O2242f:\atty\muni\laws\barry\LMSD-M1 Interim Ordinance Ext 10-23-07
City Council Meeting 10-23-07
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2242
(City Council Series)
Santa Monica, California
(CCS)
AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA EXTENDING THE INITIAL INTERIM ORDINANCE MODIFYING THE
DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS IN THE LIGHT MANUFACTURING STUDIO DISTRICT
(LMSD) AND THE INDUSTRIAL CONSERVATION (M1) ZONING DISTRICTS TO
ONLY AUTHORIZE DEVELOPMENT THAT DOES NOT EXCEED SEVENTY-FIVE
HUNDRED SQUARE FEET OR FIFTEEN UNITS IN THE LMSD OR FIVE UNITS IN
THE M1 UNLESS THE DEVELOPMENT IS UNDERTAKEN PURSUANT TO A
DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT OR IS A CITY PROJECT, TO REQUIRE A
DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT TO AUTHORIZE CHANGES OF USE ON PARCELS
IN THE LMSD THAT EXCEED 32,000 SQUARE FEET AND ON PARCELS IN THE M1
THAT EXCEED 15,000 SQUARE FEET, AND TO ESTABLISH EXCEPTIONS AND
DECLARING THE PRESENCE OF AN EMERGENCY
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Findings and Purpose. The City Council finds and declares:
(a) Santa Monica is a small, extremely dense, older, coastal city consisting of
just 8 square miles of land bordered on one side by the Pacific Ocean and on three
sides by the megalopolis of Los Angeles.
(b) Approximately 87,000 people live in the City, on weekdays there are about
300,000 present in the City, and on weekends and holidays the number of persons in
the City soars to between 500,000 and 1 million.
(c) Santa Monica's population density, eleven thousand two hundred persons
per square mile, is the second highest among neighboring and nearby jurisdictions and
is the densest among coastal communities in Los Angeles County.
(d) Santa Monica has been fully built out for over 50 years, much of its
development having occurred during, and immediately after World War II; the facts that
the City is built out and already very dense make land use planning a vital and difficult
challenge.
(e) In the last 25 years, land values within the City have soared due, in large
part, to the land's scarcity and prime location, the excellent climate, and to the
desirability of living and working in a community which offers a vast array of urban
amenities and services, a unique sense of community, pedestrian-oriented scale, and
economic and social diversity.
(f) In the past ten years, escalating land values, economic prosperity, and
changes in state law have fueled a massive increase in development which has
significantly altered the physical and social landscape of the City and necessitated that
land use planning be undertaken with the utmost care to promote and protect the City's
welfare.
(g) In July of 2004, the City began preparing a new Land Use and Circulation
Element of the General Plan (LUCE) and a comprehensive revision of the City's Zoning
Ordinance, a massive project, crucial to the community's long-term welfare, which
remains ongoing at this time.
(h) The work on the LUCE update has included numerous public hearings and
participation by thousands of residents, business owners, and visitors. Participants
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have repeatedly articulated the goal that the City should carefully monitor future
development -particularly large-scale development - to ensure that. Santa Monica
remains a livable city.
(i) In these public hearings, the City's manufacturing and industrial area has
been a critical focus and residents have raised concerns about the current development
trends within this area.
Q) The City's current Land Use Element provides that this area, known as the
Industrial Conservation District, "should continue in its role as a valuable location for
industrial 'incubator' uses, existing manufacturing, and loft space for the performing and
visual arts. In recognition of the need for some artists to reside in their studios,
consideration should be given to this mixed use on a case by case basis. Allowable
intensity should be the lowest in the City consistent with current building intensity, to
protect the area from speculation."
(k) Land Use Element Objective 1.9 addressing the Industrial Conservation
District provides: "Preserve existing and accommodate future industrial and
manufacturing use, particularly to provide employment for the low-skill and entry-level
segment of the Santa Monica workforce."
(I) The City's industrial area is comprised of two zoning districts -the Light
Manufacturing Studio (LMSD) District and the Industrial Conservation (M1) District.
(m) These districts comprise a significant portion of the City -over 400 centrally
located acres.
(n) The area serves as a vital economic engine for the City because of the many
studios and manufacturers located there.
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(o) Because the industrial zoned lands were planned for industrial use and
consequently, this area does not provide the public infrastructure -streets, sidewalks,
open space, and other amenities -necessary for a significant number of people to both
live and work there.
(p) Instead, the street grid and parcel size in these industrial areas reflect the
industrial pattern of development that supports large industrial uses, with few sidewalks,
limited bike paths, few parks, and limited open space
(q) The current land uses include studio post production, construction support
services, automobile related uses, warehouse/storage, distribution facilities, private
schools, major utilities, bus and city yards, and limited housing.
(r) These districts also have a substantial amount of entertainment related uses
included film, radio, TV, visual arts, photography, performing arts, and design services
and publishing.
(s) As reflected by the current Land Use Element, the City's intent for the
industrial area is to provide opportunities for light industrial uses and post production
work with limited discretionary opportunities for artist housing. It has also long been
envisioned as the principle location of the proposed light rail system.
