SR-06-24-2014-7A - 400-04CRY of City Council Report
Santa mollien
City Council Meeting: June 24, 2014
Agenda Item: %A
To: Mayor and City Council
From: David Martin, Director of Planning and Community Development
Subject: First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Interim Zoning Ordinance No
2455 (CCS)
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the City Council introduce for first reading an ordinance to amend
Interim Ordinance No. 2455 (CCS) which sets forth interim development standards and
procedures pending implementation of the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE)
through adoption of a new Zoning Ordinance. Interim Ordinance No. 2455 (CCS) is in
effect until December 31, 2014.
The two proposed amendments would establish: 1) Exercise facilities that meet certain
criteria are a permitted use within the LUCE Downtown District; and 2) Ground - level,
outdoor dining areas up to 200 square feet in size that meet certain criteria along Main
Street's LUCE Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low Districts are
exempt from a building's floor area ratio (FAR) calculation and the requirement to
provide additional parking for the outdoor dining area.
Executive Summary
This staff report recommends amending Interim Ordinance No. 2455 (CCS) in order to
encourage active, ground -floor uses in the Downtown and along the Neighborhood
Commercial /Mixed -Use Boulevard Low corridor on Main Street on an interim basis until
a new Zoning Ordinance and a new Downtown Specific Plan are adopted by Council
later this year or in early 2015. The proposed amendments would further this objective
by establishing exercise facilities as a permitted use within the entire LUCE Downtown
District instead of requiring a conditional use permit for certain properties, and by
exempting certain outdoor dining areas along Main Street's LUCE Neighborhood
Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low Districts from a building's. floor area ratio
calculation and the requirement for additional parking to serve the outdoor dining area.
These two amendments are in response to the Council's April 8 2014 direction to
evaluate and present a recommendation on several suggested Interim Zoning
Ordinance amendments proposed for consideration by several business /property
owners. These proposals were introduced to Council and staff in conjunction with the
public hearing to extend the effective date of the Interim Zoning Ordinance to the end of
the calendar year. As detailed more fully in this report, both amendments are consistent
with adopted LUCE land use policies that support active, group floor uses in the City's
commercial districts and with the parameters recommended in the Public Review Draft
Zoning Ordinance and Draft Downtown Specific Plan.
The third issue identified on April 8t" proposing an amendment to allow outdoor
merchandise display along Main Street's LUCE Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -
Use Boulevard Low Districts is not recommended as an amendment to the Interim
Zoning Ordinance. Due the wide range of aesthetic, operational, and legal issues to be
considered with this proposal, it would be more appropriately addressed and discussed
in conjunction with the Public Review Draft Zoning Ordinance that is currently before the
Planning Commission.
Background
Interim Zoninq Ordinance
Following the adoption of the LUCE in July 2010, Interim Zoning Ordinance (IZO)
Number 2345 (CCS) was first presented to establish interim zoning provisions and
standards on January 25. 2011 and was adopted on Februaar 8 2011.
The IZO has been extended and modified as implementation of the LUCE has moved
forward. Most recently, Council adopted Ordinance No..2455 (CCS) on April 22.2014
extending the effective date of the IZO to December 31, 2014 in order to provide
sufficient time to present an updated Draft to City Council for approval following
conclusion of Planning Commission's detailed review of the Public Review Draft Zoning
Ordinance.
The two amendments proposed in this report were raised in public correspondence
preceding the April 8, 2014 Council discussion and first reading of the ordinance
extending the IZO until December 31, 2014.
Discussion
The following discussion will present the recommended language for both of the
proposed Interim Zoning Ordinance amendments addressing outdoor dining along the
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LUCE Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low Districts on Main
Street and exercise facilities in the Downtown District and describe how both uses are
currently addressed in the Zoning Ordinance and /or Interim Zoning Ordinance. This
report also describes how these proposed amendments are consistent with 2010 LUCE
policies encouraging active, ground floor uses and consistent with the way staff has
recommended addressing these use - related items on a permanent basis in the Public
Review Draft Zoning Ordinance and Draft Downtown Specific Plan. The two proposed
amendments address this interim period and it is anticipated that both the new Zoning
Ordinance and Downtown Specific Plan will be scheduled for Council review and final
adoption later this year or in early 2015.
Exercise Facilities — LUCE Downtown District.
The first recommended amendment would establish small -scale exercise facilities that
meet certain criteria as a permitted use within the Downtown District as defined by the
2010 Land Use and Circulation Element.
Staff reviewed adopted LUCE policies and draft Zoning .Ordinance and Downtown
Specific Plan policies and development standards related to exercise facilities. In
addition, the four conditional use permits for exercise facilities that have been submitted
and approved by Planning Commission or Council on appeal in the past ten years were
also reviewed. This research supports the proposed amendment to establish small -
scale exercise facilities as a permitted use in the LUCE Downtown District subject to
certain criteria. These criteria would include compliance with Zoning Ordinance off -
street parking requirements. This would allow for an active, ground -floor use to be
established in an existing tenant space in a more efficient manner by eliminating the
need for a Planning Commission public hearing.
The proposed exercise facility would need to meet all of the following criteria in order to
qualify as a permitted use, instead of a conditionally- permitted use that is subject to a
discretionary conditional use permit (CUP) application and a Planning Commission
public hearing:
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• Project site is located within the LUCE Downtown District and does not share
property lines with a residential use
• Project may not exceed 5,000 SF of floor area
• Project includes a change -of -use in an existing 100% commercial building
• Project satisfies Zoning Ordinance off- street parking requirements
This provision would be in effect on an interim basis pending final adoption of the
Zoning Ordinance and the new Downtown Specific Plan. Any proposed LUCE
Downtown District exercise facility that includes a request to reduce its off - street parking
requirement and/or does not meet the criteria outlined above, would not qualify as a
permitted use, and would require submittal of a CUP application and a Planning
Commission public hearing.
Current Zoning Ordinance
The expanded LUCE Downtown District is an area that encompasses properties in the
current Bayside District Specific Plan ( Bayside Zoning Districts (BSC 1 -4)), portions of
the Downtown with C -3, C3 -C, and RVC zoning designations, and a section of C -4
zoned properties along Lincoln Boulevard between Wilshire Boulevard and the Santa
Monica Freeway.
Portions of the 2010 LUCE Downtown District, including the north side of Wilshire
Boulevard, the east side of Ocean Avenue, and both sides of Lincoln Boulevard
between Wilshire Boulevard and the Santa Monica Freeway, have not historically been
identified as a part of the City's Downtown planning area. These areas are, however,
within the current boundaries of the LUCE Downtown District. Until the new Zoning
Ordinance and Downtown Specific Plan are adopted to implement the LUCE's vision,
goals, and policies for the expanded Downtown District, development standards and
regulations in the Interim Zoning Ordinance, and the eight different zones that comprise
the LUCE Downtown District, will remain in effect.
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Exercise facilities are a permitted use in all the zones that comprise the LUCE
Downtown District, except for a section of Lincoln Boulevard between Wilshire
Boulevard and the Santa Monica Freeway that is zoned C -4 (Highway Commercial)..
Exercise facilities that are already considered permitted uses are not affected by this
proposed amendment. A CUP application and Planning Commission public hearing are
currently required for an exercise facility in the C -4 Zoning District.
A CUP is generally required for uses that are consistent with the types of activities
found in the zoning district but may have certain operational characteristics that require
project - specific conditions of approval in order to ensure compatibility between the
proposed use and the surrounding neighborhood.
Since 2004, there have been four CUP applications for exercise facilities reviewed by
Planning Commission; all four applications were approved. The following two
applications were approved by Planning Commission and did not require additional
conditions of approval to address operational issues or neighborhood concerns
specifically related to the exercise facility use:
® 1315 Lincoln Blvd: 5,171 SF ground -floor exercise facility approved in 2006;
® 2005 Main Street: 1,394 SF ground -floor exercise facility approved in 2012;
Two additional CUP applications for exercise facilities included companion applications
to reduce on -site parking requirements. Project- specific conditions of approval for the
two applications noted below were primarily related to the associated parking reduction
request. For one application, several conditions of approval were required to address
noise concerns due to residential uses sharing rear property lines with the subject
property.
® 3002 Main Street: 3,448 SF ground -floor exercise facility with medical use and a
parking Variance approved by Planning Commission in 2010. Additional
conditions of approval were included to address the parking Variance request
and to require implementation of vehicle trip reduction measures.
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6 2433 Main Street: 2,621 SF ground -floor exercise facility and Reduced Parking
Permit approved by Council on appeal in 2013. Additional conditions of approval
were included to require implementation of vehicle trip reduction measures and
installation of interior sound - absorbing materials inside the tenant space due to
residential uses immediately adjacent to and sharing property lines with the site;
and to address existing parking lot operations for the multi- tenant commercial
property.
2010 LUCE and Draft Downtown Specific Plan
2010 LUCE Downtown District land use goals and policies are geared primarily toward
reinforcing the Downtown as the focus of the City, encouraging a broad mix of uses. and
new investment in the District that creates dynamic daytime and evening activity, and
reinforces the Downtown as the place with the greatest concentration of activity in the
City (Goal D7). Downtown District policies also encourage local- serving uses that are an
integral part of complete neighborhoods (Policy D7.2) and support active, ground -floor
uses (Goal D8).
LUCE Downtown District goals and policies will be implemented through the new
Downtown Specific Plan (DSP) and Zoning Ordinance. The Draft DSP outlines a variety
of goals and policies that support neighborhood - serving and active ground -floor uses in
new and existing mixed -use and commercial buildings. More specifically, the plan
encourages new land uses, that are compatible with the established character of
Downtown's residential neighborhoods (Goal DD12) and development of space for uses
that support residents' daily needs (Policy DD12.1), and encourages active, pedestrian -
oriented uses to occupy the ground -floor space in existing and new buildings (Policy
DD12.2).
Finally, proposed development standards set forth in Appendix A.2 of the Draft
Downtown Specific Plan would establish small -scale exercise /dance studios (facilities
less than 5,000 SF of floor area) as a permitted use in the Downtown District subareas.
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The Draft DSP proposes a CUP to regulate large -scale exercise /dance studios (facilities
greater than or equal to 5,000 SF of floor area) subject to a Planning Commission public
hearing.
Public Review Draft Zoning Ordinance
The proposed amendment for exercise facilities addresses only the LUCE Downtown
District. It is consistent, however, with the regulations for exercise facilities in the Public
Review Draft Zoning Ordinance and Draft Downtown Specific Plan: exercise facilities
and arts- instruction facilities of 5,000 SF or less in the Commercial and Mixed -Use
Corridor Zoning Districts would be a permitted use (proposed Section and Table
9.11.020); facilities greater than 5,000 SF would require a CUP.
Outdoor Dining Areas — Main Street "
The second proposed amendment to the Interim Zoning Ordinance would establish that
ground - level, outdoor dining areas up to 200 SF in size that meet certain criteria along
Main Street's LUCE Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low Districts
are exempt from a building's floor area ratio (FAR) calculation and the requirement to
provide additional parking for that outdoor dining area. Staff reviewed adopted zoning
regulations currently in effect in the Zoning Ordinance and Interim Zoning Ordinance,
adopted 2010 LUCE policies, and the proposed policies and development standards
relevant to outdoor dining contained in the Public Review Draft Zoning Ordinance that is
scheduled for Council review later this year.
This research supports the proposed amendment with criteria to ensure the outdoor
dining area would be an active, ground -floor use that enhances the pedestrian
experience. As discussed more fully below, the proposed size limitation of up to 200 SF
for the outdoor dining area would enhance the pedestrian- oriented commercial
environment along Main Street while also maintaining consistency with the lower -scale
development pattern in the neighborhood. Accordingly, this provision is not intended to
create an exemption for the portion of an outdoor dining area that is in excess of 200 SF
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in area and /or where it does not adjoin the front property line (i.e., rear patio outdoor
dining areas). More specifically, the proposed outdoor dining area would need to meet
all of the following criteria:
• Project is located in the LUCE Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use
Boulevard Low Districts on Main Street
• Outdoor dining area is located on private property
• The exemptions only apply to the first 200 SF of outdoor dining area that adjoins
the front property line
• The dining area has no more than a 42 -inch high barrier surrounding the dining
area and is visible from the public right -of -way
Current Zoning Ordinancelinterim Zoning Ordinance
The opportunity for ground -floor outdoor dining on private property in conjunction with
an existing food service use can be viewed as a desirable way to activate a space and
take advantage of Santa Monica's favorable climate, and to create naturally lit and
ventilated areas for activities. The proposed amendment is similar to an existing IZO
provision that excludes ground -floor outdoor dining on private property for the purposes
of determining a project's floor area ratio in the Downtown District (Section 3 (g)).
Floor area is generally included in a floor area ratio (FAR) calculation if it is space that is
usable, can be occupied, and contributes to the overall mass of the structure. There are
exceptions to what is included in the calculation for spaces such as stairways, elevators,
below -grade parking and mechanical rooms, and open spaces such as courtyards and
balconies. The existing zoning ordinance currently includes open spaces in FAR
calculations if they contain a commercial use, in some cases preventing their
conversion to outdoor dining areas.
Ground -floor open spaces that include small -scale outdoor dining areas would not add
to the mass of a building. Creating an exemption from Floor Area Ratio calculations and
the requirement to provide parking for an outdoor dining area that meets the criteria
outlined in this report would incentivize restaurant owners to create outdoor dining areas
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along Main Street to enhance the pedestrian environment and support local, small
business viability.
As noted above, this proposal is similar to the outdoor dining area exemption from floor
area ratio calculations in the LUCE Downtown District currently established by the
Interim Zoning Ordinance. for outdoor dining on private property. This interim Downtown
District floor area exemption does not limit the size of the outdoor dining area.
However, for Main Street's Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low
Districts, the outdoor dining area that would qualify for the floor area exemption would
be limited to 200 SF in recognition of the lower scale and lower intensity of development
along Main Street south of Pico Boulevard.
The proposed amendment is also similar to the current Zoning Ordinance Section
9.04.10.02.460 Q) which exempts sidewalk cafes on public property from the
requirement to provide additional parking for up to 200 SF of outdoor dining area. This
amendment would establish the same parking exemption for Main Street "outdoor dining
areas up to 200 SF in size that are located on private property and adjoin the front
property line.
2040 LUCE & Public Review Draft Zoning Ordinance
The proposed outdoor dining amendment would apply only to the Main Street
Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low Districts as defined by the
LUCE at this current time and is recommended to be extended to other parts of the City
in the Public Review Draft Zoning Ordinance. LUCE goals and policies supporting this
provision include:
® Citywide Policy- LU15.12: Support ground floor gathering spaces
® Main Street Goal D31: Preserve and enhance the distinctive qualities of Main
Street that allow it to be a vibrant local and regional shopping and dining
destination
® Main Street Policy D32.9 — Encourage sidewalk dining subject to established
criteria
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While the proposed amendment for outdoor dining only addresses Main Street,
proposed regulation of outdoor dining areas and sidewalk cafes set forth in the Public
Review Draft Zoning Ordinance recommends parking exemptions that do not
differentiate between outdoor dining on public or private property and are recommended
Citywide. More specifically, Draft Zoning Ordinance Section 9.28.040 (A) (4) (e) and
Section 9.31.200 (K) recommend that outdoor dining and seating less than 200 square
feet in size associated with restaurants shall not be included when determining required
parking and loading spaces.
Finally, through the ongoing public review of the Draft Zoning Ordinance, staff will also
recommend whether to exempt, on a Citywide basis, private property outdoor dining
areas up to 200 SF in size from a building's floor area ratio calculation.
Outdoor Merchandise Display — Main Street
As noted earlier in this report, during Council's April 8th discussion of the Interim Zoning
Ordinance, direction was given to evaluate an issue raised during public testimony .
pertaining to a potential iZO amendment to allow outdoor merchandise display along
Main Street's Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low Districts. Staff
does not recommend that outdoor merchandise display be addressed as an
amendment to the Interim Zoning Ordinance due the wide range of aesthetic,
operational, and legal issues that need to be considered with this proposal. Rather, this
issue would be more appropriately discussed in conjunction with the Public Review
Draft Zoning Ordinance that is currently before the Planning Commission.
Environmental Analysis
The proposed ordinance is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) under Class 5, minor alterations in land use limitations. The
existing interim zoning ordinance measures related to floor area ratio and parking
requirement calculations for outdoor dining areas have not led to a significant increase
in new outdoor dining area establishments and have not had a noticeable effect on
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existing parking resources. The proposed amendment to establish exercise facilities of
less than 5,000 square feet in size as permitted use only applies to a change of use
within an existing commercial building and is therefore categorically exempt from the
provisions of CEQA pursuant to Section 15303 (Class 3 -- New Construction or
Conversion of Small Structures).
Public Hearing
A notice for this public hearing was published at least 10 days prior to the hearing in the
Santa Monica Daily Press.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the
recommended action.
Prepared by: Roxanne Tanemori, AICP, Senior Planner
Approved:
J-� j
D vid Martin, Director
Planning and Community Development
Attachments:
A. Draft Interim Zoning Ordinance
Forwarded to Council:
Rod Gould
City Manager
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ATTACHMENT "A"
Draft Interim Zoning Ordinance
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City Council Meeting: 06 -24 -2014 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA AMENDING INTERIM ORDINANCE NUMBER 2455 (CCS), WHICH
ESTABLISHED INTERIM DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURES PENDING
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LUCE, INCLUDING MODIFICATIONS ADDRESSING
ORDINANCE APPLICABILITY, CM DISTRICT NON - CONFORMING USES, SHARED
PARKING AND FAR CALCULATIONS IN THE DOWNTOWN, EXEMPTIONS FOR
CITY PROJECTS, PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE PERMITTED NUMBER OF
RESTAURANTS IN THE CM DISTRICT, THE REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING PUBLIC
PARKING SPACES WITHIN PUBLIC PARKING STRUCTURES IN BSC -2 AND C3 -C
ZONING DISTRICTS, AUTHORIZED EXISTING NONCONFORMING AUTOMOBILE
DEALERSHIP USES AND MINOR EXPANSIONS THERETO IN RESIDENTIAL AND
"A" OFF - STREET PARKING OVERLAY ZONES, MODIFIED THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR MINISTERIAL PROCESSING OF 100% AFFORDABLE HOUSING OF 50 OR
FEWER UNITS, MODIFIED FLOOR AREA RATIO CALCULATIONS IN THE
DOWNTOWN DISTRICT FOR OUTDOOR DINING, PROVIDED AN INTERIM USE
PERMIT APPROVAL PROCESS FOR THE BERGAMOT PLANNING AREA AND
CLARIFIED THAT THE BERGAMOT AREA PLAN DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS FOR
TIER 1 PROJECTS AND AUTHORIZED USES SUPERSEDE THE REQUIREMENT OF
THE ZONING ORDINANCE TO THE EXTENT OF ANY INCONSISTENCY
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Findings and Purpose. The Council finds and declares:
(a) The City adopted a new Land Use and Circulation Element of the General
Plan of the City of Santa Monica ( "LUCE ") on July 6, 2010 but has not yet adopted
amendments to the City's Zoning Ordinance reflecting the LUCE's policies, goals and
standards.
(b) The adoption of the LUCE was the culmination of a multi -year planning
process that commenced in 2004.
(c) The LUCE encompasses the community's vision of the City's future and is
designed to maintain the City's character, protect the City's neighborhoods, manage its
transportation systems, and encourage additional housing in a sustainable manner that
ensures a high quality of life for the City's residents.
(d) The LUCE implements the community's core values through its focus on
community character and neighborhood 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, community benefits, open space, and implementation, phasing and
monitoring.
(e) The LUCE 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..
(f) The 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.
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(g) The LUCE substantially revises the City's land use policies, goals, and
standards.
(h) The City's planning and zoning regulations are presently under
comprehensive review and revision in order to ensure that such regulations are
consistent with the General Plan as amended and consistent with the public health,
safety, and welfare. This comprehensive revision of the City's Zoning Ordinance is a
substantial project which is crucial to the community's long -term welfare as reflected in
the goals, policies, and standards of the LUCE. Major elements of the, comprehensive
revision of the Zoning Ordinance are currently under public review and discussion at the
Planning Commission and scheduled for review and adoption by City Council during the
second quarter of 2014.
(i) Certain critical areas of conflict between the LUCE and the existing Zoning
Ordinance have been identified by the City's Planning and Community Development
Department as it has reviewed pending applications subsequent to the adoption of the
LUCE.
Q) Zoning Ordinance Part 9.04.20.28 establishes the applicability and
procedures for issuance of administrative approvals which provide for the ministerial
administrative review and assessment of proposed developments subject to explicit
standards contained in the Zoning Ordinance.
(k) The administrative approval process is premised on the assumption that the
explicit standards in the Zoning Ordinance have been adopted to ensure that a
completed project is in harmony with existing or potential development in the area and
is consistent with the goals, objectives, and policies of the General Plan.
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(1) However, this premise underlying the administrative approval process is no
longer applicable given the significant ways in which the LUCE differs from the prior
Land Use and Circulation elements including, but not limited to, the direct linkage
between land use and transportation policies and programs and the establishment of
new development policies and standards which ensure that quality development
contributes to the character of the City.
(m) Additionally, the LUCE establishes a base height for each land use as a
baseline. Proposed development which seeks additional height above the base is
subject to discretionary review and must meet additional requirements consistent with
the community's broader social, environmental, and circulation goals. This approach is
defined in three tiers.
(n) Under the LUCE, Tier 2 and Tier 3 projects must provide community benefits
for the City and the neighborhood. More specifically, a developer seeking to develop a
Tier 2 or Tier 3 project must include certain preferred uses, beneficial project design
features, and provide critical amenities or meet other development standards that
address the community's core needs —it's social, cultural, physical, transportation and
environmental goals.
(o) The LUCE identifies five priority categories of community benefits —new
affordable and workforce housing, GHG emission and congestion reduction, physical
improvements to create connections and open space, social and cultural facilities, and
historic, preservation.
(p) The existing Zoning Ordinance does not currently incorporate this tier
structure or establish a mechanism to prioritize and necessitate that projects participate
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in the community benefit tier structure, which is the basis by which much of the LUCE
vision, goals, and policies will be achieved.
(q) Additionally, the LUCE establishes 17 distinct land use designations. One of
these land use designations is the Downtown Core. The purpose of this designation is
to maintain and enhance the downtown area as the heart of the City and as a thriving,
mixed use urban environment. Unlike the other land use designations, the LUCE does
not establish new height and FAR development parameters, but instead provides that
the height and FAR along with other development standards shall be determined
through a specific plan process.
(r) At the time the initial interim ordinance was adopted, there were
approximately 700,000 square feet of administrative and development review projects,
not including development agreements, pending planning review. Of the 700,000
square feet, approximately 500,000 square feet was located within the Downtown Core.
Approximately half of the projects in the Downtown Core were Administrative Approvals
that did not require public review and need only comply with objective standards in the
existing Zoning Ordinance. Within the Downtown, bringing forward approximately
200,000 square feet of new development outside of the development agreement
process before the completion of the Downtown Specific Plan meant that nearly a
quarter of the growth anticipated in the Downtown could be constructed inconsistent
with the yet to be adopted Specific Plan. The Downtown Specific Plan will include a
circulation framework that will address the integration of Expo light rail into the
Downtown system, freeway access, direct parking structure access, and congestion;
establishing the foundation for future land use and transportation decisions. If these
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Administrative Approvals had proceeded in a piecemeal fashion without these
components, it would have undermined the community vision set forth in the Downtown
District goals and policies, as well as the Downtown Specific Plan process underway
and would have detrimentally affected the City's ability to implement LUCE goals and
policies, particularly with respect to: providing open spaces, trip reduction, coordinating
with adjacent sites, congestion management, and achieving community goals through
community benefits and quality urban design.
(s) Additionally, transit - oriented districts in the City's transitioning industrial areas
are not reflected in the current zoning ordinance, which allows uses that would now be
considered undesirable and inconsistent with the LUCE.
(t) Pending completion of the comprehensive update to the Zoning Ordinance, it
is essential that development be consistent with the General Plan so that the goals and
values of the community, as reflected in the LUCE, are not significantly undercut.
Adjusting the development standards as provided in this Ordinance will ensure that the
quality of life, the environment, the ability to move around the City, and the efficacy of
the ongoing planning process are preserved.
(u) Adoption of this ordinance would not prohibit any development, but would
instead provide an alternate process by which development is reviewed and approved
so as to ensure consistency with and appropriate implementation of the LUCE.
(v) Adoption of this ordinance would also not materially alter the City's
substantial incentives for residential or mixed use development in non - residential zoning
districts. These incentives would be preserved in local law and policy. For example,
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residential development in all of the City's commercial districts would remain authorized.
Thus, residential development could still occur in over 80% of the City.
(w) After the adoption of the initial interim ordinance, issues were raised relating
to the processing of projects that were in the pipeline prior to the effective date of the
initial interim ordinance which require the City to expeditiously consider and adjust the
applicability provisions of the interim ordinance to ensure fairness to project applicants
while preserving the City's ability to effectuate the goals and policies of the LUCE.
(x) After the interim ordinance was extended on April 26, 2011, it became
apparent that allowing two restaurants per block on the east side of Main Street north of
Ocean Park Boulevard will promote the general welfare by encouraging additional
investment in that neighborhood and strengthening the connection between Main Street
and the Civic Center.
(y) As detailed above and in the LUCE, the City's downtown is a thriving, mixed -
use urban environment for people to live, work, be entertained, and be culturally
enriched.
(z) This area has the greatest concentration of activity in the City; anchored by
the core commercial district, including the Third Street Promenade and Santa Monica
Place.
(aa) The City's publically owned parking structures in the BSC -2 and C3 -C zone
districts are essential to a vibrant, economically viable downtown area, providing
parking for the offices, restaurants, theaters, and residences.
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(bb) The vast majority of the City's residents regularly visit downtown and use its
parking resources.
(cc) The importance of the City's publically -owned parking infrastructure in the
City's downtown is reflected in the numerous studies and reports over the past dozen
years, including but not limited to the 2000 Downtown Parking Management Program,
the 2002 Downtown Parking Task Force strategic plan, the 2006 Downtown Parking
Program, and the 2009 Walker Parking Study.
(dd) These centrally located parking structures enable their users to park once
and then walk to multiple destinations.
(ee) This "Park Once" philosophy contributes to the Downtown's pedestrian
character and is a major underpinning of its success.
(M These parking structures are also operated in a manner to meet the City's
LUCE, transportation and economic goals.
(gg) The LUCE calls for a parking management approach which utilizes a
shared pool of parking resources creating a true shared parking district.
(hh) Given these fundamental goals, it is essential that these parking structures
be protected as precious resources to ensure that adequate parking is available and
that easy access is provided to the core of the Downtown thereby promoting its vitality.
(ii) The City has spent millions of dollars retrofitting and maintaining many of
these structures.
Qj) In April 26, 2011, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in
California Redevelopment Association v. Ana Matosantos, affirming AB 1X26 which
provides for the dissolution of redevelopment agencies.
(kk) In AB 1X26, the State legislature incorporated provisions that purport to
require properties formerly owned by the City's Redevelopment Agency to be sold so
that the proceeds can be transferred to the County auditor - controller for distribution to
taxing entities as property tax proceeds.
(II) In such event, to ensure replacement parking essential for the economic
viability of the City's downtown, there is a need for a development standard that
requires an owner to first obtain a final permit for a project providing replacement public
parking within the same district before an owner may remove, redevelop or convert a
parking structure in a manner that results in the removal of public parking spaces.
(mm) On April 11, 2006, the City Council adopted Interim Ordinance Number
2179 (CGS), after lengthy public outreach, environmental review, and hearings,
modifying auto dealership standards in various commercial and residential zoning
districts in the City to better balance the need for auto dealerships to expand and
develop a more urban format within a context of limited land availability and close
proximity to sensitive residential uses. This Ordinance was extended several times, but
expired August 8, 2010.
(nn) Consistent with LUCE goals and policies, it has and continues to be
contemplated that the provisions of the auto dealership interim ordinance would be
included in the Zoning Ordinance Update that is currently under preparation.
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(oo) More specifically, Goal E8 of the LUCE states: "Allow for the expansion and
improved performance of automobile dealers in Santa Monica, recognizing their
contribution to the local economy and the revenue base of the General Fund." Further,
LUCE. Policy E8.3 states: "Allow automobile dealers to reasonably expand in their
current locations and otherwise respond to likely global changes in the automobile
industry as long as their redevelopment is in the urban auto dealership format and
incorporates mitigations to reduce any negative impacts on the surrounding residential
and nonresidential uses. The expansion may occur on existing parcels used for
automobile dealerships and on adjacent or proximate parcels."
(pp) Auto dealerships are important to the economic vitality of the City, and
readopting, with modification, certain of the auto dealership interim ordinance provisions
would encourage the retention of these dealerships by enabling these dealerships to
expand and modernize their operations in order to remain competitive in the industry
while ensuring that changes or improvements made on existing automobile dealer lots
are sensitive to and in keeping with the character of adjacent residential areas.
(qq) The dissolution of the City's Redevelopment Agency and the associated
loss of the City's primary funding source for affordable housing have significantly
impacted the City's ability to produce housing for the lowest household income
categories. Historically, the City's Housing Division invested approximately $15 million
of Housing Trust Funds annually to finance affordable housing through loans and grants
to non - profit housing developers. With the dissolution of redevelopment, the majority of
the Housing Trust Funds' dollars, as well as the City's ability to leverage these monies
with outside funding has been eliminated.
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(rr) The LUCE identifies the production of affordable housing as one of the City's
highest priorities and many of the LUCE policies are targeted at the production of
affordable housing. For instance, LUCE Policy H1.2 provides that the City should
"maintain programs to require and encourage the production of affordable housing for
very low -, low- and moderate income households," "seek additional opportunities to
increase the percentage of affordable housing as a component of for -sale and qualifying
rental residential and mixed -use housing projects," and "incentivize affordable housing
projects," LUCE Policy H1.3 provides that the City should "incentivize the creation of
new affordable housing opportunities."
(ss) The City is in the process of updating its Housing Element. The City's
Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) includes four hundred twenty -eight (428)
very low income housing units and two hundred sixty -three (263) low income housing
units.
(tt) The loss of redevelopment monies and the City's future affordable housing
goals as reflected in the RHNA necessitates that the City strengthen its incentives for
the production of housing which provide a greater mix in housing affordability levels and
address the City's need for low, very low and extremely low affordable housing units.
The proposed revision to the standards for the ministerial processing of 100 %
affordable housing projects of 50 or fewer units directly addresses this effort.
(uu) Encouraging ground floor outdoor dining is an important goal expressed in
the LUCE. Excluding such dining from the calculation of floor area ratio can help
incentivize this use and create opportunities for adaptive reuse in existing structures
that would not presently be possible. Such ground floor outdoor dining does not
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contribute to a building's mass and density, and therefore its exclusion from FAR is
appropriate. However, ground floor outdoor dining would still be considered floor area
so that its potential impacts on such areas as parking and traffic would still be
calculated.
(vv) The Bergamot Area Plan has been adopted to provide both the goals and
policies of the General Plan Land Use and Circulation Element for that geographic area
and to provide area - specific development standards that will apply to create a new
transit - oriented neighborhood in proximity to the Exposition Line Bergamot Station. The
Plan's provisions are comprehensive, and in order to ensure the intended outcomes, the
Bergamot Area Plan requires that all projects be consistent with its policies, guidelines,
and development standards. In order to ensure proper implementation of the Plan as
intended, amendment of the Interim Zoning Ordinance is necessary so that in cases of
conflict between the Bergamot Area Plan and Zoning Ordinance pertaining to any
development standard for a Tier 1 project or any authorized use, the Bergamot Area
Plan shall control. In addition, while the Bergamot Area Plan requires a Minor Use
Permit for certain uses within the Plan area, the Minor Use Permit, a proposed
innovation in future revisions to the Zoning Ordinance update, has not yet been
established as a process. Amendment of the Interim Zoning Ordinance is necessary to
establish an interim process by which staff can process requests for those uses that
require a Minor Use Permit under the Bergamot Area Plan.
(ww) Establishing ground - floor, small -scale exercise facilities in the LUCE
Downtown District as a permitted use in an existing 100% commercial building, instead
of as a conditionally permitted use, is consistent with 2010 LUCE Downtown District
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goals and policies that encourage local- serving uses that are an integral part of
complete neighborhoods (Policy D7.2) and that support active, ground -floor uses (Goal
D8).
