SR-062408-8D~~~
~;tYof City Council Report
Santa Monica
City Council Meeting: June 24, 2008
Agenda Item: ~-'
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Maria M. Stewart, Director
Records and Election Services
Subject: Qualified Initiative Petition entitled Ballot Measure Amending the Land Use
Element of the General Plan to Establish an Annual Limit on Commercial
Development within Santa Monica until 2023, and also known as
Residents' Initiative to Fight Trafpc (RIFT)
Recommended Action
It is respectfully requested that the City Council do one of the following:
• Adopt the proposed measure entitled Ballot Measure Amending the Land Use
Element of the General Plan to Establish an Annual Limit on Commercial
Development within Santa Monica Until 2023, without alteration.
Adopt a resolution placing the measure on the November 4, 2008, general
municipal election ballot.
Executive Summary
On May 27, 2008, the City Council accepted the qualified initiative petition entitled by
the City Attorney as Ballot Measure Amending the Land Use Element of the Genera!
Plan to Establish an Annual Limit on Commercial Development within Santa Monica
Until 2023. A study, requested by the City Council, was presented earlier during this
meeting. As provided for in the California Elections Code, after having received the
study the City Council must now either adopt the measure as submitted or adopt a
resolution placing the measure on the November 4, 2008, general election ballot.
Background
On April 29, 2008, while the petition for the proposed measure was being circulated for
the gathering of signatures, Council directed staff to conduct a study on the possible
impacts of the proposed measure. On May 27, 2008, Council accepted the qualified
measure and directed staff to return with the results of the study within 30 days. The
1
results of the study were presented to Council during the study session. Now that
Council has received and considered that information, Council must take action on the
proposed measure.
Request of Measure Proponents
Attached as Exhibit C is a letter from the proponents of the measure conveying
suggested language for the description of the ballot question.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
If Council opts for adopting the measure, there will be no election-related costs. Costs
related to implementation and enforcement of the measure are unknown at this time.
Staff can provide this information at a subsequent meeting. If Council places the
measure on the November 4th ballot, the cost will be covered by the funds budgeted for
the municipal election.
Exhibit A: Ballot Title and Summary
Exhibit B: Resolution Placing Proposed Measure on the Ballot
And text of proposed measure
Exhibit C: Proponents' Letter
Prepared by: Maria M. Stewart, City Clerk
Marsha J. Moutrie, City Attorney
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
Name P. ont Ewell J
Maria M. Stewart, Director City Manager
Records and Election Services
2
BALLOT MEASURE AMENDING THE LAND USE ELEMENT OF THE
GENERRL PLRN TO ESTABLISH AN RNNUAL LIMIT ON COMMERCIAL
DEVELOPMENT WITHIN SANTA MONICA UNTIL 2023
This measure would amend the Land Use Element of the City's General Plan to
limit commercial developmerrt in Santa Monica for the stated purpose of
addressing traffic congestion. The limit would be 75,000 square feet of floor area
per calendar year. Floor area would be calculated pursuant to local law in effect
on January 16, 2008.
The measure specifies that the limit on commercial development would not apply
to the following uses: residential, parking, schools, chttd and senior day care
facilities, hospitals and other specified care facilities, places of worship, and
government facilities. Additionally,. the limit is expressly made inapplicable to
"neighborhood-serving goods, services or retail uses" located on the ground floor
of a housing development if 100% of the dwelling units in the development are
designated "affordable" by the City. Additionally, the limit would be inapplicable
to any project that does not require approval of the Planning Commission or City
Council under either state law or under local law in effect on January 16, 2008.
The measure includes exemptions for any project with a vested right of
development and for any use beyond local voters' regulatory power. The
measure also states that an exemption would apply in any instance where six-
sevenths of the Council finds that applying the limit would cause an
unconstitutional "taking" of the owner's property.
Projects that are subject to the limit but replace or remodel existing buildings
could receive a "credft" for some or all of the existing building's floor area. This
credit would reflect the fact that the site already generates traffic. Availability of
this credit would depend upon a comparison of traffic to be generated by the new
building and traffic generated by the existing building. The measure establishes
the formula for comparison.
The measure would authorize the City to exceed the limit in a given year by
"borrowing" from the next four years, but the yearly average for any five year
period could not exceed the limit.
The measure would remain in effect through 2023 unless amended or repealed
by the voters. The measure would require the City to make changes in beat taw
and policy necessary to effectuate the measure's provisions.
