O27081
City Council Meeting: July 12, 2022 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2708 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
ADOPTING CHAPTER 6.42 TO ESTABLISH THE SANTA MONICA OUTDOORS
PARKLET PROGRAM
WHEREAS, on June 8, 2021, the City Council adopted Emergency Ordinance
No. 2673, establishing Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 6.40, which implemented
the Santa Monica Outdoors Pilot Program and continued the authorization originally
provided in the City’s supplements to its declaration of the existence of a local
emergency for eligible businesses temporarily to use certain outdoor public property for
dining and other business activities; and
WHEREAS, parklets installed in parking or loading spaces have been an
especially popular component of the Santa Monica Outdoors Pilot Program, with over
90 businesses obtaining a Pilot Program permit to operate parklets to conduct business
activities; and
WHEREAS, local businesses, residents, and visitors who have responded to City
surveys have expressed strong support for continuing to allow parklets in Santa Monica;
and
WHEREAS, the Santa Monica Outdoors Pilot Program is set to expire on
September 30, 2022; and
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WHEREAS, the City has an important government interest in maintaining a
thriving business community and protecting the health, safety, and economic welfare of
its citizens and businesses; and
WHEREAS, City staff has developed a comprehensive permanent parklet
program that helps activate public spaces for community enjoyment, placemaking, and
economic recovery while also maintaining public safety and recovering City
maintenance and improvement costs; and
WHEREAS, City Council now desires to adopt Santa Monica Municipal Code
Chapter 6.42 to establish the Santa Monica Outdoors Parklet program.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 6.42 is hereby adopted to
read as follows:
Chapter 6.42 Santa Monica Outdoors Parklet Program
6.42.010 Definitions
The definitions in Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.52.020 apply to the words
and phrases used in this Chapter, unless otherwise specified herein. In addition, the
following words and phrases have the following meanings when used in this Chapter:
(a) “Director” means the Director of the Public Works Department or
designee.
(b) “Eligible business” means (1) a business that operates out of a physical
location in the City and has received any necessary entitlements from the City to
operate and (2) the use of the physical location by the business is a non-
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residential use classification that is permitted or conditionally permitted in the
district, other than a liquor store, or an automobile/vehicle service and repair,
minor or major, as those terms are defined by Santa Monica Municipal Code
Section 9.51.030.
(c) “Parklet” means the use of public parking or loading space(s) (other than
accessible parking spaces) located in the public right-of-way that are adjacent to
each other and at least one of which is adjacent to the eligible business for
business activities in compliance with this Chapter.
(d) “Permit” means either a parklet permit or a provisional permit issued
pursuant to Section 6.42.020, unless context dictates otherwise.
(e) “Permittee” means an eligible business that has obtained a permit and
entered into a licensing agreement with the City for operation of a parklet.
6.42.020 Santa Monica Outdoors Parklet Program Authorization
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the Director is authorized to issue
parklet permits to and enter into licensing agreements with eligible businesses
that meet the requirements of this Chapter and administrative regulations.
(b) For eligible businesses with an existing Santa Monica Outdoors pilot
program permit under Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 6.40 to operate a
parklet, the Director is authorized to issue provisional permits and enter into
licensing agreements with such businesses that have submitted a completed
application in compliance with the requirements of this Chapter and
administrative regulations by no later than September 15, 2022. The term of the
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provisional permit and the transition to a non-provisional parklet permit shall be
set forth in administrative regulations.
6.42.030 Santa Monica Outdoors Parklet Program Requirements
(a) Application Required. Any eligible business seeking to obtain an initial
permit or renew such a permit shall submit an application using a form
designated by the Director for that purpose. Renewal applications shall be filed a
minimum of 30 days prior to the expiration of any existing parklet permit issued
pursuant to this Chapter.
(b) Permit and Licensing Agreement Required. No person may operate a
parklet without having obtained a permit from and entered into a licensing
agreement with the City. A permittee may utilize the parklet to conduct business
activities as authorized by this Chapter, the administrative regulations, the permit,
and licensing agreement.
