December 14, 2024 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

S.M.a.r.t Column: Civic Center Debate

Civic Center Debate

Last year, the City declared the Civic Center Auditorium surplus property after a decade of neglect and disuse. The auditorium had been closed because of seismic concerns and the lack of accessibility. It’s not unusual for a sixty-three-year-old auditorium to need a significant upgrade as entertainment tastes and technology change and as newly updated codes start to make such buildings obsolete or even dangerous. The debate on what to do to reactivate our defunct Civic Center auditorium had been sputtering along since the City’s negotiations with the Nederlander group (a potential operator) failed, compounded by the State of California eliminating the Redevelopment Funds, which could have been used for its restoration. 

Finally, the City is now reeling from the impact of Covid and the $200,000,000+ pedophile case payouts, so at this time has no funds to attempt its own civic auditorium rehabilitation. If its seismic vulnerability is truly as serious as represented, the longer we wait to address this flaw, the greater the possibility of it being damaged in the next big (overdue) earthquake. Such damage may not even cause a complete collapse but might still cause enough damage to make the building prohibitively expensive to repair. In that case, demolition might still result even without full seismic destruction. However, it was undamaged by the 1972 and 1994 quakes, so the alleged seismic deficiency still needs to be verified. In addition, rumor has it that at one time, it was considered a civil defense asset, so it must have had some inherent strength. Given these uncertainties, there is still a prudent sense of urgency to restore this building. We do not want to be like those dams in Libya. 

Thus, the City has entered into negotiations with the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District as a candidate to restore and operate the building, either as a tenant or as an owner. The City is awaiting their formal proposal of what they intend to do with the building, which seems to involve converting it into a gym with options for probable weekend uses as a music/performing arts venue. The School District will need to pass a resident-paid bond to fund their restoration and possibly purchase this beloved landmarked building. The School District has a long, successful history of passing school bonds, so it might be able to raise the funds relatively quickly. The City could also pass a bond if there is enough public support for this building.

But many residents are concerned that this building, with its incredible historical pedigree, may be completely altered or even demolished by the School District if it becomes the owner. School districts exist as separate legal entities from cities and are therefore not bound by the constraints of a local landmarked designation. So substantial alteration or even demolition is a potential danger if the School District becomes the owner. 

Because of this possibility and because the school district has been repeatedly neglectful of its buildings (e.g., SMASH/John Muir have been closed for over a year to fix leaks) and disdainful of its historical assets (e.g., demolishing the High School History Building), a citizen’s group called Save the Civic was formed to advocate for an alternative agent for the Civic’s resurrection. 

S.M.a.r.t often offers guest columns for credible advocates in important debates on public issues. Attached is Save the Civic’s September 18th public announcement for your consideration. 

Dear friends of the Civic,

Ever since we began our mission to stop the City from selling off our beloved, historic Civic Auditorium, we have found ourselves submerged in the world of the Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District, which by law is the only entity whose offers our City Council can currently entertain. (Should the Council reject the District’s proposal, it can then field other offers.)  

One of the District’s main selling points to the community has been that it will pay for the Civic’s operating costs by renting it out up to one hundred days a year. From the beginning, we thought that wasn’t a good idea. The School District is in the education business, not the venue rental business. It simply does not have the experience or resources to properly manage a property of this scale.

Now we have proof.

We’ve just discovered that the District is surprisingly not good at the venue rental business. How not good? It lost money renting out school facilities last year. That’s right, the School District LOST MONEY renting out Barnum Hall and other venues. How do we know? Because this week, it asked the School Board to authorize $438,502 in unrestricted funds to pay for those losses! Read its request here.

We’re sure that $438,502 could have been better spent on other school needs, but how the District allocates money is not our issue.

What IS our issue is that clearly, the School District should not be in the Civic rental business. And by the way, who do you think is going to bail it out if it fails at that endeavor? Us!  

Instead, the City should partner with an experienced group that can run the Civic as a concert and performing arts center; a group that knows how to do it and, importantly, in the event of failure, will not use precious school funds to bail it out. We have found such a group. And if we’ve found one, we know the City can find others.

