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sr-061010-8aCity Council Meeting: June 10, 2010 Agenda Item: ~~ To: Mayor and City Council From: Eileen Fogarty, Director, Planning & Community Development Subject: Review and Approve a New Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) and Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council review the Draft Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE), the Planning Commission Resolution and Addendum, and the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR). Council will be asked to endorse components of the LUCE through a series of scheduled meetings and to adopt resolutions to: (1) Certify the Land Use and Circulation Element Final Environmental Impact Report; (2) Approve a Statement of Overriding Considerations and make necessary CEQA findings; and (3) Adopt the Final Land Use and Circulation Element for the City of Santa Monica. Executive Summary After years of hard work and public workshops, the City Council will hold a series of public hearings this month to discuss, refine and adopt the Final LUCE and. the associated FEIR. Each meeting will focus on specific topics, as outlined in Attachment A, with the first meeting focusing on the topics of Neighborhoods, Preservation,. Circulation and Boulevards. The resolutions to adopt the Final LUCE and certify the FEIR will be provided at a later meeting for City Council actions. This staff report provides a summary of the major components that the City Council will address. . The Planning Commission held a series of seven Planning Commission public hearings in May and early June, which culminated with a unanimous vote recommending Certification of the Final EIR and approval of the Draft LUCE to the City Council. The attached Resolution recommending Adoption (Attachment B) includes an inventory of the Planning Commission's recommended modifications. The Draft LUCE encompasses the community's vision for Santa Monica's future based on afar-reaching and inclusive process that engaged thousands of residents. This six- year effort included public workshops, discussions, presentations, surveys, and public hearings. The Strategy Framework, released in 2008 and endorsed by the Planning Commission and City Council, forms the base of the plan. Additional refinements have been incorporated based on Council direction, detailed analyses, and additional public workshops, leading to the Draft LUCE which was released in November 2009. 1 The Draft LUCE makes profound changes in the way the City addresses land use and transportation policy. It does so by incorporating the community's most fundamental values of conservation, environmental responsibility and social equity into the City's official policies. The plan is designed to maintain our City's character, protect our neighborhoods, manage our transportation systems, and encourage additional housing in a sustainable manner that ensures a high quality of life for all Santa Monicans now and in the future. It translates the community's desire for conservation into programs which carefully limit and control growth, engage the natural beauty of the beach and surrounding environment, and recreate the City's historic settlement patterns along the boulevards. Recognizing that community is shaped not just through the physical environment, the Draft LUCE vision is based on the social relationships, cultural resources, recreation, and caring that define Santa Monica's unique community. The essence of the Draft LUCE is to unite environmental,. land use, economic, transportation and social concerns into a single, flexible, long-term plan for the City. It complements Santa Monica's 1994 Sustainable City Plan (SCP) and provides tools for the community to think, plan and act more sustainably. More specifically, implementation of. the LUCE would enable the City to achieve the landmark climate change directives of the State of California's Assembly Bill 32, Senate Bill 375, and the State Attorney General's Office guidance to reduce greenhouse gas emission and vehicle miles traveled through land use and transportation decisions. The LUCE establishes these goals by: 1) focusing housing and employment near transit; 2) creating complete neighborhoods along Boulevards; 3) preserving existing neighborhoods, and 4) strongly promoting alternative modes of travel. The plan's emphasis on conservation and preserving the community's qualities coupled with sustainable smart growth has already received professional recognition and awards including: • Comprehensive Planning Award from the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Planning Association, • Sustainable Leadership Compass Blueprint Award from the Southern California Association of Governments • 2010 David Cameron Award from the Santa Monica Conservancy. The LUCE is both visionary and extremely practical. As a long-term plan, the Draft LUCE provides flexibility for changes well into the future. It establishes criteria and measures for assessing how well the community's goals are being met and provides a process for continued community participation throughout the years of implementation. Creating livable places with housing choices for all is a basic policy of the LUCE. Recognizing that both planning policy and housing policy have profound social consequences, the community endorsed the creation of significant new affordable housing opportunities where little or none currently exist -along the boulevards and in the industrial areas. These new opportunities are