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SR-031108-7D7-D March 11, 2008 P ~ EAS T STAFF P T IT 7- 7-D March 11, 2008 ~® ~~=Y~f City Council Report Santa Monica City Council Meeting: March 11, 2008 Agenda Item: To: Mayor and City Council From: Eileen Fogarty Director, Planning and Community Development Subject: Three Zoning Ordinance amendments to waive certain development standards for bootlegged units registered with the Rent Control Board, clarify requirements for alcohol CUPs for existing establishments, and allow furniture and portable landscaping in the public right-of-way and the display of merchandise in private vestibules in the CM and C2 Districts. Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council introduce for first reading the attached ordinances, which permanently incorporate existing interim provisions for bootleg units into Santa Monica Municipal Code (SMMC) Section 9.04.18.075, interim requirements for expiration of alcohol CUPs into SMMC Section 9.04.10.18.020, and interim standards for portable furniture and landscaping in the public right-of-way (ROW) and for the display of merchandise in private vestibules into SMMC Section 9.04.10.02.340. Executive Summary This report provides background information and recommends that the City Council incorporate into the Municipal Code the provisions of Interim Ordinances 2193 (CCS), 2199 (CCS), and 2201 (CCS) prior to their expirations. The measures contained in these three interim ordinances continue to be necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare. The report also includes a summary of related permit activity that has transpired since each interim ordinance's adoption. Discussion Bootlegged Units The City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2100 (CCS) on December 16, 2003, which waived certain development standards for rental units which were built or created without permits but registered with the Rent Control Board as of April 2003. The City Council extended the ordinance three times, most recently through Ordinance 2193 (CCS). At that time the ordinance provisions were extended to units existing on April 1 10, 1979, even if not registered with the Rent Control Board, provided they subsequently were registered with the Board. This ordinance is set to expire on May 31, 2008. Since the Interim Ordinance went into effect, 77 units have received permits to correct their unpermitted status. These units have now been inspected by the City's Building inspectors, which has ensured the safety of their occupants. Seven removal permits have been granted for units that could not be made safe for habitation and two cases are currently pending. Alcohol CUP expiration The City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2105 (CCS) on December 16, 2003 to clarify that existing premises which dispense alcoholic beverages for sale, or other consumption, and cease operation for a period greater than one year (or six months in the CM District) must obtain an alcohol CUP even if that establishment previously obtained an alcohol CUP. The City Council has extended the ordinance three times, most recently through the adoption of Ordinance Number 2199 (CCS) on July 25, 2007. This ordinance inset to expire on May 24, 2008. Since the adoption of the Interim Ordinance, there have been 20 CUP applications for alcohol service, all for new outlets. While the issue of a closed outlet needing to obtain a new CUP comes up infrequently, the provisions of the ordinance ensure that this situation is addressed, which allows the City to better reoulate the complex interrelationship between the availability of alcohol, the consumption of alcohol, and resulting community problems. This is because the CUP process allows the City to impose operational conditions on businesses selling alcohol, which protects properties surrounding the outlets from potential impacts such as noise, trash, and crime. 2 Furniture and portable landscaping in the public ROW merchandise in C2 CM vestibule areas On December 16, 2003, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2101 allowing businesses to place seating, portable landscaping and cigarette refuse receptacles within the public right-of-way and to display merchandise in private vestibules on Main Street and Montana Ave. The City Council has extended the ordinance three times, most recently through the adoption of Ordinance 2201 (CCS) on July 25, 2006. This ordinance is set to expire on April 29, 2008. Since the adoption of the Interim Ordinance, many businesses have taken advantage of its provisions including approximately 40 merchants and restaurants on Montana Avenue and 20 merchants and restaurants on Main Street. There have been 60 violations which Code Enforcement officials have responded to and resolved since the adoption of the Ordinance. Code Enforcement indicated that the majority of these complaints were due to merchandise blocking the public right-of-way. Following the adoption of this ordinance, Planning Staff will be working diligently with the Environmental Public Works Management and Housing and Economic Development departments to develop a regulatory program to monitor the issuance of entitlements for items described in this report. The program will include administrative guidelines for issuing Sidewalk Use Permits and Licensing Agreements. with associated fees to be adopted for both by a future City Council Resolution. General Plan Consistency The proposed text amendments must be found to be consistent with the City's General Plan and to promote public health, safety and general welfare. The proposed amendments are consistent in principle with several of the goals, objectives and policies of the General Plan. as follows: Bootleg Units The proposed amendment to waive certain development standards for bootleg units that meet specific criteria is consistent with the Land Use Element Policy 1.1 which 3 maintains the following objectives: To protect the quality of life in all residential neighborhoods; to improve the match of low and moderate income persons and families with units they can afford; to ensure fair treatment of property owners and residents in the City; and to provide adequate housing for City residents of all incomes. Alcohol CUP expiration The proposed amendment to clarify that establishments that have received a CUP but cease operations for 12 months, or 6 months in the CM District, is consistent with the Land Use and Circulation Elements Policy 1.2.4 which states: "Limit the number or control the location or otherwise mitigate the impact of commercial uses such as alcohol outlets...where an over-concentration of the use would have, or the operation of such uses might have an adverse impact on the surrounding neighborhood." Furniture and portable landscaping in the public ROW merchandise in C2 CM vestibule areas The proposed amendment to allow furniture to be placed in the public right of way in front of a business within specific parameters and for some merchandise to be allowed within a vestibule in the Main Street and Montana Avenue commercial districts is consistent with Land Use Element Objective 3.3 which requires the enhancement of the pedestrian scale and character of streets and public spaces and Policy 3.4.2 which states that the City is to establish guidelines for improvement of the public streetscape including paving, lighting, street furniture, public signage, and art. Commission Action On February 9, 2008, the Planning Commission, acting in aquasi-judicial role, voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council adopt permanently the provisions in Interim Ordinance 2193 (CCS). The Commission also voted 5-1 to recommend that the Council adopt the provisions in Interim Ordinance 2201 (CCS). In regard to Interim Ordinance 2199 (CCS), the Commission unanimously 4 recommended that the Council adopt the provisions with a modification to reference SMMC Section 9.04.08.28.070(g) for the allowed time that a business may be closed before a CUP for alcoholic beverage service is considered to have expired in the CM (Main Street) District. This would replace the "six months" allowed by the interim ordinance. The Planning Commission indicated that it wished to consider a term of one year as in other districts, but recognized that this would be inconsistent with the referenced section, which states that an existing use is no longer considered to be existing if it has not been in operation for a period of six months. Although this will not have any immediate impact on the proposed amendment, the Commission wished to adjust the ordinance language such that it would change if SMMC Section 9.04.08.28.070(g) were to be amended in the future. Staff has incorporated this recommendation into Attachment B. Alternatives 1. The Council could amend provisions of any or all of the interim ordinances. 2. The Council may choose not to incorporate the subject interim standards and/or regulation clarification into the Municipal Code, in which case the interim requirements would expire, and the existing zoning provisions would apply in the relevant areas. Environmental Analysis The proposed ordinances are exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) in that it can been seen with certainty that the proposed ordinances does not have the potential to significantly impact the environment. There are no reasonably foreseeable impacts such as direct or indirect physical changes in the environment that would result from the adoption of the proposed ordinances. 5 Public Outreach A legal advertisement was published in the Santa Monica Daily Press at least ten consecutive calendar days prior to the hearing. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions Some increment of permit fees and licensing revenue will be realized as a result of the adoption of these ordinances and their implementation. The amount will be determined by the actual levels of businesses' participation. In regards to expenditures associated with this action, if monitoring and enforcement of landscaping and portable furniture in the public ROW is carried out by existing staff, there should be no incremental cost to the City. Prepared by: Travis Page, Assistant Planner uevelopmem Attachments A. Draft Ordinance -Bootleg Units B. Draft Ordinance -Alcohol CUP Expiration C. Draft Ordinance -Furniture in ROW, Outdoor Merchandise in private vestibules on Main Street and Montana Avenue D. Planning Commission staff reports for proposed amendments F:\CityPlanning\Share\COUNCIL\STRPT\2008\TA-001,2,3 (Bootleg,Alcohol,Purniture).doc 6 Approved: Forwarded to Council: ATTACHMENT B Draft Ordinance-Alcohol CUP Expiration 9 f:\atty\muni\laws\barry\alcoholcupextendCityCouncilCodeChage-3-11-08 City Council Meeting 3-11-08 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS) (City Council Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 9.04.10.18.020 TO CLARIFY THAT BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS WITH ALCOHOL CUPS MUST OBTAIN NEW ALCOHOL CUPS IF THE ESTABLISHMENT CEASES OPERATING FOR A PERIOD IN EXCESS OF ONE YEAR, OR IN EXCESS OF SIX MONTHS IN THE CM DISTRICT WHEREAS, in 1985, the City adopted Part 9.04.10.18 of the Zoning Ordinance, Alcohol Outlets, to regulate establishments dispensing alcoholic beverages; and WHEREAS, while the issuance of liquor licenses is the exclusive province of the State, local governments are authorized to impose reasonable land use and zoning restrictions on alcohol establishments directed at the land use effects of these businesses; and WHEREAS, the City adopted the alcohol outlet regulations in recognition of the complex interrelationship between the availability of alcohol, the consumption of alcohol, and resulting community problems such as public drunkenness, drunk driving, traffic accidents, violent crime, noise, and nuisance; and WHEREAS, Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.18.020 requires all new businesses or uses dispensing alcoholic beverages for sale or other consideration to obtain a conditional use permit; and 1 WHEREAS, Section 9.04.18.020 also provides that a conditional use permit is required for existing premises where operations have been discontinued for a period of over one year; and WHEREAS, since this section's adoption, the City has interpreted this provision to apply to all existing premises including those which already obtained an alcohol CUP; and WHEREAS, certain alcohol establishment owners and operators have challenged this interpretation, contending that this provision of the Zoning Ordinance only applies to existing premises that have never obtained an alcohol CUP and not to those which obtained an alcohol CUP but whose operations have been discontinued for more