Bayside Board Fails to Agree on Target

By Jorge Casuso

After a series of split votes that highlighted the controversial nature of the project, the Bayside District board of directors Monday night failed to take a position on the proposed Target store downtown.

A motion to support the proposed 166,500 square foot development failed, as did a substitute motion to take no position on the project, which is slated to go up on the surface parking lot behind Toys 'R Us on Fifth Street and Santa Monica Boulevard.

Most of the board members said that while they supported an affordable department store in Santa Monica, they feared that a three-story store on the proposed site in the heart of downtown would worsen an already bad traffic and parking problem.

"My concern is that you're a big volume dealer. You have big numbers," said board member Ruth Elwell. "I'm concerned it will be a significant impact on this area. I don't know if this really belongs in this area."

"I don't want it in the downtown," said board member Patricia Hoffman. "I don't think the traffic is mitigatable."

Art Harris, who is the resident representative on the board, said that most area residents he has talked to oppose the project.

"The most striking thing to me is that some of the poorest are the most against it," said Harris, who made the substitute motion not to take a position. "They are concerned about the congestion. The residents are not in favor."

Several board members argued that the site was better suited to a mixed-use project that would incorporate street level retail, with offices and housing on the upper levels. Real estate consultant Robert York agreed.

"In a perfect world you'd see a mixed use project," York said. "A high quality mixed-use project may be the best use for that site."

Chairman Wally Marks disagreed, contending that a mixed-use project likely wouldn't "pencil out."

"I really tend to support it being the better alternative of what might come down the pike," said Marks. "I tend to think that this is the best combination of items. I believe in housing, but I don't know that that will pencil out."

Marks was one of the few board members to support the store, which is expected to help fill the gap left by the demise of affordable department stores such as Hensheys, Penny's and Woolworth in the downtown area.

The Board's lack of consensus came after Target representatives held several meetings across the city to drum up support for the project. The meetings included well-attended presentations to seniors at Santa Monica Place Thursday afternoon and to Pico Neighborhood residents Saturday morning.

Touting Target's track record - the store hires local residents and invests some of its profits back into the community - representatives urged members of the audience to circulate petitions and speak up when the project comes before City boards and commissions.

"This is not a done deal. We're far from there," Carolyn Brookter, Target's manager of media relations, told the 18 residents gathered at MGM Plaza Thursday night.

"We have a lot of the City leaders to convince," Brookter said. We've convinced many of the residents. Your City leaders think they know what you want."