Santa Monica Churns Out Post Office Closure Appeals

When it came to opposing the sale of Santa Monica's historic post office,

A spokesman for the United States Postal Service said it received about 50 appeals to its decision to sale the downtown property and relocate retail services to an annex carrier facility less than one mile way. Spokesman Richard Maher put the number of appeals into context:

It is only very recently that USPS has been forced to relocate operations and sell buildings. Santa Monica is only the second relocation project in LA County that has reached an appeal period. The number of appeals filed on the Santa Monica decision are more than double the other location.

While the community was given 15 days to appeal the relocation once it was announced Aug. 17, the Postal Service is not under a deadline to determine whether it will overturn its decision, according to Maher.

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The Santa Monica Conservancy was among a number of organizations to appeal the decision. In a recent email blast, its leadership cited concerns that selling the property would but the New Deal-era building "at risk."

"The National Trust for Historic Preservation is so concerned about the failure of the Postal Service to provide adequate protections that it has named the Historic Post Offices to its 2012 list of the Nation’s Most Endangered Historic Places," the email stated.

Next door in Venice, renovations have started on the historic Venice Post Office, which was also built during the Great Depression. After its closure was approved—in spite of community opposition—the property was sold to Hollywood producer Joel Silver.

Silver must follow the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Preservation and the City of Los Angeles will act as enforcer of a covenant in which Silver is obligated to adhere to the federal preservation standards, Venice Patch reported.

The Santa Monica Landmarks Commission will consider nominating the Fifth Street Post Office as a local landmark. The designation would require the future owner to seek approval from the commission before renovating.

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