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SR-11-10-1987-11B . . II {J 1; .4 t)(JO \\-5 NOV 101981 NOV 1 7 1987 Monlca, Cal1fornla C/ED:CPD:DKW:JG:se COUNCIL MEETING: November 10, 1987 Santa TO: Mayor and Clty Counc~l FROM: C1ty Staff SUBJECT: Recommendat1on to Approve Land Use Plan of the Local Coastal program As Amended by the Callfornla Coastal Cornffilss1on Wlth ReV1S1ons ~ INTRODUCTION On July 9, 1987, the Callfornla Coastal CommlSS1on adopted a modlf~ed verSlon of the C1ty'S Land Use Plan (LUP) of the Local Coastal Program (LCP). In order for the LUP to become law, the C1ty and the Coastal COm.mlss~on must adopt the same verSion of the Plan. ThlS report recommends that the Councll approve the LUP as amended by the Coastal CommlSSlon with several changes. Act~on on the LOP 15 critlcal, not only to complete the coastal plannlng process mandated by State law (wh~ch wl11 eventually allow the Clty to recover full permittlng authorlty ln the Coastal Zone), but also because 5ubstantlal Coastal Conservancy funds for restoratlon of Santa Monlca P1er are contlngent upon a certlfled LUP. BACKGROUND A Local Coastal Program (LCP) 15 requ1red by State law. The draft Land Use Plan (LUP) of the City's LCP was forwarded to the - 1 - \\-8 NOV 1 0 1987 NOv 1 7 1987 . . P1ann~ng Comm1.ss1.on on September 18, 1985. The Plannlng CommlSSlon conducted a Publ1C Hearlng on the matter and forwarded ~ts comments, together w~th a recommendat~on that the LUP be adopted, to the CIty CounC11. Coastal statf comments were recel ved on January 31, 1986. In June 1986, after conducting a publ ~c Hear lng, the Cl ty Counc 11 adopted 1ts verSlon of the LUP. In July 1987, the Coastal COffiffi1.SS10n conducted a PubllC Hear1ng and adopted a modlf~ed verSlon of the LUP. In September 1987, the Plannlng COmm1.SS10n conducted a publlC hear1ng and recommended that the LUP be adopted as amended by the Coastal CommlSSlon and Plannlng CommlSS10n. SANTA MONICA'S LUP State law reqUIres each coastal ]urlsdictlon to prepare a Local Coastal Program (LCP) that addresses requ1.rements of the S,tate Coastal Act. LCP's prepared by local jurlsdlct1.0nS are subJect to reVlew and cert1.f1.Catlon by the Callfornla Coastal CommISSIon. Once the LCP lS certlfled, responsibll1ty for l.mplementatlon of State Coastal Act provis1ons reverts to the local government. A local government may submlt ltS entlre Local Coastal program at one tlme or in two separate components: the Land Use Plan (LUP), show1ng the permltted uses and settlng out pollcles for carrYlng out the goals of the Coastal Act; and the Implementing Ordinances, WhlCh 1mplement the pollcies specified in the Land Use Plan. - 2 - . . Santa Monlca has chosen the optlon of submlttlng lts Local Coastal Program in two stages. The fIrst component 15 preparatlon of the Land Use Plan. The LUP lS conSIstent WIth the CIty'S General Plan and addresses the reqUirements of the CalIfornla Coastal Act. The Implementlng Ordlnances WIll follow Coastal Comm1ssion reVIew and approval of the Land Use Plan. The CIty WIll Implement the LUP prImarily through adoption of the rev~sed ZonIng Code, although development of some speclal lmplementa tIon programs WIll also be necessary. Preparatlon of the lmplementation program lS expected to take at least one year following certIfIcatIon of the LUP. The LUP includes many polICIes WhiCh WIll requlre elaboratlon ~n the Implementatlon program. Development of the speCIfICS of the ~mplementatlon program is the C~ty's respons1b1l1ty and wll1 ~nclude reVIew and hear Ings by the Planning Commisslon and _Cl ty CounCll prlor to consideratIon by the Coastal ComffilSS10n. PLANNING PROCESS