Prepared by: Marsha Jones Moutrie, City Attorney
Santa Monica, California
January 22, 2008
The Residents' Initiative to Fight Traffic
January 16, 2008
To the HonorableBegistrar of Voters of the City. of Santa Monica: We, the
undersigned, registered and qualified voters of the City of Santa Monica, hereby propose
an initiative measure to amend the Santa Monica General Plan. We petition you to
submit this measure to the City Council of the City of Santa Monica fox adoption or
submission of the measure to the voters of the City of Santa Monica at the earliest
election for which it qualifies.
The measure provides as follows:
The Residents' Initiative to Fight Traffic
The people of the City of Santa Monica do hereby ordain as follows:
Section 1. Findings and Purpose.
A. Santa Monica is only 8 square miles, yet it is one of the most densely populated and
traffic congested cities in Southern California. Excessive development and an explosion
of new office and commercial buildings have brought in too much traffic and threaten to
change the very nature of our beach community. For example:
• Between 1980 and 2007, our city witnessed an unprecedented expansion in
commercial development, adding more than 9,000,000 square feet of new office,
retail, and industrial space. This is the square footage equivalent of adding over
16 Santa Monica Place malls.
• This flood of development has negatively impacted our city, our neighborhoods,
and Santa Monica residents by increasing traffic congestion, parking problems,
pollution, and demands on our infrastructure.
• Commercial development typically generates at least three to four times the
amount of traffic as residential.
• The vision of the 1984 General Plan to promote commercial growth has been met
and exceeded by this unprecedented pace of development.
• Since 1995, growth in commercial space (office, retail, and industrial. uses such as
studio and post production facilities) has averaged 160,000 square feet per year,
the square footage equivalent of adding one new Santa Monica Place mall to our
city every three and a half yeazs.
• Growth is expected to continue at this pace for the next 20 years, adding
approximately 3,200,000 square feet of new commercial development, or the
square footage equivalent of almost six new Santa Monica Place malls, to our
already congested city..
• Continued unsustainable development at this level-will have dire impacts on
traffic and on Santa Monica residents' quality of life.
Page 1 of 9
B. This measure will put residents back in control of our city by puffing a reasonable,
common sense limit on future non-residential development. Specifically:
e This measure will cut Santa Monica's projected commercial growth in half.
• This measure exempts residential; schools, and other uses vital to the well being
of our community.
• By capping annual commercial development at a level that allows a reasonable
rate of growth, this measure will ensure that our city has the time to develop the
physical, economic, and social infrastructure to keep pace with development.
This measure will give our city the opportunity to create a competitive selection
process for potential commercial development; resulting in high-quality projects
that best meet our community's goals and objectives.
• This measure will prevent the massive over-development of our neighborhoods
and ensure that residents have a say in the future of our city.
Section 2. General Plan Amendments.
This initiative hereby amends Part-1.0 of the Land Use Element Objectives and Policies
of the Santa Monica General Plan adopted October 23, 1984, as amended through
January 16, 2008, to add the following new policies immediately following Policy 1.1.1
on page 84: .
Policy 1.1.2. The total amount of commercial development approved citywide each
calendaz year shall be limited to 75,000 square feet of floor area as set forth below.
A. For the purposes of this policy, "commercial development" means a
building or portion of a building approved for any use other than
residential, parking, schools, child or adult day care facilities, hospitals,
rest homes, residential care facilities for the elderly, places of worship,
government facilities, or neighborhood-serving goods, services, or retail
uses that are located on the ground floor of an affordable housing
development in which one hundred percent.of the dwelling units are
designated for affordable housing in a manner approved by the City.
B. The annual limit on total commercial development approvals does not
apply to approval of any project that, pursuant to State law does not
require, or pursuant to the Santa Monica Municipal Code in effect January
16, 2008 would not have required, approval of either the Planning
Commission or the City Council
C. In calculating the amount of commercial development subject to the
annual limit:
1. Floor area shall be calculated in accordance with the standards set
forth in section 9.04.02.030.315 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code
in effect on January 16, 2008 excluding from such calculations any
Page 2 of 9
non=commercial development (e.g., parking and other uses excluded
from the meaning of the term as defined in paragraph A, above) or
commercial deyelopment otherwise not subject to the annual limit.