(t) The City's Land Use Element did not and does not envision that the industrial
zones' existing large blocks would be redeveloped into a dense residential
neighborhood.
(u) Until the past year, this area has been developed according to this vision.
For instance, over the past seven years, the industrial area had approximately 100,000
square feet of production development, 40,000 square feet of office commercial, 30,000
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square feet of industrial, 60,000 square feet of auto related development, and 170
residential units.
(v) However, this pattern has recently changed; and the City is currently
experiencing a dramatic increase in application submittals for large, dense
developments that lack significant amenities for the residents and virtually no services
to support the housing use.
(w) Within the past year alone, the City has received applications for over 1,000
housing units in or immediately adjacent to the City's industrial area.
(x) At the same time, community input has demonstrated significant interest in
preserving and enhancing the residents' quality of life and the city's economic health
through a variety of means. These include opportunities for industrial uses and support
businesses, improving traffic conditions through the development of the light rail,
significantly revising the existing traffic grid, creating usable open space, supporting
housing at strategic locations and at appropriate scales and densities, and transforming
large blocks into a more pedestrian scaled environment, ensuring the city's economic
diversity.
(y) Continued piecemeal development of the industrial area will significantly
constrain the City's opportunity to adequately plan for the future. It will likely yield large,
dense blocks of a single residential type without adequate infrastructure, amenities and
services, with a lack of adequate roadway structure, lack of neighborhood environment,
increasing conflict between housing and existing uses, and increased speculative
development pressure.
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(z) The City has previously established 7,500 square feet as a development
threshold that preserves the scale and character of existing neighborhoods and protects
residents' quality of life and the environment.
(aa) Since 1998, the average new housing project has contained fifteen units,
excluding two atypically large projects.
(bb) Failure to adjust the development standards would pose an immediate
threat to the existing character of the LMSD and M1 Zoning Districts. Adjusting the
development standards as provided in this Ordinance would ensure that quality of life,
the environment, and the efficacy of the ongoing planning process are preserved.
Because existing educational uses are consistent with the desire to maintain cultural
uses as well as the purpose of existing LMSD and M1 zoning, these uses should remain
subject to the existing Development Review Permit process which includes public
hearing, environmental, and public review.
(cc) Adoption of this ordinance would not prohibit any uses currently authorized
in the LMSD and M1 Districts.
(dd) Adoption of this ordinance would also not materially alter the City's
substantial incentives for residential or mixed use development in non-residential zoning
districts. These incentives would be preserved in local law and policy. For example,
residential development in all of the City's commercial districts would remain authorized.
Thus, residential development could still occur in over 80% of the City.
(ee) In light of the above-detailed concerns, the City Council adopted Ordinance
Number 2238 (CCS) to only authorize development in the that does not exceed 7500
square feet of floor area or 15 units in the LMSD or 7500 square feet of floor area or 5
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units in the M1, excluding density bonus units unless the development is a City project
or developed pursuant to a development agreement.
(ff) Ordinance Number 2238 also provides that no change of use shall be
authorized on parcels in the LMSD that exceed 32,000 square feet and parcels that
exceed 15,000 square feet in the M1 District unless the development is a City project or
developed pursuant to a development agreement or the Director of Planning and
Community Development makes a written determination that the change of use will
constitute a substantial change in mode or character of the property as a whole.
Ordinance Number 2238 (CCS) will expire on October 28, 2007 unless extended.
(gg) As detailed above and in the July 24, 2007, August 28, 2007, and October
23, 2007 City Council staff reports, there exists a current and immediate threat to the
public health, safety, and welfare should this interim ordinance not be adopted, and
piecemeal development of this area continue with large, dense blocks of a single type of
development without adequate infrastructure, amenities and services. The continued
development of projects inconsistent with contemplated changes to the City's Land Use
and Circulation Element and the City's Zoning Ordinance and the approval or issuance
of zoning permits, subdivision maps, building permits, or other any land use permit
authorized by the City's current Zoning Ordinance would result in a threat to public
health, safety and welfare.
(hh) The City's Land Use and Circulation Elements and Zoning Ordinance
requires review and revision as it pertains to the development standards for
development projects in the LMSD and M1 Zoning Districts in the City. That process is
underway. This ordinance hereby extends the provisions of Ordinance Number 2238
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(CCS) up to and including April 23, 2009. It also modifies certain of the standards that
would govern the Director of Planning and Community Development's determination
that certain changes of use can occur without a development agreement. Pending
completion of the City's review and revision, it is necessary on an interim basis to
modify the Zoning Ordinance as set forth in Section 2 of this Ordinance:
SECTION 2. Interim Zoning Regulations.
The issuance of permits for new development or the expansion of an existing
development in the LMSD and M1 Zoning Districts in the City that does not comply with
the interim zoning standards set forth in Section 3 of this Ordinance is hereby
prohibited. Notwithstanding any provision of the City's Zoning Ordinance to the
contrary, no zoning permits or approvals, subdivision maps, building permits, or other
land use permit shall be approved or issued in the LMSD and M1 Zoning Districts in the
City, except as described in Section 3 below during the pendency of this Ordinance or
any extension thereof.
