> ## 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. # Kids weigh in on future - URL: https://www.smdp.com/kids-weigh-in-on-future/ - Published: 2005-04-27T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T06:48:13.000Z - Author: Ryan Hyatt - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Students have designs on Davies estate, mall* SAMOHI — Who better to shape the future of Santa Monica than its youngest residents? That was the idea put forth last week when 100 students, parents and teachers came together to share their visions of what a future Santa Monica should look like. An open house at the Samohi cafeteria on Thursday featured more than 20 presentations by groups of high school students giving their insights on a pair of city-sponsored planning processes. “Shape the Future 2025” will affect land use development policies in Santa Monica over the next 20 years, while “Motion by the Ocean” deals with future circulation and transporation needs. “When we started Shape the Future, we wanted to include the Santa Monica youth, since they are the future residents,” said Liz Bar-El, an associate city planner. From January through March, school students at Santa Monica pre-schools, elementary and high schools have been working with their teachers to recognize how they live and get around in their community, and to form their own visions for the future, Bar-El said. Students between third and 12th grade have been participating in classroom exercises involving city planning issues, according to Bar-El. Their teachers steered them through a final project, many of which were presented to the public last Thursday. Students in Eileen Hiss’ 12th grade biology class decided to focus their attention on the old Marion Davies Estate, at 415 Pacific Coast Highway. The 70-year-old property, closed since the 1994 Northridge earthquake, remains an eyesore along the beach. The estate was built in the late 1920s for Davies, a mistress of publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst. It was designed by architect Julia Morgan, who also designed Hearst’s San Simeon compound in central California. City Hall had been planning to turn the Davies estate into a public recreation and meeting and banquet center, but a city budget crisis put the project on the back burner until recently, when the city received a $21 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation to fund the project. Before renovation begins in December, however, city officials may have a chance to consider more ideas for the property. > “And in reality, we are planning for them.” Hiss said her class has envisioned an estate which would maintain its 1930s facade, but undergo some substantial internal changes that would make it a science and recreational center focusing on the ocean. Students feel the Davies estate should be modeled after the Audubon Center at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, which has an environmental learning center. They said they hoped the Davies estate would be adapted to include an ocean learning center, a youth play and fitness center, theater, basketball courts and beachside parking. There would be day camp opportunities, and a place where students can do their homework. The building would be made with sustainable materials, such as mustard seeds and wood shavings. “There would be something for everyone,” Hiss said. “The kids could play, mom could go shop and dad could sit down and have a cup of coffee.” Hiss said her inspiration for the idea came out of the need for a safe learning and recreational facility revolving around the ocean in Santa Monica. “It’s important kids have places to go in Santa Monica besides just to shop,” Hiss said. “I think kids are the most under-served group in our community. Our idea (for the Davies estate) would help everyone — especially the kids — have a better experience by the ocean.” Hiss said she has taken her students on field trips to the Santa Monica Pier in order to learn about the ocean, surprised to find out many of her students rarely visit the ocean and know very little about it. “They think because the water looks green, that means it’s dirty,” Hiss said. “Kids need to have a place to enjoy and learn about the ocean in a safe and comfortable way.” The City Council is expected to discuss emerging themes that have surfaced from the Shape the Future project. For the last six months, City Hall has sponsored more than 40 public discussions to be used in drafting an updated development and transportation policy, which is scheduled to begin in May. Many of the ideas youth shared about Santa Monica’s future were summarized in the city’s “emerging themes” report. The Shape the Future project is expected to be complete in September of 2006. Bar-El said youth generally concentrated on providing a safe place for kids to go in their neighborhoods. She said students at Edison Elementary wanted to move their school to Santa Monica Place Mall so they could be closer to the ocean. “Even if their ideas weren’t always feasible, it was a good opportunity for the youth to start learning about the community and the planning process,” Bar-El said. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 27, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/042705.pdf?ref=smdp.com)