SR-031108-7F~~~
~;tYOf City Council Report
Santa Monica
City Council Meeting: March 11, 2008
Agenda Item:
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
Subject: Extension of Interim Ordinance No. 2250 (CCS) Which Clarifies the Scope
of the Prohibition of New Construction Within a Five Hundred Foot Radius
of Another Construction Project
Recommended Action
Legal staff recommends that Council introduce for first reading an interim ordinance to
extend until June 30, 2008 an existing interim ordinance clarifying that only one new
multi-family construction project is allowed within a five hundred foot radius in the City's
multi-family. residential districts. Staff also recommends that Council clarify whether
exempt construction projects are considered in applying the prohibition on new
construction.
Executive Summary
On February 26, 2008, Council adopted an emergency interim construction rate
ordinance applicable to multi-family neighborhoods, Interim Ordinance No. 2250 (CCS).
That ordinance clarified that only one new multi-family construction project is allowed
within a five hundred foot radius. However, Interim Ordinance No. 2250 (CCS) will
expire on April 26, 2008 unless extended by the Council. The proposed interim
ordinance would extend the initial interim ordinance until June 30, 2008 which would
give the new Building Officer the opportunity to assess the rating program and make
recommendations. A copy of the proposed interim ordinance extension is contained in
Attachment A.
Background
In response to the construction boom that the City has experienced in recent years, the
City Council has acted repeatedly to preserve neighborhood tranquility, protect
circulation, and also afford adequate opportunities for housing production. Among the
Council's actions was adoption of a construction rate program for residential
neighborhoods. The construction rate program was initially adopted by interim
ordinance in 2000 and was later adopted as part of the City's Zoning Ordinance. As
detailed in the February 25; 2008 staff report, contained in Attachment B, there is an
1
ambiguity in this provision of the Zoning Ordinance whether only one or two projects
may be constructed within a 500 foot radius. A recent assessment of the construction
rate program precipitated by questions about whether two particular projects conformed
to the program triggered a review of this ambiguity.
On February 25, 2008, the Council adopted Interim Ordinance 2250 (CCS) clarifying
that only one new multi-family construction project is allowed within a five hundred foot
radius in the City's multi-family residential districts.
Discussion
Interim Ordinance No. 2250 (CCS) was adopted on February 25, 2008 and is effective
until April 26, 2008, sixty days from the date of its adoption. This interim ordinance
clarifies existing law that only one multi-family construction project (2 or more dwelling
units) is allowed within a five hundred foot radius. It also clarifies that a building permit.
should not issue until the requirements of the interim ordinance are met. It thus
eliminates confusion caused by the ambiguity in the Zoning Ordinance, serves to
prevent additional construction projects from proceeding inconsistent with the interim
ordinance and thereby protects the public health, safety, and welfare while allowing
development consistent with these standards to occur. The proposed interim ordinance
would extend Interim Ordinance No. 2250 (CCS) up to and including June 30, 2008.
At the February 25, 2008 hearing, staff also briefly addressed other possible
clarifications that the Council might want to consider at a future proceeding. Except for
one matter discussed immediately below, staff believes that this discussion should wait
until the new Building Officer has commenced his employment with the City, has had an
opportunity to assess the current ordinance, and can participate in developing any staff
recommendations for proposed modifications. The City's Building & Safety Division is
responsible for administering this program. Staff anticipates returning to the Council in
May 2008.
Z
The current law exempts .certain projects from the construction rate. program. These
include specified affordable housing projects, projects to be developed on vacant sites,
and projects that involve the retention of a historic landmark. Thus, projects that fall
within these exemptions can begin construction even if they are within a 500 foot radius
of another construction project. It is not clear, however, whether another project would
be prohibited from commencing construction for a fifteen month period after the
issuance of the building permit for an exempt project or whether it is only a project
which is subject to the construction rate. program which can act to prevent another
project subject to the program from commencing construction. The former interpretation
would further limit the amount of construction that could occur within a 500 foot radius,
but could cause an exempt project to further delay the construction of a nonexempt
project even when the nonexempt project received all plan-check approvals first in time.
It could certainly extend the construction delay beyond the fifteen month period
established in the interim ordinance. Staff is prepared to resolve this issue at the March
11th hearing based on Council direction.
Environmental Analysis
The proposed interim ordinance extension is exempt from CEQA 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. This proposed ordinance, which clarifies the existing rating program, is
environmentally beneficial as it will ensure neighborhoods are protected from
construction related impacts by limiting the number of projects in close proximity to each
other through regulating the timing and distribution of construction projects through the
building permit process.
3
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
Approval of the attached ordinance will not have financial impacts.
Prepared by:
Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
Attachment: A. Proposed Ordinance
B. February 26, 2008 staff report
.Approved: Forwarded o Council:
M rsha Jon Moutrie P. mont well
Ci Attorne Ci Manager
4
ATTACHMENT A
f:\atty\muni\laws\barry\construction rate program clarification 3-11-08
City Council Meeting 3-11-08 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA EXTENDING AN INTITIAL INTERIM ORDINANCE CLARIFYING THAT ONLY
ONE NEW MULTI-FAMILY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT IS ALLOWED WITHIN A FIVE
HUNDRED FOOT RADIUS IN THE CITY'S MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS
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) Santa Monica is a small, extremely dense, older coastal city consisting of just
8 square miles of land bordered on one side by the Pacific Ocean and on three sides by
the megalopolis of Los Angeles.
(b) Approximately, 90,000 people live in the City, on weekdays there are about
300,000 present in the City, and on weekends and holidays, the number of persons in
the City soars to between 500,000 and 1 million.
(c) Santa Monica has been fully built out for over 50 years, much of its
development having occurred during, and immediately after World War II.
(d) In recent years, ever-escalating land values, economic prosperity, and
changes in state law have fueled a massive increase in development which has
significantly altered the physical and social landscape of the City.
1
(e) Throughout this period of rapid development, the City Council has adopted a
series of laws relating to land use and housing which were intended to strike and
restrike the balance between potentially conflicting municipal values and policies in
order to best protect the health, safety and welfare of Santa Monica residents, with one
of these measures being the construction rate program, detailed below.
(f) The City's 1998-2003 Housing Element Update Program 7.f required that the
City monitor the rate of development activity in multi-family residential districts so as to
ensure that rapid development did not jeopardize the character of the neighborhoods
and negatively impact the quality of life.
(g) This program further provided that if the rate or pattern of development
appeared to negatively affect the quality of life or character of neighborhoods, the City
Council should consider enacting a construction rate program.
(h) City staff monitored the rate of development activity in accordance with this
program and determined that the City Council should consider a construction rate
program.
(i) On March 7, 2000, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 1966 (CCS)
which established a construction rate program to avert the negative impacts of
.construction such as traffic circulation, noise, neighborhood aesthetics and pedestrian
enjoyment of City streets and to minimize the disruptive effects of the construction
process on the neighborhood by limiting the number of projects in close proximity to
each otherwhich can be constructed at any one time through regulating both the timing
and distribution of construction projects through the building permit approval process.
2
(j) The constriction rate program imposed strong protections by allowing only
one construction project per block and providing that this construction project must not
be within a five hundred foot radius of another construction project.
(k) On April 11, 2000, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 1969 (CCS)
extending Ordinance Number 1966 (CCS) for eighteen months.
(I) On or about May 17, 2000, a lawsuit was filed against the City challenging the
construction rate program. Petitioners raised both constitutional and CEQA challenges.
(m) The City Council assessed the suit and decided to resolve the claims
through a settlement contingent upon adoption of a less restrictive ordinance which
would, in part, eliminate the requirement that one only construction project be allowed
per block, but would continue the radius restriction to only allow one single construction
project within. a five hundred foot radius.
(n) The City Council adopted this ordinance, Ordinance Number 1984 (CCS),
which eliminated the block limitation and amended the radius restriction to provide only
one construction project shall be allowed within a five hundred foot radius of another
construction project.
(o) On October 9, 2001, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2022
(CCS) extending Ordinance Number 1966 (CCS) until November 11, 2002.
(p) On October 8, 2002, the City Council .adopted a permanent ordinance,
Ordinance Number 2053 (CCS) which mirrored the interim ordinance.
(q) The basic prohibition of the construction rate program allows one project, but
only one, within a 500 foot radius of an existing permitted project. Other subsections
state a permit may not be issued for a project within 500 feet of an existing project and
3
require that the project be placed on a waiting list if another building permit has been
issued. Consequently, notwithstanding Council's consistent intent from the inception of
the construction rate program to only allow one single construction project within a five
hundred foot radius, there is an ambiguity in the Zoning Ordinance whether only one or
two projects (but not three) may exist within a 500 foot radius.
(r) In recent weeks, staff has received questions about whether two particular
projects conformed to the construction rate program. These complaints triggered a
review of the ordinance's ambiguity addressed herein.
(s) For these reasons, the City's zoning and planning regulations should be
revised to clarify how they pertain to the rate of construction to ensure that development
is consistent with the public health, safety, and welfare.
