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# Third Street Promenade politics officially formalized
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/third-street-promenade-politics-officially-formalized/
- Published: 2002-04-13T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:14:18.000Z
- Author: Andrew Fixmer
- Tags: Business, Promenade, #archive-import

*Task force will decide how much retail and restaurants should be on outdoor mall*

The future of the Third Street Promenade now rests in the hands of seven people.

It took some political wrangling and a little arm-twisting, but the Santa Monica City Council this week appointed the final members to a long-awaited task force, which will figure out how to divide the outdoor mall’s real estate with restaurants and retail stores.

City officials say the Promenade is quickly becoming a retail corridor without any flavor, resembling shopping fare commonly found in suburban malls.

The council voted to place a moratorium on converting restaurants into retail stores until the task force makes its recommeendations.

The city decided four months ago the task force would consist of three public officials, two board members from the Bayside District Corporation, one plan-ning commissioner and one Promenade property owner.

Merlyn Ruddell was appointed as a property owner representative. Mayor Mike Feinstein and council members Herb Katz and Pam O’Connor were chosen as the three elected officials.

But six of the seven council members were vying for the task force’s three openings — and the competition quickly turned ugly.

Two slates of candidates were drawn up — one consisting of Feinstein, O’Connor and Katz and the other substituted Councilman Ken Genser for Katz.

Genser argued Katz, a longtime political foe, had a conflict of interest because as a local architect that works extensively on the Promenade, his employers could benefit from his decisions.

But Katz said he no longer has any employers on the Promenade and said he could remain impartial.

Nevertheless, he turned to City Attorney Marsh Moutrie for advice, but she couldn’t make decision because she didn’t have enough information. She added that it was up to Katz to determine if he had a conflict of interest.

When it became clear Moutrie was not going to disqualify Katz, Genser said even the suggestion of a possible conflict would be damaging to the task force’s work.

Feinstein said the task force’s work would be watched carefully by the public and there wouldn’t be “a lot of opportunities for something to arise out in the light of day.”

Feinstein chose Katz, a political rival. However, Feinstein and Genser are not known to be close allies and have been feuding publicly in recent weeks.

Councilman Kevin McKeown said the turmoil of selecting the best council members for the seats is insignificant compared to the job they will be charged with in the coming months.

“I hope they hear loud and clear residents' concerns about the loss of small local businesses as storefronts consolidate,” he said. “Santa Monica’s downtown should be ours, not some multinational megacompany’s.”

Ruddell, who was the only property owner that applied for the task force, said she was looking forward to getting started.

“I just think the task force will be a wonderful opportunity to see and help shape the future of the Promenade and ensure its long-term success,” Ruddell said. “I’m happy to serve and I want to have some good people involved so we can get some nonpartisan views and come up with some new ideas.”

> “I’m happy to serve and I want to look to have some good people involved so we can get some nonpartisan views and come up with some new ideas.” — — MERLYN RUDDELL Third Street Promenade property owner

The Bayside District Corporation, which works with the city on managing the downtown, has appointed board members West Hooker and Bill Tucker to represent them on the task force. Hooker owns Locanda del Lago, a fine dining Promenade restaurant, and Tucker is a Promenade property owner and landlord.

The planning commission appointed Jay Johnson as its representative to the task force.

Suzanne Frick, director of the city’s planning department, said the task force’s meeting schedule would be set after the availability of each member had been determined.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 13, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/041302.pdf?ref=smdp.com)