Residents asked to plan development
OCEAN PARK The future of the developmental landscape of Santa Monica rests in the hands of its residents.
The city’s Planning and Community Development department concluded its three-part series of community workshops Thursday night at Olympic High School to solicit resident’s ideas on how they envision their neighborhoods to look in the next few decades.
It was part of phase two in the formation of an updated Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) of the city’s general plan. The LUCE, which was last updated in 1984, would shape the city’s developmental appearance in the future through changes in the city’s Zoning Ordinance.
Community workshops have previously been held for the Pico Neighborhood and Sunset Park region, and the Wilshire Boulevard/Montana Avenue and Mid-city areas.
“We want to come up with a set of principles for new development in the neighborhood as well as new development along the corridor and we want it to reflect the values of the community,” said Eileen Fogarty, director of Planning and Community Development.
On Thursday, more than 50 residents from the Ocean Park and Sunset Park neighborhoods sat around tables, observing a large map focusing in on the Lincoln Boulevard and Ocean Park Boulevard intersection — the intersection where both communities meet. From a stack of colored paper, each labeled with words such as “multi-residential housing,” “parking structure,” “restaurant,” and “retail,” residents glued onto the map where such a development would be ideal.
Holding a green marker, one woman began freely scribbling all over the map, writing “trees” all along the sides of Lincoln and Ocean Park boulevards. Behind her table, another group of residents argued over traffic, eventually reaching a consensus that the city should install mobile physical barriers to separate on and off peak traffic lanes.
At several tables, residents agreed that a parking structure or shared parking spaces would be ideal at the plaza on the southeast corner of Lincoln and Ocean Park boulevards. Another group of locals saw an opportunity to develop multi-family housing where Fukui Japanese restaurant is located in the Albertsons plaza.
Every table had different ideas, with some suggesting better defined bike lanes and expanded sidewalks. What everyone did agree on was that the traffic situation must be addressed along Lincoln Boulevard and that safety is key.
On the walls of the high school cafeteria stood displays illustrating options to beautify and change the traffic configurations of the two corridors. Examining one of the displays was Nancy Richler, an Ocean Park resident who also attended the previous two workshops in order to prepare herself for the final community meeting concerning her neighborhood. To this resident, one of the biggest question marks is how the city plans to address traffic and parking issues in Ocean Park and Sunset Park.
Along with the obvious concerns of traffic congestion, the staff at the Planning and Community Development office asked residents to ponder the scale of development along Lincoln Boulevard. Showing pictures of one-story buildings housing automobile repair shops, retail and restaurants, city consultant John Kaliski explained how Lincoln Boulevard is disproportionately wide compared to the height of the buildings. He showed images of what can be cleaned up, including old rusty newsstands and cracked sidewalks.
“We want to get a sense from people as to what should be there in the long term,” he said.
The LUCE was originally to be completed by now, but the change in city leadership over the past year delayed the process, said Planning Commission Chairman Gwynne Pugh. He expects to see the plan completed by the end of next year.
Standing over several tables, observing the exchange of ideas among residents, Pugh said he felt encouraged watching the residents finally have their chance to voice their opinions.
“People want to be heard,” he said. City staff will report back on May 7 with a community-wide meeting to review the three workshops and suggest short-term measures while the plan is being drafted.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 7, 2007. Read the original PDF.