By Lookout Staff
March 2 – Although the new Annenberg Community Beach House at 415 PCH will be free to the public when it opens this spring, the fees for parking, participating in classes and programs and renting the facilities for private events will be set by the City Council Tuesday night.
The resolution the council is expected to approve on consent will set fees that generate some $2 million to help run the beach house, which has an operating budget of $3.3 million, City officials said. The City will subsidize the balance of $1.3 million.
The recommended fees will help meet “the goal of providing an open, affordable facility for a diverse group of users,” said Barbara Stinchfield, the City’s director of Community and Cultural Services.
The parking fees – which will match the hourly and daily rates on the pier deck lot -- are expected to generate $306,477. The fee will be $10 per day.
The use of residential parking permits, which are available for all lots, will be prohibited on the beach lot “until public demand can be fully evaluated,” Stinchfield said. In the past, seven permits were issued for the Beach House lots at 415 and 445 PCH.
“Residents who have historically parked in these lots will be able to buy permits for the other beach lots,” Stinchfield said. (http://parkingspacenow.smgov.net/)
In addition to the parking fees, the City’s Beach Fund will reap $126,600 from programs and classes offered by the City or City contracted instructors.
The rates will be reduced based on a sliding scale for youngsters from low and moderate-income families that live in Santa Monica.
Another $94,700 will be generated by facility rental and use charges for private events and commercial filming based on comparable market rates. A limited number of non-profit and governmental organizations each month will receive discounts of as much as 50 percent.
“By remaining sensitive to market fluctuations, the City will ensure both maximum use of the facilities and maximum revenue returns to the City,” Stinchfield said.
The fees, as well as the proposed Operations Plan, were unanimously supported by the City’s Recreation and Parks Commission in November.
Part of the old Marion Davies estate, the $30 million facility will include space for meetings and events, as well as opportunities for traditional beach recreation such as swimming, volleyball and beach tennis. The site is owned by the State of California and operated by the City of Santa Monica.
The new public beach club combines the remaining elements of the historic estate with new facilities that include a pool house, event house, gardens, a children’s water play feature and a public art element.
Developed in the 1920s by William Randolph Hearst for actress Marion Davies, the original estate became a gathering place for the rich and famous, who built lavish homes across the stretch of beach near Santa Monica’s northern border.
After Davies sold the estate, the mansion was briefly operated as a luxury oceanfront hotel and then demolished in the 1950s. The property was purchased by the State of California and leased to the private Sand & Sea Club for decades.
The site was briefly operated by the City as a seasonal public beach facility until the 1994 Northridge Earthquake damaged all the structures on site.
