SR-022608-3A~~~
;tYo, City Council Report
Santa Monica
City Council Meeting: February 26, 2008
Agenda Item: ~ °',
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Eileen Fogarty, Director, Planning & Community Development Department
Subject: Endorsement of Frameworks Elements for the Land Use and
Transportation Element Update Process.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council endorse the strategy and framework elements
for the Land Use and Transportation Element as described in this report.
Executive Summary
The Santa Monica community cares tremendously about maintaining the character of
the City as it evolves over the next twenty years. The Land Use and Circulation
Element (LUCE) must reflect the community's vision for the future and ensure that
Santa Monica will evolve as desired. Through the nine well-attended workshops on
Neighborhood Preservation, Placemaking, Industrial Lands Areas, Transportation and,
most recently, the Boulevards the community has articulated key values and a vision for
the future. These values have been transformed into a clear strategy and direction for
the LUCE. That direction contains five key framework elements:
1. Neighborhood Stability: As the community vision for Santa Monica's future
evolves, it is clear that there is a strong community desire to maintain the
unique character of Santa Monica neighborhoods. The focus of the plan for
the vast majority of the City's area will be to protect and presence the
neighborhoods. The plan will focus on protection and sensitive transitions for
areas immediately adjacent to commercial corridors.
2. Integration of Land Use and Transportation: The plan integrally links
__ areas of land use evolution to underlying transportation infrastructure and
~lstrategies, adhering to the following key themes:
• The only areas considered to evolve over the next twenty years are along
existing or proposed transit corridors.
Activity areas are only located in places with frequent transit.
Concentration of mixed uses in these areas would create "complete
neighborhoods" reducing total trips and serving the neighborhoods by
providing walkable and bikeable services.
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3. Proactively Manage Congestion: The City must proactively work towards
the goal of reducing auto trips through aggressive measures targeting
sources of congestion. Creation of Transportation Demand Management
districts will address new and existing employers. Measuring results to
provide feedback on whether the goals are being achieved will be an
essential component to evaluate .progress of the plan.
4. Public Benefit: Ensure that the City and neighborhoods benefit from any
future development that takes place in the City. A performance-based
strategy will guide the mix of uses. The greatest incentives will encourage the
addition of affordable and workforce housing. Public benefits could also
include such items as shared parking, open space and community gathering
areas, community services and necessary infrastructure.
5. Urban Character and Form: The community cares strongly about form,
character and scale, making it essential that the plan direct the vision for
Santa Monica's built environment citywide and in specific areas.
This new direction allows the City to shape its future rather than be in a reactive role.
Background.
The purpose of this report is to seek feedback and confirmation on the proposed
integrated and cohesive Land Use. and Transportation strategy. The City Council
previously endorsed a series of Neighborhood Preservation, Placemaking and Industrial
Lands Areas Principles and provided input on proposed Transportation Strategies.
Since then, an additional Transportation workshop was held in December and a
Boulevards Workshop took place on February 9th, the ninth in a series designed to
iteratively develop the plan through consultation with the community, Planning
Commission and City Council
At the February 9th Boulevards Workshop the Planning Commission supported the
strategy for integrating land use and transportation, and the LUCE direction for public
benefit and sustainability. The Planning Commission discussed a range of issues
including: the need for economic analysis for maintainirig today's level of services,
whether the emerging nodes were all in the right locations with respect to employment
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and social services, the mix of uses such as senior /long term care, evaluating the sun
angles particularly with respect to heights on Wilshire Boulevard, balancing future
development with trips, and evaluating real-time components of traffic generation
related to uses. Staff will return to the Planning Commission with further detail on
specific land use districts.
Discussion
The challenge throughout the development of LUCE is to balance the expectations of
the community with the need to retain Santa Monica's character. The Plan must
manage change over the next twenty years in a way that is beneficial to the community.
To achieve this balance, the LUCE strategy develops tough proactive measures related
to congestion, while focusing and managing change in ways so that it contributes to the
community as a whole.
In evaluating the City's land uses, it is clear that much of the City is constrained as
existing healthy neighborhoods immediately border the commercial corridors. In many
of the commercial areas that are in close proximity to residential areas, the shallow
commercial lot depths limit possible future redevelopment without impacting the
adjacent residences. Other areas throughout the City do not meet the basic criteria for
transit access. The result is that there are very few areas where all the LUCE elements
come together. In those few areas where the LUCE criteria come together, the
community has identified the services and mix of uses necessary to create appropriately
scaled "complete neighborhoods." The workshop discussion on the boulevards and
transit areas address areas these areas.
Neighborhood Stability: For approximately 90% of the City, the plan recommends
stability and enhancements. Within the neighborhoods there are two areas of focus: (1)
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ensuring appropriate scale for residential infill; and (2) defining appropriate transitions
from the commercial boulevards to residential.
Proposed Residential Neighborhood Stability
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Land Use and Transportation Integration: The land use and transportation strategies
must be integrally linked so that mobility is enhanced and change provides
transportation options. The City has the opportunity to integrate land use strategies with
transportation infrastructure and benefit from a number of transit improvements,
including key Rapid Bus stops on Wilshire, Santa Monica, Lincoln and Pico Boulevards
and the future Exposition light rail line. The Transit improvements create opportunities
for housing and mixed use with the potential to reduce auto trips as much as 50%.
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Transportation Network
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Proactive Congestion Management: Aggressive management of employee trips are
addressed with the creation of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Districts
throughout the City and incorporating measures such as parking pricing, transit
incentives, pooling of ridesharing resources and providing facilities for flexcar, bicycling
and walking. Additional sources of congestion will also be the focus of management
tools. The desired goal is to move towards a cap on net new auto trips, reducing both
existing and new trips. Measuring results to provide feedback on whether the goals are
being achieved is essential to evaluate progress of the plan.
Public Benefit: The mechanism of performance standards to assure community benefits
is generally supported by the community. As the LUCE progresses the efforts focus
more specifically on defining and reaching agreement on specific desired community
benefits, while also developing approaches to encourage or subsidize them. The LUCE
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strategy proposes a low baseline for any future development. Performance measures
for public benefits described below are required for any height above the baseline.
• AffordableM/orkforce Housing: The most significant incentives will be to
encourage affordable and workforce housing. The community has expressed
particular interest in affordable housing to continue to foster a diverse community
and in workforce housing to attract employees to the region. The workforce
housing could be located near existing institutions for greater balance of uses
(e.g. near hospitals, near entertainment industry offices)
• Community Benefits: Some of the community benefits discussed to date include:
shared parking, new infrastructure such as sidewalks, bike facilities and street
grid refinements (Industrial Area); support for arts and cultural facilities and uses:
historic and cultural preservation; parks, community gathering and open space;
community centers for youth, teens, adults and seniors; and child care centers.
Urban Character and Form: Principles guiding future development as well as the public
realm are critical components of the City's future evolution. These Principles include
buildings scaled to enhance the pedestrian experience as well as appropriate sidewalks
to encourage pedestrian activity, and enhanced connections from neighborhoods to
boulevards (pedestrian, bus, bike and alleys). These principles are further detailed in
the Placemaking findings.
BOULEVARD DESIGNATIONS
As is required by state law, the LUCE will include land use designations that identify the
desired future land use and development intensity on each parcel. The Luce principles
will guide future .development replicated in the land use designation and maps. These
principles coupled with transportation strategies will serve as the roadmap to implement
the vision. This section focuses on key boulevards that would benefit from these
policies.
Boulevards/Activity Areas: "Mixed Use Activity Center'
• Wilshire Boulevard at Fourteenth Street
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• Santa Monica Boulevard at Fourteenth Street
• Santa Monica Boulevard at Twenty-Sixth Street
• Lincoln Boulevard at Pico Boulevard
• Lincoln Boulevard at Ocean Park Boulevard
The LUCE strategy of coordinating land use with transportation by locating activity
centers at transportation nodes is based on Principles identified during the Place
Making, Transportation and Industrial Lands workshops. Rapid Bus routes along
Wilshire, Santa Monica and Lincoln Boulevards and the future Exposition light rail line
create opportunities for housing and mixed use with significantly lower auto use.
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• Expo LRT
• Subway to
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These activity areas require certain land use characteristics in addition to being located
at strategic stops or stations. To be viable, the activity areas need to contain, or have
the ability to assemble larger commercial parcels to have enough depth from the
boulevard for the upper stories to step back from the residential uses behind them and
permit the development of shared parking facilities in subterranean garages.
Acceptable projects that build above the 32 foot base height would be required to
provide workforce and affordable housing, plus a variety of other benefits; including:
• Dedication to widen sidewalk/create median;
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• Mixed-use -with neighborhood serving uses;
• Public gathering place/activities;
• Green median;
• LEED Certified/Sustainable Design;
• Community Facilities;
• Parking District:
- Shared parking
- Off peak use of parking by adjacent residential;
• Transportation Demand Management District participation
- 50% trip reduction; and
• Provide funds for community services; arts, childcare.
Exposition Light Rail -Transit Villages: "Transit Village"
• Bergamot Station
• Station adjacent to Memorial Park
The EXPO Authority is currently preparing plans and environmental analysis for Phase
2 of the Exposition Light Rail Transit Line (LRT), extending from Culver City to
downtown Santa Monica. The EXPO Authority is projecting completion of the Santa
Monica segment around 2015. Transit stations are being planned at Bergamot Station,
a mid station adjacent to Memorial Park and the downtown station near Fourth Street
and Colorado Avenue. The EXPO Line stations provide a special opportunity to move a
large number people from automobiles to the LRT system. To take advantage of this
opportunity and in turn support the LRT, a Transit Village and Mixed-Use Creative Arts
land use would be centered around the Bergamot stop and a lower intensity node would
be located adjacent to Memorial Park. Acceptable projects that build above the 32 foot
base height would be required to provide workforce and affordable housing, plus a
variety of other benefits, including:
• Infrastructure and roadway dedication
• Mixed-use -with neighborhood serving & arts uses
• Public gathering place/activities-open space
• LEED Certified/Sustainable Design
• Community Facilities
• Parking District
- Shared parking
- Off peak use of parking by adjacent residential
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• Transportation Demand Management District participation
- 50% trip reduction
• Provide funds for community services; arts, childcare.
