Residents Take Aim as Target Hearing Nears

By Jorge Casuso

If you want to gauge the buzz generated by the proposed downtown Target store, just call the mayor.

"If you are calling about the Target project," Mayor Michael Feinstein's voice says on his answering machine, "please give me your reason why you are for or against the project."

But whatever your position, you'd better email the electronically connected mayor -- his voice mailbox is likely full.

Not since a controversial new hotel was proposed on Santa Monica beach a decade ago has an issue created as much heated debate and last-minute lobbying as the proposed 160,000-square-foot Target store that the City Council will hear testimony on Tuesday night and likely vote on Thursday night.

"I checked my email at 10 this morning and I just checked it again before three this afternoon and there were 35 new messages," Councilman Richard Bloom said Monday. "This is probably the single issue that's brought out the most response."

"We got mail. We got email. City Hall probably got over 100 letters," said Councilman Herb Katz.

"I left the house at 1 and called in for messages at 2:30. There were six messages, five of them were about Target," Councilman Ken Genser said Monday, adding that he is working on his computer and has not been able to access email. "I've received up to a dozen calls a day. I've gotten a lot more response than normal."

"My answering machine filled up with people I had never heard from before," said Council member Pam O'Connor. "Luckily my computer just died. Hopefully I can get to City Hall tomorrow and pick up my mail there."

The sudden and relentless stream of messages has been spurred by a last-ditch effort organized by Target, which has engaged in a two-year campaign to open a store on the corner of Fifth Street and Santa Monica Boulevard at the site of the demolished Henshey's store.

As Tuesday's council hearing approached, Target and its supporters sent out postcards, handed out flyers and mounted a phone, email and letter writing campaign that brought out advocates, as well as opponents.

Many of the supporters sent the council handwritten messages -- many of them scrawled on a printed template -- urging the seven council members to bring a much needed affordable shopping venue to the City's upscale downtown.

"I am a 73-year-old retired, disabled & poor citizen of Santa Monica (12 year resident) who retired here to our great community," wrote Aaron M Binder. "I am writing because I have to drive very far to get to Target for their outstanding prices.... I am in no way associated with Target."

"Great for seniors. Prices are excellent. Merchandise will be affordable. Good for the economy," William R. Biggit, hand wrote on the form titled, "I Would Like A Target Store In Downtown Santa Monica."

But if Target's campaign brought out plenty of vocal supporters, it also mobilized angry opponents, who fear the three-story development will further snarl already congested downtown traffic.

"I have just received a notice from Target regarding their proposal for a new store... right in the heart of our already over-crowded, jampacked, traffic obstructed (shall I go on?), beautiful little 'downtown' area," said a letter signed by Gina and Maria Norwood and Dominick Lyons. "Need a Target store? There's one conveniently located just a few short miles away in Culver City."

"I received in my mail a flyer, apparently sent by Target Stores, asking me to write to my City Council regarding my feelings about the proposed Target store," wrote Peter Davison. "I would like to point out that there is no information about who sent this in the flyer, nor is there a return address. Is this legal? I am very much against even more building and crowding in Santa Monica."

Craig Johnson, a developer who is working as a consultant on the Target project, said the number of letters, emails and calls in favor of the development show a groundswell of community support.

"We've spent two years working with people and through that we've got a good group of people that's supportive," Johnson said. "We sent out flyers to people we've met with before. It is much easier to get someone to testify if they're angry than if they're supportive.

"It's word of mouth," Johnson said. "Target is doing some stuff too, but it's very grassroots."

Whatever the extent of Target's involvement, several council members doubt that the campaign has been a clear-cut success.

"The proponents are slightly ahead," said Bloom, referring to the correspondence in favor of the store. "But what's remarkable is that so much opposition has been generated by the marketing campaign. People say, I have received phone calls or mail from Target.' They actually refer to the solicitation."

The campaign, said Katz, "has helped them and it has hindered them. A lot (of the opposition) is 'I just got this in the mail and I'm against it.'"

Whatever the public sentiment expressed Tuesday night, Target faces an uphill battle. The Bayside District Board of Directors, which runs the downtown area, voted to take no position on the project, and the Planning Commission turned it down in a 5 to 2 vote.

Staff is recommending that council deny the development review permit, saying that the project is not compatible with the area, does not relate "harmoniously" to surrounding sites and neighborhoods and will "create substantial traffic circulation impacts in an area that is saturated with traffic."

But on the eve of the major vote, council members are playing their cards close to the vest, in large part for legal reasons. Unlike a vote on an ordinance, when the council sits in a legislative capacity, the seven-member body will convene in a quasi-judicial capacity to decide Target's appeal of the Planning Commission vote.

"I'm not going to express an opinion," said Genser, adding that he planned to read the Environmental Impact Report Monday night after falling asleep during his last try.

O'Connor also is waiting until the last minute to do her homework, likening her preparations to cramming for a final exam.

"I won't look at the staff report until tomorrow," O'Connor said. "Until today, it was on the shelf for me.

"If I got involved too early on, I would start formulating an opinion," O'Connor added. "I won't stake out an opinion until the public hearing."

Whatever the outcome, council members say that the extensive community debate has touched on everything from how residents view the downtown to their visions for Santa Monica's future.

"It's wonderful that people care about the community so much they talk about their vision of the city," Genser said. "It's a good dialogue for the community, and it's a rich discussion."

"It isn't just a black and white argument," said Feinstein. "There's a million angles here."