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SR-8-A (167) .. ?-A CA:RMM:rmd1392/hpca1/pc city council Meeting 11-26-91 NrJ'\' ? -- !-"~I' " '">..1 h"rV Santa Monica, california STAFF REPORT DEe 3 1991 TO: Mayor and City council FROM: City Attorney SUBJECT: Ordinance Extending the Citywide Moratorium on Non....ResidentiaL and. HoteL Development At its meeting on November 12, 1991, the city council introduced for first reading an ordinance extending the Citywide moratorium on non-residential and hotel development. The ordinance is now presented to the City Council for its consideration. RECOMMENDATION It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying ordinance be adopted. PREPARED BY: Robert M. Myers, city Attorney ~~ l,IO\; ).., 'r.-.. n v /.t. -J ~jJi DEe 3 199J w/mwpordx City council Meeting 11-26-91 Santa Monica, Californla ORDINANCE NUMBER 1610 (CCS) (Clty Councll Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA EXTENDING THE CITYWIDE MORATORIUM ON NON-RESIDENTIAL AND HOTEL DEVELOPMENT THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA 110NICA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Findings and Purpose. The City Council finds and declares: ( a) In recent years, the pace of non-residential development in the Clty has accelerated dramatically, adversely affecting the capacity and quallty of the City'S street and highway system, the jabs/housing balance within the City, and the quality of life in the communlty, lncluding environmental quality and nelghborhood character. (b) In 1987, a bUl1ding permlt was lssued for only one non-residentlal project totaling 1,014,546 square feet. In 1988, building permlts were issued for twenty-three (23 ) non-residential projects totaling 2,835,940 square feet. In 1989, discretlonary plan~lng approvals were granted for 17 non-residential projects totallng 1,077,402 square feet. In 1990, discretionary planning approvals were granted for 13 non-residentlal proJects totallng 776,987 square feet. In addltion, of the 17 dlscretionary projects approved in 1989, nine - 1 - (9) of the proJects, totaling 577,910 square feet, have not yet been lssued building permlts and begun construction. (c) Since the non-residential development moratorium was ini tlally adopted by the Cl ty Council in May 1989, and through November 1990, a total of 203,308 square feet of non-residential, non-discretionary development has been approved under the provisions of the moratorlum ordinance. (d) Based on population and employment proj ections, the Environmental Impact Report on the city's Land Use and Circulation Element, adopted on October 23, 1984, projected that there would be a demand for an additional 5,800,000 square feet of non-resl.dential development by the year 2000. As of 1989, development ln the city has already exceeded the proJected amount of development for the year 2000. (e) A review of recent Initial Studies and Envlronmental Impact Reports prepared for the Cl ty reveals that there are at least thirteen intersectlons in the City where the existing level of service ("LOS") falls below "D'I. These reports further reveal that with the impact of approved and proposed projects within and outside the City, the future level of serVlce of at least thirty-three (33) intersections across the City is projected to fall below LOS "011. (f) According to the City of Los Angeles, the eXlsting capacity of the Hyperion Treatment Plant, where wastewater from the City of Santa Monica t S public sewer system is treated and dlsposed of, is operating at or near its current full capacity, - 2 - necessitatlng regulation of the rate of wastewater lncrease handled by the City's sewer system. The urgency of the wastewater treatment and disposal problem is illustrated by the adoption or Ordinance Number 1451 (CCS) on July 26, 1988. (g) The pace of non-residential development has far outstripped the pace of residential development in the city, further increasing the imbalance between the number of Jobs in the city and the availability of housing for persons employed In the city. (h) Al though revisions to the Zoning Ordinance lowered heights and floor area ratios In most non-residential districts, these reductions do not control the rate, location or character of development in those areasl and do not adequately address the infrastructural and envlronmental problems currently facing the City. (i) According to the Envlronmental Impact Report on the Zonlng ordinance, there lS a maXlmum theoretlcal capacity of between 62,924/000 and 75/916/000 square feet for office commercial, and industrlal development in the Clty. The maximum build-out potential needs to be re-examined as do the mechanisms for limlting and mitigating the impacts of that bUlld-out on the City'S infrastructure. (j) The increase in development activity in the City poses a threat to the public healthl safety and welfare of the residents. - 3 - (k) The City's zonlng, plannlng, subdivision, and building regulations require reVlew as they pertaln to the non-resldentlal development activlty within the Clty in order to ensure that