(xx) In light of the above - detailed concerns, on February 8, 2011, the City
Council adopted Interim Ordinance Number 2345 (CCS) establishing interim
development procedures pending implementation of the LUCE through a revised Zoning
Ordinance; on April 26, 2011, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2356 (CCS)
extending and amending Ordinance Number 2345 (GCS); on February 28, 2012, the
City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2394 (CCS), further extending and amending
Ordinance Number 2345 (CCS), on August 28, 2012, the City Council adopted
Ordinance Number 2407 (CCS) additionally extending and amending Ordinance
Number 2345 (CCS), on February 26, 2013, the City Council adopted Ordinance
Number 2417 (CCS) amending Ordinance Number 2345 (CCS) to address ministerial
processing of 100% affordable housing projects of 50 or fewer units, on June 25, 2013,
City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2428 (CCS), further extending and amending
Ordinance Number 2345 (CGS) to exempt ground floor outdoor dining on private
property from a Floor Area Ratio Calculation in the Downtown District, on September
24, 2013, City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2439 (CCS), clarifying that the
Bergamot Area Plan standards apply when provisions are in conflict with the current
Zoning Ordinance and establishing a Use Permit process in lieu of the Minor Use Permit
identified in the Bergamot Area Plan until adoption of the Zoning Ordinance, on January
14, 2014, City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2453 (CCS), extending Ordinance
Number 2439 (CCS) until May 31, 2014 to provide additional time to complete the
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process for public review of the Draft Zoning Ordinance at the Planning Commission
and City Council, and on April 22, 2014, City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2455
(CCS), extending Ordinance 2439 (CCS) until December 31, 2014 to provide additional
time to complete the public review of the Draft Zoning Ordinance at the Planning
Commission and City Council.
(yy) Pending completion of the City's review of its planning and zoning
regulations, it is necessary on an interim basis to modify the Zoning Ordinance as set
forth in Section 2, Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, and Section 6 of this Ordinance.
(zz) As detailed above and in the January 25, 2011, April 26, 2011, February 14,
2012, August 14, 2012, February 12, 2013, June 11, 2013, September 24, 2013, .
December 17, 2013, April 8, 2014, and June 24, 2014 City Council staff reports, there
continues to exist a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and
welfare should the interim zoning ordinance and necessary amendments not be
adopted and development of projects inconsistent with the LUCE be allowed to proceed
through the issuance of Administrative Approvals or Development Review Permits
which are not consistent with the explicit standards of the LUCE or with the tier structure
and the provision of community benefits.
SECTION 2. Interim Zoning Regulations
Notwithstanding any provision of the City's Zoning Ordinance to the contrary, the
issuance or extension of permits for either a new development project or for the
expansion of an existing development project that exceeds 7500 square feet
( "development project ") that does not comply with the interim zoning standards set forth
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in Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, or Section 6 of this Ordinance is hereby prohibited
and no zoning permits or approvals, subdivision maps, building permits, or other land
use permit shall be approved, issued, or extended for a development project in
contravention of Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, or Section 6, during the pendency of
this Ordinance or any extension thereof.
SECTION 3. Interim Zoning.
(a) Administrative Approvals. No development project shall be approved
pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.20.28.020 [Administrative
Approvals] unless all of the following findings are made:
(1) The proposed development does not require discretionary review or approval
as established in the Zoning Ordinance, the LUCE, or this Interim Ordinance.
(2) The proposed development conforms precisely to the development
standards contained in both the Zoning Ordinance and in the LUCE for the zoning
district and land use designation in which the development is located.
(3) In the case of any inconsistency between the Zoning Ordinance and the
LUCE pertaining to any objective development standard or permitted use, the proposed
development conforms to the more restrictive development standard and is a permitted
use authorized by the LUCE.
(4) Additionally, notwithstanding subsection (c) of this Section, any pending
Administrative Approval application filed on or before March 11, 2011 for a housing
development project must meet the following Transportation Demand Management
requirements:
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(1) Prior to the issuance of building permits, the property owner shall prepare,
implement, and maintain a Transportation Demand Management plan, to the
satisfaction of the City, including physical, operating and leasing conditions that will be
reasonably likely to result in attainment of a 1.50 a.m. and p.m. AVR among employees
at the development within three years and continued achievement and maintenance of
the AVR targets thereafter. The following measures shall be included in the developer's
TDM plan:
(A) Transportation Information: Developer (and its successors and assignees).
shall provide, to the satisfaction of the City, bulletin boards, display cases, or kiosks,
displaying transportation information located where the greatest number of residents
and employees are likely to see them. This information shall also be provided annually
and upon signing of any lease, to residents and commercial tenants. Information shall
include, but is not limited to, the following:
G Current maps, routes, fare information, and schedules for public transit
routes serving the site.
Telephone numbers and website links for referrals on transportation
information including numbers for the regional ridesharing agency and
local transit operators.
Ridesharing promotional material supplied by commuter - oriented
organizations.
Bicycle route and facility information, including regional /local bicycle maps
and bicycle safety information.
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6 A list of facilities available for carpoolers, vanpoolers, bicyclists, transit
riders, and pedestrians at the site.
Walking maps and information about local services, restaurants, movie
theaters, and recreational activities within walking distance of the project.
(B) Motorcycle Parking: Developer (and its successors and assignees) shall
provide two motorcycle parking spaces allocated in the commercial subterranean
parking level, if commercial parking is provided on -site.
(C) Bicycle Parking: Developer (or successors and assignees) shall provide
and maintain long -term, secure bicycle parking, such as a locked room or cage, for
commercial tenant employees at a rate of one space for each 5,000 sq. ft. of
commercial area, with a minimum of two spaces in City - approved locations. Long -term
secure bicycle parking for the residential component shall be one space per bedroom
and shall be provided in an enclosed, secure space (e.g. bike room, bike lockers).
Short -term bicycle parking for the residential component shall be 0.2 spaces /unit with a
minimum of 4 spaces.
(D) Bicycle, Vanpool, and Carpool Parking Spaces: Developer (or successors
and assignees) shall provide parking space in accordance with SMMC 9.04.10.08.050.
Preferential parking within the parking garage shall be provided for project employees
who carpool or vanpool to work. The charge for such parking spaces will be at a
reduced rate.
(B) Showers: A minimum of one women's and one men's shower and locker
facility shall be provided for employees of commercial uses on site who bicycle or use
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another active means, powered by human propulsion, of getting to work or who exercise
during the day.
(F) Unbundling of Parking Spaces: If the City adopts an ordinance or other
legal mechanism which authorizes the unbundling of parking, the Applicant (or
Applicant's successors and assigns) shall in all leases it executes as landlord of
residential units within the Project provide residential tenants with the option of leasing
parking space(s) separately from the residential unit. Any parking spaces not leased by
project residential tenants may be leased to any lessee on a month to month basis,
whether or not the lessee otherwise . occupies or works at the project, provided project
residential tenants are given first priority to lease such spaces.
(G) Transportation Management Organization: Developer shall agree to
participate in a Transportation Management Organization serving its area and require
same of its tenants. If the City adopts a requirement that a Transportation Management
Organization be formed for the project's geographic area, property owner and tenants
shall participate in any specific strategies that may be implemented, including but not
limited to, support for transit use, shared parking, car sharing opportunity, and
pedestrian and bicycle improvements.
(b) Tier 2 and Tier 3 Development Projects. Notwithstanding the development
standards specified in the Zoning Ordinance, no development project which would
constitute a Tier 2 or Tier 3 project as established pursuant to LUCE Chapter 2.1 shall
be approved except City projects or projects developed pursuant to a development
agreement adopted pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 9.48. City
projects are defined as City public works projects and City community facilities (e.g.
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libraries, public parking structures, recycling centers, and community centers), not
including public /private partnerships, and City projects shall be deemed to meet the
community benefit requirements of Tier 2 and Tier 3 development projects.
(c) Downtown Core. Notwithstanding the development standards specified in
the Zoning Ordinance, no development project in the Downtown Core as delineated in
the Land Use Designation Map approved by the City Council on July 6, 2010 shall
exceed 32 feet in height except City projects or projects developed pursuant to a
development agreement adopted pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter
9.48. However, development projects located entirely within the BSC1 Zoning District
shall not be subject to these interim standards provided that the development project is
less than the height and floor area of the existing building.
(d) 100% Affordable Housing Projects. Notwithstanding subsection (b) and (c)
of this Section, affordable housing projects with 50 units or less will continue to be
processed ministerially if a minimum of twenty -five percent (25 %) of the housing units
are deed - restricted or restricted by an agreement approved by the City for occupancy
by households with income of sixty percent (60 %) of Area Median Income or less and
the remainder of the housing units are deed - restricted or restricted by an agreement
approved by the City for occupancy by households with incomes of eighty percent
(80 %) of median income or less. Such affordable housing projects may also include
non - residential uses, as long as such uses do not exceed a maximum percentage of
33% of the total floor area.
Notwithstanding Section 7, affordable housing projects with 50 units or less
which are being developed pursuant to a settlement agreement with the City or which
`,
received their Administrative Approval prior to January 8, 2013 shall continue to be
processed in accordance with Ordinance Number 2407 (CCS).
(e) Shared Parking. The following administrative process is hereby established
authorizing property owners and tenants to request shared parking in the Downtown
Core, except for projects that are processed through a development agreement. A
shared parking permit is intended to permit the owners of parking facilities to rent or
lease underutilized parking that is available in their facility to nearby residents, workers
or businesses while reserving sufficient parking supply needed for on -site uses,
(1) Permit Required.
A shared parking permit, approved by the Planning Director, or his /her designee,
shall be required and shall be issued prior to the commencement of a shared parking
use of any private parking facility that is otherwise limited to on -site users. The
Planning Director, or his /her designee, may establish additional conditions to further the
intent of this subsection (e) and ensure that parking spaces needed for the primary on-
site uses will be available during the hours needed for their use. A public hearing shall
not be required for issuance of a shared parking permit.
(2) Application.
Application for a shared parking permit shall be filed in a manner consistent with
the requirements contained in Municipal Code Part 9.04.20.20.
(3) Findings.
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The Planning Director, or his /her designee, or Planning Commission on appeal,
may approve a shared parking permit application, in whole or in part, with or without
conditions, only when all of the following findings are made in an affirmative manner:
(i) The operation of the requested shared parking permit at the location
proposed and within the time period specified will not adversely impact the primary use
of the parking facility for its intended on -site users, or otherwise endanger the public
health, safety, or general welfare.
(ii) The shared parking permit sets forth the maximum number of shared
parking spaces that are being approved for use by off -site users that will be available
during peak and off -peak parking demand periods so as to ensure that a sufficient
number of spaces will be provided to meet the greater parking demand of the
anticipated users.
(iii) Additional requirements, restrictions or agreements, as deemed necessary
by the Planning Director, or his /her designee, are included as a requirement($) of the
shared parking permit to ensure that parking spaces needed for the primary on -site
uses will be available during the hours needed for their use.
The Planning Director, or his /her designee shall prepare a written decision
which shall contain the findings of fact upon which such decision is based and all
required conditions, if approved. The decision shall be mailed to the applicant and to
property owners and residents of parcels adjacent to the parcel for which the Shared
Parking Permit is requested. Copies of the decision shall also be provided to the
Planning Commission.
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(4) Term of Permit.
A shared parking permit shall be valid for a one -year period from the date of
issuance unless a different period is set by the Planning Director, or his /her designee, or
the Planning Commission on appeal, as a condition of granting the shared parking
permit. The permit shall renew automatically for additional one -year periods unless the
permit is modified or revoked in accordance with subsection (6) of this Section.
(5) Monitoring.
The permit holder shall grant City staff access to the parking facility for the
purpose of verifying parking availability prior to issuing the permit as well as to allow
random monitoring after the permit is issued.
(6) Modification or Revocation.
The City may modify or revoke an approved shared parking permit in accordance
with the following procedures:
(i) If the Planning Director designee receives evidence that the conditions of
the permit have not been met, or the permit granted is being or has recently been
exercised contrary to the terms of the approval or in violation of a specific statute,
ordinance, law, or regulation, the Planning Director designee shall serve notice of these
violations, either in person or by registered mail, on the owner of the property and on
the permit holder and shall provide the permit holder with a reasonable opportunity to
cure the violation(s).
(ii) If the permit holder or property owner has not responded to the notice
within 10 days or the Planning Director designee determines that the permit holder has
22
failed to cure the violation, the Planning Director designee may refer the matter to the
Zoning Administrator for a revocation hearing. Notice of hearing shall be published
once in a newspaper of general circulation within the City and shall be served either in
person or by registered mail on the owner of the property and on the permit holder at
least ten days prior to such hearing. The notice of hearing shall contain a statement of
the specific reasons for revocation.
(iii) After the hearing, a shared parking permit may be revoked by the Zoning
Administrator or by the Planning Commission on appeal or review if any one of the
following findings is made:
fraud
(A) That the Shared Parking Permit was obtained by misrepresentation or
(B) That the conditions of the permit have not been met, or the permit granted
is being or has recently been exercised contrary to the terms of the approval or in
violation of a specific statute, ordinance, law, or regulation.
A written determination of modification or revocation of the shared parking permit shall
be mailed to the property owner and the permit holder within ten days of such
determination.
(7) Appeals.
Any person may appeal the approval, conditions of approval, denial, modification
or revocation of a shared parking permit to the Planning Commission if filed within
fourteen consecutive calendar days of the date the decision is made in the manner
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provided in Municipal Code Part 9.04.20.24, Sections 9.04.20.24.020 through
9.04.20.24.040.
(f) Floor Area Ratio Calculations in the Downtown Core. In the Downtown Core,
below -grade floor area shall not be included when calculating a project's floor area ratio
(FAR). However, such below -grade floor area shall be counted as floor area for all
other purposes.
(g) Floor Area Ratio Calculations in the Downtown District. In the Downtown
District, as defined in the LUCE, ground floor outdoor dining in buildings on private
property shall not be included when calculating a project's floor area ratio (FAR)
provided the dining area has no more than a 42 inch high barrier surrounding the dining
area and is visible from the public right of way. However, such ground floor outdoor
dining shall be counted as floor area for all other purposes.
(h) Exercise Facilities in the Downtown District. Notwithstanding subsection (a)
(1), in the Downtown District as defined bV the LUCE, exercise facilities are a permitted
use provided that the exercise facility is less than or equal to 5,000 square feet in size;
the exercise facility is a change -of -use in an existing 100% commercial building the
project site does not share propertV lines with a residential use; and the project satisfies
Zoning Ordinance off- street parking requirements. This provision only applies to
properties within the LUCE Downtown District where the Zoning Ordinance currently
require a Conditional Use Permit to establish an exercise facility.
(i) Outdoor Dining in the LUCE Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use
Boulevard Low Districts on Main Street. In the Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -
Use Boulevard Low Districts along Main Street, as defined in the LUCE, ground floor
24
outdoor dining on private property up to 200 square feet in size shall not be included
when calculating a project's floor area ratio (FAR) provided the dining area has no more
than a 42 inch high barrier surrounding the dining area, is visible from the public right -of
way, and immediately adjoins the front propertV line. Such ground floor outdoor dining
shall be counted as floor area for all other purposes except no additional parking shall
be required for that outdoor dining area.
(j) Non - conforming Uses in CM District. An existing use in the CM District shall
be considered no longer existing if that use is changed to another type of use or if for a
period of one year such use has not been in regular operation. Regular operation shall
be considered being open for business to the general public during such use's
customary business hours.
(k) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 9.04.08.28.070 of the Zoning
Code, two restaurants per block shall be allowed on the east side of Main Street north
of Ocean Park Boulevard and south of Pico Boulevard.
(1) No removal, redevelopment or conversion of a parking structure in BSC -2 and
C3 -C zone districts, publically owned as of February 14, 2012, which results in the loss
of parking spaces above the ground floor shall be permitted unless the final permit to
commence construction for a project providing the one -to -one replacement of this
parking has been issued in the same zoning district and this replacement parking will be
offered to the public at rates comparable to the most recent rates offered to the public
for the removed parking spaces.
(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(3), within the Bergamot Area Plan boundaries,
in the case of any inconsistency between the Zoning Ordinance and the Bergamot Area
25
Plan pertaining to any development standard for a Tier 1 project or any authorized use,
the provisions in the Bergamot Area Plan shall control and be applied. Until the
adoption of a revised Zoning Ordinance which includes a process for the issuance of
Minor Use Permits (MUP), an application for any land use for which Bergamot Area
Plan Table 5.02 (Land Use Regulations) requires an MUP shall be processed as a Use
Permit, subject to the provisions of SMMC Section 9.04.20.11.