2. Projects subject to the annual limit that replace or remodel an existing
building may receive credit for some or all of the floor area of the
existing building based on the traffic generated by the new building in
comparison to the original building. The floor area subject to the
annual limit calculated.pursuant to paragraph C.1, above, shall be
reduced by an amount determined as follows:
Using the most recently available trip generation methodology
and data from the Institute of Traffic Engineers (ITE) or a
comparable source used by jurisdictions of comparable size to
Santa Monica, the City shall ascertain the number of vehicle
trips per week (on a gross basis without adjustments to trip
generation established by the ITE or other documentation)
associated with (a) the building to be remodeled or replaced
(based on the size, design, and primary use of the building for
the last two years) and (b) the new building (based on the
approved size, design, and all conditions of approval affecting
use of the building).. Each number shall be divided by the
square footage of the building to which it applies to ascertain,
for the purposes of this policy only, the projected trips per
square foot for each building.
ii. If the new building will generate the same or fewer trips per
square foot than the original building, then the-entire square
footage of the original building shall be subtracted from the
square footage of the new building for the purposes of
calculating the floor area of the building that is subject to the
annual limit. For example, ifa 5,000 square foot building is
replaced by a 7,500 square foot building and the new building
would generate the same amount of traffic per square foot as
the original building, then the floor area of the new building
contributing to the annual limit would be reduced to 2,500
square feet.
iii. If the new building,will generate more trips per square foot
than the original building, then a portion of the square footage
of the original building shall be subtracted from the square
footage of the new building for the purposes of calculating the
floor area of the building that is subject to the annual limit..
The portion to be subtracted shall be in proportion to the
difference in the number of trips per square foot between the
two buildings. For example, ifa 5,000 square foot building
Page 3 bf 9
with one trip per square foot is replaced bya 7,500 square foot
building with two trips per square foot, then half the square
footage of the original building (2,500 square feet) would be
subtracted from the square footage of the new building and the
area of the new building contributing to the annual limit would
be 5,000 square feet.
3. The annual limit for a given calendar year shall be adjusted upwards
by the total square footage of projects approved after January 1, 2008 ,
which have not been built and for which during the preceding calendar
yeaz the Planning Commission or City Council approval expired.
D. The city may borrow commercial development allocations from up to four
years'in the future so that total commercial development approvals in a
single year may exceed 75,000 square feet of floor area. In such cases,
however, the average annual square footage approved over the following
four years must be reduced below 75,000 square feet so that the average
for the five-year period including the first year and the four following
years may not exceed 75,000 squaze feet per year.
E. Under no circumstances shall the average square footage of commercial
development approved over any five-year period exceed 75,000 square
feet per year. To ensure that the city benefits from this policy as quickly
as possible and to offset the effects of commercial development approvals
issued prior to the adoption of this policy, the initial five year period for
calculating the average annual squaze footage. shall begin January 1, 2008
-such that the average square footage approved for the period January 1,
2008 through December 31, 2012 shall notexceed 75,000 square feet per
year.
Policy 1.1.3. A cornerstone principle of this General Plan is ensuring that development
is consistent with this General Plan and proceeds at a sustainable pace. In furtherance of
this"central goal, the People of Santa Monica, by initiative measure, have adopted Policy
1.1.2 and this Policy 1.1.3.
A. The General Plan maybe updated, amended, or reorganized, and
individual goals and policies may be renumbered or reordered in the
course of ongoing updates of the General Plan in accordance with the
requirements of State law, but Policies 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 may not be
amended or repealed except by a vote of the people before December 31,
2023. After that date these policies may be amended by the City Council
in accordance with applicable laws:
B. Nothing in this Policy or Policy 1.1.2 precludes the City Council from
seeking voter approval for commercial development in excess of the limit
established in Policy 1.1.2.
Page 4 of 9
Section 3. Implementation.
A: Upon the effective date of this initiative, the provisions of Section 2 of the
initiative aze hereby inserted into the Land Use Element Objectives and Policies of the '
Santa Monica General Pian as an amendment thereto, except that if the four amendments
of the mandatory elements of the General Plan permitted by State law for any given
calendar year already have been utilized in the year in which the initiative becomes
effective, this General- Plan amendment shall be the first amendment inserted into the
Santa Monica General Plan on January 1 of the next year. When this General Plan
amendment is inserted into the Santa Monica General Plan, any provisions of the Santa
Monica Municipal Code that are inconsistent with this General Plan amendment shall not
be enforced in a manner inconsistent with this General Plan amendment.
