Opposition movement comes out against school measure
Up until a few weeks ago, it appeared Santa Monica College had nothing but support for its $160 million bond measure.
But just weeks before Tuesday’s election, a small but organized group of SMC critics came out to urge voters to vote ‘No’ on Measure U.
Santa Monica and Malibu residents will be asked on Tuesday to approve the bond so SMC can use the money to renovate buildings at the aging campus on Pico Boulevard. It would also partially fund the purchase of the 10-acre BAE Systems property the college recently bought for $30 million near the airport for a satellite campus and more parking.
Opponents say the college’s growth is hurting Santa Monica and the bond would only exacerbate the problem. The idea of more satellite campuses concerns many residents who have been impacted by the school’s expansion and its 32,000 students — many of which commute from outside of the city.
Neighbors of the college are fed up with parking and traffic generated by the school. One of the college’s critics is City Councilman Richard Bloom, who lives in Sunset Park, a southeast Santa Monica neighborhood near SMC’s main campus. That area of the city, as well as the Pico neighborhood, have been the most affected by the college’s growth.
“This is a very grassroots effort,” said Peter Tigler, president of the Pico Neighborhood Association who is heading up the “Vote No on Measure U” campaign. “We’ve been gathering support quietly and I cannot believe the response. A lot of people were against it, but they didn’t want to be labeled anti-education.”
But Don Giard, SMC’s director of marketing, said many of SMC’s opponents are spreading misinformation about the college’s future development plans. He also thinks many of the opponents are using the bond measure to further their own political motivations.
“This is a last minute effort by some people who have an agenda,” he said, adding the college has worked with neighbors in the past regarding parking and traffic.
“This is a last minute effort by some people who have an agenda.” — — DON GIARD Santa Monica College director of marketing
He added that Friends of Sunset Park, the group that represents the neighborhood, did not take a position on the bond measure, indicating it remains impartial.
SMC has received the endorsement of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, the Santa Monica- Malibu Council of PTAs, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, State Senator Sheila James Kuehl and Santa Monica’s apartment owner’s association, to name a few. SMC President Piedad Robertson said Santa Monica for Renters’ Rights is also supportive of the ballot measure.
The Santa Monica City Council discussed the bond measure last week, but took no formal action endorsing it.
The bond’s average cost to taxpayers would be $1.12 per month for renters and $77 per year for the average homeowner in Santa Monica and Malibu, according to Graham Pope, the co-chair for the committee supporting the measure.
The bond issue in the first year is estimated at $16.21 per $100,000 in assessed valuation and the average cost over the bond’s life will be $19.21 per $100,000.
A facilities assessment completed earlier this year outlined 21 projects at the college. Priorities are to replace the earthquake-damaged liberal arts building and temporary buildings with modern labs and classrooms. Facilities for the nursing, environmental studies, earth sciences and math programs also need upgrades and improvements are needed to meet standards for campus lighting, security and the American Disabilities Act.
Other pressing needs are to find space for student parking and the emeritus college program, which is geared to students ages 55 years or older.
The emeritus program is housed on the ground floor of a city parking structure on Second Street and the city has plans to turn property into a park at Santa Monica Airport, where students park and ride shuttles to the main campus a mile away.
Renovations are expected to be completed over the next 10 to 12 years. The college’s last bond issue was for $22 million in 1992 to build an addition to the science building and library, but most of the buildings on campus are more than 50 years old.
The measure will need a 55 percent approval from residents in Santa Monica and Malibu to pass. Proposition 39, approved by California voters in November 2000, decreased the percentage needed to pass a bond measure from 66 and two-thirds percent to 55 percent. It also limits the maximum annual cost to $25 per $100,000 of assessed valuation.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 4, 2002. Read the original PDF.