What Say You? Gwynne Pugh. The Vision of the LUCE

What Say You?  Gwynne Pugh.     

Gwynne Pugh
photo credit Augusta Quirk

The Vision of the LUCE  

SUSAN CLOKE

Columnist, Santa Monica Mirror

Gwynne Pugh, former Planning Commissioner, Soccer Coach, Architect, Engineer, and Urbanist is the third Santa Monica public leader in this series of interviews with Santa Monica political thinkers.

This series is an opportunity for people to hear each other and to expand the dialogue.  Previous columns featured Patricia Hoffman, Co Chair of Santa Monicans for Renters Rights; and Patricia Bauer, Co-Vice Chair of the North of Montana Organization.

To read previous columns in this series go to:

http://www.smmirror.com/articles/Santa-Monica/Santa-Monicans-for-Renters-Rights-To-Hold-Annual-Membership-Convention-Sunday/38452

http://www.smmirror.com/articles/Opinion/Patricia-Bauer-Talks-About-Santa-Monica-City-Council-Disconnect/38822

Often seen around town on his bicycle Gwynne Pugh began our interview talking about the future of cycling in Santa Monica.

Is your bike your first transportation choice?  Talk about what it’s like to ride in traffic, how you choose routes, what being a cyclist does to your perspective on the City.

Unfortunately my bike is not my first transportation choice, partly because I need to use the car for business. In London cycling was my first choice of transportation because it worked best.

I grew up cycling in London, Paris, Athens and Istanbul, cities where traffic is a lot crazier than it is here.  So I’m 100% comfortable with riding in cities.

I am concerned about bike safety in Santa Monica because of all the conflicts – joggers down the centerline, walkers that don’t stay to the right, etc.

As a cyclist my perspective has to be that I am the responsible one.  I watch for everyone and assume that I am not visible to others.  It’s both defensive riding and assertive riding.

For cycling to really work as a transportation choice in Santa Monica we need to get to critical mass.  Bike riders, motorists and walkers all need to pay attention to each other and to acknowledge each other.  That is starting to happen in Santa Monica and will happen more and more as more and more urban cyclists are on the city streets. 

As a Planning Commissioner you were key to the LUCE (Land Use and Circulation Element) discussion.  What do you think now about the LUCE, the process, and the benefits to the City? 

I think the process, which went in fits and starts, a six-year process with various stall points, was re-energized when Eileen Fogarty came.  She and Lamont Ewell went out into the community in an intense listening process.  What was developed out of it was a very smart plan.  It protected the neighborhoods and addressed the issues of traffic head on understanding that traffic could not be allowed to increase.  The Luce established that there could be no new net peak pm trips.

The LUCE addressed issues of economic viability, social justice, and sustainability. Doing so in part by directing development to the Downtown, Bergamot and the Boulevards.

In the early ‘90’s buildings in the industrial zones in Santa Monica got repurposed to house software technology and film industry companies.  As a consequence we became job rich.

In mid 2000 City population was about 85,000.  The population increased during the workweek to about 150 thousand as about 60 thousand people came into the City for work or business and students came to Santa Monica College and tourists come to the City. On weekends that number grew to 250,000.

Development in the LUCE was planned to balance the jobs rich and housing poor ratio facing the city and contributing to our traffic problems. 

Are there stumbling blocks to implementing the LUCE vision of the City?

I think Eileen was a person that people in the community trusted.  There was a process in the City that made in difficult for her to stay on and that created a problem for the implementation of the LUCE

People got upset and scared when they saw development starting up again.  Development had been stalled by the recession as well as by waiting on the completion of the LUCE.  The backlog has led to many projects at all once and that has given people pause.

Additionally, the City decided to follow the Development Agreement process over other planning tools until all the implementation of the LUCE was complete.  We need to use all the tools in the planning toolbox and not use a Development Agreement for every project.

Major projects need a high level of public scrutiny.  Other projects, especially those that would have been permitted under the previous LUCE, need to be processed in an easier way for the Community, the Developer and Staff.

