Field no Longer a Dream

By Jorge Casuso

Oct. 15 -- The City Council Tuesday night unanimously and enthusiastically approved the design for a new 8.3-acre park at the airport that will help ease the crunch on Santa Monica's green spaces.

Years in the planning, the park will include two lighted sports fields, a picnic area, a children’s playground, an off-leash dog area, public restrooms, a paved path and 116 parking spaces.

The council -- which approved the Environmental Impact Report -- also gave the go-ahead for new street trees, lighting and sidewalks along Airport Avenue, which borders the park, although the cash-strapped City will have to wait to allocate the necessary funds.

The proposed park was so long in the planning council members, as well as public speakers, feared they'd never live to use it. Councilman Michael Feintsein noted that it has in fact taken 77 years for the park Santa Monica citizens bought land for in 1926 to materialize.

The public testimony and council deliberations were upbeat, as speaker after speaker praised the proposed park. The need for park space was so great, the council agreed, that it overrode worries about placing a playground so close to an airport and boosting traffic in an area that has little public transit.

"If we build it they will come," said Councilman Bob Holbrook. "It has taken a long time, but today we will take the most important step in moving this forward."

"The time has come," said Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown.

The new park is expected to alleviate a huge demand for outdoor recreational spaces. Santa Monica's fields are used three times as much as the fields in cities across the nation, according to City staff.

"Our demand way exceeds our supply," said Karen Ginsberg, assistant director of the City's Department of Community and Cultural Affairs.

"Recs and Parks has been 100 percent behind this," said Frank Shwengel, who chairs the City's Recreation and Parks Commission. "This is necessary for this city."

In addition to approving the design plans for the park, the council asked staff to explore using artificial turf in the sports fields, a move that would cost $1 million more up front, but save money by requiring less maintenance and no watering or irrigation.

"This is an excellent opportunity for demonstration space for artificial turf," said Steve Mount, a former member of the Recreation and Parks Commission. "There's water savings, maintenance savings."

At least one public speaker addressed concerns that placing a park in such close proximity to an airport could pose a health hazard, especially from the pollution from jet engines.

"I'm concerned about the ultra-fine particulate matter," said John Reynolds, rattling off the chemicals emitted by the engines.

Craig Perkins, director of the City's Department of Environmental and Public Works Management, said the City is studying data on air quality.

"There is an analysis being conducted," Perkins said. "There is no data that has emerged that causes concern."

City Attorney Marsha Moutrie noted that "the City cannot regulate air quality or jet emissions," adding that the standards are set by the Federal government.

Additional areas of concern were the off-leash dog area, which residents of neighboring Los Angeles want to use. Under the existing ordinance, dog parks can only be used by the owners of Santa Monica's 5,000 registered dogs. Staff recommended that the council not exempt residents from outside the City.

Some speakers and council members also called for more parking. Linda Sullivan, a member of the Pier Restoration Corporation board who works at the airport, suggested adding between 150 and 200 spaces. "You're not going to have another chance," she said.

Councilman Herb Katz urged his colleagues to "rethink and relook at subterranean parking.

"I think we ought to try to find a way to do it, even if we phase it," Katz said.

While the debate centered on details such as turf and parking, there was general consensus that more open space not only builds healthy bodies, it results in a tighter knit community.

"My children went to high school knowing the children of chefs and busboys, of bus drivers and airline pilots, doctors, lawyers plumbers and painters, of all the wonderful people who make up the community," said Maryanne LaGuardia, who heads Santa Monica's AYSO.