SECTION 4. Automobile Dealerships in Residential and "A" Off- Street
Parking Overlay Zones:
Lots designated ( "A ") Off - Street Parking Overlay District, Low Density Multiple -
Family Residential District (R2), or Medium Density Multiple, Family Residential District
(R3) that are contiguous to and were used legally in conjunction with an automobile
dealership in operation on August 14, 2012, which automobile dealership uses have not
subsequently been abandoned ( "Qualifying Lots "), may be developed as an automobile
storage structure or parking structure provided these uses are operated in conjunction
with an automobile dealership on the associated and adjacent commercial lot and the
development is undertaken pursuant to subsections (a) through (1) of this Section. The
expansion of automobile dealership support areas shall be authorized if undertaken
pursuant to subsection (m) of this Section:
(a) Maximum Parcel Coverage: 50% of residential parcel area.
(b) Maximum Building Height:
(1) R2 Zone: 23 feet, excluding four feet of the required parapet.
(2) R3 Zone: 28 feet, excluding four feet of the required parapet.
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(c) Setbacks:
public street.
(1) - A minimum 20 foot setback from the property line adjacent to a
(2) A minimum 15 foot setback shall be provided from the property line
opposite the street facing property line. Where an alley is present, this distance may be
measured from the alley centerline.
(3) Except when subsection (c)(2) of this Section applies, a minimum 8
foot setback shall be provided between any above grade structure and a property line
that is shared with an adjacent residential property that is not used as part of an
automobile dealership.
(d) Inventory Storage on Surface Lots. A qualifying lot may be used for
surface inventory storage only if the following conditions are met:
(1) Any displaced required parking shall be relocated to another off-
street location that is:
(A) Located within 750 feet of the qualifying lot, or
(B) Located within 300 feet of a public transit line that connects
the off - street location with the dealership and the dealership provides free bus passes to
its employees, or
(C) Serviced by a dealership- provided shuttle between the off-
street location and the qualifying lot which has been approved by the City's Director of
Planning.
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(2) The displaced parking shall be returned to the qualifying lot if the
criteria of subsection (d)(1) are no longer met.
(e) Prohibited Uses. No portion of a residentially zoned parcel may be used
for auto repair work, rental car use, automobile washing, outdoor display of vehicles,
commercial signage, storage tanks, inventory storage on surface lots (except as
provided in subsection (d) of this Section), or any other use not specifically identified in
this Section 4.
(f) Rooftop Parking: Rooftop parking is permitted subject to the special
standards set forth in Section 5.
(g) Exemption from additional multi - family development standards: Except as
set forth or modified herein, the property development standards of Santa Monica
Municipal Code Section 9.04.08.06.060 and Santa Monica Municipal Code Section
9.04.08.06.070 shall not apply in order to accommodate the specific structural and
design requirements of parking and automobile storage structures.
(h) Approval Process: A Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and Development
Review (DR) Permit shall be required for the development of any parking structure or
automobile storage lot. The CUP shall be subject to the standards set forth in Section
6. The DR Permit shall be subject to Santa Monica Municipal Code Part 9.04.20.14.
(i) ARB Review: All new construction, new additions to existing buildings and
any other exterior improvements that require issuance of a building permit shall be
subject to architectural review pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 9.32 of this
Chapter.
ME
(j) Design Standards. Parking structures constructed under these provisions
shall be subject to the design standards set forth in Section 5.
(k) Use to revert to residential: Structures constructed under these provisions
on residential parcels without an "A" Off - street Parking Overlay designation shall be
permitted to remain only when operated in conjunction with an automobile dealership on
the adjacent commercial lot. If the automobile dealership use is abandoned, the parking
structure shall be removed or incorporated into a residential project on the residential
parcel(s) within 3 years.
(1) Housing Impact Fee: Parking structures and automobile storage lots
constructed on parcels designated as Low Density Multiple - Family Residential (132) and
Medium Density Multiple Family Residential (R3), without an "A" Off - Street Parking
Overlay designation, may be subject to an Affordable Housing Fee established by
resolution of the City Council to mitigate the impact of the loss of the potential
development of affordable housing on these sites.
(m) A floor area expansion of existing automobile dealerships in the
Residential and A Off- Street Parking Overlay Zones that is less than 750 square feet
shall be permitted by -right provided that:
1) The expanded floor area is utilized for an ancillary support function,
including, but not limited to, customer waiting area, offices, vehicle parts storage or
vehicle parts display;
2) The height of the expansion shall be no more than 1 story and shall
not exceed 23 feet;
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3) None of the expanded area is utilized for auto repair activities,
including but not limited to service bays, body work, oil change and lubrication, or radio,
stereo, or phone installation;
4) The square footage expansion may maintain the existing building
lines adjacent to public rights of way, subject to Architectural Review Board approval.
SECTION 5. Special Standards for Parking Structures and Automobile Storage
Lots Associated with Automobile Dealerships.
Parking structures and automobile storage lots associated with an automobile
dealership shall comply with the following special project design standards:
(a) Design Standards:
(9) Except for emergency -only pedestrian exists required by the Building
Officer, parking structure walls facing property lines that are adjacent to a residential
use shall be solid and decorative subject to the approval of the ARB. Openings may be
permitted adjacent to a public street or commercially zoned property.
(2) Non -skid or other similar surface treatment on both floors and ramps
of the parking structure shall be required to prevent tire squeals. This material shall be
subject to the review and approval of the Director of Planning and Community
Development.
(3) Light sources shall be designed to contain direct and diffuse lighting
and glare on the subject property.
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(4) Rooftop parking on parcels that directly abut or are separated by an
alley from a residential district is only permitted if the parking structure provides a 6 foot
parapet on the side of the parking structure closest to the residential district. This
parapet shall be solid and have a surface density of 4 pounds per square foot.
(5) In order to minimize noise and air impacts, exhaust vents and other
mechanical equipment associated with a parking structure shall be located as far frorn
residential uses as feasible consistent with the Chapter 8 of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code.
(6) Floor area dedicated to employee and customer parking and vehicle
storage shall not apply to refuse and recycling requirements in Santa Monica Municipal
Code Section 9.04.10.02.150 and Section 9.04.10.02.151 unless otherwise required by
the Director of Environmental and Public Works Management or his/her designee in
order to protect the public health, safety, and general welfare.
(7) Parking structures developed in lots designated Parking ( "A ") Overlay,
Low Density Multiple - Family Residential (R2), or Medium Density Multiple Family
Residential (R3) shall also comply with the following additional requirements:
(A) Ingress and egress shall be from the adjacent commercial lot. The Planning
Commission may approve an alternative access plan that minimizes impacts to adjacent
residential uses if it determines that access from the commercial lot is precluded by
existing commercial development.
(B) At least 10% of the parking spaces within a structure shall be maintained and
designated for employee parking only, unless the Planning Commission determines
31
based on an employee parking demand analysis that sufficient parking is otherwise
provided either on -site or at an acceptable off -site location.
(C) If the structure is developed in conjunction with development on adjacent
commercial lots, the project shall be designed so that building mass increases toward
the commercial street and architectural elements that are permitted to exceed height
limits are located away from adjacent residential uses to the greatest extent feasible.
(D) Notwithstanding Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.10.02.170, a
four foot unexcavated area shall be provided along the entire length of a property line
shared by an automobile dealership and an adjacent residentially zoned property. Fifty
percent of the required yard area adjacent to a public street shall remain unexcavated.
(E) Notwithstanding Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.10.02.170, a
landscaped buffer of minimum five -foot width shall be required along the property line
adjacent to a residential use. The buffer shall include a hedge to be maintained up to
12 feet in height where adjacent to a residential side yard and 42 inches in height where
adjacent to a residential front yard. The Planning Commission may reduce or waive any
part of this requirement if such reduction or waiver is consistent with the public health,
safety, and general welfare.
(F) At least fifty percent of the required yard area set forth in subsection (c)(1) of
Section 4 adjacent to a public street shall. be landscaped pursuant to the provisions of
Santa Monica Municipal Code Part 9.04.10.04. Fifty percent of the unexcavated area
within this required yard shall be landscaped.
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SECTION 6. Performance Standards Permit and Conditional Use Permit
Requirements' Automobile dealerships automobile storage lots and parking structures
subject to a performance standards permit or a conditional use permit shall comply with
the following standards:
(a) Parking and Vehicle Storage. On -site employee and customer parking
shall be provided at no charge. Employee and inventory parking may be provided as
tandem and shall not be subject to Santa Monica Municipal Code Part 9.04.20.26.
Except as otherwise provided in this Section, parking shall comply with Santa Monica
Municipal Code Part 9.04.10.08.
Areas designated for employee and customer parking shall not be used for
vehicle storage or display. Non -skid or other treatment shall be applied to the surface of
the parking structure utilized by vehicles to avoid tire squeals.
(b) Landscaping. Screening of outdoor display and non - display areas shall
comply with the provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Part 9.04.10.04. A
minimum two -foot landscape and decorative curb strip, where feasible, shall be
provided along the street frontage perimeter of all outdoor vehicle display areas.
Landscape materials shall be designed to provide an opaque visual buffer at least
twelve inches in height. Applicable setback requirements shall be expanded as
necessary to require a minimum five -foot landscaped area adjacent to any abutting
residential property not used as part of the dealership operation.
Final design treatment shall be subject to review and approval by the
Architectural Review Board. All surface parking areas not used for vehicle display shall
33
be subject to the parking lot screening requirements of Santa Monica Municipal Code
Part 9.04.10.04.
(c) Lighting. All lighting shall comply with Santa Monica Municipal Code
Sections 9.04.10.02.270 and 9.04.10.02.280.
(d) Loading and Unloading of Vehicles. Loading and unloading of vehicles is
permitted only in accordance with this subsection. The dealership operator shall be
responsible and liable for any activities of a common carrier, operator, or other person
controlling such loading or unloading activities to the extent any such activities violate
the provisions of this subsection (d).
(1) Loading and unloading of vehicles is limited to the hours of eight
a.m. to five p.m. Monday through Saturday. Loading and unloading of vehicles is
prohibited on Sunday and legal holidays.
(2) Vehicle off - loading shall not be permitted in the public right of way
or residential area and shall occur on site or off -site. The applicant shall prepare and
submit to the Transportation Management Division for approval a plan that complies
with all requirements of this subsection (d) to be included in a form prepared by
Transportation Management Division.
(e) Storage of Vehicles. No automobile dealership owner, operator, or
employee, for any period of time on any public street or alley, shall park or store
vehicles for sale, to be repaired, that have been repaired, or that are part of an
automobile rental operation associated with the dealership.
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(f) Repair of Vehicles. The repair and service facility portion of an automobile
dealership shall comply with the provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section
9.04.14.050.
(g) Queuing of Vehicles. An adequate on -site queuing area for service
customers shall be provided. On -site driveways maybe used for queuing but may not
interfere with access to required parking spaces. Required parking spaces may not
double as queuing spaces.
(h) Test Driving. Test driving shall not be done on residential streets or alleys.
For the purposes of this subsection, streets which are designated by the, City as major
collector streets shall be permissible areas for test driving. Each dealership operator
shall have an affirmative obligation to inform all its personnel of this requirement and to
ensure compliance with it. The applicant shall prepare and submit to the Transportation
Management Division for approval a plan that complies with all requirements of this
subsection (h) to be included in a form prepared by Transportation Management
Division.
Existing dealerships shall submit plans to the Transportation Management
Division for approval that satisfy the requirements of this subsection if such plans are
not already on file.
(i) Control of Alley Traffic. Notwithstanding the prohibition of alley use for test
driving, each dealership operator shall present to the Transportation Management
Division, at the same time of the filing of an application for a permit for a new dealership
or substantial remodeling, plans for slowing traffic flow in alleys adjacent to their uses,
with the objective of minimizing dangers to pedestrians and neighboring vehicle
36
operations, and of minimizing noise and other environmental incursions into the
neighborhood. Such plans shall be designed to limit the maximum speed to fifteen miles
per hour and may include measures such as speed bumps or dips, one -way traffic
patterns, increased signage, parking and loading prohibitions and similar measures.
(j) Circulation. The location of entries and exits from.automobile dealerships,
automobile centers, and automobile storage lots shall be located as far away from
adjacent residential properties as is reasonably feasible and shall be directed to
commercial streets and away from residential areas by means of signage and design.
The interior circulation system between levels shall be internal to the building and shall
not require use of public ways or of externally visible or uncovered ramps, driveways or
parking areas. No arrangement shall be permitted which requires vehicles to back into
an alley or other public way. Compliance with this subsection Q) shall be subject to
review by the Transportation Management Division.
(k) Noise Control.
(1) There shall be no outdoor loudspeakers. Interior loudspeakers shall
produce no more than forty-five dba at a boundary abutting or adjacent to a residential
parcel, under normal operating conditions (e.g., with windows open if they are likely to
be opened).
(2) All noise generating equipment exposed to the exterior shall be
muffled with sound absorbing materials to minimize noise impacts on adjacent
properties and shall not be operated before eight a.m. or after six p.m, if reasonably
likely to cause annoyance to abutting or adjacent residences and shall at all times be in
compliance with the City's Noise Ordinance.
36
(3) Rooftop storage areas shall be screened with landscaping andlor
noise absorbing materials to minimize noise impacts on adjacent properties.
(1) Toxic Storage and Disposal.
(1) Gasoline storage tanks shall be constructed and maintained under
the same conditions and standards that apply for service stations.
(2) There shall be full compliance with the terms and conditions of all
applicable federal, state, and local laws relating to the storage and disposal of toxic
chemicals and hazardous wastes.
(m) Air Quality.
(1) Use of brake washers shall be required in service stalls or areas
which perform service on brakes employing asbestos or other materials known to be
harmful when dispersed in the air.
(2) All mechanical ventilating equipment shall be directed to top story
exhaust vents which face away from abutting or adjacent residential properties.
(3) Exhaust systems shall be equipped with appropriate and
reasonably available control technology to minimize or eliminate noxious pollutants
which would otherwise be emitted.
(n) Hours of Operation. Unless otherwise approved by the Planning
Commission, if the dealership is within one hundred. feet of a residential district,
operation of the dealership shall be prohibited between the hours of ten p.m. and seven
a.m.
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(o) Vehicle Stacking Equipment: Vehicle- stacking equipment shall be
permitted within parking structures and on surface lots for employee parking and vehicle
storage when screened with an eight -foot high solid masonry wall. The wall shall be set
back from the property line at least two feet so that a landscaped buffer of up to two feet
in width can be provided. Parking spaces in lifts shall not be applicable in calculating a
dealership's parking requirement. If the structure is located in an R2, R3 or A lot, the
spaces provided on lifts shall not be included in the base used for calculating the
required 10% provision of employee parking spaces. In addition, these spaces shall
not count toward fulfilling the 10% employee parking requirement. Vertical spaces
above employee parking shall be used for employee parking; spaces above inventory
shall be used for inventory. The Planning Commission may reduce the wall height
requirement to a minimum of six feet and may reduce or waive the landscaped setback
area if such reduction or waiver is consistent with the public health, safety, and general
welfare. All facilities shall comply with the City's Noise Ordinance.
(p) Accessory Automobile Rental Agency Requirements. The following
special standards shall apply to accessory automobile rental agencies located within
automobile dealerships:
(1) No more than ten percent of the total interior floor area of the
automobile repair or automobile painting facility or a maximum of seven hundred fifty
square feet, whichever is less, shall be devoted to the accessory automobile rental
agency operation;
(2) The accessory automobile rental agency shall only operate during
the hours of operation of the automobile repair or automobile painting facility;
01
(3) Vehicles may only be rented to customers of the automobile repair
or automobile painting facility;
(4) No exterior signage shall be permitted for the accessory automobile
rental agency; and
(5) The accessory automobile rental agency shall not be advertised or
marketed as an independent automobile rental agency. .
(q) Plan Verification. All dealerships shall submit a letter annually in June
affirming their continued use of their test- driving, vehicle off- loading, and alley traffic
control plans. Any changes to approved plans shall require approval of the
Transportation Management Division.
SECTION 7. Applicability.
Except for subsections (e) through (k) of Section 3 which shall be
applicable to existing and future development, this Ordinance shall apply to any
development project which has not received its discretionary planning entitlements (e.g.,
development review permit, variance, architectural review permit, conditional use
permit) or has not filed any requested extension to these planning entitlements as of
March 11, 2611 unless the development project has otherwise obtained a vested right
to proceed. Discretionary project applications that were filed prior to the effective date
of Ordinance Number 2345 (CCS) and which are subject to its provisions and any
extension thereto shall automatically be converted to a development agreement with
fees already paid to be applied towards the development agreement deposit.
39
SECTION 8. 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 9. 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.
,i
SECTION 10. This Ordinance shall be of no further force or effect after
December 31, 2014, unless prior to that date, after a public hearing, noticed pursuant to
Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.20.22.050, the City Council, by majority .
vote, extends this interim ordinance.