development is consistent with the public health, safety and welfare. (I) Following the initiation or ordinance Number 1481 (CCS) creating a ten month and fifteen day morator.lum, three public workshops were held to help famillarlze and involve the public with issues to be addressed as part of a citywide growth management strategy. In addition, three reports were released, a background report which discussed the existing condition of the City, a fiscal analysis WhlCh dlscussed the flscal lrnpact of new development on the Clty, and a Cltywlde Trafflc study which analyzed the operatlon of the Clty'S street system. (m) Since the lnitiation of ordinance Number 1512 (CCS) extending the moratorium for an additional ten months and fifteen days, a draft Growth Manage~ent strategy Implementation Plan was released which proposed a plan to control the rate, lntensi ty, and types of uses in new commercial development projects. Following two Planning Commlssion public hearings and one meeting for Commlssion discussion and del.lberatlon, the Commisslon recommended that the strategy be pursued in greater depth and that a comprehensive plan to manage growth in the city, rather than a plan d.lrected prlmarlly at controlling the pace of commercial development, be prepared. - 4 - (n) Following the lnitiation of Ordlnance Number 1570 (CCS) extending the moratorlum for one year, a study session was held with the Planning CommlSSlon and city Councl1 to compare and evaluate traffic methodologies. On May 14, 1991, the City Council directed staff to use the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) delay approach to analyzing lntersection capacities and traffic flow rates in the Clty for all future trafflc studies. The HCM methodology requires. extensive- field work gathering information on queue lengths, lane wldths, percentage of heavy vehicles and presence of pedestrians and/ or bicyclists. For these reasons, the HCM methodology is much more labor and data intensive than the previously used Critical Movement Analysis (CMA) approach. The one year moratorium work program schedule was based upon using the CMA methodology. USlng the HeM approach and incorporatlng July/August summer counts requlres an extension of three months to the Moratorlum Work Program, as acknowledged by Council on May 14, 1991. (0) Explration of the ordlnance would pose a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare of the residents as set forth in these flndlngs, and the approval of addi tional subdivisions, use permits, variances, building permits, or any other applicable entitlement for use which is required in order to comply with a zoning ordinance would result in a threat to public health, safety, or welfare. - 5 - SECTION 2. Moratorium. (a) Subj act to the exemptions set forth in Section 3 of this Ordinance, a moratorium 15 hereby placed on the acceptance for processing of any applications for approval of tentative tract maps, tentative parcel maps, administrative approvals, development review permits, conditlonal use permits, or any other City permits for the. erectionr construction, moving, conversion of, and excavation and grading for, any non-residential bUllding or structure, including any hotel or motel, in the City of Santa Monica. (b) Subject to the exemptlons set forth ln section 3 of this ordinance, the Planning Comrnlssion and City staff are hereby dlrected to disapprove all appl1catlons filed after May 2, 1989, for approval of tentative tract maps, tentatl ve parcel maps, administrative approvals, development reVlew permits, conditional use permlts, or any other City permits for the erection, construction, moving, converSlon of, and excavation and grading for any non-residential bUllding or structure, lncludlng any hotel or motel, in the City of Santa Monica. SECTION 3. Exemptlons. The following applications are exempt from the provisions of section 2 of this Ordinance: (a) Applications for approval of permits involving proposed developments of structures or uses for governmental, educatlonal, or public recreational purposes on land owned, operated or controlled by the City of Santa Monica, Santa Monica College, the - 6 - Santa Mon1ca School Distrlct, or the State of California and applicatlons for approval of permlts lnvolving development on land owned, operated, or controlled by the city of Santa Monica and intended for development of 415 Pacific Coast Highway, the pler, parking for the pier, or an aquarium. (b) Applications for approval of permits for proposed developments in the Third Street Mall Specific Plan Area and ln the Hospital Specific Plan Area. (c) Applications for approval of permits for proposed developments that fall at or below the following square feet of floor area for the distrlct in WhlCh the development is located: C-2 C-3 C3C C-4 C-5 C-6 CM CP M1 BCD RVC Neighborhood Commercial Downtown Downtown Overlay Highway Commercial Special Office Boulevard Commercial Main street Commercial Professional Industrial Conservatlon Broadway Commercial Resldential-visitor Commerclal The Promenade 7,000 All other parts of the