SR-07-14-1987-11B
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JUL 1 4 1987
C/ED:CPD:DKW:JLA:klc
COUNCIL MEETING: July 14, 1987
Santa Monica, California
TO: Mayor and city Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Proposed Hospital Area Specific Plan
INTRODUCTION
The Hospital Area Specific Plan (HASP) has been prepared in
response to a Land Use Element policy obj ecti ve which requires
that a Specific Plan be prepared concerning the area around and
including the two major Hospital campuses in the City:
Saint
John's Hospital and Health Center and Santa Monica Hospital and
Medical Center.
This staff report is presented to give the city council the
opportunity to receive the recommendations of the Planning
Commission and public comments, and to direct staff to perform
additional changes to the HASP prior to final adoption of the
Plan.
The draft HASP was issued for public review on September 24,
1986, and the EIR on the HASP was issued on November 15, 1986,
allowing substantial time for public review of these documents.
./1-1$
JUl 1 J, ;987
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BACKGROUND
In October, 1984, the City of Santa Monica adopted the Land Use
and Circulation Elements of the General Plan. A section of the
Element titled "Hospitals and Health Care Facilities" contains an
Objective (1.13) and Policies (1.13.1 and 1.13.2) requiring that
two separate hospital Specific Plans be prepared. Subsequently,
a single Specific Plan was determined to be more appropriate to
best accomplish the goals and objectives of the General Plan, and
to integrate the neighborhood planning process.
Another requirement of the Land Use Element is that prior to the
specific Plan being written, Master Plans prepared by the two
hospi tals in the area be submitted to the city. The Land Use
Element states that the Master Plans should describe "future
physical and organizational growth and change over the 10-15
years following adoption of the Land Use and circulation
Elements" and that the Master Plans should be prepared with
community participation.
Consistent with the Land Use Element's directive, both Hospitals
prepared Master Plans addressing site and facility needs for the
future, with extensive outreach to neighboring residents, prop-
erty owners and business persons and included special involvement
with representatives of the Mid-City Neighbors community
organization. The Mid-City Neighbors organization endorsed each
hospital's Master Plan. City Planning staff monitored the
planning process. The Planning commission held workshops on both
hospitals' Master Plans.
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Prior to developing the HASP, Planning staff reviewed the two
master plans and met with representatives of both hospitals, the
Mid-city Neighbors organization and the Santa Monicans For
Reasonable Growth organization to understand the concerns of
those groups. In addition, staff conducted two community
meetings on August 6, 1986, and October 8, 1986, on potential
environmental impacts of the HASP.
The intent of the HASP is to address issues of neighborhood
concern, to develop basic zoning and development standards, to
identify parcels for rezoning and to identify other programs
which should be implemented in the area. The Plan does not
propose standards for surrounding residential neighborhoods or
Santa Monica and wilshire Boulevards because these districts have
already been addressed in the Land Use Element.
The HASP zoning standards and related policies are geared toward
integrating development needs in the hospital area with the needs
of the surrounding neighborhood. Another purpose of the Hospital
Area Specific Plan is to rezone Commercial-Administrative (CA)
properties in the hospital area, since the CA zone will no longer
exist when the city's proposed zoning Ordinance is adopted.
The Draft Hospital Area Specific Plan consists of a discussion of
the legal requirements for a specific plan, background informa-
tion concerning the study area and hospital Master Plans, an
analysis of projected development of the area, General Plan
consistency, and an implementation program designed to carry out
policies proposed by the Specific Plan.
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The final Hospital Area Specific Plan will be a simplified
version of this Draft which deletes some of the background infor-
mation of the Draft. It will consist of a brief introduction,
the Plan section with its required elements, the Objectives and
Policies, plus a map with the Zoning revisions and a map with
Land Use Element designations for the HASP study area.
Planning commission
The Planning Commission conducted public hearings on the HASP on
January 26 and March 2, 1987. Because of the scope of revisions,
other proj ects and the council's budget del ibera tions , initial
Council consideration of the HASP was scheduled for July 14,
1987.
