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# City projects top nearly $11M in spending tonight
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-projects-top-nearly-11m-in-spending-tonight/
- Published: 2003-03-25T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T01:54:33.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Lights for Santa Monica streets to cost $780K*

(Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series that tracks the city’s expenditures which appear on the upcoming Santa Monica City Council consent agenda. Consent agenda items are routinely passed by the City council with little or no discussion from elected officials or the public. However, many of the items have been part of public discussion in the past.)

By Carolyn Sackariason

Daily Press Staff Writer

Improvements to the city’s streets, sidewalks, lights and parking structures account for nearly $11 million the City Council is expected to spend tonight with one vote.

The largest price tag is $5,778,000 for this year’s street and park parking lot resurfacing and sidewalk repair project, with another $455,400 going toward a construction management contract for the work.

Of that, 44.5 percent is covered by the city’s general fund while the remaining amount is funded through grants, “enterprise funds” and fees collected by the city. About $400,000 will come from the state’s Highways through Cities fund and $204,460 will be paid by fees paid by developers.

Resurfacing is done once every seven years to various streets throughout Santa Monica. The project also includes improvements to the Santa Monica Airport runway and taxiway.

The next biggest ticket item is $4,335,407 to seismic retrofit parking structure 7 at the corner of Broadway and Fourth Street, next to Santa Monica Place.

The project will be financed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and city redevelopment funds through the city’s earthquake recovery development account.

While FEMA has committed to fund the seismic upgrades of some parking structures over the next two to three years, recent estimates show that actual costs will substantially exceed the funding available from FEMA.

Structure 7 is one of the newest and largest public parking garages with 958 spaces. The retrofit includes drilling and installing new foundation pilings. It also includes constructing new walls and strengthening the floors on each level.

Also, to make the garage comply with the American Disabilities Act, handicapped parking spaces will be made more accessible, and elevators and public telephones will be upgraded, among other improvements.

Another $780,095 may be spent to replace deteriorated electrical circuits and lighting on streets throughout the city. The lights will be replaced with modern, reliable, multiple circuits and lighting fixtures. The multi-year project is based on prioritizing lights crucial to the safety of citizens.

The areas at the top of the list for improvements are:

• Wilshire Boulevard from 15th Street to 22nd Street.

• Wilshire Boulevard from 24th Street to Yale Avenue.

• 22nd Street from Wilshire Boulevard to California Avenue.

• 23rd Street from Wilshire Boulevard to California Avenue.

• 24th Street from Wilshire Boulevard to California Avenue.

• Goose Egg Park.

• Memorial Park.

• Ocean Front Walk (north of the pier).

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/032503-02_01.jpg)

Library workers on Monday station themselves outside of the Main Library to turn people away after the facility was closed to the public so a new one can be built. (Photo: Del Pastrana/Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 25, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/032503.pdf?ref=smdp.com)