giving these old political hacks special forums to air their views?

It helps sustain a philosophy of "doing business" and provides them with a special elevated platform that gives them an advantage in promoting their views and maintaining power. He is Denny Zane, Joe Citizen like the rest of us. Denny is not an elected official and not deserving of special treatment, the same with Judy Abdo and the other bureaucrats who still think they run the town.

On another note... (Planning Commission chair ) Kelly Olson's video, most of it shot well away from 5th and Santa Monica Blvd, showed lots of backed-up traffic on our streets. Most of the shots were done with a telephoto lens to compress the image, making the traffic look worse than it was, although it is really bad -- especially at rush hour in
Sunset Park with all the commuters backed up on local streets trying to get to Walgrove in Venice.

The Sunset Park shots were a graphic demonstration of how all the City's traffic calming is making traffic much worse, not better -- and I told him so. Was the video applicable to Target? No, not particularly, but a hell of an image of how badly Council's policies have failed to handle traffic throughout the City.

Bill Bauer
Santa Monica

February 21, 2001

Dear Editor,

It seems the city of Santa Monica has 2 SMRR powerhouses loudly against a Target "community" store (Kelly & Denny). These guys have a lot of clout in Santa Monica politics.

The video shown by (Planning Commission chair) Kelly Olsen at the Tuesday, 2/20/01, council meeting was probably in the middle of summer on a weekend, when beach traffic was at its peak. And (former Mayor) Denny Zane's email about the devastating traffic from Target -- I thought he was talking about the Empire State building in New York or maybe the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

It seems we experience real diversity in Santa Monica, at least in the Pico neighborhood, but the stores are all doomed to be for yuppies. We do so much for affordable housing in Santa Monica. Why can't we have affordable shopping?

I would like to see a deal struck between the homeless coddling City of Santa Monica and a community store like Target. To gain a foothold downtown, Target would have to steam clean the uric acid soaked alleys on each side of the promenade, so that movie goers & shoppers wouldn't have to breathe the fumes from urine & vomit that now prevail in those alleys.

C'mon, guys, you finally cleaned up (sort of) the parking structure bathrooms (they're not quite so horrible anymore), & thanks for that. But those alleys are disgusting (& have been for several administrations) maybe the urine smell is part of the downtown Santa Monica experience.

Do Beverly Hills & Culver City have a U. S. Constitution? How come we get all the homeless, with all the constitutional rights, the right to publicly vomit & urinate wherever they want to, even in front of school children.

Why can't we have some sensibility for a change? Why do we have to breathe those fumes and look at the vomit & excrement after a nice meal on the Promenade? Is that fair? Is it sensible? We have a fine police force & police chief, but are they hamstrung?

George George
Santa Monica

February 20, 2001

Dear Editor,

Here's something people may not know about the subject of automobile traffic in the downtown Santa Monica area. When TARGET heard there was community concern about congested streets, it offered before the City Council to fund a project that would time the traffic lights in the downtown area and drastically reduce gridlock. (...did you get that?...TARGET ITSELF would provide the funding!)

The City Council turned it down. Months later, the City came up with the great idea that Santa Monica should time the traffic lights in the downtown area to reduce gridlock. What a great idea.

Holly Johnson
Santa Monica

February 20, 2001

Dear Editor,

Next Tuesday, February 27, the SM City Council will decide how to spend $3.2 million not spent in 1999-2000. Education was one of Council's stated top priorities for 99-00 and has been reaffirmed as a top priority for 2000-2001.

Therefore, it is my hope and expectation that Council will utilize these discretionary dollars to further make good on their commitment to public education. Our public education system is not funded at a level that can sustain the diversity of programs and excellence our community expects and our students deserve.

Please email Council members, thank them for recognizing and supporting education as a top community priority, encourage them to work with the School Board to come up with a long-term strategic sustainable plan, and urge them to use this $3.2 million surplus in Council Discretionary Funds as an investment/down payment/bridge to increase ongoing funding to our schools now.

Thanks, cheers and onward,

Louise Jaffe
Santa Monica

February 16, 2001

Dear Editor,

Hard to believe columnist Frank Gruber is against open space.... The Parks and Open Space Element identified a deficit in the amount of open space this City should have given its population.

SMRR and the Planning Commission changed the zoning laws for the downtown area to allow greater height and density if the upper floors are housing. So Howard Jacobs and others have been building hundreds of high density units downtown from 5th to 7th St. These TENANTS!!! NEED park space downtown.

Instead of running Earl Scheib and others out of business to build a parking garage on Colorado between 7th and Lincoln, the City should buy 5th and SM Blvd and build a parking garage below ground and a park above, a la Pershing Sq,

Target Now or Never... then I vote NEVER at that location downtown. The traffic it will generate will be a nightmare. I avoid downtown due to the lack of parking. If the City built a parking garage at 5th and SM Blvd. to accommodate customers for the existing businesses, that would be a great idea.

Look what happened with Zucky's. Some idiot decided to use the parking lots for the Zucky's restaurant to build a low-income housing project. Now the restaurant space sits vacant because there is no parking for potential customers. I remember when the lot behind Zucky's was FULL. Who would open a business in that location now that the parking is gone? No one, which is why it has been vacant for years.

To paraphrase Yogi Berra when he was invited to dinner at a NY restaurant, he declined stating." No one goes there any more, it's too crowded." That's my opinion of the parking problem downtown -- I avoid it because it is too hard to find a space. So, forget a big box store downtown. It would be a disaster. I vote with Denny Zane !!! on THIS issue

Mathew Millen
Santa Monica