R-10580F:\atty\m un i\lavys\alan\
City Council Meeting f?-14-11 Santa Monica, California
RESOLUTION NO. 10580 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCILOF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
ADOPTING AMENDMENTS TO THE CIVIC CENTER SPECIFIC PLAN REMOVING
THE MAIN STREET TRAFFIC CIRCLE
WHEREAS, on November 23, 1993, the City Council of the City of Santa Monica
("Council") approved Resolution No. 8685, adopting the Civic Center Specific Plan
("1993 CCSP'), which set forth a new vision for the Civic Center area, and anticipated a
variety of public improvements based on an organizing urban design concept; and,
WHEREAS, on October 26, 1999, the City of Santa Monica Redevelopment
Agency approved the purchase of approximately 11.3 acres of the 15 acre RAND
parcel, providing new opportunities for development of the Civic Center; and,
WHEREAS, ion October 3, 2000, the Council adopted Resolution No. 9579,
amending the 1993 CCSP to introduce amixed-use Village concept on the property
purchased from the RAND Corporation ("RAND"), including a street improvement
described as "Main Street Circle" on that portion of the Civic Center Specific Plan
("CCSP") area where the street changes direction .at the intersection of the future Civic•
Center Drive and Main Street; and
WHEREAS, on October 24, 2000, the City Council approved a Development
Agreement by and between the City of Santa Monica and RAND which included, among
other things, RAND's obligation in connection with improvements to Main Street, to
offer
irrevocably for dedication to the City the surface portion of Property ("Main Street Circle
Dedication) necessary to build the Circle; and
WHEREAS, in 2003, the City began preparation of the Environmental Impact
Report for an updated CCSP under the California Environmental Quality Act; and
WHEREAS, on June 28, 2005, the City Council certified a Final Environmental
Impact Report ("CCSP EIR") for amendments to the CCSP to provide for, among other
things, the development of a Main Street Traffic Circle and adopted said CCSP
amendments ("2005 CCSP"); and
WHEREAS, on May 27, 2008, the Development Agreement for the Civic. Center
Village (Village) was adopted by the City Council, which Village included a "Living
Street" pedestrian walk and required access to a subterranean parking garage, and for
which the Council directed that in exchange for RAND'S dedication of an easement off
the Main Street side of the RAND property that would allow access to the Living Street
as well as easements for safe access to the Village's proposed subterranean parking
garage, RAND should be relieved from the obligation to build a pedestrian pathway as
required by its Development Agreement, Section 2.7.1(d); and
WHEREAS, On August 21, 2008, the City received a request from the RAND
Corporation to modify the Development Agreement dated October 24, 2000, in regards
to Condition 2.7.1 (d) Pedestrian Pathway; and
WHEREAS, on March 24, 2009, the City Council discussed opportunities to
eliminate the Circle as a public improvement for Main Street in the Civic Center; and
WHEREAS, on July 13, 2010 the City Council, pursuant to the Santa Monica
Municipal Code Section 9.04.20.18.080(b), announced its specific intention to consider
amending the text of the City's Civic Center Specific Plan to eliminate the Main Street
Circle and directed the Planning Commission to initiate this amendment; and
WHEREAS, RAND has agreed that elimination of the Main Street Traffic Circle
may be conditioned upon its transfer to the City of RAND's fee interest in three parcels
of land located on its property needed for development of the open space .and
circulation elements of the Village and the Civic Center (the "Three Parcels"), subject to
RAND'S reservation of certain utility easements; and
WHEREAS, the elimination of the Main Street Traffic Circle and development of
the Village's Living Street and subterranean garage access is consistent with the Land
Use & Circulation Element (LUCE) Policy D15.3, which specifically calls for updating the
CCSP, including "Eliminate the current CCSP-proposed roundabout in Main Street;" and
WHEREAS, on December 1, 2010, the Planning Commission held a public
hearing, reviewed an addendum to the CCSP EIR- prepared in compliance-with the
California Environmental Quality Act and recommended approval of the proposed
CCSP Amendment to eliminate the proposed Main Street Traffic Circle as a public
improvement for the Civic Center; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has considered the Planning Commission's
recommendations and reviewed the proposed CCSP Amendment and CCSP EIR
Addendum at a duly noticed public hearing on June 14, 2011, and has determined that
the proposed CCSP amendment to eliminate the proposed Main Street Traffic Circle is
consistent with the General Plan,
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Pursuant to the Santa Monica Municipal Code Section
9.04.20.18.160, the City Council hereby adopts the amendment to the Civic Center
Specific Plan, as contained in Exhibit 1.
SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and
the same shall be effective upon the recordation in the Official Records of the Los
Angeles County Recorder of the grant deed transferring from RAND to the City the
Three Parcels required for development within the Civic Center Village of the Living
Street and subterranean parking garage access.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
tc.~_~
MAR A J ES MOU E a~L
City Attorney
Exhibit 1
THE CIVIC CENTER SPECIFIC PLAN WILL BE AMENDED BY
REPLACING THE EXISTING LANGUAGE WITH THE FOLLOWING:
(The strikethrough sections depict the language that is being removed from the Civic
Center Specific Plan (CCSP) and the underline sections depict new language being
added.)
CCSP Modifications -Elimination of Main Street Circle
Introduction
• P. 8 (Graphic)
2. Open Space
• P. 16
The sequence of spaces from Palisades Garden Walk to the Town Square,
along the greens +^ +"° ""''n c+r°°' r`•r^'° and up to the new Civic Auditorium
Park will serve to reinforce the connectivity through the site and to knit the
Civic Center back into the fabric of the city.
• P. 24
Main. Street takes on prominence as an open space corridor within the site,
transforming itself from an oddly angled and strangely graded street that
terminates ungraciously at the Santa Monica Place garage, to a well-
choreographed series of movements between major open space elements -
+h° nn.,~n C+r°°+ r'r..l° ,..h°r° +h° ~+r°°+ nhnnn°~ ,+'.°..+'., n.+ +h° SUCK as
the Town Square, where the street meets its new destination. This street,
more than any other, forms the backbone structure to the Civic Center, and
presents the greatest opportunities for closure on occasion to expand its
recreational and open space role.
• P. 24/25
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3. Circulation
• P. 32
C-1. Improve Main Street as a civic spine that links the principal open spaces
of the district, while providing convenient north-south circulation. The Plan
calls for the Main Street corridor to be redesigned as a focal point at the heart
of the Civic Center, extending and connecting the principal open spaces of
the district, calming traffic and reducing the automobile character of the street,
and providing a convenient north-south route for residents traversing on all
modes between the Main Street commercial district and downtown Santa
Monica. To promote a more balanced street with calmer traffic and with
provision for pedestrians and bicyclists, the street is configured as a two-lane
roadway with Class II bicycle lanes and curbside parking along its length. A
• P. 39/40
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The existing
58-foot curb-to-curb dimension is reduced to 50 feet in width,
to maintain axial views along the centerline of the street between the Town
Square and the Civic Auditorium, and to provide a broader sidewalk and
parkway along the street edge.
e P. 42
Civic Center Drive is improved as a local two-way street between Fourth
Street and *"° nn°;., c*.°°* ~:.,.~° Olympic Drive to serve the Civic Center
garage, the Courthouse and the Early Childhood Center.
4. Implementation
• P. 83
Table 2: Civic Center Specific Plan Improvement Program
Streets, Promenades and Pathways
o The extension of Olympic Drive and the Olympic Drive Promenade from Main
Street to Ocean Avenue
There will also be modifications to the graphics on pages: 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 32, 34, 37,
39, 47, 50 and 52 to depict the new planned Main Street alignment without the Main
Street Circle.
CONSISTENCY WITH THE GENERAL PLAN [relevant sections only]
The proposed amendments are consistent with the Land Use & Circulation Element
(LUCE). LUCE Policy D15.3 specifically calls for updating the CCSP, including the
following:
• Eliminate the current CCSP-proposed roundabout in Main Street.
Adopted and approved this 14t" day of June, 2011.
Richard Bloom, Mayor
I, Maria M. Stewart, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that
the foregoing Resolution No. 10580 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of the Santa
Monica City Council held on the 14t" day of June, 2011, by the following vote:
Ayes: Councilmembers: Holbrook, McKeown, O'Day,
Mayor Pro Tem Davis, Mayor Bloom
Noes: Councilmembers: None
Absent: Councilmembers: Shriver, O'Connor
ATTEST:
---~ ~-~
Maria M. Stewart, C y Clerk