SR-410-001 (5)
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council Meeting of July 29, 1986
Santa Monica, California
TO: The Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Study Session on the Final Draft Third Street Mall
Specific Plan and Final Environmental Impact Report
INTRODUCTION
This report summarizes the major findings, policies, and programs
contained in the Final Draft Third street Mall Specific Plan
which was approved by the City Planning Commission on July 14,
1986. The Final Draft Specific Plan consists of the Draft
Specific Plan which was prepared by consultants and an addendum
containing modifications to be incorporated into the document
which were approved by the Planning Commission. (See Attachment
1: Final Draft Third Street Mall Specific Plan.) This report
also transmits to the City Council the Final Environmental Impact
Report (FEIR). (See Attachment 2: Final Environmental Impact
Report.) The FEIR consists of the Draft EIR, public comments on
the Draft, and staff responses to comments. On July 14th, the
Planning Commission also recommended that the city Council
certify the Final ErR.
BACKGROUND
The Third Street Mall Specific Plan is a joint planning effort
between the Third street Development Corporation (TSDC) and the
City. The Specific Plan was prepared by a team of land use,
economic, arChitectural/urban design, and parking and traffic
consulting firms.
The Final Draft Plan was the result of a planning process that
has included:
o the inventory and description of existing conditions in the
Third street Mall area,
o the establishment of goals and objectives for the Third
Street Mall specific Plan area,
o the preparation and evaluation of alternative revitalization
options,
o
the prepara tion and
Commission and City
provided the basic
would be prepared,
approval
Council
framework
in concept by the Planning
of a preliminary plan that
around which the Draft Plan
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&S-f
JUL 2 9 JJI.
o the preparation of a Draft Specific Plan, and
o the approval by the Planning Commission of the Final Draft
Specific Plan which consisted of the Draft Plan with certain
modifications.
Six pUblic workshops were held for Mall merchants and the general
public to receive input and comments on goals and objectives, and
on the alternative revitalization options which were transmitted
to the Planning commission in March 1985.
A Preliminary Specific Plan was prepared based on direction
provided by the TSDC Board of Directors, ci ty council, Mall
merchants, property owners, and the general public.
The Planning Commission held meetings in August and September
1985 to discuss the Preliminary Third street Mall Specific Plan
and adopted a series of motions which provided the City Council
with recommendations on several aspects of the preliminary Plan.
Individual Commissioners expressed their support of the basic
approaches, concepts, and directions proposed in the Preliminary
Plan but did express some concerns about specific provisions
which could be reviewed and discussed when the specific Plan was
drafted and reviewed by the Commission.
On October I, 1986, the City Council reviewed the Preliminary
Plan and provided City staff with comments on the document.
councilmembers generally expressed support for the concepts
contained in the Preliminary Plan and for the comments made by
Planning Commissioners. The Draft Third Street Mall Specific
Plan was prepared based on the contents of the preliminary Plan
and on comments from the Planning Commission and City council.
SUMMARY OF FINAL DRAFT SPECIFIC PLAN
The Final Draft Third street Mall Specific Plan contains goals,
policies, programs, improvements, implementation measures, and
funding sources that are intended to revitalize the Third street
Mall and surrounding area.
The Final Draft Specific Plan contains four sections:
A) Background: contains an introduction to the document,
provides a description of the existing conditions in the
project area, and estimates the market demand for various
land uses to the year 2000.
B) The Plan: contains a general goal and objectives for the Plan
as well as specific goals, objectives, and policies related
to land use and development standards, circulation and
parking, open space, housing, noise, seismic safety, public
safety, and conservation in the Specific Plan area.
C) Design Guidelines: establishes guidelines for physical
improvements to the Mall common area and other public areas
in the Specific Plan area. The guidelines are intended for
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use by architects hired by the city to design public area
improvements. The guidelines also incorporate the Third
street Mall Design Guidelines already approved by the
Architectural Review Board and Planning Co~~ission which will
guide the design of private improvements to existing and new
buildings on the Mall and the Outdoor Dining Guidelines which
will guide the design of dining and sales facilities on the
Mall common area.
