In addition to the Launch of Phase 3 Airport Conversion we want to give you a heads up about two extremely important meetings on the Airport Conversion with the Santa Monica Democratic Club (SMDC): one next week on April 23 and one in May or June. SMDC plans to use the meetings to make recommendations to City Council in July when it Council considers the three proposals that will be coming from staff and Sasaki for the Great Park and the future of the airport land in general.

It is no surprised that political organizations have become involved in this planning process and that some have already taken or are taking positions on the airport conversion. Where most political organizations in Santa Monica establish their policies through their boards or steering committees, the SMDC commendably does so through a largely open process and ultimately a membership vote.

To this end, the SMDC has scheduled a membership meeting on April 23 at which differing views on the conversion will be presented. SMDC reached out to the The Great Park Coalition (GPC) members and the Santa Monica Airport2Park Foundation (A2P) to participate. A2P will send a representatives favoring a Measure LC-Compliant Great Park and David Pettit, Senior Attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity and member of the Santa Monica Commission on Sustainability, Environmental Justice and the Environment, is also scheduled to speak. We understand that SMDC’s plan after the April meeting is to set up an ad hoc working group that will, in conjunction with SMDC’s board, develop recommendations to present to the membership for a vote at a later date still to be determined.

While SMDC is still finalizing all the presenters for the April 23 meeting, they have informed Airport2Park that at least one proposal for housing at the airport will be presented — this is the “Cloverfield Commons” proposal that several speakers promoted at the Jan. 28 City Council hearing. This proposal calls for half of the land at the airport to be used for building housing and, it would appear from the proposals seen, divide much of the remaining land into small parks rather than a great park. It would, of course, require a ballot measure that would likely delay the closure of the airport.

It is clear that pressure is being brought on SMDC to support conversion plans that would require a vote to amend Measure LC. It is our hope that SMDC will recommend that the City pursue an LC-compliant conversion plan that will not require a new ballot measure and vote. This is not only because the Great Park Coalition stands for building the maximum-size great park that’s possible on the land. It is also because the The Great Park Coalition fears that a ballot measure before the City has planned the Great Park – and demonstrated it’s feasibility – will invite the aviation industry to respond with its own ballot measure to maintain the airport – open as is.

If you are a member of the SMDC, we urge you to mark April 23 on your calendars and plan to attend the meeting. If you are a registered Democrat and wish to join SMDC, you can join and vote at the subsequent meeting (if you join more than 30 days before the meeting.) For info on SMDC, click here.

The Santa Monica Democratic Club is an opinion leader in Santa Monica and so, again, these are very important meetings concerning the future of the Great Park.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to The Great Park Coalition or Airport2Park if you have any questions and/or would like to discuss any of these upcoming events.