SECTION 11. 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. This Ordinance shall become
effective 30 days after its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
41
rw
Iddla Report
City of ' Council
Santa Monica'
City Council Meeting: June 24, 2014
Agenda Item: %A
To: Mayor and City Council
From: David Martin, Director of Planning and Community Development
Subject: First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Interim Zoning Ordinance No.
2455 (CCS)
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the City Council introduce for first reading an ordinance to amend
Interim Ordinance No. 2455 (CCS) which sets forth interim development standards and
procedures pending implementation of the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE)
through adoption of a new Zoning Ordinance. Interim Ordinance No. 2455 (CCS) is in
effect until December 31, 2014.
The two proposed amendments would establish: 1) Exercise facilities that meet certain
criteria are a permitted use within the LUCE Downtown District; and 2) Ground - level,
outdoor dining areas up to 200 square feet in size that meet certain criteria along Main
Street's LUCE Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low Districts are
exempt from a building's floor area ratio (FAR) calculation and the requirement to
provide additional parking for the outdoor dining area.
Executive Summary
This staff report recommends amending Interim Ordinance No. 2455 (CCS) in order to
encourage active, ground -floor uses in the Downtown and along the Neighborhood
Commercial /Mixed -Use Boulevard Low corridor on Main Street on an interim basis until
a new Zoning Ordinance and a new Downtown Specific Plan are adopted by Council
later this year or in early 2015. The proposed amendments would further this objective
by establishing exercise facilities as a permitted use within the entire LUCE Downtown
District instead of requiring a conditional use permit for certain properties, and by
exempting certain outdoor dining areas along Main Street's LUCE Neighborhood
Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low Districts from a building's floor area ratio
calculation and the requirement for additional parking to serve the outdoor dining area.
These two amendments are in response to the Council's April 8.2014 direction to
evaluate and present a recommendation on several suggested Interim Zoning
Ordinance amendments proposed for consideration by several business /property
1
owners. These proposals were introduced to Council and staff in conjunction with the
public hearing to extend the effective date of the Interim Zoning Ordinance to the end of
the calendar year. As detailed more fully in this report, both amendments are consistent
with adopted LUCE land use policies that support active, group floor uses in the City's
commercial districts and with the parameters recommended in the Public Review Draft
Zoning Ordinance and Draft Downtown Specific Plan.
The third issue identified on April 8th proposing an amendment to allow outdoor
merchandise display along Main Street's LUCE Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -
Use Boulevard Low Districts is not recommended as an amendment to the Interim
Zoning Ordinance. Due the wide range of aesthetic, operational, and legal issues to be
considered with this proposal, it would be more appropriately addressed and discussed
in conjunction with the Public Review Draft Zoning Ordinance that is currently before the
Planning Commission.
Background
Interim Zoning Ordinance
Following the adoption of the LUCE in July 2010, Interim Zoning Ordinance (IZO)
Number 2345 (CCS) was first presented to establish interim zoning provisions and
standards on January 25 2011 and was adopted on February 8. 2011.
The IZO has been extended and modified as implementation of the LUCE has moved
forward. Most recently, Council adopted Ordinance No. 2455 (CCS) on April 22, 2014
extending the effective date of the IZO to December 31, 2014 in order to provide
sufficient time to present an updated Draft to City Council for approval following
conclusion of Planning Commission's detailed review of the Public Review Draft Zoning
Ordinance.
The two amendments proposed in this report were raised in public correspondence
preceding the April 8, 2014 Council discussion and first reading of the ordinance
extending the IZO until December 31, 2014.
Discussion
The following discussion will present the recommended language for both of the
proposed Interim Zoning Ordinance amendments addressing outdoor dining along the
2
LUCE Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low Districts on Main
Street and exercise facilities in the Downtown District and describe how both uses are
currently addressed in the Zoning Ordinance and /or Interim Zoning Ordinance. This
report also describes how these proposed amendments are consistent with 2010 LUCE
policies encouraging active, ground floor uses and consistent with the way staff has
recommended addressing these use - related items on a permanent basis in the Public
Review Draft Zoning Ordinance and Draft Downtown Specific Plan. The two proposed
amendments address this interim period and it is anticipated that both the new Zoning
Ordinance and Downtown Specific Plan will be scheduled for Council review and final
adoption later this year or in early 2015.
Exercise Facilities — LUCE Downtown District
The first recommended amendment would establish small -scale exercise facilities that
meet certain criteria as a permitted use within the Downtown District as defined by the
2010 Land Use and Circulation Element.
Staff reviewed adopted LUCE policies and draft Zoning Ordinance and Downtown
Specific Plan policies and development standards related to exercise facilities. In
addition, the four conditional use permits for exercise facilities that have been submitted
and approved by Planning Commission or Council on appeal in the past ten years were
also reviewed. This research supports the proposed amendment to establish small -
scale exercise facilities as a permitted use in the LUCE Downtown District subject to
certain criteria. These criteria would include compliance with Zoning Ordinance off-
street parking requirements. This would allow for an active, ground -floor use to be
established in an existing tenant space in a more efficient manner by eliminating the
need for a Planning Commission public hearing.
The proposed exercise facility would need to meet all of the following criteria in order to
qualify as a permitted use, instead of a conditionally - permitted use that is subject to a
discretionary conditional use permit (CUP) application and a Planning Commission
public hearing:
3
• Project site is located within the LUCE Downtown District and does not share
property lines with a residential use
• Project may not exceed 5,000 SF of floor area
• Project includes a change -of -use in an existing 100% commercial building
• Project satisfies Zoning Ordinance off - street parking requirements
This provision would be in effect on an interim basis pending final adoption of the
Zoning Ordinance and the new Downtown Specific Plan. Any proposed LUCE
Downtown District exercise facility that includes a request to reduce its off - street parking
requirement and /or does not meet the criteria outlined above, would not qualify as a
permitted use, and would require submittal of a CUP application and a Planning
Commission public hearing.
Current Zoning Ordinance
The expanded LUCE Downtown District is an area that encompasses properties in the
current Bayside District Specific Plan ( Bayside Zoning Districts (BSC 1 -4)), portions of
the Downtown with C -3, C3 -C, and RVC zoning designations, and a section of C -4
zoned properties along Lincoln Boulevard between Wilshire Boulevard and the Santa
Monica Freeway.
Portions of the 2010 LUCE Downtown District, including the north side of Wilshire
Boulevard, the east side of Ocean Avenue, and both sides of Lincoln Boulevard
between Wilshire Boulevard and the Santa Monica Freeway, have not historically been
identified as a part of the City's Downtown planning area. These areas are, however,
within the current boundaries of the LUCE Downtown District. Until the new Zoning
Ordinance and Downtown Specific Plan are adopted to implement the LUCE's vision,
goals, and policies for the expanded Downtown District, development standards and
regulations in the Interim Zoning Ordinance, and the eight different zones that comprise
the LUCE Downtown District, will remain in effect.
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Exercise facilities are a permitted use in all the zones that comprise the LUCE
Downtown District, except for a section of Lincoln Boulevard between Wilshire
Boulevard and the Santa Monica Freeway that is zoned C -4 (Highway Commercial).
Exercise facilities that are already considered permitted uses are not affected by this
proposed amendment. A CUP application and Planning Commission public hearing are
currently required for an exercise facility in the C -4 Zoning District.
A CUP is generally required for uses that are consistent with the types of activities
found in the zoning district but may have certain operational characteristics that require
project- specific conditions of approval in order to ensure compatibility between the
proposed use and the surrounding neighborhood.
Since 2004, there have been four CUP applications for exercise facilities reviewed by
Planning Commission; all four applications were approved. The following two
applications were approved by Planning Commission and did not require additional
conditions of approval to address operational issues or neighborhood concerns
specifically related to the exercise facility use:
• 1315 Lincoln Blvd: 5,171 SF ground -floor exercise facility approved in 2006;
® 2005 Main Street: 1,394 SF ground -floor exercise facility approved in 2012;
Two additional CUP applications for exercise facilities included companion applications
to reduce on -site parking requirements. Project- specific conditions of approval for the
two applications noted below were primarily related to the associated parking reduction
request. For one application, several conditions of approval were required to address
noise concerns due to residential uses sharing rear property lines with the subject
property.
® 3002 Main Street: 3,448 SF ground -floor exercise facility with medical use and a
parking Variance approved by Planning Commission in 2010. Additional
conditions of approval were included to address the parking Variance request
and to require implementation of vehicle trip reduction measures.
5
• 2433 Main Street: 2,621 SF ground -floor exercise facility and Reduced Parking
Permit approved by Council on appeal in 2013. Additional conditions of approval
were included to require implementation of vehicle trip reduction measures and
installation of interior sound - absorbing materials inside the tenant space due to
residential uses immediately adjacent to and sharing property lines with the site;
and to address existing parking lot operations for the multi- tenant commercial
property.
2010 LUCE and Draft Downtown Specific Plan
2010 LUCE Downtown District land use goals and policies are geared primarily toward
reinforcing the Downtown as the focus of the City, encouraging a broad mix of uses and
new investment in the District that creates dynamic daytime and evening activity, and
reinforces the Downtown as the place with the greatest concentration of activity in the
City (Goal D7). Downtown District policies also encourage local- serving uses that are an
integral part of complete neighborhoods (Policy D7.2) and support active, ground -floor
uses (Goal D8).
LUCE Downtown District goals and policies will be implemented through the new
Downtown Specific Plan (DSP) and Zoning Ordinance. The Draft DSP outlines a variety
of goals and policies that support neighborhood - serving and active ground -floor uses in
new and existing mixed -use and commercial buildings. More specifically, the plan
encourages new land uses that are compatible with the established character of
Downtown's residential neighborhoods (Goal DD12) and development of space for uses
that support residents' daily needs (Policy DD12.1), and encourages active, pedestrian -
oriented uses to occupy the ground -floor space in existing and new buildings (Policy
DD12.2).
Finally, proposed development standards set forth in Appendix A.2 of the Draft
Downtown Specific Plan would establish small -scale exercise /dance studios (facilities
less than 5,000 SF of floor area) as a permitted use in the Downtown District subareas.
The Draft DSP proposes a CUP to regulate large -scale exercise /dance studios (facilities
greater than or equal to 5,000 SF of floor area) subject to a Planning Commission public
hearing.
Public Review Draft Zoning Ordinance
The proposed amendment for exercise facilities addresses only the LUCE Downtown
District. It is consistent, however, with the regulations for exercise facilities in the Public
Review Draft Zoning Ordinance and Draft Downtown Specific Plan: exercise facilities
and arts - instruction facilities of 5,000 SF or less in the Commercial and Mixed -Use
Corridor Zoning Districts would be a permitted use (proposed Section and Table
9.11.020); facilities greater than 5,000 SF would require a CUP.
Outdoor Dining Areas — Main Street
The second proposed amendment to the Interim Zoning Ordinance would establish that
ground - level, outdoor dining areas up to 200 SF in size that meet certain criteria along
Main Street's LUCE Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low Districts
are exempt from a building's floor area ratio (FAR) calculation and the requirement to
provide additional parking for that outdoor dining area. Staff reviewed adopted zoning
regulations currently in effect in the Zoning Ordinance and Interim Zoning Ordinance,
adopted 2010 LUCE policies, and the proposed policies and development standards
relevant to outdoor dining contained in the Public Review Draft Zoning Ordinance that is
scheduled for Council review later this year.
This research supports the proposed amendment with criteria to ensure the outdoor
dining area would be an active, ground -floor use that enhances the pedestrian
experience. As discussed more fully below, the proposed size limitation of up to 200 SF
for the outdoor dining area would enhance the pedestrian- oriented commercial
environment along Main Street while also maintaining consistency with the lower -scale
development pattern in the neighborhood. Accordingly, this provision is not intended to
create an exemption for the portion of an outdoor dining area that is in excess of 200 SF
rl
in area and /or where it does not adjoin the front property line (i.e., rear patio outdoor
dining areas). More specifically, the proposed outdoor dining area would need to meet
all of the following criteria:
• Project is located in the LUCE Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use
Boulevard Low Districts on Main Street
• Outdoor dining area is located on private property
• The exemptions only apply to the first 200 SF of outdoor dining area that adjoins
the front property line
• The dining area has no more than a 42 -inch high barrier surrounding the dining
area and is visible from the public right -of -way
Current Zoning Ordinance /Interim Zoning Ordinance
The opportunity for ground -floor outdoor dining on private property in conjunction with
an existing food service use can be viewed as a desirable way to activate a space and
take advantage of Santa Monica's favorable climate, and to create naturally lit and
ventilated areas for activities. The proposed amendment is similar to an existing IZO
provision that excludes ground -floor outdoor dining on private property for the purposes
of determining a project's floor area ratio in the Downtown District (Section 3 (g)).
Floor area is generally included in a floor area ratio (FAR) calculation if it is space that is
usable, can be occupied, and contributes to the overall mass of the structure. There are
exceptions to what is included in the calculation for spaces such as stairways, elevators,
below -grade parking and mechanical rooms, and open spaces such as courtyards and
balconies. The existing zoning ordinance currently includes open spaces in FAR
calculations if they contain a commercial use, in some cases preventing their
conversion to outdoor dining areas.
Ground -floor open spaces that include small -scale outdoor dining areas would not add
to the mass of a building. Creating an exemption from Floor Area Ratio calculations and
the requirement to provide parking for an outdoor dining area that meets the criteria
outlined in this report would incentivize restaurant owners to create outdoor dining areas
t:3
along Main Street to enhance the pedestrian environment and support local, small
business viability.
As noted above, this proposal is similar to the outdoor dining area exemption from floor
area ratio calculations in the LUCE Downtown District currently established by the
Interim Zoning Ordinance, for outdoor dining on private property. This interim Downtown
District floor area exemption does not limit the size of the outdoor dining area.
However, for Main Street's Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low
Districts, the outdoor dining area that would qualify for the floor area exemption would
be limited to 200 SF in recognition of the lower scale and lower intensity of development
along Main Street south of Pico Boulevard.
The proposed amendment is also similar to the current Zoning Ordinance Section
9.04.10.02.460 0) which exempts sidewalk cafes on public property from the
requirement to provide additional parking for up to 200 SF of outdoor dining area. This
amendment would establish the same parking exemption for Main Streefoutdoor dining
areas up to 200 SF in size that are located on private property and adjoin the front
property line.
2010 LUCE & Public Review Draft Zoning Ordinance
The proposed outdoor dining amendment would apply only to the Main Street
Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low Districts as defined by the
LUCE at this current time and is recommended to be extended to other parts of the City
in the Public Review Draft Zoning Ordinance. LUCE goals and policies supporting this
provision include:
• Citywide Policy LU15.12: Support ground floor gathering spaces
• Main Street Goal D31: Preserve and enhance the distinctive qualities of Main
Street that allow it to be a vibrant local and regional shopping and dining
destination
• Main Street Policy D32.9 — Encourage sidewalk dining subject to established
criteria
While the proposed amendment for outdoor dining only addresses Main Street,
proposed regulation of outdoor dining areas and sidewalk cafes set forth in the Public
Review Draft Zoning Ordinance recommends parking exemptions that do not
differentiate between outdoor dining on public or private property and are recommended
Citywide. More specifically, Draft Zoning Ordinance Section 9.28.040 (A) (4) (e) and
Section 9.31.200 (K) recommend that outdoor dining and seating less than 200 square
feet in size associated with restaurants shall not be included when determining required
parking and loading spaces.
Finally, through the ongoing public review of the Draft Zoning Ordinance, staff will also
recommend whether to exempt, on a Citywide basis, private property outdoor dining
areas up to 200 SF in size from a building's floor area ratio calculation.
Outdoor Merchandise Display — Main Street
As noted earlier in this report, during Council's April 8th discussion of the Interim Zoning
Ordinance, direction was given to evaluate an issue raised during public testimony
pertaining to a potential IZO amendment to allow outdoor merchandise display along
Main Street's Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use Boulevard Low Districts. Staff
does not recommend that outdoor merchandise display be addressed as an
amendment to the Interim Zoning Ordinance due the wide range of aesthetic,
operational, and legal issues that need to be considered with this proposal. Rather, this
issue would be more appropriately discussed in conjunction with the Public Review
Draft Zoning Ordinance that is currently before the Planning Commission.
Environmental Analysis
The proposed ordinance is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) under Class 5, minor alterations in land use limitations. The
existing interim zoning ordinance measures related to floor area ratio and parking
requirement calculations for outdoor dining areas have not led to a significant increase
in new outdoor dining area establishments and have not had a noticeable effect on
10
existing parking resources. The proposed amendment to establish exercise facilities of
less than 5,000 square feet in size as permitted use only applies to a change of use
within an existing commercial building and is therefore categorically exempt from the
provisions of CEQA pursuant to Section 15303 (Class 3 — New Construction or
Conversion of Small Structures).