D) Implementation: describes those actions and public
expenditures necessary to implement the Specific Plan,
proj ects the resul tant private sector activity that will
likely result from pUblic investment in the area, describes
the financing mechanisms required to provide for public
improvements, and allocates responsibilities for implementing
the Specific Plan bet~.,een the City and the Third street
Development Corporation. This section also contains an
employment plan that both describes the implications of the
Specific Plan on employment in the area and provides policies
targeting employment opportunities for unemployed and
underemployed individuals.
The Final Draft Specific Plan does not contain the Zoning
ordinance section included in the appendix of the Draft specific
Plan. Rather than being adopted as part of the Mall specific
Plan, the zoning regulations for the Third street Mall area will
be prepared and approved in conjunction with the revision of the
City's zoning Code. It is intended that the City's revised
Zoning Code establish a ne"./ lITSll zoning classification for the
Third Street Mall area that will codify the land use and
development standards contained in the Specific Plan.
PROJECT AREA DESCRIPTION
The Third Street Mall specific Plan project area contains
approximately 38 acres of land. The project area is bounded by
2nd and 4th streets between Wilshire Boulevard and Broadway.
There are currently about 1.4 million square feet of floor area
in buildings located in the project area and 1.1 million square
feet of public parking structures and lots.
For those topics related to parking and financing public
improvements in the project area, peripheral blocks located on
the east side of 4th street and the west side of 2nd street are
discussed in the Specific Plan. This expanded area corresponds
to the existing Downtown Parking and Business Improvement
District for which the parking structures were originally built.
This Specific Plan does NOT contain land use, development, or
other standards for these peripheral blocks. Standards for these
peripheral blocks are contained in the adopted Land Use and
Circulation Elements of the General Plan.
The Third street Mall and surrounding area possess potential
opportunities to attract an increase in economic activity. A
primary opportunity to revitalize the area is to capitalize on
the unique location of the Mall and its potential linkage to
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major uses and destinations in the surrounding area such as Santa
Monica Place, the Pier, Palisades Park, and the beach. There are
also a number of problems in the Specific Plan area which must be
addressed before revitalization can occur. There are no major
destinations on the Mall to maximi z e pedestrian acti vi ty , the
depth of many buildings along the Mall is too deep for efficient
retailing, Mall activities tend to cease at 5:00 p.m. when many
shops close, and businesses along Second and Fourth streets often
duplicate uses on the Mall.
The Third Street Mall contains buildings with a broad mix of
architectural styles. However, building facades have often been
degraded with oversized signage oriented to the automobile rather
than the pedestrian and with new material that do not respect the
structure's original design integrity. Many structures are
constructed of unreinforced masonry so are potentially hazardous
during a major earthquake.
The Third street Mall common area does not provide a pleasant
pedestrian promenade. The common area is too wide and contains
scattered planters, bandstands, benches, and other street
furni ture which create a fragmented sequence of spaces without
clear organization. Landscaping blocks views across and along
the Mall. There is no consistent sign program for public signs
that direct and orient customers and visitors or for private
signs that identify businesses in the area. There are few
pedestrian connections between the public parking structures on
2nd and 4th streets and the Hall and the adj acent alleys are
unattractive and poorly maintained service roads which provide a
grim environment for pedestrians using the alleys to walk from
the parking structures to the Mall.
The Mall Specific Plan area contains six public parking
structures that provide 2,749 parking spaces. Of these, 1,465
spaces are provided for free public parking for up to three
hours, 602 spaces are provided for workers or other people who
purchase monthly or annual permits, and 682 spaces are leased for
the exclusive use of Santa Monica Place, the General Telephone
building, and the Wilshire palisades Building. There are 197
parking spaces located on surface streets in the area. A survey
conducted during a weekday peak period indicated that 80% of the
public parking was occup~ed while only about 63 % of the permit
parking and less than 50% of the leased parking spaces were
occupied. Four of the six parking structures can be expanded by
up to three additional levels. The remaining two structures are
currently at their maximum height.
The greatest amount of traffic in the specific Plan area occurs
on 4th street between Santa Monica Boulevard and Colorado Avenue
(19,000 average daily trips) and on Wilshire Boulevard (16,000 -
20,000 average daily trips). All intersections within the
Specific Plan area are currently operating at A or B level of
service.
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All infrastructural systems (storm drains and water, sewer, gas,
and electric lines) are adequate to serve future growth in the
Mall Specific Plan area.
The resident population in the community surrounding the Third
Street Mall Specific Plan area has changed between 1970 and 1980
based on information derived from the 1980 Census. The elderly
population declined by 3% while the number of residents who were
25-34 years old increased about 10%. This later group comprised
almost 25% of the total population in the area. Approximately
19% of the households in the area surrounding the Specific Plan
area had incomes between $5,000 and $9,999 and 14% had incomes
less than $5,000.
By the year 1990, it is projected that there will be a market
demand for an additional 31,000 square feet of retail space in
the Third Street Mall Specific Plan area (for a total of 718,000
square feet in the area). From 1985-1990, there will be a market
demand for approximately 32,000 square feet of office space per
year which is expected to increase to about 34,000 square feet
per year between 1990 and 1995. There is likely be a de~and for
approximately 100 units of housing in the Specific Plan area
(66,000 square feet) by 1995 and between 520 and 650 ne,.! hotel
rooms by 1990.
THE SPECIFIC PLAN
The Third street Mall Specific Plan contains eight elements which
correspond to similar topics included in the city's General Plan.
The following provides a brief summary of the contents of each
element.
Goal, General Objectives, and Theme
The goal for the Third street Mall Specific Plan is to revitalize
the Mall by:
enhancing its economic activity through the
attraction of an appropriate balance of public and
private investment providing for a diversity of uses and
job and business opportunities for all of the City's
residents, while maintaining it as a unique place and
principal center of the community, characterized by its
pedestrian, mixed-use character, scale, open air
environment, and ocean proximity.
The general objectives of the Specific Plan are to:
1) Improve the physical character of the Mall, the relationship
of its individual blocks to one another, the Mall's economic
and physical relationship to maJor peripheral uses and
destinations, and the physical and environmental character of
the alleys.
2) Attract a mix of uses to the Mall which serve a variety of
neighborhood and City-wide residents and visltors.
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3) Extend the period of activity on the Mall into the evening
and nighttime hours.
4) Accommodate new development in structures which maintain the
existing scale and character of the Mall.
5) Provide adequate, well maintained, and efficiently operated
parking to meet demand and provide a full range of access
opportunities to and from the Hall for all possible travel
modes.
6) Perform improvements to the infrastructure and circulation
system to accommodate demands generated by expanded uses and
activities in the Mall area.
7) Stimulate improved economic activity on the Mall and generate
new jOb and business opportunities for community residents.
The Specific Plan does not advocate developing a specific design
theme for the Mall. The Specific Plan recognizes that the Mall
is a unique complex of buildings, businesses, and pedestrian
spaces serving a diversity of users which is uniquely located in
an open air setting near the ocean. The Specific Plan attempts
to enhance this character and quality of the Mall to make the
area a more vital center for the community.
Land Use Element
The land use component of the Specific Plan provides the land use
and development standards for the Third street Mall Specific Plan
project area. In general, the land use and development standards
permit buildings with retail and other pedestrian activity uses-
on the ground floor along the Mall to encourage the retention,
renovation, and/or adaptive reuse of existing structures on the
Mall and to promote new development that is compatible with the
existing scale. The Plan permits larger structures with the same
types of uses as the interior parcels at corner parcels where
streets cross the Mall. The Plan permits the largest structures
along 2nd and 4th Streets that are not necessarily required to
contain retail or other pedestrian activity uses at the ground
floor. The existing scale of buildings in the area are visually
maintained by requiring that the upper floors of structures be
set back away from the Mall and cross streets.
Special standards are provided for "anchor-type" development at
key locations along the Hall. These development proj ects are
intended to provide for increased pedestrian and economic
activity in the area. These standards require that department
stares provide retail shops with visual and physical access to
the Hall along at least 70% of the l1all frontage and require
hotels to provide retail shops, restaurants, or other customer
intensive uses with visual and physical access to the Mall along
70% of the Hall frontage. Both types of development require
approval of a Site Plan Review Permit.
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The Specific Plan established 3 zones and 4 overlay areas that
provide for different land use and development standards tailored
to the unique circumstances of that zone or area.
