R112841
City Council Meeting: August 25, 2020 Santa Monica, California
RESOLUTION NUMBER 11284 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY
PLAN TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF HOUSING PROJECT AND TO ALLOW TIER
3 HOUSING PROJECTS GREATER THAN 90,000 SQUARE FEET TO BE
PROCESSED BY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PERMIT
WHEREAS, on July 25, 2017, the City Council adopted the Downtown Community
Plan (“DCP”) which sets forth the City’s vision of the Downtown as a high quality, mixed-
use district offering opportunities for housing for people across the income spectrum, jobs,
arts and culture, local serving retail, and community and visitor gathering places; and
WHEREAS, the DCP encourages the development of uses that support a 17 hours
a day/7 days a week environment that meets the needs of businesses and residents,
including retail goods and services, food stores, restaurants and cafés, hotels, health
clubs, entertainment, and comparable uses; and
WHEREAS, in the DCP, Downtown housing projects are encouraged to support
a strong and economically diverse residential neighborhood component; and
WHEREAS, the DCP supports that encouragement by differentiating between
housing projects and commercial projects and provides for various incentives for housing
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projects including increasing the thresholds that trigger requirements for greater amounts
of process; and
WHEREAS, the DCP’s requirements for Downtown housing projects are intended
to incentivize and place a priority on the development of housing in Downtown, implement
affordable housing requirements that result in a greater number and more diverse unit
mix, and ensure greater discretionary review for commercial projects; and
WHEREAS, the DCP establishes three application review procedures for housing
projects: Administrative Approvals, Development Review Permits, and Development
Agreements based on Tier level (1, 2, or 3) and the amount of proposed square footage
in a project; and
WHEREAS, the DCP requires Tier 3 housing projects greater than 90,000 square
feet to be processed by a Development Agreement; and
WHEREAS, on December 10, 2019, the City Council conducted a study session
on housing policy in part to discuss options for increasing housing production throughout
the City with a particular emphasis on incentivizing one hundred percent affordable
housing projects and considered whether increasing the thresholds below which
ministerial review would be permitted for certain housing projects would further stimulate
housing production; and
WHEREAS, during its December 10, 2019 study session, the City Council further
considered whether increased flexibility in the definition of “Housing Project” for purposes
of the incentives and priorities in the DCP would further encourage housing production
over commercial development in the Downtown; and
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WHEREAS, on January 15, 2020, the Planning Commission adopted a Resolution
of Intention, Resolution Number 20-001 (PCS), declaring its intention to consider
recommending to the City Council that the City Council amend the text of the DCP to
revise the definition of “Housing Project”; and
WHEREAS, on March 10, 2020, the City Council held a public hearing and adopted
an Emergency Interim Zoning Ordinance Number 2633 (CCS), authorizing 100%
Affordable Housing projects and housing projects compliant with the Housing
Accountability Act to be processed by Administrative Approval; and
WHEREAS, during its March 10, 2020 discussion, the City Council received
testimony requesting that the City consider allowing Tier 3 housing projects located in the
DCP area that exceed 90,000 square feet to be processed by Development Review
Permit as a further means of stimulating housing production and streamlining the housing
project approval process; and.
WHEREAS, approval of Tier 3 housing projects greater than 90,000 square feet
by Development Review Permit offers greater predictability in both the review process
and the requirements for applicants and is likely to decrease overall project costs; and
WHEREAS, amending the text of the DCP to allow for the processing of Tier 3
housing projects greater than 90,000 square feet by Development Review Permit will
encourage the development of larger housing projects and maximization of housing
opportunity, thereby increasing housing production in the Downtown; and
WHEREAS, on May 13, 2020, the Planning Commission adopted a Resolution of
Intention, Resolution Number 20-010 (PCS), declaring its intention to consider
recommending to the City Council that the City Council amend the text of the DCP to
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allow for Tier 3 housing projects greater than 90,000 square feet to be processed by
Development Review Permit; and
WHEREAS, on May 20, 2020, the Planning Commission conducted a duly noticed
public hearing, and after considering oral and written testimony regarding the proposed
amendments to the text of the DCP, adopted a Resolution of Recommendation,
Resolution Number 20-012 (PCS) recommending to the City Council that the City Council
adopt the proposed amendments based on the following finding:
The proposed amendments to the text of the Downtown Community Plan
(DCP) are consistent with the General Plan in that the amendments
implement the LUCE policies to create and support additional housing
opportunities through incentives for process and development potential.
Specifically, Policy LU11.2 states to expand housing opportunities near
transit-rich districts including near Expo Light Rail stations such as within
the Transit Adjacent (TA) district and Policy LU11.3 seeks to provide
incentives for housing/affordable housing. Further, the proposed
amendments support housing production through process incentives and
design flexibility for Tier 3 housing projects that are consistent with the DCP
and project requirements pursuant to the Zoning Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, on August 25, 2020, the City Council conducted a duly noticed public
hearing to consider the recommendation of the Planning Commission, and, after
considering all oral and written testimony, desires to adopt the proposed amendments to
the DCP.
