SR-401-041
PCD:SF:JT:AB\f:\plan\share\Council\strpt\construction rate design.doc
Council Mtg: April 11, 2000 Santa Monica, California
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Extend Interim Ordinance 1966 (CCS) Establishing a
Construction Rate Program for Multi-Family Development in all Multi-Family
Residential Districts and Establishing a Design Compatibility Permit for the
Development of Condominiums and other Multi-Family Ownership Housing
for 18 months.
INTRODUCTION
This report recommends that the City Council adopt an emergency interim ordinance to
extend for 18 months an existing emergency ordinance that establishes a Construction
Rate Program for multi-family development in all multi-family residential districts and a
Design Compatibility Permit for the development of condominiums and other multi-family
ownership housing. This extension is necessary to provide sufficient time to further
evaluate and develop the Construction Rate Program and the Design Compatibility Permit
requirements and allow public participation prior to adopting a permanent ordinance.
BACKGROUND
On May 25, 1999 the City Council adopted an emergency ordinance establishing a
moratorium on multi-family development. The purpose of the moratorium was to allow time
for the City to evaluate and develop requirements and programs to preserve the City’s
character, diversity, and quality of life which were threatened by rapid change occurring in
multi-family neighborhoods and are irreparable loss of affordable housing. The City
Council continued to respond to these concerns by adopting an emergency interim
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Ordinance 1966 on March 7, 2000. It established a citywide construction rate program in
multi-family residential districts and created a new Design Compatibility Permit. This
emergency interim ordinance implements portions of two programs included in the 1998-
2003 Housing Element Update: Program 1.a. requiring the elimination of the Conditional
Use Permit (CUP) requirement for condominiums and the evaluation of other procedures
which could achieve an appropriate level of design review, and Program 7.f. requiring the
monitoring of the rate of development activity in multifamily residential districts, and the
consideration of enacting measures such as a construction rate program if the rate or
pattern of development was found to negatively affect the quality of life or character of the
neighborhood.
The emergency interim ordinance is due to expire on April 21, 2000. In response to
Council comments at the March 7, 2000 meting, staff recommends minor modifications to
the Construction Rate Program as discussed below. The proposed emergency interim
ordinance is contained in Attachment A.
DISCUSSION
Construction Rate Program
The moratorium ordinance identified the adverse impacts of accelerated development in
residential districts, including noise, construction materials and equipment obstructing
pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and aesthetic impacts. In order to address these impacts,
staff analyzed a number of Citywide construction rate program alternatives as outlined in
City Council’s March 7, 2000 staff report. Based on the analysis in that report and public
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testimony at the Council meeting, Council adopted a construction rate program that allows
only one construction or substantial remodel project per block and this project must not be
within a five hundred-foot radius of another construction project subject to this requirement.
This restriction is to apply for eighteen months after issuance of a building permit, after
which time another project may begin construction in the defined area.
The block area plus the 500 foot radius was found to be effective in controlling the pace
and related impacts of construction in residential areas. Using only a 500 foot radius
without including the block area could result in multiple construction projects on the same
block if a block is longer than 500 feet. Such a situation could result in traffic related
construction impacts to all residents residing on the block. Combining a block area with the
500 foot radius eliminates this possibility. The 500-foot radius is the recommended
geographic area because it is the radius used for public notification of proposed
developments and covers the geographic area likely to be impacted by development. The
18 month time period is appropriate because data shows the mean time period between
the date a permit is issued and the date a project (multi-family development) receives final
inspection is 15 months. The three additional months will allow a respite period between
projects.
Staff believes only those projects involving two or more units (in multi-family districts)
should be subject to the Construction Rate Program. Due to their size, construction of
subterranean garages and the greater time period necessary to construct multiple units,
such projects are much more disruptive than smaller projects such as room additions or
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single family homes.
Emergency interim Ordinance 1966 excludes the following types of projects from the
construction rate program:
(1) Affordable housing projects in which one hundred percent of the units are
deed-restricted for very low, low, middle, and/or moderate income housing.
(2) Community care facilities as defined in Section 9.04.02.030 of the Santa
Monica Municipal Code.
(3) Structures identified by the Building and Safety Division as unreinforced
masonry construction and subject to City-mandated seismic upgrading.
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In response to comments at the March 7 meeting, the following additional exemptions are
recommended to protect the ordinance against legal challenge:
(1) Projects which will be developed on sites that were vacant as of March 7,
2000.
(2) Projects which will be developed on sites which contain structures that are
uninhabitable not as a result of the owner’s failure to maintain the structure, or
the property of which the structure is a part, in good repair, and which cannot
be rendered habitable in an economically feasible manner.
In addition, staff recommends eliminating the exemption for community care facilities, as
impacts from such projects can be as disruptive as any other multi-family project.
As adopted, Ordinance 1966 applies to applications deemed complete on or after March 7,
2000. This date was selected to safeguard the ordinance against legal challenge,
particularly with respect to projects with vested tentative map applications. There are
currently 30 projects (multi-family residential) in the permitting process, of these, 21
involve projects seeking vesting tentative maps, two involve affordable housing projects
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and four others are distributed far enough from each other to not be impacted by the
proposed block plus 500 foot radius geographic unit area. The proposed ordinance would
establish the same applicability date.
Extension of the emergency interim ordinance is necessary to provide sufficient time to
further evaluate and develop the Construction Rate Program and the Design Compatibility
Permit requirement and allow public participation in their development prior to Planning
Commission and City Council hearings to adopt a permanent ordinance. The
recommended term of the extension is 18 months, or until October 11, 2001. An 18 month
time period is necessary to complete the process required for implementing a permanent
ordinance, which will effect a large area of the City involving multiple neighborhood
organizations which will be included in the development process of the ordinance. Further,
given the City Planning Division’s current workload and the high priority of other projects,
including revisions to both multifamily and single family development standards City wide,
an 18 month time period is recommended.
Design Compatibility Permit
The Design Compatibility Permit portion of Ordinance 1966 (CCS) will remain unchanged
as Council did not direct staff to make any modifications. As adopted, all new or converted
residential and commercial condominiums, community apartment projects, stock
cooperatives, and cooperative apartments for which a development application was
deemed complete on or after March 7, 2000 must obtain a Design Compatibility Permit.
This Permit is intended to establish an appropriate level of design review so as to ensure
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that the physical development is compatible with and relates harmoniously to the
surrounding sites and neighborhoods. This Permit also fulfills the 1998-2003 Housing
Element Update mandate that the City eliminate the requirement that condominium
projects obtain a CUP, since it is usually the design, physical development and
neighborhood compatibility of the project that is at issue, not the use.
PUBLIC NOTICE
A legal advertisement was published in the Los Angeles Times at least ten consecutive
calendar days prior to the hearing. In addition, notices were mailed to all speakers at the
March 7, 2000 City Council hearing and to persons who have expressed interest in City
policy issues and housing issues. A copy of the notice is contained in Attachment B.
BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT
The recommendation presented in this report will have no budget or financial impacts.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Council adopt the attached emergency interim ordinance
extending the emergency interim ordinance for 18 months.
Prepared by: Suzanne Frick, Director
Jay Trevino, AICP, Planning Manager
Amanda Schachter, Principal Planner
Art Bashmakian, Associate Planner
Planning and Community Development Department
Attachment: A: Proposed Interim Ordinance
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B. Public Notice
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