SECTION 3. Interim Zoning Standards.
Notwithstanding the development standards specified in Santa Monica Municipal
Code Section 9.04.08.35.050 and Santa Monica Municipal Code Section
9.04.08.34.060, the following development standards shall apply:
(a) Except for City projects and projects developed pursuant to a development
agreement adopted in accordance with Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 9.48, a
development project or the expansion of an existing development shall not exceed
seven thousand five hundred (7500) square feet of floor area or fifteen (15) dwelling
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units, artist studio units, or single room occupancy units in the LMSD, excluding density
bonus units, or seven thousand five hundred (7500) square feet of floor area or five (5)
dwelling units, artist studio units, or single room occupancy units in the M1, excluding
density bonus units.
(b) Except for City projects and projects developed pursuant to a development
agreement adopted in accordance with Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 9.48, no
change of use shall be authorized on parcels in the LMSD that exceed 32,000 square
feet and on parcels in the M1 that exceed 15,000 square feet if the change of use will
involve more than seven thousand five hundred (7500) square feet of floor area within
an existing building or buildings.
(c) A change of use shall not be subject to these interim zoning standards but
shall remain subject to the property development standards of Santa Monica Municipal
Code Section 9.04.08.35.050 and Santa Monica Municipal Code Section
9.04.08.34.060 if:
(1) The Director of Planning and Community Development makes a written
determination that the change of use will not constitute a substantial change in the
mode or character of operation of the property as a whole. Factors to be considered by
the Director include, but are not limited to, occupancy, hours of operation, intensity of
use, traffic, noise, odor, or other impacts, or.
(2) The Director of Planning and Community Development makes a written
determination that:
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(A) The change of use is permitted in the district in which it is located:
(B) No additional floor area is added to the existing building.
(C) The proposed use, given its location, would not impair the LUCE process by
unduly restricting the City's ability to plan the future development of neighborhoods with
appropriate mixes of uses, adequate infrastructure, streetscape, services, and other
amenities essential to quality of life and would not interfere with residents' and business
owners' quality of life.
(D) The change of use complies with all current development standards,
including but not limited to parking, setbacks, and open space.
(E) The change of use does not result in a substantial remodel
(F) The change of use does not result in cumulative construction costs that
exceed four million dollars.
(3) The Director of Planning shall make a determination pursuant to this
subsection (c) within forty-five (45) days after receiving a written request to authorize
this change of use.
(d) Public or private schools existing before September 1988 shall not be subject
to these interim zoning standards, but shall remain subject to the property development
standards of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.08.35.050 and Santa Monica
Municipal Code Section 9.04.08.34.060.
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(e) Auto dealerships shall not be subject to these interim zoning standards but
shall remain subject to the property development standards in Ordinance Number 2186
(CCS).
(f) Commencing on or after August 1, 2008, affordable rental housing projects of
not more than fifty units shall not be subject to these interim zoning standards but shall
remain subject to the property development standards of Santa Monica Municipal Code
Section 9.04.08.35.050 and Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.08.34.060. For
purposes of this subsection (f), an affordable rental housing project shall be defined as
housing in which one hundred percent of the dwelling units are deed-restricted or
restricted by an agreement approved by the City for occupancy by households with
incomes of eighty percent of median income or less.
SECTION 4. This ordinance shall apply to any application for a development
project that is determined complete on or after August 28, 2007.
SECTION 5. This ordinance shall be of no further force or effect after April 23,
2009, unless prior to that date, after a public hearing, noticed pursuant to Santa Monica
Municipal Code Section 9.04.20.22.050, the City Council, by majority vote, extends this
interim ordinance.
SECTION 6. This Ordinance is declared to be an urgency measure adopted
pursuant to the provision Section 615 of the Santa Monica City Charter. As set forth in
the findings above, this Ordinance is necessary for preserving the public peace, health,
and safety.
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SECTION 7. The Council finds that the adoption and implementation of this
ordinance are exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act
pursuant to CEQA Guidelines sections 15061(c)(3) and 15183.
SECTION 8. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such
inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 9. 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 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 10. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the
passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published. once
in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall
become effective upon its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
;.. ,
MAFi'SHA JON,C=S MOUT~(
City~Attorne
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Approved and adopted this 23rd day of October, 2007.
Ri ,hard Bloom, Mayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Maria M. Stewart, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that the
foregoing Ordinance No. 2242 (CCS) had its introduction and adoption at the Santa
Monica City Council meeting held on October 23, 2007, by the following vote:
Ayes: Council members: Censer, McKeown, O'Connor, Shriver
Mayor Bloom
Noes: Council members: None
Abstain: Council members: None
Absent: Council members: Holbrook
Mayor Pro Tem Katz
ATTEST:
o.,~-
Maria M. Stewa ,City Clerk