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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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