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COUNCIL MEETING: June 23/ 1987
santa Monica, California
TO: Mayor and city council
FROM: city Staff
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Direct the city Attorney to Prepare
Zoning Regulations Regarding Theater Development
INTRODUCTION
This report provides the Planning Commission I s response to the
Council's directive to develop zoning regulations reqarding movie
theater development.
BACKGROUND
The city Council directed the Planning Commission on April 28th,
1987 to review and comment on the following zoning and policy
options:
1. Allow cinema use, as of right, in the Third street Mall
Specific Plan Area. When more than 4,000 new seats are
developed, future development of theaters would be subject
to a Conditional Use Permit.
2. Allow new movie theater development by Conditional Use
Permit in the remainder of the downtown.
3. Allow existing theaters to remain, but prohibit new cinema
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development in other areas of the City.
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4. All of the above shall be effective retroactive to April 28,
1987,
The Council also clarified that video theaters would be treated
as movie theaters for purposes of these regulations.
DISCUSSION
On June 1st, 1987, the Planning commission reviewed the Council's
recommendations (see attached staff report), took public testi-
mony and discussed the impacts of theater development in the
City. They determined that the proposed zoning ordinance should
be modified to reflect the pOlicy of allowing theater development
in the C3 (downtown commercial) area by CUP and as of right in
the C3C (downtown core) .
However, they felt a CUP in the C3C district should be required
after 3,000 new seats or 12 screens were developed rather than
4,000 seats or 12 screens as the Council and staff had recom-
mended. The Commission felt that this change was appropriate
because of a concern about traffic congestion and parking avail-
ability. They further concurred that Interim 1321 should be
amended to allow theater development by the Development Review
process in the downtown district (C3) and to prohibit new movie
theater development in any other area of the city. The Commis-
sion did not make a recommendation on the effective date of the
regulations.
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staff concurs with the Commission's recommendations with one
exception. staff believes that the new Zoning Ordinance should
set a threshold of 4,000, rather than 3,000 seats in the Third
street Mall area. As indicated in the staff report to the
Planning commission, adequate parking exists in the area, and
theater development would provide a significant stimulus to
revitalization of the downtown, which is one of the City's key
land use and economic objectives. Such development would be
facilitated by a 4,000, rather than 3,000 seat limit.
The following outlines the Planning Commission's recommendations.
1. Recommend that Interim Ordinance 1321 be amended to do the
following:
a.
Allow new
Development
district.
movie
Review
theater
in the
development
C3 (downtown
subj ect to
commercial)
b. Allow existing movie theaters to remain, but prohibit
new movie theater development in other areas of the
City.
2. Recommend that the proposed Zoning Ordinance be modified to
exclude movie theater development in all zones except the
C3C (downtown core) district where it shall be allowed by
right, except that when more than 3,000 new seats or 12
screens are developed, future development of such theaters
will be subject to a Conditional Use Permit; and allow new
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movie theater development in the C3 (downtown commercial)
district by Conditional Use Permit.
This report recommends that the council direct the city Attorney
to draw up an ordinance to incorporate the above amendments to
Interim Ordinance 1321 and modify the proposed Zoning Ordinance,
with the exception that development of 4,000 seats in the C3C
district be permitted by right in the new Zoning Ordinance,
rather than 3,000 seats.
BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT
The recommendations of this report have no budget/financial
impacts.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectively recommended that city Council direct the City
Attorney to prepare appropriate ordinances to accomplish the
following:
1. pending the adoption of the new Zoning Ordinance, develop an
ordinance which:
a. Allows new movie theater development subject to Plan-
ning Commission review in the C3 (downtown commercial)
district, and allow existing theaters to remain.
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b. In other areas of the City, allows existing movie
theaters to remain, but prohibits new movie theater
development.
c. Applies these standards to existing development, and
any proposed development project which did not have a
complete application as of April 28, 1987.