(t) Pending completion of these permanent revisions, in order to provide
clarification and otherwise protect the public health, safety, and welfare, it is necessary
on an interim basis to clarify the current development standards as they relate to the
rate of construction in the City's multi-family districts.
(u) In response to this ambiguity, on February 26, 2008, the Council adopted
emergency Interim Ordinance No. 2250 (CCS) to reaffirm that only one new multi-family
construction project is allowed within any five hundred foot radius. However, this initial
interim ordinance will expire on April 26, 2008 unless extended.
(v) The extension of the interim standards set forth in Interim Ordinance No.
2250 (CCS) will eliminate confusion and will serve to prevent any further disruption
caused by increasing developmeht in these districts while allowing development
consistent with these standards to occur.
4
(w) As described above, there exists a current and immediate threat to the public
safety, health, and welfare should the initial interim ordinance not be extended and
should development inconsistent with the contemplated clarification to the development
standards be allowed to occur. Allowing additional construction projects to proceed
inconsistent with the following proposed interim standards would result in a threat to
public health, safety, or welfare. .Therefore, it is necessary to. adopt this interim
ordinance which extends the initial interim ordinance to establish on an interim basis the
following development standards.
SECTION 2. Construction Rate Proqram.
(a) For projects involving the new construction or substantial
remodel of two or more dwelling units in all multi-family residential districts
in the City for which a development application was deemed complete on
or after March 7, 2000, only one such construction project shall be allowed
within a five hundred foot radius. Except as provided in subsection (c) of
this Section, this restriction shall apply for fifteen months after issuance of
a building permit, after which time another project may begin construction
in the defined area. The multi-family residential districts in the City are:
R2R, R2, R3, R4, RVC, RMH, OP-Duplex, OP2, OP3, OP4, NW-Overlay,
BR Boulevard Residential R3 Overlay, R2B, and R3R.
(b) Building permits shall be provided on a first-come first-
served basis in accordance with the terms of this Section. No building
permit shall be issued by the Building and Safety Division unless the
5
requirements of subsections (c) and (d) of this Section have been
satisfied.
(c) During the plan-check process, the Building and Safety
Division shall determine the status of other building permits for projects in
the area. A building permit shall not be issued when the Building Officer
determines that a building permit has been issued in the previous fifteen
months for any other project within a five hundred foot radius of the
subject property unless the owner of the previously permitted project has
formally relinquished the building permit for that project or obtained a
certificate of occupancy for the project.
(d) If the Building Officer determines that another building
permit has been issued less than fifteen months prior to the date on which
the building permit has received all plan-check approvals and the
exceptions specified in subsections (c) and (e) do not apply, the Building
Officer shall place the project on a waiting list in order of the date and time
of day that the permit application received all plan-check approvals. The
life of other City approvals or permits necessary to commence the project
shall be automatically extended by the amount of time that a project
remains on the waiting list. The Building Officer shall approve the project
in accordance with the Uniform Technical Code in effect at the time of the
plan-check.
(e) The following projects shall be exempt from this Section:
6
(1) Affordable housing projects in which one hundred percent
of the units will be deed-restricted for very low, low, middle, and/or
moderate income housing.
(2) Structures identified by the Building and Safety Division as
unreinforced masonry construction and subjecfto City-mandated seismic
upgrading.
(3) Projects to be developed on a site that is vacant.
(4) Projects to be developed on a site in which either: (i) the
structures on the site are uninhabitable, not as a result of the owner's
failure to maintain the structure, or the property of which the structure is a
part, in good repair, and the structures cannot be rendered habitable in an
economically feasible manner or (ii) the current use of. the property is not
otherwise economically viable. The City shall prepare an exemption
application form which delineates all submission requirements. An owner
shall not be required to file a project application with the exemption
application: City staff shall make a final determination whether a project
meets the requirements of this subdivision within ninety days after the
owner's exemption application for the project is deemed complete.
(5) Projects that include the retention and preservation of a
designated landmark building or contributing structure to an adopted
Historic District.
7
(6) Projects that have received final building permits prior to the
effective date of Interim Ordinance No. 2250 (CCS).
(f) The Planning and Community Development Department
may develop administrative guidelines implementing this Section.
SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall be of no further force or effect after June 30,
2008 unless prior to that date, after a public hearing, noticed pursuant to Santa Monica
Municipal Code Section 9.04.20.22.050, the City Council, by majority vote, extends this
interim ordinance.
