To help improve land use and activities in the City of Santa Monica’s busiest region, the Planning Commission will be holding a special workshop tonight at the Civic Auditorium to initiate a discussion and receive input of how best to develop 120,000 square feet of city-owned land in downtown.
With the Santa Monica City Council pushing forward with its Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) agenda, the Planning Commission workshop kick-starts a “community planning process” of city-owned property on Arizona Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Streets and look into “desired uses and activities” to benefit the downtown area and Santa Monica as a whole.
Through the workshop, the Planning Commission will lead a discussion to explore alternatives and “opportunities to meet the goals and policies to achieve the community vision in the to enliven and animate the Downtown through a dynamic mix of uses and pedestrian-friendly design, vibrant businesses linked to public parking, and activities that build complete neighborhoods and support trip reduction and congestion management goals.”
Tonight’s workshop was put in motion by the Council at its Dec. 14, 2010, meeting, where it announced a set of “guiding principles” for 120,000 square foot city-owned location on Arizona Avenue. Under the guiding principles, the Council and the Planning Commission hope to keep the community focused on how best to develop the site in the context of existing conditions while also maintaining downtown Santa Monica’s “identity and character”
The special workshop will begin at 7 p.m. in the East Wing of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
