R113691
City Council Meeting: October 12, 2021 Santa Monica, California
RESOLUTION NUMBER 11369 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA CERTIFYING THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT REPORT FOR THE 6TH CYCLE (2021-2029) HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE
WHEREAS, the California Environmental Quality Act, California Public Resources
Code Section 21000 et seq.(“CEQA”) requires that cities consider the environmental
consequences of their actions before approving a “project”; and
WHEREAS, State Housing Element Law, California Government Code Sections
65580 et seq., requires the City to review and update the Housing Element of its General
Plan every eight years; and
WHEREAS, as the City prepares its 6th Cycle (2021-2029) Housing Element (the
“6th Cycle Housing Element”), the State is experiencing a housing supply crisis, with
housing demand far outstripping supply; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, California ranked 49th out of the 50 states in housing units
per capita; and
WHEREAS, the housing crisis has particularly exacerbated the need for affordable
homes at prices below market rates; and
WHEREAS, the housing crisis has resulted in increased poverty and
homelessness, especially first-time homelessness, forced lower income residents into
crowded and unsafe housing in urban areas, and forced families into lower cost new
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housing in greenfields at the urban-rural interface with longer commute times and a higher
exposure to fire hazard; and
WHEREAS, California needs an estimated 180,000 additional homes annually to
keep up with population growth, and the Governor has called for 3.5 million new homes
to be built over 7 years; and
WHEREAS, the City has received a Regional Housing Needs Assessment
(“RHNA”) allocation for the 6th Cycle Housing Element of approximately 8,895 housing
units, with approximately 70 percent allocated as affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, this RHNA allocation will require the City to permit approximately
1,000 housing units annually between 2021 and 2029, 700 of which are required to be
affordable housing, representing an increase of approximately five times over the City’s
RHNA allocation for the 5th Cycle (2013-2021) Housing Element; and
WHEREAS, a Notice of Preparation (“NOP”) of an Environmental Impact Report
(“EIR”) for the 6th Cycle Housing Element (“Project”) was published and circulated on
October 30, 2020; and
WHEREAS, a Notice of Completion/Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental
Impact Report (“Draft EIR”) was published on July 1, 2021 in compliance with CEQA and
the CEQA Guidelines, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3 of the California Code of
Regulations; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15105, the Draft EIR was
circulated for a 45-day period, which ended on August 16, 2021; and
WHEREAS, the Draft EIR analyzed the potential environmental impacts that could
result from the proposed 6th Cycle Housing Element and three alternatives; and
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WHEREAS, on September 14, 2021, the Final Environmental Impact Report
(“Final EIR”) was published; and
WHEREAS, on September 24, 2021, the Planning Commission reviewed and
considered the contents of the Final EIR, provided additional revisions to the Final EIR,
and recommended that the City Council certify the EIR; and
WHEREAS, subsequent revisions were made to the Final EIR in response to
Planning Commission direction and to reflect recent revisions that have been made to the
programs of the proposed 6th Cycle Housing Element; and
WHEREAS, on October 12, 2021 the City Council, as Lead Agency, reviewed the
Final EIR, as revised, in its decision-making process.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The City Council hereby certifies that:
1) The Final EIR for the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update (“Project”) was
completed in full compliance with State law and the CEQA Guidelines, there
was adequate public review of the Draft EIR, and the Final EIR adequately
analyzes all potentially significant environmental issues; and
2) The Final EIR was presented to the City Council, and the City Council has
reviewed and considered the information contained in the Final EIR,
including all comments on the Draft EIR and responses to comments, in its
decision-making process prior to acting on the Project; and
3) The Final EIR reflects the independent judgement and analysis of the City.
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SECTION 2. Consistent with CEQA Guidelines Section 15128, Section 4 of the Final
EIR and the Initial Study (Appendix A of the Final EIR) determined that the following
environmental impacts were not considered potentially significant and were not analyzed in
detail in the Final EIR: aesthetics, agriculture and forestry resources, biological resources,
mineral resources, geology and soils, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and
water quality, and wildfire.