But first, our City Council must reject the School District’s proposal.

Let’s restore the Civic as a world-class venue for music and the arts. And let’s keep the School District focused on education, not venue rentals.

For more information and to register so we can contact you when we need people to reach out to the City Council, please visit our website at savethecivic.org.

By SM.a.r.t

S.M.a.r.t Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow

Thane Roberts, Architect; Robert H. Taylor AIA, Architect; Dan Jansenson, Architect & Building and Fire-Life Safety Commission; Samuel Tolkin Architect & Planning Commissioner, Mario Fonda-Bonardi AIA & Michael Jolly, AIR-CRE.

For previous articles, see www.santamonicaarch.wordpress.com/writing

in Opinion
<>Related Posts

SM.a.r.t Column: Climbing The Vertical Learning Curve

December 8, 2024

December 8, 2024

The city is facing a financial crisis, the roots of which stretch back decades but have been made worse by...

SM.a.r.t Column: It’s Time To Inspect Balconies

November 24, 2024

November 24, 2024

About nine years ago, a fifth-floor balcony in a Berkeley apartment building collapsed, tragically killing several students gathered on it...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Your City is Broke

November 18, 2024

November 18, 2024

On December 10, the new City council will be seated fresh from their dominant win in the recent elections. There...

SM.a.r.t Column: Moving Ahead to the Future

November 10, 2024

November 10, 2024

As we write this, the election results are still trickling in. We’ll leave the deep analysis to others, but the...

Opinion: Fact Check: Why Vote Yes on Measure QS

November 1, 2024

November 1, 2024

Despite living in a famously progressive region, Santa Monicans are not immune from the same political misinformation and disinformation that...

SM.a.r.t Column: Lack of Oversight and No Accountability

October 31, 2024

October 31, 2024

S.M.a.r.t. periodically invites guest columnists to write opinion articles on topics of particular interests to our readers. Below is an...

SM.a.r.t Column: “Help! I’ve Fallen, and I …!!”, Cries Santa Monica!

October 25, 2024

October 25, 2024

Maybe fallen, but slipping for sure from being a desirable beachfront community that served all equally, the local residents who...

SM.a.r.t. Column: Vote

October 13, 2024

October 13, 2024

In a polarized country or City every vote counts. Regardless of which side of any issue or candidate you support,...

SM.a.r.t Column: Fact-Checking Election-Season Windbaggery

October 6, 2024

October 6, 2024

Claim: The state is requiring Santa Monica to build 9,000 apartments.Answer: Partially true, partially false. Santa Monica has a pretty...

SM.a.r.t. Column: Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Can Help Save Lives and Revitalize Santa Monica’s Economy

September 29, 2024

September 29, 2024

We wholeheartedly endorse the candidates below for Santa Monica City Council. Their leading campaign platform is for increased safety in...

SM.a.r.t Column: Crime in Santa Monica: A Growing Concern and the Need for Prioritizing Public Safety

September 22, 2024

September 22, 2024

By Michael Jolly Over the past six months, Santa Monica has experienced a concerning rise in crime, sparking heated discussions...

SM.a.r.t Column: Ten New Commandments

September 15, 2024

September 15, 2024

Starting last week,  the elementary school students of Louisiana will all face mandatory postings of the biblical Ten Commandments in...

SM.a.r.t Column: Santa Monica’s Next City Council

September 8, 2024

September 8, 2024

In the next general election, this November 5th, Santa Monica residents will be asked to vote their choices among an...

SM.a.r.t Column: Part II: The Affordability Crisis: Unmasking California’s RHNA Process and Its Role in Gentrification

September 2, 2024

September 2, 2024

Affordability: An Income and Available Asset Gap Issue, Not a Supply Issue (Last week’s article revealed how state mandates became...

SM.a.r.t Column: Part 1: The Affordability Crisis: Unmasking California’s RHNA Process and Its Role in Gentrification

August 26, 2024

August 26, 2024

In the world of economic policy, good intentions often pave the way to unintended consequences. Nowhere is this more evident...