SECTION 4. 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, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary
to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 5. 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 6. 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
8
in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall
become effective thirty days after its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
ATTACHMENT B
~® City. Council Report
atr of
Santa Monica
City Council Meeting: February 26, 2008
Agenda Item: ~ -
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
Subject: Clarification of the Construction Rate Program
Recommended Action
Legal staff recommends that the Council adopt an~e ~~~~~~~~a
clarifying the construction rate program so that it clearly either prohibits any new
construction project within a five hundred foot radius of another construction project or
allows only one such project within that radius of another project..
Executive Summary
On March 7, 2000, the Council adopted an interim construction rate ordinance
applicable to multi-family neighborhoods. That ordinance allowed only one construction
project at a time for each block and also.prohibited any new construction project within a
500 foot radius of an ongoing project, with certain specified exemptions. On May 17,
2000, a lawsuit was filed challenging that ordinance. The case settled contingent upon
the adoption of a less restrictive ordinance. The Council amended the. ordinance.. As
amended, Municipal Code Section 9.04.10.02.450(a) allows one project within a 500
foot radius of another. However, subsections (c) and (d) of the same section indicate
that no new project maybe authorized. within 500 feet of another. This ambiguity has
existed since the lawsuit settlement Staff has received complaints in the last month
from members of the public regarding the application of this ordinance. Legal staff
recommends that Council act to eliminate the ambiguity and clarify whether one project
or no project is allowed within a 500 foot radius of another.
Background
The City of Santa Monica is geographically small, very dense, and has been fully built
out for over 50 years. Each year, it is a destination for hundreds of thousands of
workers and even more visitors. And, in recent years, the City has experienced a
construction boom. In response to these realities, the City Council has acted repeatedly
to preserve neighborhood tranquility, protect circulation, and also afford adequate
opportunities for housing production. Among the Council's actions was adoption of a
construction rate program for residential neighborhoods.
1
C. C. #470
The rate program adopted in 2000 by interim ordinance imposed strong neighborhood
protections. It allowed only one construction. project per block and provided that this
construction project must not be within a five hundred foot radius of another
construction project. The restriction lasted for 18 months after issuance of the "first
project's" building permit unless the owner of the previously permitted project formally
relinquished the building permit for that project. Certain projects. were exempted from
the program.
The Santa Monica Housing Council filed suit. Its comp.Iaint asserted both constitutional
and CEQA challenges based upon the duality and duration of the prohibitions. In
additioh, the Housing Council claimed that the rate ordinance violated state housing
element law. Council assessed the suit and opted to resolve the claims by way.of a
settlement contingent upon adoption of a less restriction ordinance which would, in part,
eliminate the requirement that only one construction project be allowed per block, but
continue the radius restriction.
Council adopted a less restrictive interim ordinance which eliminated the block limitation
and amended the radius restriction to provide that only one const~uc#ion project shall be
allowed within a five hundred foot radius of another construction project . -Other
provisions were modified consistent with the settlement agreement including reducing
the eighteen month restriction on issuance of new building permits to fifteen months.
Ultimately, a permanent ordinance was adopted mirroring this modifed interim
ordinance.
Discussion
.The basic prohibition of the rate ordinance allows one project, but only one, within a 500
foot radius of an existing permitted project. See SMMC section 9.04.10.02.450(a). This
restriction is mirrored in the staff report accompanying the permanent ordinance. It
states, "the current construction rate program allows only one construction project, or
2
c. c. #a7t
substantial remodel project, within afive-hundred foot radius of another project subject
to this program." However, other subsections state that a permit may not be issued for
a project within 500 feet of an existing project and require that the project be placed on
awaiting list if another building permit has been issued: Thus, there is an ambiguity as
to whether only one or two projects (but not three) may exist within a 500 foot radius.
In recent weeks, staff has received questions about whether two particular projects
conformed to the construction rate program. Staff investigated. to one case, the
project which drew the complaint lacked the requisite permits and was halted. In the
other case, the project was exempt from- the rate program. Thus, the complaints were
resolved. Fortunately, they triggered a review of the ordinance's ambiguity addressed
in this report.
Council can resolve the ambiguity byadopting-an ordinance which makes clear either
that only a single project is allowed within a 500 foot radius or that only one project is
allowed within a 500 foot radius of another permitted project. The attached ordinance
would effectuate the latter alternative, consistent with current subsection (a). However,
the proposed ordinance could readily be modified at the Council meeting to effectuate
the first alternative. In either circumstance, staff recommends that subsection (b) of the
current law should be modified to clarify that a building permit shall not be issued until
the requirements. of subsections (c) and (d) have been satisfied. This change would
reflect current practice.
