Back in 2017, the Federal Aviation Administration and the City of Santa Monica reached an agreement to end “longstanding litigation” over the Santa Monica Airport; the “Santa Monica Settlement Agreement” made it so that Santa Monica must maintain and operate the airport (IATA code: SMO) until December 31, 2028.

The airport has been controversial for many years, and a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) has found negative impacts to air quality, noise and lack of an airport buffer zone for nearby schools, daycare centers, parks and residential homes. The HIA also reports elevated levels of ultra-fine particles and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the air as a result of the jet takeoffs and landings.

During the two years of public outreach and engagement, a Framework Diagram was drafted providing the first real look at what the park will look like. This Framework Diagram represents the distillation of community feedback and preferences; synthesizing the input gathered through "87 public meetings, 20 small group discussions with over 370 participants, more than 12,100 online survey responses and over 50,000 project website visits," Santa Monica Principle Design and Planning Manager Amber Richane said in a media release.

The plan also outlines 8 districts that will make up the future park:

• Immersive Nature: A calm ecological landscape on the western portion of the site prioritizing native habitat and biodiversity
• Active Sports: A structured regional athletic destination on the east side of the site
• Arts & Culture: A dynamic district organized around food, performance, and creative expression
• Urban Edge: A connected district along the north side of the site that extends the park into the surrounding neighborhood through adaptive reuse of existing structures
• The Stroll: A welcoming green gateway serving as the park’s front door from the Clover Park area
• The Lawn: A flexible central gathering space serving as the “living room” of the park
• The Meadow: An intimate community-focused landscape with adventure play and neighborhood-scale gathering
• The Heart: A magnetic civic core where architecture, landscape, and movement intersect

A survey has been open until April 26 as an effort to collect public feedback for Phase 3B Defining the Future of Place: Framework Diagram.

Additional information on the project can be found here.