O27321
City Council Meeting: December 13,2022 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2732 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN EMERGENCY INTERIM ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA TO UPDATE DENSITY BONUS REQUIREMENTS FOR
100% AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS
WHEREAS, the State is experiencing a housing supply crisis, with housing
demand far outstripping supply; 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
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 a 7-year period; and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica has long been committed to ensuring that
Santa Monica is an inclusive and affordable community despite mounting market
pressures; and
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WHEREAS, the City’s Land Use and Circulation Element, adopted in 2010, and
Zoning Ordinance, adopted in 2015, demonstrate this commitment through providing
extra bonuses and incentives for one hundred percent affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, on October 9, 2019, the Governor signed 18 bills into law to stimulate
housing production, including: AB 1763, which amends the State Density Bonus Law,
California Government Code Section 65915 et seq. (“SDBL”), to provide for increased
density bonuses and incentives and concessions for housing developments that contain
one hundred percent of all units in the development, including total units and density
bonus units, but exclusive of a manager's unit or units, are for lower income households,
except that up to 20 percent of the units in the development, including total units and
density bonus units, may be for moderate-income households (“100% affordable housing
developments”); and
WHEREAS, AB 1763, in part, provides that the City may not impose maximum
controls on density on 100% affordable housing developments located within one-half
mile of a major transit stop, and that those 100% affordable housing developments shall
receive shall also receive a height increase of up to three additional stories, or 33 feet;
and
WHEREAS, AB 1763 further provides that 100% affordable housing developments
that received unlimited density are not eligible for additional waivers or reductions of
development standards; and
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WHEREAS, on September 8, 2020, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number
2649 (CCS) which, in part, incorporated provisions of AB 1763, including the prohibition
against waivers for 100% affordable housing developments that receive unlimited density;
and
WHEREAS, AB 2345, which became effective on January 1, 2021, amended the
SDBL to allow a city to authorize a developer to request additional waivers or reductions
of development standards for 100% affordable housing developments that receive
unlimited density; and
WHEREAS, the City received a Regional Housing Needs Assessment (“RHNA”)
allocation for is 6th Cycle (2021-2029) Housing Element (“6th Cycle Housing Element”)
of 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, on October 11, 2022, the City Council adopted Resolution Number
11469 (CCS), adopting an amended 6th Cycle Housing Element, which was certified by
the State on October 14, 2022; and
WHEREAS, the 6th Cycle Housing Element represents the City’s longstanding
commitment to affordable housing, tenant protection, housing and services for special
needs groups, homeless services, sustainable development, and fair housing; and
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WHEREAS one of the four key principles of the 6th Cycle Housing Element is to
increase housing production for all, with an emphasis on affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, through Housing Element Program 2D, the City has committed to
updating its density bonus ordinance to ensure consistency with SDBL and integration
into the City’s land use system no later than October 15, 2023; and
WHEREAS, on August 4, 2021, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution
Number 21-007 (PCS) declaring its intention to consider recommending to the City
Council that the City Council amend the text of the Zoning Ordinance for consistency with
the goals, policies, and programs set forth in the 6th Cycle Housing Element, including
Program 2D; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission has been conducting discussions on
implementation of the Housing Element, and it is anticipated that the Commission will
make a formal recommendation to the City Council in January 2023; and
WHEREAS, if the Planning Commission makes a formal recommendation to the
City Council in January 2023, it is anticipated that amendments to the Zoning Ordinance
to implement Program 2D would not be presented to Council before February 2023, with
a likely effective date of April 2023; and
WHEREAS, agreeing to additional waivers or reductions of development
standards for 100% affordable housing developments that receive unlimited density will
facilitate the development of affordable housing within the City, consistent with the key
principles of the 6th Cycle Housing Element and Program 2D; and
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WHEREAS, 100% affordable housing projects, with challenges in available
funding, often turn to financing sources such as tax credits, which establish a strict
schedule for obtaining entitlements and building permits; and
WHEREAS, if the City does not agree to waivers or reductions of development
standards before the anticipated effective date for implementation of Program 2D in the
Spring of 2023, it could jeopardize the production of 100% affordable housing
developments within the City as well as the City’s ability to meet its RHNA allocation
goals; and
WHEREAS, there exists a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety
and welfare due to the State’s ongoing and unprecedented housing crisis, which has
resulted in the City’s RHNA allocation that heavily focuses on affordable housing
production; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to immediately agree to waivers or reductions of
development standards for 100% affordable housing developments that receive unlimited
density; and
WHEREAS, adoption of this emergency Interim Zoning Ordinance is necessary to
preserve public peace, health, safety and welfare as it will remove barriers to production
of housing, particularly 100% affordable housing developments.
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Interim Zoning Regulations. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
in Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.22.070(C), a housing development that (a)
receives a waiver from any maximum controls on density pursuant to Santa Monica
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Municipal Code Section 9.22.050(B)(3)(d)(ii), and up to three additional stories or 33 feet
in height in accordance with 9.22.060(A)(4), and (b) is not located in the Pico
Neighborhood Area, as outlined in Figure 9.40.020.A, shall be eligible for, and may
receive, additional waivers or reductions of development standards in accordance with
the provisions of SDBL and Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 9.22.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or any appendix
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.
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
immediately upon adoption. Pursuant to Sections 615 and 619 of the City Charter, and
Section 9.46.090 of the Municipal Code, for the reasons stated in the recitals above, the
staff report accompanying this ordinance, oral and written testimony received by the City
Council, and City Council discussion, the City Council declares this ordinance to be
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necessary as an emergency measure for preserving the public peace, health, and safety,
with the result that this ordinance shall be introduced and adopted at the same meeting
and shall become effective immediately upon its adoption.
SECTION 5. This Ordinance shall be of no further force or effect sixty days from
its effective date, unless it is otherwise extended pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal
Code Section 9.46.090(C).
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
DOUGLAS SLOAN
City Attorney
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Approved and adopted this 13th day of December, 2022.
_____________________________
Gleam Davis, Mayor
State of California )
County of Los Angeles ) ss.
City of Santa Monica )
I, Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do
hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 2732 (CCS) had its introduction
and adoption at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on December 13,
2022, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Brock, de la Torre, Parra,
Mayor Pro Tem Negrete, Mayor Davis
NOES: Councilmembers Torosis, Zwick
ABSENT: None
ATTEST:
_____________________________________ _________________
Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk Date
A summary of Ordinance No. 2732 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to California
Government Code Section 40806.
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12/19/2022