to be associated with transit in a 2 manner that enhances sustainability, creates "complete neighborhoods" and provides easy access to local services. The new Exposition Light Rail line also provides an unparalleled opportunity for the creation of new mixed-use neighborhoods, locating housing near jobs, with. an active pedestrian system of open green space, recreation opportunities, lively plazas and supporting retail, food and entertainment. In summary, the LUCE is distinguished by its emphasis on: • Conservation and Preservation: It is fundamentally a conservation and preservation plan that limits the footprint of potential change, encourages adaptive reuse, supports compact mixed-use near transit, and reduces the potential for change compared to the existing 1984 Plan. Open space, green buildings, and resource conservation go hand in hand with these strategies. • Neighborhood Conservation: The plan redirects strong pressure for new housing away from the neighborhoods and into mixed-use housing on the boulevards and near transit, and establishes a program of incentives and restraints to conserve the neighborhoods, and provide greater community control. • Climate Chanae Policies: It reduces overall commercial growth, especially new regional-serving commercial use and encourages local-serving uses that provide daily-needs within walking distance to reduce the number and length of car trips needed to meet daily needs. It focuses future employment at Expo and transit locations and therefore reduces greenhouse gas emissions. • Ensuring Communitv Benefits: LUCE establishes a pen`ormance-based approach to ensure that development beyond base projects provides community benefits. • Commitment to On-Goina Communitv Involvement: The plan establishes a structure for development review and on-going planning that continues to engage the community in creative dialogue. • Monitoring Change: It sets forth regular monitoring and measuring to ensure that the pace, and type of change meets expectations. The City must regain control of its streets. The LUCE supports the transformation of the City's auto-oriented boulevards into inviting avenues with improved transit, wider sidewalks, distinctive architecture, landscaping and neighborhood-friendly services. It requires new development to respect Santa Monica's heritage with compatible and quality design, ensuring a sense of "place" where local residents will be attracted to shop, work and live. It seeks to achieve No Net New Evening Peak Period Vehicle Trips in order to achieve the City's overarching goal of reducing congestion and carbon emissions. It encourages alternative modes of transportation and proposes a system of city-wide bicycle paths and green corridors, improved pedestrian amenities and enhanced transit. A Final EIR was issued on April 24, 2010, following a Draft EIR public comment period from January 21 to March 8, 2010. The Final EIR identifies very few significant impacts 3 due to the self-mitigating nature of the plan, integration of land use and transportation to reduce vehicle trips, and emphasis on sustainability. Background History of the Process The impetus to revise the City's Land Use and Circulation Element emerged from a strong community desire to preserve Santa Monica's unique assets-its neighborhoods, open space, historic resources and character-while allowing the City to evolve sustainably and apply new tools to meet the challenges of today. In 2004, the City took the first step to renewing its General Plan by launching a broad public outreach process. This approach established the baseline of "Emerging Themes" and "Opportunities and Challenges. " In 2007 an aggressive outreach period began which involved 12 intensive "building block" workshops, and dozens of community meetings. Thousands of people participated in this inclusive community effort, including residents, members of the business community, artists, .educators, preservationists, the college, open space advocates, social organizations, bicycle and pedestrian advocates, and the City's youth population. Technical analysis included aCity-wide market analysis and extensive Urban Design studies. The results of this "bottom-up" process are contained in the "Strategy Framework" document issued in June 2008. The Strategy Framework document was reviewed thoroughly over 18 public hearings/workshops with the Planning Commission and City Council. Throughout the following year, focused research and analysis was completed on issues identified by the City Council and public. Detailed Neighborhood Conservation policies were explored and integrated into the Draft LUCE, a Community Benefits structure was established with tiers and preliminary. priority categories, and a Phasing & Monitoring system to allow for periodic evaluation of performance was created. Three successful community workshops were held during this period to get public input on these evolving topics. In addition, select technical efforts confirmed the direction and effectiveness of the plan, including: 4 • A City-wide Travel Demand Model was constructed, validated, and used in the evaluation of plan alternatives, as well as confirmation of the No Net New Peak Period Trips goal, and quantification of transportation performance measures such as per capita vehicle miles traveled (VMT), trips, and GHG emissions. An Economic Assessment and Feasibility Evaluation for prototype sites confirmed that height and floor-area-ratio (FAR) incentives provide enhance economic value that make the provision of