Residents press council on airport future and concentration of homeless services in Pico and Sunset Park

A broad set of public commenters used the council’s public‑comment period to press the council on two recurring, high‑stakes topics: the future of the Santa Monica Airport and the city’s approach to homeless services.

Alan Glick, a 42‑year resident, urged the council to keep the airport, calling it an irreplaceable asset for emergency access and historic character and warning that remediation and park conversion would be expensive. “The airport is important for providing safety for emergency access when, not if, we have a major disaster such as earthquakes, fires, floods,” he said.

Several speakers representing residents and neighborhood associations described what they called a long‑running pattern of concentrating social‑service facilities in the Pico and Sunset Park neighborhoods. Speakers including Morgan Hunter Gross, Gina Debaca and Maria Loya said the cumulative number of shelter and supportive‑housing beds in Pico has altered quality of life and public safety in those neighborhoods. One speaker added that several projects use Los Angeles County placement systems, not local placements, and urged the council to stop what they characterized as “dumping” services into a single neighborhood.

Council staff and the city manager responded to questions from the dais by clarifying that closed‑session discussions are under way about homeless‑response options and that the council will do public outreach if any specific direction is given. The city manager said options discussed in closed session would be shared publicly following legal constraints and that staff will return with outreach plans if the council provides direction.

The comments reflect persistent neighborhood tensions over siting of services and the airport’s future and are likely to inform council deliberations on homelessness strategy and any future airport decisions.