SECTION 3. Consistent with CEQA Guidelines Section 15091 and 15092, and as
analyzed in the Final EIR, the City Council finds that the following Project impacts would be
less than significant without mitigation: operational air emissions (specifically those issues
related to potential conflicts with applicable air quality plans as well as carbon monoxide
hotspots and odors), cultural resources (specifically those issues related to the potential
discovery of human remains), energy consumption, land use, construction and operational
greenhouse gas emissions, construction-related and operational noise, population and
housing, public services (specifically police protection and libraries), operational utilities and
service systems (specifically solid waste generation), and operational transportation
(specifically those issues related to potential conflicts with transportation plans, policies, or
regulations as well as geometric design hazards and emergency access).
SECTION 4. Consistent with CEQA Guidelines Sections 15091 and 15092, and as
analyzed in the Final EIR, the City Council finds that the following Project impacts could be
reduced to a less than significant level with the implementation of mitigation measures
established in Section 11 of the Final EIR: exposure of sensitive receptors to toxic air
contaminants, disturbance of archaeological resources, operational utilities and service
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systems (specifically wastewater collection services), and disturbance of tribal cultural
resources.
SECTION 5. Consistent with CEQA Guidelines Sections 15091 and 15092, and as
analyzed in the Final EIR, the City Council finds that the following Project impacts cannot
feasibly be avoided or mitigated to below a level of significance: construction-related and
operational criteria air pollutant emissions, historic cultural resources, ground-borne
vibration, public services (specifically fire protection services, increases in enrollment at
Santa Monica-Malibu Union School District, and recreational facilities), utilities and service
systems (specifically operational water demand), and transportation (specifically total
vehicle miles traveled [VMT]).
SECTION 6. The Final EIR found that the Quantified Objective Alternative
(Alternative 3) is the environmentally superior alternative, as it would reduce construction-
related and operational criteria air pollutant emissions, ground-borne vibration, impacts
related to domestic water supply, wastewater collection services, and public services.
However, this alternative would regenerate a higher total VMT for residents and employees
than what would occur under the proposed 6th Cycle Housing Element, due to the reduction
in the number of dwelling units, which would not address the City’s existing major jobs-
housing imbalance to the same extent as the proposed 6th Cycle Housing Element.
Additionally, while this alternative meets many of the objectives described for the proposed
6th Cycle Housing Element, this alternative would not meet the objectives related to the City
meeting its obligations under State law to plan for and accommodate the 6th Cycle Regional
Housing Needs Allocation.
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SECTION 7. The preceding findings, although based primarily on conclusions in the
Final EIR, have not attempted to describe the full analysis of each environmental impact
contained in the Final EIR. Instead, the findings incorporate by reference the discussions
and analyses in the Final EIR and supporting reference documents supporting the Final
EIR’s determinations regarding the nature and severity of the impacts of the Project and
mitigation measures designed to address those impacts. In making these findings, the
City Council ratifies, adopts, and incorporates into these findings the analysis and
explanation in the Final EIR and ratifies, adopts, and incorporates in these findings the
determinations and conclusions of the Final EIR.
SECTION 8. Consistent with Public Resources Code Section 21081.6, the
documents which constitute the record of proceedings for approving this Project are located
in the Community Development Department, 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, California.
The custodian of these documents is Rachel Kwok, Environmental Planner.
SECTION 9. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this Resolution, and
thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
________________________
JOSEPH LAWRENCE
Interim City Attorney
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Adopted and approved this 12th day of October 2021.
__________________________
Sue Himmelrich, Mayor
I, Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby
certify that Resolution No. 11369 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of the Santa
Monica City Council held on the 12th day of October 2021, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Brock, Davis, De la Torre, Negrete, Parra,
Mayor Pro Tem McCowan, Mayor Himmelrich
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ATTEST:
_____________________________________
Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk
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