By Jorge Casuso

December 21, 2023 -- A unanimous vote by the City Council Tuesday to embark on the future of Santa Monica Airport revealed deep divisions over what options to consider.

One faction -- led by newly seated Mayor Phil Brock -- is pushing to focus the public process on the development of a "great park" and on determining the uses and facilities on the 227-acre-site.

The other, led by Councilmember Gleam Davis, wants to open up the discussion to potential uses other than park space and recreation -- including housing.

Shaping the debate is Measure LC, approved by Santa Monica voters in 2014, that allows the Council to approve the development of parks, public open spaces and public recreational facilities, but prohibits new development without voter approval.

"Our mandate is for a park," Brock said. "It might include a great outdoor gathering space. It could have daycare and senior facilities. We will have to figure out how to pay for it.

"In a City that has been under-parked, we never had the park we needed," said Brock, a former Recreation and Parks Commissioner.

"We're talking about adding more density to the City, more apartments," he said. "Those people will need recreational space. We will never have as much field space as we need in this city."

Davis argued that the public outreach process -- which will cost the City some $2.1 million -- should not fence in community input by focusing solely on a park.

"We are talking about the process, not the outcome," Davis said. "When we have public process, we have the expectation that people will be listened to.

"What if people say, 'We want housing.' What will you say? What if everyone in a room wants housing?"

Councilmember Jesse Zwick agreed. "I think it would really deeply illegitimize the process to tell people what they're allowed to tell us."

"The whole point," he added, "is to hear from them."

Councilmembers Lana Negrete and Christine Parra worried special interests could distract the Council from its focus on the mandate of 60 percent of the City's voters who approved Measure LC.

"I am concerned about the influence of affordable housing advocates, a strong special interest group here, that will skew how many people want housing here," Para said. "They have strong special interest groups."

Said Negrete, "People will talk about what they want to talk about. But we are talking about outdoor space. That's why we are having a discussion of all of (the uses) the community wants."

Amber Richane, acting chief operating officer for Public Works, returned to Measure LC, calling it "the trigger point."

"We are intending to close the airport and turn it into a park," Richane said. "If we do something outside LC we have to go back to the ballot, and that's a real fear, a real concern.

"We need to come back with an understanding of when does LC bend and when does it break," she said. "In a community meeting people can say whatever they want."

Before the Council vote, Assistant City Manager Susan Cline laid out the role the public, staff and the Council would play in transforming the airport after it closes on January 1, 2028, under an agreement with the FAA.

"Anyone can share their hopes and dreams," Cline said. "Our job is to document it and get direction from Council on what limitations we should put on the community feedback we got at the end of each phase" of the public process.

"We tell Council, 'This is what we heard,'" Cline said. "You'll give us direction on what will be flushed out."

After some 90 minutes of presentations and debate, the Council approved an agreement with Sasaki Inc. to assess the existing site conditions, gather public input and propose options for the future of the airport land ("Council to Take First Major Step in Airport Planning," December 13, 2023).

Sasaki, in partnership with city staff, will host more than 60 meetings and listening sessions with community members, city boards and commissions and the City Council in various formats, staff said.