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O2162 f:\atty\muni\laws\barry\moratoriumextendt02006-12d. wpd City Council Meeting 7-26-05 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER 2162 (CCS) (City Council Series) AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA EXTENDING A MORATORIUM ON NEW OR EXPANDED RETAIL USES ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF THE THIRD STREET PROMENADE WITH LIMITED EXCEPTIONS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Findinos and Purpose. The City Council finds and declares: (a) In 1965, the City Council sought to revitalize its declining downtown business district by closing three blocks of Third Street to vehicular traffic in order to create a pedestrian shopping mall pursuant to the Pedestrian Mall Act. (b )The Third Street Mall did not attract shoppers; and, as a result, retail businesses on the mall failed, and the downtown business district continued to decline. (c) In 1986, the City Council again acted to save its downtown by adopting the Third Street Mall Specific Plan to provide a framework for reviving the Third Street Mall and surrounding areas. I (d) The Specific Plan made diversity the foundation of the mall's future, mandating a mixture of uses and activities sufficient to ensure that the mall would attract a diverse group of residents and visitors. (e) Thereafter, the City embarked upon a substantial effort to transform the moribund Third Street Mall into a new kind of public space which would serve as a community gathering place, attract visitors from near and far and define the City's municipal character. The redesign included numerous improvements to the pedestrian street: retail pavilions, landscaping, water elements, public benches, street lamps, and topiary dinosaur sculptures in the central landscaped area of each block. The area was also renamed the Third Street Promenade. (f) This space was, from the time of its conception, distinguished from other shopping areas, by the carefully planned and unusual mix of opportunities it afforded, including street performers, sidewalk dining, cinema, bookstores, special events, clothing stores, specialty shops, and night clubs. (g) As conceived, the Third Street Promenade was not simply a shopping mall; it was a place to go for entertainment, company, relaxation, strolling; a place where one could watch jugglers and dancers, dine outdoors, argue politics,listen to music, browse a bookshop, take in a movie and more. (h) Moreover, the Third Street Promenade was planned as a gathering place for all segments of society: children, the elderly, and people from all cultural and economic groups. 2 (i) The plan succeeded, and the Third Street Promenade became a resounding success as a favored destination for local residents, Southern Californians and international travelers alike. U) As such, it became, and still is, an engine which drives Santa Monica's economy. However, this success has had i.ts costs. (k) The influx of visitors to the Third Street Promenade has brought significant traffic and parking problems. (I) At present, these problems are being addressed by a downtown parking strategy; however, the problem is significant and the options are limited because the area is very small, has been built out for decades and features a mixture of uses, including residential, which is inconsistent with simply building larger and larger parking structures. (m) Also, maintaining the delicate balance of entertainment, restaurants and retail which is the foundation of the Third Street Promenade's success has been an ongoing challenge. (n) Over the years, market forces have threatened the mix many times; and the City has responded to preserve the Third Street Promenade's unique character through the adoption of laws and polices which promote the general welfare by maintaining the Promenade's eclectic character. (0) In 1996, the City revised the Third Street Mall Specific Plan through the adoption ofthe Bayside District Specific Plan. A critical objective ofthis plan remained to U[a]ttract and accommodate a mix of uses" serving residents, visitors and tourists during both daytime and 3 evening hours. To this end, the specific plan established a ten-year projection and plan for the controlled growth of retail outlets on the Third Street Promenade. (p) However, the actual growth of retail far outstripped the planned growth to the point that the ten year projection is already met, just five years into the planning period. (q) As of 2001. there was already approximately 530,000 square feet of retail on the three block Third Street Promenade and the pressure to create more retail spaces continued unabated. (r) The massive influx of retail establishments displaced restaurants and sidewalk dining. (s) Five restaurants were lost in the two years priorto the adoption of the initial interim ordinance and four more were near or at the end of their leases; frontage devoted to sidewalk dining has shrunk. (t) As reflected by these changes, the balance of uses on the Third Street Promenade was once again threatened; this time by a loss of restaurants and influx of additional retail. If left unchecked, this trend will deprive the Third Street Promenade of its unique character and vitality by rendering it simply a standard shopping mall. (u) The influx of retail not only impacted the mix of establishment located on the Third Street Promenade, it also exacerbated parking and traffic problems. (v) Residents and visitors come to the Third Street Promenade for dining and entertainment, typically for many hours. In contrast, persons who are simply shopping, stayfor shorter periods of time. The result is more people making more trips and thereby placing ever-increasing demands on the downtown's already overtaxed traffic and parking capacities. . 4 (w) These increased demands degrade the quality of residents' lives and the desirabilityofthe Third Street Promenade and the City as destinations and thereby threaten the City's welfare. (x) Accordingly, in order to preserve the City's economic and social welfare, the City Council must act in order to protect the unique qualities and vitality of the Third Street Promenade by ensuring the best possible mix of restaurants, retail and entertainment. (y) In general, the City must ensure the best possible mix of restaurants, retail and entertainment so that the Promenade remains unusual and attractive and does not become simply an average shopping mall through the continued expansion of retail at the expense of other uses. (z) Similarly, the City must preserve the outdoor dining opportunities which have become one of the hallmarks of the Promenade. (aa) Exactly how best to accomplish this end is a complex question which required detailed study, including a review of the specific plan. (bb) In light of these concerns, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS) on November 27, 2001, a forty-five day ordinance which established a moratorium on new or expanded ground floor retail use on the Third Street Promenade, adopted Ordinance Number 2032 (CCS) which extended Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS) until January 9,2003, adopted Ordinance Number 2062 (CCS) which extended Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS) until September 9, 2003, and adopted Ordinance Number 2082 (CCS) which extended Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS) until September 9, 2005. 