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m20210615_Spec.pdf 1 June 15, 2021 CITY OF SANTA MONICA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES JUNE 15, 2021 A special meeting of the Santa Monica City Council was called to order by Mayor Himmelrich at 5:30 p.m., on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, via teleconference pursuant to the Governor’s Executive Order N-29-20 at https://primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/live-event/ghzdszpc Roll Call: Present: Mayor Sue Himmelrich Councilmember Phil Brock Councilmember Gleam Davis Councilmember Oscar de la Torre Councilmember Christine Parra Absent: Mayor Pro Tem Kristin McCowan Also Present: Interim City Manager Lane Dilg Interim City Attorney George Cardona City Clerk Denise Anderson-Warren CONVENE On order of the Mayor, the City Council convened at 5:30 p.m., with all members present except Mayor Pro Tem McCowan. AGENDA MANAGEMENT At the request of the Mayor, Items 5.A and 5.B. were continued to the July 13, 2021 meeting. Motion by Mayor Himmelrich, seconded by Councilmember Brock, to continue Items 5.A. and 5.B. to the July 13, 2021 meeting, when there is a full Council. The motion was approved by the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers Parra, Davis, Brock, de la Torre, Mayor Himmelrich NOES: None ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem McCowan CONTINUED ITEMS: WESTSIDE CITIES COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS 5.A. Request of Mayor Himmelrich to appoint a Councilmember as a Governing Board Representative to the Westside Cities Council of Governments (COG) and designate an Alternate Governing Board Representative. The Joint Powers Authority and By-laws require each City Council to designate one of its Councilmembers as a Governing Board Representative and one Councilmember as an Alternate Governing Board Representative, was continued to the July 13, 2021 meeting. DocuSign Envelope ID: 2002B167-8E52-4EB5-BD29-7F2344DB14A9 2 June 15, 2021 BOARD OF CLEAN POWER ALLIANCE 5.B. Request of Mayor Himmelrich that the Council designate one representative to serve as a director of the Board of Clean Power Alliance. The Joint Powers Authority requires each Party of the governing body to appoint and designate in writing one regular Director who shall be authorized to act for and on behalf of the Party on matters within the powers of the Authority. The person appointed and designated as the Director shall be an elected or appointed member of the governing body of the Party, was continued to the July 13, 2021 meeting. STAFF ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS: HOUSING ELEMENT 8.A. Review and Direction of Draft Housing Element, was presented. Recommended Action Review the draft Housing Element, as amended by Planning Commission and staff recommended changes in Attachment B, and direct staff to transmit the draft Housing Element to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Members of the public Daniel Freedman, Shawn Landres, Elisa Paster, Natalya Zernitskaya, Denise Barton, Denny Zane, Kathy Knight, Zina Josephs, Matt Stouffer, Ann Thanawalla, Elana Christopoulos, Jason Mastbaum, Carl Hansen, and Michael Soloff spoke to the recommended action. Questions asked and answered of staff included: can staff explain the racial, ethnic diversity and the low numbers of segregation; what is the methodology for housing buffers; how long has it been since a Tier 1 Affordable housing project built; if we kept our Affordable Housing Project Program (AHPP), but modified some of our height and floor average ratio (FAR) requirements, would we need to do density bonuses; if we eliminated commercial on the ground floor, would this change the numbers; since Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are not going to be affordable, should they all be put under the market rate category; can we designate other sites besides city sites as affordable housing; how much property does the KITE property have, how long is the lease, and how much are they paying the city; how many A lots are available, and why aren’t all 42 listed as suitable sites; don’t we still have neighborhoods that were established to keep people of color out; is the ADU accelerator currently the only mechanism to provide more diversity in housing; who is allowed to rent an ADU, is there a requirement; has there been any thought as to if the ADU needs to be rented full-time; explain how we go from the low number of units we are currently building to the 600 Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) is requiring us to build; any idea what would be a rental in North of Montana versus renting a single family home; is there any consideration on perception allowing ADUs gives that the rich person gets to live in the big DocuSign Envelope ID: 2002B167-8E52-4EB5-BD29-7F2344DB14A9 3 June 15, 2021 house up front, and the poor person gets to live in back above the garage; how many deed-restricted affordable housing are being recommended and is that from up-zoning the downtown commercial; if we want to redo the LUCE and Downtown Plan, does it take five votes of Council, and if we can’t get the votes, does that put us out of compliance; why are some properties around town not considered in the suitable sites inventory; is the overlay of the redline areas going to cause problems with HUD; why do we think now that the community is