B. ~ The date that the notice of intention to circulate this initiative measure was
submitted to the elections official of the City of Santa Monica is referenced herein as the
"submittal date: ' The Santa Monica General Plan in effect on the submittal date and the
General Plan as amended by this initiative comprise an integrated, internally consistent
and compatible statement of policies for the City of Santa Monica. In order to ensure that
nothing in this initiative measure would prevent the Santa Monica General Plan from
being an integrated, internally consistent and compatible statement of the policies of the
City, as required by State law, and to ensure that the actions of the voters in enacting this
initiative aze given effect, any amendment to the General Plan that is adopted between the
submittal date and the date that the General Plan is amended by this initiative measure
shall, to the extent that such interim-enacted provision is inconsistent with the General
Plan provisions adopted by Section 2 of this initiative measure, be amended as soon as
possible and in the manner and time required by State law to ensure consistency between
the provisions adopted by this initiative and other elements of the Santa Monica General
Plan.
C. Policy 1.1.2 adopted by this iniriative provides that for the purposes of calculating
floor area subject to the annual limit on commercial development, floor azea shall be
calculated in accordance with the standards set forth in section 9.04.02.030315 of the
Santa Monica Municipal Code in effect on January 16, 2008. A copy of that section of
the Code is included in this measure as Attachment A for informational purposes. This
measure does not limit the ability of the City Council to amend the referenced section of
the Municipal Code; provided, however; that the initiative does require the city to use the
provisions of the Code as presented in the attachment in making the calculations required
by the initiative.
D. The City of Santa Monica is hereby authorized and duetted to amend the Santa
Monica General Plan, all specific plans, the Santa Monica Zoning Ordinance, the Santa
Monica Zoning Map, and other ordinances and policies affected by this initiative as soon
as possible to ensure consistency between the policies adopted in this initiative and other
elements of the Santa Monica General Plan, all specific plans, the Santa Monica Zoning
Ordinance, the Santa Monica Zoning Map, and other city ordinances and policies.
Page 5 of 9
E. Except as provided in Section 4 of this initiative or as otherwise required by State
or Federal law, upon the date of insertion of the provisions of Section 2 of this initiative
into the Santa Monica General Plan, all General Plan amendments, rezonings, specific
plans, tentative subdivision maps, parcel maps, conditional use permits, building permits
or other ministerial or discretionary entitlements for use not yet approved or issued shall
not be approved or issued unless consistent with the policies and provisions of this,
initiative.
Section 4. Exemptions for Certain Protects:
A. This initiative shall not apply to prohibit any development project or ongoing
activity that has obtained, as of the effective date of this initiative, a vested right pursuant
to State or local law.
B. This initiative shall not be interpreted to apply to any land or prohibit any use that,
under State or Federal law, is beyond the power of the local voters to affect by the
initiative power reserved to the people via the California Constitution.
C. This initiative shall not be interpreted or applied to preclude the approval of a
development protect that would cause the city to exceed the annual limit on commercial
development specified in Policy 1.1.2 of the General Plan if each of the following
conditions is satisfied: (i) the City Council, after considering all facts and applicable
legislative and judicial authority in support of conforming to the annual cap, finds by at
least a 6/7 vote following a public hearing that the application of Policy 1.1.2 would
constitute an unconstitutional taking of the landowner's property and that the taking
cannot be avoided by borrowing from future years as authorized by Policy 1.1.2; and {ii)
in approving the commercial development, the City Council allows additional
commercial development only to the extent necessary to avoid said unconstitutional
taking of the landowner's property. .
Section 5. Severability and Interpretation.
This initiative shall be interpreted so as to be consistent with all Federal and State laws, .
rules, and regulations: If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence,
clause, phrase, part, or portion of this initiative is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by
a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the
validity of the remaining portions of this initiative. The voters hereby declare that this
initiative, and each section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause,
phrase, part, or_portion thereof would have been adopted or passed even if one or more
sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, parts, or
portions are declared invalid or unconstitutional. If any provision of this initiative is held
invalid as applied to any person or circumstance, such invalidity shall not affect any
application of this initiative that can be given effect without the invalid application. This
initiative shall be broadly construed in order to achieve the purposes stated in this
initiative.
Page 6 of 9
Section 6. Amendment or Repeal.
Except as otherwise provided herein, this initiative may be amended or repealed only by
the voters of the City of Santa Monica.
The circulators of the petition [ ] do [X ] do not request that the measure be submitted
immediately to a vote of the people at a special election.
