Upzone the area around the planned SMO Great Park

In October 2026, the City of Santa Monica released a draft plan for the 200-acre "Great Park" that will replace Santa Monica Airport when it closes at the end of 2028.

Here's an article about the plan.

The Council has already directed planners not to include housing or commercial spaces in their plan, so the cost of the park will largely be borne by Santa Monica taxpayers.

I'm excited to have another large beautiful public space in Santa Monica. But, we should recognize a few things:

• The park, presuming the City maintains it well, will be a windfall for homeowners around the park. We will be paying for a park, but we will also be effectively transferring a great deal of wealth, in the form of increased property values, to a small number of (mostly already-wealthy) residents.

• The planned park is currently surrounded by single-family neighborhoods, limiting (a) the number of people who will be able to enjoy the park every day, and (b) the tax receipts that the city could use to pay for the park, its maintenance, and the maintenance of other parks around the city.

When the City makes substantial investments in public spaces, it should ensure that we can also realize financial value from those investments. Otherwise, there just won't be enough money to continue to make public investments.

One commenter on the above article, "jannos," posted the following:

"If they are going to invest all this money into a public good with no housing component, then they should upzone a quarter mile in all directions from the edges of this park and clover park. It would be ridiculous to bill this as "our chance to have a central park" and make it only walkable to a few hundred wealthy families who already have front and back yards."

(Direct URL: http://disq.us/p/36xdqk0)

This seems extremely reasonable. It would be fair, environmentally responsible (fewer car trips per park visitor), and fiscally responsible.