community benefits economically viable. • A Fiscal Impact Analysis affirmed that the plan achieves a balance between additional housing and services and a strong and diverse economy, in order to ensure the ongoing health and balance of the City's budget. Limited changes that target hotels and creative office uses support the City's housing and social service efforts. The refined vision along with comprehensive goals and policies are reflected in the Draft LUCE, released in November 2009. In addition to community-wide workshops, Staff presented the Draft LUCE to numerous community groups,' local organizations, and City departments since its release. Final EIR A Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared for the LUCE program, in compliance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), using a horizon year of 2030 and considering a broad range of impact categories. The Draft EIR was released for 45-day public review and comment period on January 21, 2010 and presented to the City Council on February 9, 2010. Approximately two dozen written comment letters and emails were received, including many comments on issues that had been. addressed ih the Draft LUCE or Draft EIR. A Final EIR was issued on April 24, 2010 that incorporated the comment letters and emails, a response to each comment, any resulting text changes, and a Mitigation Monitoring Program. The proposed LUCE program results in very few significant impacts due to the self-mitigating nature of the land use and transportation integration and a core emphasis on sustainability. The Planning Commission held seven public hearings starting May 6, 2010 and ending on June 3, 2010, unanimously recommending approval of the Draft LUCE as amended and. certification of the Final EIR as outlined in a resolution to City Council. 5 Discussion A BALANCED STRATEGY GUIDES THE PLAN The draft LUCE gives life to the identity, values, and vision of the Santa Monica community in a balanced and creative manner. Its strength reflects Santa Monica's tenacity for meeting today's challenges and providing for those generations who will follow in our footsteps. It is designed to meet and exceed State and local targets to reduce greenhouse gases that lead to climate change, including targets set by: • California Assembly Bill 32, and Senate Bill 375 • Santa Monica Sustainable City Plan It is consistent with the state-of-the art guidelines for Greenhouse Gases reduction from: • California Attorney General • California Air Pollution Control Officer's Association (CAPCOA) • California Office of Planning and Research (OPR) • California Air Resource Board (GARB) The plan promotes reductions in per capita vehicle miles traveled and trips through compact mixed-use development that creates complete neighborhoods with access to more affordable and workforce housing and daily goods and services, transportation demand management programs, and circulation strategies encouraging walking, bicycling and transit use, and reducing trips. These work together to promote the greenhouse gas reductions necessary for our local health and security. The Draft LUCE is also an integrated plan. Throughout the planning process, numerous options and alternatives were weighed and considered, including alternatives with more growth and intensity, and alternatives that were lower-scale and more land intensive. The Draft LUCE is predicated on the complete integration of land use and transportation and is a balanced solution to preserve community character, achieve city-wide sustainability, and ensure continued quality of community services and facilities, with focus on: • The amount of allowable change -significantly reducing overall change as well as reducing the potential for additional regional commercial uses in comparison to the 1984 Plan, and protecting neighborhood character by redirecting housing pressure to the boulevards. 6 • The location of land uses -encouraging compact mixed-use development that significantly reduces the land area impacted, (the existing 1984 Plan would impact 50% more land area than the Draft LUCE), and strategically locating mixed-use on the boulevards near transit and at future Expo Light Rail stations where a mix of housing, local goods and services, and jobs create new walkable neighborhoods in former commercial areas. • The tvpe of land uses -shifting emphasis from commercial to housing. Residential uses would occupy approximately 50% more area than all commercial uses combined. The plan would bring daily needs close to home and introduces housing with local services into employment areas to reduce future regional commercial potential. • The uo ality of projects -creating compatible and quality designs that encourage social interaction, open spaces acid enhanced community character through conservation and historic preservation programs. The Draft LUCE establishes a lowered base height above which projects can provide community benefits, and. creates discretionary review for projects, along with on-going public input. • The pace of change -controlling implementation through on-going monitoring of performance measures, and through the creation of area plans and activity center plans. Community involvement is greatly increased through both planning efforts and project review. DRAFT LUCE PRINCIPLES RECOMMENDED TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR ACTION The City Council will have the opportunity to review, take public testimony and act on the full range of land use and transportation planning goals