On March 2, 1987, the Planning Commission approved the HASP and
forwarded it to the City council for final action. The
Commission endorsed staff recommendations in most policy areas
and made some changes to the document, but left several key
issues to be resolved by the Council, since successive motions
regarding these issues failed to obtain a majority vote of
Commissioners present. The Commission also recommended that the
Environmental Impact Report on the HASP be certified by the
Council with various revised findings regarding potentially
significant traffic noise, and air quality environmental impacts.
Several zoning and Land Use Element policy changes related to
certain parcels owned by St. John's Hospital, which were
originally proposed by the HASP, are no longer necessary, since
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applications to effect these changes were subsequently approved
by both the Planning Commission and City Council.
Process
The Planning Commission's role in this project is advisory to the
City Council, which has final authority over the HASP and related
matters. It is important to note that the adoption of the HASP
will include revision of the Land Use Element, the Land Use
Element Map, the Zoning Classifications for certain areas and the
Zoning Ordinance.
The Land Use Element of the General Plan must be modified to
reflect the decision to prepare one Specific Plan for the area
and add the proposed development standards. Staff proposes to
modify the Land Use Map to better reflect the land uses proposed
in the HASP. The HASP includes changes to the zoning classifica-
tions and the adoption of development standards for the Zoning
Code.
The adoption process includes the following steps based upon the
state of California's Planning, Zoning and Development Laws,
1986, sections 65350 and 65450 and the City of Santa Monica
Municipal Code, Section 9149C:
1.
Initial Planning Commission public Hearing
January 26, 1987) to obtain public input
preliminary policy direction;
(conducted on
and identify
2. Second Planning Commission Public Hearing on the Plan
(conducted on March 2, 1987)i
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3. Initial city council Public Hearing (July 14, 1987) on the
Plan to obtain public input and give direction to staff:
4. If necessary, city Council adoption of resolutions of
intention to modify the zoning ordinance and zoning map
proposals of the HASP:
5. Planning Commission Public Hearing and comment on Council
actions;
6. Second city council Public Hearing;
7. certification of Final EIR: and
8. Council adoption of the following:
a. Land Use Element revisions;
b. Land Use and CirCUlation Elements Map revisions;
c. Rezonings;
d. Zoning Code amendments (for inclusion in new Zoning
Ordinance); and
e. Hospital Area Specific Plan.
Issues
The City of Santa Monica, area residents, Saint John's Hospital
and Health Center, the Mid-City Neighbors organization, Santa
Monica Hospital and Medical Center, and other persons and
organizations in the area have a number of concerns regarding
development in the area and how it will be integrated into the
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surrounding neighborhood with a minimum of adverse impacts. The
objective of the Hospital Area specific Plan is to develop
pOlicies that address these concerns which will be implemented
primarily by zoning regulations and parcel rezonings.
Development Standards
The proposed height and density development standards in the HASP
for the Commercial-Professional district are as follows:
HASP DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS
with Approval of a
site Plan Review Permit
Max.
Height
Max.
No. of
stories
Max.
FAR*
Max.
Height
Max.
No. of
Stories
Max.
FAR
CP3
CP5
45'
45'
3
3
1.5
1.5
70'
5
2.5
*Floor Area Ratio
The HASP standards attempt to integrate hospital area development
within the residential character of the area. The hospital area
is located in a residential neighborhood bordered by two commer-
cial boulevards, Wilshire Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard.
According to the Land Use Element, structures on Wilshire
Boulevard can have a maximum of six stories and an FAR of 3.0
with site review, whereas the maximum for Santa Monica Boulevard
is four stories and 2.0 FAR with site review (3.0 FAR for auto
dealerships). Thus, the HASP proposes a mid range of development
standards as an appropriate balance between the two commercial
boulevards.
