City

Development

New buildings, land use decisions, and long-range planning.

Why it matters here

Choices made once shape the street for fifty years.

Where this matters

Pacific OceanSanta Monica PierSanta Monica BeachDowntown Santa MonicaThird Street PromenadeMain StreetMontana AvenueSanta Monica Airport AreaSanta Monica CollegePalisades ParkReed ParkMemorial ParkVirginia Avenue ParkAirport ParkCivic CenterOcean ParkPico NeighborhoodMid-CityNorth of MontanaWilshire / MontanaSunset ParkNortheast Santa MonicaDowntown ResidentialMajor CorridorsE Line Stations

Downtown Santa Monica

The dense core between the freeway and the ocean — offices, apartments, hotels, shopping, and the E Line terminus.

What we love:
Walkability · Restaurants & Cafés · Local Businesses
Key issues:
Local Business & Economy · Housing · Public Safety
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Third Street Promenade

Three car-free blocks of shopping, street performance, and public gathering between Wilshire and Broadway.

What we love:
Walkability · Public Spaces · Arts & Culture
Key issues:
Local Business & Economy · Public Safety · Public Space
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Main Street

A low-scale commercial street from Pico to the Venice border, lined with independent shops, cafés, and restaurants.

What we love:
Local Businesses · Restaurants & Cafés · Walkability
Key issues:
Local Business & Economy · Parking · Transportation
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Montana Avenue

A tree-lined shopping street from about 7th to 17th, mixing boutiques, cafés, and neighborhood services.

What we love:
Local Businesses · Trees & Landscape · Walkability
Key issues:
Local Business & Economy · Parking · Transportation
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Santa Monica Airport Area

A large, city-owned open area on the eastern edge — aviation history, creative and cultural tenants, Airport Park, and the city's biggest long-range land use question.

What we love:
Historic Places · Arts & Culture · Parks & Green Space
Key issues:
Development · Parks & Recreation · Environment
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Memorial Park

A recreation-heavy park on Olympic with fields, a gym, a skate park, and community programming.

What we love:
Recreation & Sport · Parks & Green Space · Community
Key issues:
Parks & Recreation · Maintenance & Cleanliness · Public Safety
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Airport Park

Sports fields, dog parks, and open space on the edge of the airport land — and the seed of a much larger park idea.

What we love:
Recreation & Sport · Parks & Green Space · Community
Key issues:
Parks & Recreation · Development · Environment
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Civic Center

City Hall, the Civic Auditorium, courthouse, Tongva Park, and the campus of public buildings between Downtown and the beach.

What we love:
Public Spaces · Parks & Green Space · Architecture
Key issues:
City Services · Public Space · Development
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Ocean Park

The southern coastal neighborhood of bungalow courts, walk streets, and beach-adjacent living around Main Street.

What we love:
Neighborhoods · Architecture · Walkability
Key issues:
Housing · Development · Parking
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Pico Neighborhood

One of the city's most historically rooted and diverse neighborhoods, centered along Pico Boulevard east of Lincoln.

What we love:
Community · Diversity · Historic Places
Key issues:
Housing · Development · Environment
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Mid-City

The central residential area around Wilshire, Broadway, and Colorado, blending apartments, homes, and small commercial streets.

What we love:
Neighborhoods · Walkability · Trees & Landscape
Key issues:
Housing · Development · Transportation
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North of Montana

The northern residential area of wide, tree-shaded streets between Montana Avenue and the city's northern edge.

What we love:
Trees & Landscape · Neighborhoods · Architecture
Key issues:
Housing · Development · Transportation
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Wilshire / Montana

A dense apartment district between Wilshire and Montana, walkable to downtown, the bluffs, and neighborhood shops.

What we love:
Walkability · Neighborhoods · Local Businesses
Key issues:
Housing · Parking · Public Safety
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Sunset Park

The southeastern residential neighborhood surrounding the college and the airport, with single-family streets and local schools.

What we love:
Neighborhoods · Parks & Green Space · Education
Key issues:
Development · Environment · Transportation
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Northeast Santa Monica

The residential area northeast of Wilshire near the city's border, quiet streets close to Brentwood and the 10.

What we love:
Neighborhoods · Trees & Landscape · Walkability
Key issues:
Housing · Transportation · Parking
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Downtown Residential

The growing residential population living within the downtown core, above shops and beside transit.

What we love:
Walkability · Restaurants & Cafés · Public Spaces
Key issues:
Housing · Public Safety · Public Space
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Major Corridors

Wilshire, Santa Monica, Colorado, Olympic, Pico, Ocean, and Lincoln — the streets that carry the city and connect it to the region.

What we love:
Local Businesses · Bikes & Paths · Walkability
Key issues:
Transportation · Public Safety · Infrastructure
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E Line Stations

The Downtown Santa Monica, 17th Street/SMC, and 26th Street/Bergamot stations linking the city to the regional rail network.

What we love:
Walkability · Arts & Culture · Community
Key issues:
Transportation · Public Safety · Housing
Explore

What we value

  • Human scale
  • Historic fabric
  • Public benefit from private projects

Improving something shouldn't mean losing what people already love about it.

Challenges

  • Competing visions (community concern — not verified data)
  • Long timelines (community concern — not verified data)

Ideas & opportunities

  • Clear community input early
  • Design that adds public space

Related projects

No projects or initiatives have been linked to Development yet.