Zone 1:
provides land use and development standards for parcels
facing the Mall in the middle of each block.
Land uses: Ground floor uses are limited to those
which are likely to be lively and of visual
interest to pedestrians such as retail,
restaurants, food sales, entertainment, and
similar uses. Uses that are less
pedestrian-oriented may be located on the
alley side of the a structure or on upper
floors
FAR: 3.0 maximum
Height: 4 stories (56') but any building height
above 30' must be set back from the front
property line so that no portion may
project beyond a 36.9 0 angle measured from
the horizontal. This standard is intended
to maintain solar access to the Mall common
area, minimize the perceived mass of
buildings along the Mall, and ensure that
new construction is compatible with the
existing prevalent scale of buildings along
the Mall.
Zone 2:
Provides land use and development standards for Mall
fronting parcels located at the cross street corners of
most blocks on the Mall.
Land uses: same as in Zone 1.
FAR: 3.0 but allows an additional 0.5 FAR bonus
for parcels 15,000 square feet or larger on
which all required parking is provided
on-site or within 300' of the parcel but
not in the public parking structure. This
encourages development of additional
parking in the area on parcels most capable
of accommodating that parking.
Height: 4 stories (56') with same setback above 30'
on the Mall facing portion of a structure.
For the cross street facing portion of
building, the setback above 30' is 15' for
wide parcels (100' or more wide) or no
setback for narrow parcels (less than 100'
wide). This requires that the Mall facing
side of a building be consistent with other
development along the Mall and the cross
street facing side of a structure be
consistent with the more intense urban
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feeling of development located on the cross
streets.
Zone 3:
Provides the land use and development standards for
parcels fronting on 2nd and 4th streets and on Wilshire
Boulevard.
Land use: same as other zones but permits uses on the
ground floor, except on Mall fronting
parcels, that are less customer intensive
such as general office, financial
institutions, and medical offices. Mall
fronting parcels must contain ground floor
uses that are pedestrian oriented.
FAR: 3.0 with same bonus as permitted in Zone 2
for on-site or off-site parking.
Height: 4 stories (56 I ) or up to a maximum of 6
stories (84') by approval of a site plan
review permit. No setback for building
height above 30' is required.
Overlay Zones: Zone A (1300 block of the Mall east side)
Zone B (1400 block of the Mall both sides)
Zone C (Wilshire end of the Mall area)
Zone D (areas adjacent to each parking
structure)
Anchor land uses: No more than two department stores of at
least 65,000 square feet: a hotel: a mixed
use project that contains entertainment,
design related, and/or residential uses;
and passageways connecting the parking
structures and the Mall.
FAR: Zone A -- 3.0 and with approval of a Site
Plan Review Permit, allow three additional
square feet of building area for each one
square foot of parcel area dedicated to the
City for a central plaza up to a maximum of
3.5 FAR for the parcel.
Zone B -- 3.0 or up to an additional 0.5
FAR bonus for a mixed use "entertainment
center" if it provides all required parking
either on-site or off-site in close
proximity.
Zone C -- 3.0 or up to an additional 0.5
FAR bonus for the same item included in
Zone B.
Zone D -- 3.0 or up to an additional 0.5
FAR bonus on parcels of 15,000 square feet
or less if the development contains a
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public passageway connecting the Hall and
the adjacent pUblic parking structure.
Floor area devoted to the passageway and
one-half of the area devoted to residential
uses shall not be included in the FAR
calculation. For parcels over 15,000
square feet, the additional 0.5 FAR bonus
shall be permitted only with approval of a
Conditional Use Permit.
Height:
Zone A -- 56' or, for "anchor" uses, up to
84' with approval of a Site Plan Re.vie.-l
Permit if at least 12% of the parcel is
dedicated to the city for the Mall central
plaza.
Zone B -- 4 stories (56') but any building
height above 30' must be set back at a
36.90 angle measured from the horizontal.
Zone C -- ~ stories (56') or up to 84' with
approval of a site plan review permit if
the first two floors above 301 are set back
at an angle of 36.9 0 with no additional
setback required for the additional height
above that second floor. No setback is
require for the Wilshire Boulevard
frontage.