The orIginal verSIon of the Coastal Land Use Plan (LUP) was approved by the Clty CounCIl on January 14, 1981, after conductlng extens~ve local workshops, publlC hear~ngs and draftIng of POllCY language. The process ~ncluded part~cIpatlon of a Local Coastal program advisory committee, comprlsed of members of the pUblic, PlannIng Commlss~on and Clty staff. In February, 1981, the Reg lona1 Comm~ss lon staff re] ected the LUP submIttal as beIng Incomplete prImarIly because the LUP d~d not 1nclude a Land Use Map. On Apr~l 12, 1981, the Santa MonIca Clty - 3 - . . Councll resclnded the prevlously subm1tted LUP so that the Hous1ng and Vlsual Qual~ty Components could be rev1sed to reflect changes 1n local op1n~on on pollc1es formulated 1n each of these components. Subsequently, the C1ty began to re-examlne c1tywlde plann1ng and development lssues, resulting 1n the eventual adoptl.on of new Hous~ng, Land Use, and C1rculatlon Elements of the General Plan. Because thlS broad plannlng effort would affect the Coastal Zone as well as all other areas of the Clty, substantlal work on the LUP was not begun untl1 overall land use and development standards were determ~ned through the c1tyw1de plannlng process. In 1982, as th1S comprehenslve c~tywlde plann10g process was underway, the Cl ty reta1ned a consultant to prepare a rev1sed draft LUP. In January, 1983, a revlsed prellffilnary draft LUP was - submltted to the Coastal staff for reVlew. Coastal staff d~d not respond W1 th comments unt~l September, 1983, when rev iSlons to the January 1983 preliminary draft were suggested. At th1S same tlme, lntenslve work on the cltywlde Land Use and Clrculat10n Elements was reach1ng a key stage so further reV1S10ns to the LUP were deferred untll after adoptlon of the revlsed General Plan Elements. The Current version of the LUP l.ncorporates much of the preceding plannlng efforts, such as the 1981 LUP and the development standards adopted ~n the City's Land Use Element. This LUP also reflects current condlt1ons of and plann1ng for the Pier and the Th1rd Street Mall. The LUP lncludes standard Coastal Act - 4 - . . pollc~es that have been tailored to the Clty'S from the CIty'S local Land characteristIcs, Use Element. and development pol~cles ORGANIZATION OF THE LAND USE PLAN The LUP ~s d~vIded lnto SlX chapters. Chapter I descr ibes the background and purpose of the Local Coastal Plan. It provides a br 1ef hlstory of the State' 5 mandate to protect the Callfornla coastlIne for future generatIons by plannlng for the orderly developmen t of th1S val uable resource. It al so descr lbes Santa Monica's role ln that plann1ng effort. Chapter II descrlbes 1n deta1l the Coastal Zone of Santa Monlca. For ease of analysls and because of the var lety of land uses wlthln the Coastal zone, the Coastal Zone has been dlv~ded lnto eIght sub-areas. ThIS chapter descr ibes cur rent cond1 tlons and the coastal ~ssues that arIse In each sub-area. Chapter III dlscusses flve maJor POllCY tOpICS: Access Recreat~on and Vlsltor Serving Facilitles Environmental Qual1ty Scenlc and Visual Resources Development The dlScusslon of each tOplC includes the eXIstIng condItIons as well as some of the opportunitIes, problems, or constralnts that currently exist. - 5 - . . Chapter IV 15 the p1votal component of the Land Use Plan. It contalns the speclf1c pollc~es organlzed by Issue group, adopted for the Coastal Zone in Santa MonIca. Chapter V descrlbes the potentIal 1mpact of the plan on var10US sub-areas of the Coastal Zone. The entlre Land Use Plan 15 summarIzed ~n a ser1es of Lana Use Maps. ADOPTION PROCESS Adoptlon of an LUP by the Clty and certif~cat1on by the Cal1forn~a