and policies that, woven together, create a fiscally viable and sustainable LUCE. Prior to acting on the LUCE, the City Council will take action to certify the Final EIR, a document confirming that the LUCE policies achieve established goals. The City Council will be asked to endorse the underlying strategies of the Draft LUCE as well as all the significant concepts, goals and polices presented each evening. This will include the key concepts listed below, which have all been endorsed by the Planning Commission:. • Neighborhood Conservation goals, policies and actions • Historic Preservation goals, policies and actions • Integrated Land Use and Transportation planning 7 - Reduced commercial growth -encouraged predominantly residential development on boulevards - Reduced regional serving commercial growth -endorsed focus on local- serving neighborhood retail and creative office • Housing -creating new housing opportunities on the boulevards and within transit districts, transforming regional-serving office potential to housing • Community benefits approach and tier structure - Ability for projects to provide community benefits in return for development incentives - Discretionary review required for projects above baseline • Circulation and TDM strategies to achieve No Net New PM Peak Trips • Strategies to promote fiscal health and diversity - Jobs located at Expo stations and near transit to reduce trips - Retail uses and services that support "complete neighborhoods" - Commercial uses necessary to support basic services and community benefits - Jobs that reflect Santa Monica's cultural and community values, emphasizing creative arts and healthcare • Creative jobs and new housing at Bergamot Transit Village and the Mixed-Use Creative Districts. {Planning Commission supported increased heights in these two districts and changed the mix of uses in the Mixed-Use Creative District.) • Activity Centers -create an overlay that incentivizes, by one floor, areas designated for Activity Centers. A partnerships with community and property owners shall be initiated prior to undertaking a plan for an Activity Center. A. Neighborhood Conservation-and Preserving Community Character: Neiphborhood Conservation: The Draft LUCE protects and conserves existing neighborhoods, which make up the majority of the city's land area. It acknowledges the fundamental importance of the neighborhoods and proposes ah innovative program of incentives and restraints designed to redirect intensive residential market pressure away from existing neighborhoods through the creation of significant new housing opportunities along the City's boulevards and transit corridors. In tandem, the plan proposes a conservation strategy composed of a wide variety of tools designed to give residents more control over the type of changes occurring in their neighborhoods. Neighborhood-specific and city-wide goals and policies are designed to preserve the 8 scale, character and quality of life in the neighborhoods. Among the wide range of Neighborhood Conservation tools in the Draft LUCE are neighborhood conservation overlay districts, revised demolition guidelines, parking management strategies, guidelines to create increased connections, and a vision for complete neighborhoods. AREAS OF CONSERVATION ~a ©~Pa s~ti~„ -Expo the Historic Preservation and Community Character: The Draft LUCE celebrates Santa Monica's past by preserving attributes that characterize and represent the City's history. An expanded range of tools and incentives are added to the planning process to facilitate adoptive reuse and ensure .that preservation is feasible for the buildings, spaces and character-defining features of the community. Tools include transfer of development rights and conservation easements. Green Streets and Open Space: The Draft LUCE enhances the neighborhoods with additional open space, including the "City as Park" strategy, increasing opportunities for community gathering places, recreation, and landscaping. The recently approved Ocean Park Boulevard "Complete Green Street" is an example of LUCE implementation. that reclaims the streets for community enrichment. B. Targeting New Housing Opportunities along Mixed-Use Boulevards The Draft LUCE transitions the boulevards into vibrant centers of activity with ground- level local serving retail and a variety of housing on the upper floors. By focusing new residential uses on the boulevards, there is less pressure for housing in the neighborhoods and the opportunity to reduce traffic through the availability of transit and services within walking .distance. The connection between compact mixed-use 9 development and transit is at the heart of sustainable land use patterns that reduce vehicle trips and greenhouse gas emissions. This compact building form significantly reduces the footprint of future change, while allowing the City to achieve its crucial housing goals Aparessive Housina Strategies: The Draft LUCE shifts the City's .land use policy from the strong commercial emphasis of the earlier 1984 General Plan to a focus on creating significant new housing opportunities, including affordable, where little or none currently exist. This includes incentivizing housing in areas that are associated with transit and that currently provide for commercial or industrial uses -including the boulevards, and future Expo Light Rail stations. The Draft LUCE would promote the construction of significant additional housing units through incentives on the boulevards. The Plan recognizes that