2. Modify the proposed Zoning Ordinance to exclude movie
theater development in all zones except the C3C (downtown
core) district where it shall be allowed by right, except
that when more than 4,000 new seats or 12 screens are
developed, future development of such movie theaters will be
subject to a Conditional Use Permit (CUP), and allow new
movie theater development in the C3 (downtown commercial)
district by CUP.
Prepared by: D. Kenyon webster, Senior Planner
Joan L. Akins, Assistant to the Director of
Community and Economic Development
Attachment: June 1, 1987, Planning Commission staff report
theatere
06/16/87
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ATTACHMENT
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CITY PLANNING DIVISION
community and Economic Development Department
MEMORANDUM
DATE: June I, 1987
TO: The Honorable Planning Commission
FROM: R. Ann siracusa, Director of Planning
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Develop zoning Regulations Relating
to Movie Theater Development
INTRODUCTION
This report responds to a request from the City Council, on
April 28, 1987, to the Planning Commission to develop appropriate
zoning regulation in order to direct movie theater development to
the Third street Mall Specific Plan Area, (bounded by Wilshire
Boulevard, 2nd Street, Broadway and 4th Street) to assure that
residential neighborhoods will not be negatively impacted by
cinema complex development. Staff has researched the number of
existing and proposed theaters, held discussions with developers,
theater managers, owners and citizens, and evaluated existing and
proposed zoning regulations relating to theaters.
This report follows the direction of City Council to obtain
Planning Commission recommendations concerning the incorporation
of language in the proposed Zoning Ordinance and amending Interim
Ordinance 1321 to include the following:
1. Allow by right movie theater uses in the Third street
Mall Specific Plan Area, providing that when more than
4,000 new seats or 12 screens are developed that movie
theaters in the Third street Mall Specific Plan Area
will be subject to a conditional Use Permit:
2. Allow new movie theater uses by Conditional Use Permit
in the remainder of the downtown;
3. Allow existing movie theaters to remain, but prohibit
new movie theater uses in other areas of the City:
4. Under Interim ordinance 1321, allow new movie theater
development subj ect to Development Review in the C3
(downtown commercial) district only; and
5. Establish April 27, 1987, as the effective date of
these requirements.
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BACKGROUND
The City Council directed staff on January 27, 1987, to perform
an analysis on the demand for and the need to regulate movie
theater projects in the City, with particular emphasis on the
Third street Mall Specific Plan Area. The Council requested that
the investigation include mechanisms which could be used to avoid
negative impacts on residential neighborhoods by cinema complex
development. Additional concerns identified by the Council and
by community groups included potential adverse traffic and
parking effects of movie theater projects, the issue of whether
the City would be faced with an excessive number of such uses,
and whether a policy objective of encouraging theaters in the
Third street Mall Specific Plan Area should be developed.
staff's analysis of the theater issue was brought before Council
on April 28, 1987, and included surveying existing theaters in
Santa Monica, investigating what appeared to be the sudden
interest in Santa Monica as a site for proposed new cinema
development, and gathering information on how many movie theaters
a given area could accommodate. The analysis consisted of
surveys conducted over the phone or in meetings with theater
owners or managers and representatives of developers. It also
included a meeting with the Mid-City neighborhood organization,
which has organized a special group on the issue of movie theater
development.
For clarity, the terms 'movie theater' and 'cinema complex'
discussed in this report refer to a facility with a large
screen(s), fixed seats, projection equipment, concession stands
and motion pictures. The terms 'movie theater' and 'cinema
complex' includes video theaters, but does not include live
theater.
Existing Theaters
There are currently six movie theater complexes in Santa Monica
(see Table 1) which would be impacted by new theater development
in the city. When asked how many more seats they felt the City
could absorb, some managers commented that 5,000 seemed a
reasonable number but did not speculate as to what number of
seats was too many. Managers of some such establishments noted
that they did not necessarily show first-run movies as the
mainstay of their business. These existing operators might be
able to share in the market better, since new theaters would be
expected to show predominately first-run movies.
There is a seventh existing theater, located on the Third street
Mall, which is currently closed. Staff has been informed that
this single screen, 1,000 seat theater is being considered for
renovation to perhaps a 4 screen theater (seat number not
available at this time).
