O1724
CA:f:\muni\laws\jl\recon4.ord
City Council Meeting 1-25-94
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 1724 (CCS)
(City council series)
AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
AMENDING EMERGENCY PROCEDURES FOR THE RESTORATION
OR DEMOLITION OF EARTHQUAKE DAMAGED
STRUCTURES ON AN INTERIM BASIS AND DECLARING
THE PRESENCE OF AN EMERGENCY
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Findinqs. The City Council finds and declares:
(a) Numerous buildings and other structures in the city
of Santa Monica experienced substantial damage due to the January
17, 1994 Northridge earthquake.
(b) In order to facilitate the prompt repair of
earthquake damaged buildings and structures, it is necessary to
establish standards that will permit the prompt repair of such
buildings and structures without requiring compliance with all
current zoning standards.
(c) In order to allow the demolition of structures that
have been damaged to such an extent that the City Building Officer
has determined that demolition is required due to the immediate
threat the existence of such buildings pose to the pUblic health,
safety and welfare, it is necessary to establish procedures for the
demolition of such structures.
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(d) Protection of the public health, safety and welfare
of the citizens requires the immediate modification of existing
ci ty ordinances to ensure the timely completion of emergency
repairs or demolition.
SECTION 2. ReDairs.
(a) Any building or other structure in the City that has
been substantially damaged due to the earthquake occurring on
January 17, 1994 or its aftershocks, may be repaired without
conforming to current zoning code requirements if the replacement
square footage is less than 50% of the square footage which existed
at the time of the damage or 25,000 square feet, whichever is less,
and if the building is repaired to the square footage, height,
setbacks, site orientation and use which existed at the time of the
damage, and if a residential building, the same number of units as
existed at the time of the damage are restored. Such buildings
shall be subject to the review of the Architectural Review Board
("ARB"), if the building woUld otherwise be subject to ARB review.
The ARB, in its review, shall make such projects a priority and
shall limit its review to the consideration of neighborhood
integrity and compatibility and whether the project is expressive
of good design contributing to the image of the City of Santa
Monica.
(b) Any building or other structure in the City that has
been substantially damaged due to the earthquake occurring on
January l7, 1994 or its aftershocks, may be repaired without
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conforming to all current zoning requirements if the replacement
square footage exceeds the limits of subsection (a) above, upon a
review by the Planning Commission. The Planning commission shall
allow such repair if it determines that such repair is consistent
with the General Plan and compatible with the City's land use
goals, and only if the building is repaired to the square footage,
height, setbacks, site orientation, and use which existed at the
time of the damage, and if a residential building, the same number
of units as existed at the time of damage are restored. Such
buildings shall be subject to the review of the Architectural
Review Board ("ARB"), if the building would otherwise be subject to
ARB review. The ARB, in its review, shall make such projects a
priority and shall limit its review to the consideration of
neighborhood integrity and compatibility and whether the project is
expressive of good design contributing to the image of the city of
Santa Monica.
SECTION 3. Demolition. Any building in the City that has
been inspected by city building inspectors and posted with a no
entry or limited entry notice shall be subject to the following
demolition permit procedures:
(a) The building owner must submit to the City for
review a structural analysis of the building prepared by a licensed
engineer or architect.
(b) Based upon all available information, including a
structural analysis, the City's Building and Safety Division,
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planning and zoning Division and Director of Land Use and
Transportation Management shall make a determination on whether the
building may be demolished, and to the extent allowed by state and
federal law, shall issue a demolition permit. This determination
shall consider, but is not limited to, the extent of damage to the
structure, whether the structure presents an imminent threat to the
public health, safety and welfare, that may not otherwise be
otherwise abated through fencing or other means, the historical
significance and the cost of repairing or rehabilitating the
structure.
SECTION 4. ARB Review. For structures requiring ARB review
under the terms of this Ordinance, such review shall be conducted
in the same manner as set forth in Santa Monica Municipal Code
Chapter 9.32 except as provided below:
(a) The appeal of any rUling of the ARB must be made
within 5 days of the date that such ruling is made.
(b) For review of designated landmarks, structures of
merit, structures within historic districts, or structures on the
ci ty Historic Resources Inventory, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 as of January
17, 1994, two members of the Landmarks commission, appointed by
that body, shall serve as additional voting members of the ARB.
SECTION 5. Rent Control. Nothing in this Ordinance shall
eliminate the applicability of Article 18 of the Santa Monica City
Charter to any property with controlled rental units on the
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property which are subsequently demolished pursuant to this
Ordinance.
SECTION 6. Sinqle Family Homes. Any single family home that
is demolished pursuant to Section 3 of this Ordinance may be
rebuilt without conforming to all current zoning requirements, if
it is rebuilt to the square footage, height, setbacks, and site
orientation which existed prior to the damage.
SECTION 7. Seismic Safetv Codes. Nothing in this Ordinance
shall be construed to eliminate any requirement that earthquake
damaged structures comply with building codes, including seismic
safety codes or standards.
SECTION 8.
effect 45 days
required by law.
This Ordinance shall be of no further force and
from adoption, unless extended in the manner
SECTION 9. The City Council finds pursuant to city Charter
section 615 that a state of local emergency exists within the City
of Santa Monica as a result of the earthquake which occurred on
January 17, 1994. In order to facilitate the prompt repair of
earthquake damaged buildings or structures, it is necessary to
exempt such buildings and structures from compliance with certain
current building or zoning codes.
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SECTION 10. This Ordinance is declared to be an urgency
measure adopted pursuant to the provisions of section 615 of the
Santa Monica City Charter. It is necessary for preserving the
public peace, health and safety, and the urgency for its adoption
is set forth in the findings above.
SECTION 11. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code
or appendices thereto including emergency. Ordinance Number 1720,
inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent
of such inconsistencies and no further, are hereby repealed or
modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this
Ordinance.
SECTION 12. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or
phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or
unconstitutional by a decision of any court of any competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby
declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each and
every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared
invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
SECTION 13. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall
attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall
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cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper
within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become
effective upon adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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Adopted and approved this 25th day of January, 1994.
~M
Mayor
I hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 1724 (CCS) was duly and regularly
introduced at a meeting of the City Council on the 25th day of January, 1994; that the said-
Ordinance was thereafter duly adopted at a meeting of the City Council on the 25th day of
January, 1994 by the following Council vote:
Ayes:
Councilmembers:
Abdo, Genser, Greenberg, Holbrook, Olsen, Rosenstein,
Vazquez
Noes:
Councilmembers:
None
Abstain: Councilmembers: None
Absent: Councilmembers: None
ATTEST:
---4~~J:)~
City Clerk