Logo horizontal ruler

  Archive

About Us Contact

Amidst Plenty of Consensus, Parking Divides Vision of City’s Future

By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

May 9 -- Since their ascendance in the 1950s, cars have ruled the Los Angeles basin. But where to put them may have become a speed bump on the way to finding a consensus on how to reshape Santa Monica by 2025.

Nearly 150 people gathered with City planners at the Civic Auditorium Monday to go through a laundry list of what they want to see and not see as Santa Monica grows, part of an ongoing redrawing of the City's more than 20-year-old General Plan.

"This phase has been about the neighborhoods and where the neighborhoods connect to the boulevards, how to make that a better transition," said Planning Director Eileen Fogarty, who for the past two months has met with residents of three separate neighborhoods.

Monday was the first night to discuss the City at large, and Fogarty hailed it as a success.

"Tonight, I heard general agreement on a direction, and that is (that) this is a very special place," she said. "Let's work street by street, rather than (on) some grandiose plan.

“Let's go neighborhood by neighborhood, street by street, business district by business district and really take what's unique and special and build on this."

But if last night's meeting was any indication, there may be bumps in the road ahead, at least when it comes to parking.

While the entire evening was civil and calm -- as patrons weighed in on a host of issues by holding up green placards in support, red in opposition and yellow if they were undecided -- when it came to parking, residents and businesses began to raise their voices.

"I feel the problem is parking," said Greg Morena, whose family owns several businesses on Main Street and Downtown.

Morena argued that to keep customers shopping at local stores, parking needs to be addressed.

"I can't emphasize how important those small businesses are," said Morena, who attended the meeting with his wife, Yummi.

Residents, largely from the Wilshire/Montana (Wilmont) area in the north side of the city, argued that they, too, need more parking in order to stop fighting with businesses and retail shops for scarce spaces.

"Obviously this is great we are taking time to plan for the future, because in Wilmont, we are victims of bad planning in the past," said Jeanne Dodson, who chairs the Wilshire/Montana group.

In her neighborhood, Dodson said, the situation is at a breaking point for many.

"I just want to make sure the people who live here now don’t get lost in the shuffle," she said.

After her comments, a smattering of retorts erupted, suggesting that some fear adding parking will only contribute to the city’s already congested streets, a reaction that registered with Fogarty.

"Parking is the one area where I heard a real clear difference of opinion," the planning director said.

"There's certainly a difference of perspectives, and that's one area where you have people who want adequate parking and then those who feel we have to make a move to make it less congested," she said after the meeting.

Parking, Fogarty said, will be one of the main topics planners will address before the City Council on June 19, when they present a conceptual plan touching on several general issues.

While City planners were careful not to show a preference, consultants for the City have suggested one option the community could consider would be to limit traffic in some parts of the City by perhaps cordoning off entire streets.

In addition to parking, there may be some deal making when it comes to key issues such as citywide growth and development, as well as some tradeoffs the community may have to consider, said Fogarty.

"I think that's the biggest message of all this," she said. "If the city continues to evolve over the next ten or 15 years, a city of this stature can define how they want their buildings to look."

In exchange for allowing larger or taller developments, the community could perhaps ask for more affordable or mixed-used housing, increased landscaping or even a paseo, Fogarty said.

"That's the big message,” she said. “We need to define what we want, how and what we're going to offer as an incentive and what we're not going to (offer)," she said.

Despite the disagreement on where to put cars, there was plenty of consensus on other issues, Fogarty said.

"I think everybody has said we want walkability, we want active retail," she said.

There were also clearly defined actions each neighborhood would like to see the City take, Fogarty said.

"In addition to short-term actions, Pico would like a neighborhood plan, Ocean Park an urban streetscape plan, Wilshire wants a parking strategy, as well as what we heard today," she said.

After the council weighs in on changes to the plan -- known as the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) of the General Plan -- City officials will then turn their attention to how to handle Santa Monica's only remaining manufacturing district along Olympic Boulevard.

Then in September, residents will begin tackling the broader issues of workforce housing, affordability, sustainability and economic modeling, Fogarty said.

 

“Let's go neighborhood by neighborhood, street by street, business district by business district and really take what's unique and special and build on this." Eileen Fogarty

 

"I feel the problem is parking." Greg Morena

 

"I just want to make sure the people who live here now don’t get lost in the shuffle." Jeanne Dodson

 

Lookout Logo footer image
Copyright 1999-2008 surfsantamonica.com. All Rights Reserved.
Footer Email icon