By Jorge Casuso

February 13, 2012 -- In yet another last-ditch effort to save one of Santa Monica's two remaining trailer parks, the Landmarks Commission Monday will vote on whether the 61-year-old Village Trailer Park merits to be deemed a city landmark.

The vote comes two months after the City Council discussed the possibility of purchasing the property or using the right of eminent domain before deciding to only ask the price of the land slated for a nearly 400,000-square-foot, mixed-use project with 393 residential units, 52 of them deemed "affordable."

Staff is recommending that although the park at 2930 Colorado Avenue in the city's industrial area meets two of the six criteria for a landmark, the commission should deny the designation. A vote against preserving the site would pave the way for the developers to finally pull permits five years after filing for a Development Agreement.

"While a representative example, the Trailer Park is not extraordinary in its design and layout and does not possess any extant buildings or features of particular architectural interest," staff wrote in its report to the Commission.

Staff contends the park does not "fully convey its period of significance" after the central driveway median and historic landscaping were removed. What's more, what defines the park -- its trailers -- cannot themselves be designated as landmarks.

"The Trailer Park’s overall identity and history is heavily reliant on the presence of trailers, which are non-permanent fixtures upon the land and cannot be included in any designation and which are substantially reduced in numbers," staff wrote. Of the 109 spaces, 43 are vacant, according to staff.

Without the trailers, the "remaining character-defining features… are not able to adequately convey the Trailer Park’s history," whose importance has also been exaggerated.

Monday's meting comes after the commission heard from the park's property owner, MarcLazzutto, and other community members, both for and against the designation at a discussion meeting December 13. After the discussion, the commission determined there was credible evidence in the public record to warrant the filing of a formal landmark designation application.

The controversy started in 2006 when Lazzutto served residents with a 12-month notice that he would be closing the park to build 240 condominiums and 109 rent-controlled units on the 3.85-acres site and that they would have to relocate.

News of the pending closure caused a stir among the park residents, many of whom are elderly or disabled. The City initially contested the closure, but officials determined they had no legal grounds for preventing Lazzutto from getting out of the mobile home business.

If the Landmarks Commission votes to designate the park as a local landmark, the decision can be appealed to the City Council.

The Landmarks Commission will meet Monday at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, Room 213, 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica.