SR-022608-1B~_
~;~Yo, City Council Report
Santa Monica®
To: Mayor and City Council
City Council Meeting: February 26, 2008
Agenda Item: ~ `4
From: Eileen Fogarty, Director of Planning & Community Development
Subject: .Approval of Statement of Official Action Denying Appeal Related to
Landmarks Commission's Designation of 423-431 Ocean Avenue.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the City Council approve the attached Statement of Official Action
denying Appeal 06APP-044 and upholding the decision of the Landmarks Commission
to designate the Colonial Revival style garden apartment complex at 423-431 Ocean
Avenue as a City Landmark.
Executive Summary and Discussion
This staff report transmits for City Council certification the Statement of Official Action
for Appeal 06APP-044. After holding a public hearing, the City Council denied the
Appeal and upheld the Landmarks Commission's approval of the designation of the
Colonial Revival style garden apartment complex at 423-431 Ocean Avenue as a City
Landmark and the property, commonly known as 423-431 Ocean Avenue (Lot 21, Block
I of the Palisades Tract in the City of Santa Monica) as a Landmark Parcel in order to
preserve, maintain, protect and safeguard the Landmark apartment complex. The City
Council's decision was based upon the findings contained in the attached Statement of
Official Action.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The recommendation presented in this report does not have any budget or fiscal impact:
Prepared by: Roxanne Tanemori, AICP, Associate Planner
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Approved:
veveiopment
Attachment: Statement of Official Action
Forwarded to Council:
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CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
STATEMENT OF OFFICIAL ACTION
ity of
anta Moniea'"
PROJECT.
CASE NUMBER:
LOCATION:
APPLICANT:
APPELLANTS:
Appeal 06APP-044
423-431 Ocean Avenue
Anthony Carr
Harry Wu and SM Ocean Star, LLC
PROPERTY OWNER: SM Ocean Star, LLC
CASE PLANNER: Roxanne Tanemori, AICP, Associate Planner
REQUEST: Appeal 06-044 of the Landmarks Commission's approval of
the designation of the Colonial Revival style garden
apartment complex at 423-431 Ocean Avenue as a City
Landmark (06LM-003).
CEQA STATUS: The project is categorically exempt from the provisions of
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to
15331, Class 31 of the.. State Implementation Guidelines in
that the project consists. of designating a property as a
Landmark thereby aiding in the preservation of a historic
resource in a manner consistent with the Secretary of the
Inferior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties
with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and
Reconstructing Historic. Buildings (1995), Weeks and
Grimmer The project is .also exempt pursuant to CEQA
Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3). Section 15061(b)(3)
provides that CEQA only applies to those projects that have
the potential for causing a significant effect on the
environment. Since the proposed action would result in the
retention of the existing structures and would not change the
existing environmental baseline, there is no potential that the
project would cause a significant effect on the environment.
CITY COUNCIL ACTION
November 27, 2007 Date.
Appeal upheld and Landmarks Commission approval reversed
based upon the findings below:
Appeal denied based on the following findings:
Other.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF ACTION: November 27, 2007
Each and all of the findings and determinations are based on the competent and
substantial evidence, both oral and written, contained in the entire record relating to the
Project. All summaries of information contained herein or in the findings are based on
the substantial evidence in the record. The absence of any particular fact from any
such summary is not an indication that a particular finding is not based in part on that
fact.
FINDINGS:
LANDMARK DESIGNATION CRITERIA (SMMC 9.36.1001
(1) It exemplifies, symbolizes, or manifests elements of the cultural, social, economic,
political or architectural history of the City.
The subject property is an excellent example of the American Colonial Revival
architectural style as applied to a small-scale garden apartment complex located
within the Palisades Tract. The property exhibits a high level of historical and
architectural integrity thereby physically manifesting the architectural history of the
City and exemplifying the second wave of residential development on Ocean
Avenue characterized by multi-family apartments during the mid 1930s. Although
designed in the popular and relatively common American Colonial Revival
architectural style, the subject property's embodiment of the idiom is of a higher level
of design, materials, and workmanship than most of the multi-family residences in
the City north of Wilshire Boulevard to which the style was. often applied. Further, as
one of many garden apartments constructed in the area, particularly along both
sides of San Vicente Boulevard west of 7t" Street, the subject property's north and
east buildings (constructed in 1936) appear to be among the earliest remaining
examples. In Santa Monica, the appearance of small-scale garden apartments
during the middle decades of the Twentieth Century was in large measure the result
of the increasing demand for housing due to the influx of workers associated with
defense-related industries and the City's on-going attraction to widows and retirees.
Furthermore, the addition of south building in 1950 was a result of the evolving
residential development pattern along Ocean Avenue that initially began with
construction of single-family residences and transitioned to denser, multi-family
residences. Finally, the Colonial Revival style was the residential style most favored
during the period of economic recovery from the Great Depression during late 1930s
when the subject property was constructed. As a result, the subject Colonial Revival
style garden apartment building manifests key elements of the social and
architectural history of the City of Santa Monica from the mid-1930s through the
early 1950s. Therefore, the subject property satisfies this criterion.
Based on the above finding, the real property, commonly known as 423-431 Ocean
Avenue (Lot 21, Block I of the Palisades Tract in the City of Santa Monica), is
designated as a Landmark Parcel to preserve, maintain, protect and safeguard the
Landmark, multi-family residential apartment complex.
The detached. utility room/parking garage located on the rear of the parcel does not
contribute to the property's historical significance and is, therefore, excluded from
the Landmark Designation of 423-431 Ocean Avenue.
VOTE
Ayes: Genser, Holbrook, Katz, McKeown, O'Connor, Shriver, Mayor Bloom
Nays: None
NOTICE
If this is a final decision not subject to further appeal under the City of Santa Monica
Comprehensive and Zoning Ordinance, the time within which judicial review of this
decision must be sought is governed by Code of Civil Procedures Section 1094.6, which
provision has been adopted by the City pursuant to Municipal Code Section 1.16.010.
I hereby certify that this Statement of Official Action accurately reflects the final
determination of the City Council of the City of Santa Monica.
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MARIA M. STEWART, 'ty Clerk Date
F:\CityPlanninglShare\COUNCIL\STOAS\2007106APP-044 Council STOA (423-431 Ocean Ave).doc