Two new Planning Commissioners have been appointed by the Santa Monica City Council in the last six months. Ted Winterer began his term in May by filling the seat vacated when Gleam Davis was appointed to the City Council and Jason Parry’s term began his term in September after Terry O’Day left the Commission.
Winterer ran for the City Council in 2008. He is a former President of the Ocean Park Association and is currently its Vice-President. He is also a member of the School District’s Emergency/Temporary Parcel Tax Feasibility Committee. He is a movie writer and is transitioning to work in residential real estate.
Santa Monica’s ongoing update of its Land Use and Circulation Elements (LUCE) of its General Plan is what peaked Winterer’s interest in becoming a Planning Board member. His goals include “seeing the LUCE through to completion” and ensuring the follow-up work on the City’s zoning ordinance “is reflective of the community’s goals.”
Other goals for Winterer are preserving the City’s socio-economic diversity by having a variety of housing stock, improving public and private architecture, making Santa Monica more bike friendly and walkable, adding more public open space, and continuing to preserve the City’s historic structures. He is also interested in having neighborhood conservation districts in order to preserve the City’s rent control stock and focusing on rehabilitating existing residential buildings to help retain existing residents. Lastly, Winterer wants to see redevelopment and growth in the City at a “scale and pace that’s acceptable to the community.”
Parry came to the Commission after serving for eleven years on Santa Monica’s Housing Commission (from 1998-2009) and he also has served on the Civic Center Working Group. He works in property management in Santa Monica and Venice.
Parry wanted to be a Planning Commissioner to work on “issues beyond housing.” His undergraduate education focused on being a public policy analyst and he holds a master’s degree in public policy as well. He also has worked on Capital Hill in Washington D.C. for California Senator Dianne Feinstein and on the City of Los Angeles’ Charter Reform Commission.
Parry is interested in applying the principles of sustainability, livability, and affordability as priorities to the projects and other issues he will address as a Commissioner. One of his goals is help ensure that the City has “a broad range of housing options.” He believes it’s important “to preserve the housing we have and look at what housing we don’t have.” He is to interested in creating workforce housing which is lacking in the City. Parry hopes this type of housing will target those with middle incomes who are finding it increasing difficult to live in Santa Monica.
Alternative ways of getting around without a car are also important to Parry. He also is pleased that the City “has focused its future planning on the LUCE.”