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NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.45.130, the City
Council does hereby amend the Downtown Community Plan as set forth in Exhibit A,
attached to this Resolution and incorporated herein by reference. In adopting these
amendments, the City Council hereby finds and declares that, based on the oral and
written testimony presented to the City Council at the public hearing on August 25, 2020:
The proposed amendments to the text of the Downtown Community Plan (DCP)
are consistent with the General Plan in that the amendments implement the LUCE
policies to create and support additional housing opportunities through incentives
for process and development potential. Specifically, Policy LU11.2 states to
expand housing opportunities near transit-rich districts including near Expo Light
Rail stations such as within the Transit Adjacent (TA) district and Policy LU11.3
seeks to provide incentives for housing/affordable housing. Further, the proposed
amendments support housing production through process incentives and design
flexibility for Tier 3 housing projects that are consistent with the DCP and project
requirements pursuant to the Zoning Ordinance.
SECTION 2. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Resolution or any amendment to the DCP resulting from this Resolution 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 Resolution or
any amendment to the DCP resulting from this Resolution. The City Council hereby
declares that it would have passed this Resolution and each and every section,
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subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Resolution and any amendment to the
DCP resulting from this Resolution not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard
to whether any portion of this Resolution or any amendment to the DCP resulting from
this Resolution would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 3.The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and
thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
GEORGE S. CARDONA
Interim City Attorney
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EXHIBIT A
CHAPTER
AND
PAGE(S)
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN
Chapter 2A.4,
Entitlement
and Tier
System,
p. 29-30
Development Agreement Projects Development Agreements are used
to process specific properties where special conditions of size, shape,
geography or existing or desired development require particular attention
and additional analysis. This approach allows the city to address the
specific physical conditions and challenges posed by these sites and
negotiate for significant benefits from larger individual development
projects. In the Downtown district, several project types will require a
negotiated development agreement, regardless of proposed height and
tier, with negotiated community benefits approved by the City Council.
Guidelines for on-site benefits that are aligned with the community benefit
priorities for Downtown are listed in Table 2A.4.
1. Housing Projects within Transit Adjacent District. Tier 3.
Residential projects greater than 90,000 square feet that conform to
Tier 3 height and FAR standards shall be required to be processed
through a development agreement.
2. Commercial Projects. All Tiers. Non-residential commercial
projects greater than 30,000 square feet of floor area shall be
required to be processed through a development agreement. Under
no circumstances shall projects be considered for increases beyond
height or FAR standards set forth in this Plan.
All development agreement projects are expected to provide community
benefits that contribute to Downtown’s priorities and fees in excess of Tier
3 fee requirements. Table 2A.3 provides guidelines to priority areas that
should guide development agreement negotiations. These priority areas
are a baseline for further negotiation.
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Chapter 4,
Standards
and
Regulations,
p. 177
Section 9.10.050 Application Thresholds Table
Housing Project All Other Projects
Administrative
Approval
Projects up to 75,000
sf
Development Review
Permit
Tier 2 greater than
75,000 sf
10,000 – 30,000 sf
Tier 3 greater than:
between 75,000 and
90,000 sf
Development
Agreement
Tier 3 greater than
90,000 sf
Greater than 30,000 sf
Chapter 4,
Standards
and
Regulations,
p. 177
Section 9.10.050 Application Thresholds Table
A. “Housing Project” means a use consisting of any of the following:
1. Residential units only
2. Mixed-use developments consisting of residential and
nonresidential uses in which nonresidential uses that do not exceed
25% of the total building square footage and are limited to
neighborhood commercial uses and to the first two floors of buildings
that are two or more stories
3. Transitional or supportive housing
Chapter 4,
Standards
and
Regulations,
p. 177
Section 9.10.050 Application Thresholds Table
C. Housing Exemptions. The following types of projects are exempt
from Development Review Permit requirements:
1. 100% Affordable Housing Projects
2. Tier 2 Housing Projects that meet the definition of “housing
development project” under the Housing Accountability Act,
Government Code Section 65589.5, (“Housing Accountability
Act”) and that, consistent with the Housing Accountability Act,
comply with all applicable, objective general plan, zoning, and
subdivision standards and criteria, including design review
standards, in effect at the time that the project application is
deemed complete, up to the thresholds established by the
Zoning Ordinance.
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Adopted and approved this 25th day of August 2020.
__________________________
Kevin McKeown, Mayor
I, Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do
hereby certify that Resolution No. 11284 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of
the Santa Monica City Council held on the 25th day of August 2020, by the following
vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Himmelrich, Davis, Jara, McCowan, Winterer
Mayor Pro Tem O’Day, Mayor McKeown
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ATTEST:
_____________________________________
Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk
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