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The Planning commission endorsed the staff's recommendations for
the basic height, density, FAR and use parameters for the CP
zone. The Planning commission's changes to the HASP are
indicated by boldface and strike-out type in the HASP document,
which is provided as Attachment D.
Hospital Expansion
To remain viable uses, both hospitals need areas in which to
expand and develop new facilities. Santa Monica Hospital will
grow in a southerly direction, as will Saint John's. A key area
for Saint John's in this regard is the area currently zoned "CA"
south of santa Monica Boulevard. Some persons have expressed a
preference that parcel rezonings focus Saint John's Hospital
development south of Santa Monica Boulevard. This concept was
part of Saint John's Master Plan and at one time was endorsed by
the Mid-city Neighbors organization (which subsequently changed
its position on this issue).
This area is presently a mix of CP, CA and C4 zoning. This area
has fairly diverse land uses, including a number of residential
units. The area includes the former General Telephone property,
located east of 21st street between Santa Monica Blvd. and
Broadway, and is entirely in non-residential use.
Under staff's recommendations for the HASP, all of the CA area
would be zoned CPo Existing residential uses could remain as
permitted uses. staff has received a number of comments
suggesting that parts of this area be rezoned to a residential
classification instead of CPo However, CP zoning appears as the
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most appropriate designation, since it recognizes the diversity
of uses in the area, is consistent with the historical commercial
zoning of the land, and allows residential uses to remain as well
as be developed.
On the following pages, Map 1 shows existing land uses in the
HASP area and Map 2 shows zoning. The proposed rezoning of the
CA parcels will respond to the goal of allowing expansion of
medical facilities on land currently zoned commercial south of
Santa Monica Boulevard. Presently both residential and commer-
cial uses occupy the area. The residential uses range from
single family dwellings to large apartment buildings, and include
a 100 unit senior housing complex. This senior complex is owned
by a non-profit organization and is likely to remain. The
commercial uses include a medical off ice building and General
Telephone buildings. Much of the area is used for surface
parking lots.
The current CA zoning will be discontinued City wide when the
revised zoning Ordinance is adopted. Rezoning to CP is most
appropriate for this area because the parcels are already commer-
cially designated, the abutting uses on Santa Monica Boulevard
and Broadway are commercial in character, Saint John's Hospital
is to the north of the site, and the CP designation like the
former CA designation would allow future residential development
and existing residential uses to remain as legally conforming
uses.
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EXISTING ZONI~G IN STUDY AREA
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The following tables provide more specific land use information
for Cloverfield Boulevard to 20th street and Santa Monica
Boulevard to Broadway:
Residential units (with Underlying Zone in Parenthesis)
14 Single Family Dwellings
(6 in CA, 7 in C4,
1 in CP)
(CA)
(CA)
(CA)
(CA)
(CA wlone parcel in C$)
Two 5 unit Complexes
One 10 unit Complex
One 42 unit Complex
One 69 unit Complex
One 100 unit Senior
Housing Complex
Total of 245 units
Acreage by Land Use Acreage by Zone
Commercial 3.2 acres CA 8.3 acres
Hospital 0.5 acres C4 3.5 acres
Medical Office 2.2 acres CP 2.7 acres
Residential 3.4 acres
Parking 5.2 acres Total 14.5 acres
Total 14.5 acres
The CA area was one in which the Planning Commission did not
adopt any recommendation, since sufficient votes could not be
obtained for any motion regarding the issue.
Motions were
proposed to zone the area consistent with staff's recommendation,
and also to zone the area R3 for residential use. The case for
CP zoning of the block west of 21st street seems clear-cut; the
remaining CA area has a greater mix of uses.
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,
Some persons have also suggested changing certain commercially
zoned parcels on 20th street to zoning that reflects their
present residential use. (Please see Maps 1 and 2 for existing
uses and zoning.) As recommended by staff, the Hospital Area
Specific Plan implements this recommendation on the east side of
20th street from Arizona to Wilshire Boulevard by proposing a
rezoning from CA to R2. This was another area where the Planning
commission did not make an official recommendation.
