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City Council Meeting 10-3-06
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2208 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCil OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA ADDING CHAPTER 1.20 TO THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL
CODE RELATING TO PRIORITY FOR CITY SERVICE
WHEREAS, Santa Monica is committed to providing equal access to all of its
services and benefits to the community; and
WHEREAS, certain community priorities may at times require priority receipt of
such services and benefits; and
WHEREAS, Santa Monica desires to ensure that such a priority system remains
an exception to the general rule of first come-first serve for services, is fair and
equitable and consistent with established community priorities; and
WHEREAS, establishing such priorities by City Council action ensures that
granting such exceptions will benefit the established community priorities,
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCil OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOllOWS:
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SECTION 1. Chapter 1.20 is hereby added to the Santa Monica Municipal Code
to read as follows:
CHAPTER 1.20
PRIORITY FOR CITY SERVICES
Section 1.20.010. Purpose.
The City of Santa Monica desires to ensure that all
persons having need of City services have equal access to
and benefit from those services. Priority status for City
services cannot be conferred upon any group or individual
unless authority for such priority is first established by
resolution of the City Council as prescribed herein.
Section 1.20.020. Establishment of service
priorities.
The City shall by resolution of the City Council
establish project types that will receive priority in the City's
provision of services related to the processing, review and
issuance of permits and licenses for development activities.
Section 1.20.030. Scope.
Priority service shall be provided for the complete
range of development activities and shall include, but not be
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limited to, any preliminary project submittals, applications for
planning discretionary approvals, building permit applications
and issuance of building permits, construction inspections,
permits for work in the public way, final issuance of a
Certificate of Occupancy and, initial business license
applications.
The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to
emergency response services of any City department
including but not limited to the Police, Fire and
Environmental and Public Works Management departments.
Nothing in this Chapter shall prevent authorized
employees of the City of Santa Monica from making all
necessary efforts to remedy service delays caused by the
City and through no fault of any person seeking service.
Section 1.20.040. Priority service defined for
development activity.
Priority service for development activity shall
constitute granting the full range of necessary City services
as soon as the next available service opening occurs without
regard for who is next in the service queue, unless otherwise
required by law. Priority service shall include but not be
limited to the following:
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(a) Begin formal staff review of complete applications
for all related permits or approvals by the next available City
employee or agent as soon as that person completes their
current assignment.
(b) Set hearing date for discretionary reviews at the
earliest practical date within 30 days of determining that an
application is complete.
(c) Inspect all completed and accessible construction
at the required stages of construction within one business
day of permit holder's request.
(d) Review any complete business license application
related to initiating the priority activity within one business
day.
SECTION 2. 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 3. 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
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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 4. 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 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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Approved and adopted this 3rd day of October, 2006.
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Robert T. Holbrook, 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. 2208 (CCS) had its introduction on September 26,2006, and
was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on October 3, 2006, by the
following vote:
Ayes:
Council members:
Bloom, Genser, Katz, McKeown, O'Connor,
Mayor Holbrook
Noes:
Council members:
None
Abstain: Council members:
None
Absent: Council members:
Mayor Pro Tem Shriver
ATTEST:
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Maria M. Stewa ,City Clerk