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Council Meeting 4/22/81 Santa Monica, California
STAFF REPORT
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Attorney
SUBJECT: Ordinance Declaring Moratorium on Commercial and
Residential Development
INTRODUCTION
This reports transmits an emergency ordinance declaring
a moratorium until October 1, 1981 on commercial and residential
development in the City. The Council directed the preparation of
the ordinance at its special meeting of April 21, 1981.
LEGALITY
Santa D'[onica, as a charter city, has the right to impose
a moratorium of specified duration on development, pending
completion of a planning process intended to deal with development
issues found to require attention. The time limitation imposed
upon general law cities by Section 65858 of the Government Code
does not apply to Santa Monica; .the proposed moratorium term
coincides with the date when the City must revise its Sousing
Element to comply with state law.
The ordinance contains a vested rights standard which
conforms to California case law, and has a procedure which appears `
simple and speedy enough to afford affected persons due process of
law.
E
The moratorium appears to be justified by the existence
of the findings o£ fact contained in Section l; we are of the
opinion that the ordinance is lawful in all respects.
ANALYSIS OF TFIE ORDINAIQCE
The ordinance contains seven substantive sections:
1. Findings and Purpose. This section contains 14
separate reasons justifying the imposition o£ a moratorium. Finding
(n) states the general conclusion that the public peace, health
and safety is threatened by continuing commercial and residential
development prior to comprehensive review and revision of the City's
zoning, planning, subdivision and building regulations.
2, Subdivisions. This section places a moratorium on
the acceptance for processing of any applications for approval of
Tentative Tract or Parcel Maps after the effective date of the
ordinance. The Planning Commission is directed to disapprove
applications for Tentative Tract idans or extensions of Tentative
Maps.
3. Moratorium. A moratorium is imposed on the erection,
construction, enlargement, demolition, moving, or conversion o£
and excavation or grading for .any building or structure in the City
with 1 1 specified exceptions:
a. single family homes in the R-1 One-Family
Residential District, remodeling of homes in
other zones;
b, multiple dwellings which include at least 300
of the units which are continually affordable
to persons of low and moderate income, or
for which the Housing Authority has entered
into an agreement;
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c. rental housing projects intended for low
and moderate income persons or senior
citizens which are financed by federal
or state housing assistance or owned by
religious or non-profit organizations;
d. buildings in the C-3 General Commercial District
which are_two stories or less, less than 30'
in height, and have a gross floor area
which does not exceed the total area of the
building site (one times bulk);
e. buildings for which construction commenced
before the effective date of the ordinance
and which had valid building permits before
April 17, 1931;
f. repairs, alterations, and enlargements of less
than 10% of the gross floor area of a building;
g. demolition conunenced before the effective date
of the ordinance pursuant to a demolition
permit issued before April 17; 1931;
h. condominium conversions which had a final
subdivision map before the effective date of
the ordinance and have a removal permit or
vested rights determination from the Rent
Control Board;
i. buildings which have a vested rights determination
under Section 5 of the ordinance;
j, public works projects of the City;
k. signs.
4. Moratorium on Permit Issuance. This section prohibits
the issuance of all permits for any building not exempt from the
moratorium. This includes ARB approval; the granting of Final Tract
Map approval is excluded from the moratorium. The Building
Department is required to issue a stop-work order to any person
proceeding in violation of the ordinance.
5. Vested Rights. This section sets forth a standard
and procedure for determining vested rights claims. The City
Council will make vested rights determinations. There will be
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a standard application form to be drafted by the City Attorney.
The Council will,within 30 days of the filing of a claim, grant
or deny it or refer it to a hearing examiner with specified
directions. A claim referred to a hearing examiner must be
determined by the Council no later than the adjournment of the
second regular Council meeting a-ter its referral. The vested
rights test is based on the California Supreme Court's formula:
The claimant must have secured the last
governmental approval necessary to the
performance of the desired thing, and in
good faith reliance on that approval must
have performed substantial work or incurred
substantial liabilities in furtherance of the
project.
The section sets out four factors to be considered in evaluating
vested rights claims; it also allows the Council to grant a vested
rights exemption based on unfair hardship.
6. Penalties. A violation of any part of the ordinance
is a misdemeanor and a public nuisance.
7. Effective Date and Expiration. The ordinance, as
an emergency measure, becomes effective irrnnediately upon adoption.
The ordinance will expire on October 1, 1981.
8. Emergency. The ordinance is declared to be an
emergency measure based on the reasons set out in Section 1. Five
affirmative votes are required for enactment.
ALTERNATIVES
The Council may adopt the ordinance as drafted or as
modified in regular or emergency form, or may reject it.
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RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the Council adopt
the ordinance, either as drafted or with such modifications the
Council deems advisable.
Prepared by: Stephen Shane Stark, Acting City Attorney
Bettylou Borovay, Deputy City Attorney
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