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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. 1 (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 2 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, 3 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 4 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. 5 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 6 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: 7 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