Do you see yourself as an environmentalist?  What does that mean to you and how do you express that commitment in you work and your life?

I do see myself as an environmentalist.  Being an environmentalist is about sustainability, community, social justice and economic viability.  As an Urbanist I want to think about how we live and how we use our resources.

I think Santa Monica would benefit from denser nodes.  The advantage of density is this is has a self-sustainability.  You need about 1600 houses to support a full block of retail.  With sufficient density you can create a positive economic environment and a positive environmental benefit. 

How is the City doing in meeting its sustainability goals?  Is there more the City could do?

The City is both doing a great job and also not doing as well as it wants to do.  The City Report Card on Sustainability reflects the idea that sustainability is about art and culture and feeding souls as well as cleaning water. 

While the City is working diligently toward those goals the environmental footprint has shrunk but it is still vast.  You can see all this information in the City websites.

http://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/OSE/Categories/Sustainability/Sustainable_City_Report_Card_2012.pdf

http://www.smgov.net/assets/0/62/405/407/423/1583/1596/460652cd-c056-48bd-82b8-f35e1c70e3b8.gif?n=693

Traffic problems and traffic complaints and traffic fears are heard everywhere in the City.  How long it takes to get from here to there in SM compared to how long it used to take is a major concern for people now.  Is it for you?  Do you see traffic as a problem for the city? 

Traffic is a problem.  We won’t know how successful we can be until the Expo Line is in.  Ridership on Phase 1 is already exceeding expectations with approximately 27,000 daily riders.  By 2030, the estimated ridership is 64,000 daily riders.

Right now Santa Monica is making a significant effort for Traffic Demand Management.  Van pooling, cycling with lockers and changing rooms and new bike lanes, transportation management requirements are now part of Development Agreements.  The college issues free Big Blue Bus passes. All of this should reduce congestion in the near term.

Importantly, walking should be given its due consideration as a mode of transportations.  Shops, parks, and schools need to be within a ¼ mile radius to make for a walking city.

How do you gauge the impact of development projects and new buildings and new construction, both public and private on traffic flow, volume and patterns.

One of the things we talked about when we developed the LUCE was to set goals, to measure results, and to make adjustments, as necessary.  That was built into the LUCE.

We need to measure and adjust, continuously and on an ongoing basis.

From your vantage point what could City Hall, either at the Staff or the Council level, do to address traffic issues.

There is more to be done and the City knows it. 

They are working with the Big Blue Bus.  They have put an emphasis on the Expo Line.  They are working on transit-oriented housing and development and they are increasing Traffic Demand Management requirements.

The City will take a series of actions including education, incentives and deterrents.  City Hall needs to apply pressure to make this happen.  To give them their due, they are aware of the problems and are working diligently.

You are no longer on the Commission, but have you read the draft of the new zoning code?  Does it promote both the letter and the spirit of the LUCE?

I’m currently reading the draft zoning code.  I’m concerned about the didactic nature of the Design Standards and Guidelines.  We need to empower the Architectural Review Board and the Planning Commission and be more flexible about Guidelines and Standards.  Objectives must be more clearly stated and decision makers and the public need more flexibility.  The process needs to be less rule-bound.

How about the public projects?  Do Tongva Park, Ken Genser Square, the forthcoming Colorado Esplanade and Expo line meet the goals of excellence and aesthetics set by the LUCE?

I think they do.  Tongva Park is of the highest quality and it’s interesting in that it is so specific and ornate.  The jury will be out until about 5 or 10 years down the line when we learn how it’s received and used.

The Expo line is essential to the future viability of Santa Monica and The Colorado Esplanade is the connector we need between Expo and the Beach and the Downtown.  It is key.

Are there other pressures and influences on the City that will bring change to the City?

The demographics are changing.  Obviously we have a significant long-term population.   We also now have many people living here that move often – Silicon Beach workers, the Millennials.  We have people in high-level jobs looking for density and public transportation and bike paths.  They use public spaces to meet, work, and socialize and often live in smaller spaces.  This is already impacting design in the City.

You are a City resident, an architect, an urbanist. Could you look into your crystal ball? Please tell us your hopes and dreams for Santa Monica and describe your vision of the City in 2030.