Page 7 of 9
Attachment A
Attachment A, attached for informational purposes, contains the true and accurate text of
section 9.04.02.030.315 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code in effect on January 16,
2008. Section 9.04.02.030.315 is referenced in Sections 2 and 3 of this initiative.
9.04.02.030.3]5 Floor area.
The total gross horizontal areas of all floors of a building, including usable
basements and all areas measured from the interior face of exterior walls, or a wall
separating two buildings excluding:
{a) Stairways and stairwells;
(b) Elevators, elevator equipment rooms and elevator shafts;
(c) Ramps to a subterranean or semi-subterranean parking structure or ramps
between floors of a parking structure provided the ramp does not accommodate parking;
(d) Unenclosed decks, balconies and platforms not used for commercial or
restaurant activity;
(e) Courtyards, arcades, atria, paseos, walkways and corridors open to the
outdoors whether or not covered by a roof provided they are not used for commercial or
restaurant activity;
{f) The volume above interior courtyards, atria, paseos, walkways and
corridors whether covered or not;
(g) Subterranean and semi-subterranean parking structures used exclusively
for parking and loading and unloading;
(h) At-grade parking not covered by a building, structure or roof;
(i) Loading docks open ar covered by a roof or canopy, but otherwise
unenclosed and used exclusively for loading and unloading;
(j) Mechanical equipment rooms, electrical rooms, telephone rooms, and
similar space, if located below grade;
(k) Enclosures constructed pursuant to Section 9.04.14.050(k) for outdoor
hoists in existence on the adoption of Ordinance Number 1452 (CCS).
Floor area shall include those areas occupied by the following:
Page 8 of 9
(a) Restrooms, lounges, lobbies, kitchens, storage areas, and interior hallways
and comdors;
(b) The floor area of interior courtyards, atria, paseos, walkways and corridors
covered by a roof or skylight;
{c) Covered at-grade parking;
(d) Above grade pazking.
Floor area devoted to covered at-grade parking shall be counted at two-thirds of
the actual area if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The floor devoted to parking does not exceed ten feet in height;
{b) There is at least one level of subterranean or semi-subterranean parking
provided on the parcel;
(c) The at-grade and above grade parking levels are screened from view;
(d) .There is no parking on the ground floor within forty feet of the front
property line;
(e) The design of the. parking levels is compatible with the design of the
building as determined by the Architectural Review Board.
Page 9 of 9
steering
commixae June 16, 2008
a advisors gy Email
mark armour Maria Stewart (irariasffi.vartC~smcov.nef)
City Clerk (Room 200)
abby arnold Glty of Santa Monica -
joel brand 1685 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Jarrell Garke
pater davison RE: SMCLC Reouest for RIFT Ballot Description and Letter
gale Feldman
Dear Ms. Stewart:
mary fenstermachar
visor fresco The Santa Monira Coalition for a Livable City ("SMCLC") and the other initiative
proponents (Ted WintererlOPA and Elizabeth Riel/NOMA) request that you adopt this
Susan giesberg language from the City's Attorney's description of RIFT for the ballot description, fuming it into
diana gordon a gUeStiOn:
Sherrill kushner
"Shall the Land Use Element of the Santa Monica General Plan be amended t0 limit
mania soya commercial development in Santa Monica for the purpose of addressing traffic congestion?"
mary marlow
We object to and therefore have eliminated the word "stated" from the phrase "stated
bea nemlaha purpose of addressing traffic congestion" in the original sentence. Putting the word "stated" in
laurel roannau is intended to undermine and bias it in a way that is not called for.
ruth roseh
As to the letter for the measure, we request that you ask the County clerk for the letter
Jacob samuel °T^, Alternatively, if "T° is not available, we would request "R."
lorraine Sanchez
Thank yOU.
jepi Segal
carol scbei
maryanne Solomon Sincerely
~~ ~
OV:f~~/'~L1. v~_
dons sosln Diana Gordon
Iinda Sullivan GO-Chair, FOr SMCLC
pe?er tigler ~, p j~~•~'~~~
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fed vrinterer .
bill zimmerman Ted Winterer, Pre
sident, O
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Elizabeth Riel, Past President, NOMA
Cc: Fred Woocher, Esq
Elizabeth Riel
Ted Winterer
'1223 Wilshire boulevard, 6ox'1002 =Santa monica, califomia 90403-5400 * teIlfax 310395-8044 m email infoca smclanet + wunvsmclanet