O26381
City Council Meeting: May 26, 2020 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2638 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 9.53.130
TO EXCLUDE ONE HUNDRED PERCENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS
FROM TRANSPORTATION ALLOWANCE REQUIREMENTS
WHEREAS, on June 23, 2015, the City Council of City Council adopted an updated
Transportation Demand Management (“TDM”) Ordinance, Santa Monica Municipal Code
Chapter 9.53; and
WHEREAS, the purpose and objective of the TDM Ordinance is to implement the
goals and policies of the City’s General Plan by proactively managing congestion,
reducing automobile dependence and enhancing transportation choices by requiring trip
reduction plans for all types of trips—work, shopping, leisure, school, and appointments;
and
WHEREAS, the TDM Ordinance introduced new trip reduction requirements for
both residential and non-residential development projects to meet specific criteria
consistent with the Land Use and Circulation Element policy goal of no net increase in
PM peak hour vehicle trips by 2030; and
WHEREAS, Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.53.130(B)(2)(c)(iv) requires
residential and mixed-use projects that result in the addition of 16 or more residential units
to provide a “transportation allowance” to all residents of the project who do not lease a
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
2
parking space or own or long-term lease an automobile in association with a residential
use in Santa Monica; and
WHEREAS, renting residential units with parking bundled into the cost of renting
livable space requires all renters to bear the expense of parking regardless of whether a
tenant utilizes a parking space; and
WHEREAS, the transportation allowance is a cash incentive offered to residents
who do not lease a parking space or own or long-term lease an automobile in association
with a residential use in Santa Monica that is intended to remove the inherent incentive
for personal automobile travel that occurs in multiple-unit dwellings when residential units
are rented with parking “bundled” into the cost of renting the livable space; and
WHEREAS, the transportation allowance is indexed to the cost of a regional
monthly transit pass, thus providing an incentive for use of mass transit in place of
automobile travel; and
WHEREAS, on October 31, 2019, Community Corporation of Santa Monica
submitted an application for a Text Amendment (19ENT-0399) to exempt one hundred
percent affordable projects from the transportation allowance requirement if the projects
do not include any off-site affordable housing units used to satisfy a multiple-unit dwelling
project’s obligations under the City’s Affordable Housing Production Program, Santa
Monica Municipal Code Chapter 9.64 (“AHPP”); and
WHEREAS, on December 10, 2019, Council held a study session on housing
policy where the costs to produce affordable housing were discussed and directed that
staff bring forward amendments to the Municipal Code to support the production of one
hundred percent affordable housing; and
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
3
WHEREAS, one hundred percent affordable housing projects have very limited
operating budgets, and, while the current cost of providing a transportation allowance
could potentially be absorbed, the City requires that an applicant provide a transportation
allowance to eligible residents for the life of the project; and
WHEREAS, over time, the cost of providing a transportation allowance to all
eligible residents of a one hundred percent affordable housing project could increase
significantly as rates of vehicle ownership shift; and
WHEREAS, because an applicant for a one hundred percent affordable housing
project cannot accurately predict the number of residents who will be eligible for and
accept a transportation allowance, the applicant must assume that it will be required to
provide a transportation allowance to all residents throughout the project’s life; and
WHEREAS, this assumption represents a significant risk in obtaining financing for
a one hundred percent affordable housing project; and
WHEREAS, one hundred percent affordable housing projects that include
affordable units that satisfy a project’s obligations under the AHPP, have additional and
more flexible options for financing, thus significantly reducing the burden of providing a
transportation allowance; and
WHEREAS, removing the transportation allowance for one hundred percent
affordable housing projects that do not include affordable units that satisfy a project’s
AHPP obligations will increase ability to obtain financing for and incentivize increased
production of affordable housing throughout the City; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to amend Santa Monica Municipal Code Section
9.53.130 to exempt one hundred percent affordable housing projects that do not include
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
4
affordable units that satisfy a project’s AHPP obligations from the requirement to offer a
transportation allowance.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.53.130 is hereby amended
to read as follows:
9.53.130 Content of Developer TDM Plan
A. Developer TDM Plan Format. The Developer TDM Plan shall result in the
Developer achieving the applicable AVR Target in this Chapter and shall include:
1. Project description.
2. Site conditions that affect commute travel.
3. Statement of commitment from the property owner to:
a. Conduct annual surveys in conformance with this Chapter to
determine vehicle trip behavior including collection of data on
employee means of travel, arrival time, and interest in information on
ridesharing opportunities (this shall not be applicable to residential
units);
b. Monitor Developer TDM Plan; and
c. Report annually in a manner required by this Chapter.
4. Annual budget to implement Developer TDM Plan.
5. Duties, responsibilities, and qualifications of a certified PTC.
6. Developer TDM Plan program measures.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
5
7. Implementation strategy that specifies how the Developer TDM Plan
will be implemented, monitored, and who will be responsible for submitting annual
status reports to the City.