(c) Posting of Parklet Permit. The permit shall be displayed by the eligible
business during business hours.
(d) Street Limitation. An eligible business may obtain a permit only in
streets that have (1) a speed limit of 25 miles per hour or less, (2) a speed limit of
30 miles per hour and a Class II bikeway, as that term is defined by California
State & Highway Code Section 890.4, or (3) a speed limit of 30 miles per hour
without a Class II bikeway, so long as the Director approves additional design or
safety specifications. There may be no parklets on the Third Street Promenade
or the Santa Monica Pier.
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(e) Parking or Loading Space Limitation. An eligible business may obtain
a permit for use of up to two parking or loading spaces.
(f) Consent of Adjacent Tenant or Property Owner Required. If the
eligible business is not the ground-floor tenant of the building fronting the parking
or loading space proposed to be used as a parklet or if half or more of such a
space would be outside of the eligible business’s ground-floor frontage, the
eligible business shall provide with its initial or renewal application for a permit
documentary proof of consent from any ground-floor tenant(s) fronting the areas
proposed to be used as the parklet. In the event there is no ground-floor tenant
of a building fronting the areas proposed to be used as a parklet, then the eligible
business shall provide with its initial or renewal application for a permit
documentary proof of consent from the fronting property owner or its agent.
(g) Compliance with Design and Safety Specifications. The construction
of and the operation of a parklet pursuant to a permit shall comply with the
design and safety specifications set forth in administrative regulations issued
under this Chapter.
(h) Maintenance. A permittee shall, at its own expense, be responsible for
the maintenance of the parklet and keeping the parklet in a clean and sanitary
condition.
(i) Hours of Operation. The hours of operation of the parklet shall be limited
to the hours of operation of the associated eligible business, subject to further
limitations as the Director may provide by administrative regulations.
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(j) Insurance Required. A permittee shall maintain insurance at coverage
limits, and with conditions thereon determined necessary and appropriate from
time to time, as determined by the Risk Manager, and name the City of Santa
Monica as an additional insured.
(k) Indemnification and Hold Harmless. Before a permit is issued, the
eligible business shall agree to indemnify, defend, and hold the City harmless
from any and all loss, damages, liability, claims, suits, costs, or expenses arising
from or in any way connected to the eligible business’s use of the parklet,
including, but not limited to, any injury to person or property, or the condition of
the parking or loading space that is the subject of the permit.
(l) Compliance with Administrative Regulations. A permittee shall comply
with any other permit requirements or conditions set forth in the administrative
regulations issued under this Chapter.
(m) Duty to Comply with the Law. A permittee shall comply with all
applicable Federal, State, and City laws, rules, and regulations, including, but not
limited to, the requirement to have a current business license, the noise
restrictions in Chapter 4.12 of this Code, the protection of public trees in
compliance with Chapter 7.40 of this Code, and compliance with the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
6.42.040 Fees, Charges, and Security Deposit
(a) Fees and Charges. The City Council may establish by resolution
application and permit fees and charges, which shall:
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(1) Defray the City’s costs in administering and enforcing the
provisions of this Chapter and
(2) Reflect charges associated with use of public property pursuant to
this Chapter.
(b) Security Deposit. Every applicant for a permit shall pay to the City a
security deposit in an amount established by the City Council by resolution.
Following termination or revocation of the permit, the security deposit shall be
applied to the cost of repairing any damage to the parking or loading space that
the permittee failed to restore to its original condition and to remove any personal
property, furnishings, barriers, and other material that a permittee fails to remove.
The remainder, if any, of the security deposit shall be refunded to the permittee.
6.42.050 Duration of Permit; Renewal
Permits issued pursuant to Section 6.42.020(a) shall be valid for an initial period not to
exceed two years from issuance of the permit and may be renewed for successive two-
year periods.