Zone D 56' or up to 84' if the
additional height is for floors devoted to
residential uses. The first two floors
above 30' must be set back at an angle of
36.9 0 with no additional setback required
far the additional height above that second
floor.
The Specific Plan projects that there will be 794,900 square feet
of ne'..,., development in the Third street Mall area by the year
2000. Of this total, 523,B15 square feet will require the
replacement of existing development in the area and 221,085
square feet will represent a net increase in development in the
area.
Open Space Element
The open space component of the Specific Plan describes the open
space improvements and programs for the Third street Mall area.
The specific Plan contains policies to:
1) Improve the physical character and image of the Mall to
attract increased pedestrian activity by:
o introducing streetscape and landscape features that
"soften" the existing hard surfaces of the Hall, a central
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plaza that will provide a focus of activity and assembly
area for the Mall, and design elements such as lighting
that increases the Mall user's sense of security;
o reorganizing the Mall elements and spaces to lessen the
current sense of oversized width and fragmentation; and
2)
o providing visual landmarks that help orient the user and
outdoor performance and assembly spaces.
Improve the relationship arnO:1.g the three individual block
along the Mall and the relationship between individual
buildings and the Mall common area by:
o providing new landscaping and street furniture that
maintains a clear and unified organization to the Mall
common area along the three blocks and design elements
that physically and visually link the three blocks;
o permitting the extension of commercial uses onto the Mall
common area such as outdoor dining, display, and sales
areas.
3) Improve the alleys consistent ,...i th their use as service,
access, and pedestrian thoroughfares by:
o improving the alley facades of buildings and the areas
where pedestrians cross the alley from the parking
structure and
o requiring pedestrian entries to buildings from the alley
and increased lighting for alley areas.
4) Improve the physical relationship of the Mall to major
peripheral uses and destinations by:
o establishing definable entries to the Mall from the cross
streets, a sign program locating the direction and means
of access to major off-site uses, and visual and physical
links to surrounding areas;
o providing vistas into the Hall from the cross streets,
improved landscaping and other amenities on Arizona Avenue
to Palisades Park, and design elements that physically and
visually link the Mall with Santa Monica Place; and
o introducing a sig:1. program in the area that identifies the
points of access to the Mall and adjacent parking
structures.
Parking and Circulation Element
The parking and circulation component of the specific Plan
describes improvements to the parking facilities and circulation
system that are necessary to accommodate and stimulate new
development in the Mall area. The Specific Plan states that 300
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parking spaces should be added to parking structure 5 (1400 block
of 4th street) beginning in 1986-87 to avoid a potential shortage
of parking in the area by 1990 and to provide a supply of extra
parking to help stimulate development in the area. The Specific
Plan also recommends that the city add 600 additional parking
spaces by the late 1990 I s to provide for ample parking for
increased activity in the area. After the year 2000, the
Specific Plan states that the city should provide an additional
800 spaces in the area.
The Specific Plan assumes that hotel and department store
development will provide their required parking on-site or
off-site in close proximity. To assist in maintaining an ample
supply of parking for area customers and other visitors, the
specific Plan encourages development on 2nd and 4th Streets and
on corner parcels on the l1al1 to provide their own required
parking by permitting density bonuses for development that
provides their required parking either on-site or off-site in
close proximity to the development.
The Specific Plan public parking recommendations state that:
o the City should provide free parking for up to 2 hours in the
parking structures but charge for parking for longer periods
of time,
o the City should review the existing ratio of parking spaces
devoted to public and permit parking (currently 2/3rds for
public and 1/3rd for permit parking) and modify this
proportion if feasible, and
o the City should allocate for permit parking up to 2/3rds of
all newly constructed pUblic parking spaces or parking spaces
that become available for public use when parking lease
agreements are renegotiated and allocate for general public
parking the remaining lj3rd.
The Specific Plan states that on-street parking on the east side
of 4th Street be prohibited in order to accommodate the
anticipated increase in traffic in the area. No other
circulation improvements are deemed necessary.
Housing Element
The housing component of the Specific Plan contains the housing
objectives and policies for the area. The housing element of the
Specific Plan contains policies that are intended to:
1) assure that the area aids in meeting the housing needs of the
city by:
o encouraging development of housing in the area with
density bonuses and innovative programs to promote
- financing and development of housing and
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o pursuing or providing funding where prudent to develop
housing.