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TABLE 1
EXISTING THEATER SEATING IN SANTA MONICA
Monica 1,100 seats 4 screens
Brentwood 910 seats 2 screens
Aero 641 seats 1 screen
Wilshire Twin 778 seats 2 screens
Pussycat 394 seats 1 screen
Latino 776 seats 1 screen
Main st. Video 8 seats 1 screen
Total 4,607 seats 12 screens
proposed Theaters
The City is aware of five proposed new theater developments (see
Table 2) through formal applications and informal discussions
wi th potential applicants. It is important to note that the
application for theater development on the 2300 block of Wilshire
for 1,800 seats has expired and no new application has been
submitted, and that subsequent to the City Council discussion of
this matter, developers of the 234 Pico and Pico/Cloverfield pro-
jects are considering changes to their projects. staff explored
wi th these developers the sudden interest in Santa Monica with
respect to new movie theater development and learned that the
first-run film distribution marketplace has been expanded recent-
ly from a few zones such as Hollywood and Westwood to other areas
including century City, Marina del Rey, Beverly Center, West
Hollywood and Santa Monica. This is not attributable to more
films being shown or an increase in audience size. Developers
noted that with more screens in operation, profits will be spread
over a wider market, and travel time and commute distance will be
shortened for moviegoers.
TABLE 2
PROPOSED THEATER DEVELOPMENTS IN SANTA MONICA
309 Broadway 1,120 seats 4 screens
234 Pico (bowling alley site) 1,856 seats 6 screens
Newberry Santa Monica Mall 1,500 seats 6 screens
Colorado Place (Phase II) 2,500 seats 8 screens
picojCloverfield (Smart and
Final Iris site) 1,144 seats unknown
Total 8,120 seats 24 screens
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Parking for theater use was also discussed with developers. Many
new theaters are proposed for sites where there is existing park-
ing available, such as shopping centers, as it is very expensive
to provide parking for just theater patrons. Thus additional
theaters are being proposed in the Beverly Center, Century city
Mall and in other commercial areas.
Most of the proposed movie theaters for Santa Monica are linked
to existing parking or parking which would otherwise be developed
for other proj ects ( "shared parking"). Shared parking could
occur in the Third street Mall Specific Plan Area should theaters
be built there. The parking structures are actively used in the
daytime but in the evening and at night (when theaters are most
in use) there are far less parking spaces utilized. The Downtown
Parking study of 1981 and the Third street Mall Specific Plan
Background Report of 1984 (pages 52-66) and EIR of 1985 all
concluded that City parking structures typically peak at 2:00 or
3:00 p.m. for two hours and competition for space is minimal by
5:00 p.m.
When asked to express their concerns about potential theater
development, a group of residents from the Mid-City area who had
organized in response to the now-defunct Wilshire theater
development discussed the negative impacts they perceived would
occur should theaters be allowed on commercial streets such as
Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards. They felt, due to the
large residential population bordering these two commercial
corridors, that multi-screen houses would bring traffic, noise
and parking problems into their neighborhoods during a wide range
of hours. Participants in the discussion felt that the Third
street Mall was an appropriate location for theater development
and that it might assist in the Mall's recovery.
Zoning Regulations
The City's existing
theaters in several
discretionary review.
zoning regulations (see Table 3) allow
zones as a permitted use without special
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TABLE 3
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ZONES PERMITTING THEATERS IN THE EXISTING CODE
Zones
Neighborhood Commercial (C2)
General Commercial (C3)
Highway Commercial (C4)
commercial Recreational (CR)
Main street Special
commercial (CM)
Limited Industrial (Ml)
Special Industrial (MlA)
General Industrial (M2)
The proposed zoning Ordinance,
city Planning Commission and
Council for review and public
theaters in commercial zones
Conditional Use Permit (CUP) in
Conditions
permitted
permitted
permitted
permitted
permitted if less than
75 seats, subject
to CUP if more than
75 seats
permitted
permitted
permitted
which has been reviewed by the
will be presented to the city
hearings in a few months allows
(see Table 4), but requires a
most zones.
