At the final City Council meeting of the year, there was a unanimous vote to have 1,000-square-foot digital signs installed at 16 locations on or near the Promenade. Santa Monica will receive a minimum of $500,000 per sign per year. Given the city’s financial distress, that’s a lot of ka-ching for a little bling.
Still, Councilmember Barry Snell sensibly questioned the number of illuminated displays and suggested a limited rollout in order to consider any potential negative effect. Staff pushed back, describing the plan as basically just a trial program. But the leases are for 30 years, so if the program doesn’t work out, it seems less of a trial than a life sentence.
“The residents of this city are going to be stuck with this decision for a very long period of time,” said Stanley Iezman, a board member of Downtown Santa Monica Inc. (DTSM), when details of the proposed ordinance were presented at a DTSM board meeting in November. The board voted against supporting the ordinance as drafted, but there was no mention of their objections at the City Council meeting or in the staff report, which only referred to the more favorable response of the Planning Commission.
It’s less than five months since the Council purged half of the DTSM board members, and this is the first time there’s been daylight between the two organizations since then. The Council has every right to disagree with DTSM’s recommendations, but support for any project should be inclusive of risks and challenges, not in denial of them.
DTSM raised valid concerns about the impact of the proposed Times Square-wattage on neighboring residential and commercial tenants, something Councilmember Snell also asked about. The board was additionally skeptical about staff’s assertion that digital screen advertisements will attract crowds to the Promenade. It’s certainly possible, but when we’re inundated by ads on our phones, computers and televisions every day, it seems a bit of a stretch.
Although the staff report stated the displays would be turned off each night at 1 a.m., the Council signed off on language allowing them to operate until 2 a.m. There could be a good explanation for the change, but none was offered and none of the council members inquired about it. Currently, there are few residents who will be impacted by the late-night luminance, but the Council is also promoting increased high-rise housing in the city and downtown would seem an obvious location. It sometimes seems like the left hand gets amnesia about what the right hand is doing.
However, the more likely explanation is that council members are juggling a vast number of topics with extensive details to keep track of. They deserve support for their effort to revitalize downtown, and city staff deserve credit for coordinating a complex project. It’s easy to nitpick, but it’s noteworthy that the proposed displays are far more streamlined and less obtrusive than the initial submitted designs. There’s also other bright news, not measurable in lumens.
The Council announced plans for major sports and music events over the next three years, including Club France, the home base for the French contingent at the 2028 Olympics. With the City Manager’s assistance, the Council is attempting to reboot Santa Monica’s image, returning the city to the international conversation and to travelers’ wish lists. There’s no guarantee they will succeed, and some of their plans seem like gambles. But playing it safe isn’t going to solve our problems, nor is kneejerk opposition.
I was reminded of the thin line between constructive and unconstructive criticism by Mia Negrete, a daughter of former Mayor Lana Negrete. The younger Negrete spoke eloquently at a recent Council meeting about her experience as a 15-year old witnessing ruthless attacks on her mother and other elected leaders. “There are other ways to express your concerns about the city,” she reminded the public, “so let’s take those routes in the future.”
I like to think of these columns as an opportunity to offer my observations and to appeal to the better angels in all of us, whether in a leadership role or not, because I believe we’re equally responsible for creating the civic community we wish to inhabit.
“Santa Monica’s best days are ahead of us,” said our new mayor, Caroline Torosis, in her inaugural speech. “We will get there by focusing on what works, fixing what does not, and building a city that feels safe, clean, welcoming, and full of opportunity for everyone.”
That seems as bright of a holiday wish as we could hope for. Merry Christmas if you observe and a very happy new year!
Devan Sipher can be reached at Unmuted.SMDP@gmail.com