going to accept housing on commercial boulevards when we tried adding housing at the Heinz project and was significantly rejected by community members; if we removed all of the on- site parking, would it change the analysis; is the analysis assuming affordable housing rentals or homeownership; would the height of the building be 36 feet in order to create a third story inclusionary housing in an R1 zone on a 7500 square foot lot; was there any analysis done on corner lots; is it being suggested that all parking restrictions on commercial properties be removed to use sites to develop housing; what kind of zoning is being proposed on the boulevards commercial parking lots; if we don’t decide to eliminate all parking, can we still move forward with the plan; is it true that there has been a difficulty renting properties on Lincoln because there is no parking; will the Bergamot Area Plan be able to still have art galleries with the housing on top; will there be time parameters for non- profits to bid on developing affordable housing projects; are both bonuses available to developers or one or the other; has anyone looked into if we are violating Federal law if we build more housing in the Pico Neighborhood, which is historically has more density with people of color; when we put housing in close proximity to the freeway, are we thinking about mitigating these environment hazards that cause health issues; has staff considered how to expand the production of affordable housing that would sustain families; is there a specific RFP for the Bergamot area that has a required number of units; is daylight bonuses included as part of the bonuses; can it be specified that city-owned sites be used for 100% affordable housing; is there a way to incentivize or require the first floor retail be used for Santa Monica businesses and residents only; what if we required housing in only the Industrial zone; and, should we increase the in-lieu fee to increase the affordable housing fund. Considerable discussion ensued on topics including, but not limited to: 1.B. remove word review of certain projects, and instead say all projects; 1.C. keep original recommendation; 1.D. look at exploring reducing parking in transit priority areas; 1.E. support Planning Commission recommendation; 1.F., leave as recommended to only include reconsidering the feasibility of Tier 2 projects; 1.H. accept the P.C. recommendation; 1.I. approved P.C. recommendation; approved 1.J. of P.C. recommendation, and added green space and trees and environmental justice that protects public health; 2.A. eliminate the affordable housing overlay, and study the housing overlay for moderate-income (up to 120% AMI); 2.B. add consider a time limit for first DocuSign Envelope ID: 2002B167-8E52-4EB5-BD29-7F2344DB14A9 4 June 15, 2021 to right offer; 2.C. add an increase of the in-lieu fee to increase the affordable housing fund; 2.E. add the wording 100% affordable housing on city-owned/publicly owned land, with green spaces, with an eye towards placemaking and/or community serving commercial; 3.A. change to the City may consider changing the municipal code; 3.F. change to Enhance Code Enforcement; 4.C. including, but no more than 50% allowing some market-rate units to support the affordable housing; 4.D. accept the Planning Commission’s recommendation; 6.B. accepted the P.C. recommendation; and, 6.D. add P.C. language that the city shall prioritize additional education and outreach to tenants and landlords to increase awareness of federal and local housing programs and their rights and legal obligations including Section 8 housing voucher program and anti-discrimination regarding income source. Motion by Mayor Himmelrich, seconded by Councilmember Parra, to direct staff to transmit the draft Housing Element, as expressed by the Interim City Attorney to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, as modified by the Planning commission with changes approved by the City Council (see the Housing Element 2021 – 2029 Addenda sheet). Councilmember de la Torre proposed a friendly amendment to direct staff to provide Council with the full report before they send it to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. The motion was considered friendly by the maker and seconder. The motion, with the amendment was approved by the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers de la Torre, Brock, Parra, Mayor Himmelrich NOES: Councilmember Davis ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem McCowan Motion by Councilmember Davis, seconded by Mayor Himmelrich, to provide direction to staff to apply the density bonus to the Floor Average Ratio (FAR), a straight percentage increase, and then to also process incentives and concession request, so those relief from development standards administratively, to allow to proceed for Housing projects that are currently in process until a permanent ordinance update is in place. The motion was approved by the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers Parra, Davis, Brock, de la Torre, Mayor Himmelrich NOES: None ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem McCowan DocuSign Envelope ID: 2002B167-8E52-4EB5-BD29-7F2344DB14A9 5 June 15, 2021 ADJOURNMENT On order of the Mayor, the City Council meeting adjourned at 12:21a.m. ATTEST: APPROVED: Denise Anderson-Warren Sue Himmelrich City Clerk Mayor DocuSign Envelope ID: 2002B167-8E52-4EB5-BD29-7F2344DB14A9