Environmental Analysis
The proposed ordinance is exempt from CEQA 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. This
proposed ordinance; which clarifies the existing rating .program, is environmentally
beneficial as it will ensure neighborhoods are protected from construction related
impacts by limiting the number ofprojects in close proximity to each other through
3
C. C. #472
regulating the timing and distribution of construction projects through the building. permit
process.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
Approval of either the attached ordinance or the alternative would not have financial
impacts.
Prepared by:
Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
4
C. C. #473
Approved: Forwarded to Council:
f:latty\munillaws\barrylconstruction rate program clarification
City Council Meeting 2-26-08 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA CLARIFYING THE SCOPE OF THE PROHIBITION OF NEW
CONSTRUCTION WITHIN A FIVE HUNDRED FOOT RADIUS OF ANOTHER
CONSTRUCTION PROJECT AND DECLARING THE PRESENCE OF AN
EMERGENCY
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) Santa Monica is a small, extremely dense, older coastal city consisting of just
8 square miles of land bordered on one side by the Pacific Ocean and on three sides by
the megalopolis of Los Angeles.
(b) Approximately; 90,000 people live in the City, on weekdays there are about
300,000 present in the City, and on weekends and holidays, the number of persons in
the City soars to between 500,000 and 1 million.
(c) Santa Monica has been fully built out for over 50 years, much of its
development having occurred during, and immediately after World War II.
(d) In recent years, ever-escalating land values, economic prosperity, and
changes in state law have fueled a massive increase in developmenfi which has
significantly altered the physical and social landscape of the City.
1
G. C. #475
(e) Throughout this period of rapid development, the City Council has adopted a
series of laws relating to land use and housing which -were intended to strike-and
restrike the balance between potentially conflicting municipal values and policies in
order to best protect the health, safety and welfare of Santa Monica residents, with one
of these measures being the construction rate program, detailed below.
(f) .The City's 1998-2003 Housing Element Update Program 7.f required that the
City monitor the rate of development activity in multi-family residential districts so as to -
ensure that rapid development did not jeopardize the character of the neighborhoods
and negatively impact the quality of life.
(g) This program further provided that if the rate or pattern of development
appeared to negatively affect the quality of life or character of neighborhoods; the City
Council should consider enacting a construction rate program.
(h) City staff monitored the rate of development activity in accordance with this
program and determined that the City Council should consider a cohstruction rate
program.
(i) On March 7, 2000, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 1966 (CCS)
which established a construction rate program to avert the negative impacts of
construction such as traffic circulation, noise, neighborhood aesthetics and pedestrian
enjoyment of City streets and to minimize the disruptive effects of the construction
process on the neighborhood by limiting the number of projects in close proximity to
each other which can be constructed at any one time through regulating both the timing
and distribution of construction projects through the building permit approval process.
2
C. C. #476
Q) The constriction rate program imposed strong protections by allowing only
one construction project per block and providing that this construction ,project must not
be within a five hundred foot radius of another construction project.
(k} On April 11, 2000, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 1969 (CCS)
extending Ordinance Number 1966 (CCS) for eighteen months.
(I) On or about May 17, 2000, a lawsuit was filed against the City challenging the
construction rate program. Petitioners raised both constitutional and CEQA challenges.
(m) The City Council assessed the suit and decided to resolve the claims
through a settlement contingent upon adoption of a less restrictive ordinance which
would, in part, eliminate the requirement that one only construction project be allowed
per block, but would continue the radius restriction.
(n) The City Council adopted this ordinance, Ordinance Number 1984 (CCS),
which eliminated the block limitation and amended the radius restriction to provide only
one construction project shall be allowed within a five. hundred foot radius of another
construction. project.
(o) On October 9, 2001,. the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2022
(CCS) extending Ordinance Number 1966 (CCS) until November 11, 2002.
(p) On October 8, 2002, the City Council adopted a permanent ordinance,
Ordinahce Number 2053 (CCS) which mirrored the interim ordinance.
(q) The basic prohibition of the construction rate program allows one project, but
only one, within a 500 foot radius of an existing permitted project. Other subsections
state a permit may not be issued for a project within 500 feet of an existing project and
require that the project be placed on a waiting list if another building permit has been
3
C. C. #477
issued. Consequently, there is an ambiguity as to whether only one or two projects (but
not three) may exist within a 500 foot radius.
(r) In recent weeks, staff has received questions about. whether two particular
projects conformed to the construction rate program. These complaints triggered a
review of the ordinance's ambiguity addressed herein.
(s) For these reasons, the City's zoning and planning regulations should be
revised to clarify how they pertain to the rate of construction to ensure that development
is consistent with the public health, safety, and welfare.
