O2420City Council Meeting 3 -12 -13
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2420
(City Council Series)
Santa Monica, California
(CCS)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA ADDING CHAPTER 9.73 TO THE SANTA MONICA
MUNICIPAL CODE ESTABLISHING THE TRANSPORTATION IMPACT FEE
PROGRAM, THE TRANSPORTATION IMPACT FEE, AND ESTABLISHING AN
ADJUSTMENT AND WAIVER PROVISION
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica is a small, dense, older, coastal city
in a prime location, which consists of eight square miles, bordered on one side by
the Pacific Ocean and on three sides by the City of Los Angeles; and
WHEREAS, the combination of a scenic oceanside location, excellent
climate, and the ready availability of urban facilities, services and entertainment
make Santa Monica an extremely desirable place to live, work or visit; and
WHEREAS, approximately 89,000 people live in the City, on weekdays
there are about 300,000 present in the City, and on weekends and holidays the
number of persons in the City soars to between 500,000 and 1 million; and
WHEREAS, because of the numbers of people who live in, commute to
and from, and visit the City, the provision of an adequate transportation
infrastructure is essential to the City's success; and
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WHEREAS, the City has adopted a Land Use & Circulation Element
(LUCE) of its General Plan for the purpose of ensuring adequate circulation
thereby preserving and enhancing quality of life within the City; and
WHEREAS, objectives of the LUCE include no net new automobile PM
peak hour trips; and
WHEREAS, continued new development which does not contribute toward
the cost of new transportation infrastructure will only serve to further exacerbate
the negative effects of increased vehicle travel; and
WHEREAS, the LUCE Goal T1 calls for designing and managing Santa
Monica's streets to support comprehensive public health and safety; and
WHEREAS, LUCE Goal T19 states that the City should create an
integrated transportation and land use program that seeks to limit total peak
period vehicle trips with a Santa Monica origin or destination to 2009 levels; and
WHEREAS, LUCE Policy T19.7 calls for the City to perform a nexus study
and implement transportation impact fee to mitigate negative transportation
impacts of new development; and
WHEREAS, LUCE action items explicitly encourage the use of impact
fees for pedestrian improvements, bicycle improvements, to support the Big Blue
Bus and more broadly to achieve the alternative transportation choices and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and
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WHEREAS, LUCE calls for the creation of a Pedestrian Action Plan that
provides a framework for prioritizing investments in pedestrian improvements and
this plan is currently in development; and
WHEREAS, the Bicycle Action Plan identifies a comprehensive 5 -year and
20 -year bicycle network; and
WHEREAS, it is anticipated that new development will continue to occur in
the City of Santa Monica; and
WHEREAS, it is appropriate for new land uses to pay for improvements to
the transportation network proportionally to the number of PM peak hour trips
their development contributes to the total number of trips.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 9.73 is hereby added to the Municipal Code
to read as follows:
Chapter 9.73
Transportation Impact Fee Program
9.73.010 Findings and Purpose.
(a) The purpose of this Chapter is to implement the goals,
objectives and policies of the City of Santa Monica's Land Use &
Circulation Element ( "LUCE ") and, particularly, the City's goal of no net
new automobile PM peak hour trips occurring when new development is
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constructed within the City limits. Imposing a fee that is reasonably
related to the burdens created by new development on the City's surface
transportation system will enable the City to construct the required capital
improvements that will contribute to fulfilling this goal.
(b) The City has prepared a Transportation Impact Fee Nexus
Study. It shows, and the City Council finds that there is a reasonable
relationship between the purpose for which the fees established by this
Ordinance are to be used and the type of development projects on which
the fees are imposed, and between the amount of the fees and the cost of
the transportation facilities or portion of the facilities attributable to the
development on which the fees are imposed.
(c) It is the intent of the City Council that the fee required by this
Chapter shall be supplementary to any conditions imposed upon a
development project pursuant to other provisions of the Municipal Code,
the City Charter, the Subdivision Map Act, the California Environmental
Quality Act, other state and local laws, which may authorize the imposition
of project specific conditions on development.
