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SR-400-001 (5) MEMORANDUM  amy.osnower Administrator 2 1 2005-06-16T20:53:00Z 2005-06-16T20:53:00Z 1 794 4532 city of santa monica 37 10 MEMORANDUM To:       Santa Monica City Council From:    Santa Monica Planning Commission Date:     June 2, 2005 Re:        Land Use Element, Circulation Element, and Zoning Ordinance Update Urgent Request for Action The current schedule for the Land Use Element, Circulation Element, and Zoning Ordinance update ( A the Update @ ) provides only one week for the public, the Planning Commission, and the Council to review each milestone staff/consultant report before the joint meeting of the Council and the Planning Commission to discuss it.   At its June 1, 2005 meeting the Planning Commission voted to request the Council to amend the schedule so as to allow more time for that review.   This Memorandum formally conveys that request to the Council and sets forth the reasons for it. At the October 26, 2004 joint meeting of the Council and Planning Commission, the Council among other things adopted the proposed schedule for the Update.   Although that schedule is very tight, it has so far been adhered to.   The Update plan is structured around a series of reports, or work products, from the consultant and staff.   Those work products are labeled as follows: Emerging Themes, Opportunities & Challenges, Alternatives, Preferred Plan and Guiding Principles, Draft General Plan, and Adopted General Plan.   What was not apparent at the time - or certainly not focused on - was that the schedule provides barely a week between the date a given work product is made available and the date of the joint meeting between the Council and Planning Commission to discuss it.   So, as we saw, the first report, Emerging Themes, was made available on April 19; and the Council/Planning Commission joint meeting to discuss it was held on April 26.   Likewise, the second report, Opportunities & Challenges, will be available on June 21; and the Council/Planning Commission joint meeting to discuss it will be held on June 28.   Staff has informed the Commission that adhering to the current schedule will continue to require brief time frames for review of documents for the remainder of the Update   process.   While one week may have been passably sufficient for Emerging Themes, which was simply a report on the public input staff had gathered, it is manifestly insufficient for the remaining reports. One week is not sufficient primarily because it does not afford the public a meaningful opportunity even to obtain, let alone review, think about, and discuss these reports.   While members of the Council and the Planning Commission have these work products delivered to our doorsteps, other people do not; they must rely on online notifications, newspaper announcements, and word of mouth even to be made aware that a report has been published.   They must then find the time to go to City Hall to pick up a copy, to go to a library to read it, or to download the document and print it out.   (Emerging Themes was 510 pdf pages long.)   Boards and commissions, neighborhood associations, and other groups also need time to call and hold meetings if they are to give any meaningful input. One week is not sufficient also because it does not afford the Planning Commission the opportunity to discuss the report and make recommendations to the Council ahead of our joint meeting.   The Commission = s role in this Update process, affirmed by the Council on October 26, 2004, is among other things to make recommendations to the Council regarding the reports.   The Commission cannot fulfill this role when it has no opportunity to review and discuss the reports.   Commissioners received Emerging Themes at the end of the day on April 19.   The Commission met on April 20, with most commissioners having barely had time to even look at the document.   And, as set forth above, the joint Council/Commission meeting was April 26.   The next report, Opportunities & Challenges, will be delivered by the end of the day on June 21.   This time the Commission doesn = t even have a meeting at all between then and the joint Council/Commission meeting on June 28. The Commission is mindful that the Council is committed to keeping the Update A on time and on budget. @   The Council also, however, directed participatory inclusion in, and public ownership of, the process, which is simply not possible given the time constraints of the current schedule. The Commission urges that this matter and this Memorandum be appropriately agendized for discussion and action at the Council = s June 14, 2005 meeting.   At that time the Planning Commission will request that the Update schedule be amended so as to provide one month between the publication of each report or work product and the Planning Commission meeting for which the report is agendized for discussion.   The Commission can then hold a meaningful public hearing and make recommendations for the Council = s consideration at a subsequent joint meeting.   On June 14 the Planning Commission will also request that the Council reschedule the June 28 Council/Commission joint meeting so that we can all have a more reasonable time for review of the Opportunities & Challenges report, due out June 21.                                                                Barbara Brown Chair, Planning Commission This Memorandum has been sent by e-mail to all members of the Council, by fax to Mayor O = Connor, the City Manager, and the City Clerk, and by mail to Mayor O = Connor.