(t) Pending completion of these permanen# revisions, in order to provide
clarification and otherwise protect the public health, safety, and welfare, it is necessary
on an interim basis to clarify the current development standards as they relate to the
rate of construction iri the City's multi-family districts.
(u) These interim standards will eliminate confusion and will serve to prevent any
further disruption caused by increasing development in these districts while allowing
development consistent with these standards to occur.
(v) As described above, there exists. a current and immediate threat to the public
safety, health, and welfare should the interim ordinance not be adopted and should
development inconsistent with the contemplated clarification to the development
standards be allowed to occur. Allowing additional construction projects to proceed
inconsistent with the following proposed interim standards would result in a threat to
public health, safety, or welfare. Therefore, it is necessary to establish on an interim
basis the following development standards.
4
C. C. #478
SECTION 2. Construction Rate Program.
(a) For projects involving the new constnaction or substantial
remodel of two or more dwelling units in all multi-family residential districts
in the City for which a development application was deemed complete on
or after March 7, 2000, only orie such construction project shall be allowed
within a five hundred foot radius of another construction project subject to
this Section. Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Section, this
restriction shall apply for fifteen months after issuance of a building permit,
after which. time another project may begin construction ih the defined
area. The,multi-family residential districts in the City are: R2R, R2, R3, R4,
RVC, RMH, OP-Duplex, OP2, OP3, OP4, NW-Overlay, BR Boulevard
Residential R3 Overlay, R2B, and R3R.
(b) Building permits shall be provided on a first-come first-
served basis in accordance with the terms of this Section. No app4isaEiea
#er-a building permit shall be ^^^°^'°~' f^~ {~'~^^ ^ ^'~°^•~~°° ^~^^°°°°~'
issued by the Building and Safety Division unless the reauirements of
subsections (c) and (dl of this Section have been satisfied. applisar~t
5
G. C. #479
(c) During the plan-check process for a proiect subiect to this
Section, the Building and Safety Division shall determine the status of
other building permits for projects '^ *~-area within a five hundred foot
radius of the subiect property. A building permit shall not be issued when
the Building Officer determines that a-building permits #~as have already
been issued in the previous fifteen months for aay- ether two projects
subiect to this Section within thisa five hundred foot radius o{ *~ "~a~eet
~reperEy unless the owner of the either previously permitted project. has
formally relinquished the building permit for that project or obtained a
certificate of occupancy for the project.
(d) If the Building Officer determines that two aaetherbuilding
permits ktas have been issued for proiects subiect to this Sectiorrwithin a
five hundred square foot radius of the subiect property less than fifteen
months prior to the date on which the ir~g-per~tit subiect proiect has
received all plan-check approvals, and the exceptions specified in
subsections (c) and (e) do not apply, the Building Officer shall place the
subiect project on a waiting list in order of the date and time of day that the
subiect property perre+t appliea#+er~ received all plan-check approvals_The
life of other City approvals or permits necessary to commence the project
shall be automatically extended by the amount of time that a project
remains on the waiting list. The Building Officer shall approve the project
in accordance with the Uniform Technicai Code in effect at the time of the
plan-check.
6
C. C. #480
(e) The following projects shall be exempt from this Section:
(1) Affordable housing projects in which one hundred percent
of the units will be-deed-restricted for very low, low, middle, and/or
moderate income housing.
(2) Structures identified by the Building and Safety Division as
unreinforced masonry construction and subject to City-mandated seismic
upgrading..
(3) Projects to be developed on a site that is vacant.
(4) Projects to be developed on a site in which either: (i) the
structures on the site are uninhabitable, not as a result of the owner's
failure to maintain the structure, or the property of which the structure is a
part, in good repair, and the structures cannot be rendered habitable in an
economically feasible manner or (ii).the current use of the properly is not
othervvise economically viable. The City shall prepare an exemption
application form which delineates all submission requirements. An owner
shall not be required to file a project application with the exemption
application. City staff shall make a final determination whether a project
meets the requirements of this subdivision within ninety days after the
owner's exemption application for the project is deemed complete.
7
G. C. #489
(5) Projects that include the retention and preservation of a
designated landmark buildirig or contributing structure to an adopted
Historic District.
(f) The Planning and Community Development Department
may develop administrative guidelines implementing this Section.
SECTION 3. -This Ordinance is declared to be an urgency measure. adopted
pursuant to the provisions of Section 615 of the Santa Monica City Charter. As set forth
in the findings above, this Ordinance is necessary for preserving the public peace,.
health, safety, and welfare. As an urgency measure, this Ordinance is effective
immediately upon adoption.
SECTION 4. This Ordinance shall be of no further force or effect sixty days after
its effective date unless prior to that date, after a public hearing, noticed pursuant to
Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.20.22.050, the City Council, by majority
vote, extends this interim ordinance.
:SECTION 5. 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, is hereby repealed ar modified to that 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 reasori held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
8
C. C. #482
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 7. 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 Ordihance shall
become effective upon its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM~~:
u tfYNt~f.-~
M HA::1 NES MO RIE
Ci tto
9
G. C. #483
f:\atty\muni\laws\barry\construction rate program clarification2
City Council Meeting 2-26-08
ORDINANCE NUMBER
(City Council Series)
Santa Monica, California
(CCS)
AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA CLARIFYING THE SCOPE OF THE PROHIBITION OF NEW
CONSTRUCTION WITHIN A FIVE HUNDRED FOOT RADIUS OF ANOTHER
CONSTRUCTION PROJECT AND DECLARING THE. PRESENCE OF AN
EMERGENCY
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) Santa Monica is a small, extremely dense, older coastal city consisting of just
8 square miles of land bordered on one side by the Pacific Ocean and on three sides by
the megalopolis of Los Angeles.
(b) Approximately, 90,000 people live in the City, on weekdays there are about
300,000 present in the City, and on weekends and holidays, the number of .persons in
the City soars to between 500,000 and 1 million.
(c) Santa Monica has been fully built out for over 50 years, much of its
development having occurred during, and immediately after World War II.
(d) In recent years, ever-escalating land values, economic prosperity, and
changes in -state law have fueled a massive increase in development which has
significantly altered the physical and social landscape of the City.
1
(e) Throughout this period of rapid development, the City Council has adopted a
series of laws relating to land use and housing which were intended to strike and
restrike the balance between potentially conflicting municipal values and policies in
order to best protect the health, safety and welfare of Santa Monica residents, with one
of these measures being the construction rate program, detailed below.
(f) The City's 1998-2003 Housing Element Update Program 7.f required thafthe
City monitor the rate of development activity in multi-family residential districts so as to
ensure that rapid development did not jeopardize the character of the neighborhoods
and negatively impact the quality of life.
(g) This program further provided that if the rate or pattern of development
appeared to negatively affect the quality of life or character of neighborhoods, the City
Council should consider enacting a construction rate program.
(h) City staff monitored the rate of development activity in accordance with this
program and determined that the City Council should consider a construction rate
program.
(i) On March 7, 2000, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 1966 (CCS)
which established a construction rate program to avert the negative impacts of
construction such as traffic circulation, noise, neighborhood aesthetics and pedestrian
enjoyment of City streets and to minimize the disruptive effects of the construction
process on the neighborhood by limiting the number of projects in close proximity to
each other which can be constructed at any one time through regulating both the timing
and distribution of construction projects through the building permit approval process.
2
Q) The constriction rate program imposed strong protections by allowing only
one construction project per block and providing that this construction project must not
be within a five hundred foot radius of another construction project.
(k) On April 11, 2000, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 1969 (CCS)
extending Ordinance Number 1966 (CCS) for eighteen months.
(I) On or about May 17, 2000, a lawsuit was filed against the City challenging the
construction rate program. Petitioners raised both constitutional and CEQA challenges.
(m) The City Council assessed the suit and decided to resolve the claims
through a settlement contingent upon adoption of a less restrictive ordinance which
would, in part, eliminate the requiremenf that one only construction project be allowed
per block, but would continue the radius restriction.
(n) The City Council adopted this ordinance, Ordinance Number 1984 (CCS),
which eliminated the block limitation and amended the radius restriction to provide only
one construction project shall be allowed within a five hundred foot radius of another
construction project.
(o) On October 9, 2001, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2022
(CCS) extending Ordinance Number 1966 (CCS) until November 11, 2002.
(p) On October 8; 2002, the City Council adopted a permanent ordinance,
Ordinance Number 2053 (CCS) which mirrored the interim ordinance.
(q) The basic prohibition of the construction rate program allows one project, but
only one, within a 500 foot radius of an existing permitted project, Other subsections
state a permit may not be issued for a project within 500 feet of an existing project and
require that the project be placed on a waiting list if another building permit has been
3
issued. Consequently, there is an ambiguity as to whether only one or two projects (but
not three) may exist within a 500 foot radius.
(r) In recent weeks, staff has received questions about whether two particular
projects conformed to the construction rate program. These complaints triggered a
review of the ordinance's ambiguity addressed herein.
