Santa Monica Gains Rep on Bay Board

Santa Monica City Councilmember Kevin McKeown has been appointed to the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission as a voting member of its Governing Board.

The SMBRC was established by the California Legislature in 2002 to monitor, assess, coordinate, and advise the various activities of state programs in Santa Monica Bay. The Board to which McKeown has been appointed oversees funding that affects beneficial uses, restoration, and enhancement of the Bay and its watersheds.

McKeown was appointed to the two-year SMBRC term by the Westside Cities Council of Governments, where he is the 2016 incoming Chair. On the Commission, McKeown will represent the interests of Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and Culver City as well as Santa Monica.

Councilmember McKeown is a long-time Sierra Club member, and has worked for decades to protect Santa Monica Bay and preserve the Ballona Wetlands. “The Bay is our community’s front yard,” says McKeown. “We in Santa Monica have an abiding commitment to be responsible stewards of the Bay, and we have led the region in controlling potential pollutants and storm water runoff.”

Effective in April, McKeown will succeed Culver City’s Mayor Michael O’Leary in the Westside’s SMBRC seat, and immediately named fellow environmentalist and former Culver City Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells as his alternate.

“I look forward to representing Santa Monica and our municipal neighbors is assuring sustainable and respectful policy for our greatest shared physical asset, Santa Monica Bay,” promised McKeown. “The Bay is the centerpiece of our lifestyle, our ecology, and our economy, and I’m committed to leaving an even better Bay for the generations to come.”

--News release from the city of Santa Monica