Greetings from the Santa Monica Great Park Coalition!
This is our second “Report To The Community”. (Read our first “Report” from December.) Our Coalition was formed in 2024 to bring together the many groups and individuals looking forward to the conversion of the 192-acre Santa Monica Airport into a Great Park when the airport closes at the end of 2028.
Today, the Coalition includes 84 supporting organizations representing more than 30,000 people, all dedicated to advancing community health, restoring green space, strengthening local sustainability and creating vibrant arts, culture, sports and recreation opportunities for our region. We have lots of news to share.
Planning gains momentum as the Draft Framework is introduced
Last July, City Council directed staff and consultants, as the next step in the City’s Airport Conversion Project, to prepare a plan for the conversion that would not require a vote under Measure LC, meaning that all site development would be solely for parks and recreational purposes.
After more than eight months of work, staff recently released a conceptual plan for the Great Park, building on more than two years of community engagement through the SMAC Project, including workshops, surveys, and public events that invited residents to help shape the park’s future.
Called the “Draft Framework,” the plan outlines our Great Park’s overall vision. Structured by “Big Moves” (transformative spatial strategies); “Bold Connections” (how people move to, through, and across the site), and “Beloved Places” (the distinct districts where people gather, reflect, play, and belong), the Draft Framework establishes the Great Park’s overall structure, organizing the airport site into eight districts, each with its own distinct character, potential amenities, and uses. The Framework includes illustrative concepts to help the community envision what could take shape across the site.
The GPC is excited about the Draft Framework, which marks another important step toward the Great Park. The Framework itself will undergo review and development before it is approved. Staff and the consultants are asking the public to contribute reactions and ideas to the Framework, by completing a short survey. The GPC urges everyone to study the Framework and then complete the survey. Your input now will help shape how these districts take form in Santa Monica’s future Great Park.
Meanwhile, to gather more input, City staff and their consultants have been making presentations of the Framework to the Airport, Arts, Planning, Recreation & Parks, and Sustainability Commissions, and to the Urban Forest and Environmental Task Forces. Staff will also be presenting the Draft Framework to the public at local community events, allowing plenty of time for the public to weigh in before the Draft Framework goes to City Council for review.
County grants Santa Monica funding for Great Park planning
In March, the L.A. Country Regional Park and Open Space District (RPOSD) announced its 2026 Measure-A Park Grants. Included is an award of $499,149 to the City of Santa Monica to design and plan the first 20 acres of the Great Park!
The County’s grant award is an important vote of confidence in and validation of the City’s on-going park-planning process. More than that, the grant reflects the regional importance of the Great Park for both recreational and environmental purposes.
Santa Monica approves a bold target for more park space
In other good news coming from the City, recently the City Council UNANIMOUSLY approved the “2025 Parks and Recreation Vision Plan” (PRVP). This plan, based on and reinforcing the concept of the “City as Habitat,” recognizes the need for more park space in Santa Monica, setting a goal of five acres of parkland for every 1,000 residents.
This five-acre standard is considered a baseline for cities but would represent more than a tripling of Santa Monica’s current park acreage, which is only 1.5 acres per 1,000. Transforming the airport land into a Great Park is essential to meeting this goal, as it is the last large, contiguous public parcel in Santa Monica. The PRVP recognizes this by including an addendum for the Santa Monica Airport Conversion Project, strengthening the connection between the PRVP’s target and the future Great Park. You can read more about the PRVP here: Parks and Recreation Vision Plan
Protect your Great Park; every acre counts
Unfortunately, we must also alert you to two proposals circulating that would reduce or fragment the Great Park. One is a petition for a ballot measure, currently in the signature gathering stage, which seeks to remove 25% of the land at the airport from the park and use it for a housing development. (Santa Monica is already building housing in the right places, especially along transit corridors, in Downtown, and along the E Line where the city has already planned for growth. Meanwhile, our need for open space, climate resilience, and community-serving parkland has never been greater.)
Another threat to the Great Park comes from pro-aviation interests who suggest keeping the airport’s runway operating while purportedly adding some park space around it. The GPC is opposed to any proposal which would reduce the acreage of the Great Park. Carving up this parkland would undermine community priorities and leave Santa Monica without the park it needs.
Please do not sign any petitions for ballot measures or proposals that would allow any use other than a full Great Park across all 192 acres.
Join the founding community of Great Park supporters and advocates
Santa Monica now has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a lasting legacy for the people who will call this region home today and for future generations.
Every day, the Great Park Coalition advances this work. We make presentations to community organizations and public commissions, build relationships with city officials and civic leaders, support funding grant applications through letters and advocacy, represent our Coalition before City Council and City Commissions in support of the voter-approved parkland vision, and connect with park planners, conservation leaders, and environmental infrastructure experts to strengthen the planning process. We also amplify the Santa Monica Airport Conversion Project’s community planning process, encouraging active public engagement, to help ensure that our Great Park will reflect shared community priorities.
We invite you to fill out the form below to join the growing list of more than 1,100 Great Park advocates and become part of the founding community of Great Park champions, helping to ensure our public land becomes a lasting public treasure.
We hope to see you at future Great Park advocacy events!