than one year; and WHEREAS, Section 9.04.08.28.070 is more restrictive than Section 9.04.18.020, providing that an existing use in the CM District shall not be considered existing if the use has not been in regular operation for a period of six months; and WHEREAS, in light of this issue of interpretation, the City Council directed staff to prepare a proposed interim ordinance is to clarify that existing premises which dispense alcoholic beverages for sale or other consideration that cease operation for a period greater than one year must obtain an alcohol CUP even if that establishment previously obtained an alcohol CUP, except that, for premises in the CM District, the time period. shall be six months; and 2 WHEREAS, the City Council found and declared that the public health, safety. and general welfare require adoption of an interim ordinance clarifying that all existing establishments which cease operation for more than one year, or for more than six months in the CM District, must obtain a new alcohol CUP to ensure that City review and approval of alcohol outlets occurs on a case-by-case basis and reflects the specific and current circumstances of the particular alcohol outlet, its location, the surrounding neighborhood and any potential problems relating to specific and current circumstances; and WHEREAS, the City Council further found that Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.10.18.020 should be clarified to provide that existing operations which have been discontinued for a period of over one year, or six months in the CM District, shall be required to obtain an alcohol conditional-use permit prior to resuming business whether or not a conditional use permit was obtained in the past for the premises; and ' WHEREAS, pending completion of these permanent revisions, in order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, it was necessary on an interim basis to clarify that existing operations which have been discontinued for a period of over one year, or six months in the CM District, shall be required to obtain an alcohol conditional use permit prior to resuming business whether or not a conditional use permit was obtained in the past for the premises; and WHEREAS, in light of these concerns, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2105 (CCS) on December 16, 2003, which clarified that business establishments with alcohol CUP's must obtain new alcohol CUP's if the establishment 3 ceases operating for a period in excess of one year, except for premises in the CM District, the time period shall be six months,. and extended the terms of Ordinance Number 2105 (CCS) by adopting Ordinance Number 2114 (CCS) on January 27, 2004, by adopting Ordinance No. 2150 (CCS) on February 8, 2005, and by adopting Ordinance No. 2199 on July 25, 2006; and WHEREAS, Ordinance Number 2199 will be of no further force and effect after May 24, 2008; and WHEREAS, the proposed amendment is consistent in principle with several of the goals, objectives and policies of the General Plan in that the amendment is consistent with the Land Use and Circulation Elements Policy 1.2.4 which states: "Limit the number or control the location or otherwise mitigate the impact of commercial uses such as alcohol outlets...where an over-concentration of the use would have, or the operation of such uses might have an adverse impact on the surrounding neighborhood" and in that the ordinance clarifies that alcohol establishments that have been closed for more than one year must obtain a new Conditional Use Permit prior to commencing operation; and WHEREAS, the public health, safety and general welfare requires the adoption of the provisions to ensure the City review and approval of all alcohol outlets occurs on a case-by-case basis and reflects the specific and current circumstances of the particular alcohol outlet, its location, the surrounding neighborhood and any potential problems relating to specific and current circumstances, 4 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.10.18.020 is hereby amended to read as follows: 9.04.10.18.020 Applicability. No person shall establish a new business or use dispensing, for sale or other consideration, alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, malt beverages, and distilled spirits for on-site or off-site consumption without first obtaining a conditional use permit. Existing alcohol outlets shall also obtain a conditional use permit except where the premises either retain the same type of retail liquor license within a license classification or the licensed premises are operated continuously without substantial change in mode or character of operation. Existing premises shall not be considered to be operating continuously and a conditional use permit shall be required where operations have been discontinued for a period of over one year except that for premises in the CM District, the time oeriod shall either be six months or the time period established in Section 9.04.08.28.070(8), or any successor legislation thereto, 5 whichever is longer. Existing premises where operations have been discontinued for these time periods shall be required to obtain an alcohol conditional use permit prior to resuming business whether or not an alcohol conditional use hermit was obtained in the past for the premises. A n nrJ'tinnal co norm i# chnll hn reg.-1 fry ev'ctinrv n m'o oc eae-yeas A substantial change in mode or character of operation shall include, but is not limited to, a ten percent increase in the floor area of the premises, atwenty-five percent increase in the shelf area used for the display of alcoholic beverages, or a twenty-five percent increase in the number of seats in any restaurant which serves alcoholic beverages. SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto, inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, are hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance. SECTION 3. 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 any competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the 6 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 4. 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 be effective 30 days from its adoption. The Director of Planning and Community Development shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect. APPROVED AS TO FORM: 0~ M SHA J IV S MOU IE Cit Attorn 7