housing diversity is central to providing opportunities for people of all ages and income levels. This includes affordable and workforce housing as well as family, senior and congregate housing. Affordable Housina: The Draft LUCE supports 100 percent affordable housing projects, with supportive goals and polices for incentives, including special development .standards and parking reductions, which make these projects come to life. There are specific requirements for providing affordable housing in new mixed-use or housing projects. In addition to the incentives for new housing and the requirements for affordable housing, the Plan .establishes performance planning to ensure that community benefits, including affordable housing, are included in future projects above a base height of 32 feet. Complete Neighborhoods: Unlike traditional suburban approaches that separate uses, the Draft LUCE creates a livable and vibrant community that encourages neighbors to meet at local restaurants and shops located in walkable village-like areas close to homes as well as bus and future light rail lines. The Draft LUCE also envisions a mix of uses and services on the boulevards supporting the needs of daily neighborhood life,. 10 creating easy access to restaurants, shopping, and gathering that build community. Strong .parking management measures are incorporated into the Plan for implementation to create additional parking resources for residents and limit overflow impacts. C. Managing Congestion and fostering healthy transportation alternatives. The-Draft LUCE puts the tools in place that are necessary for the city to regain control of its streets. The LUCE's overarching approach to locate new housing and jobs at transportation hubs, which reduces daily trips, is complemented by aggressive traffic management strategies. Pro-active Conaestion Management and Transportation Demand Manaaement: A core principle of the Draft LUCE is achieving reduced trips through wide ranging management strategies and physical improvements to encourage the use of alternative modes of travel and discourage single vehicle occupancy wherever possible. The plan sets goals for reduction of trips generated by future development, ensuring that new projects minimize impacts on the existing roadways, and establishes specific programs to reduce trips from existing development. The Plan envisions an assertive role for the City in managing the transportation system through Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Districts. Creating partnerships to initiate and operate programs such as vanpooling, car-pooling, and bicycle-sharing, car- sharing and transit pass programs will be a key step toward reducing vehicle trips. Achieving No Net New Trips: One of the most innovative features of the Draft LUCE is the `No Net New Evening Peak Hour Vehicle Trips' target. It is also a tool for on-going measurement of traffic and the functioning of the circulation system. This target can be 11 achieved by putting the right land uses in the right locations, and through a robust strategy to minimize new vehicle trips and reduce existing vehicle trips while making trips on foot, bicycle and transit easier, more pleasant and more accessible. The newly developed city-wide Travel Demand Model confirmed that implementation of the LUCE can achieve the No Net New Evening Peak Hour Vehicle Trips goal as well as: • Reduce vehicle emissions (greenhouse gasses) that contribute to climate change. • Reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT): Daily VMT per resident would decline by 4% compared to existing conditions, and aggregate VMT would be 50% lower than under the 1984 Plan. • Reduce Corridor Travel Time: the plan lowers corridor travel time on 10 corridors in at least one direction of travel during the AM and/or PM peak hour. On every corridor during the AM and PM peak, the future draft LUCE travel times are lower than those projected for the 1984 Plan. Sustainability: The draft LUCE champions a sustainable future, taking it as a core value and organizing principle of the plan. The LUCE is structured to achieve greenhouse gas reduction and to design for minimum impacts. It incorporates limits on the type and location of change to ensure a sustainable future. Recent State legislation (AB 32, SB 375) along with positions taken by the State Attorney General's office identify the need for integrating land use and transportation to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that lead to climate change. Implementation of the LUCE goals and policies would meet and exceed the GHG reductions recommended by the State, and the targets set by the City's own Sustainable City Plan. In addition to integrating land use and transportation, the Draft LUCE encourages green building, water and energy conservation and renewable/solar 12 energy production, along with waste reduction policies to ensure community security and health. D. Employment, Fiscal Health and Sustaining Fiscal Diversity The Draft LUCE focuses opportunities for housing and employmeht near the future Expo Light Rail stations as a way to minimize congestion and reduce trips. This approach also supports the neighborhood conservation strategies to redirect development pressure, by providing opportunities to meet the city's housing and employment needs in compact areas outside of the existing neighborhoods. Future Emplovment: The Plan promotes a strong shift toward housing on the boulevards .and in the commercial districts. This significantly reduces the