SR-410-001-05 (7)
PCD:AA:f:\share\downtown task force\moratoriumextend2005.doc
Council Mtg: July 12, 2005 Santa Monica, California
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Introduction and First Reading of an Interim Ordinance Extending the
Temporary Limits on the Expansion of Retail Uses on the Third Street
Promenade
INTRODUCTION
On November 27, 2001, the Council adopted an interim ordinance that limited the
conversion of restaurant use to any other use on the Third Street Promenade. The
ordinance has been subsequently extended and will expire on September 9, 2005. If
Council wishes for the restaurant-preservation limits to continue, further extension of the
ordinance is recommended. The interim ordinance may be continued for approximately
eight additional months, to March 26, 2006.
BACKGROUND
Maintaining the proper balance of uses on the Third Street Promenade is an important
Council goal. The original Third Street Mall was primarily a pedestrian retail mall that
failed to attract residents and visitors. That failure threatened the viability of the
downtown area. In response, the City embarked upon an extensive planning and
community participation process culminating in the adoption of the Third Street Mall
Specific Plan, now called the Bayside District Specific Plan. The Specific Plan
establishes policies to preserve the unique mixture of uses, a key element to the
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success of the Promenade. Over the years, Council has maintained the balance of
uses by enacting zoning regulations that foster the appropriate mix of restaurant, retail
and entertainment uses.
Information presented to Council in November 2001 showed risks to the mix of uses.
Five restaurants had been lost in the previous two years, with four more near or at the
end of their leases. As restaurants left the Promenade, retail uses grew, exceeding the
ten-year projection contained in the Bayside District Specific Plan within five years.
Council found that the Promenade was becoming less unique and more like an average
outdoor shopping mall and that, if allowed to continue, the trend would threaten the
economic and social welfare of the downtown area.
In response, on November 27, 2001, the City Council adopted an interim ordinance
regulating the concentration of ground floor retail uses on the Promenade by limiting the
total linear footage and square footage of retail on each block. The ordinance includes
a five percent factor to provide some flexibility for property owners. Since adoption of
the interim ordinance, the five percent factor has been largely captured on each block
by conversion of restaurants to retail use.
The Council also established a Promenade Uses Task Force to study the relevant
issues, seek feedback and input from the community, and make recommendations to
the City Council regarding the appropriate mix of uses on the Promenade.
In March 2005, Council adopted an ordinance implementing the legislative changes
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recommended by the Task Force, including simplified requirements for restaurants.
In addition, City and Bayside District staff have been pursuing implementation of the
programming, management and capital recommendations.
DISCUSSION
The Council last extended the interim ordinance in June 2003 in order to allow
appropriate time to assess the effects of the Task Force recommendations. At this time,
it is unclear how the Task Force recommendations will affect the viability of restaurants
on the Promenade. The Task Force generally felt that the recommendations would
have benefits for restaurants, though likely not enough to compensate for the rent
differential that can be paid by restaurants relative to retail. It does appear that the
interim ordinance has been effective at keeping restaurants in the mix on the
Promenade, as several restaurants have closed and been replaced by other restaurants
since the interim ordinance was first adopted.
Options that the Council may wish to consider with respect to this matter include:
1. Allow the interim ordinance to expire and rely on the Task Force recommendations
to maintain the mix of uses on the Promenade;
2. Extend the interim ordinance through March 2006 in order to provide additional time
for the Task Force recommendations to take effect; prior to expiration of the
ordinance in 2006, review if additional measures are necessary to ensure the
continued vitality of restaurants; or
3. Extend the interim ordinance through March 2006 and direct staff to prepare a
permanent ordinance implementing the restaurant preservation policies contained in
the interim ordinance.
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CEQA STATUS
The proposed ordinance is categorically exempt from CEQA under Class 5, minor
alterations in land use limitations. Because the ordinance reflects present retail
concentrations, it will not result in any new changes in land use or density and is
therefore categorically exempt from CEQA.
BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT
Adoption of the proposed ordinance would not have a direct financial impact on the City.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Council introduce the attached interim ordinance for first
reading.
Prepared by: Andy Agle, Interim Director
Planning and Community Development Department
Attachment A: Proposed Ordinance
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f:\atty\muni\laws\barry\moratoriumextendto2006-1.wpd
City Council Meeting 7-12-05 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER ____ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA EXTENDING A MORATORIUM ON NEW OR EXPANDED
RETAIL USES ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF THE THIRD STREET
PROMENADE WITH LIMITED EXCEPTIONS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Findings and Purpose. The City Council finds and declares:
(a) In 1965, the City Council sought to revitalize its declining downtown business
district by closing three blocks of Third Street to vehicular traffic in order to create a
pedestrian shopping mall pursuant to the Pedestrian Mall Act.
(b)The Third Street Mall did not attract shoppers; and, as a result, retail
businesses on the mall failed, and the downtown business district continued to decline.
