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By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer
April 30 -- For some, it was a new place to let
their dogs loose. Kicking around a soccer ball on synthetic
turf drew others.
For Cole Spooner, 7, the attraction of Santa Monica's first
park in a quarter century came from some creative land use
in a City crunched for open space.
"I like the airplanes," said Cole, who with his
mother and younger brother played with hand-sized cardboard
aircraft just yards away from the real thing parked on a nearby
tarmac.
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| Kids play in sandlot (Photos by
Olin Ericksen) |
The Spooners were just one family in an estimated crowd
of 2,000 Los Angeles and Santa Monica residents who turned
out for the inauguration of the 8.3-acre Airport Park tucked
inside the far southeast corner of Santa Monica's general
aviation Airport.
In addition to a dog park and 3.3 acres of new sports fields,
a twisted jungle gym and picnic tables dot the long strip
of green grass and artificial turf.
Much of it is ringed by a walking and jogging track, and all
of it is part and parcel of a $142 million, 20-year plan to
increase open space in the city.
Sunday, above the intermittent whir of jet and propeller engines,
a brass band played, kids and parents laughed, dogs barked,
and, yes, politicians spoke.
"This has been a long time coming," said Mayor Richard
Bloom, who with Council member Herb Katz helped kick-off festivities
in a park nearly a decade in the making.
"What is this park about?" asked Bloom. "It’s
about people, it's about dogs…this park mostly is about
your children."
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| Fanfare included a brass band. |
Rather than a ribbon cutting, Bloom rolled a giant inflatable
soccer ball into a net as a group of kids dressed in shinguards
and shiny athletic uniforms stood ready for their first matches
on a field featuring environmentally friendly fake turf.
"That's the first artificial turf in Santa Monica made
of recycled materials," declared Bloom. "In addition
to using less water, it’s very sustainable. It allows
us to use this field year round."
On the opposite side of the park, Katz threw out the first
tennis dog-ball to his slathering four-year-old black Labrador,
Amy, at the fourth and largest dog park in Santa Monica, measuring
.88 acres.
Santa Monica renters, Tatum Cardillo and Yvonne Lil said the
extra space will help their 5 year-old dog, Tarren, get out
and exercise and socialize more in a City full of zoning regulations.
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| Dogs and their owners prepare to
test park. |
"I think it's a great addition to public space,"
said Cardillo. "My experience living here so far is…
if you have a dog, you have nowhere to go. There's a huge
expanse of beach where you can't take your dog. So you have
to go to dog parks."
While all owners interviewed said the park would increase
quality of life for people and pets alike, some Los Angeles
residents who brought their pets lamented the limited use
they’ll have of the new dog park.
The issue was serious enough that Los Angeles City Council
member Bill Rosendahl attended the event informally and called
on Santa Monica officials to increase the number of Los Angeles
residents allowed to bring their dogs to the park from the
current 15.
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| LA resident Rob Kadota
protests dog park access. |
"The reason I'm here is because of my constituents
and helping my residents get equal access to the dog park
because we live in this neighborhood," Rosendahl told
The Lookout in an interview.
"We feel the impact of Santa Monica, which is in the
heart of the eleventh district in the City of Los Angeles,"
Rosendahl said, noting that he would continue to meet with
Santa Monica officials to discuss the matter.
Aside from dogged disputes over dog park admittance, many
park revelers said any additional green space on the Westside
was a step forward for a City of 8.3 square miles and a population
of more than 80,000.
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| Kids play on jungle
gym. |
"If we are going to go to an open space, we go to the
beach, but this is nice because it is within walking distance
of our house," said Chris Gunn, a nearby Mar Vista resident
who came to the park with his wife, Liezel, and four-month-old
daughter, Flora.
"We love that we can walk to this park and it's really
kind of neighborhoody," he said. "It's really kind
of New York for us to be able to walk to a park that is close."
Others, like Beth Spooner, said she likes the community emphasis.
"I think it's amazing," said the mother of two.
"I think the field is beautiful, and the dog park is
top notch, and any place where the community can get together
is great."
While a seeming hit with patrons, the park does have its
detractors.
In a squeeze for open and public space, the park was approved
by the City Council without performing an environmental impact
review, a source of contention for nearby residents who are
pushing for better pollution testing in the area.
Bloom acknowledged the road was long and decisions were difficult
as the park was made a reality.
"We moved aggressively forward on this and what you're
seeing here today is the result of many years of work of probably
thousands of people in our community," the mayor said.
While an increase in jet traffic has some, such as Rosendahl
questioning the placement of the park so close to the airport,
many like Cole looked at the park through the eyes of a child
on its inaugural day.
"I think it's cool that
there's different things at the park that are kind of unusual,"
he said.
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