Public Hearing
A notice for this public hearing was published at least 10 days prior to the hearing in the
Santa Monica Daily Press.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the
recommended action.
Prepared by: Roxanne Tanemori, AICP, Senior Planner
Approved:
a A
David Martin, Director
Planning and Community Development
Attachments:
A. Draft Interim Zoning Ordinance
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Forwarded to Council:
Rod Gould
City Manager
■ ►1 ►
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City Council Meeting: 06 -24 -2014
Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA AMENDING INTERIM ORDINANCE NUMBER 2455 (CCS), WHICH
ESTABLISHED INTERIM DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURES PENDING
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LUCE, INCLUDING MODIFICATIONS ADDRESSING
ORDINANCE APPLICABILITY, CM DISTRICT NON - CONFORMING USES, SHARED
PARKING AND FAR CALCULATIONS IN THE DOWNTOWN, EXEMPTIONS FOR
CITY PROJECTS, PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE PERMITTED NUMBER OF
RESTAURANTS IN THE CM DISTRICT, THE REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING PUBLIC
PARKING SPACES WITHIN PUBLIC PARKING STRUCTURES IN BSC -2 AND C3 -C
ZONING DISTRICTS, AUTHORIZED EXISTING NONCONFORMING AUTOMOBILE
DEALERSHIP USES AND MINOR EXPANSIONS THERETO IN RESIDENTIAL AND
"A" OFF - STREET PARKING OVERLAY ZONES, MODIFIED THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR MINISTERIAL PROCESSING OF 100% AFFORDABLE HOUSING OF 50 OR
FEWER UNITS, MODIFIED FLOOR AREA RATIO CALCULATIONS IN THE
DOWNTOWN DISTRICT FOR OUTDOOR DINING, PROVIDED AN INTERIM USE
PERMIT APPROVAL PROCESS FOR THE BERGAMOT PLANNING AREA AND
CLARIFIED THAT THE BERGAMOT AREA PLAN DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS FOR
TIER 1 PROJECTS AND AUTHORIZED USES SUPERSEDE THE REQUIREMENT OF
THE ZONING ORDINANCE TO THE EXTENT OF ANY INCONSISTENCY
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Findings and Purpose. The Council finds and declares:
(a) The City adopted a new Land Use and Circulation Element of the General
Plan of the City of Santa Monica ( "LUCE ") on July 6, 2010 but has not yet adopted
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amendments to the City's Zoning Ordinance reflecting the LUCE's policies, goals and
standards.
(b) The adoption of the LUCE was the culmination of a multi -year planning
process that commenced in 2004.
(c) The LUCE encompasses the community's vision of the City's future and is
designed to maintain the City's character, protect the City's neighborhoods, manage its
transportation systems, and encourage additional housing in a sustainable manner that
ensures a high quality of life for the City's residents.
(d) The LUCE implements the community's core values through its focus on
community character and neighborhood 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, community benefits, open space, and implementation, phasing and
monitoring.
(e) The LUCE 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.
(f) The 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.
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(g) The LUCE substantially revises the City's land use policies, goals, and
standards.
(h) The City's planning and zoning regulations are presently under
comprehensive review and revision in order to ensure that such regulations are
consistent with the General Plan as amended and consistent with the public health,
safety, and welfare. This comprehensive revision of the City's Zoning Ordinance is a
substantial project which is crucial to the community's long -term welfare as reflected in
the goals, policies, and standards of the LUCE. Major elements of the, comprehensive
revision of the Zoning Ordinance are currently under public review and discussion at the
Planning Commission and scheduled for review and adoption by City Council during the
second quarter of 2014.
(i) Certain critical areas of conflict between the LUCE and the existing Zoning
Ordinance have been identified by the City's Planning and Community Development
Department as it has reviewed pending applications subsequent to the adoption of the
LUCE.
Q) Zoning Ordinance Part 9.04.20.28 establishes the applicability and
procedures for issuance of administrative approvals which provide for the ministerial
administrative review and assessment of proposed developments subject to explicit
standards contained in the Zoning Ordinance.
(k) The administrative approval process is premised on the assumption that the
explicit standards in the Zoning Ordinance have been adopted to ensure that a
completed project is in harmony with existing or potential development in the area and
is consistent with the goals, objectives, and policies of the General Plan.
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(1) However, this premise underlying the administrative approval process is no
longer applicable given the significant ways in which the LUCE differs from the prior
Land Use and Circulation elements including, but not limited to, the direct linkage
between land use and transportation policies and programs and the establishment of
new development policies and standards which ensure that quality development
contributes to the character of the City.
(m) Additionally, the LUCE establishes a base height for each land use as a
baseline. Proposed development which seeks additional height above the base is
subject to discretionary review and must meet additional requirements consistent with
the community's broader social, environmental, and circulation goals. This approach is
defined in three tiers.
(n) Under the LUCE, Tier 2 and Tier 3 projects must provide community benefits
for the City and the neighborhood. More specifically, a developer seeking to develop a
Tier 2 or Tier 3 project must include certain preferred uses, beneficial project design
features, and provide critical amenities or meet other development standards that
address the community's core needs —it's social, cultural, physical, transportation and
environmental goals.
(o) The LUCE identifies five priority categories of community benefits —new
affordable and workforce housing, GHG emission and congestion reduction, physical
improvements to create connections and open space, social and cultural facilities, and
historic preservation.
(p) The existing Zoning Ordinance does not currently incorporate this tier
structure or establish a mechanism to prioritize and necessitate that projects participate
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in the community benefit tier structure, which is the basis by which much of the LUCE
vision, goals, and policies will be achieved.
(q) Additionally, the LUCE establishes 17 distinct land use designations. One of
these land use designations is the Downtown Core. The purpose of this designation is
to maintain and enhance the downtown area as the heart of the City and as a thriving,
mixed use urban environment. Unlike the other land use designations, the LUCE does
not establish new height and FAR development parameters, but instead provides that
the height and FAR along with other development standards shall be determined
through a specific plan process.
(r) At the time the initial interim ordinance was adopted, there were
approximately 700,000 square feet of administrative and development review projects,
not including development agreements, pending planning review. Of the 700,000
square feet, approximately 500,000 square feet was located within the Downtown Core.
Approximately half of the projects in the Downtown Core were Administrative Approvals
that did not require public review and need only comply with objective standards in the
existing Zoning Ordinance. Within the Downtown, bringing forward approximately
200,000 square feet of new development outside of the development agreement
process before the completion of the Downtown Specific Plan meant that nearly a
quarter of the growth anticipated in the Downtown could be constructed inconsistent
with the yet to be adopted Specific Plan. The Downtown Specific Plan will include a
circulation framework that will address the integration of Expo light rail into the
Downtown system, freeway access, direct parking structure access, and congestion;
establishing the foundation for future land use and transportation decisions. If these
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Administrative Approvals had proceeded in a piecemeal fashion without these
components, it would have undermined the community vision set forth in the Downtown
District goals and policies, as well as the Downtown Specific Plan process underway
and would have detrimentally affected the City's ability to implement LUCE goals and
policies, particularly with respect to: providing open spaces, trip reduction, coordinating
with adjacent sites, congestion management, and achieving community goals through
community benefits and quality urban design.
(s) Additionally, transit - oriented districts in the City's transitioning industrial areas
are not reflected in the current zoning ordinance, which allows uses that would now be
considered undesirable and inconsistent with the LUCE.
(t) Pending completion of the comprehensive update to the Zoning Ordinance, it
is essential that development be consistent with the General Plan so that the goals and
values of the community, as reflected in the LUCE, are not significantly undercut.
Adjusting the development standards as provided in this Ordinance will ensure that the
quality of life, the environment, the ability to move around the City, and the efficacy of
the ongoing planning process are preserved.
(u) Adoption of this ordinance would not prohibit any development, but would
instead provide an alternate process by which development is reviewed and approved
so as to ensure consistency with and appropriate implementation of the LUCE.
(v) Adoption of this ordinance would also not materially alter the City's
substantial incentives for residential or mixed use development in non - residential zoning
districts. These incentives would be preserved in local law and policy. For example,
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residential development in all of the City's commercial districts would remain authorized.
Thus, residential development could still occur in over 80% of the City.
(w) After the adoption of the initial interim ordinance, issues were raised relating
to the processing of projects that were in the pipeline prior to the effective date of the
initial interim ordinance which require the City to expeditiously consider and adjust the
applicability provisions of the interim ordinance to ensure fairness to project applicants
while preserving the City's ability to effectuate the goals and policies of the LUCE.
(x) After the interim ordinance was extended on April 26, 2011, it became
apparent that allowing two restaurants per block on the east side of Main Street north of
Ocean Park Boulevard will promote the general welfare by encouraging additional
investment in that neighborhood and strengthening the connection between Main Street
and the Civic Center.
(y) As detailed above and in the LUCE, the City's downtown is a thriving, mixed-
use urban environment for people to live, work, be entertained, and be culturally
enriched.
(z) This area has the greatest concentration of activity in the City; anchored by
the core commercial district, including the Third Street Promenade and Santa Monica
Place.
(aa) The City's publically owned parking structures in the BSC -2 and C3 -C zone
districts are essential to a vibrant, economically viable downtown area, providing
parking for the offices, restaurants, theaters, and residences.
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(bb) The vast majority of the City's residents regularly visit downtown and use its
parking resources.
(cc) The importance of the City's publically -owned parking infrastructure in the
City's downtown is reflected in the numerous studies and reports over the past dozen
years, including but not limited to the 2000 Downtown Parking Management Program,
the 2002 Downtown Parking Task Force strategic plan, the 2006 Downtown Parking
Program, and the 2009 Walker Parking Study.
(dd) These centrally located parking structures enable their users to park once
and then walk to multiple destinations.
(ee) This "Park Once" philosophy contributes to the Downtown's pedestrian
character and is a major underpinning of its success.
(ft) These parking structures are also operated in a manner to meet the City's
LUCE, transportation and economic goals.
(gg) The LUCE calls for a parking management approach which utilizes a
shared pool of parking resources creating a true shared parking district.
(hh) Given these fundamental goals, it is essential that these parking structures
be protected as precious resources to ensure that adequate parking is available and
that easy access is provided to the core of the Downtown thereby promoting its vitality.
(ii) The City has spent millions of dollars retrofitting and maintaining many of
these structures.
0i) In April 26, 2011, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in
California Redevelopment Association v. Ana Matosantos, affirming AB 1X26 which
provides for the dissolution of redevelopment agencies.
(kk) In AB 1X26, the State legislature incorporated provisions that purport to
require properties formerly owned by the City's Redevelopment Agency to be sold so
that the proceeds can be transferred to the County auditor - controller for distribution to
taxing entities as property tax proceeds.
(II) In such event, to ensure replacement parking essential for the economic
viability of the City's downtown, there is a need for a development standard that
requires an owner to first obtain a final permit for a project providing replacement public
parking within the same district before an owner may remove, redevelop or convert a
parking structure in a manner that results in the removal of public parking spaces.
(mm) On April 11, 2006, the City Council adopted Interim Ordinance Number
2179 (CCS), after lengthy public outreach, environmental review, and hearings,
modifying auto dealership standards in various commercial and residential zoning
districts in the City to better balance the need for auto dealerships to expand and
develop a more urban format within a context of limited land availability and close
proximity to sensitive residential uses. This Ordinance was extended several times, but
expired August 8, 2010.
(nn) Consistent with LUCE goals and policies, it has and continues to be
contemplated that the provisions of the auto dealership interim ordinance would be
included in the Zoning Ordinance Update that is currently under preparation.
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(oo) More specifically, Goal E8 of the LUCE states: "Allow for the expansion and
improved performance of automobile dealers in Santa Monica, recognizing their
contribution to the local economy and the revenue base of the General Fund." Further,
LUCE Policy E8.3 states: "Allow automobile dealers to reasonably expand in their
current locations and otherwise respond to likely global changes in the automobile
industry as long as their redevelopment is in the urban auto dealership format and
incorporates mitigations to reduce any negative impacts on the surrounding residential
and nonresidential uses. The expansion may occur on existing parcels used for
automobile dealerships and on adjacent or proximate parcels."
(pp) Auto dealerships are important to the economic vitality of the City, and
readopting, with modification, certain of the auto dealership interim ordinance provisions
would encourage the retention of these dealerships by enabling these dealerships to
expand and modernize their operations in order to remain competitive in the industry
while ensuring that changes or improvements made on existing automobile dealer lots
are sensitive to and in keeping with the character of adjacent residential areas.
(qq) The dissolution of the City's Redevelopment Agency and the associated
loss of the City's primary funding source for affordable housing have significantly
impacted the City's ability to produce housing for the lowest household income
categories. Historically, the City's Housing Division invested approximately $15 million
of Housing Trust Funds annually to finance affordable housing through loans and grants
to non - profit housing developers. With the dissolution of redevelopment, the majority of
the Housing Trust Funds' dollars, as well as the City's ability to leverage these monies
with outside funding has been eliminated.
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(rr) The LUCE identifies the production of affordable housing as one of the City's
highest priorities and many of the LUCE policies are targeted at the production of
affordable housing. For instance, LUCE Policy H1.2 provides that the City should
"maintain programs to require and encourage the production of affordable housing for
very low -, low- and moderate income households," "seek additional opportunities to
increase the percentage of affordable housing as a component of for -sale and qualifying
rental residential and mixed -use housing projects," and "incentivize affordable housing
projects." LUCE Policy H1.3 provides that the City should "incentivize the creation of
new affordable housing opportunities."
(ss) The City is in the process of updating its Housing Element. The City's
Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) includes four hundred twenty -eight (428)
very low income housing units and two hundred sixty -three (263) low income housing
units.
(tt) The loss of redevelopment monies and the City's future affordable housing
goals as reflected in the RHNA necessitates that the City strengthen its incentives for
the production of housing which provide a greater mix in housing affordability levels and
address the City's need for low, very low and extremely low affordable housing units.
The proposed revision to the standards for the ministerial processing of 100%
affordable housing projects of 50 or fewer units directly addresses this effort.
(uu) Encouraging ground floor outdoor dining is an important goal expressed in
the LUCE. Excluding such dining from the calculation of floor area ratio can help
incentivize this use and create opportunities for adaptive reuse in existing structures
that would not presently be possible. Such ground floor outdoor dining does not
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contribute to a building's mass and density, and therefore its exclusion from FAR is
appropriate. However, ground floor outdoor dining would still be considered floor area
so that its potential impacts on such areas as parking and traffic would still be
calculated.
(vv) The Bergamot Area Plan has been adopted to provide both the goals and
policies of the General Plan Land Use and Circulation Element for that geographic area
and to provide area - specific development standards that will apply to create a new
transit - oriented neighborhood in proximity to the Exposition Line Bergamot Station. The
Plan's provisions are comprehensive, and in order to ensure the intended outcomes, the
Bergamot Area Plan requires that all projects be consistent with its policies, guidelines,
and development standards. In order to ensure proper implementation of the Plan as
intended, amendment of the Interim Zoning Ordinance is necessary so that in cases of
conflict between the Bergamot Area Plan and Zoning Ordinance pertaining to any
development standard for a Tier 1 project or any authorized use, the Bergamot Area
Plan shall control. In addition, while the Bergamot Area Plan requires a Minor Use
Permit for certain uses within the Plan area, the Minor Use Permit, a proposed
innovation in future revisions to the Zoning Ordinance update, has not yet been
established as a process. Amendment of the Interim Zoning Ordinance is necessary to
establish an interim process by which staff can process requests for those uses that
require a Minor Use Permit under the Bergamot Area Plan.
(ww) Establishing ground - floor, small -scale exercise facilities in the LUCE
Downtown District as a permitted use in an existing 100% commercial building, instead
of as a conditionally permitted use, is consistent with 2010 LUCE Downtown District
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goals and policies that encourage local- serving uses that are an integral part of
complete neighborhoods (Policy D7.2) and that support active, ground -floor uses (Goal
D8).
