February 9, 2026
To: Santa Monica City Council
RE: City Council Closed Session Agenda item 5k
SMCLC strongly objects to any proposal to privatize the land at 4th/5th and Arizona in a closed session process.
This is the last remaining large parcel of undeveloped public land in our downtown.
Starting in 2019, SMCLC and other groups throughout the city, organized widespread opposition to the City’s wildly unpopular plans to privatize this public land with a huge, mostly commercial project.
In 2020 the City Council finally voted to end negotiations with the developer and to require a public process for future plans for the site. Likewise, SMCLC prevailed in its lawsuit over the City’s refusal to comply with state law that it could not dispose of this valuable public property without considering alternatives for the site, including open public space.
As the largest and most important remaining publicly owned site in our downtown, any proposed project would necessitate the fullest community review and a comprehensive environmental analysis of the project’s impacts, as well as reasonable alternatives that would lessen those impacts.
Before any commitment to lease or sell this land, the public is entitled to accurate, complete, and unbiased information to facilitate meaningful public participation and, ultimately, a public vote. The City has already set the precedent for a public vote on the use of airport land - land owned by residents. We expect no less here.
As the City prioritizes a massive increase in housing density, especially downtown, it must also prioritize retaining ownership and expanding public recreational space. Santa Monicans are entitled to the same level of open space commonly found in all great cities.
For these reasons, it’s time to have an open community process to decide what options should be pursued for our public land, a process that includes residents from the beginning, rather than after a project has been shaped in secret.
Lastly, unless these discussions preclude ANY housing on this site, Councilmember Zwick must be excluded from this and future sessions.