9.73.020 Applicability of Chapter.
(a) The regulations, requirements and provisions of this Chapter and
Council resolutions adopted pursuant hereto shall apply to all new Projects for
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which a development application was deemed complete or an application for
changes in existing uses was made on or after the effective date of this
Ordinance.
(b) Notwithstanding the above, the following projects, square footage
and affordable residential units shall not be subject to the requirements of this
Chapter:
(1) places of worship;
(2) City projects;
(3) day care centers;
(4) private K -12 schools;
(5) multi - family rental housing projects developed by a nonprofit housing
provider if the developer is receiving financial assistance through a public
agency, so long as the multi - family rental housing project is an affordable
housing project meeting the requirements of Santa Monica Municipal Code
Section 9.04.02.030.065 and the project's affordable housing obligations will be
secured by a regulatory agreement, memorandum of agreement, or recorded
covenant with a public agency for a minimum period of fifty -five years;
(6) re- occupancy of square footage in an existing building or structure if
there is no change of use;
(7) square footage used for outdoor dining in the public right of way; and
(8) affordable housing units deed restricted to very-low income and low
income households.
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9.73.030 Definitions.
For the purpose of this Chapter, the following terms shall be
defined as follows:
(a) "Area 1" shall mean the area bounded in the west by
California Avenue from 7th Street to Ocean Avenue, in the north by 7th
Street from California Avenue to Highway 10 and 4th Street from Highway
10 to Olympic Drive, in the east by Highway 10 from 7th Street to 4th Street
and Olympic Drive from 4th Street to Ocean Avenue, and in the south by
Ocean Avenue from California Avenue to Olympic Drive and, the area
bounded in the west by Broadway from 20th Street to 26th Street and
Colorado Avenue from 26th Street to Stewart Street, in the north by 26th
Street from Broadway to Colorado Avenue and by Stewart Street from
Colorado Avenue to Exposition Boulevard, in the east by Exposition
Boulevard and Michigan Avenue from Stewart Street to Cloverfield
Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard from Cloverfield Boulevard to 20th
Street, and in the south by 20th Street from Broadway to Olympic
Boulevard and Cloverfield Boulevard from Olympic Boulevard to Michigan
Avenue.
"Area 2" shall mean any remaining area within the City
boundary that are not included in Area 1.
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(c) "Area 3 Overlay" shall mean a half mile walk -shed from a
transit station within the City boundary. Only Housing Development
Projects as defined in Section 9.73.040(a)6 may qualify for a
Transportation Impact Fee based on their location within the Area 3
Overlay.
SANTA MONICA TRANSPORTATION IMPACT FEE AREAS
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Area 2
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"City Projects" shall mean City public works projects and City
community facilities (e.g. libraries, public parking structures, recycling
centers, and community centers), not including public /private partnerships.
(e) "Housing Development Project' shall mean a development
project with common ownership and financing consisting of residential use
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or mixed use where not less than fifty (50) percent of the floorspace is for
residential use as provided in Government Code Section 66005.1(c) and
its successor statutes.
(f) "Nexus Study" shall mean the Transportation Impact Fee
Nexus Study prepared by Nelson /Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc,
dated April 2012.
(gJ 'Project' shall mean any development having a gross new or
additional floor area of one thousand square feet or more or that changes
an existing use to a different use that increases the demand for
transportation infrastructure, or residential development of improved or
unimproved land which adds dwelling units. Gross floor area for the
purposes of this definition shall be the same as Section 9.04.02.030.315,
or any successor legislation, but shall exclude parking area. Where the
requirements of this Chapter have been adjusted or waived for a project
pursuant to Section 9.73.050 hereof, subsequent changes in use, project
remodels or tenant improvements that increase trip generation shall
constitute a project as defined herein.