Coastal CommlSS ~on 15 cr ~ tIcal for several reasons. W1thout a cert1f~ed LUP, the C1ty may not proceed wIth the LCP lmplementatlon program, Wh1Ch w1Il allow the Clty to ~ssue development perm1ts In the Coastal Zone Wh1Ch currently must be ~ssued by the Coastal Commlss~on. - In add~t1on to prIvate developers, the C1ty Itself is also subJect to Coastal perm~t requlrements. One maJor Municipal proJect WhlCh lS slgnlflcantly affected by the lack of a certlf~ed LUP 15 PIer Restoratlon. The Callfornla Coastal Conservancy approved $l, 000,000 1n aSSIstance to the C1 ty for development of the PIer Carousel Park. However, by the terms of agreement WIth the Conservancy, the CIty cannot dra\\I down on $850,000 of these funds untll an LUP ~s certIf~ed. This sltuatlon creates a contlnulng negatlve balance in the P1er Fund, and effectIvely results in s~gnlf~cant opportunIty costs fOr Santa MonIca, SInce the Clty must utIlIze Its own funds for the proJect. Other Conservancy funds WhlCh may be avaIlable for PIer restoratlon also cannot be accessed unt~l the LUP 15 cert~fIed. - 6 - . . MODIFICATIONS TO LUP The Coastal CornmlSS1on has made numerous changes to the C~tyl s LUP. However, most of these are techn~cal ln nature and result ln an lmproved document. Clty staff supported the mod~flcatlons at the July 9, 1987 Coastal CommiSSIon hear Ing. The Coastal Cornmlss~on only made changes to the Pollcles sect~on of the LUP, whleh beg1ns on page 60 of the revlsed document. Some of the more substant~ve changes are dlscussed below. Policy 12, page 64. As revlsed, thIS pol~cy would create a speclal development fee for access Improvements to the beach area north of the P~er along Paclflc Coast Highway. The Implementat1.on program would establ~sh tne spec~flcs of the fee program. policy 16, page 64. ThlS POllCY requ~res that park1ng space? In new developments be avallable for publIc use durlng non-busIness hours. Again, the implementatlon program WIll need to establlsh spec~flc standards for th1S POlICY to ensure that lt lS workable and equltable. The policy would not preclude charges for use of spaces, and the Implementation program is expected to address securlty and other appropriate 1ssues. policy 18b, page 65. ThIS POlICY discourages use of public beach parkIng lots for non-beach use except dur~ng evenlng hours. Policy l8c, page 65. ThIS is revltallzatlon of Santa MonIca P~er. requlrernents, allows phaslng-In of a cr 1 tIcal POllCY for It establIShes PIer parkIng replacement parklng, and - 7 - . . speclfles the absolute number of requ1red P1er parkIng spaces. The polley establ~shes certa1nty for Coastal parklng requlrements, WhICh w~ll allow plannlng for the Pler to proceed. Policy 19, page 66. ThlS poll.cy would mandate a pl.lot coastal area shuttle system, allowlng up to flve years for lmplementatlon of a pl.lot program in consideratIon of the slgn~f~cant cap~ tal and operat1ng costs assocIated with shuttle operatlon, as well as to allow careful design of a shuttle program. Policy 28c, page 68. ThIS polley would requ1re the development of a north beach extenslon of the beach pedestr1an promenade. Policy 38, page 70. ThlS POlICY would reqUIre mltlgatlon where a new development removes lower-cost lodglng faCIlItIes. M~tlgatlon may take the form of replacement of such facll1tles as part of the new development, or payment of a fee to the C1 ty_ for development of such faCIllt1es. The lmplementatlon program would develop the speclf~cs of the m1tlgatlon POllCY. Policy 59, page 74. As revlsed by the Coastal Comm~ss~on, thlS poll.cy would effectlvely requlre the development and lmplementatlon of a new zonlng class~flcatlon for the