(s) For these reasons, the City's zoning and planning regulations should be
revised to clarify how they pertain to the rate of construction to ensure that development
is consistent with the public health, safety, and welfare.
(t) Pending completion of these permanent revisions, in order to provide
clarification and otherwise protect the public health, safety, and welfare, it is necessary
on an interim basis to clarify the current development standards as they relate to the
rate of construction in the City's multi-family districts.
{u) These interim standards will eliminate confusion and will serve to prevent any
further disruption caused by increasing development in these districts while allowing
development consistent with these standards to occur.
(v) As described above, there exists a current and immediate threat to the public
safety, health, and welfare should the interim ordinance not be adopted and should
development inconsistent with the contemplated clarification to the development
standards be allowed to occur. Allowing additional construction projects to proceed
inconsistent with the following proposed interim standards would result in a threat to
public health, safety, or welfare. Therefore, it is necessary to establish on an interim
basis the following development standards.
4
SECTION 2. Construction Rate Program.
(a) For projects involving the new construction or substantial
remodel of two or more dwelling units in all multi-family residential districts
in the City for which a development application was deemed complete on
or after March 7, 2000, only one such construction project shall be allowed
within a five hundred foot radius. Except as provided in subsection (c) of
this Section, this restriction shall apply for fifteen months after issuance of
a building permit, after which time another project may begin construction
in the defined area. The multi-family residential districts in the City are:
R2R, R2, R3, R4, RVC, RMH, OP-Duplex, OP2, OP3, OP4, NW-Overlay,
BR Boulevard Residential R3 Overlay, R2B, and R3R.
(b) Building permits shallbe provided on a first-come first-
served basis in accordance with the terms of this Section. No building
permit shall be issued by the Building ahd Safety Division unless the
requirements of subsections (c) and- (d) of this Section have been
satisfied.
(c) During the plan-check process, the Building and Safety
Division shall determine the status of other building permits for projects in
the area. A building permit shall not be issued when the Building Officer
determines that a building permit has been issued in the previous fifteen
months for any other project within a five hundred foot radius of the
subject property unless the owner of the previously permitted project has
5
formally relinquished the building permit for that project or obtained a
certificate of occupancy for the project.
(d) If the Building Officer determines that another building
permit has been issued less than fifteen months prior to the date on which
the building permit has received all plan-check approvals and the
exceptions specified in subsections (c) and (e) do not apply, the Building
Officer shall place the project on a waiting list in order of the date and- time
of day that the permit application received all plan-check approvals. The
life of other City approvals or permits necessary to commence the project
shall be automatically extended by the amount of time that a project
remains on the waiting list. The Building Officer shall approve the project
in accordance with the Uniform Technical Code in effect at the time of the
plan-check.
(e) The following projects shall be exempt from this Section:
(1) Affordable housing projects in which one hundred percent
of the units will be deed-restricted for very low,. low, middle, and/or
moderate income housing.
(2) Structures identified by the Building and Safety Division as
unreinforced masonry construction and subject to City-mandated seismic
upgrading.
(3) Projects to be developed on a site that is vacant.
(4) Projects to be developed on a site in which either: (i) the
structures on the site are uninhabitable, not as a result of the owner's
failure to maintain the structure, or the property of which the structure is a
part, in good repair, and the structures cannot be rendered habitable in an
economically feasible manner or (ii) the current use of the property is not
otherwise, economically viable. The City shall prepare an exemption
application form which delineates all submission requirements. An owner
shall not be required to file a project application with the exemption
application. City staff shall make a final determination whether a project
meets the requirements of this subdivision within ninety days after the
owner's exemption application for the project is deemed complete.
(5) Projects that include the retention and preservation of a
designated landmark building or contributing structure to an adopted
Historic District.
(6) Projects that have received final building permits prior to the
effective date of this Ordinance.
(f) The Planning and Community Development Department
may develop administrative guidelines implementing this Section.
SECTION 3. This Ordinance is declared to be an urgency measure adopted
pursuant to the provisions of Section 615 of the Santa Monica City Charter. As set forth
in the findings above, this Ordinance is necessary for preserving the public peace,
7
health, safety, and welfare. As an urgency measure, this Ordinance is effective
immediately upon adoption.
SECTION 4. This Ordinance shall be of no further force or effect sixty days after
its effective date unless ,prior to thaf date, after a public hearing, noticed pursuant to
Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.20.22.050, the City Council, by majority
vote, extends this interim ordinance.
SECTION 5. 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, is hereby repealed or modified to that 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 7. 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
8
in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall
become effective upon its adoption.
APPROVED AS 70 FORM:
MARSHA JONES MOUTRIE
City Attorney
9