Workshop not what expected
SM AIRPORT — A workshop intended to address issues related to the new Santa Monica College Airport campus appeared to have a rough take-off Tuesday night, with more than 50 residents coming out to weigh in on a project that some said will crash and burn.
The workshop was part of an effort by Santa Monica College to develop a master plan and environmental study for its Santa Monica Airport campus, a 10.4-acre site at 3171 S. Bundy Dr., a plan that will be used to design facilities for its students.
SMC officials said part of that process includes resident feedback on what programming the college might offer at the airport site — a focus which frustrated some Santa Monica residents.
“I didn’t come here to find out about what programs the college might offer,” said Santa Monica resident Emmelie Hodgin. “I came here to find out what’s going to be done about the parking and traffic from the new buildings.”
SMC has hired three consultants for a combined $362,000 to address environmental factors, traffic issues and community outreach. The consultants will be paid out of Proposition U money, the $160 million bond measure passed by Santa Monica-Malibu voters in 2002, according to SMC spokesman Bruce Smith.
Smith said SMC had been involved in more than a dozen meetings in the past year to address issues related to the college’s two satellite campuses — at the airport and at 11th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard.
“We realized we needed to get some expertise to plan this carefully, because that is what the residents wanted,” Smith said. “We took it to the trustees so we could do it right.”
Tuesday’s workshop began with an overview of SMC and the current airport campus site, which includes two buildings and 239 parking spaces.
In addition to nursing-and teacher-training programs, SMC plans to move its continuing and community education program to the airport campus. Several general education classes also will be offered.
The consultants suggested possible development scenarios for the site, including moving a building in order to enhance the campus’ aesthetics and develop an underground parking structure. The consultants emphasized that Tuesday’s workshop was the first in a public input process that will last for months. SMC officials said they would only provide a few design suggestions for participants to keep in mind during the “visioning” process.
Some who attended the workshop, however, thought the process lacked the focus they wanted.
“I wasn’t sure what was going to be discussed,” said Michael Wirst, an architect whose office is next to the airport campus. “But the college threw a curve ball by discussing non-issues in order to get public support, but you can’t get public support without a plan. And right now the plan is so generalized. The college should have come forward with valid plans for the campus, along with parking and traffic plans, then take it from there.”
“I wasn’t sure what was going to be discussed.” — MICHAEL WIRST Architect
As a result, some citizens refused to take part in the workshop, feeling their interests were not being represented. About one-third of those on hand left the workshop 20 minutes after it began.
“They’re letting us decide what’s going to be green, when they should let us decide what to do about traffic,” said Eileen Turnick, who attended the workshop.
SMC sent out a mailer last week to local residents inviting them to participate in the workshop. The mailer also informed residents that SMC wants to pay for a new park planned by City Hall near the airport in exchange for permission to build a parking structure underneath.
SMC officials said they would be willing to pay between $6 million and $26 million for their proposed joint Airport Park project, which would come from taxpayer-approved bond money. In the proposal, SMC would cover $8.2 million for the park’s construction costs, as long as SMC could have the parking access.
SMC has a lease with City Hall at the Airport Park site which will soon expire. The lease allows the college to use surface parking at the site to shuttle students to and from SMC’s main campus at 1900 Pico Blvd. Meanwhile, City Hall already has budgeted for the park using tax money from capital improvement funds.
City staff said the joint proposal will be discussed at an upcoming City Council meeting, possibly in April.
SMC purchased the airport site for $30 million in December 2001 from BAE Systems, a military defense contractor. The four-story west building is currently undergoing a major renovation and will be open for classes in mid-June, when the summer session begins.
Unless other plans are agreed upon with City Hall, SMC would have to find another source of parking once construction begins for the Airport Park in August and ends next summer.
A March 25 Santa Monica city staff report suggests it would be simpler for the City Council to move forward with its own park plan. The report also suggested SMC’s airport campus could be designed to integrate parking for students who attend both the airport and main campus sites — an option consultants will consider in its development plans.
Greg Brown, SMC’s director of facilities planning, said many participants who broke out into groups and voiced their concerns came back at the end of the session seemingly more comfortable with the process. He said the consultants still received a share of angry comments, but residents in general seemed more engaged than they were at the beginning of the session.
“The purpose of this meeting was simply to get some consensus on what we want to do, then go back and analyze what effect it might have on traffic,” he said. “Some people came here jumping ahead on topics we will be discussing later.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 31, 2005. Read the original PDF.