SR-11-C (33)
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OCT ~ 1990
Santa Monica, California
C/ED:PC:PB:SF:DK
PC/pierccl
Council Mtg: October 2, 1990
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City staff
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Authorize City Manager to Negotiate
and Execute a Contract for Preparation of an ErR on the
Proposed Redevelopment of Santa Monica pier and Related
Parking
INTRODUCTION
This report recommends that the City Council authorize the City
Manager to negotiate and execute the contract for preparation of
an EIR for proposed development on Santa Monica Pier and related
parking, and authorize funding for the ErR in an amount not to
exceed $121,000.00. This report also describes key elements of
the EIR,
including analysis of two proposals that would
decentralize the redeveloped pier's parking supply and an
alternatives analysis of the adjacent Aquarium proposal.
BACKGROUND
In 1983, winter storms destroyed over 100,000 square feet of the
Santa Monica pier platform. That same year, the pier Restoration
Corporation (PRC), a non-profit, public benefit corporation was
created to coordinate reconstruction of the Pier platform and new
development on the Pier.
Earlier this year, reconstruction of
the pier platform was completed.
In 1988, the city Council
approved a conceptual program for new development on the rebuilt
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OCT :: 1990
Pier. After a period of refining the plan, the PRC has finalized
a working plan to implement its redevelopment program.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The PRC's working plan includes 69,300 sq. ft. of new
construction and a permanent area for amusement rides covering
70,000 sq. ft. of Pier deck area. Approximately 49,000 sq. ft.
of existing buildings will remain or be renovated, while 11,300
sq. ft. of floor area would be demolished. Existing public
parking spaces on the Pier would be removed and replaced in
greater numbers at nearby parking lots.
The proposal has four components:
o
Pier Central Plaza: Demolition of
existing buildings and construction
buildings totaling 53,300 sq. ft.
food, retail, and entertainment uses.
11,300 sq. ft. of
of four, two-story
of restaurant, fast
o Fun Zone: 70,000 sq. ft. of outdoor deck area to be used
for permanent amusement rides, games, and ancillary uses.
Rides will include a 65' high, wooden roller coaster, boat
swing, Ferris wheel, and kiddie play area.
o Future Phase Development: Two-story building totaling
16,000 sq. ft. of commercial uses to be developed later at
the southeast end of the Pier. During the initial phase,
this area will be utilized as a valet parking lot.
o parking: Discussed below.
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PARKING ANALYSIS
Providing adequate public parking has always been a major issue
in assessing the potential for development on the pier and
adjacent beachfront area. Since the 1983 storms destroyed a
portion of the Pier, the California Coastal Commission has
required that replacement of commercial facilities upon the
reconstructed pier platform include 471 parking spaces that
existed on the pier prior to the storms. The reconstruction of
the pier platform was finished earlier this year. Because the
PRC I S Development Program calls for removal of public parking
from the Pier, staff and the PRe have studied several scenarios
to relocate all 471 parking spaces within reasonable walking
distance of the Pier.
Many of these parking solutions have been studied in conjunction
with an adjacent proposal, the Santa Monica Aquarium. In 1988,
the City Council initiated study of a parking garage that would
replace all of the Pier parking and provide required parking for
an Aquarium proposed for the Deauville and city Beach Maintenance
lots north of the Pier. Council directed staff through a
performance objective in the FY 1988-89 budget to assess the
feasibility of building a centralized parking structure on the
largely vacant parcel bounded by Appian Way, Seaside Terrace 1
Ocean Avenue, and the PCH off-ramp, and extending directly west
across Appian Way to an existing surface parking lot. However,
such a 600+ space, multi-level structure posed problems with
massing, geological instability, traffic circulation, replacement
of on-site housing, and overall financial feasibility. While
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some of these problems are attributed to the centralized nature
of the parking structure, others arose due to the sheer
structural mass necessary to supply parking for two large uses.
The Coastal Commission staff has stated that they will require
replacement of the 471 pier spaces, but not require additional
spaces for redevelopment of the Pier. However, the Aquarium or
other non-Pier development must provide its own additional
parking. A centralized structure for both the Pier and the
Aquarium created several negative impacts and problems and has
been put on hold. In the interim, City staff and the PRC have
developed two decentralized parking solutions that would provide
parking for only the Pier's redevelopment.
A decentralized parking scheme appears to be superior to a
centralized structure in several ways. First, construction costs
will be significantly lower, as surface parking and a smaller
structure will require less excavation and less stabilization of
soils (both parking structure sites have a high water table and
are susceptible to liquefaction). Second, decentralized parking
may diffuse traffic circulation impacts on the surrounding
neighborhood. Third, a decentralized plan eliminates the large
scale and mass inherent in a centralized parking structure.
staff and the PRC identified two potential parking solutions for
the Pier, both of which are discussed below. However, an EIR
requires a preferred parking solution as part of the "project"
description. At its meeting of June 6, 1990, the PRC Development
Committee reviewed the two scenarios and, for the purposes of an
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EIR analysis, voted to support a less intensive parking solution
(outlined below) in conjunction with the Pier redevelopment.