Downtown: "Downtown Core"
The Downtown Core area is intended to maintain and enhance the downtown area and
to provide for a balanced mix of retail, residential, entertainment and visitor-serving
uses. Key strategies include:
• New Specific Plan
• LRT station -transit oriented uses
• Maintain economic viability (uses, parking) -remains heart of community
• Role of housing
• Linkage to Civic center
Neighborhood Commercial: "Neighborhood Commercial"
• Montana Avenue
• Main Street
• Ocean Park Boulevard
These boulevards contain Neighborhood Commercial activity centers with varying
results. Main Street and Montana Avenue have developed well and are very
successful. Improving parking and the pedestrian environment are on the short list of
potential enhancements for these two boulevards. In addition to parking and pedestrian
improvements, some buildings along Ocean Park Boulevard need fagade improvements
to achieve community acceptance.. Neighborhood Commercial limits building height to
two stories and 23 feet.
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Neighborhood Commercial: "Neighborhood Commercial & Mixed Use Boulevard"
Pico Boulevard
Contrary to the relative success of Main Street and Montana Avenues, past policies
have not allowed the private sector to upgrade many of the commercial properties along
Pico Boulevard. A number of issues impact this area, but much of the difficulty relates
to the predominant small parcel sizes. Most of the commercial .parcels along Pico
Boulevard were subdivided prior to modern planning and subdivision regulations and
are too small to permit subterranean parking. As a result, existing buildings cannot be
enlarged or new buildings constructed without using the ground floor to proved parking.
Opportunity exists to create larger parcels on the south side of Pico Boulevard that
would permit new development over subterranean parking. The proposed low intensity
mixed-use land use designation would provide additional incentives to permit new
neighborhood serving retail on the ground floor with residential uses above.
Establishing parking districts and shared parking would also benefit the neighborhood
commercial on the north side of Pico Boulevard. Low scale projects that build above
the 32 foot base height in the proposed "Mixed Use Boulevard" area of Pico Boulevard
would be required to provide workforce and affordable housing, plus a variety of other
benefits, including:
• Require ground floor retail.
• Residential on upper floors with shared parking (potential parking district).
• Reduce parking requirements for desired uses such as restaurants and
cafes. Actively re-develop auto-oriented uses.
• Recording Academy property opportunity to expanded office complex and
create a parking district.
• Provide well-maintained landscaping, streetscape, and green space along
Pico.
A small strip of neighborhood commercial that is located across from Santa Monica
College provides an opportunity to create a neighborhood serving activity area that
would cater to pedestrians (students and faculty) from the college with little on-site
parking. Acceptable projects at this node would need to:
• Create an attractive, highly walkable retail area serving Santa Monica
College
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• Create a parking district for uses serving pedestrians from Santa Monica
College
• Maintain and develop safe pedestrian and bicycle connections.
• Work with the college to create a TDM program
• Explore possibilities for a small park or plaza
General Commercial: "General Commercial"
Lincoln Boulevard (south of freeway)
Many of the properties along Lincoln Boulevard, south of the Santa Monica freeway
have the same challenge described for Pico Boulevard, small lots that limit parking
options and the ability to convert properties to more desirable uses. Lincoln Boulevard,
being a State highway, has high traffic volume and serves as the southern gateway to
the City. The LUCE will provide the framework for positive change, but overcoming all
of the constraints may require intervention. New development would:
• Continue existing commercial and retail uses.
• Allow limited automobile-serving uses.
• Create an entryway treatment near the city limit.
• Beautify streetscapes and improve building facades:
• Locate parking behind buildings.
• Reduce the number of curb-cuts by encouraging agreements between
adjacent landowners
• Parking strategy.
Employment and Commerce: "Health Care Mixed Use, Industrial Conservation,
Industrial Mixed Use and Office"
Health Care Mixed Use, Industrial Conservation, Industrial Mixed Use and Office land
use designations. The Health Care Mixed Use designation is a new designation that
allows for the expansion and continued vitality of the two hospitals in the city. The
designation will allow a variety of uses including medical office, retail uses to support
the hospital uses and workforce housing that is targeted at employees of the hospitals.
The need to provide quality healthcare and emergency medical services is critical to the
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community. 1lVhile the LUCE will recognize this fact, the current Hospital Area Specific
Plan should be revised subsequent to updating the LUCE. The other land use
designations allow for the continuation of the existing employment uses without allowing
for significant expansion.
Conclusion
City Council endorsement of the land use strategies and framework is recommended to
proceed with the LUCE. The final Transportation workshop prior to completing the Draft
LUCE document will pull together the community's ideas about all forms of
transportation on Saturday, March 1, 2008 at Santa Monica High School Cafeteria.
Additional economic and land use workshops are being scheduled for later in March.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The recommendations presented in this report do not have any budget or fiscal impacts.
Prepared by:
Name of one staff member who is responsible for the preparation of the report
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Approved:
Forwarded to Council: