WEEKEND EDITION
INSIDE SCOOP
COMMENTARY
FIREFIGHTER MAKES PLEA PAGE 3 GOING TO BAT OVER LAWNS PAGE 4
NOVEMBER 15-16, 2008
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Volume 7 Issue 313
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THE TRADING SPACES ISSUE
City Hall and hotel operator want to trade local parcels BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
requested staff to look into the enforcement of the ordinance at the Nov. 11 council meeting to absolve notions that additional surveillance around Fourth and Adelaide was requested by a councilmember, but rather a response to complaints from neighbors. “People assumed because I live near there I must have done it,” Shriver said regarding the increased enforcement near the median. “But I don’t have the same issues that people in the condos and homes on Fourth Street have, and I don’t have the incentive that those folks have to make it an issue.” Though Shriver maintained he did not request increased patrols of the median, he said he understands neighbors’ gripes and would make sure the “police assets that are
OCEAN AVENUE A parking lot for overnight guests could soon become the site of an affordable housing project if a pending property swap between City Hall and the operator of two local luxury hotels is successful. City Hall is preparing to enter exclusive negotiations with Edward Thomas Collection (ETC), which owns Casa Del Mar and Shutters on the Beach hotels, to exchange two parcels of property located near the ocean and less than half a mile from each other. Both properties are rather undeveloped — 1828 Ocean Ave., which belongs to ETC, is currently used for hotel parking, while the city-owned 1920 Ocean Way is even less evolved, sitting as an empty dirt lot. Trading spaces will allow City Hall to build up to 80 low-income and affordable housing units in an area that is otherwise cost prohibitive to live, allowing city officials to act on its goal of creating more incomediverse neighborhoods. “It allows residents of affordable housing the opportunity to be closer to different work sites or social networks or family networks they may have in Santa Monica,” Andy Agle, the director of Housing and Economic Development, said. “We have very few opportunities to create affordable housing in the ocean front so when we have an opportunity, we try to seize [it].” The Edward Thomas Collection, which is based in Beverly Hills, has yet to determine what it would develop on the city-owned lot, which is located adjacent to Casa Del Mar. “At this point it’s super preliminary,” said Stacey Copeland with Murphy O’Brien Public Relations, which represents ETC. “The city just put it out there on the table so we’re considering it.” Agle said that the city-owned site is currently zoned residential and expected that whatever was developed there would be integrated with the hotel. The approximately 45,000-square-foot space at 1828 Ocean Ave. allows a minimum
SEE MEDIAN PAGE 14
SEE SWAP PAGE 13
Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com
NO SWEAT: Residents who live near a median on Fourth Street want City Hall to enforce an ordinance that prohibits exercising there.
Debate over median use continues BY ELIZABETH KENIGSBERG Special to the Daily Press
FOURTH ST A stir of controversy continued to surround the median bordering the popular Santa Monica Fourth Street stairs weeks after a community meeting regarding its usage took place, and City Hall officials have yet to present a concrete plan of action. The controversial ordinance banning all but walking and jogging along medians was put in place in 1970, but recently sparked a heated debate between Fourth Street and Adelaide Drive residents and fitness fanatics advocating for green space. In an effort to reconcile complaints from both sides of the aisle, the city sent out a survey and held a town meeting in October to assess community feelings and hopefully resolve the conflict.
“The goal was to gauge what the impact [of median use] was to the neighborhood, and to engage the neighborhood out there in helping us come up with practical solutions,” said Director of Public Works Lee Swain, who has been analyzed the results of the community survey. “For the general question of how people feel about use, the answers were pretty split down the middle.” The survey asked for general suggestions as well as ideas relating to maintenance, potential City Council agenda items and projects for the area, security of the neighborhood, ordinance enforcement and community participation. Swain said no formal proposals have been created, but his office will present a list of options that the city manager will have approved at the Dec. 2 council meeting. While still waiting to formally address the issue, Councilman Bobby Shriver
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