I see a thriving, complete city welcoming of all people and supporting all modes of transportation.  A culturally rich city, a great place to have kids, affordable for families, a place where people can both live and work.  A city of beaches and parks and wonderful public spaces that is exciting, interesting and vibrant.

Dear Reader, Do you think the coming development is a long term good for the City or a long term bad for the City?  What do you think the City could do to improve traffic conditions now? What do you want the City to look like in 2030?

What Say You?

Hometown Hero: RoseMary Regalbuto

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RoseMary Regalbuto CEO Meals on Wheels West
Photo Credit:  Joe Regalbuto

Hometown Hero:  RoseMary Regalbuto 

SUSAN CLOKE

Columnist, Santa Monica Mirror
November 29, 2013

RoseMary Regalbuto is retiring after 26 years at Meals on Wheels.  “I loved the job and I still love it and it fulfilled me as a person.  It’s been wonderful for me.  I got a tremendous feeling out of this job – a feeling of self, of accomplishment and doing something that other people benefit from.”

Regalbuto, the Head of Meals on Wheels West reported with pride that 80,000 meals were delivered to homebound seniors in 2013.

Meals on Wheels volunteers deliver two meals a day and a daily newspaper.  They bring homebound seniors voter registration materials and keep them informed about City services and other available services.  The volunteers get to know the people on their route.

A typical hot meal for lunch might include spaghetti and meatballs, carrots and string beans, a roll and butter, juice and milk, and fruit.  Another day it might be Eggplant Parmesan with green beans and carrots, salad, a roll and butter, juice and milk, and fruit.  Another, lighter meal might be a raisin bagel with cream cheese, a salad and fruit.  “It’s all fresh,” said Regalbuto, “and prepared under the supervision of a dietician and approved by the County.”

The Farmer’s Markets are now supporting the Meals on Wheels program.  Fresh fruits and vegetables are part of every meal.  Participating farmers get tax credits.  Casa del Mar, Loews and other hotels also participate and provide meals.  RoseMary Regalbuto said, “I’m amazed at how generous people are.”

Money comes from public donations and Meals on Wheels holds regular events that have become important occasions in the community.  LA Marathon runners raise funds for Meals on Wheels.  The City of Santa Monica contributes $45,350 per year, LA County contributes $102, 000.  More money is raised from direct mail solicitations.  It takes a lot of money to prepare 80,000 healthy meals and this year’s budget is $775,000.

Volunteers deliver all the meals.  Meals on Wheels have almost 500 volunteers who work with Volunteer Coordinator Joanna Vasquez.  Volunteers tend to stay a long time.  Betty Darling, a volunteer, told RoseMary, “Bringing people meals is like visiting my friends.”  Google volunteers have a route they do every Thursday.  Regalbuto said, “They get to know their people.  They held an art show for one of the people on their route who is an artist.”

“Volunteers are on the front lines.  The volunteer may be the only person the majority of the clients see that day.  Most clients are between 85 and 105.  We now have 3 over age 100.  Our youngest client is 27, she was in a car accident, and will be homebound throughout her recovery,” said Regalbuto.

The program that inspired the American Meals on Wheels started in England during the Blitz.  Meals were delivered to people who had lost the ability to cook their own food because of the bombing of England by the Nazis.  This group, named “The Women’s Volunteer Service for Civil Defence’ came about when the group started to deliver meals to servicemen.

The first home deliveries in England used old prams with food packed in straw to keep the meals warm in transit. (Wikipedia)

Now Meals on Wheels delivers meals in England, Canada, Australia and the U.S. to the housebound.  Most, but not all, of the recipients are elderly.

Although it wasn’t yet called Meals on Wheels, the program got its U.S. start in 1954 in Pennsylvania.  High School students delivered meals to homebound seniors and other people unable to leave their houses or to prepare their own meals.  Recipients were visited once a day and received a hot lunch and a sandwich and milk to be eaten at dinner.  The idea spread to Ohio and New York.