(h)
"Transit
Station" means a rail or light -rail station, ferry
terminal,
bus hub, or
bus transfer station, and
includes planned transit
stations
otherwise
meeting this definition
whose construction is
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programmed to be completed prior to the scheduled completion and
occupancy of the housing development.
u "Transportation Impact Fee" shall mean a fee paid to the City
by an applicant pursuant to Section 9.73.040 of this Chapter in connection
with approval of a project, to contribute to the creation of transportation
improvements to offset additional vehicle trips generated by new
development to achieve No Net New Trips consistent with the goals,
objectives and policies of the City's Land Use & Circulation Element
( "LUCE ").
9.73.040 Transportation Mitigation Requirement.
Except as provided in Section 9.73.050, the developer of a Project
shall pay a transportation impact fee in accordance with the following:
(a) Transportation Impact Fee. Fees shall be computed as
follows:
1. For Single Family residential development projects that
result in the addition of a dwelling unit:
(A) $7,600 per multi - family dwelling unit in Area 1.
(B) $7,800 per multi - family dwelling unit in Area 2.
2. For Multi - Family residential development projects that result
in the addition of a dwelling unit:
(A)
$2,600 per multi - family dwelling unit in Area 1.
(B)
$3,300 per multi - family dwelling unit in Area 2.
(C)
$2,600 per multi - family dwelling unit in Area 3 Overlay
for Housing
Development Projects that satisfy the requirements of
subsection 6 (A), (B), and (C) of this subsection.
3. All non - residential projects shall pay the following based on
the gross square footage of the proposed project:
(A)
Retail:
i.
$21 per square foot in Area 1.
ii.
$30.10 per square foot in Area 2.
(B)
Office:
i.
$9.70 per square foot in Area 1.
ii.
$10.80 per square foot in Area 2.
(C)
Medical Office:
i.
$28.10 per square foot in Area 1.
ii.
$29.80 per square foot in Area 2.
(D)
Hospital:
i.
Not applicable.
ii.
$14.70 per square foot in Area 2.
(E)
Lodging:
i.
$3.60 per square foot in Area 1.
ii.
$3.60 per square foot in Area 2.
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(F) Industrial:
i. $1.20 per square foot in Area 1.
ii. $1.30 per square foot in Area 2.
(G) Auto Sales & Display Areas:
i. $1.20 per square foot in Area 1.
ii. $1.30 per square foot in Area 2.
4. The land use categories identified in subsections (i) — (vi),
above, shall have the following meanings:
(A) Single Family Residential shall include Single Family.
(B) Multi - Family Residential shall include Congregate
Care- Non Senior, Congregate Care — Seniors, and Multi Family.
(C) Retail shall include: Animal kennels and veterinary
hospitals, Auto Repair, Car wash, Community meeting facilities,
community centers and non - residential adult care facilities, Retail
and wholesale construction - related materials, nurseries and garden
centers, Entertainment and recreational facilities, Gas station,
Library, Museums, aquariums and art galleries, Nightclubs and
bars, Personal services, Post - secondary educational facility, Pre-
school/child day care, Private studio, Restaurants — fast food and
cafes, Restaurants — sit down, Retail durable goods, Retail food
and markets, Retail mixed, and Retail non -food.
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(D) Office shall include: Creative office, Financial
institutions and office, and General office.
(E) Medical office shall include: Medical office, including
medical clinics, and offices for medical professionals.
(F) Hospital shall include: Full service hospitals.
(G) Lodging shall include: Hotels, motels and other
overnight accommodations.
(H) Industrial shall include: Surface or structured auto
inventory storage, City maintenance facilities and bus yards, Heavy
industrial and manufacturing, Light industrial, Utilities, Warehouse
and self- storage, and Wholesale distribution and shipping.
5. For mixed residential /nonresidential development, the sum
of the fee required for each component as set forth above in
subdivisions (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this subsection.
