SANTA MONICA : Report Cites Impact of Commercial Project

If the city proceeds with a plan to expand commercial development around the Third Street Promenade, residents can expect more traffic, noise, people and garbage downtown, says a new environmental report, which also suggests measures to minimize the project’s adverse impacts.

The Bayside District plan calls for new shops, offices and apartments on 2nd and 4th streets. City officials and business people want to see more shops on 4th Street and professional services on 2nd Street, said Ron Cano, executive director of the nonprofit Bayside District Corp.

The city is accepting public comment on the environmental report, which the City Council will consider when it decides whether to approve the plan later this year.

If approved and developers come up with the money to build the apartments and offices, the report estimates that 368 people would move to the Bayside area, an additional 2,944 would work there and 1,842 more drivers would fill its streets at the evening rush hour.

But it’s not as bad as it sounds, the report says. Street improvements would reduce traffic congestion, leaving only the intersection of 4th Street and Pico Boulevard with “significant unavoidable impacts.”

Damage to air quality would be “significant,” the report says, but the pollution would not violate air-quality standards. Water conservation programs would ease the increased pressure on the sewage system.