6.42.060 Grounds for revocation, suspension, or denial; appeals.
(a) The Director may deny an initial or renewal application for or suspend or
revoke a permit if the eligible business, including its employees, managers,
officers, principals, directors, owners, contractors, representatives, or agents:
(1) Has made a materially false, misleading, or fraudulent statement of
fact or omission of fact to the City on the permit application, during the
application process, or in connection with operating a parklet pursuant to
a permit;
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(2) Operates, has operated, or proposes to operate in a manner that
endangers public health or safety; or
(3) Fails to comply or has failed to comply with any requirement
imposed by the provisions of this Code (or successor provision or
provisions), including any administrative regulations issued pursuant to
this Chapter, or any provision of state law.
(b) In addition to the grounds set forth in subsection (a), the Director, in his or
her discretion, may:
(1) Deny an initial or renewal application for a permit, if the Director
determines that the parklet interferes with a planned or future City project;
(2) Immediately suspend or revoke a permit if the Director determines
that there is an emergency situation that poses a risk to public health,
safety, or welfare, in which case the Director shall provide written notice of
suspension or revocation to the permittee as soon as reasonably
practicable; or
(3) Suspend or revoke a permit for any other reason when it is in the
best interests of the City after providing the permittee 30 days’ written
notice.
(c) Any decision by the City under this Chapter to deny an application for or
suspend or revoke a permit may be appealed by an aggrieved applicant or
permittee. An appeal must be taken within the time and manner set forth in
Chapter 6.16 of this Code.
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6.42.070 Restoration of Public Right-of-Way
Upon termination or revocation of a permit, the permittee shall immediately, at its own
expense, remove all personal property, furnishings, barriers, and other materials from
the parking or loading space that was the subject of the permit and restore such space
to its original condition. Any such property remaining within the parking or loading
space shall be removed pursuant to this Code and the laws of the State of California.
6.42.080 No Vested Rights
Nothing in this Chapter shall be deemed to grant a vested right to a permittee to
continue operation of a parklet.
6.42.090 Administrative Regulations
(a) The Director may adopt administrative regulations to implement the
provisions of this Chapter, including, but not limited to, the term of a provisional
permit issued pursuant to Section 6.42.020(b) and any conditions to transition
such a permit to a non-provisional parklet permit, design and safety
specifications for parklets, good neighbor requirements, application procedures,
inspection frequencies, additional operating hour limitations, and other permit
conditions and requirements.
(b) No person shall fail to comply with the City’s administrative regulations.
6.42.100 Enforcement
(a) Any person who violates any provision of this Chapter, including any
administrative regulations, shall be guilty of an infraction, which shall be
punishable by a fine not exceeding $250 dollars, or a misdemeanor, which shall
be punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 dollars per violation or by
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imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not exceeding six months or by both
such fine and imprisonment.
(b) Any person who violates any provision of this Chapter, including any
administrative regulations, shall be subject to administrative fines and
administrative penalties pursuant to Chapter 1.09 and Chapter 1.10 of this Code.
(c) Any person convicted of violating this Chapter in a criminal case, or found
to be in violation of this Chapter in a civil or administrative case brought by a law
enforcement agency, shall be ordered to reimburse the City and other
participating law enforcement agencies their full investigative costs.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica 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.
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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:
_______________________
DOUGLAS SLOAN
City Attorney
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Approved and adopted this 12th day of July, 2022.
_____________________________
Sue Himmelrich, Mayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Nikima Newsome, Assistant City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 2708 (CCS) had its introduction
on June 28, 2022 and was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting
held on July 12, 2022, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Brock, de la Torre, Negrete, Parra,
Mayor Himmelrich, Mayor Pro Tem McCowan
NOES: None
ABSENT: Councilmember Davis
ATTEST:
_____________________________________ _________________
Nikima Newsome, Assistant City Clerk Date
A summary of Ordinance No. 2708 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to
California Government Code Section 40806.
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7/21/2022