In 1960, in San Diego CA, a group of women started Meals-on-Wheels of Greater San Diego and 50 some years later that organization is still providing meals and human contact to housebound seniors.

The national association, Meals on Wheels Association of America, used the San Diego model to create the national program to keep seniors independent in their own homes.

Leaving no doubt that hunger among the elderly is a serious problem in the U.S., Meals on Wheels commissioned a 2007 study on hunger in the U.S. and found that over 5 million seniors “experience some form of food insecurity.” 

This is especially true for seniors living alone, seniors with low incomes, seniors caring for a grandchild, and it is true in both urban and rural parts of the U.S.  (Ziliak, Gundersen and Haist. (2007) The Causes, Consequences and Future of Senior Hunger in America, University of Kentucky Center for Poverty and Research, Lexington, KY.)

In Santa Monica, Meals on Wheels West was started as a program of the Westside Ecumenical Conference.  In 1987 RoseMary Regalbuto became the CEO of Meals on Wheels West.  Under her leadership the organization continued to serve Santa Monica and grew to serve Topanga, Pacific Palisades, Malibu and parts of Marina del Rey.

Meals on Wheels West is central to making it possible for many homebound seniors to stay in their own homes and often the Meals on Wheels volunteer is their only daily contact.  Because the volunteers stay with the organization for so long and deliver meals to the same people they often develop significant and lasting connections.

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to talk about the work of RoseMary Regalbuto.  She lives the words of the poet Maya Angelou, “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”

 

What Say You? Patricia Bauer talks about the "Council Disconnect."

What Say You?  Patricia Bauer talks about the “Council Disconnect”

Part of a series of columns featuring Santa Monica political thinkers.

SUSAN CLOKE, Columnist

 

Patricia Bauer
Co Vice-Chair NOMA

“Despite the unanimous opposition of every one of the neighborhood associations, as well as opposition from the Recreation & Parks Commission and the Landmarks Commission, the Council chose to allow commercial fitness trainers in Palisades Park.  We’re very disappointed.  NOMA will be continuing to discuss this issue,” said Bauer.  “Personally, I’d like to see the Council reopen the conversation about the parks ordinance and remove Palisades Park from the list of parks in which commercial training is permitted.

“Speaking in a general way,” she said, “there seems to be a disconnect between the Council and the neighborhoods. This leaves many people in the community to wonder whether the Council cares much about what the neighborhoods and the residents have to say.

Patricia Bauer was born in Detroit, went to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, worked at the White House Press Office during the Carter Administration, and went on to work at the Washington Post.  After she and her family moved to Santa Monica, she worked at the Los Angeles Times.

“We came here for the schools and the fresh air, and we fell in love with the town.” Bauer said.

Bauer was pulled into local politics when the City proposed to replace the iconic Palm trees in her neighborhood, on an as needed basis, with Sycamore trees. Bauer loves Sycamores but this was not the right location.   The Palms are the signature tree of her neighborhood. They were part of the identity of the neighborhood and Patricia Bauer, as she would learn later, was only one of many neighbors opposed to the plan.

Bauer turned to her neighborhood organization, NOMA, the North of Montana Association, one of the seven major neighborhood organizations in the City, but the organization was almost inactive at that time.

Support for keeping the iconic Palm trees was high and the neighborhood pulled together to save them.  Their efforts were successful and “the City reversed course and agreed to replace palms with palms on the historic palm streets,” said Bauer. “Then we went on to work together to revitalize NOMA.”

Now, as Co Vice-Chair of NOMA, Bauer is a leader working with NOMA to actively oppose the commercial use of Pacific Palisades Park by fitness trainers, whose presence in the park has grown in recent years.  In their letter to Council Members NOMA wrote:

We are now faced with the prospect of city-authorized private businesses using Palisades Park land for profit-making purposes that directly contradict the original intent of our founders. If the ordinance is enacted as currently written, private businesses will be free to use taxpayer-supported lands as their private fiefs, interfering with the public’s use and enjoyment of the historic lands that make up Palisades Park.

