O27721
City Council Meeting: December 19, 2023 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 2772 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN EMERGENCY INTERIM ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT, BY RESOLUTION,
OF OBJECTIVE DESIGN STANDARDS FOR QUALIFYING HOUSING PROJECTS
THAT ELECT TO USE THE STREAMLINED, MINISTERIAL APPROVAL PROCESS ESTABLISHED BY SENATE BILL 35
WHEREAS, in an effort to address the California housing shortage by increasing
housing supply, Senate Bill (“SB”) 35, passed in 2017 by the California State Legislature
and most recently amended by SB 423 in 2023, provides qualifying housing projects the
opportunity to opt-in to a streamlined, ministerial approval process through which a
housing project is only reviewed against objective zoning and design review standards;
WHEREAS, SB 35 applies to jurisdictions that do not have a compliant Housing
Element or have not met their Regional Housing Needs Assessment (“RHNA”) goal for
construction of above-moderate income housing and/or housing for households below
80% area median income (AMI); and
WHEREAS, each year, the State Department of Housing and Community
Development (“HCD”) issues an SB 35 determination that indicates which cities are
subject to the streamlining requirements of SB 35; and
WHEREAS, this determination is based upon Annual Progress Report (“APR”)
data submitted by jurisdictions each year compared to the RHNA or prorated Lower (Very-
Low and Low) and Above-Moderate RHNA for each jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS, on June 30, 2023, HCD determined that Santa Monica fell behind on
addressing Lower-Income housing needs for the City’s 5th Cycle (2013-2021) Housing
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Element, and, therefore, Santa Monica is subject to SB35 for housing projects that include
more than 50% of their units as affordable units and elect to comply with all other
requirements of SB 35; and
WHEREAS, as a result, eligible housing projects must only be reviewed against
objective design standards (in addition to compliance with other development standards)
and cannot be subject to the City’s standard architectural review process, which is
designed to, among other things: (1) prevent the development of structures or uses that
are not of acceptable exterior design or appearance, are of inferior quality, or are likely to
have a depreciating effect on the local environment or surrounding area by reason of
appearance or value; and (2) to eliminate conditions, structures, or uses, which by reason
of their effect tend to degrade the health, safety, or general welfare of the community; and
WHEREAS, because the City was not subject to SB 35 prior to June 2023, the City
has no objective design standards in place for projects that qualify for and opt into the SB
35 process; and
WHEREAS, should the City not adopt any objective design standards, projects
could be approved without any design review intended to promote the health, safety, and
general welfare of the community; and
WHEREAS, the City Council now desires to ensure that the City will have objective
design standards in place to apply to SB 35 projects, should an applicant opt into using
that process; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Emergency Interim Zoning Ordinance is intended to
ensure that objective design standards are immediately in effect upon adoption of the
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ordinance while allowing flexibility for the objective design standards to be revisited for
improvements upon further evaluation as necessary; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds and declares that a current and immediate
threat to the public health, safety, and general welfare exists due to the current lack of
comprehensive objective design standards for common design issues in housing projects
eligible for SB 35 streamlining, which are otherwise exempt from discretionary design
review, such that failure to approve this Emergency Interim Zoning Ordinance, and allow
for the adoption of objective design standards for eligible projects by resolution, would
result in a threat to public health, safety, and welfare because no applicable design
standards would be in place should an eligible project elect SB 35 streamlined review.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.31.195 is hereby
amended to read as follows:
§ 9.31.195 Multiple-Unit Dwelling Projects.
The purpose of this Section is to establish requirements for multiple-unit dwelling projects;
however, 100% affordable housing projects are exempt from subsections (A) and (B) of
this Section.
A. Unit Mix. Multiple-unit dwelling projects with more than 50 units shall incorporate the
requirements set forth below, except Tier 2 projects shall comply with
Section 9.23.030(A)(2).
1. For market rate units:
a. At least 10% of the units shall be three-bedroom units;
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b. At least 10% of the units shall be two-bedroom units;
c. No more than 15% of the units shall be studio units.
2. Affordable housing unit mix shall be governed by Chapter 9.64, Affordable
Housing Production Program.
3. The Director may grant a waiver from this unit mix requirement pursuant to the
requirements and procedures for Waivers in Chapter 9.43.
B. Transportation Demand Management. Multiple-unit dwelling projects that meet the
applicability established in Section 9.53.030 shall include the following Transportation
Demand Management measures in addition to those required by Chapter 9.53,
Transportation Demand Management:
1. For nonresidential components of projects, provide the following:
a. A transportation allowance equivalent to at least 75% of the cost of a
monthly regional transit pass, in accordance with Section
9.53.130(B)(2)(b)(viii).
b. Bike valet, free of charge, during all automobile valet operating hours.
2. For residential components of projects, provide a transportation allowance
equivalent to at least 75% of the cost of a monthly regional transit pass, in
accordance with Section 9.53.130(B)(2)(c)(iv).
C. Air Quality Assessment Zone. Multiple-unit dwelling projects within the Air Quality
Assessment Zone shall be required to prepare a technical memorandum that describes
the effectiveness of design features to reduce exposure to diesel particulate matter (DPM)
as a part of the early project design process. Such memorandum shall be submitted at
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the time of project application and shall be subject to review and approval by the Director
prior to project approval.
D. Unit Replacement Requirements. Multiple-unit dwelling projects shall comply with all
applicable residential unit replacement requirements, including, but not limited to,
Government Code Section 66300(d) and State Density Bonus law.
E. Objective Design Standards for Streamlined, Ministerial Approval Process
Established by Senate Bill 35. Qualifying multiple-unit dwelling projects that elect to
use the streamlined, ministerial approval process established by Senate Bill 35 (SB 35),
and set forth in Government Code Section 65913.4, shall be required to comply with
objective design review standards, which may be established by resolution of the City
Council.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Emergency Interim Zoning 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 Emergency Interim Zoning Ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
Emergency Interim Zoning 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 Emergency Interim Zoning
Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Emergency
Interim Zoning 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 Emergency Interim Zoning Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be
published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Emergency
Interim Zoning Ordinance shall become effective immediately from its adoption and shall
be of no further force and effect sixty days therefrom unless extended pursuant to Santa
Monica Municipal Code 9.46.090(C).
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________ Douglas Sloan, City Attorney
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Approved and adopted this 19th day of December, 2023.
_____________________________
Phil Brock, 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. 2772 (CCS) had its introduction
and adoption at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on December, 19,
2023, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Torosis, Davis, Parra, Zwick
Mayor Pro Tem Negrete, Mayor Brock
NOES: None
ABSENT: Councilmember de la Torre
Ayes:
ATTEST:
_____________________________________ _________________
Nikima Newsome, Assistant City Clerk Date
A summary of Ordinance No. 2772 (CCS) was duly published pursuant to California
Government Code Section 40806.
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12/21/2023