Fire,
Police Storage Facility Gets Red Light |
By Anita Varghese
Staff Writer
October 29 -- Worried that City officials had skirted
Santa Monica’s typically thorough public process, the City
Council last week sent the fire and police departments back to the
drawing board on the proposed construction of public safety storage
facilities at the airport.
Council members chose not to make a motion accepting staff recommendations
to approve two project locations, schematic designs and a request
for bid process.
Instead, the fire and police departments were directed to conduct
a more thorough public input process that features a realistic budget
instead of a simple line item and opportunities for residents to
deliberate on site plans and designs.
“I am not offended by the site, but I am offended by the
lack of a typical Santa Monica process,” said Mayor Richard
Bloom. “The lack of addressing certain kinds of elements is
what is stymieing us here.
“Even though we know this site does not have the zoning requirements
that other places in Santa Monica have, we need to replicate that
in some way in order to achieve the kinds of results that residents
expect.”
Both storage facilities are on Santa Monica Airport property, with
the fire department facility on the northwest side of the airport
behind Fire Station #5 and the police department facility on the
northeast side near the Centinela Boulevard airport access gate.
Zoning regulations say that the Architectural Review Board and
Planning Commission do not have jurisdiction over projects on airport
property.
The Airport Commission unanimously rejected the public safety storage
facility proposal because of incomplete and deficient public discussion,
land use and design.
Fire and police department officials had been pursuing comparable
planning processes used to construct the Airport Administration
Building and Airport Park.
The fire department planned to add a 13,100 square foot storage
facility to an existing building that is currently home to airport
maintenance offices, supplies and equipment, as well the police
department’s surveillance aircraft.
Interior space would be reconfigured to provide 4,085 square feet
for airport maintenance, 13,758 square feet for the fire department
and rooms for minor office functions, record keeping, a kitchen,
lockers, bathrooms and showers.
Fire Chief Jim Hone said the storage facility is ideal because
it is directly behind Fire Station #5 and provides adequate space
for reserve emergency response vehicles, equipment, disaster supplies
and a large fire/life safety training trailer.
The site, Hone said, would also make the perfect staging area for
the fire department’s Emergency Volunteer Air Corps, a program
that provides air transportation to City employees and medical evacuations
in case any disaster halts ground transportation.
“It is not the intent of public safety officials or staff
to cause the Airport Commission or certain members of the public
concern or frustration,” Hone said. “We bring this project
because we have taken an oath to provide the community with effective
public safety services.”
A budgeted plan, developed years ago, to build a storage facility
attached to Fire Station #5 would have cost $2 million because of
the exceptional high-quality materials used build the station.
“Staff evaluated alternatives to meet the operational needs
of the fire department with the understanding that any selected
alternative would have to meet three critical criteria -- location,
size and cost,” Hone said.
The 5,000 square foot storage facility for the police department
would provide immediate access to an airport taxiway for police
surveillance aircraft and enough space to store a mobile command
post, Special Entry Team vehicle, safe driver training trailer,
supplies and equipment.
“The police department has significant security and storage
needs as well,” said Police Chief Timothy Jackman. “The
project is viable as presented and will meet our current needs.
“If the project does not move forward, we will still continue
to have storage needs beyond what we currently possess.”
Hone and Jackman have been storing expensive and unique emergency
response vehicles, supplies and equipment in temporary locations
throughout the city.
Secured storage is necessary, the two chiefs said, because everything
they plan to store needs to be protected from the weather and thieves.
However, the Airport Commission and residents near the airport
vehemently oppose the project as presented.
“The board of directors of Friends of Sunset Park, while
supporting the Santa Monica police and fire departments and their
need for secure storage, opposes the storage facilities in our neighborhood,”
said Friends board member Zina Josephs.
“Based on current information, the project appears to be
too large for the site and is insufficiently designed when it was
shown to the community.”
Airport commissioners urged the City Council to reject any proposal
that does not adhere to five recommendations approved by the commission.
Prior to Airport Commission and City Council review, commissioners
recommend the project be subjected to additional public reviews,
such as at Architectural Review Board and Planning Commission hearings.
The commission recommended that the fire and police departments
purchase outside planning and design services and draft mitigation
plans with many details, such as landscape drawings and specifications.
The project should also be reduced in size and scale in an effort
to achieve compatibility with the adjacent neighborhood, and facility
uses should be analyzed to determine if other locations in the city
could meet non-emergency related storage needs, the commission recommended.
City staff stressed the need for the facilities.
“As someone who has worked in the public safety industry
for a number of years, I can assure you there is only one factor
that helps in any type of natural or manmade disaster -- planning
and preparedness,” said City Manager Lamont Ewell, a former
fire chief in Compton and Oakland.
“I think they (Hone and Jackman) tried to address the issue
of locating the buildings in a reasonable place that would give
them the access necessary to respond in the event of some disaster.”
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