By Lookout Staff

June 23, 2026 -- The Santa Monica Great Park Coalition (GPC) received a major boost last week when the Sierra Club joined its ranks to push for a sprawling park on land currently occupied by the city's Airport.

The nation's premier environmental group said it weighed a proposed alternative that would add affordable multi-family housing to the 192 acres of land that will become available when the Airport closes at the end of 2028.

“The Sierra Club only made the decision to join the Great Park Coalition after considerable study," said David Haake, who chairs the West Los Angeles Group of the club's Angeles Chapter.

"As part of its mission, the Club is a strong supporter of urban infill housing development, affordability and equitable access to housing," Haake said.

"After studying the Santa Monica Airport situation in depth, we nonetheless determined to join the coalition and support the creation of a Measure LC compliant park."

Local voters in 2014 overwhelmingly approved Measure LC, a ballot initiative that sets aside the Airport land solely for parks, recreation and related uses.

Last year, affordable housing advocates mounted an unsuccessful lobbying effort to have the City Council study an alternative plan to build as many as 3,000 units on 25 percent of the available land.

They also began gathering signatures for a ballot measure voters would need to approve before housing can be built. The signed petitions, however, were not submitted in time to make this November's ballot.

In joining the Great Parks Coalition -- which includes 85 organizations and 1,100 individuals -- the Sierra Club pointed to Santa Monica's success in building affordable housing and its dearth of parks.

It noted that only three percent of Santa Monica's land is dedicated to parks, while more than 75 percent of its housing is multi-family, with more than half rent-controlled.

"The city has been a leader in building affordable housing, with a higher rate than the rest of the county," Haake said. "It has also been at the forefront of building transit and bike options.

"We believe that the Great Park can and will complement the City’s robust housing commitments in nearby transit-accessible locations, and we are happy to join the Coalition.”