There was majority support at the March 2 meeting to zone this
area residential instead of CP, but the Commission voted at that
meeting that R3, rather than R2 zoning should be placed on that
land. The R3 standard may have been proposed in response to
potential developers of a senior housing project in that area who
indicated R2 zoning would render their project infeasible.
However, the action to zone the property in question R3 was con-
ducted without legally required public notice. Staff prepared
appropriate materials to ilnplernent this action for Commission
consideration at the April 6 Planning Commission meeting, but at
that meeting, due to the resignation of a Planning Commissioner
in the interim, there were not sufficient votes to move forward
with either an R3 or an R2 designation, leaving no official
recommendation on this issue from the Planning Commission.
A similar situation exists regarding zoning on the western side
of 20th Street from Santa Monica Boulevard to Wilshire Boulevard.
The predominant land uses in this area are non-residential,
including a church, a school, a mortuary and several convalescent
homes; therefore, staff had proposed that the area remain "CP".
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At the March 2 meeting, a maj ori ty of the Commission voted to
rezone these properties from CP to R3 because of the residential
uses that do exist in the area. However, this action was taken
without proper notice and was therefore invalid. At the April 6
Commission meeting, staff presented appropriate materials to
allow the Commission to move forward with its expressed intention
to rezone this area to R3. However, due to the above-mentioned
change in the composition of the commission, there were no longer
sufficient votes to do so. This resulted in another area which
requires resolution by the City Council.
RECOMMENDED CHANGES
This section of the staff report discusses staff recommendations
for changes to the Planning commission's version of the HASP.
These recommendations include resolution of those areas in which
the Commission did not adopt official positions, as well as some
changes to areas adopted by the Commission. Once the Council
gives staff direction on HASP policy issues, a revised version of
the HASP will be prepared.
Due to the requirements of the Municipal Code regarding changes
to the General Plan and the Zoning Ordinance, the matter would
then be referred back to the Planning Commission. Upon receipt
of the Commission's comments, the Council could then take final
action.
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Recommended changes to the HASP are discussed below in the order
that they appear in the Plan.
1. Page 51, Objective Number 22: This Objective establishes a
free employee parking policy and limited free employee
parking. It is recommended that the second sentence of the
Objective be modified. The Objective is intended to address
existing parking deficiencies in the area. Free parking
reduces the effectiveness of transportation systems manage-
ment (TSM) measures, however it is sometimes justified by
commercial parking intrusion problems. The City should
impose a free parking requirement only when no other alter-
natives (such as preferential parking zones) are available.
It is recommended that the second sentence of Obj ective
Number 22 be modified to read: IIShould preferential parking
exist or be established in the area of the development, the
free parking requirement shall not apply."
2. Page 52, Objective Number 27: It is recommended that this
objective be deleted. This Objective proposes to establish
a fund for mitigating air and noise impacts on McKinley
School. Subsequent to the Planning Commission's action
creating this Objective, staff requested an opinion from the
city Attorney regarding its validity under State law. The
Attorney indicated that the city was barred from creating
such a fund under provisions of State law which pre-empted
the City in such matters.
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3. Page 70r Section 9023.3 of Zoning Ordinance: It is recom-
mended that this section be reinstated for consistency with
the format of the proposed Citywide Zoning Ordinance, and
that the uses listed therein be deleted from the fallowing
section regarding CUP's.
4. Page 73, section 9023.6(j) of Zoning Ordinance: It is
recommended that the phrase: uunless a preferential parking
zone exists or is established in the area of the develop-
ment" be added to the end of this item.
5. Page 74, section 9023.8 of Zoning Ordinance: It is recom-
mended that the Plan Reimbursement Fee section be deleted.