6. Housing Development Projects within the Area 3 Overlay
that meet the following characteristics shall pay a Transportation
Impact Fee of $2,600 per multi - family dwelling unit:
(A) The housing development is located within one -half
mile of a transit station and there is direct access between the
housing development and the transit station along a barrier -free
walkable pathway not exceeding one -half mile in length, and
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(B) Convenience retail uses, including a store that sells
food, are located within one -half mile of the housing development,
and
(C) The housing development provides either the
minimum number of parking spaces required by the Municipal
Code, or no more than one onsite parking space for zero to two
bedroom units, and two onsite parking spaces for three or more
bedroom units, whichever is less.
7. The amount of legally permitted square footage to be
demolished in an existing building or structure, or to be removed
from an outdoor area used as part of a'service station or for auto
dealer sales, display and inventory storage, as a part of a Project
shall be a credit in the calculation of the Transportation Impact
Fee. Outdoor area used as part of a gas station shall not include
setbacks, landscaping, parking and other paved areas used solely
for access and circulation.
(b) Timing of Fee Payment.
1. The Project applicant shall pay fees according to the
schedule of fees in place on the date the fees are paid, except that the
applicant for a vesting tentative map for a development project shall pay
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the fees in effect on the date the application for the vesting tentative map
is deemed complete, as automatically adjusted.
2. No building permit for any Project shall be issued unless the
fees have been paid or, if state law requires the City to accept later fee
payment, a contract to pay the fees has been executed with the City, in
which case no final inspection shall be approved until the fees have been
paid. If a residential development project contains more than one dwelling
unit and is approved for development in phases, the developer shall pay
the fees in installments based on the phasing of the residential
development project. Each fee installment shall be paid at the time when
the first dwelling unit within each phase of development has received its
final inspection.
3. For all Projects subject to this Chapter, the City may require
the payment of fees at an earlier time if the fees will be collected for public
improvements or facilities for which an account has been established and
funds appropriated and for which the City has a proposed construction
schedule or plan prior to final inspection, or the fees are to reimburse the
City for expenditures previously made.
9.73.050 Fee Adjustments and Waivers.
(a) A developer of any Project subject to the fee described in
Section 9.73.040 (a) may request that the requirements of this Chapter be
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adjusted or waived for the conversion of non - conforming ground floor uses
in commercial zones to conforming pedestrian- oriented uses
(b) To receive an adjustment or waiver, the developer must
submit an application to the Planning and Community Development
Director, or his or her designee, at the time the developer files a
discretionary project application or, if no discretionary application is
required, a building permit application. The developer shall bear the
burden of presenting a preponderance of the evidence to support the
request and set forth in detail the factual and legal basis for the claim,
including all supporting technical documentation.
(c) The Director of Planning and Community Development or his
or her designee shall render a written decision within ninety (90) days after
a complete application is filed. The Director's decision maybe appealed
to the Planning Commission by the Project applicant if such appeal is filed
within fourteen consecutive calendar days from the date that the decision
is made in the manner provided in Part 9.04.20.24, Sections
9.04.20.24.010 through 9.04.20.24.040 of this Code. The decision of the
Planning Commission shall be final.
(d) If an adjustment or waiver is granted, any change in use
from the approved project shall invalidate the adjustment or waiver.
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9.73.060 Fee Revenue Account.
Pursuant to Government Code Section 66006, the Transportation
Impact Fee Reserve Account is hereby established. The fees paid to the
City pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter shall be deposited into the
Transportation Impact Fee Reserve Account and used solely for the
purpose described in this Chapter. All monies deposited into the Reserve
Account shall be held separate and apart from other City funds. All
interest or other earnings on the unexpended balance in the Reserve
Account shall be credited to the Reserve Account.
9.73.070 Distribution of Transportation Impact Fee Funds.
All monies and interest earnings in the Transportation Impact Fee
Reserve Account shall be expended on the construction and related
design and administration costs of constructing transportation
improvements identified in the Nexus Study, or such other report as may
be prepared from time to time to document the reasonable fair share of
the costs to mitigate the transportation impacts of new development.