Distrlct 15,000 7,000 15,000 15,000 12,000 15,000 15,000 7,000 11,000 15,000 11,000 - 7 - For purposes of calculating floor area as it relates to this ordinance, covered at grade and above grade parking shall be exempt from the floor area calculation. To the extent that a project contains both residential and non-resldential components, this moratorlum applles only to the non-resldential component of such project. A project that contains both resldential and non-residential components may proceed with an application only lf the square footage of the non-residential portion of the project falls below the threshold set forth in this subsection. The reductions in square footage made on February 26, 1991, shall apply to any proJect for Wh1Ch an appllcation was filed on or after February 27, 1991. (d) Appllcations for approval of permits involving proposed developments for which development agreement applications have been filed on or before May 2, 1989 and proposed developments for which development review appllcat10ns have been filed and deemed complete on or before May 2, 1989. (1) An applicatlon shall be deemed complete for purposes of this Ordinance within fifteen (15) days for subdivision maps and parcel maps, and thirty (30) days for all other permlts, after the Plannlng Divlsion receives a substantially complete applicatlon together with all information, reports, drawlngs, plans, filing fees, and any other materials and documents required by the appropriate applicatlon forms supplied by the city. If, wlthin the specified time period, the - 8 - Planning Divislon falls to advlse the applicant ln wrlting that his or her appllcatlon is lncomplete and to speclfy all addltional informatlon required to complete that appllcation, the application shall autornatlcally be deemed complete. An application is "substantially complete" if the missing information is supplied wlthin two (2) working days of the city's request. (ii) If an application for approval of a proposed development has been deemed complete by the city on or before May 2, 1989, an amended application for the same proJect shall be deemed complete as of May 2, 1989, so long as the Plannlng Director determines that the changes to the project do not increase the size or substantlally alter the scope of the proposed project. This Sectlon shall not apply for purposes of deeming an application complete under the Permit Streamlining Act. {e} Applications for approval of permlts involving the erection, construct~on, enlargement, demolit~on, or moving of, and excavatlon and grading for, proJects WhlCh have been granted development permlts by the Planning Cornmisslon or Plannlng Division on or before May 2, 1989. (f) For applicatlons involving the demolitlon and replacement of eX1stlng single purpose, slngle tenant, neighborhood serving grocery stores and pharmacies, only the net new floor area to be added shall be subJect to the floor area Ilmitations contalned in section 3 (c) of this Ordinance. - 9 - Demoli tion and replacement of the existing floor area shall be exempt from the square footage lim1tat1ons. (g) Applications for approval of a proposed single purpose, single tenant grocery store, at or below 25,000 square feet, so long as they apply for and recelve a development review permit. SECTION 4. This Ordinance shall be of no further force and effect as of August 26, 1992. SECTION 5. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendlces thereto lnconsistent wlth the provisions of this ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencles and no further, are hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ord1nance. SECTION 6. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance lS for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a dec~sion of any court of any competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remalnlng portions of this ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each and every section, subsectlon, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstltutional without regard to whether any portion of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 7. The Mayor shall slgn and the city Clerk shall attest to the passage of thlS Ordinance. The city Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper - 10 - within 15 days after its adoptlon. ThlS ordinance shall become effective 30 days from the date of adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM: -F -......----.....~ \_""'----........ ROBERT M. MYERS ~ CITY ATTORNEY - 11 - ~ Adopted and approved this 3rd day of December, 1991. I hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 16l0(CCS) was duly and regularly introduced at a meeting of the city . council on the 12th day of November 1991; that the said Ordinance was thereafter duly adopted at a meeting of the City Council on the 3rd day of December 1991 by the following Council vote: Ayes: Councilmembers: Abdo, Holbrook, Katz, Olsen, Vazquez, Zane, Mayor Genser Noes: Councilmembers: None Abstain: Councilmembers: None Absent: Councilmembers: None ATTEST: /~~~62~ ------ - - city Clerk .'