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# Coalition aims to keep developers in check in SM
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/coalition-aims-to-keep-developers-in-check-in-sm/
- Published: 2006-06-12T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T18:17:57.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Community, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*SMCLC, from page 1 Coalition standing up to city developers*

*By KEVIN HERRERA Santa Monica Daily Press*

Giving the people what they want is what it’s all about for a grass roots coalition who helped take down big, bad development.

With the city facing a resurgence in residential and commercial projects, the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City (SMCLC) has formed in efforts to keep City Hall honest, as well as preserve the small-town vibe many Santa Monicans cherish.

The coalition — comprised of residents from such diverse backgrounds as television comedy and immigration law, to engineering and political consulting — is a non-profit with one goal in mind: Identifying the most community friendly manner in which the city should grow.

“Our agenda is the community’s agenda,” said former land-use and environmental law attorney Diana Gordon, a long-time resident of Santa Monica and co-chair of SMCLC. “We are here to be a watchdog for the community and to advocate for the types of development that the community wants. Right now, the feeling is residents want a more conservative approach to growth.

“If that changes, then so will we.”

The coalition has emerged just as City Hall embarks on a two-year long effort to identify what residents want their city to look like 20 years from now. “Shape The Future 2025” is a major planning effort that is part of the new General Plan Land Use and Circulation Elements, policy documents that will guide the building, land use and transportation activities in the city for decades.

“City staff has a lot of power in this city and that makes me uncomfortable,” said Sherrill Kushner, a 28-year resident of Santa Monica and a member of the coalition. “If you talk to many in this city, they’ll say the quality of life is just getting worse. If things continue as they have been, I think there will be many fires that will need to be put out. We are here to get to the heart of the issue and that’s no B.S. We want to be involved so that we can prevent some of those fires from getting out of control.”

> “City staff has a lot of power in this city and that makes me uncomfortable,”

> “If you talk to many in this city, they’ll say the quality of life is just getting worse. If things continue as they have been, I think there will be many fires that will need to be put out.We are here to get to the heart of the issue and that’s no B.S. We want to be involved so that we can prevent some of those fires from getting out of control.” — said Sherrill Kushner, a 28-year resident of Santa Monica and a member of the coalition

The Roots of Grass Roots

SMCLC is a non-profit community group that formed in the wake of a movement to redevelop the Santa Monica Place mall, according to Gordon, Kushner and other coalition members. The ranks include a television writer, immigration attorney, a former city staff member, consumer protection adviser, two engineers, a former planning commissioner, two artists, a former bookstore owner, a film producer and a political consultant.

When the owners of Santa Monica Place unveiled a massive redevelopment plan in January 2005 that included razing the boxy relic of ‘80s retail and replacing it with three, high-rise towers, many residents were shocked and outraged by the scope of the project, as well as the audacity of the company proposing it.

They wondered how Macerich Co., a publicly-traded real estate investment trust operating 75 malls throughout the country, could present a plan so out of step with the community’s vision for the future of downtown, especially after officials with the Santa Monica-based company and City Hall hosted a series of public meetings in which residents voiced their opposition to such a massive redevelopment effort.

Residents felt city officials and representatives with Macerich had completely ignored concerns raised regarding traffic congestion and the loss of Santa Monica’s small-town feel.

Victor Fresco was one of those residents, but instead of sitting back and complaining at the dinner table, he and Gordon made a few phone calls and gathered other concerned residents involved in local, grass-roots campaigns to discuss ways in which they could learn more about how the Macerich proposal was developed.

691,“We felt the community outreach was more publicity oriented than it was actually meant to solicit residents’ opinions,” said Fresco, a television writer for 20th Century FOX, who has been involved in local politics as a member of the North of Montana Association, or NOMA. “Many residents felt it was Macerich and the city on one side and residents on the other, as opposed to the city being neutral … We all felt, as residents, we should have a clearer understanding of what the deal was that the city and Macerich were negotiating behind closed doors.”

Fresco, Gordon and a handful of other residents began meeting shortly after the Macerich proposal was introduced in January of 2005\. During the meetings, held at Gordon’s law office in downtown, residents contemplated a strategy for obtaining any and all documents related to the redevelopment of the mall, including e-mails and other forms of communication made between city staff, the City Council and Macerich.

“We just wanted to know how a proposal like this could get all the way to the City Council when all of those we spoke to were opposed to it,” Fresco said.

When their requests were denied, Fresco said he and others participating in the meetings decided to file a lawsuit, and with that, a coalition was born.

Gaining street cred

The suit, filed in May 2005, was settled in April, with the council agreeing to hand over all documents requested by the coalition. The council also approved a payment of $36,000 to cover attorneys’ fees for the coalition. The City Attorney’s Office fought the request because it felt e-mails and other internal communications between staff members and the council was protected.

