Dear Editor,
The Yes on Measure LC Committee loudly complain that, if voters closed the airport under the terms of Measure D, nothing in that measure directly addresses the development process that would follow. This is true and it was done by intention – not by omission. Unlike Measure LC, Measure D does not attempt to skirt existing land use regulations in Santa Monica.
As City Attorney Marsha Moultrie has noted on numerous occasions, the City already has in place robust processes and regulations that govern the development of any large tract of land. These regulations require the formulation of a Specific Plan and, in the case of the 227 acres of land that comprise Santa Monica airport, would require that any Specific Plan be integrated with the existing City Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE).
Making a Specific Plan is a public process and directly involves the voters in formulating guidelines that only allow the kind of development that they want. Undoubtedly, after their experience with formulating the LUCE and seeing our City Council and their developer friends run circles around its stated intent, the voters will be more careful about specifying exactly what they wish for!
Measure LC short circuits this public development process by inserting language into the City Charter that overrides the LUCE and any Specific Plan and gives the City Council the power to make six types of land use changes “without voter approval”. This was done intentionally by Council members to prevent the voters from participating in decisions about how to use the airport land if it is closed.
What’s in the City Charter is law. It can’t be changed by a new regulation – only by amending the Charter. Measure LC’s Charter language empowers the seven members of City Council to skirt land use regulations and avoid public processes and allows seven politicians to control and develop an area the size of our downtown.
Measure D respects existing land use regulations and invites the full use of existing public processes to determine the future of all of the airport land. It’s that simple.
Voting for Measure LC is a sure way to Loose Control of future airport land to developers and their friends on the Council. Measure D keeps future airport decisions firmly in the hands of the voters of Santa Monica.
The choice is clear. Vote YES on D and NO on LC. Preserve your democratic right to control land use in Santa Monica. That’s what I plan to do on November 4.
Dave Hopkins
Ocean Park Resident