city-wide potential for future employment opportunities, particularly in contrast to the 1984 General Plan. Limited opportunities for employment are located on transit corridors and near future Expo Light Rail stations. The community and the Planning Commission supported retaining future employment opportunities at Bergamot Transit Village and the Mixed-Use Creative District where the viability of the creative arts and culture center would continue to be embraced. Development policies in this area encourage the arts, including additional space for the growing film, music, and television economy, artist live/work housing, affordable artist housing, and performing arts spaces. The LUCE targets a 60/40 ratio of future employment to housing in these areas. This ratio is critical to ensure the city's long-term fiscal health, as these remain the primary employment locations in the City. While these areas have historically been designated almost solely for commercial uses, the Draft LUCE does recommend adding significant amounts of new housing, including affordable and workforce, with some local retail to optimize the mix of uses near the light rail. Employment mixed with housing, including workforce, is also retained near the city's hospitals to maintain Santa Monica's strength as a healthcare provider. Both areas will be well served by transit allowing TDM programs to further reduce vehicle trips. 13 Fiscal Health: The LUCE's principle land use and transportation recommendations are designed to support an economically sound and sustainable future. The plan recognizes that Santa Monica values the combination of a rich historic, cultural and residential heritage with the vigor of a balanced economy. This fiscal balance is critical to the City's ability to support long-held social values such as housing diversity and affordability, and social. enrichment including child care, life-long learning, recreation, and human services. The Draft LUCE proposes predominantly new residential uses, and strategically limits future employment opportunities to locations where citywide light rail and transit options are available. The Draft LUCE greatly reduces regional commercial uses and office opportunities citywide. Future commercial and employment growth is focused on creative arts, healthcare, the visitor-serving hotel and hospitality industry, and local- serving retail that contribute to the City's identity and to its uniqueness as a beach and retail destination. A fiscal impact analysis confirmed that the amount allocated and mix of uses in the Draft LUCE is able to achieve the City's long-term fiscal sustainability which funds essential and desirable City services. The fiscal impact analysis also confirmed that the cost of providing housing - typically a net fiscal drain due to the need for schools, utilities, and emergency services - is offset by the net fiscal benefit created by the amount and type of employment and hotel uses focused in areas identified in the plan. E. Achieving Community Benefits in the City's Districts and Activity Centers Community Benefits: A basic tenet of the plan is that new development above a certain minimum threshold should .provide "community benefits" -leaving the urban fabric better than it found it and improving the day to day lives of residents. To accomplish this, a tiered structure would be established which provides that projects above the first tier must include certain preferred uses or beneficial design features such as ground level open space or meet greater development standards that serve the community's core needs. .The Draft LUCE specifies the broad categories of community benefits 14 including affordable and workforce housing, physical improvements such as open space, green streets and wider sidewalks, historic preservation, preferred uses such as child care or senior care, and extensive Transportation Demand Management measures to reduce trips. This innovative performance-based approach advances the community's fundamental social, cultural, physical, transportation, and environmental goals. A financial analysis of prototype sites assessed whether additional height/floor-area- ratio (FAR) proposed for Tier 2 and Tier 3 projects would provide enhanced economic value so that the provision of community benefits would be economically viable. .This evaluation demonstrated significant enhanced value, thereby showing that community benefits can be provided at each tier while also maintaining Santa Monica's competitive edge which ensures high quality development. Districts: The Draft LUCE responds to the unique character and function of parts of the city, identifying nine districts for consideration. Three of the larger districts, Bergamot, Mixed Use Creative and Downtown are located adjacent to the Expo Stations, reducing future trips by auto. The Draft LUCE establishes greater community involvement and opportunity for creating a comas Eyw al grvneni i s"'! ~ ~~ Expo Sinrion z i - _~. t a' o -_s a Y ~-f (T k rY - ~' ~ U i -o- - - ~ Lincnfn-Blvd. '-' l ., ,- ,.~~w-~-' ti ~A~, ~.