The victory was a huge boost to SMCLC’s credibility, Gordon said, proving to the council and the community that the organization wasn’t just another group that would fade away at the first sign of trouble.

“I think it shows we are serious about protecting the rights of residents in the community to have public access to documents and information they should have,” Gordon said. “I think it puts the city on notice that they cannot conduct important business behind closed doors and that SMCLC will act to protect the publics rights.” support continues to grow

City Hall has apparently gotten the message, and not solely because of the lawsuit, but also due to the group’s members, which includes many respected community activists and former city commissioners.

“I have known and worked previously with almost all of the SMCLC steering committee and advisors, either in my years as neighborhood activist or now on the council,” said Councilman Kevin McKeown. “They certainly have my respect personally and as a council member. Unlike other shadow groups that have arisen lately, SMCLC is entirely open about their composition and their mission.”

McKeown said the group has evolved beyond the Macerich proposal to offer intelligent alternatives to how the council currently looks at land use issues and traffic, submitting two proposals on how better to study the impacts of traffic related to development, and how to respond to a zoning threat posed by a statewide initiative on the November ballot known as “The Anderson Initiative.” If approved, the initiative would require City Hall to pay developers and property owners compensation for limiting the size of developments in certain areas of the city.

649,“While a developer’s 25-story condo towers downtown were a wake-up call to many in the community, SMCLC has persevered after that first scare to develop proactive positions and to engage staff, the council and the Planning Commission on policy decisions regarding land use,” said McKeown. “This is important work that benefits all of us living, working and otherwise involved in Santa Monica, and I thank them for it.”

Gordon, the official spokesperson for the coalition, said expanding into other land use issues was a natural progression for the group, which is comprised of members heavily involved in the growth of the city.

Gordon would not release the exact number of members in the coalition because that is “constantly in flux.” She did say the steering committee and team of advisors totals 26, with thousands more in the group’s database. The coalition plans to reach out to more than 12,000 additional residents in the coming weeks to gather more opinions of land use.

Regardless of the numbers, Chris Harding, an attorney who represents many developers in the city, said he was impressed by the coalition’s membership so far, which includes; property manager Jeff Segal, president of First Avenue Realty; Linda Sullivan, a former employee of the City Manager’s Office and current member of the Pier Restoration Corporation board of directors and director of marketing and sales for Barker Hanger; former planning commissioner Geraldine Kennedy; and civil rights attorney Carol Sobel, a former attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who now operates her private practice in Santa Monica.

C40,“I’ve looked at those people participating in the group and they are a very significant and diverse group of people with very deep roots in Santa Monica,” Harding said. “It brings together a number of people who should have their voices heard. These are people from the community whom I hold in high regard.”

While the coalition played a role in the denial of the Macerich project, Tracey Gotsis, senior vice president of marketing for the property management trust, said she “admires” the group for its effort in organizing the community.

“They are very intelligent, passionate leaders of the community … and what I appreciate most is that they have grown and evolved and are thinking about the bigger picture of Santa Monica, not just Santa Monica Place,” Gotsis said. “I think they are looking at how all projects will impact the quality of life in Santa Monica, and I admire that.”

Macerich officials met with the coalition for the first time just two weeks ago, in the wake of an announcement by the development company that it had erred in not taking resident feedback into account in the stages leading up to its initial plans that included the high-rises. The company has since apologized to the community and vows to work with the coalition on a regular basis as it designs a mall redevelopment project that will be decidedly more scaled back than its original model.

Gotsis said Macerich looks forward to fostering a better relationship with Santa Monica’s residents, indicating that the best project for all will result from bringing all sides to the table.

Gordon acknowledged the coalition was galvanized by the Macerich proposal, but shortly after forming, members knew that the coalition would not be focused solely on one issue.

“With the diverse group of advisors we have, many of whom are thoughtful about land issues, we thought it was a natural fit to start talking about the larger picture and it, of course, coincided with the city’s ‘Shape the Future’ land use element,” Gordon said. “It’s something we thought was kind of a natural fit.” widening its reach

Naturally, when a new community group forms, there comes the question of how involved politically they will become. In Santa Monica, groups such as the coalition can play a significant role in who gets elected, much of which has to do with money that independent expenditure committees formed by these groups can spend on the candidate of their choice.

Gordon said the coalition is not concerned with politics “at this point,” and because it is a registered non-profit, cannot engage in supporting political candidates.

“Our goal at this point is to just reach out to as many Santa Monica residents as we can … so we can inform them about important issues involving the future of Santa Monica, important issues like growth, traffic and land use.”

Gordon said the coalition is looking into sponsoring some candidate forums for the upcoming City Council election in November, in which three seats will be up for grabs.

But other than that, the coalition is looking to remain a grass roots non-profit with a focus on making Santa Monica a more livable city.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 12, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/061206.pdf?ref=smdp.com)