“All the neighborhood organizations are talking with one another on this and many other issues.”  Bauer adds, “On development. NOMA has gone on record calling for the Council to slow down its rush to develop the city. Our residents are happy with the size and scale of our built-out city, and are concerned about growing traffic and congestion around town. They strongly question whether the intense development that is contemplated now will worsen the quality of life for everyone.

“Voters wonder: Where’s the accountability, and why did the Council vote down a measure that would have them disclose their campaign connections before voting?  Why is it okay in Santa Monica for Council Members to vote on measures that are backed by the campaign contributors who put them in office? Why are the developers’ voices heard so much more strongly than the voices of taxpayers, residents and voters? Whose interests are really being served here?”

 “Follow the money,” famously said the investigative journalist Bob Woodward in “All the President’s Men.”  It was advice Patricia Bauer often heard him give when she was a new reporter for the Washington Post.  Now Bauer is asking that question about the Santa Monica City Council.

“When you look at Mayor Pam O’Connor’s campaign contributions, as publicly reported, both before and after the recent elections her campaign was heavily financed by developers,” Bauer said.  “Ms. O’Conner had campaign debt from her 2006 election.  In March of 2008 people associated with one developer paid it off. That developer is Hines, the company behind a massive project that is currently proposed for the Bergamot property. People have begun to wonder about the Mayor’s close relationship with that developer.

“It’s interesting to note that something similar also happened in March of 2005, following Ms. O’Connor’s election to Council. Her campaign debt then was also paid off by people associated with a developer who had a pending development proposal in the city: Macerich.”

 “I have a sense, and am hearing all over town that others share my sense, that people feel the Council is ignoring the wishes of the residents.  Anger is building. People are feeling ignored. When voters get angry, they speak with their votes.

So Says Patricia Bauer of NOMA

What Say You?

What Say You? The Council, Palisades Park and Santa Monicans.

SUSAN CLOKE

Columnist

Santa Monica City Council.  October 22, 2013.  Item 7-A.  Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Santa Monica Municipal Code (SMMC) Chapter 4.55 Related to Commercial Fitness or Athletic Instruction, Classes or Camps in Parks and the Beach.

The question before the Council: Should commercial fitness classes be allowed in Santa Monica Parks?  Top of the list, should they be allowed in Palisades Park?

When the agenda item was called Gleam Davis moved and Pam O’Connor seconded the motion to adopt the Ordinance.  Bob Holbrook voted no. Kevin McKeown voted no.  Tony Vazquez voted no.  Ted Winterer voted yes.  Terry O’Day was not present.  Under parliamentary rules an ordinance needs four votes to pass.  This was a tied 3-3 vote.  The Ordinance failed.

That was it.  If the City wanted to take up the issue again it would have to be as a new item.  Or was it?  

About 25 minutes later Council Member McKeown made a procedural motion to reconsider the vote on 7-A.  He said, “I’ve decided to pull on my big boy pants and do the right thing.  If we do nothing tonight we will not have regulated fitness trainers in any of our parks.”

Council Member Holbrook offered an alternative to McKeown’s motion to vote to reconsider the ordinance and instead suggested moving on and enacting regulations regarding commercial fitness training classes in parks as appropriate.  He said he planned to put an Item 13 (a Council Member item request) on the next agenda to do just that.

Council Member Vazquez, a consistent opponent of allowing commercial fitness training classes in Palisades Park, recommended letting the failure of the ordinance stand and directing Staff to return with an ordinance regulating commercial fitness classes in appropriate parks and banning them in Palisades Park.

Council Member McKeown said, “My desire to protect Palisades Park remains unchanged.  But we have to do something because what we see now (with the fitness classes) is the Wild West.”

Council Member Davis said, “We have been considering this issue for over a year.  All this ordinance calls for is a pilot program (in Palisades Park and regulations for all the parks).  Let’s go ahead and see what happens.”

Council Member Holbrook stated that a lot had changed in just the last two weeks since the First Reading of the Ordinance.  He said many City Commissioners had asked him why the Council was ignoring their advice to ban the commercial fitness classes in Palisades Park.