(xx) In light of the above - detailed concerns, on February 8, 2011, the City
Council adopted Interim Ordinance Number 2345 (CCS) establishing interim
development procedures pending implementation of the LUCE through a revised Zoning
Ordinance; on April 26, 2011, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2356 (CCS)
extending and amending Ordinance Number 2345 (CCS); on February 28, 2012, the
City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2394 (CCS), further extending and amending
Ordinance Number 2345 (CCS), on August 28, 2012, the City Council adopted
Ordinance Number 2407 (CCS) additionally extending and amending Ordinance
Number 2345 (CCS), on February 26, 2013, the City Council adopted Ordinance
Number 2417 (CCS) amending Ordinance Number 2345 (CCS) to address ministerial
processing of 100% affordable housing projects of 50 or fewer units, on June 25, 2013,
City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2428 (CCS), further extending and amending
Ordinance Number 2345 (CCS) to exempt ground floor outdoor dining on private
property from a Floor Area Ratio Calculation. in the Downtown District, on September
24, 2013, City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2439 (CCS), clarifying that the
Bergamot Area Plan standards apply when provisions are in conflict with the current
Zoning Ordinance and establishing a Use Permit process in lieu of the Minor Use Permit
identified in the Bergamot Area Plan until adoption of the Zoning Ordinance, on January
14, 2014, City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2453 (CCS), extending Ordinance
Number 2439 (CCS) until May 31, 2014 to provide additional time to complete the
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process for public review of the Draft Zoning Ordinance at the Planning Commission
and City Council, and on April 22, 2014, City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2455
(CCS), extending Ordinance 2439 (CCS) until December 31, 2014 to provide additional
time to complete the public review of the Draft Zoning Ordinance at the Planning
Commission and City Council.
(yy) Pending completion of the City's review of its planning and zoning
regulations, it is necessary on an interim basis to modify the Zoning Ordinance as set
forth in Section 2, Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, and Section 6 of this Ordinance.
(zz) As detailed above and in the January 25, 2011, April 26, 2011, February 14,
2012, August 14, 2012, February 12, 2013, June 11, 2013, September 24, 2013,
December 17, 2013, April 8, 2014, and June 24, 2014 City Council staff reports, there
continues to exist a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and
welfare should the interim zoning ordinance and necessary amendments not be
adopted and development of projects inconsistent with the LUCE be allowed to proceed
through the issuance of Administrative Approvals or Development Review Permits
which are not consistent with the explicit standards of the LUCE or with the tier structure
and the provision of community benefits.
SECTION 2. Interim Zoning Regulations
Notwithstanding any provision of the City's Zoning Ordinance to the contrary, the
issuance or extension of permits for either a new development project or for the
expansion of an existing development project that exceeds 7500 square feet
( "development project ") that does not comply with the interim zoning standards set forth
14
in Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, or Section 6 of this Ordinance is hereby prohibited
and no zoning permits or approvals, subdivision maps, building permits, or other land
use permit shall be approved, issued, or extended for a development project in
contravention of Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, or Section 6, during the pendency of
this Ordinance or any extension thereof.
SECTION 3. Interim Zoning.
(a) Administrative Approvals. No development project shall be approved
pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.20.28.020 [Administrative
Approvals] unless all of the following findings are made:
(1) The proposed development does not require discretionary review or approval
as established in the Zoning Ordinance, the LUCE, or this Interim Ordinance.
(2) The proposed development conforms precisely to the development
standards contained in both the Zoning Ordinance and in the LUCE for the zoning
district and land use designation in which the development is located.
(3) In the case of any inconsistency between the Zoning Ordinance and the
LUCE pertaining to any objective development standard or permitted use, the proposed
development conforms to the more restrictive development standard and is a permitted
use authorized by the LUCE.
(4) Additionally, notwithstanding subsection (c) of this Section, any pending
Administrative Approval application filed on or before March 11, 2011 for a housing
development project must meet the following Transportation Demand Management
requirements:
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(i) Prior to the issuance of building permits, the property owner shall prepare,
implement, and maintain a Transportation Demand Management plan, to the
satisfaction of the City, including physical, operating and leasing conditions that will be
reasonably likely to result in attainment of a 1.50 a.m. and p.m. AVR among employees
at the development within three years and continued achievement and maintenance of
the AVR targets thereafter. The following measures shall be included in the developer's
TDM plan:
(A) Transportation Information: Developer (and its successors and assignees)
shall provide, to the satisfaction of the City, bulletin boards, display cases, or kiosks,
displaying transportation information located where the greatest number of residents
and employees are likely to see them. This information shall also be provided annually
and upon signing of any lease, to residents and commercial tenants. Information shall
include, but is not limited to, the following:
® Current maps, routes, fare information, and schedules for public transit
routes serving the site.
® Telephone numbers and website links for referrals on transportation
information including numbers for the regional ridesharing agency and
local transit operators.
■ Ridesharing promotional material supplied by commuter - oriented
organizations.
® Bicycle route and facility information, including regional /local bicycle maps
and bicycle safety information.
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® A list of facilities available for carpoolers, vanpoolers, bicyclists, transit
riders, and pedestrians at the site.
® Walking maps and information about local services, restaurants, movie
theaters, and recreational activities within walking distance of the project.
(B) Motorcycle Parking: Developer (and its successors and assignees) shall
provide two motorcycle parking spaces allocated in the commercial subterranean
parking level, if commercial parking is provided on -site.
(C) Bicycle Parking: Developer (or successors and assignees) shall provide
and maintain long -term, secure bicycle parking, such as a locked room or cage, for
commercial tenant employees at a rate of one space for each 5,000 sq. ft. of
commercial area, with a minimum of two spaces in City- approved locations. Long -term
secure bicycle parking for the residential component shall be one space per bedroom
and shall be provided in an enclosed, secure space (e.g. bike room, bike lockers).
Short -term bicycle parking for the residential component shall be 0.2 spaces /unit with a
minimum of 4 spaces.
(D) Bicycle, Vanpool, and Carpool Parking Spaces: Developer (or successors
and assignees) shall provide parking space in accordance with SMMC 9.04.10.08.050.
Preferential parking within the parking garage shall be provided for project employees
who carpool or vanpool to work. The charge for such parking spaces will be at a
reduced rate.
(E) Showers: A minimum of one women's and one men's shower and locker
facility shall be provided for employees of commercial uses on site who bicycle or use
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another active means, powered by human propulsion, of getting to work or who exercise
during the day.
(F) Unbundling of Parking Spaces: If the City adopts an ordinance or other
legal mechanism which authorizes the unbundling of parking, the Applicant (or
Applicant's successors and assigns) shall in all leases it executes as landlord of
residential units within the Project provide residential tenants with the option of leasing
parking space(s) separately from the residential unit. Any parking spaces not leased by
project residential tenants may be leased to any lessee on a month to month basis,
whether or not the lessee otherwise occupies or works at the project, provided project
residential tenants are given first priority to lease such spaces.
(G) Transportation Management Organization: Developer shall agree to
participate in a Transportation Management Organization serving its area and require
same of its tenants. If the City adopts a requirement that a Transportation Management
Organization be formed for the project's geographic area, property owner and tenants
shall participate in any specific strategies that may be implemented, including but not
limited to, support for transit use, shared parking, car sharing opportunity, and
pedestrian and bicycle improvements.
(b) Tier 2 and Tier 3 Development Protects. Notwithstanding the development
standards specified in the Zoning Ordinance, no development project which would
constitute a Tier 2 or Tier 3 project as established pursuant to LUCE Chapter 2.1 shall
be approved except City projects or projects developed pursuant to a development
agreement adopted pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 9.48. City
projects are defined as City public works projects and City community facilities (e.g.
IN
libraries, public parking structures, recycling centers, and community centers), not
including public /private partnerships, and City projects shall be deemed to meet the
community benefit requirements of Tier 2 and Tier 3 development projects.
(c) Downtown Core. Notwithstanding the development standards specified in
the Zoning Ordinance, no development project in the Downtown Core as delineated in
the Land Use Designation Map approved by the City Council on July 6, 2010 shall
exceed 32 feet in height except City projects or projects developed pursuant to a
development agreement adopted pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter
9.48. However, development projects located entirely within the BSC1 Zoning District
shall not be subject to these interim standards provided that the development project is
less than the height and floor area of the existing building.
(d) 100% Affordable Housing Projects. Notwithstanding subsection (b) and (c)
of this Section, affordable housing projects with 50 units or less will continue to be
processed ministerially if a minimum of twenty -five percent (25 %) of the housing units
are deed - restricted or restricted by an agreement approved by the City for occupancy
by households with income of sixty percent (60 %) of Area Median Income or less and
the remainder of the housing units are deed - restricted or restricted by an agreement
approved by the City for occupancy by households with incomes of eighty percent
(80 %) of median income or less. Such affordable housing projects may also include
non - residential uses, as long as such uses do not exceed a maximum percentage of
33% of the total floor area.
Notwithstanding Section 7, affordable housing projects with 50 units or less
which are being developed pursuant to a settlement agreement with the City or which
19
received their Administrative Approval prior to January 8, 2013 shall continue to be
processed in accordance with Ordinance Number 2407 (CCS).
(e) Shared Parking. The following administrative process is hereby established
authorizing property owners and tenants to request shared parking in the Downtown
Core, except for projects that are processed through a development agreement. A
shared parking permit is intended to permit the owners of parking facilities to rent or
lease underutilized parking that is available in their facility to nearby residents, workers
or businesses while reserving sufficient parking supply needed for on -site uses.
(1) Permit Required.
A shared parking permit, approved by the Planning Director, or his /her designee,
shall be required and shall be issued prior to the commencement of a shared parking
use of any private parking facility that is otherwise limited to on -site users. The
Planning Director, or his /her designee, may establish additional conditions to further the
intent of this subsection (e) and ensure that parking spaces needed for the primary on-
site uses will be available during the hours needed for their use. A public hearing shall
not be required for issuance of a shared parking permit.
(2) Application.
Application for a shared parking permit shall be filed in a manner consistent with
the requirements contained in Municipal Code Part 9.04.20.20.
(3) Findings.
c
The Planning Director, or his /her designee, or Planning Commission on appeal,
may approve a shared parking permit application, in whole or in part, with or without
conditions, only when all of the following findings are made in an affirmative manner:
(i) The operation of the requested shared parking permit at the location
proposed and within the time period specified will not adversely impact the primary use
of the parking facility for its intended on -site users, or otherwise endanger the public
health, safety, or general welfare.
(ii) The shared parking permit sets forth the maximum number of shared
parking spaces that are being approved for use by off -site users that will be available
during peak and off -peak parking demand periods so as to ensure that a sufficient
number of spaces will be provided to meet the greater parking demand of the
anticipated users.
(iii) Additional requirements, restrictions or agreements, as deemed necessary
by the Planning Director, or his /her designee, are included as a requirement(s) of the
shared parking permit to ensure that parking spaces needed for the primary on -site
uses will be available during the hours needed for their use.
The Planning Director, or his /her designee shall prepare a written decision
which shall contain the findings of fact upon which such decision is based and all
required conditions, if approved. The decision shall be mailed to the applicant and to
property owners and residents of parcels adjacent to the parcel for which the Shared
Parking Permit is requested. Copies of the decision shall also be provided to the
Planning Commission.
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(4) Term of Permit.
A shared parking permit shall be valid for a one -year period from the date of
issuance unless a different period is set by the Planning Director, or his /her designee, or
the Planning Commission on appeal, as a condition of granting the shared parking
permit. The permit shall renew automatically for additional one -year periods unless the
permit is modified or revoked in accordance with subsection (6) of this Section.
(5) Monitoring.
The permit holder shall grant City staff access to the parking facility for the
purpose of verifying parking availability prior to issuing the permit as well as to allow
random monitoring after the permit is issued.
(6) Modification or Revocation.
The City may modify or revoke an approved shared parking permit in accordance
with the following procedures:
(i) If the Planning Director designee receives evidence that the conditions of
the permit have not been met, or the permit granted is being or has recently been
exercised contrary to the terms of the approval or in violation of a specific statute,
ordinance, law, or regulation, the Planning Director designee shall serve notice of these
violations, either in person or by registered mail, on the owner of the property and on
the permit holder and shall provide the permit holder with a reasonable opportunity to
cure the violation(s).
(ii) If the permit holder or property owner has not responded to the notice
within 10 days or the Planning Director designee determines that the permit holder has
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failed to cure the violation, the Planning Director designee may refer the matter to the
Zoning Administrator for a revocation hearing. Notice of hearing shall be published
once in a newspaper of general circulation within the City and shall be served either in
person or by registered mail on the owner of the property and on the permit holder at
least ten days prior to such hearing. The notice of hearing shall contain a statement of
the specific reasons for revocation.
(iii) After the hearing, a shared parking permit may be revoked by the Zoning
Administrator or by the Planning Commission on appeal or review if any one of the
following findings is made:
fraud
(A) That the Shared Parking Permit was obtained by misrepresentation or
(B) That the conditions of the permit have not been met, or the permit granted
is being or has recently been exercised contrary to the terms of the approval or in
violation of a specific statute, ordinance, law, or regulation.
A written determination of modification or revocation of the shared parking permit shall
be mailed to the property owner and the permit holder within ten days of such
determination.
(7) Appeals.
Any person may appeal the approval, conditions of approval, denial, modification
or revocation of a shared parking permit to the Planning Commission if filed within
fourteen consecutive calendar days of the date the decision is made in the manner
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provided in Municipal Code Part 9.04.20.24, Sections 9.04.20.24.020 through
9.04.20.24.040.
(f) Floor Area Ratio Calculations in the Downtown Core. In the Downtown Core,
below -grade floor area shall not be included when calculating a project's floor area ratio
(FAR). However, such below -grade floor area shall be counted as floor area for all
other purposes.
(g) Floor Area Ratio Calculations in the Downtown District. In the Downtown
District, as defined in the LUCE, ground floor outdoor dining in buildings on private
property shall not be included when calculating a project's floor area ratio (FAR)
provided the dining area has no more than a 42 inch high barrier surrounding the dining
area and is visible from the public right of way. However, such ground floor outdoor
dining shall be counted as floor area for all other purposes.
(h) Exercise Facilities in the Downtown District. Notwithstanding subsection (a)
(1) in the Downtown District, as defined by the LUCE exercise facilities are a permitted
use provided that the exercise facility is less than or equal to 5,000 square feet in size;
the exercise facility is a change -of -use in an existing 100% commercial building; the
protect site does not share property lines with a residential use: and the project satisfies
Zoning Ordinance off - street parking requirements. This provision only applies to
properties within the LUCE Downtown District where the Zoning Ordinance currently
require a Conditional Use Permit to establish an exercise facility.
(i) Outdoor Dining in the LUCE Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -Use
Boulevard Low Districts on Main Street. In the Neighborhood Commercial and Mixed -
Use Boulevard Low Districts along Main Street as defined in the LUCE, ground floor
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outdoor dining on private property up to 200 square feet in size shall not be included
when calculating a project's floor area ratio (FAR) provided the dining area has no more
than a 42 inch high barrier surrounding the dining area, is visible from the public right -of-
way and immediately adjoins the front property line. Such ground floor outdoor dining
shall be counted as floor area for all other purposes except no additional parking shall
be required for that outdoor dining area.
Q) Non - conforming Uses in CM District. An existing use in the CM District shall
be considered no longer existing if that use is changed to another type of use or if for a
period of one year such use has not been in regular operation. Regular operation shall
be considered being open for business to the general public during such use's
customary business hours.
(k) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 9.04.08.28.070 of the Zoning
Code, two restaurants per block shall be allowed on the east side of Main Street north
of Ocean Park Boulevard and south of Pico Boulevard.
(1) No removal, redevelopment or conversion of a parking structure in BSC -2 and
C3 -C zone districts, publically owned as of February 14, 2012, which results in the loss
of parking spaces above the ground floor shall be permitted unless the final permit to
commence construction for a project providing the one -to -one replacement of this
parking has been issued in the same zoning district and this replacement parking will be
offered to the public at rates comparable to the most recent rates offered to the public
for the removed parking spaces.
(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(3), within the Bergamot Area Plan boundaries,
in the case of any inconsistency between the Zoning Ordinance and the Bergamot Area
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Plan pertaining to any development standard for a Tier 1 project or any authorized use,
the provisions in the Bergamot Area Plan shall control and be applied. Until the
adoption of a revised Zoning Ordinance which includes a process for the issuance of
Minor Use Permits (MUP), an application for any land use for which Bergamot Area
Plan Table 5.02 (Land Use Regulations) requires an MUP shall be processed as a Use
Permit, subject to the provisions of SMMC Section 9.04.20.11.