The City has prepared special plans and development regula-
tions for a number of areas including the Third street Mall
and Main Street without creating special fees for such areas
relating to planning costs incurred. Preparation of plans
such as the HASP are part of the normal planning functions
of the city.
6. Page 75, Parcel Rezonings: Staff recommends reinstatement
of the third and fourth bullets on this page. These are two
areas where the Planning Commission did not take a position
on how the properties in question should be zoned.
The residential character of the properties on the east side of
20th street between Wilshire Boulevard and Arizona Avenue
justifies a residential zoning classification. R2 zoning is
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appropriate because of the existing zoning pattern in the area
(residential areas in the vicinity are all zoned R2) and because
of the existing low scale of development.
A number of Planning Commissioners indicated that they felt a
higher density residential zoning classification (R3) should be
established in this area of 20th street, including the west side
of 20th street between Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards
(presently zoned CPl. Because the west side of 20th street in
this area is predominantly in non-residential use, staff does not
support an R3 designation and proposes no change in the CP zoning
on the west side of 20th street.
A CP designation is appropriate for the area south of Santa
Monica Boulevard which is presently zoned CA because it recog-
nizes the predominantly non-residential character of the area,
but it would also allow existing residential uses to remain and
be developed. A new zoning classification is necessary for the
CA area since the CA district will not exist once the new Zoning
Ordinance is adopted. The Planning Commission did not adopt an
official position regarding this area.
The CA-zoned area west of 21st street between Santa Monica
Boulevard and Broadway is entirely in non-residential use; this
area should clearly be zoned CPo East of 21st street to Clover-
field there is a mix of uses and some Planning Commissioners felt
a residential zoning classification (R3) was appropriate.
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. '\
CONCLUSION
The Hospital Area specific Plan was designed to meet the require-
ment of the Land Use and Circulation Elements which stated that
Specific Plans were needed for the areas around and including the
two hospitals in Santa Monica. It was determined that one
Specific Plan could be developed which would meet the needs of
the health care providers, the residential neighborhoods and the
other commercial properties. The HASP provides the area with
guidelines for development and by using two CP designations, CP-3
and CP-5, it will assure that the low scale residential character
of the existing neighborhoods will be protected.
BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT
The recommendations of this staff report would not result in
budget/fiscal impacts.
RECOMMENDATION
The staff respectfully recommends that the City Council:
1. Conduct a Public Hearing, affording interested persons to
provide comments on this matter:
2. Direct the staff to make the following changes to the HASP:
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, l
a. Delete the second sentence of Objective Number 22 on
page 51 and add: "Should preferential parking exist or
be established in the area of the development, the free
parking requirement shall not apply."
b. Delete Objective Number 27 on page 52.
c. Reinstate Section 9023.3 (j) of proposed Zoning Ordi-
nance on page 73, and delete uses I isted in section
9023.3 from section 9023.4.
d. Add the phrase: "unless a preferential parking zone
exists or is established in the area of the develop-
ment" to section 9023.6 of the proposed Zoning Ordi-
nance on page 73.
e. Delete Section 9023.8 of proposed Zoning Ordinance on
page 74.
f. Reinstate the third and fourth bullets on page 75 to
rezone the CA area to CP, and zone the CP-zoned land on
the west side of 20th street between Wilshire Boulevard
and Arizona Avenue to R2.
3. Direct staff to prepare appropriate Resolutions of
Intention, consistent with Council action, to amend the
Commercial Professional Section of the Comprehensive Land
Use Ordinance and change the Classification of Property for
council adoption, following which the matter will be
referred to the Planning commission for its comments.
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Attachment A. Summary of March 2, 1987, Planning Commission HASP
discussion
B. Comments on the Hospital Area Specific Plan
C. Final Environmental Impact Report on the Hospital
Area Specific Plan
D. Hospital Area specific Plan
Prepared by: D. Kenyon Webster, Senior Planner
Joan L. Akins, Assistant to Director of Community
and Economic Development
DKW:JLA:klc
haspccl
07/08/87
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