R-10508RESOLUTION NUMBER 10508 (CCS}
(City Council Series}
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
ADOPTING A LAND USE AND CIRCULATION ELEMENT OF THE GENERAL
PLAN FOR THE CITY OF SANTA MONiCA
WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 65300 et sec . requires
each city to adopt a comprehensive, Tong term general plan for the physical
development of the city, a plan which is considered the constitution governing
land use; and
WHEREAS, the general plan must include a land use element and a
circulation element; and
WHEREAS, Santa Monica`s existing Land Use and Circulation Element
was adopted by the City Council in 1984 and has not been comprehensively
revised since then; and
WHEREAS, in 2004, the City initiated the extensive multi-year planning
process of adopting a new Land Use and Circulation Element; and
WHEREAS, the process has engaged thousands of people in a broad and
inclusive public outreach process to engage and solicit ideas including residents,
members of the business community, artists, schools, social organizations and
other stakeholders such as bicycle and pedestrian advocates, preservationists,
open space advocates and the City's youth population; and
WHEREAS, this process involved workshops, dialogue, voting; reports,
Internet and phone surveys, walking tours, PowerPoinf presentations and
televised discussions at the Planning Commission and the City Council; and
WHEREAS, in April 2005, a background assessment and summary of
initial public input was prepared and published in a document entitled Emerging
Themes Report; and
WHEREAS, in July 2005, an analysis of existing- conditions and trends
was prepared in a report entitled Opportunities and Challenges Report; and
WHEREAS, the City Council discussed these reports in early 2006 and
directed that draft goals be developed to initiate the policy vision for the plan; and
WHEREAS, these draft goals were soon thereafter discussed by the
community in a series of workshops, were approved by the Planning Commission
in June 2006 and were adopted by the City Council in November 2006; and
WHEREAS, beginning in early 2007, the City engaged in a series of
"building-blocks" workshops, hands-on community events that addressed
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concerns over transportation and congestion, neighborhood and historic
preservation, development, economics, housing opportunities, and sustainability
as the City explored critical components of the prospective land use and
circulation element including: integrating land use and transportation policy;
preserving neighborhoods and core city values; creating community places
through "placemaking" and urban design principles; prioritizing community-
serving benefits; locating new neighborhood centers, housing and jobs on transit;
creating transit villages around the Exposition Light Rail stations; forming
complete neighborhoods, and achieving trip reduction through transportation
demand management strategies; and
WHEREAS, these workshops were attended by all segments of the
community including homeowners and renters, business owners, education
institutions, health care representatives, public utility companies, civic association
members, preservationists, architects, developers, bicycle advocates, the
creative arts industry, environmentalists, neighborhood organizations, other
community groups, and representatives from the City's Boards, Commissions,
and Task Forces; and
WHEREAS, after this series of 12 community workshops, dozens of
presentations to organizations, and 18 public hearings before the Planning
Commission and the City Council, the LUCE Strategy Framework was published
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in June 2008, a document which was designed to guide the program and policy
development of the Draft LUCE; and
WHEREAS, the LUCE Strategy Framework contained six framework
elements which remain the core of the Draft LUCE including neighborhood
conservation and enhancement, integrated land use and transportation, proactive
congestion management, community benefits, quality urban character and form,
and sustainability; and
WHEREAS, the Strategy Framework was endorsed by the Planning
Commission and the City Council in June and July 2008, respectively; and
WHEREAS, based on this framework, the City Council directed staff to
proceed with the environmental, fiscal, transportation analysis, and other
analyses. including neighborhood conservation and historic preservation
strategies necessary for preparation of the Draft LUCE; and
WHEREAS, the strategies and approaches in the Strategy Framework
have been refined based on extensive additional focused workshops and the
comments received therein and rigorous additional research and analysis on
community priority issues; and
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WHEREAS, this research and analysis has produced a new set of tools
for measurement and monitoring including a Travel Demand Model, based on
local land use data and calibrated with empirical traffic counts and the regional
travel demand model, and performance indicators such as greenhouse gas
emissions, vehicle miles traveled, and corridor travel times that will provide
decision makers with a quantitative assessment of LUCE strategies; and
WHEREAS, economic studies prepared throughout the planning process
have informed the Draft LUCE, including: an assessment of existing and future
economic and socioeconomic trends paired with a market sector analysis that
provided the foundation for policies supporting the amount and location of land
uses that support a diversified and sustainable economy such as hospitality,
retail, creative arts, and healthcare; a fiscal impact analysis concluding that the
Draft LUCE is fiscally balanced and prudent and that implementation of the plan
would have a net positive fiscal impact on the City; and a financial feasibility
assessment that concludes there is sufficient value enhancement to support the
provision of community benefits in projects that are granted height and floor area
bonuses; and
WHEREAS, this refined vision is reflected in the Draft LUCE which was
released for public review in November 2009 and which addresses all of the
central tenets that have been developed by the community over this extensive
planning process, including community character and neighborhood
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conservation, future trip reduction, vibrant and walkable villages, integrated land
use and transportation, local land uses and housing, jobs tied to housing and
transit, promotion of social and fiscal health and diversity, sustainability, open
space, and implementation, phasing and monitoring; and
WHEREAS, the goals and policies of the LUCE are the focus of the plan
and set the future direction of the City: and
WHEREAS, these goals and policies are predicated on the integration of
land use and transportation including a focus on the type of land uses, the
location of land uses, the quality of projects, the amount of developmental
change, and the pace of this change; and