B. Physical and Programmatic Elements. The Developer TDM Plan
program measures shall include the following:
1 Physical Elements. In addition to all physical facility improvements
required by Chapter 9.28, Parking, Loading, and Circulation, the following
additional physical elements shall be required to be implemented by the Developer
to the satisfaction of the City:
a. On-Site Transportation Information. On-site transportation
information located where the greatest number of employees, visitors, and
residents are likely to see it. Such transportation information may be
provided in an on-site physical location, such as a bulletin board or kiosk,
or through other media, such as on a website or other digital means.
Information shall include, but is not limited to, the following:
i. Current maps, routes and schedules for public transit routes
within 1/2 mile of the project site.
ii. Transportation information including regional ridesharing
agency, local transit operators, and certified TMO where available.
iii. Ridesharing promotions material supplied by commuter-
oriented organizations.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
6
iv. Bicycle route and facility information, including rental and
sales locations, regional/local bicycle maps, and bicycle safety
information within 1/2 mile of the project site.
v. A list of facilities available for carpoolers, vanpoolers,
bicyclists, transit riders and pedestrians at the site.
vi. Walking and biking maps for employees and visitors, which
shall include, but not be limited to, information about convenient local
services and restaurants within walking distance of the project.
vii. Information to commercial tenants and employees of the
project regarding local rental housing agencies.
2. Programmatic Elements. Additional programmatic elements shall
also be included in the Developer TDM Plan program measures based on the type
of development as follows:
a. Project Transportation Coordinator. A designated Project
Transportation Coordinator shall manage all aspects of the Developer TDM
Plan and participate in City-sponsored workshops and information
roundtables. The PTC shall be responsible for making available information
materials on options for alternative transportation modes and opportunities
particularly programs that involve commuter subsidies such as parking
cashout and vanpool subsidies. In addition, transit fare media and
day/month passes will be made available through the PTC to employees,
visitors, and residents during typical business hours. In the event that the
project is sold or transferred, developer shall notify the Planning Director of
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
7
the new point of contact for the successor and/or new PTC for the project
within thirty calendar days of such sale or transfer.
b. Nonresidential Projects and Nonresidential Components of
Mixed-Use Projects. Nonresidential projects that result in the addition of
7,500 square feet of floor area or more and the nonresidential portion of
mixed-use projects shall provide, at minimum, the following programmatic
elements:
i. New employee orientation.
ii. Parking cashout.
iii. Incentives for employees that live within 1/2 mile of
workplaces.
iv. Information regarding availability of bike commute training
offered either on-site or by a third party.
v. Free on-site shared bicycles intended for employee use
during the work day (e.g., Bike@Work program). This shall be optional
if citywide bikeshare is available within a 2-block radius of the project
site.
vi. Commuter matching services for all employees on an annual
basis, and for all new employees upon hiring.
vii. Information regarding benefits of: compressed work schedule,
flex-time schedule, telecommuting, and guaranteed ride home.
viii. Transportation allowance equal to at least 50% of the current
cost of a monthly regional transit pass of the employee’s choice (e.g.,
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
8
Big Blue Bus 30-day Pass, Metro EZ Pass, Metro TAP or equivalent).
Within the Downtown Community Plan area, the transportation
allowance shall equal at least 100% of the current cost of a monthly
regional transit pass of the employee’s choice (e.g., Big Blue Bus 30-
day Pass, Metro EZ Pass, Metro TAP or equivalent). An employee
accepting the transportation allowance shall be required to execute a
contract agreeing said employee will not utilize a single occupancy
vehicle for the majority (at least 51%) of their daily commute distance
more than five business days per month. The contract shall also specify
the employee’s alternative commute mode (e.g., transit, bike, walk).
Within the Downtown Community Plan area, daily transportation
allowance, equal to the value of the applicable monthly transportation
allowance divided by 20, shall be offered to all eligible employees. To
receive the daily transportation allowance eligible employees shall not
be receiving the monthly transportation allowance and shall be required
to submit a daily commute tracking form agreed that said employees
utilized an eligible non-single occupancy vehicle mode for at least 51%
of their daily commute. The employee must demonstrate compliance as
reasonably required by the property owner.
ix. Customer and visitor incentives for uses with significant
numbers of customers and visitors such as retail, food service,
hospitality, and medical office:
(1) Customer incentive program.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
9
(2) Public directions prioritizing rideshare modes.
(3) Special event rideshare services.
