Santa Monica opens survey on 192-acre airport park plan

Santa Monica residents have until Dec. 6 to weigh in on a draft plan that would turn the 192-acre airport site into an eight-district park.

Hundreds of community members gathered Oct. 17 to view the Draft Illustrative Master Plan for the future Santa Monica Airport park, Santa Monica Next reported. The event at Memorial Park Gym gave residents their first look at how the property could be reshaped once the airport closes on Dec. 31, 2028.

The Phase 4 survey is available in English and Spanish through Dec. 6 on the city's project website.

What the plan proposes

The draft divides the site into eight districts mixing nature, sports, arts and community space. The western half would feature an Immersive Nature district with native habitats, urban forests, wildflower meadows and stormwater capture ponds. The eastern side would hold Active Sports fields and regional recreation facilities.

Other districts include Arts & Culture, built around existing creative spaces; The Stroll, a connective pathway that received some of the highest community support in public surveys; The Lawn for gatherings; The Meadow for passive recreation; The Heart, a central civic core; and Urban Edge, connecting the site to surrounding neighborhoods. Full descriptions are on the project website.

The city's project website shows the plan does not include uses that would require a public vote under the 2014 Measure LC City Charter Amendment. The Santa Monica City Council directed staff on July 8, 2025, to exclude those uses.

Cost and advocacy

The Santa Monica Great Park Coalition, which represents 89 organizations and more than 1,500 individual supporters, estimated construction costs at nearly $2 billion if the city moves forward with the plan as drafted, according to Santa Monica Next's earlier coverage. That figure comes from the Coalition, not from a city cost estimate.

Ann Bowman, a Coalition board member, called the Oct. 17 event "a great day for Santa Monica" and said she was thrilled to see hundreds of residents view the plan for the first time, according to Santa Monica Next.

Zina Josephs, another Coalition board member, said the park would reclaim land that serves a relatively small portion of the community while the current airport exposes surrounding neighborhoods to aviation noise and air pollution, Santa Monica Next reported.