By Phyllis Chavez
The moment I saw last Thursday’s (page 3, June 5) article, “Proposed property swap riles participants” by Alice Ollstein, I was struck by the perfect opportunity it presented for the city to keep it and develop it themselves. The property adjacent to Casa del Mar seems to be a perfect site to build some nice units to house doctors, nurses, teachers, police, firefighters and other emergency personnel. The city has expressed some concern about the ability to retain good doctors, nurses and teachers if they can’t easily live in Santa Monica. The same concern was brought up in relation to having our emergency personnel close by and easily available in case of a disaster. Developing this site seems the perfect answer. I think the city would be passing up a big opportunity on this one. Who would not want to live in that location? The view alone is “to die for.” It might be the perfect incentive to stay and serve our wonderful community.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 12, 2008. Read the original PDF.