They also voted to study a more intensive scenario as an
al ternative in the EIR. Both parking solutions are outlined
below:
PROPOSED PARKING SOLUTION
As a result of the PRe Committee's preferred parking plan, staff
recommends abandoning the single parking structure in favor of a
decentralized solution that replaces the 471 spaces which existed
on the pier prior to the 1983 storms and creates 96 additional
parking spaces. This parking plan would be studied in the EIR as
"the project" in conjunction with the Pier redevelopment. Public
parking on the Pier would be removed, except for 82 tandem spaces
to be retained for valet parking. The pier bridge would be
closed off to public vehicle access and would be accessible only
to emergency and service vehicles and valet parking. Remaining
parking would be located at three adjacent sites:
o 1640 Appian way: construct a two-story, partially
subterranean parking structure with roof-top parking (244
spaces) and 5,200 sq. ft. of retail. The site is bounded
by Appian Way, Moss Avenue, Ocean Front Walk, and seaside
Terrace, and currently contains a 75-space surface parking
lot and a "Hot Dog on a Stick" concession stand that would
be relocated in the structure. A net increase of 169
spaces is obtained.
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o 1550 PCH: Restripe the existing 706-space state parking
lot and pave a residual unpaved area, resulting in 817
total spaces. This increases the existing parking supply
by 111 spaces. Access for this lot would be via Appian
way only. An outdoor performance stage for special events
would be located at the northwest corner of the lot.
o 1590 Appian Way: The Deauville property and City Beach
Maintenance Facility lots east of Ocean Front Walk would
be paved to gain 205 net parking spaces. This parking lot
would be accessible via the adjacent 1550 PCH lot. The
existing city Beach Maintenance Facility would likely be
relocated to the north end of the Deauville lot, though
the ultimate location will be recommended in the pier EIR.
This approach is superior to a centralized parking structure in
many ways. First, construction costs will be markedly lower, as
much of the parking is provided through surface lots with minimal
grading necessary for the semi-subterranean parking structure at
1640 Appian Way. Second, decentralized parking may diffuse
traffic circulation impacts on the neighborhood. Third, this
option greatly reduces the scale and mass of a centralized
parking structure. Fourth, it does not involve demolition and
relocation of existing residential units on the mostly vacant lot
on the northeast corner of Appian and Seaside.
However, it must be reiterated that this decentralized plan does
not include parking for the Aquarium use. Staff is negotiating
with the developers of the Aquarium to resume that EIR process.
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Should the project resume, a new plan to fulfill its parking
requirement will be analyzed. This may consist of a separate
parking structure solely for the Aquarium's use, or a return to a
centralized parking structure of some type near the Pier. The
pier EIR will include an alternative analyzing the impact of
building the Aquarium and its respective parking next to the
redeveloped Pier.
ALTERNATIVE PARKING SOLUTION
with regard to the PRe Board's other parking solution, staff
plans to study it as an alternative in the EIR. This parking
plan is more extensive than the preferred option in that it
requires an extension of the Pier deck, and creates 104 more
spaces than the preferred parking plan. The differences from the
preferred solution are as follows:
o A one-level, above grade, parking platform (152 spaces),
covered with a wood-plank surface similar to the Pier I
would be built on the 1550 PCH lot adjacent to the north
side of the Pier, with access ramps to the parking lot
below. This would cover a portion of the 706-space state
parking lot and serve as an "event deck" for special
events, and as additional parking otherwise. Combined
with restriping of the lot, this would result in 921 total
spaces, a net increase of 215 spaces over the existing
supply.
o This event deck and the 1550 PCH parking lot below would
be accessible via the Pier bridge, which would remain open
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to general vehicle traffic, though perhaps made one-way to
improve circulation. Both parking facilities would also
be accessible via Appian Way.
o This option replaces the 471 Pier spaces and provides 200
addi tional parking spaces (104 more than the preferred
option) .
EIR PROCESS
A Request for Proposal to prepare an EIR for the pier
redevelopment and this preferred parking plan was issued by the
Communi ty and Economic Development Department, which is
responsible for preparing City environmental documents. Three
proposals were reviewed. staff has selected Environmental
Planning Associates (EPA) as the environmental consultant, based
on its recent experience with EIR's in the Santa Monica coastal
zone and thorough knowledge of relevant issues. Total cost for
preparation of the EIR will not exceed $121,000.00.
Upon entering into a contract with EPA, staff will facilitate a
public scoping meeting to elicit concerns and study issues from
the public for incorporation into the EIR.
BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT
The city will provide the funds to prepare the EIR from the Pier
Capital Improvement Budget. The city's consultant costs will not
exceed $12l,OOO.OO and be paid out of pier capital account number
30-740-625-22488-8912-99097.
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RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the Council:
1. Approve the direction staff has outlined in this report
and authorize commencement of an EIR to study the
project's impacts;
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and award a
contract with Environmental Planning Associates for
preparation of an EIR for the proposed redevelopment of
Santa Monica Pier;
3. Authorize funding for the EIR in an amount not to exceed
$121,000.00.
Prepared by: Peggy Curran, Director of Communi ty and Economic
Development Department
Paul Berlant, Director of Planning
Suzanne FriCk, Principal Planner
Douglas Kim, Assistant Planner
John Gilchrist, Executive Director
Pier Restoration Corporation
Judith Meister, Pier Division Manager
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