(4) Shared ride service.
x. Any additional measures that would result in the developer
achieving the applicable AVR target.
c. Residential Projects and Residential Components of Mixed-
Use Projects. Projects that result in the addition of 16 residential units or
more and the residential portion of mixed-used projects shall include the
following programmatic elements:
i. Transportation Welcome Package for Residents. Provide all
new residents with residential component of the project site with a
welcome package on a per-unit basis. The welcome package shall, at
minimum, include the information required in subdivision (1)(a) of this
subsection (B) (Physical Elements—On-Site Transportation
Information).
ii. Local Preference Marketing Plan. Prepare and implement a
marketing and outreach program for the rental of units that targets: (A)
employees of businesses located within a 1/2-mile radius of the project;
(B) employees of the local hospitals; (C) employees of the Santa Monica
Malibu Unified School District; (D) employees of the City’s police and fire
departments; (E) employees of businesses outside the 1/2-mile radius
but within the City of Santa Monica. In leasing units, the developer shall
give priority to applicants in the foregoing categories provided that all
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
10
such applicants meet generally applicable leasing qualifications and
criteria imposed by the developer. Nothing in this Chapter shall require
that any residential units be occupied by such persons.
iii. TMO Participation. Active participation in the formation and
ongoing activities of a certified TMO, if established and includes the
project site, including payment of annual dues at a level so that trip
reduction services are provided as set forth by the TMO, attendance at
organizational meeting, providing travel and parking demand data to the
TMO, and making available information to project tenants relative to the
services provided by the TMO.
iv. Transportation Allowance. Offer a monthly transportation
allowance equal to at least 50% of the current cost of a monthly regional
transit pass of the resident’s choice (e.g., Big Blue Bus 30-Day Pass,
Metro EZ Pass, Metro TAP Pass or equivalent). Within the Downtown
Community Plan area, the transportation allowance shall equal at least
100% of the current cost of a monthly regional transit pass of the
resident’s choice (e.g. Big Blue Bus 30-Day Pass, Metro EZ Pass, Metro
TAP Pass or equivalent). The transportation allowance shall be offered
to all residents listed on a lease and their immediate family living at the
same address. Immediate family includes spouse, partner, children,
parents, grandparents, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-
in-law, daughter-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, sister-in-law, and
brother-in-law. A resident accepting the transportation allowance shall
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
11
not lease parking and shall be required to execute a contract agreeing
that said resident does not own or long-term lease an automobile in
association with a residential use in Santa Monica and will not own or
long-term lease an automobile in association with a residential use in
Santa Monica for so long as they are in receipt of the transportation
allowance. The contract shall also specify the resident’s non-single
occupancy vehicle commute mode (e.g., transit, bike, walk). Children
who reside full-time at the building shall be eligible for the transportation
allowance if the parent that is primarily responsible for transporting the
child is also eligible for the transportation allowance. The child’s parent
or guardian shall sign an affidavit stating that the child permanently
resides at the building on a full-time basis, and the child is primarily
transported by a parent or guardian on the lease that is eligible for the
transportation allowance. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a project is a
100% affordable housing project, as defined by Santa Monica Municipal
Code Section 9.52.020.0050, and does not include any off-site
affordable units that satisfy another multiple-unit dwelling project’s
obligations under Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 9.64, then this
subsection shall not apply to require the project to offer a transportation
allowance.
C. Developer TDM Plan Applicable to Project Occupants. The developer
shall ensure that compliance with the Developer TDM Plan is included as a requirement
in lease documents and any other agreements for occupancy in the project in order to
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
12
inform and commit project occupants to applicable measures of the approved Developer
TDM Plan.
1. All Projects. Allowing employees and residents to participate in
campaigns that promote use of carpools, vanpools, transit, walking, bicycling,
carshare, bikeshare, and other trip reduction efforts.
2. Nonresidential Projects. For nonresidential projects and
nonresidential components of mixed-use projects, participating in the annual
project commute survey.
D. Employer Worksite Plan Consistency. Employer ERPs and WTPs
submitted subsequent to the approval of a Developer TDM Plan shall be consistent with
the approved Developer TDM Plan, at a minimum, unless the Planning Director approves
alternative plan components.
E. Recording Required. Prior to Certificate of Occupancy, the developer shall
record an agreement, in a form acceptable to the City, that makes the Developer TDM
Plan a condition of property ownership. The agreement shall include provisions to:
1. Guarantee adherence to the TDM objective and perpetual
obligations of the Developer TDM Plan for all legal parcels within the site
regardless of property ownership.
2. Inform all subsequent property owners of requirement of the
Developer TDM Plan.
3. Inform the Planning Director of any change in ownership.
4. Identify consequences of non-compliant performance.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
13
SECTION 2. Any provision of the 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 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this
Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed
this Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not
declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance
would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 4. 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 from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_______________________
GEORGE S. CARDONA
Interim City Attorney
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
Approved and adopted this 26th day of May, 2020.
_____________________________
Kevin McKeown, Mayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 2638 (CCS) had its introduction
on May 12, 2020 and was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting
held on May 26, 2020, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Davis, Morena, Himmelrich, Winterer, Jara,
Mayor Pro Tem O’Day, Mayor McKeown
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ATTEST:
_____________________________________ _________________
Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk Date
A summary of Ordinance No. 2638 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806.
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4886ED75-79D4-4269-B295-869BEF5C1E2D
5/29/2020