> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # City planners not down with high-rise plans - URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-planners-not-down-with-high-rise-plans/ - Published: 2004-12-17T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T05:48:40.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Council to discuss plans for mall site on Jan. 25* Discussion of a development moratorium put on hold, but officials agree Santa Monica Place plans need work CITY HALL — The city’s Planning Commission, a regulatory body that has the ear of elected officials, indicated early Thursday it will oppose controversial plans to redevelop Santa Monica Place mall and dramatically alter the local skyline. The plans call for five office and residential towers sprouting up from the current mall’s 10-acre site, with three reaching 21 stories high. Only one other building in Santa Monica stands that tall, the white high-rise tower at Wilshire Boulevard and Ocean Avenue. Planning Commissioners said the plans were hatched with little public input and agreed developer Macerich Co. should be denied the permission to proceed. “They can continue to listen to the community, which I feel should have been done in the first place,” commissioner Jay Johnson said. “I think that’s the other major area of confusion here... I suspect that the process has not been as public as it otherwise should have been.” A proposal by the Santa Monica Democratic Club to temporarily stall all large developments in the city was tabled until Jan. 5\. On that date, the commission also will take a formal vote on the mall plans, something they waited to do until legal and other implications could be examined more closely. All but one of the commissioners openly criticized the project in its current configuration. Earlier in the lengthy meeting at City Hall, which began Wednesday evening, an attorney for the mall urged the commission to back the project in its formative phase. He said mall officials would gather community input and remain flexible on contested aspects of the redevelopment. “We have already received valuable input, including a clear concern regarding the height of the towers,” said attorney Dale Goldsmith, reading a letter from Macerich executive Randy Brant. “We have always intended to be flexible regarding many key project features, including the height and configuration of the housing units, and to shape the project through the public process.” Brant reiterated that sentiment on Thursday evening. “We came up with the starting point. We presented a plan that we believe was responsible,” he said. “Anything is possible, as long as the economics make sense for all concerned.” Two members of the public spoke out on the matter, offering diverging views on the Macerich plans, which include 300 condominiums, 150 apartments, nearly 560,000 square feet of retail, 80,000 square feet of office space and several acres of public open space. Local peace activist and sticker salesman Jerry Rubin urged the commission not to have a knee-jerk reaction, adding officials should approach the plans rationally and not support a “divisive and fearful moratorium.” Ellen Brennan, a board member for the Pier Restoration Corp., which manages the Santa Monica Pier, had harsher words for the Macerich plans. “I consider this to be the most outrageous insult to the sensibilities of Santa Monica ever to come down the pike,” said Brennan, who suggested the mall project be limited to a height of four stories. “If this were to go forward, it’s the end of Santa Monica as we know it.” Amid their discussions, all but one of the commissioners said they thought Macerich should be asked to start anew with their plans for redevelopment of the mall. “Having heard that it’s 24 or 25 stories, it gives me grave concern,” said Planning Commissioner Gwynne Pugh, who later said he would not vote on the issue because of a conflict of interest. “Just send it back to the developer and say, ‘start again.’” Planning Commissioner Darrell Clarke said he didn’t like the way the development discussion began. He felt it should-n’t be a given that all the various housing, retail, office and other components be included in whatever plans are ultimately approved. “I don’t want us to be in a position of saying, ‘The tall thin towers are too tall. Revert to the original concept of a big block that is 80 feet tall and covers the entire block, minus a street through the middle,’” said Clarke. “We need to look at the overall, as far as what is appropriate for this site, and not assume anything, as far as so many square feet, so many units, etcetera.” Planning Commissioners Barbara Brown, Arlene Hopkins and Julie Dad, who also is president of the Santa Monica Democratic Club, agreed. That left Planning Commissioner Terry O’Day, who said he wanted to learn more about the plans before making a decision. “There’s a lot of tradeoffs to achieve these goals. We can’t have everything,” O’Day said. “I’m inclined to see this project as a whole and consider all these issues.” Brown said there was no need to study the proposal in detail. “I don’t need to see it, frankly,” she said. “I don’t need to know what it is, because whatever it is, with that kind of a drastic departure from our current standards, I just cannot imagine how the council could … direct staff to proceed with a development agreement.” A development agreement, which allows developers to skirt city codes in exchange for certain benefits, would be needed in this case because of the proposed height of the towers. The current height limit for downtown is six stories, according to Planning Director Suzanne Frick. The Planning Commission’s final recommendation will be forwarded on to the City Council, which is scheduled to discuss the mall plans on Jan. 25. In the meantime, Brant defended the way Macerich presented its plans. “Being accused of not actively pursuing public input is true, form the standpoint that we haven’t yet done it,” he said. “It was always our plan — and I might add this was based on guidance from city staff — to present the plan to the city, then to council, hoping to achieve a nod from council to study the plan. At that point we would begin the public process. “It was never our intention to go around the Planning Commission or the citizens of Santa Monica, or the citizen groups of Santa Monica,” Brant added. “That seems to be the misunderstanding.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 17, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/121704.pdf?ref=smdp.com)