No Target For Downtown

Laurie Cohn
Mirror contributing writer

   So, Target won't be coming to downtown Santa Monica after all. I can't say I'm sorry. In fact, I'm glad. Very glad. Very, very glad. From the beginning, I was against the idea, and I am stunned and incredibly pleased that our City Council and Green Party Mayor saw fit to think the proposal through and reject it. As far as I'm concerned, they did completely right by anyone who calls Santa Monica home.
   It's not that I'm against Target, per se, because I don't know enough about the workings of Target to have a strong opinion about how the company is run. I've heard Target is a good neighbor and contributes to the community, while I've also been told Target treats its overseas factory workers in a less than stellar fashion. Whether Target is the greatest or worst corporation around, I still am glad a Target store won't be placed in our downtown area. Of course, I believe there are other several other Santa Monica neighborhoods that would thrive by having a Target in their midst. 
   I truly think a Target in Santa Monica would be a great thing. Surely there are more reasonable places to put such a massive store, where many hundreds of cars coming and going on a daily basis won't negatively impact traffic. A big argument for having Target downtown has been that many people will take the bus to the store and thus not too many additional cars will be driving into the busiest part of our city. Pro-Target people can shout statistics all day long, but there is no way I will ever be convinced people who live in the Palisades or Malibu, North of Montana or Brentwood would take the bus to do their Target shopping. And, believe it or not, these wealthy citizens may not have to shop at Target, but they often do spend money there. Though undoubtedly Santa Monica's lower income residents would use public transportation, too many others would not, and the quality of life here would keep deteriorating for all of us. 
   My anti-Target stance is equally anti-Home Depot or any other store that would add congestion to an area of town already beyond its capacity for cars at least some hour of the day every day of the week. Until traffic-calming measures are implemented and parking added (perhaps a shuttle as they do in Westwood from the Federal Building to the Village), there really should be a halt to developing Henshey's old property. It is a shame that there are no affordable department stores in the downtown district, but J.C. Penney's, Woolworth's, and Europa were there for years and none have survived to this day. What or who's to say Target would succeed when other well-established emporiums have failed? 
   What can a supposedly progressive city like Santa Monica do with a large block right smack in the middle of downtown? Well, a neighborhood park, with flowers and benches and swings for the kiddies would be a great and green addition to a neighborhood overrun with chain stores. Years ago, Portland actually took back a freeway and turned it into a park along the Willamette River. We don't have to get a freeway and tear it up -- we just have to discover a way to buy the property. About ten years ago, the Palisades bought what was a Chevron station and turned it into a small park right in the middle of town. Certainly we can figure out something since Santa Monica is so flush with cash that every major and minor street improvement is being done at the same time while we have the money to spend.
   Downtown Santa Monica already has a multitude of shops, restaurants, movies, and some excellent independent book and music stores. Superfluous big development isn't necessary right now. Instead, we need to think about the future, and the legacy we will be leaving. We can leave future generations a user-friendly and beautiful downtown instead of a McCity that is more concerned with making money than the quality of life for its citizens. 
   People in our community continue to be divided on Target, and since the proposal became public last year it has elicited many letters to the editor to the Mirror. Only the school district running out of money received more expressons of community concern. Though I wish there were a solution that would please everyone, there is not, so for now maybe it's best to focus on what we can create on that prized piece of property on the corner of 5th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard.