O1910
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City Councll Meetmg 4-28-98
Santa Moruca, Califorrua
ORDINANCE NUMBER 1910 (CCS)
(CIty Councd Series)
AN INTERIM: ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA EXTENDING MODIFICATIONS MADE TO THE DEVELOPMENT
STANDARDS IN THE C3-C DOWNTOWN OVERLAY DISTRICT,
DECLARING THE PRESENCE OF AN EMERGENCY
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS
SECTION 1 Fmdmas and Purpose The CIty Council finds and declares
(a) The City has a long-standmg pohcy of encouraglllg resIdentIal development or mixed use
development In Its commercIal zones
(b) In 1993, the City amended the Zomng Ordinance to condItionally permit residential
development m the SpeCIal Office CommerCIal (C5) and Industnal Conservation (MI) Districts, and
to penmt residentlal uses as a matter of nght in most other commercial dlstncts, including the CIty's
downtown dlstnct, the C3-C Downtown Overlay Dlstnct ("C3-C DIstrict")
(c) ReSIdential development in the CIty's C3-C Distnct helps to create an actIve and vibrant
central commerCIal dIstrict
(d) In addItion to penrutting reSidentIal development m the C3-C Distnct as a matter of right,
any floor area devoted to reSIdential use is eligible to receive a FAR (Floor Area Ratio) discount of
fifty percent (50%)
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(e) DIscountIng floor area devoted to residential use m commercial distncts to encourage
reSIdential development is consistent Wlth the City's Land Use Element
(f) To further encourage new resIdential development m commercial zones, the City desires
to stream]me the approval process for such development In comparison to other projects, where
appropnate
(g) Presently, the C3-C DIstrict standards require a development review permit for any new
development of more than thirty thousand square feet of floor area No dIscountmg for reSIdential
use is authonzed
(h) The reqwrement of a development reVIew pernut adds addItIonal tIme and expense to the
reVIew of a project and also subjects a project to environmental reVIew
(1) Given these clfcumstances, the Zorung Ordmance reqUIres rev1ew and reVIsion as It pertains
to the development review permit threshold in the C3-C District for projects WIth floor area devoted
to residentIal use to ensure that the approval process for these projects is streamhned as a way to
further facIlitate reSidential development.
G) Pending the study and possIble amendment of the ZonIng Ordmance, It IS necessary, on an
mterim basIS, to modIfy the eXIsting speCIal project design and development standards m the C3-C
Distnct to provide that for the purposes of assessing whether a development reVIew permIt is required
for new development, floor area devoted to reSIdentIal uses shall be dIscounted by fifty percent
(50%)
(k) Discountmg the floor area devoted to reSIdential use WIll raise the threshold at which
reSIdential projects must obtaIn a development reVIew permIt, thereby reducing the number of
residentIal projects subject to this review
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(1) There is a current and ImmedIate threat to the publIc health, safety, or welfare because
opporturutIes to develop new housing III the CIty wIthout demohshmg eXIstmg housing are very
hmIted given that the CIty encompasses only eIght (8) square miles and IS fully built out and project
applicants may choose to undertake commercIal development rather than resIdential development
unless the revIew process for resIdential development is streamlined Such a result is counter to the
CIty'S goal of encouraging reSIdentIal development and could lead to greater traffic impacts and
congestion 10 the CIty's downtown For these reasons, fatlure to adopt thIS intenm ordinance would
result In a threat to the pubhc health, safety, or welfare.
(m) Inhght of the above-mentioned concerns, the City Councd adopted Ordmance Number
1907 (CCS) on March 24, 1998, wruch ordmance expires on May 8, 1998
SECTION 2 _ Intenm Zomng:
No development or pefillt shall be approved pursuant to Chapter 1 of ArtIcle IX of the Santa
Monica MUlllClpal Code for land In the C3-C Downtown Overlay District unless the followmg
findmgs are made
(1) The project comphes wIth eXIstmg C3-C Downtown Overlay DIstnct development
standards except, for purpose of deternuning whether a development reVIew permit IS reqUIred
pursuant to Santa Monica Mumcipal Code Section 9 04 08 20 070(b), floor area devoted to
residentIal uses shall be discounted by fifty percent (50%)
(2) The applicatIon for a project was deemed complete on or after February 17, 1998
(3) Project traffic Impacts are appropnately mItigated
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(4) The project replaces any existing parIang that has been removed m order to make way for
the new development
SECTION 3 Thts ordmance shall be of no further force and effect after June 11,2000 unless
prior to that date, after a pubhc hearing, noticed pursuant to Santa Momca MUniCIpal Code Section
9 04 20 22 050, or any successor ordmance thereto, the CIty Council, by maJonty vote, extends this
mtenm ordinance
SECTION 4 Tlns ordInance IS declared to be an urgency measure adopted pursuant to the
proVisIons of Section 9 04 20 16 060 of the Santa Moruca Municipal Code and Section 615 of the
Santa Monica City Charter As set forth in the findmgs above, thIS ordinance is necessary for
preserving the pubhc health, safety, and welfare and the current interim ordmance would otherwise
expIre prior to the effective date of this extenSIOn ordInance
SECTION 5 Any proVision of the Santa MOnIca Mumclpal Code or appendices thereto
Inconsistent with the proVISIons of thIS Ordmance, to the extent of such mconsistencies and no
further, is hereby repealed or modIfied to that extent necessary to effect the proVisions of this
Ordmance
SECTION 6 If any sectIOn, subsectIon, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordmance is for
any reason held to be mvalid or unconstItutIonal by a deCision of any court of competent jurisdictIOn,
such decision shall not affect the vahdlty of the remaining portIOns of thIS Ordmance The City
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Council hereby declares that 1t would have passed this Ordmance and each and every sect1on,
subsectiOn, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared Illvalid or unconstitutional wIthout regard to
whether any portIon of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalId or unconstitutional
SECTION 7 The Mayor shall Sign and the CIty Clerk shall attest to the passage oftrus
Ordmance The CIty Clerk. shall cause the same to be publIshed once III the official newspaper WIthin
15 days after Its adoptIon This Ordmance shall become effective upon its adoption
APPROVED AS TO FORM
!LuvL'1 iux~
MARSHA JON$'MOUTRIE
CIty Attorney J
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~v~'\ call1--- ---------
Jtm O'Connor, Mayor Pro Tempore
State of CalIfornia )
County of Los Angeles) S5
CIty of Santa Momca )
L Mana ~ Stewart. CIty Clerk of the CIty of Santa Momca, do hereby certrfy that the foregoIng
OrdInance No 1910 (CCS) was mtroduced and adopted on Apn128. 1998, by the following
vote
Ayes
CouncIl members
FeInsteIn. Genser, Greenberg, O'Connor, Rosenstem
1\ oes
CouncIl members
None
Abstam
CouncIl members
None
Absent
CouncIl members
Ebner, Holbrook
ATTEST
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Mana M Stewart, CIty Clerk