Holbrook added that the all the Neighborhood Organizations had communicated to Council, recommending a prohibition on commercial fitness classes in Palisades Park. He also said he’d received a slew of emails asking him to ban the classes in Palisades Park.  “This is the loudest I’ve seen our community since the hedge ordinance.  It’s a big thing in the City and it’s getting bigger.”

Mayor Pam O’Connor thought it was an age thing.  “It is a difficult decision and we know that there are appropriate uses of different parks.  But I think this is an age thing.  There are a group of younger folks who are into fitness training and they want this and I think we have to change with the times.  I think we owe this (to allow fitness trainers in Palisades Park) to our young people.”

With Kevin McKeown's vote his motion for reconsideration passed and the Ordinance was adopted.  Council Members Holbrook and Vazquez voted no.
Council Members Davis, McKeown, O’Connor and Winterer voted yes.

In an email sent on October 23, the day after passing the ordinance, McKeown wrote, “The balance here is only one vote…  One advantage of my casting my unenthusiastic vote last night is that I'm now on the prevailing side, and have the right to bring the ordinance back for reconsideration, with a clause protecting Palisades Park…. I don't see any point in my doing that until the community works on that fourth vote.  I've argued the case as best I could, and failed to sway my colleagues.”

In a letter to the Council dated October 8, 2013, Phil Brock, Chair of the Recreation and Parks Commission, wrote, “Our Commission revisited the issue in May of this year and voted to ask the Council to ban all paid fitness training in Palisades Park.  The Commission supported the proposed ordinance detailed in item 7-A in all other Parks in Santa Monica.”

Calling himself a ‘pragmatic optimist’ he went on to say in the letter that he had come to realize that the Council could not be convinced to ban the classes in Palisades Park and so, reluctantly, he would support the proposed Ordinance because it would enact regulations for the classes that would protect other parks.

The Neighborhood Groups: North of Montana Association, Santa Monica Northeast Neighbors, Wilshire Montana Neighborhood Coalition, Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors and North of Montana Association all signed an open letter to the Council asking the Council to reconsider their decision to allow commercial fitness instruction in Palisades Park.  

“Palisades Park is more than a municipal resource. It is a national treasure, “ they wrote.  It’s “America’s gateway to the Pacific, a cherished view corridor that daily welcomes thousands of people, both local residents and visitors from all over the world….

“If the ordinance is enacted as currently written, private businesses will be free to use taxpayer-supported lands as their private fiefs, interfering with the public’s use and enjoyment of the historic lands that make up Palisades Park….

“Under the measure that received provisional approval from the Santa Monica City Council members of the public would be barred from the use of four newly designated “commercial group training zones” (in Palisades Park) for up to 15 hours a day, 6 days a week, from 6 a.m. to 9 pm.”

Adding their voices to the discussion, the Ocean Park Association, Friends of Sunset Park and the Pico Neighborhood Association wrote to the Council saying, “It is our opinion that all parks, beaches and public areas should not be used for commercial purposes except by special permit for a limited time use that is in the public interest….

“Are Santa Monica taxpayers who maintain and fund new parks expected to make way for commercial business interests in our parks…?”

The Neighborhood Groups listed above represent every neighborhood in the City.  Their opinion should be, and historically has been, of utmost importance to the Council.

So what happened?  Why the schism between the Council and the Neighborhood Groups, the Commissioners and the hundreds of Santa Monicans who have communicated with the Council directly and the thousand plus who have signed petitions?

This is not about fitness classes.  Santa Monica is a place where just about everyone exercises.  Santa Monicans jog, ride bikes, surf, swim, go to Yoga classes and NIA dance classes, hire trainers and go to gyms to work out.

This is about the City Parks.  This is especially about Palisades Park.  The Council has somehow blundered into messing with an icon.

Palisades Park is the first City Park.  Originally named Linda Vista because of the great views from the Park, it was a favored promenade of both Arcadia Bandini and Senator Jones.

Palisades Park has a unique plant palette, the gorgeous Arts and Crafts Pergola and is our only Park with a Landmark Designation.

