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:
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.
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?