~ . ,.. , _ , ~,-, ~Downtawn ~MainBMontana Mixed-Use Creative ') ®Civic Center Industrial Conservation Bergamot Transit Pillage ®Beach 80ceanhant Health Care ®Airport8Business Park district vision by requiring a specific or area plan, specifically for Downtown, the Hospital District, Bergamot Transit Village, and the Mixed Use Creative District and ultimately the Santa Monica Airport. The plan celebrates the creative arts areas, recognizing their 15 contribution to the cultural experience in Santa Monica. As Area Plans are prepared for the Bergamot, Mixed Use and Downtown Districts, it will be important to ensure that complete neighborhoods, including a range of housing and employment opportunities, shared parking and open space are created. A Healthcare District will facilitate a cooperative and integrated area for expanded healthcare services. The Beach and Oceanfront districts provide resources to celebrate and protect the value of the beach and oceanfront in defining the character of Santa Monica. Activity Centers: The Activity centers are carefully located on the boulevards as focal points of mixed-use retail and housing, which are designed around open spaces to create community gathering places within walking distance of most neighborhoods. The five future activity centers are designated at transit-supported locations, with sufficient lot depths ~,. _ a ~ ~i - ° o , ,.~ me > m V K~ ~ j 2 r ' ~ ~ ~U x r (~;` ~ ~ n 3 a Y r->. m a N a p O y~ }-f ~ m 4 O . m o f.. uHCOw~i3o ~D to protect the adjacent residential areas and the opportunity for shared parking. Key components of future activity centers will include housing, retail and local-serving uses with shared parking. The activity centers represent an opportunity for property owners and the community to engage in true placemaking at appropriate locations on the boulevards. A comprehensive visioning process will be the first step before an activity center can proceed. This community process will establish expectations and parameters for the activity center. To incentivize property owners to work with the city and community, one additional floor may be available after a coordinated area plan is completed. 16 F. Managing and Monitoring Change To ensure that the pace, type and character of new development deliver on community's expectations, the draft LUCE includes an implementation program that outlines tools to measure and manage future changes. Specific tools, policies and actions are built into the structure of the plan which provide the City and the community with desired outcomes, and the ability to manage change and monitor progress. In addition, the Draft LUCE is predicated on an on-going dialogue with the community for the review of discretionary projects and creation of area plans. This includes obtaining early community input on discretionary projects, a community process for creating Area Plans and Specific Plans for Bergamot, Downtown, and the Activity Centers, and controlling pace of change through measurement and monitoring, and legislative adjustments if necessary. PLANNING COMMISSION EXTENDED DISCUSSION ISSUES The Planning Commission unanimously recommended adoption of the Draft LUCE and Final EIR. The Planning Commission, during their seven public hearings, held extensive discussion on a multitude of topics including the heights in non-residential designations (Boulevards and Districts), the mix of residential and non-residential uses citywide, the .location, amount and type of uses particularly in Bergamot Transit Village and the Mixed-Use Creative district, and design flexibility, including proposals for some increases in heights. Height Of these items, the discussion on building heights produced the most considerable suggested modifications to the Draft LUCE. The Planning Commission's proposed changes were to achieve floor to floor heights that allow for better design and flexibility for greater ground-floor commercial heights and/or residential spaces. The heights were not changed to create an additional floor of the building. No increases to the maximum FAR were made, and a few recommendations for reducing FAR 17 corresponding with a height increase were included. The Planning Commission's recommendations were based on the following base criteria: • Abase commercial height of 15 to 18 feet, with the higher height prioritized on major boulevards like Wilshire and in Bergamot Transit Village • Providing a 10'-6" residential floor height in order to achieve an interior clear space of up to 9' • Where office is permitted on upper levels, provide 13'-6" to create appropriate interior heights The Planning Commission majority recommendations are as follows: • No change to height recommended for the areas designated: Neighborhood Commercial, Office Campus, .Industrial Conservation, and General Commercial (on Santa Monica Boulevard). • Increases in maximum allowable height in order to accommodate greater interior floor to ceiling spaces, as indicated in Figure 1: Figure 9: Planning Commission's recommendations on building height changes shaded ~n```;t~' I Land Use Designation ~_ TIER 1 _ TIER 2 TIER 3 ' LUCE PC ;LUCE PC LUCE PC Mixed Use Boulevard 2 (32) I 2,(32) 35' 36 45 4T:, 3 Low 3 (35 3: 36) ~ s Mixed Use Boulevard 1 2 (32') 2 (32) ~45' SQ' j 55' 55 or 3 (35') ~ (39) ~ ~ up to 6Q` ~!tfh corres 'dn~dtr) per'centagzy c(eerease crj s F~f ~ General Commercial - 2 (32) 2 (32) ~ 35' 3 None ~ None ~~Lmcoln & Pico Blvds ~ 3 (35 3...36 ) Bergamot Transit a 2 (32) 2 (32 ~ 55'~~ GO 75 max 75 or Village 3 (35) 3`(3g=) ~ = for no '= up fa 81 with more ~ correspanding than percentage 50% of decrease m ~ ~ bldg FAF2' j ~ envelope :, Mixed-Use Creative Oceanfront 3 55' 2 (32') t 45' ! 47.