5 (cc) After adoption of Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS), the City Council established a Promenade Uses Task Force to study the Promenade issues described herein, to seek feedback and input from the community, and to make recommendations to the City Council regarding the appropriate mix of uses on the Promenade. (dd) The Task Force met regularly since May 2002 and completed its work in March 2003. It considered goals and objectives for the Promenade and the Downtown, reviewed relevant City policies and regulations, and conducted community workshops. (ee) The Task Force subsequently prepared a series of recommendations for review by the City Council. In March, 2005, the City Council adopted an ordinance implementing the legislative changes for restaurants recommended by the Task Force. (ff) At this time, it is not clear how these legislative changes and other implementation measures will affect the viability of restaurants on the Promenade. (gg) Forthe reasons described above, the City Council finds that there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety or welfare and that a continued moratorium on new or expanded ground floor retail use on the Third Street Promenade is necessary to ensure that the character of the Promenade is preserved during the review period and that the City remains able to ensure that the best possible mix of restaurants, retail and entertainment is achieved. The approval of additional permits related to such retail use on the Third Street Promenade pending the City's completion of its review of its land use policies and regulations and their implementation would result in a threat to the public health, safety, or welfare since these changes threaten the quality of residents' lives and the desirability of the Third Street Promenade and the City as a destination. The extension of Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS), 6 Ordinance Number 2032 (CCS), Ordinance Number 2062 (CCS), and Ordinance Number 2082 (CCS) for a period up to and including March 26, 2006, will provide the City with the necessary time to further evaluate and undertake appropriate actions to address these impacts. SECTION 2. Moratorium. (a) Subject to Section 3 of this Ordinance, a moratorium is hereby placed on the acceptance for processing of applications for approval oftentative tract maps, tentative parcel maps, administrative approvals, development review permits, conditional use permits, zoning conformance determinations, business licenses, and building permits related to a new or expanded retail use ifthat retail use would increase either the total linear footage orthe total square footage of retail uses on the ground floor of any given block of the Promenade by more than five percent (5%) beyond the total linear retail footage and total retail square footage that existed on that block of the Promenade as of the effective date of Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS) which was extended by Ordinance Number 2032 (CCS), Ordinance Number 2062 (CCS), and Ordinance Number 2082 (CCS). A block is defined as both sides of the Third Street Promenade to the alley and the adjacent sides of adjoining side streets. Portions of the Third Street Promenade to be designated as a block for purposes ofthis Ordinance are: Block 1: 1200 Block of Third Street Promenade Block 2: 1300 Block of Third Street Promenade Block 3: 1400 Block of Third Street Promenade (b) Subject to Section 3 of this Ordinance, all applications which have not been deemed complete as of November 27,2001, for approval ottentative tract maps, tentative 7 parcel maps, administrative approvals, development review permits, conditional use permits, zoning conformance determinations, business licenses, and building permits related to a new or expanded retail use ifthat retail use would increase either the total linear footage orthe total square footage of retail uses on the ground floor of any given block of the Promenade by more than five percent (5%) beyond the total linear retail footage and total retail square footage that existed on that block of the Promenade as otthe effective date of Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS) as set forth in Subsection (c) of this Section shall be disapproved. (c) The total linear footage and square footage of retail uses on the ground floor of each block ofthe Promenade as of the effective date of Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS) is hereby established as follows: Block 1 961 totallinearfeet/137 ,980 total square feet Block 2 654 total linear feet/91 ,220 total square feet Block 3 820 total linear feet/114,193 total square feet (d) Priority for a business to be allocated any portion of the five percent (5%) retail Iinearorsquare footage expansion authorized by subsections (a) or(b)ofthis Section shall be established based on the issuance of a building permit for tenant improvements or the receipt of a business license for the retail use. This priority shall be lost if the building permit expires or the business fails to open within one year after the original business license is issued. 8 SECTION 3. Vested Riahts. This Ordinance shall not be applicable if an owner can establish a vested right to develop or operate commercial property otherwise prohibited by Section 2 of this Ordinance. SECTION 4. This Ordinance shall be of no further force and effect after March 26, 2006. SECTION 5. Any proVision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, appendices thereto, or prior interim ordinance 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 6. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase otthis 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 8. 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 9 newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall become effective thirty days after its adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM: 10 Approved and adopted this 26th day of July, 2005. - Pam O'Connor, Mayor State of California ) 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. 2162 (CCS) had its introduction on July 12, 2005, and was adopted at the Santa Monica City Council meeting held on July 26, 2005, by the following vote: Ayes: Council members: Mayor O'Connor, Mayor Pro Tem Katz, Bloom, Genser, Holbrook, Shriver Noes: Council members: None Abstain: Council members: None Absent: Council members: McKeown ATTEST: \,;~,~ 00d<a4- Maria M. Stewart, City Clerk 11