O2103
f:\atty\mu n i\laws\barry\realestatetransferd isclosu re2d-1 . wpd
Council Meeting 12-16-03 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER W2L (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA
MONICA ADDING CHAPTER 9.60 TO THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE
TO REQUIRE OWNERS OR SELLING AGENTS OF REAL PROPERTY TO
DISCLOSE WHEN THE PROPERTY IS DESIGNATED AS A HISTORIC RESOURCE
OR LISTED ON THE CITY'S INVENTORY OF HISTORIC RESOURCES
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica has a strong and long-standing commitment
to historic preservation; and,
WHEREAS, preservation of historic buildings enhances the quality of life in the City,
protects the aesthetics and charm of the physical environment, encourages respect and
appreciation for the community's history and culture, safeguards the character of the City,
and contributes to the City's economic stability; and
WHEREAS, the City adopted the Landmarks and Historic District Ordinance on
March 24, 1976 to effectuate its policy favoring historic preservation; and
WHEREAS, the Landmarks Ordinance established a Landmarks Commission with
powers including designating Structures of Merit and Landmarks and recommending the
designation of Historic Districts to the City Council; and
WHEREAS, in 1992, the City became a "Certified Local Government" (CLG) under
the National Historic Preservation Act; and
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WHEREAS, to be certified, a local governmental program must enforce appropriate
State and local preservation legislation, establish and maintain a qualified historic
preservation review commission, provide for adequate public participation in its activities,
perform other functions delegated to it by the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO)
under the National Historic Preservation Act, and maintain a system for the survey and
inventory of historic properties, consistent with guidelines provided by SHPO; and
WHEREAS, since the adoption of the Landmarks Ordinance, the City has
undertaken three major historic resources surveys and three survey updates; and
WHEREAS, these surveys and updates identify, evaluate and document potential
architectural and historical resources located within the City; and
WHEREAS, in September 2002, the City adopted a Historic Preservation Element
to establish a long-range vision for the protection of historic resources in the City and to
provide implementation strategies to achieve that vision; and
WHEREAS, Policy 3.4.2 of this Element provides that the City should notify real
estate firms of listings of historic or potentially historic landmarks; and
WHEREAS, real estate brokers or agents representing the sellers of real property
have the obligation to disclose material facts about the property to prospective purchasers
under specified circumstances; and
WHEREAS, purchasers of historic and potentially historic properties are often
unaware of the historic status of the property and the potential development restrictions
that accompany this status as well as the benefits of owning, rehabilitating and preserving
historic property; and
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WHEREAS, the notification requirements of this ordinance will ensure that
prospective purchasers will be informed of properties' historic status and of the regulations
attendant upon that status; and
WHEREAS, these notification requirements will protect prospective purchasers and
will promote the general welfare by effectuating the City's preservation policy,
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
HEREBY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1 Chapter 9.60 hereby added to the Santa Monica Municipal Code to
read as follows:
Chapter 9.60
HISTORIC RESOURCE DISCLOSURE
Section 9.60.010. Definitions.
(a) "Buyer" shall mean a transferee in a real property transaction, and
includes a person who executes an offer to purchase real property from a
seller through an agent, or who seeks the services of an agent with the
object of entering into a real property transaction. "Buyer" includes vendee
or lessee.
(b) "Offer to purchase" shall mean a written contract executed by a
buyer acting through a selling agent which becomes the contract for the sale
of the real property upon acceptance by the seller.
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(c) "Owner" shall mean any person, copartnership, association,
corporation or fiduciary having legal or equitable title or any interest in real
property.
(d) "Real Property Transaction" shall mean a transaction for the sale
of real property in which an agent is employed by one or mOrE! of the
principals to act in that transaction, and includes a listing or an offer to
purchase.
(e) "Sale" shall mean a transaction for the transfer of real property
from the seller to the buyer and includes exchanges of real property between
the seller and buyer, transactions for the creation of a real property sales
contract within the meaning of California Civil Code Section 2985, and
transactions for the creation of a leasehold exceeding one year's duration.
(f) "Selling Agent" shall mean a listing agent who acts alone, or an
agent who acts in cooperation with a listing agent, and who sells or finds and
obtains a buyer for the real property, or an agent who locates property for a
buyer or who finds a buyer for a property for which no listing exists and
presents an offer to purchase to the seller.
Section 9.60.020. Disclosure of Historic Resources
If real property has been designated by the City of Santa Monica as
a landmark, structure of merit, or a contributor to a historic district, or has
been identified in the City's Historic Resource Inventory or any update
thereto, the owner or the selling agent of the real property shall, in any real
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property transaction, provide the buyer of the real property with notice
informing the buyer of the property's historic status. The owner or the
selling agent shall provide the notice to the buyer as soon as practicable
before transfer of title, The buyer shall execute a receipt therefor as
furnished by the City and said receipt shall be delivered to the City Clerk as
evidence of compliance with the provisions of this Chapter.
Section 9.60.030. Remedies.
If any disclosure required to be made by this Chapter is delivered after
the execution of an offer to purchase, the buyer shall have three days after
delivery in person or five days after delivery by deposit in the mail to
terminate his or her offer by delivery of a written notice of termination to the
owner or selling agent. Any person who violates the provisions of this
Chapter shall be subject to the penalties and remedies specified in Chapter
1.08 of this Code. In addition, a buyer who does not receive the notice
required by Section 9.60.020 may bring a civil action for damages.
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
affect the provisions of this Ordinance.
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SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
CMII!uan.ii; for.anyreasonhlld to be invalidorunconstitutionll" a '.lIlilli_ClJf...~
of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions ofthis 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 ofthe 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 30
days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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Approved and adopted this 16th day of December, 2003.
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State of Califomia )
County of Los Angeles) ss,
City of Santa Monica )
I, Maria M. Stewart, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that the
foregoing Ordinance No. 2103 (CCS) had its introduction on December 9,2003, and
was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on December 16, 2003, by
the following vote:
Ayes: Council members: Mayor Bloom, Mayor Pro Tem McKeown, Feinstein,
Genser, O'Connor, Katz
Noes: Council members: None
Abstain: Council members: None
Absent: Council members: Holbrook
ATTEST:
~r.- ~
ity Ch3rk
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