pr~vate resldentlal area located north of Santa Monlca Pler along Paclflc Coast Hlghway. Part of th1S area is currently zoned R4, allowl.ng hlgh-denslty development. The new POllCY would speclfy new development could not exceed ex lsting densl t1es on lnd 1 vldual lots, that new resldentlal development on vacant lots could not exceed one unlt, and that new development on any parcels currently used for prlvate beach clubs must conslst of - 8 - . . V lSl tor-serv ~ng, beach- rela ted uses. The Coastal Comm lSSlon 1S recommendlng th~s pol~cy 1n response to traff1c cond~tl.ons on Pac~fl.c Coast Hlghway, and to promote vlsltor-servlng development at the beach, wh~ch is a reg10nal recreat~on resource. Policy 64, page 75. Thl.s POllCY, whl.ch establl.shes development standards for the south beach area, also ~ncludes speclal standards for a Clty-owned lot Wh1Ch 1S currently zoned R4 adJacent to the Prltlkl.n bUl1dlng. The Clty requested these standards to accommodate a potentlal development WhlCh would replace rent-controlled un1ts currently located on Ocean Avenue near the P~er. Removal of these unl ts from thelr present 51 te may be necessary to pr OV lde a new par klng str ucture serv lng the P~er and the Rent Control Board may reqUlre that the C~ty replace the un1ts at a comparable locatlon. The Coastal Comm1SSlon also recommended var lOllS changes to the maps of the LUP~ these are summarized on page 36 of the Coastal Commiss1on staff report. Changes to the maps wlll be made conSlstent wl.th flnal Clty action on the LUP. It is 1mportant to note that the LUP standards reflect eXlstlng adopted City pOll.Cles. Should the C1ty adopt new standards (for example as a result of tne Ocean Park rezonlng study or because of changes to tne draft Zonlng Ordinance), revlsion of the LUP would be necessary. - 9 - . . PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS On September 14, 1987 the Plannlng Comm~SSlon recommended that the LUP be adopted WI. th several amendments. The Commlss10n' S rev~ew of the LUP focused on Chapter IV WhlCh conta lns POllCY statements. The recommendatlons together wlth a staff response, are dlscussed below. 1) POI1CY 12, l6, page 64 and POI1CY 59, page 74. The Plannlng Commlss~on voted to recommend that the Clty Attorney evaluate the "nexus" lssue regardlng fee and other exactlon type pollcles prlor to Councll conslderatlon of the LUP. Staff agrees wlth the Planning Commlssion's concern about potential problems and llabllltles ~n relat~on to lmposlt~on of development fees, access rlghts, change of zone or land use proposed ~n the LUP. Staff belleves that thlS lssue should best be addressed in the lrnplernentatlon phase of the LCP. Staff plans to work closely wlth the Clty Attorney's off~ce to address the Plannlng Comrnlss10n's concerns over th1S lssue in the Phase III ~mplementatlon of the LCP. 2) POllCY 59, page 74. The Commiss10n voted to recommend that staff notlfy the owners of north beach property that the LUP lS comlng before the Councll. Staff has provlded malled notlce to property owners on north beach. - lO - . . 3) POlICY 59, page 74. The Commlss~on voted to recommend one guest parklng space per slngle famIly house ln the north beach area adJacent to Paclflc Coast Hlghway be requ1red. Staff recommends that thlS POllCY not be changed at thls tlffie. ThlS POlICY IS not unlque to Santa Monlca. The Coastal COffiffilSS10n has required two guest parkIng spaces In other Jurlsdlctlons, for example Ven~ce and San Dlego. The Commlsslon Vlews the north beach area of Paciflc Coast HIghway as a hlgh traff~c l.mpact area. Further, areas l.mmedlately adJacent to the beach generally have hlgher parkIng demand. Tandem parklng for these spaces ~s allowed, whlch may address concerns about the provlslon of more parklng. The Coastal CommlSSlon would v~ew a change to thlS parkIng standard as substantlve and requlre a new hearIng before the CommlSSlon. The tlme lImIt for LUP certlflcatlon expires ln February 1988. After certIflcatlon the Clty has the right three t~mes per year to brIng amendments before the Coastal CommlSSlon. ThlS ~ssue could be addressed after certlflcatlon, or as part of the LCP l.mplementatlon program. 