(c) In 1986, the City Council again acted to save its downtown by adopting the
Third Street Mall Specific Plan to provide a framework for reviving the Third Street Mall
and surrounding areas.
(d) The Specific Plan made diversity the foundation of the mall’s future,
mandating a mixture of uses and activities sufficient to ensure that the mall would attract
a diverse group of residents and visitors.
(e) Thereafter, the City embarked upon a substantial effort to transform the
moribund Third Street Mall into a new kind of public space which would serve as a
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community gathering place, attract visitors from near and far and define the City’s
municipal character. The redesign included numerous improvements to the pedestrian
street: retail pavilions, landscaping, water elements, public benches, street lamps, and
topiary dinosaur sculptures in the central landscaped area of each block. The area was
also renamed the Third Street Promenade.
(f) This space was, from the time of its conception, distinguished from other
shopping areas, by the carefully planned and unusual mix of opportunities it afforded,
including street performers, sidewalk dining, cinema, bookstores, special events,
clothing stores, specialty shops, and night clubs.
(g) As conceived, the Third Street Promenade was not simply a shopping mall; it
was a place to go for entertainment, company, relaxation, strolling; a place where one
could watch jugglers and dancers, dine outdoors, argue politics, listen to music, browse
a bookshop, take in a movie and more.
(h) Moreover, the Third Street Promenade was planned as a gathering place for
all segments of society: children, the elderly, and people from all cultural and economic
groups.
(i) The plan succeeded, and the Third Street Promenade became a resounding
success as a favored destination for local residents, Southern Californians and
international travelers alike.
(j) As such, it became, and still is, an engine which drives Santa Monica’s
economy. However, this success has had its costs.
(k) The influx of visitors to the Third Street Promenade has brought significant
traffic and parking problems.
(l) At present, these problems are being addressed by a downtown parking
strategy; however, the problem is significant and the options are limited because the
area is very small, has been built out for decades and features a mixture of uses,
including residential, which is inconsistent with simply building larger and larger parking
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structures.
(m) Also, maintaining the delicate balance of entertainment, restaurants and
retail which is the foundation of the Third Street Promenade’s success has been an
ongoing challenge.
(n) Over the years, market forces have threatened the mix many times; and the
City has responded to preserve the Third Street Promenade’s unique character through
the adoption of laws and polices which promote the general welfare by maintaining the
Promenade’s eclectic character.
(o) In 1996, the City revised the Third Street Mall Specific Plan through the
adoption of the Bayside District Specific Plan. A critical objective of this plan remained
to “[a]ttract and accommodate a mix of uses” serving residents, visitors and tourists
during both daytime and evening hours. To this end, the specific plan established a
ten-year projection and plan for the controlled growth of retail outlets on the Third Street
Promenade.
(p) However, the actual growth of retail far outstripped the planned growth to the
point that the ten year projection is already met, just five years into the planning period.
(q) As of 2001, there was already approximately 530,000 square feet of retail on
the three block Third Street Promenade and the pressure to create more retail spaces
continued unabated.
(r) The massive influx of retail establishments displaced restaurants and
sidewalk dining.
(s) Five restaurants were lost in the two years prior to the adoption of the initial
interim ordinance and four more were near or at the end of their leases; frontage
devoted to sidewalk dining has shrunk.
(t) As reflected by these changes, the balance of uses on the Third Street
Promenade was once again threatened; this time by a loss of restaurants and influx of
additional retail. If left unchecked, this trend will deprive the Third Street Promenade of
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its unique character and vitality by rendering it simply a standard shopping mall.
(u) The influx of retail not only impacted the mix of establishment located on the
Third Street Promenade, it also exacerbated parking and traffic problems.
(v) Residents and visitors come to the Third Street Promenade for dining and
entertainment, typically for many hours. In contrast, persons who are simply shopping,
stay for shorter periods of time. The result is more people making more trips and
thereby placing ever-increasing demands on the downtown’s already overtaxed traffic
and parking capacities.
(w) These increased demands degrade the quality of residents’ lives and the
desirability of the Third Street Promenade and the City as destinations and thereby
threaten the City’s welfare .
(x) Accordingly, in order to preserve the City’s economic and social welfare, the
City Council must act in order to protect the unique qualities and vitality of the Third
Street Promenade by ensuring the best possible mix of restaurants, retail and
entertainment.
(y) In general, the City must ensure the best possible mix of restaurants, retail
and entertainment so that the Promenade remains unusual and attractive and does not
become simply an average shopping mall through the continued expansion of retail at
the expense of other uses.
(z) Similarly, the City must preserve the outdoor dining opportunities which have
become one of the hallmarks of the Promenade.
(aa) Exactly how best to accomplish this end is a complex question which
required detailed study, including a review of the specific plan.