Al though the existing ordinance allows theater use in certain
districts (see Table 3), Ordinance 1321, adopted by the Ci ty
Council as an interim development procedure during the revision
of the existing Zoning Code, requires approval of a Development
Review Permit (DR) for any entertainment use. section 9l29F(l},
SMMC, requires that movie theaters have one parking space per
four fixed seats, and the proposed Zoning Ordinance would
maintain this standard.
Table 4 illustrates district specifications for theater use in
the proposed zoning Ordinance. The objective of these standards
is to encourage theater use in the downtown area. In most other
districts, theaters would require discretionary review in order
for the City to monitor the potential traffic, parking and
pedestrian activity impacts.
The proposed standards listed above were developed for the Draft
Zoning Ordinance when there was not the interest and concern
about movie theater development that the City is currently
experiencing. It is, therefore, appropriate to re-evaluate the
suggested permitted zones and recommend modifying the proposed
code text.
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TABLE 4
ZONES PERMITTING THEATERS IN THE PROPOSED CODE
Zone
Conditions
Residential-Visitor
Commercial (RVC)
sUbject to CUP
Neighborhood
Commercial (C2)
permitted with fewer than
75 seats, over 75 seats
subject to CUP
permitted
Downtown
Commercial (C3)
Downtown Core (C3-C)
permitted if existing, new
subj ect to CUP
Highway
Commercial (C4)
permitted if existing, new
subject to cup (please
note that the published
version of the draft
Ordinance does not include
the CUP requirement due to
a typographical error)
Boulevard
Commercial (C6)
permitted if existing, new
subject to CUP
permitted with fewer than
75 seats, over 75 seats
with cup
Main street Special
Commercial (CM)
Civic Center (CC)
permitted
ANALYSIS
site Review
15,000 -
30,000 sf
depending
on location
15,000 sf
75,000 sf
75,000 sf
30,000 sf
Lincoln
and pi co
35,000 sf
other
40,000 sf
15,000 sf
100,000 sf
As part of the city's goals, which are incorporated into the Land
Use and Circulation Elements (LUCE) and the Third street Mall
Specific Plan, there are objectives specifically calling for uses
on the Mall that will encourage activity there during both
daytime and evening hours and will encourage entertainment and
cultural uses. These objectives and policies include:
objective 1.3: Reinforce Downtown as the focus of the city,
supporting the greatest concentration of activity.
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Policy 1.3.1: Encourage the concentration of land uses and
activities which create activity in both the daytime and
evening hours.
Policy 1.3.2: Make Downtown a primary location for
commercial use, with priority given to comparison retail
uses including uses that serve out-of-town visitors, and
uses that encourage street activity after normal business
hours.
Policy 1. 3.3: Encourage the construction of major enter-
tainment or cultural uses in Downtown.
Pol icy 1. 3 . 4 : In the Downtown Core area, require that a
majority of ground floor street frontage on a block-by-b1ock
basis be active, pedestrian-oriented use (shop-fronts,
cultural activities, cafes, and other uses catering to
walk-in traffic) in order to promote pedestrian activity at
the ground floor. In the Downtown Frame area, require
pedestrian-oriented design features for all ground floor
street frontage).
The Third street Mall Specific Plan (TSM) contains
objectives and policies reflective of the Council's
revitalize the Mall. One objective is:
TSM Objective 4.1: Recognizing the important role the Third
Street Mall can play in making Downtown the activity focus
of the City, encourage revitalization of the Third street
Mall. Revitalization plans should accommodate goods,
services, and urban design features which address the needs
of both existing residents living near the Mall and a wide
range of consumers visiting the Mall (adopted General Plan
Land Use objective 1.4).
specific
goal to
The policies encouraging uses related to cultural activity and
new entertainment facilities are as follows:
TSM Policy 4.1.1: Concentrate comparison retail uses and
other complementary uses (such as hotels, offices, cultural
facilities, restaurants, social services, and housing) on or
near the Third street Mall as necessary to provide a
catalyst for its revitalization (General Plan LUE Policy
1.4.1) .