Such expenditures may include, but are not necessarily limited to the
following:
(a) Reimbursement for all direct and indirect costs incurred by
the City to construct transportation improvements pursuant to this
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Chapter, including but not limited to, the cost of land and right -of -way
acquisition, planning, legal advice, engineering, design, construction,
construction management, materials and equipment.
(b) Costs of issuance or debt service associated with bonds,
notes or other security instruments issued to fund transportation
improvements identified.
(c) Reimbursement for administrative costs incurred by the City
in establishing or maintaining the Transportation Impact Fee Reserve
Account required by this Chapter, including but not limited to the cost of
studies to establish the requisite nexus between the fee amount and the
use of fee proceeds and yearly accounting and reports.
9.73.080 Periodic Review and Adjustment of Transportation Impact
Fees.
To account for inflation in transportation infrastructure construction
costs, the fee imposed by this ordinance shall be adjusted automatically
on July 1 of each fiscal year, beginning on July 1, 2013, by a percentage
equal to the appropriate Construction Cost Index as published by
Engineering News Record, or its successor publication, for the preceding
twelve (12) months.
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9.73.090 Fee Refunds.
(a) If a transportation impact fee is collected on a Project and
the permit for that Project later expires, is vacated or voided before
commencement of construction, the developer shall, upon request, be
entitled to a refund of the unexpended transportation impact fee paid, less
a portion of the fee sufficient to cover costs of collection, accounting for
and administration of the fee paid. Any request for a refund shall be
submitted in writing to the Planning and Community Development Director
within one year of the date that the permit expires or is vacated or voided.
Failure to timely submit a request for refund shall constitute a waiver of
any right to a refund.
(b) Fees collected pursuant to this Chapter which remain
unexpended or uncommitted for five or more fiscal years after deposit into
the Transportation Impact Fee Reserve Account may be refunded as
provided by state law.
9.73.100 Fee revision by resolution.
The amount of the transportation impact fees and the formula for
the automatic annual adjustment established by this Chapter may be
reviewed and revised periodically by resolution of the City Council. This
Chapter shall be considered enabling and directive in this regard.
9.73.110 Regulations.
IM
The Planning and Community Development Director, or her /his
designee, is authorized to adopt written administrative regulations or
guidelines that are consistent with and that further the terms and
requirements set forth within this Chapter.
SECTION 2. This Ordinance shall apply to all development applications
meeting the criteria for applicability as defined herein determined complete after
the effective date of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or
appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the
extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to
that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of
this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a
decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the
validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby
declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each and every section,
subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional
without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently
declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5. The Council finds that the adoption of this ordinance is not a
project pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378(b)(4), which excludes from
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the definition of Project "the creation of government funding mechanisms or other
government fiscal activities, which do not involve any commitment to any specific
project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the
environment." Alternatively, the proposed ordinance is exempt from the
provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to
Section 15061(b)(3) in that it can been seen with certainty that the proposed
ordinance does not have the potential to significantly impact the environment,
since the proposed ordinance amendment is a fee that will be levied on projects
that will be evaluated in compliance with CEQA on their own merits.
SECTION 6. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the
passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published
once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. Pursuant to
California Government Code section 66017(a), this Ordinance shall become
effective 60 days after its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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Approved and adopted this 12th day of March, 2013.
Terry O'Day, Mayor Pro
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that
the foregoing Ordinance No. 2420 (CCS) had its introduction on February 26,
2013, and was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on March
12, 2013, by the following vote:
Ayes: Councilmembers
Noes: Councilmembers:
Absent: Councilmembers:
Davis, Holbrook, McKeown, Winterer
Mayor Pro Tern O'Day
None
Vazquez, Mayor O'Connor
A summary of Ordinance No. 2420 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806.
ATTEST:
Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk