Holbrook wants business represented on task force
The city is recommending that no landlords or merchants participate on a task force that could ultimately lead to an entirely new business landscape on the Third Street Promenade.
Concerned with the deterioration in the number of restaurants on the Promenade and the overabundance of retailers, city officials are concerned shopping along Third Street will diminish as the area begins to resemble a generic suburban shopping mall. The council voted recently to appoint a task force to figure out how to regulate the mall so it isn’t so retail-heavy.
Senior city staff members recommend the task force consist of three councilmembers, two Bayside District Corporation members, and one planning commissioner.
If the council accepts the city staff’s plan, the task force could have a shelf life of 1-2 years and the current 45-day moratorium on further retail development could be extended for as long as three years.
The plan shuns the desires of business groups and the Bayside District Corporation to include, “a property owner and a merchant and/or restaurateur.”
“Staff recommends that the task force be composed of no more than six members and that it be small to ensure an effective and efficient process,” senior staff wrote in their report to council.
Landlords and merchants are confused by the city’s plan, as they have made several recommendations of who among them should help serve on the task force.
“I don’t understand, if you want to create new ideas you have to talk with people with business experience,” said Barbara Tenzer, owner of Tenzer Commercial Brokerage Group, which represents a majority of landlords on the mall. “I don’t know why they would do something like this.”
Already one elected official has come forward saying the proposed configuration is wrong. Councilman Robert Holbrook said elected officials don’t have the expertise to regulate complex issues involving long-term leases and property management issues.
He said it would stand to reason that the people who actually “live it and breath it” should help figure out the best way to fix the Promenade.
However, Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown feels city officials came back with an “excellent” recommendation for the task force, though he said he was weary of extending the moratorium for a long period of time.
“But these are the people who are responsible for policy decisions and who have an in-depth knowledge of the issues,” he said. “So I think the make-up of the task force would be fine.”
McKeown stressed that the task force’s meetings would be public and business owners, retailers and restaurateurs would all have a chance to be heard.
Originally, the Third Street mall was primarily a pedestrian retail mall that failed to attract residents and visitors. The city then enacted a series of zoning measures to bring in restaurants and entertainment.
“The plan established policies to preserve the unique mixture of uses, a key element to the success of the Promenade,” wrote officials. “Over the years the council has maintained the balance of uses by enacting zoning regulations that foster the appropriate mix of restaurant, retail and entertainment uses.”
As rents along the Third Street Promenade skyrocket, only nationwide chains can afford to pay, sending restaurants to nearby streets and leaving the Promenade with a distinct suburban mall feel.
“The Promenade is becoming less unique and more like an average outdoor shopping mall,” wrote officials. “If allowed to continue, this trend will threaten the economic and social welfare of the downtown area.”
Administrators say they want to clearly define the role of the task force to keep it on-target and manage it jointly by staff from the Bayside District Corporation, Planning and Community Development Department and Resource Management Department.
“The task force will review the policy issues and recommend solutions with the assistance of staff and consultants,” wrote staff members. Business owners were not mentioned.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 7, 2002. Read the original PDF.