Dear Mayor Holbrook and Council Members:
We are writing to enthusiastically add our voices to the hundreds of others speaking in support of Santa Monica’s Public Beach Club at 415 Pacific Coast Highway. The Public Beach Club represents a great opportunity for Santa Monica to preserve an important part of its history, to fulfill its responsibility to make the beach available to everyone, to enhance the use of the beach and to protect the ocean and the coast.
The generosity of the Annenberg Foundation and the support of the State have given us this unique opportunity. We appreciate their contributions and their support, as well as the work of the many City Staff and Santa Monicans who have come together to make Santa Monica’s Public Beach Club a reality.
We respectfully and strongly urge you to vote in favor of Santa Monica’s Public Beach Club. It will be a vote that will long be remembered, and remembered with gratitude.
Yours truly,
Senator Sheila Kuehl
Assemblymember Fran Pavley
Honorary Co-Chair, Sheila Kuehl State Senator Honorary Co-Chair, Fran Pavley State Assemblymember, Vice-Chair, Susan Cloke Chair, SM Rec. and Parks Comm. Judy Abdo Board, Coalition for Clean Air Danilo Bach Margret Bach Founding Pres., LA Conservancy Ken Breisch Pres., SM Conservancy Tom Cleys Board, Friends of Sunset Park Mike Deasy Deasy, Penner and Partners Royce Diener Neighbor of 415 PCH, Chairman Emeritus, American Medical Intl. Michael Feinstein Former Mayor, Santa Monica Nancy Greenstein Board, SM for Renters Rights Ana G. Jara Board, Pico Neighborhood Association Louise Jaffe Board, Comm. for Excellent Public Schools Jean McNeil-Wyner Board, SM Chamber of Commerce Eric Charles Parlee Rob Rader Board, Santa Monica College Kathleen Rawson Exec. Dir., Bayside District Joel Reynolds Senior Attorney, NRDC Doris Sosin Board, North of Montana Assoc. Linda Sullivan Board, Santa Monica Pier Harry Shearer Ted Winterer Pres., Ocean Park Assoc. Jennifer Wolch Dir., USC Center for Sustainable Studies
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Dear Mayor Holbrook and Council Members:
The Recreation and Parks Commission wishes to express their enthusiastic support for Santa Monica’s Public Beach Club proposed for 415 Pacific Coast Highway. Our City is the fortunate steward of the beach and the fortunate recipient of the generosity of the Annenberg Foundation. In a rare moment of serendipity we have the opportunity to create, what we believe to be, the first public beach club in California. The 415 PCH proposed project has the potential to be of great benefit to the people of Santa Monica and to all who visit our City and the beach.
We had the privilege of holding the first public hearing on this project on October 2, 2005 and to see the proposal for the design and the use of the property. We fully supported the use and we commended the designer for his sensitivity to the historic rehabilitation and to the integration of modern buildings into the design. In our official action, we moved to support the project as presented and requested that the project team pay particular attention to the following areas.
Enhance the connection between the site, the beach and the ocean.
Look at the parking lots as a shared use opportunity and as a connector to bring people onto the site.
Provide exceptional stewardship for the environment, meeting and possibly exceeding LEED standards.
Consider the comfort of the public throughout the design (for example, shade and walkways).
Look at issue areas currently not within the current scope of the project (for example, cleanup of the Palisades Bluffs).
Continue to focus on the recreational use of the site.
Design for alternative modes of access to the site.
Continue the respect for the historic preservation of the site as the design evolves.
The project team has demonstrated their responsiveness to our concerns, and to the concerns of others, throughout the development of the scope and design. We appreciate their work and the work of the City Staff.
We respectfully request that you approve the proposal for Santa Monica’s Beach Club at 415 Pacific Coast Highway.
Sincerely,
Susan Cloke
Chair, Recreation and Parks Commission
