This story was produced in partnership with Capital & Main.
In the neighborhoods surrounding the Santa Monica Airport, homeowners know little peace. Every few minutes, the whine of a jet engine intrudes on the suburban soundscape.
But relief is coming. In 2017, locals won a more than seven-decade fight to close the airport. It is scheduled to shutter once and for all on Dec. 31, 2028.
Santa Monica residents voted in 2014 to build a park on the site of the airport. But as the 2028 closure date approaches, some residents, councilmembers and pro-housing groups are calling for the construction of affordable housing on the site in addition to a park.
With an organized contingent of development opponents determined to stop them, the airport site is shaping up as the latest flashpoint in Southern California’s battles over housing construction.
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