Allowing sections of the park to be set aside for commercial fitness classes is a misunderstanding of how the park has been used historically and how it continues to be used by the hundreds of Santa Monicans and visitors to Santa Monica who come, daily, to Palisades Park.  

Santa Monica supports surf camps on the beach, tennis at Ocean View Park, basketball at VAP, softball at Memorial Park, soccer at the Airport Park. There are also appropriate parks for fitness classes, but not Palisades Park.

Palisades Park is Santa Monica’s only park specifically designed for contemplation and quiet thought.  Its linear character naturally supports its original use as a Grand Promenade, a place for leisurely strolls at sunset and for early morning jogging among the beautiful trees and, yes, for the gorgeous views.  It’s also a great place to picnic, to meet your friends, a place for children to run and play. 

Palisades Park is a place of meaning and memory, of imagery and importance in a way that cannot be said about any other park in Santa Monica.  A photo of Palisades Park is synonymous with Santa Monica and is recognized around the world.

At the Council meeting Davis said, “the Council has been working on this matter for over a year.”  Her frustration is understandable. It may be fair to discuss whether people should have communicated their concerns sooner to the Council and/or whether the Council should have gone out into the community earlier.  But that is in the past.

Now is the time to show respect to the founders of Santa Monica for their gift to the City and to recognize our responsibility to protect that gift for our benefit and the benefit of residents and visitors of the future.

What Say You?

Mark Benjamin. City and Community Builder 1950 -2013

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Mark Benjamin.  1950 – 2013   

Mark Benjamin
City and Community Builder

SUSAN CLOKE

Columnist 

Mark Benjamin was a guy with an easy going manner and a work hard ethic.  He began in the construction business as an apprentice carpenter at Morley Builders, a family company started by his father in the 1950’s to meet the post WWII housing boom.   Mark Benjamin went on to become the CEO of Morley and to be the founder of Benchmark Contractors.

In their mission statement Morley Builders define themselves as being “an innovative and entrepreneurial company of individuals with integrity, working together to build quality projects with pride and dignity. The overriding principle we all share is integrity of character. From this flows the traits of honesty, respect for others, ethical behavior and being profitable without being predatory.”

Mark Benjamin lived the principles of the company.  He was known for the integrity of his work.  He also lived the principles of his company in the many ways he contributed his skills and knowledge and support to his local community.

Morley and the second family company, Benchmark Contractors, were major construction companies in Southern California.  Under Mark’s leadership the companies expanded and he was known for incorporating sustainable building practices and new technologies. 

Their clients included: studios 20^th Century Fox and CBS; institutional buildings for the California Institute of Technology, California Institute of the Arts, the California Science Foundation; medical buildings for City of Hope, Huntington Memorial Hospital, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Saint John’s Health Center; libraries and exhibition and performance spaces for the City of Santa Monica, Huntington Foundation, LA County Museum of Art, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Hollywood Bowl.

Mark Benjamin was also committed to community building and his company adopted Grant Elementary School, four blocks from their home office in Santa Monica.   Benjamin is an original supporter of the ACE Mentor Program in Los Angeles. This program introduces high school students to career possibilities and learning opportunities in architecture, construction and engineering.

Mark supported Habitat for Humanity, the Los Angeles Music Center, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, City of Hope Medical Center and the Idaho Conservation League.

In Idaho, where he had a second home, and in Southern CA where he supported Nature Bridge, Yellowstone Association, Wood River Land Trust, and the Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families, Mark found ways to demonstrate his support for environmental protection and enhancement.

Mark Benjamin’s professional credits include serving as president of the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE), providing leadership to the Architectural Guild at the University of Southern California, contributing to the work of the Structural Engineers Association of California, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, and the American Institute of Architects and the American Concrete Institute.

Mark Benjamin, 63, was killed, along with his son Luke, 28, two family friends and his golden retriever, when the jet he was piloting crashed on landing at Santa Monica Airport on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013.  He is survived by his son, Matthew.

Santa Monica has lost a talented, generous and kind member of the community.  We were so very fortunate to have his presence in our lives and in the life of our City.