(bb) In light of these concerns, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2030
(CCS) on November 27, 2001, a forty-five day ordinance which established a
moratorium on new or expanded ground floor retail use on the Third Street Promenade,
adopted Ordinance Number 2032 (CCS) which extended Ordinance Number 2030
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(CCS) until January 9, 2003, adopted Ordinance Number 2062 (CCS) which extended
Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS) until September 9, 2003, and adopted Ordinance
Number 2082 (CCS) which extended Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS) until September
9, 2005.
(cc) After adoption of Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS), the City Council
established a Promenade Uses Task Force to study the Promenade issues described
herein, to seek feedback and input from the community, and to make recommendations
to the City Council regarding the appropriate mix of uses on the Promenade.
(dd) The Task Force met regularly since May 2002 and completed its work in
March 2003. It considered goals and objectives for the Promenade and the Downtown,
reviewed relevant City policies and regulations, and conducted community workshops.
(ee) The Task Force subsequently prepared a series of recommendations for
review by the City Council. In March, 2005, the City Council adopted an ordinance
implementing the legislative changes for restaurants recommended by the Task Force.
(ff) At this time, it is not clear how these legislative changes and other
implementation measures will affect the viability of restaurants on the Promenade.
(gg) For the reasons described above, the City Council finds that there is a
current and immediate threat to the public health, safety or welfare and that a continued
moratorium on new or expanded ground floor retail use on the Third Street Promenade
is necessary to ensure that the character of the Promenade is preserved during the
review period and that the City remains able to ensure that the best possible mix of
restaurants, retail and entertainment is achieved. The approval of additional permits
related to such retail use on the Third Street Promenade pending the City’s completion
of its review of its land use policies and regulations and their implementation would
result in a threat to the public health, safety, or welfare since these changes threaten
the quality of residents’ lives and the desirability of the Third Street Promenade and the
City as a destination. The extension of Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS), Ordinance
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Number 2032 (CCS), Ordinance Number 2062 (CCS), and Ordinance Number 2082
(CCS) for a period up to and including March 26, 2006, will provide the City with the
necessary time to further evaluate and undertake appropriate actions to address these
impacts.
SECTION 2. Moratorium.
(a) Subject to Section 3 of this Ordinance, a moratorium is hereby placed on the
acceptance for processing of applications for approval of tentative tract maps, tentative
parcel maps, administrative approvals, development review permits, conditional use
permits, zoning conformance determinations, business licenses, and building permits
related to a new or expanded retail use if that retail use would increase either the total
linear footage or the total square footage of retail uses on the ground floor of any given
block of the Promenade by more than five percent (5%) beyond the total linear retail
footage and total retail square footage that existed on that block of the Promenade as of
the effective date of Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS) which was extended by Ordinance
Number 2032 (CCS), Ordinance Number 2062 (CCS), and Ordinance Number 2082
(CCS). A block is defined as both sides of the Third Street Promenade to the alley and
the adjacent sides of adjoining side streets. Portions of the Third Street Promenade to
be designated as a block for purposes of this Ordinance are:
Block 1: 1200 Block of Third Street Promenade
Block 2: 1300 Block of Third Street Promenade
Block 3: 1400 Block of Third Street Promenade
(b) Subject to Section 3 of this Ordinance, all applications which have not been
deemed complete as of November 27, 2001, for approval of tentative tract maps,
tentative parcel maps, administrative approvals, development review permits,
conditional use permits, zoning conformance determinations, business licenses, and
building permits related to a new or expanded retail use if that retail use would increase
either the total linear footage or the total square footage of retail uses on the ground
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floor of any given block of the Promenade by more than five percent (5%) beyond the
total linear retail footage and total retail square footage that existed on that block of the
Promenade as of the effective date of Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS) as set forth in
Subsection (c) of this Section shall be disapproved.
(c) The total linear footage and square footage of retail uses on the ground floor
of each block of the Promenade as of the effective date of Ordinance Number 2030
(CCS) is hereby established as follows:
Block 1 961 total linear feet/137,980 total square feet
Block 2 654 total linear feet/91,220 total square feet
Block 3 820 total linear feet/114,193 total square feet
(d) Priority for a business to be allocated any portion of the five percent (5%)
retail linear or square footage expansion authorized by subsections (a) or (b) of this
Section shall be established based on the issuance of a building permit for tenant
improvements or the receipt of a business license for the retail use. This priority shall
be lost if the building permit expires or the business fails to open within one year after
the original business license is issued.
SECTION 3. Vested Rights. This Ordinance shall not be applicable if an owner
can establish a vested right to develop or operate commercial property otherwise
prohibited by Section 2 of this Ordinance.
SECTION 4. This Ordinance shall be of no further force and effect after March
26, 2006.
SECTION 5. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, appendices
thereto, or prior interim ordinance inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to
the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that
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extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 6. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would
have passed this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause,
or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 8. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage
of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the
official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become
effective thirty days after its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
MARSHA JONES MOUTRIE
City Attorney
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