2) assure that decent and affordable housing is provided for all
social groups by ensuring that housing in the area is well
designed and insulated from noise.
3) designate suitable areas for residential uses in the Mall
area by promoting the adaptive reuse of architecturally or
historically significant structures for housing and
encouraging the preservation and rehabilitation of existing
units in the area.
Noise Element
The noise component of the Specific Plan recommends the
institution of programs intended to reduce noise levels in the
area such as more stringent enforcement of existing regulations
such as the California Motor Vehicle Noise standards! the
abatement of noise created by individuals! and the establishment
of regulations controlling noise associated with construction.
seismic Safety Element
The seismic safety component of the Specific Plan contains
policies that are intended to minimize the destructive effects of
earthquakes by, among other policies! requiring property owners
of buildings that are judged to be hazardous to file an
engineering report to ensure that the structures comply with the
Building Department's upgrading criteria.
Safety Element
The safety component of the Specific Plan contains policies that
are intended to provide for a physically safe Mall. The Specific
Plan recommends that the City initiate the following programs,
among others, to improve safety on the Mall:
1) Police and Structure Guard Program which would increase
police and guard surveillance of the parking structures.
2) Escort Service Program which would utilize structure guards
who would escort Mall employees to their cars during evening
hours.
3) Neighborhood Watch Program which would be coordinated by the
Merchants' Association.
4)
Anti-Graffiti Program which would include
removal of graffiti in the area and the
City-sponsored mural painting program.
the immediate.
instituting a
conservation Element
The conservation component of the Specific Plan contains policies
which are intended to preserve the ecological balance and natural
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resources o~ the City and to conserve energies and materials
without serlOUS interference with community needs. policies
state that the city shall, among other things, replace trees in
the area whenever necessary, endorse state standards for
insulation in newly constructed residential units, plan for a
more effective public transportation system, and encourage the
use of solar energy and natural ventilation.
URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES
The design guidelines contained in the Specific Plan are intended
to provide guidance to architects who design and public officials
who approve the design of public and private development in the
Mall area. The guidelines are intended to establish consistency
among the many design elements that are recommended for the
Mall's pUblic common area and to ensure that buildings that face
the Mall are rehabilitated or constructed in a manner sensitive
to the design scale and character of the area. The guidelines do
not necessarily provide the design solution for individual pieces
of the design program but do provide a sense of what should occur
with details to be provided by subsequent and specific design
efforts.
The Specific Plan provides general objectives and design
characteristics for pUblic improvement on the Mall. These
guidelines are provided for a Mall signage and logo program, the
use of color on the Mall, Mall entry elements, landscaping,
street furniture, paving material, lighting, banners, pavilions
and pUblic spaces, the central plaza, cross street linkages,
alley improvements, the Arizona Promenade, passageways, and
common area uses and structure heights.
The Specific Plan also provides architectural design guidelines
for private development on the Mall. These are provided by
incorporating the Third street Mall Design Guidelines prepared by
Thirtieth street ArChitects, Inc. (see Attachment 3: Third Street
Mall Design Guidelines) and the city's Outdoor Dining Guidelines
(see Attachment 4: Outdoor Dining Guidelines). The Specific Plan
intends that the city's Architectural Review Board find that the
design is consistent with these guidelines when approving the
design of new development on the Mall.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SPECIFIC PLAN
The implementation section of the Specific Plan describes the
administrative, procedural, and financial mechanisms deemed
necessary to implementing the policies and programs contained in
the Specific Plan. Implementing the Specific Plan \vill be a
cooperative effort between the city of Santa Monica and the Third
Street Development Corporation (TSDC). Each will be responsible
for specific components of the programs needed to restore the
economic vitality of the Third Street Mall and surrounding area.