SECTION 4. Automobile Dealerships in Residential and "A" Off - Street
Parking Overlay Zones:
Lots designated ( "A ") Off - Street Parking Overlay District, Low Density Multiple -
Family Residential District (R2), or Medium Density Multiple Family Residential District
(R3) that are contiguous to and were used legally in conjunction with an automobile
dealership in operation on August 14, 2012, which automobile dealership uses have not
subsequently been abandoned ( "Qualifying Lots "), may be developed as an automobile
storage structure or parking structure provided these uses are operated in conjunction
with an automobile dealership on the associated and adjacent commercial lot and the
development is undertaken pursuant to subsections (a) through (1) of this Section. The
expansion of automobile dealership support areas shall be authorized if undertaken
pursuant to subsection (m) of this Section:
(a) Maximum Parcel Coverage: 50% of residential parcel area.
(b) Maximum Building Height:
(1) R2 Zone: 23 feet, excluding four feet of the required parapet.
(2) R3 Zone: 28 feet, excluding four feet of the required parapet.
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(c) Setbacks:
public street.
(1) A minimum 20 foot setback from the property line adjacent to a
(2) A minimum 15 foot setback shall be provided from the property line
opposite the street facing property line. Where an alley is present, this distance may be
measured from the alley centerline.
(3) Except when subsection (c)(2) of this Section applies, a minimum 8
foot setback shall be provided between any above grade structure and a property line
that is shared with an adjacent residential property that is not used as part of an
automobile dealership.
(d) Inventory Storage on Surface Lots. A qualifying lot may be used for
surface inventory storage only if the following conditions are met:
(1) Any displaced required parking shall be relocated to another off-
street location that is:
(A) Located within 750 feet of the qualifying lot, or
(B) Located within 300 feet of a public transit line that connects
the off- street location with the dealership and the dealership provides free bus passes to
its employees, or
(C) Serviced by a dealership - provided shuttle between the off-
street location and the qualifying lot which has been approved by the City's Director of
Planning.
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(2) The displaced parking shall be returned to the qualifying lot if the
criteria of subsection (d)(1) are no longer met.
(e) Prohibited Uses. No portion of a residentially zoned parcel may be used
for auto repair work, rental car use, automobile washing, outdoor display of vehicles,
commercial signage, storage tanks, inventory storage on surface lots (except as
provided in subsection (d) of this Section), or any other use not specifically identified in
this Section 4.
(f) Rooftop Parking: Rooftop parking is permitted subject to the special
standards set forth in Section 5.
(g) Exemption from additional multi - family development standards: Except as
set forth or modified herein, the property development standards of Santa Monica
Municipal Code Section 9.04.08.06.060 and Santa Monica Municipal Code Section
9.04.08.06.070 shall not apply in order to accommodate the specific structural and
design requirements of parking and automobile storage structures.
(h) Approval Process: A Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and Development
Review (DR) Permit shall be required for the development of any parking structure or
automobile storage lot. The CUP shall be subject to the standards set forth in Section
6. The DR Permit shall be subject to Santa Monica Municipal Code Part 9.04.20.14.
(i) ARB Review: All new construction, new additions to existing buildings and
any other exterior improvements that require issuance of a building permit shall be
subject to architectural review pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 9.32 of this
Chapter.
M
Q) Design Standards. Parking structures constructed under these provisions
shall be subject to the design standards set forth in Section 5.
(k) Use to revert to residential: Structures constructed under these provisions
on residential parcels without an "A" Off - street Parking Overlay designation shall be
permitted to remain only when operated in conjunction with an automobile dealership on
the adjacent commercial lot. If the automobile dealership use is abandoned, the parking
structure shall be removed or incorporated into a residential project on the residential
parcel(s) within 3 years.
(1) Housing Impact Fee: Parking structures and automobile storage lots
constructed on parcels designated as Low Density Multiple - Family Residential (R2) and
Medium Density Multiple Family Residential (R3), without an "A" Off - Street Parking
Overlay designation, may be subject to an Affordable Housing Fee established by
resolution of the City Council to mitigate the impact of the loss of the potential
development of affordable housing on these sites.
(m) A floor area expansion of existing automobile dealerships in the
Residential and A Off - Street Parking Overlay Zones that is less than 750 square feet
shall be permitted by -right provided that:
1) The expanded floor area is utilized for an ancillary support function,
including, but not limited to, customer waiting area, offices, vehicle parts storage or
vehicle parts display;
2) The height of the expansion shall be no more than 1 story and shall
not exceed 23 feet;
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3) None of the expanded area is utilized for auto repair activities,
including but not limited to service bays, body work, oil change and lubrication, or radio,
stereo, or phone installation;
4) The square footage expansion may maintain the existing building
lines adjacent to public rights of way, subject to Architectural Review Board approval.
SECTION 5 Special Standards for Parking Structures and Automobile Storage
Lots Associated with Automobile Dealerships.
Parking structures and automobile storage lots associated with an automobile
dealership shall comply with the following special project design standards:
(a) Design Standards:
(1) Except for emergency -only pedestrian exists required by the Building
Officer, parking structure walls facing property lines that are adjacent to a residential
use shall be solid and decorative subject to the approval of the ARB. Openings may be
permitted adjacent to a public street or commercially zoned property.
(2) Non -skid or other similar surface treatment on both floors and ramps
of the parking structure shall be required to prevent tire squeals. This material shall be
subject to the review and approval of the Director of Planning and Community
Development.
(3) Light sources shall be designed to contain direct and diffuse lighting
and glare on the subject property.
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(4) Rooftop parking on parcels that directly abut or are separated by an
alley from a residential district is only permitted if the parking structure provides a 6 foot
parapet on the side of the parking structure closest to the residential district. This
parapet shall be solid and have a surface density of 4 pounds per square foot.
(5) In order to minimize noise and air impacts, exhaust vents and other
mechanical equipment associated with a parking structure shall be located as far from
residential uses as feasible consistent with the Chapter 8 of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code.
(6) Floor area dedicated to employee and customer parking and vehicle
storage shall not apply to refuse and recycling requirements in Santa Monica Municipal
Code Section 9.04.10.02.150 and Section 9.04.10.02.151 unless otherwise required by
the Director of Environmental and Public Works Management or his /her designee in
order to protect the public health, safety, and general welfare.
(7) Parking structures developed in lots designated Parking ( "A ") Overlay,
Low Density Multiple - Family Residential (R2), or Medium Density Multiple Family
Residential (R3) shall also comply with the following additional requirements:
(A) Ingress and egress shall be from the adjacent commercial lot. The Planning
Commission may approve an alternative access plan that minimizes impacts to adjacent
residential uses if it determines that access from the commercial lot is precluded by
existing commercial development.
(B) At least 10% of the parking spaces within a structure shall be maintained and
designated for employee parking only, unless the Planning Commission determines
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based on an employee parking demand analysis that sufficient parking is otherwise
provided either on -site or at an acceptable off -site location.
(C) If the structure is developed in conjunction with development on adjacent
commercial lots, the project shall be designed so that building mass increases toward
the commercial street and architectural elements that are permitted to exceed height
limits are located away from adjacent residential uses to the greatest extent feasible.
(D) Notwithstanding Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.10.02.170, a
four foot unexcavated area shall be provided along the entire length of a property line
shared by an automobile dealership and an adjacent residentially zoned property. Fifty
percent of the required yard area adjacent to a public street shall remain unexcavated.
(E) Notwithstanding Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.10.02.170, a
landscaped buffer of minimum five -foot width shall be required along the property line
adjacent to a residential use. The buffer shall include a hedge to be maintained up to
12 feet in height where adjacent to a residential side yard and 42 inches in height where
adjacent to a residential front yard. The Planning Commission may reduce or waive any
part of this requirement if such reduction or waiver is consistent with the public health,
safety, and general welfare.
(F) At least fifty percent of the required yard area set forth in subsection (c)(1) of
Section 4 adjacent to a public street shall be landscaped pursuant to the provisions of
Santa Monica Municipal Code Part 9.04.10.04. Fifty percent of the unexcavated area
within this required yard shall be landscaped.
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SECTION 6. Performance Standards Permit and Conditional Use Permit
Requirements: Automobile dealerships automobile storage lots and parking structures
subject to a performance standards permit or a conditional use permit shall comply with
the followina standards:
(a) Parking and Vehicle Storage. On -site employee and customer parking
shall be provided at no charge. Employee and inventory parking may be provided as
tandem and shall not be subject to Santa Monica Municipal Code Part 9.04.20.26.
Except as otherwise provided in this Section, parking shall comply with Santa Monica
Municipal Code Part 9.04.10.08.
Areas designated for employee and customer parking shall not be used for
vehicle storage or display. Non -skid or other treatment shall be applied to the surface of
the parking structure utilized by vehicles to avoid tire squeals.
(b) Landscaping. Screening of outdoor display and non - display areas shall
comply with the provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Part 9.04.10.04. A
minimum two -foot landscape and decorative curb strip, where feasible, shall be
provided along the street frontage perimeter of all outdoor vehicle display areas.
Landscape materials shall be designed to provide an opaque visual buffer at least
twelve inches in height. Applicable setback requirements shall be expanded as
necessary to require a minimum five -foot landscaped area adjacent to any abutting
residential property not used as part of the dealership operation.
Final design treatment shall be subject to review and approval by the
Architectural Review Board. All surface parking areas not used for vehicle display shall
4193
be subject to the parking lot screening requirements of Santa Monica Municipal Code
Part 9.04.10.04.
(c) Lighting. All lighting shall comply with Santa Monica Municipal Code
Sections 9.04.10.02.270 and 9.04.10.02.280.
(d) Loading and Unloading of Vehicles. Loading and unloading of vehicles is
permitted only in accordance with this subsection. The dealership operator shall be
responsible and liable for any activities of a common carrier, operator, or other person
controlling such loading or unloading activities to the extent any such activities violate
the provisions of this subsection (d).
(1) Loading and unloading of vehicles is limited to the hours of eight
a.m. to five p.m. Monday through Saturday. Loading and unloading of vehicles is
prohibited on Sunday and legal holidays.
(2) Vehicle off - loading shall not be permitted in the public right of way
or residential area and shall occur on site or off -site. The applicant shall prepare and
submit to the Transportation Management Division for approval a plan that complies
with all requirements of this subsection (d) to be included in a form prepared by
Transportation Management Division.
(e) Storage of Vehicles. No automobile dealership owner, operator, or
employee, for any period of time on any public street or alley, shall park or store
vehicles for sale, to be repaired, that have been repaired, or that are part of an
automobile rental operation associated with the dealership.
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(f) Repair of Vehicles. The repair and service facility portion of an automobile
dealership shall comply with the provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section
9.04.14.050.
(g) Queuing of Vehicles. An adequate on -site queuing area for service
customers shall be provided. On -site driveways may be used for queuing but may not
interfere with access to required parking spaces. Required parking spaces may not
double as queuing spaces.
(h) Test Driving. Test driving shall not be done on residential streets or alleys.
For the purposes of this subsection, streets which are designated by the City as major
collector streets shall be permissible areas for test driving. Each dealership operator
shall have an affirmative obligation to inform all its personnel of this requirement and to
ensure compliance with it. The applicant shall prepare and submit to the Transportation
Management Division for approval a plan that complies with all requirements of this
subsection (h) to be included in a form prepared by Transportation Management
Division.
Existing dealerships shall submit plans to the Transportation Management
Division for approval that satisfy the requirements of this subsection if such plans are
not already on file.
(i) Control of Alley Traffic. Notwithstanding the prohibition of alley use for test
driving, each dealership operator shall present to the Transportation Management
Division, at the same time of the filing of an application for a permit for a new dealership
or substantial remodeling, plans for slowing traffic flow in alleys adjacent to their uses,
with the objective of minimizing dangers to pedestrians and neighboring vehicle
35
operations, and of minimizing noise and other environmental incursions into the
neighborhood. Such plans shall be designed to limit the maximum speed to fifteen miles
per hour and may include measures such as speed bumps or dips, one -way traffic
patterns, increased signage, parking and loading prohibitions and similar measures.
(j) Circulation. The location of entries and exits from, automobile dealerships,
automobile centers, and automobile storage lots shall be located as far away from
adjacent residential properties as is reasonably feasible and shall be directed to
commercial streets and away from residential areas by means of signage and design.
The interior circulation system between levels shall be internal to the building and shall
not require use of public ways or of externally visible or uncovered ramps, driveways or
parking areas. No arrangement shall be permitted which requires vehicles to back into
an alley or other public way. Compliance with this subsection Q) shall be subject to
review by the Transportation Management Division.
(k) Noise Control.
(1) There shall be no outdoor loudspeakers. Interior loudspeakers shall
produce no more than forty -five dba at a boundary abutting or adjacent to a residential
parcel, under normal operating conditions (e.g., with windows open if they are likely to
be opened).
(2) All noise generating equipment exposed to the exterior shall be
muffled with sound absorbing materials to minimize noise impacts on adjacent
properties and shall not be operated before eight a.m. or after six p.m. if reasonably
likely to cause annoyance to abutting or adjacent residences and shall at all times be in
compliance with the City's Noise Ordinance.
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(3) Rooftop storage areas shall be screened with landscaping and /or
noise absorbing materials to minimize noise impacts on adjacent properties.
(1) Toxic Storage and Disposal.
(1) Gasoline storage tanks shall be constructed and maintained under
the same conditions and standards that apply for service stations.
(2) There shall be full compliance with the terms and conditions of all
applicable federal, state, and local laws relating to the storage and disposal of toxic
chemicals and hazardous wastes.
(m) Air Quality.
(1) Use of brake washers shall be required in service stalls or areas
which perform service on brakes employing asbestos or other materials known to be
harmful when dispersed in the air.
(2) All mechanical ventilating equipment shall be directed to top story
exhaust vents which face away from abutting or adjacent residential properties.
(3) Exhaust systems shall be equipped with appropriate and
reasonably available control technology to minimize or eliminate noxious pollutants
which would otherwise be emitted.
(n) Hours of Operation. Unless otherwise approved by the Planning
Commission, if the dealership is within one hundred. feet of a residential district,
operation of the dealership shall be prohibited between the hours of ten p.m. and seven
37
(o) Vehicle Stacking Equipment: Vehicle- stacking equipment shall be
permitted within parking structures and on surface lots for employee parking and vehicle
storage when screened with an eight -foot high solid masonry wall. The wall shall be set
back from the property line at least two feet so that a landscaped buffer of up to two feet
in width can be provided. Parking spaces in lifts shall not be applicable in calculating a
dealership's parking requirement. If the structure is located in an R2, R3 or A lot, the
spaces provided on lifts shall not be included in the base used for calculating the
required 10% provision of employee parking spaces. In addition, these spaces shall
not count toward fulfilling the 10% employee parking requirement. Vertical spaces
above employee parking shall be used for employee parking; spaces above inventory
shall be used for inventory. The Planning Commission may reduce the wall height
requirement to a minimum of six feet and may reduce or waive the landscaped setback
area if such reduction or waiver is consistent with the public health, safety, and general
welfare. All facilities shall comply with the City's Noise Ordinance.
(p) . Accessory Automobile Rental Agency Requirements. The following
special standards shall apply to accessory automobile rental agencies located within
automobile dealerships:
(1) No more than ten percent of the total interior floor area of the
automobile repair or automobile painting facility or a maximum of seven hundred fifty
square feet, whichever is less, shall be devoted to the accessory automobile rental
agency operation;
(2) The accessory automobile rental agency shall only operate during
the hours of operation of the automobile repair or automobile painting facility;
KU
(3) Vehicles may only be rented to customers of the automobile repair
or automobile painting facility;
(4) No exterior signage shall be permitted for the accessory automobile
rental agency; and
(5) The accessory automobile rental agency shall not be advertised or
marketed as an independent automobile rental agency.
(q) Plan Verification. All dealerships shall submit a letter annually in June
affirming their continued use of their test - driving, vehicle off - loading, and alley traffic
control plans. Any changes to approved plans shall require approval of the
Transportation Management Division.
SECTION 7. Applicability.
Except for subsections (e) through (k) of Section 3 which shall be
applicable to existing and future development, this Ordinance shall apply to any
development project which has not received its discretionary planning entitlements (e.g.,
development review permit, variance, architectural review permit, conditional use
permit) or has not filed any requested extension to these planning entitlements as of
March 11, 2011 unless the development project has otherwise obtained a vested right
to proceed. Discretionary project applications that were filed prior to the effective date
of Ordinance Number 2345 (CCS) and which are subject to its provisions and any
extension thereto shall automatically be converted to a development agreement with
fees already paid to be applied towards the development agreement deposit.
39
SECTION 8. 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 9. 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.
►,f
SECTION 10. This Ordinance shall be of no further force or effect after
December 31, 2014, unless prior to that date, after a public hearing, noticed pursuant to
Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.20.22.050, the City Council, by majority .
vote, extends this interim ordinance.
SECTION 11. 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. This Ordinance shall become
effective 30 days after its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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