If You Close It, They Will Come.

If we close the Santa Monica Airport, the outcome is not the “great park” some imagine. What will come instead—predictably and inevitably—are forces far more disruptive to our community: first, homeless will occupy the vast, unsecured open space; second, the State will come with obligatory housing mandates; and third, developers will come to carve up the land into dense, high-traffic projects that will gridlock Sunset Park and make the surrounding neighborhoods unlivable.

The idea that this land can transform into a park is a fantasy. The City has no funding to secure, build, maintain, or operate a park of this scale. The City’s own commissioned analysis—the HR&A Advisors economic impact study—found that the airport generates $247–$275 million in annual economic activity and supports roughly 1,500 jobs. This revenue, employment base, and economic ripple effect, would disappear the moment the airport closes. The “great park” narrative is a false flag, promoted by a small group of homeowners who bought their homes, next to a long-established airport and now see closure as a windfall to increase their property values.

In contrast, the airport’s value to the entire city is growing. JSX will begin operations at Santa Monica Airport in a week, bringing quiet, fuel-efficient aircraft, whose noise footprint is comparable to the small piston planes already based here. Thousands of Santa Monicans who currently drive to Burbank and LAX for short regional flights, will now have stress-free access to travel to Vegas, the Bay area, and other destinations. This new connectivity will provide a badly needed economic boost—supporting local businesses, increasing visitor spending, and help energize our struggling city economy infusing well over $10 million (using HR&A metrics) in new income annually.

KSMO is not a luxury—it is critical infrastructure. During the Palisades Fire and numerous past emergencies, the airport provided staging space for aircraft and rapid-response capability, that simply cannot be replicated elsewhere in the city. Closing it would eliminate a vital emergency asset just as climate risks, fire seasons, and regional instability are increasing.

The future of clean aviation is here in Santa Monica: two electric aircraft are already based at the field, symbolizing a transition toward quieter, cleaner, more sustainable operations that align perfectly with Santa Monica’s environmental goals. I have personally flown nearly twenty people for demo flights in the Velis Electro aircraft, and the universal response is awe. Super quiet, smooth and a window into the future.

This is not an either/or choice. Santa Monica can do what leading cities do: responsibly develop portions of the airport land, add meaningful new park space, and still retain a functional, economically valuable airport that serves all residents.
To close this airport would be one of the most short-sighted decisions in Santa Monica’s history—erasing hundreds of millions in economic output, eliminating jobs, increasing already grid locked congestion, inviting state-mandated development, and removing a key emergency-response asset.

Let’s preserve KSMO, modernize it, and keep it working for generations to come. If we close it, we lose control, and they will come.

Mark Smith
Santa Monica resident and Co-President SMAA