Actions
The Specific Plan states that the City shall:
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1) adopt the Specific Plan and incorporate the land use and
development standards into the City's Zoning Code;
2) adopt the Third street Mall Design Guidelines for private
development and the Outdoor Dining Guidelines for uses
that are permitted to extend into the Mall common area and
require that new development and remodeling be consistent
with them;
3) establish a new assessment district to help finance pUblic
improvements in the area with assessments to be levied in
direct relationship to the benefit received from the
improvements;
4) adopt a redevelopment plan ordinance for the area to
investigate the potential benefits a redevelopment project
might have in helping to implement portions of the
Specific Plan; and
5) approve a comprehensive mUlti-year agreement with the TSDC
for the performance of selected implementation activities.
pUblic Improvement Program
The specific Plan states that the City should construct the
improvements proposed in the Public Improvement/Urban Design
guidelines section of the Plan to attract new development to the
area and to encourage rehabilitation of existing buildings. The
estimated cost of providing the common area improvements and the
initial expansion of parking facilities in the area totals $10.2
million.
pUblic and Private Implementation Phasing and costs
The Specific Plan estimates that pUblic improvements will
encourage the rehabilitation of 200JOOQ square feet of existing
development and the construction of 346,100 square feet of new
development by 1990. The investment of $10.2 million in public
improvements should trigger the investment of over $42.6 million
in private investment in the area by 1990 (including the
peripheral blocks immediately adjoining the Specific Plan area).
PUblic Financing Recommendations
To pay for the capital costs recommended in the specific Plan as
well as the operating and maintenance costs associated with these
capital projects, the Speciflc Plan recommends that the City:
1) establish a benefit assessment district with assessments
determined by the "level of benefit" each property derives
from the improvements made in the area;
2) sell and leaseback the parking structures, if necessary, to
help raise capital for the recomTIended improvement projects;
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3)
pledge revenues from the sale of parking permits in the
parking structures, the lease revenue from parking structure
retail spaces, and new fees for long term public parking in
the structures;
4)
commit tax increment funds from the existing Downtown
Redevelopment Project (Santa Monica Place) to assist in the
establishment of the new assessment district:
5)
generate revenue from leasing pavilions and outdoor dining
spaces on the Mall common area and provide a portion of this
revenue for TSDC operations; and
6)
establish a new redevelopment project for the Mall area which
may provide tax increment financing for capital projects and
may assist in the assembly of land for major new anchor
developments.
Implementation and Management Responsibilities
The Specific Plan divides the responsibilities for implementing
the policies and programs contained in the Specific Plan between
the City and the TSDC. In general, the City will remain
responsible for all capital proj ects and their operation and
maintenance and the TSDC will be responsible for developing
market opportunities for new development and rehabilitation I
capturing grant funding exclusively available for non-profit
economic development entities, working with the Merchants'
Association for help promote business on the Mall, organizing and
conducting events on the Mall that will attract visitors and
customers I advising the city on the City'S leasing of common area
pavilions I and monitoring the effectiveness of City projects and-
programs for the Mall area.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT
An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared on the Third
Street Mall Specific Plan. The EIR reviews potential
environmental effects of the proposed Specific Planl including
impacts on land use, housing, circulation, parking, utilities,
infrastructure I noisel and air quality. It also reviews fiscal,
economic, and employment issues.
The draft EIR was distributed to the Planning Commission and to
the public for review and cor.ment in April 1986. The Final EIR,
consisting of the Draft EIR, comments on the Draftl and responses
to comments, was prepared after the public comment period was
completed. On July 14, 1986, the Planning commission approved a
resolution recommending that the city Council certify the Final
EIR.
CONCLUSIONS
At this timel the City Council is not required to take any action
on the Third Street Hall Specific Plan or the Final EIR. A
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pUblic hearing is scheduled for the Council's August 12, 1986
meeting to receive public comment. At that time, the city
council will be requested to rev~e,{ the Final Draft Specific
plan, the Final EIR, and public comments, to certify the Final
EIR as recommended by the Planning co~mission, and to adapt the
Final Third street Mall Specific Plan as recommended by the
Planning Commission.
Attachment 1:
Attachment 2:
Attachment 3:
Attachment 4:
Final Draft Third Street Mall Specific Plan
Final Environmental Impact Report
Third street Mall Design Guidelines
outdoor Dining Guidelines
Prepared by: Ernesto R. Flores, Economic Development Manager
Christopher s. Rudd, Sr. Administrative Analyst
mal12cc
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