WHEREAS, throughout the planning process, owing to the thousands of
individuals who participated in the process, a multitude of options and
alternatives were weighed and considered, including alternatives with more
concentrated change, and alternatives that were lower-scale with more spread
out development; and
WHEREAS, the Draft LUCE is designed to meet the objectives and overall
intent of reducing greenhouse gases consistent with the California Attorney
General Office's climate change directives, the California Air Pollution Control
Officer's Association (CAPCOA) suggested mitigations in the CEQA and Climate
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Change Report, and Governor's Office of Planning and Research CEQA
guidelines for greenhouse gas emissions, and has incorporated currently
established, feasible and applicable measures identified as contributing to
meeting the emission reduction targets of California Assembly Bill 32; and
WHEREAS, the General Plan guidelines prepared by the Governor's
Office of Planning and Research were considered; and
WHEREAS, the Land Use Element designates the proposed general
distribution and general location and extent of the uses of the land for housing,
business, industry, open space, education, public buildings and grounds,
disposal facilities, and other categories of public and private use of land as
required by Section 65302(a) of the Government Code; and
WHEREAS, the Circulation element identifies the general location and
extent of existing and proposed major thoroughfares, transportation routes,
bicycle and pedestrian network, and other local public utilities and facilities, all
correlated with the land use element of the plan as required in Section 65302(b)
of the Government Code; and
WHEREAS, the LUCE comprises an integrated and compatible statement
of policies along with other Elements of the General Plan as requited by Section
65300.5 of the Government Code; and
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WHEREAS, the Draft LUCE was prepared with the general purpose of
guiding and accomplishing coordinated and harmonious development of the City
which, in accordance with existing and future needs, best promotes the public
health, safety, and general welfare, as well as efficiency and economy in the
process of development; and
WHEREAS, a Draft EIR was prepared and circulated for a public comment
period from January 21, 2010 to March 8, 2010, presented to the City Council on
February 9, 2010, and to the Planning Commission on February 10, 2010; and
WHEREAS, the Draft EIR analyzed land use and planning; population and
housing; visual and cultural resources; transportation and circulation; air quality
and climate change; noise; biological resources; geology and soils; hydrology
and water quality; public services; and utilities and recreation; and included a
Water Supply Assessment that identified sufficient water supply to accommodate
plan implementation; and
WHEREAS, the Draft EIR identified the few impacts associated with
implementation of the Draft LUCE, which would primarily consist of short-term
construction-related activities such as the release of dust and particulate matter
and the generation of construction noise, along with identifying a number of
benefits in greenhouse gas reduction and climate change reduction; and
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WHEREAS, the Draft EIR concluded that implementation of the LUCE
would meet or exceed State targets (Assembly Bill 32 and Senate Bill 375) for
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and vehicle miles
traveled; and
WHEREAS, the Draft EIR also concluded that implementation of the
LUCE would exceed the targets set for the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions by the Santa Monica Sustainable City Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Final EIR was completed in April 2010, incorporating the
23 comment letters that were received and the written responses to each of
these comment letters along with some minor clarifications and corrections; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held public hearings on the Draft
LUCE on May 6, May 12, May 17, May 19, May 24, May 27, and June 3, 2010,
receiving. extensive public testimony and written submittals and engaging in a
lengthy deliberative process, and incorporating modifications to the Draft LUCE
consistent with its general goals and policies; and
WHEREAS, on May 12, 2010, the Planning Commission recommended
that the City Council certify the Final EIR; and
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WHEREAS, on June 3, 2010, the Planning Commission adopted a
resolution recommending approval of the November 24, 2009 Santa Monica
Draft Land Use & Circulation Element, as corrected on February 24, 2010 for
minor typographical errors ("Draft LUCE"), which was attached to the resolution
as Exhibit A and subject to the modifications set forth in Exhibit B of the
resolution; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission subsequently submitted its
resolution to the City Council; and
WHEREAS, on June 10, June 15, June 24, July 1, and July 6, 2010, the
City Council conducted public hearings on the Final Environmental Impact Report
and on the proposed Land Use and Circulation Elements; and
WHEREAS, at these public hearings, the City Council received extensive
public testimony and written submittals, considered the resolution of the Planning
Commission, engaged in a lengthy deliberative process, and incorporated
modifications to the Draft LUCE consistent with its general goals and policies;
WHEREAS, the Final EIR has been prepared in accordance with State
and City CEQA guidelines; and
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NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The November 24, 2009 Santa Monica Draft Land Use &
Circulation Element, as corrected on February 24, 2010 for minor typographical
errors ("Draft LUCE"), attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by
this reference, as modified by Exhibit B, attached hereto and incorporated herein
by this reference, is hereby adopted and certified as the official Land Use and
Circulation Element of the General Plan for the City of Santa Monica and thus
replaces the City of Santa Monica's Land Use and Circulation Elements and
Land Use Map originally adopted in 1984 and periodically revised thereafter.
SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution
and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
~~
M RSH JONES A(OUTRIE
Ci Attor ~y
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Adopted and approved this 6t" day of July,
~) ~Ul CCI~_.
Bobby Shriven, Mayor
I, Maria M. Stewart, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that
the foregoing Resolution No. 10508 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of the Santa
Monica City Council held on the 6t" day of July, 2010, by the following vote:
Ayes: Councilmembers: Bloom, Davis, Holbrook, McKeown, O'Day
Mayor Pro Tem O'Connor, Mayor Shriven
Noes: Councilmembers: None
Abstain: Councilmembers:
None
Absent: Councilmembers: None
ATTEST:
Maria M. Stewart, Ci Glerk