TSM Policy 4.1.3: Promote appropriate retail and cultural
activity within the Mall right-of-way (farmers' market, out-
door cafes, flower stands, performing and visual arts, etc.)
(General Plan LUE Policy Policy 1.4.3).
TSM Policy 4.1.5: Provide for the development of new uses
which increase the economic activity of the Third Street
Mall, including retail and specialty commercial, eating and
drinking establishments, entertainment facilities (theatres,
clubs, etc.), professional offices, and hotels.
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TSM Pol icy 4: . 1.8: Allow for the development of retail,
professional offices, personal and business services,
enterta inment, restaurants, cuI tural, educational, health
facilities, artist studios, and other related uses above the
first floor of structures.
TSM Policy 4.1.9: Promote new cultural activities and uses
within the mall space and/or adjacent structures.
TSM Policy 4.1.11: Encourage the
would attract nighttime use of
theatres, cultural performance
entertainment facilities.
introduction of uses which
the mall, such as movie
halls, restaurants, and
All of these objectives and policies clearly illustrate the
appropriateness of encouraging movie theater development in the
Third street Mall Specific Plan Area. Theaters would bring
people to the area in the evening as well as the daytime and
enhance existing businesses. The Third street Development
Corporation Board of Directors discussed theater development and
determined that for the Third street Mall Area the desirable goal
for number of seats ranges from a minimum of 2,500 to a maximum
of 4,000 seats, with a minimum of two operators.
Another City goal the city council wishes to enforce is the pro-
tection of existing residential neighborhoods from impacts caused
by commercial uses. To protect residential areas from the poten-
tially negative traffic, parking and noise created by theaters,
it appears appropriate to the Council that theater development be
prohibited or significantly restricted on strip commercial
streets, adjacent to residential areas, such as Santa Monica,
Wilshire, pico, Main and Montana.
The Colorado Place theaters are permitted under an existing
Development Agreement and would not be affected except through
amendment of that Agreement. Through encouraging movie theater
development on the Mall as of right, and in the remainder of the
downtown by CUP, the City could provide entertainment uses to the
community and avoid negative impacts on residential areas and on
the ambiance of the city.
Staff recommends that the Planning commission suggest that
interim development Ordinance 1321 be amended to provide that
movie theater development can take place in the CJ (downtown
commercial) district subject to Development Review and be
prohibited in any other areas. This is appropriate as an interim
standard pending adoption of the new Zoning Ordinance. It is
also recommended that the commission suggest special standards
for movie theater development as part of the revised Zoning
Ordinance.
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CEQA STATUS
Adoption of more restrictive provisions in Ordinance 1321 will
reduce potential adverse effects of theater development and has
determined to be exempt from CEQA under Article III, section 1.
Use regulations in the revised Zoning Ordinance are analyzed in
the EIR for that project. To the extent that changes are made
that are more restrictive than those analyzed in the Zoning
Ordinance EIR, impacts identif ied therein would be less
extensive.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is respectfully recommended that the Planning commission
conduct a Public Hearing on this matter and adopt the following:
1. Recommend to City council that Interim Ordinance 1321 be
amended to do the following:
a. Allow new movie theater development subject to Develop-
ment Review in the C3 (downtown commercial) district.
b. Allow existing movie theaters to remain, but prohibit
new movie theater development in other areas of the
City.
2. Recommend to City council that the proposed Zoning Ordinance
be modified to exclude movie theater development in all
zones except the C3C (downtown core) district where it shall
be allowed by right, except that when more than 4,000 new
seats or 12 screens are developed then future development of
theaters will be subject to a Conditional Use Permit, and
allow new movie theater development in the C3 (downtown
commercial) district by CUP.
Attachment A: Letter of Joy M. Fullmer
Prepared by: D. Kenyon Webster, Senior Planner
Joan L. Akins, Assistant to the Director of
Community and Economic Development
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wjtheaterd
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