Santa Monica Rejects Plan for Target Store

Target is not coming to Santa Monica any time soon, much to the dismay of bargain-loving fans of the store but to the relief of some traffic-weary residents.

The Santa Monica City Council voted 5 to 2 late Thursday night against the chain’s proposal to build a 125,000-square-foot store in the heart of downtown.

Councilman Herb Katz was among those who voted against the proposal because of the traffic increase the store was expected to generate.

“We are choking ourselves off, and it’s frightening,” he said of the congested downtown.

Citing “unavoidable” traffic problems, the city Planning Commission in October recommended against the developer’s request to build a four-story structure on the parking lot where the Henshey’s department store once stood at 5th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard. The Target would have included a four-level, 580-space underground garage.

Proponents, however, said the traffic could have been managed, and Target had offered to pay $600,000 to computerize the traffic signals at downtown intersections.

On Friday, Target spokeswoman Carolyn Brookter said she was disappointed with the council’s vote.

“We are really sorry, and we think many of the residents there are also, because there won’t be a lot of affordable shopping put back in downtown Santa Monica,” she said.

Target will not pursue the project further, Brookter said. “This is it; the decision’s been made,” she said. “We were hopeful, but it’s not going to be in Santa Monica. We’re not looking for another site in this city, because we had made it clear this was the only site.”

Craig Johnson, vice president of the project developer, Pacific Capitol Group, had alleged that opponents’ fears about traffic really masked a Westside elitism against bargain shopping.

But city officials denied snobbery and stressed that the controversy also involved a vision of downtown. Many residents had complained that a “big-box store” such as Target was out of scale and character with a pedestrian-oriented downtown.

“Sometimes when something doesn’t fit exactly, it’s better to wait, and other things will come along,” Mayor Michael Feinstein said.

City planners also stressed that they would have no control over whether Target remained at the site, much less whether it continued to sell affordable merchandise.

Ken Genser and Pamela O’Connor were the two council members who supported the Target plan.

Genser acknowledged that traffic would have increased. But he said the store would have been a welcome addition to downtown, which he believes is at risk of becoming too dependent on potentially fickle entertainment and tourism attractions. As for complaints that Target was a chain store, he pointed to the many chain outlets already in downtown: “We are not Main Street, U.S.A., we are already Chain, U.S.A.”

William Spurgin, a representative of the Henshey organization, which still owns the property, called the council’s decision “terribly flawed.” An announcement will be made soon about the land’s future, he said.

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Times staff writer Thuy-Doan Le contributed to this story.