Planning Commission adds a couple of new members
CITYWIDE During their first meeting as planning commissioners earlier this month, Gleam Davis and Jim Reis didn’t just sit back and watch. Davis, a corporate attorney for AT&T, and Reis, a land-use consultant for Craig Lawson & Co., LLC, jumped right into the debate over the future of the Village Trailer Park, giving residents and developers a taste of what to expect for the next four years.
It’s not in their nature to remain silent, especially when it comes to the future of Santa Monica. Davis, a 21-year-resident, is the co-chair of the committee in charge of advising the school board on how to spend $268 million earmarked for facilities. Reis, a Pico Neighborhood resident since 1999, is the chair of the Sustainable City Task Force, helping to drive policies that protect the environment and the future of Santa Monica.
Having been chosen by the City Council — commissioner Terry O’Day was appointed to a second term — to serve the commission is an honor, both Davis and Reis said, and a responsibility they do not take lightly, given that the Planning Commission is one of the most influential bodies in the city, even more so now that Santa Monica is in the process of updating is Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE), which will dictate how land is developed over the next 20 years or more.
As the city experiences a significant increase in development, more emphasis is being placed on LUCE, with more attention directed at the commission.
Both Davis, 51, and Reis, 42, said they are up to the challenge and are passionate about community service, both wanting to play a greater role in how the city evolves. They also said they are extremely concerned about finishing the LUCE process and protecting the city’s diversity.
“We can’t stop development, but we do need to be able to control it,” said Reis, who like Davis, does not subscribe to the “slow growth,” “no growth,” or “smart growth” philosophies; instead looking to keep an open mind and do what’s best for Santa Monica. “We need to set up development guidelines that everyone in the city can support. I want to be able to have a community where my children have a chance of living.”
The mission of the commission is to “promote the health, safety and general welfare by encouraging the most appropriate use of land; provide adequate open spaces for light and air; prevent undue concentrations of population; lessen congestion on streets; facilitate adequate provisions for community utilities and facilities such as transportation, water, sewage, schools, parks and other public requirements; and, designate, regulate and restrict the location and use of buildings, structures and land for residents, commerce, trade, industry and other purposes.”
Davis believes that her experience working with city staff to resolve planning and zoning issues that affect child care centers and schools will be beneficial to the commission. In her work with the schools, she has interacted with city planners, architects and residents, providing her with real experiences that she can use as she moves forward with the commission.
“I think I can be a bridge between the school district, (Santa Monica College) and the city and help them go through the planning process,” Davis said. “I think sometimes hostility between those bodies would have been minimized if someone could have been the bridge.”
Davis said she is not shy about asking questions, and as an attorney, looks to use her analytical mind to work through what will certainly be some difficult decision that lie ahead.
“I’m not going to be bashful about getting the facts,” said Davis, who ran for City Council last November and lost, but feels the experience made her stronger. “I want to preserve the wonderful sense of community in our neighborhoods and I have a made a commitment to sustainabil-ity. Those are the things I will be looking for in every project. I will want to know what the affects are on residents, on the environment and on the quality of life here in Santa Monica.”
Reis said that he will make an effort to link housing to mass transit and jobs as he looks to reduce congestion, a major complaint of residents, along with parking.
“I think that if we are going to incen-tivize cars, we should be incentivizing buses and bicycles,” said Reis, who graduated with a master’s degree in urban planning from UCLA. “I’m not saying we get rid of cars completely because that is not practical. But we certainly could do a better job of moving people with mass transit.”
Reis is married with two kids, a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old who attends Edison Language Academy. In addition to serving on the Sustainable City Task Force, Reis was a member of the Community Corp. of Santa Monica-sponsored Home Ownership Study Group and was a board member of the Pico Neighborhood Association for two years.
Davis is married with a 10-year-old son. In addition to serving on the school district’s Measure BB Committee, Davis is also chair of the District Advisory Committee on Child Care & Development and is a member of both the Community for Excellence in Public Schools and Santa Monican’s for Renters’ Rights steering committees.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 27, 2007. Read the original PDF.