The vision plan outlines eight principles — including nourishing existing parks, expanding parkland, connecting open space and supporting funding partnerships — and five strategies
The Santa Monica City Council unanimously approved a 25-year Parks and Recreation Vision Plan early Wednesday, setting a goal of 5 park acres per 1,000 residents while amending a staff proposal on artificial turf fields following strong opposition from students and environmental advocates.
The council voted 7-0 to adopt the plan, which updates the city’s 1997 Parks and Recreation Master Plan and establishes “City as Habitat” as its guiding vision — framing parks, open spaces and streets as nourishing environments for people, plants, animals and programming.
A key amendment, proposed by Council Member Jesse Zwick, requires existing artificial turf fields to be re-evaluated at the end of their natural life to determine whether durable natural grass alternatives are feasible, rather than automatically replacing them with turf as originally recommended.
Council Member Dan Hall initially proposed keeping staff’s recommendation but withdrew his motion after Zwick clarified that the amendment allows staff to weigh feasibility, including impacts on adult sports capacity.
The vision plan outlines eight principles — including nourishing existing parks, expanding parkland, connecting open space and supporting funding partnerships — and five strategies: strengthening access, rethinking streets for park potential, fostering social interaction, optimizing existing parks and creating new parkland.
Council members also directed staff to study potential recreational use of streets and segments of Interstate 10, with Council Member Ellis Raskin advocating for freeway capping to reclaim land for public parks.
The plan identifies a current park inventory of 144 acres — about 1.55 acres per 1,000 residents — below the Los Angeles County average of 3.3 acres and far below the National Recreation and Park Association’s recommended 6 to 10 acres for cities of Santa Monica’s size.
Staff and advisory commissions noted high community use: 96% of survey respondents visit a park, arts or recreation facility annually, 15% above the national average, and 49% participate in city programs or events, 13% above average.
“The vision plan will guide strategic open space decisions for the next 25 years, particularly for the Santa Monica Airport Conversion Project, which presents the largest parkland expansion opportunity in the city’s 150-year history,” staff reported.