4) POlICY 84, page 78. The Comm~sslon voted to request reVISlon of thl.s POlICY as follows: 84. The Rand area and adJacent parcels shall .attJZSJrlJrlJZS~.at~ include VIsltor-servlng uses, lncludlng hotel accommodatlons, commercIal recreatIonal, cultural and publlC recreatIonal facll1tles .an~ JZSttit~ ~$i. Existing and new off~ce use shall - II - . . also be permltted except along the ground floor street frontage of Ocean Avenue south of Parcel l3. Staff be11eves that thlS recommended language clarlfying ln nature and recommends It be accepted. change lS OCEAN PARK INTERIM ORDINANCE The CIty Councll adopted an lnter~m ordInance for the Ocean Park area in August 1987. ThIS ordlnance 15 lnconslstent WIth the Ocean Par k resldentlal development standards of the LUP, which reflect exist1ng zonlng. The lnterlm ordlnance requlres that new development 10 eX1stlng R2, R3 and R4 areas of Ocean Park conform to R2 development standards, except that bUl1dlng heIght 15 llffilted to two storles and 27 feet. Staff IS recommendlng that POI1CY 96 of the LOP be amended to reflect the adoptlon of the lnterim Ocean Park development standards by add1ng a reference to the lnterlffi ordlnance. Once permanent standards are developed, the LUP wIll agaln be amended. BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT A one mlll~on dollar Coastal Conservancy grant for restoratlon of the Santa Monlca Plee IS contlngent upon a certlfled LUP. - 12 - . . RECOMMENDATION Staff respectfully recommends that the Cl ty Councl1 conduct a publ~c hearlng on tnls matter and adopt the attached resolutlon approving the LUP as amended by the Coastal Commlssion wlth the folloWlng changes: A. ReVlse Pol~cy 84 to read as follows: 84. The Rand area and adJacent parcels shall lnclude vlsltor-servlng uses, lncludlng hotel accommodatlons, commerclal recreatlonal, cultural and publlc recreatlonal facll~tles. Ex~st~ng and new offlce use shall also be perrnltted except along the ground floor street frontage of Ocean Avenue south of Parcel 13.2. B. Revlsed POllCY 96 to read as follows: Pending the development of permanent revised development standards for the Ocean Park resldent1al neighborhood, new residential development shall be governed by Ordinance Number 1416 (CCS), which 1S attached hereto and 1ncorporated by reference. itYi.e f6t~.an ,~tJ< t~"t./J.Jifttj.j.J. 1i~t9:1Yi~~t}1~~/J. ,S}1.aJ.J. t~t.atn t~Ji ~tt$ttng ~tt ~t ~~PJ..etj X~~, ~.e~t~~ ~n~ ~j.9:1}1 ~~ft$tti t.e$t~.enti~X ~.e1~J.~pm.efttj p~~Xtt p.atX$ ~n~ ~'s.e$ ~~t~.aJ.J.i .a,S,S~tt.at.e~ ~j.tYi t.e$j~.e1itt.aJ. 1i.ej9:1Yi~~tYip~~,Sj EXlstlng ne ighborhood par k acreage shall be mal.n talned. becomes bUllt out, the Clty shall assure recreational needs of the new res1dents do nOr: coastal resources by provlding an adequate nelghborhood recreat~onal facllltles. As the area tha t the overburden level of - 13 - Exhlblt . . A: Resolut~on adoptlng LUP B: LUP as adopted by Coastal Commlss1on C: Coastal CO~~isslon Staff Report D: Ocean Park Interlffi Ordlnance Prepared by: D. Kenyon Webster, Sen10r Planner Johanna Marle GulliCk, Ass~stant Planner DKW:JG:se w/ccdlup2 lO/21/87 - 14 -