On July 8, I will be voting to move forward with the Great Park upon closure of the Santa Monica Airport—an open space plan that is Measure LC compliant, provides opportunities for recreation and the arts, and delivers on a promise I made to voters.
Not because it’s politically convenient—in fact, I suspect I may lose key supporters in my coalition. Not because I hope to win over organizations or people who actively fight our agenda in some Pollyanna dream—I know I won’t.
It’s because I said I would. It’s that simple.
In public life, we often talk about trust—about restoring faith in government, about transparency, about accountability. But trust isn’t built through speeches or social media posts. It’s built through action. It’s built by keeping your word, even when it would be easier not to.
I support a Great Park because one day, 100 years from now, the LA region will be more dense. Our great-grandchildren deserve open, green space too and will be grateful we preserved this land. Transparently, I’ve always stated I support additional, small-scale commercial uses like cafes, beer gardens, and an outdoor concert amphitheater like the Greek, Santa Barbara Bowl, or Rady Shell. These would enhance the visitor and resident experience, increase public safety, and financially support the park’s creation and upkeep. I hope we continue to explore these revenue generating options when the airport closes.
Santa Monica needs housing. Period. LA and California are far too expensive because the rent is too damn high. Home ownership? It’s out of the question for many, including me.
I’ve proudly supported the most ambitious pro-housing Council agenda in decades. I voted for housing on Wilshire, in Downtown, at Bergamot, and at the Airport business park–across every income bracket, from permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless to senior housing to market rate with inclusionary requirements.
I fought for the endorsement of SB79 to upzone along the E Line metro to allow for transit-oriented development and reduce vehicle pollution. I co-sponsored the motion to remove owner-occupancy requirements which restrict townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes—the missing middle housing we so desperately need in this city to complement our robust affordable housing program.
I voted to protect forty rent-controlled families in the Pico Neighborhood by investing millions to rehabilitate their building. I co-sponsored the creation of a rental registry to protect consumers, the ban on algorithmic price setting for rents, and voted to approve the most robust package of renter protections—a right to legal counsel and emergency cash assistance for rent—since the City’s adoption of rent control.
I supported loosening off-site inclusionary restrictions so we get more of it, and last week in the budget, I insisted we begin repayment of the Housing Trust Fund–raided during COVID to keep the City afloat.
For me, July 8th isn’t a vote about housing policy or green space. It’s about my integrity. During the campaign—in endorsement questionnaires and interviews at the Santa Monica Democratic Club, SMRR, and Santa Monica Forward, at thousands of doors, in my campaign messaging, and at multiple candidate forums, I committed to an LC compliant vision when the airport closes. I won their endorsements and your votes because of (or perhaps despite) this position.
We will build more affordable housing—more than ever before. Just not on the airport.
There, I choose to build a park.
Because I said I would.
Dan Hall is a Santa Monica City Councilmember, elected in 2024. You can reach him at dan.hall@santamonica.gov or on social media @electdanhall.