` =i None None 18 `Heights were based on either 15' or 18' (Mixed Use Boulevard and Bergamot Transit Village only) ground floor and 10.5' upper floors. In all boulevards, internal height of 9' can be achieved with 10.5' floors. For office development, 13.5' floors can be achieved. **Subject to a discretionary review process and an Area Plan, projects that provide additional community benefits, may request a height up to 75 feet and 3.5 FAR. Significant variation in rooflines and building form is required with specific standards to be included in the Bergamot Transit Village Area Plan. Pursuant to the plan, projects may also request height up to 81 feet if there is a corresponding percentage decrease in FAR. The average building height shall be a minimum of 10 feet less than the maximum requested height. It is important to note that the Planning Commission's decision on height were not unanimous, with two Commissioners dissenting as they believed the changes in height exceeded what was agreed upon during the LUCE community process, were not necessary to achieve good design, and in a few circumstances, resulted in building heights that were incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Mix of Uses The Planning Commission strongly supported the emphasis on increased housing opportunities in the Draft LUCE. They also supported the location of future employment at future Expo Light Rail Stations with the opportunity to create vibrant mixed use transit villages. The Commission was very conscious in their deliberations of the need for a fiscally sound land use plan which included future employment opportunities in specific sectors that support community values and minimize impacts. Ultimately, the Planning Commission supported the Draft LUCE for the Bergamot Area to have a 60% creative arts and 40% residential uses as a target, recognizing that this results in a significant reduction in land available for commercial uses. The Commission recommended that the Mixed-Use Creative Area, as it transitions away from the area immediately adjacent to the Expo Light Rail station, should target a greater reduction of current employment opportunities with an increase in new housing opportunities to reflect a minimum future target of 50% housing. Design Flexibilit With respect to providing architects and designers with language that ensures flexibility, the Planning Commission modified the specific recommendations with several 19 amendments to the standards for stepbacks, maximum streetwall height, stepbacks at the street and adjacent to residential uses with an alley, and building envelopes. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT Consistent with the requirements. of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a Draft EIR was prepared for the LUCE that identified potential environmental effects associated with implementation of the LUCE, along with a range of reasonable project alternatives. The Draft EIR was circulated for public comment from January 21, 2010 to March 8, 2010, and presented to -the City Council (February 9. 2010) and to the Planning Commission on February 10, 2010. The Final EIR incorporates the 23 comment letters and emails received and provides written responses to each comment contained in the letters. Comments focused on policy directions of the LUCE and did not identify new information or CEQA issues that necessitated changes to the analysis and conclusions of the Draft EIR. Some minor clarifications and corrections were incorporated into the Final EIR. The Final EIR identifies very few impacts from implementation of the LUCE, and a number of beneficial results related to Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. The analysis confirmed the achievement of "No Net New Trips" and resulted in an improvement to air quality. Many features of the plan serve to "self-mitigate" the impacts. When compared to continued implementation of the 1984 Plan, the LUCE performs better in the categories of Transportation/Traffic, Aesthetics, Air Quality, Cultural Resources, Land Use, Noise, Population & Housing, Public Services and Utilities. The Draft EIR identifies that impacts would primarily consist of short-term construction-related activities such as the release of dust and .particulate matter, and generatioh of construction noise.. The Draft LUCE establishes a rigorous regulatory framework for the preservation of historic structures and character-defining features within the City. However, it is conceivable that over the next 20 years a demolition or substantial modification of a historic resource could occur resulting in a potentially significant impact. And finally, the EIR looks at the potential for traffic impacts with consideration of anticipated regional growth in traffic, pass-through traffic, and with the 20 LUCE. In spite of the No Net New Evening Peak Period Trips achieved by the LUCE, and given the combined regional, pass-through .and local trips, there still remain significant impacts at five intersections -.two in the AM peak, one in the PM peak, and two during both AM and PM peak periods. .Financial Impacts & Budget Actions A fiscal impact analysis for the Draft LUCE confirmed that implementation of the plan's land use strategies would result in a net fiscal benefit. The limited commercial development, including hotel and creative office, offsets the cost implications of the aggressive housing strategies. Prepared by: Francie Stefan, Community & Strategic Planning Manager Ellen Gelbard, Assistant Director, Planning and Community Development Department Approved: Development Forwarded to Council: Rod Gould City Manager Attachment A: 2010 City Council LUCE Hearings Schedule of Topics Attachment B: Resolution Number 10-009 (PCS) 21 Additional attachments available for review in the City Clerk's Office .