"Four or five stories would be acceptable in the Downtown area."
Oct. 1, 2014 Whitney Scott Bain

"No. A massive 12-story high-rise at 4th/Arizona? No! 21-story high-rises lining Ocean Avenue? Absolutely not! We are a beach community. We are not a high-rise city. We never have been. We never should be. Mimicking downtown Los Angeles, Miami Beach or New York City is not our vision, nor is it our goal.

Santa Monica's tradition is charm and character, and it is rooted in our low-rise skyline of garden apartment housing and our bungalow-style single-family houses. More importantly, our tradition is cultural diversity with a unified respect for our low-rise beach community. National Geographic called Santa Monica the 7th best beach community in the world. 'Beach' not 'High Rise.' We are an authentic beach community. We can be modern without destroying who we are.

Overdevelopment causes increased traffic gridlock. I'm on record, publicly, supporting height limits: 4 stories downtown, 3 stories on major boulevards, 2 stories in residential areas. People come here daily to work and play. Do they come to see skyscrapers, and sit in gridlock? No. They come here to escape those urban ills.

Common sense favors sunlight, blue sky, trees and the clean flow of ocean breezes through our neighborhoods. Preserve it. Don't destroy it!"
Oct. 1, 2014 Phil Brock

"It is the job of the developers, their lawyers, and their lobbyists to extract as much profit from their deal as the City will allow. It is the job of the City, especially the City Council, to say 'no' to any project that does not meet the needs and best interests of the City and its residents. The City has not done its job in several projects in the last two years, such as Hines and Village Trailer Park (VTP). 'Opportunity sites' may provide a financial opportunity to developers but, as with VTP and Hines, Santa Monicans often receive significant traffic burdens and invariably receive too little in return.

I believe that buildings in excess of 84 feet in our downtown amount to 'Tier 4' which our LUCE does not allow and I will vote against. The scale and density of our downtown does not call for towering, dense buildings with little open space at ground level. We have achieved a magical mix of uses (with a few glaring mistakes) in our downtown through adaptive reuse and cautious planning. I will vote to continue on this course."
Oct. 1, 2014 Sue Himmelrich

"I am in favor of the 84 foot height limit (seven stories or less) which is the limit currently being studied as the maximum parameter for the Downtown Specific Plan but more in favor of projects that do not build to the maximum parameters. The possible consequences to the public of building beyond maximum limits include poorly designed projects that try to pack too much into too small of a space, less light and air in the public realm, insufficient public amenities, insufficient infrastructure, traffic impacts that are not sufficiently mitigated, and impacts to natural resources including water and energy consumption. I am in favor of keeping the Third Street Promenade the height and scale that it is now because it is currently open to the sky and uninviting."
Oct. 1, 2014 Jennifer Kennedy

"Gridlock as it stands today is impossible. We've maxed out the entire square footage of the city as we speak. It's not because the city suggests it'll be easier to walk somewhere, and not because we're going to have a one or two metro answer. The real issue is a multilayered development problem."
Oct. 1, 2014 Terence Later

"Overly tall development in Santa Monica should never be allowed 'by right.'

I voted for limiting downtown heights to 84 feet, even on so-called 'opportunity sites.' Any project that wants to exceed that height will have to demonstrate extraordinary reasons why the additional stories provide a compelling community benefit.

Further, my vote to limit heights guarantees far closer inspection of how taller proposals might hurt nearby properties and downtown as a whole. Because of my vote, any project over 84 feet will have to fund and present a detailed Environmental Impact Report that looks at all the potential impacts, including increased traffic and blockage of air and sun from surrounding properties.

Only then would such a project even be eligible for consideration, which will involve multiple public hearings in front of the Planning Commission, Architectural Review Board, and City Council. There will be public input and community engagement every step of the way, up to and including the deciding vote of the City Council.

I have voted against more Development Agreements than any other Councilmember.

Developers also face the likelihood of public intervention by referendum on overly tall projects."
Oct. 1, 2014 Kevin McKeown

"84 feet is a very useful height limit. It restrains the height, and FAR, of buildings. This gives the City breathing space, a human scale, and some livability. Yet it has, in the right places in the City (generally the southern end), allowed buildable space, without dominating the City skyline or changing the fundamentals of the City (ie the cinema on top of the Santa Monica Place)."
Oct. 1, 2014 Richard McKinnon

"To maintain the character of our small town feel, and the flavor and charm of Santa Monica, we must be vigilant about the type of development we choose to embark on. If we were to become a high rise district it will change the character of the city. It will adversely impact the character of the city."
Oct. 1, 2014 Zoë Muntaner