The Santa Monica Great Park Coalition (GPC) is proud to announce that the Sierra Club, America’s premier environmental organization, has joined the GPC to advocate for the conversion of Santa Monica Airport into a Great Park consistent with Measure LC, the ballot measure Santa Monica voters overwhelmingly approved in 2014 that calls for the land at the airport when it closes to be used only for parks, recreation, and related uses.
“Since our founding just two years ago, the Great Park Coalition has brought together a broad and growing alliance of environmental, arts, education, sports, recreation, and neighborhood organizations committed to transforming the airport land into a Great Park when the airport closes on December 31, 2028,” said John Fairweather, President of the Great Park Coalition. “Today, more than 85 organizations and 1,100 individual supporters are part of this effort, including many of Santa Monica’s most respected civic and community voices. The Sierra Club’s decision to join the coalition is both deeply meaningful and tremendously energizing because of the environmental leadership and values the organization has represented for generations.”
David Haake, Chair of the West Los Angeles Group of the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, said this about the Club’s decision to join the GPC: “The Sierra Club only made the decision to join the Great Park Coalition after considerable study. As part of its mission, the Club is a strong supporter of urban infill housing development, affordability and equitable access to housing. After studying the Santa Monica Airport situation in depth, we nonetheless determined to join the coalition and support the creation of a Measure LC compliant park.
“Santa Monica has a low rate of parks per population, and only three percent of its land is dedicated to parks. More than 75 percent of its housing is multi-family, of which more than half is rent-controlled. The city has been a leader in building affordable housing, with a higher rate than the rest of the county. It has also been at the forefront of building transit and bike options.
“We believe that the Great Park can and will complement the City’s robust housing commitments in nearby transit-accessible locations, and we are happy to join the Coalition.”
The Santa Monica Great Park Coalition is a nonprofit 501c3 organization with a membership that includes 85 organizations, representing more than 35,000 members, and more than 1,100 individual supporters. Its mission is to reclaim the land at the Santa Monica Airport, purchased by the City with a parks bond in 1926, to rebuild and restore the Great Park that once flourished there.