Editor’s note: This story is part of an ongoing series that tracks the city’s expenditures appearing on upcoming Santa Monica City Council consent agendas.

By Jared Morgan
Special to the Daily Press

CITY HALL The City Council is expected to throw a half million dollars tonight at a lawn by the beach, but the green lot isn’t your typical picnic spot.

More than $500,000 in grant money from the State Water Resources Control Board will be earmarked for a greening project that aims to reduce the amount of pollutants entering stormdrains, and eventually the Santa Monica Bay, providing a greener alternative to asphalt and concrete.

Some 30,000 square feet of land at 2030 Ocean Ave. — South Beach Parking Lot 4 — will be renovated to include irrigated turf that will be used to help capture and filter rainwater.

The green lot will be open to the public for recreational use for the better part of any given year. During the summer peak season, the expanse will be used as a parking lot, accommodating 1,319 cars.

To help protect the turf from damage inflicted by vehicles, the soil will be mixed with a product called Netlawn. Plastic and polymer fibers interlock with the soil to form a mesh base that can withstand the weight of vehicles on top.

The product is already in place at Virginia Avenue Park. The ground’s durability is constantly being tested by Farmers’ Market traffic.

Some wear can be seen “in the areas of vehicle traffic,” said Bret Horner, senior analyst of Parks & Community Facility Planning. “But it works really well in the parking area.”

To help monitor the success of the turf’s filtration, a monitoring system will be put in place to measure pollutants above and below the surface.

The system will essentially collect water from the parking lot in a catch basin above ground and in a subsurface monitoring well.

Winter wonderland

You won’t have to go far this winter to find some ice to get your carve on.

A portion of City Hall’s newly purchased property at 1324-26 Fifth St. will be leased to Bayside District Corp. for $6,000 per month to set up an ice skating rink for public use, from Nov. 16 through Jan. 7, 2008.

The property is currently being used for public parking.

MEAN STREETS

Almost 155 miles of Santa Monica streets will be receiving a facelift if the Council approves spending approximately $120,000 of Proposition C funds.

The current system of pavement management hasn’t been updated in four years, providing KMS and Associates, Inc. with the task of developing a new multi-year plan for maintaining and repairing city streets.

Without this system, local entities would not be eligible to receive revenue from the Gas Tax.

FROM STREETS TO SIDEWALKS

Next time you pump your gas you might just be helping to repair pedestrian walkways.

The Council will decide tonight whether to spend up to $1.36 million in Gas Tax refund money to revamp 1,258 of Santa Monica’s 2,026 sidewalks.

Repairs of all city sidewalks should be completed no later than summer 2008.

TAX JARGON

City Hall is expected to negotiate a three-year, $465,000 contract with HdL Coren & Cone for their services in monitoring and predicting property tax and other tax revenues.

These services are required by the Finance and Housing department, as well as the Economic Development department.

news@smpd.com