Legislature Kills Newsom Carve-Out for Santa Monica Tower
A last-minute bill would have exempted an 11-story Ocean Avenue project by a major Newsom donor from Coastal Commission oversight.
By Hans Laetz
The Legislature killed Gov. Gavin Newsom's effort to "carve out" legal permission for a large downtown Santa Monica development proposed by a major Newsom campaign donor.
The last-minute proposal from the governor would have stripped Santa Monica and the California Coastal Commission of oversight of the project.
It's an 11-story apartment and hotel tower on Ocean Avenue at the end of Santa Monica Boulevard, overlooking Malibu and the entire coast.
The proposed special bill would have paved the way for a cultural center and museum honoring the late architect Frank Gehry.
The governor's proposal was made public Tuesday. And there was a huge uproar.
Dozens of environmental groups and hundreds of residents rallied to stop the last-minute legislation, which they warned would "create dangerous exemptions to the Coastal Act."
The proposed project has already been approved by both the Santa Monica City Council and the Coastal Commission. But the developer, a major Newsom campaign donor, did not want to be required to provide low-cost hotel rooms and apartments as part of the deal.
The carve-out is dead.
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