Council Mtg: May 22, 2001 Santa Monica, California

TO: Mayor and City Council

FROM: City Staff

SUBJECT: Certification of Statement of Official Action for Appeal of Planning Commission=s Approval of Development Review Permit 97-013 to Amend Development Review Permit 467 for the Property Located at 808 Wilshire Boulevard. Applicant: Mike Moreno for Wilshire Lincoln Property. Appellant: Roxanne Auer for Hotel Employees Restaurant Local 814.

INTRODUCTION

This report transmits for City Council certification the Statement of Official Action for Appeal of the Planning Commission=s approval of Development Review Permit 97-013 to Amend Development Review Permit 467 for the Property Located at 808 Wilshire Boulevard.

On March 16, 1999, the Council upheld the appeal and denied the Planning Commission approval based on the findings contained in the attached Statement of Official Action. It has come to the attention of staff that the Statement of Official Action for this appeal never returned to City Council for approval. In order to complete the public record, this document is now before City Council.

BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT

The recommendation presented in this report has no budget or financial impact.

RECOMMENDATION

It is respectfully recommended that the City Council approve the attached Statement of Official Action.

Prepared by: Suzanne Frick, Director of Planning and Community Development
Jay M. Trevino, AICP, Planning Manager
Susan Healy Keene, AICP, Senior Planner
Gina Szilak, Assistant Planner
City Planning Division
Planning and Community Development Department

Attachments: A: Statement of Official Action

CITY OF SANTA MONICA CITY COUNCIL

STATEMENT OF OFFICIAL ACTION

PROJECT

CASE NUMBER: Appeal of Development Review Permit 97-013

LOCATION: 808 Wilshire Boulevard

APPLICANT: Mike Moreno for Wilshire Lincoln Property

APPELLANT: Roxanne Auer for Hotel Employees Restaurant Local 814

CASE PLANNER: Gina Szilak, Assistant Planner

REQUEST: Appeal of Planning Commission Approval of Development Review Permit 97-013 to Amend Development Review Permit 467 for the Property Located at 808 Wilshire Boulevard.

CEQA STATUS: An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared and certified for this mixed-use project on January 16, 1990. The request to modify the permitted uses was determined to be consistent with the original analysis and therefore, no further environmental analysis is required.

CITY COUNCIL ACTION

March 16, 1999 Date.

Approved based on the following findings and subject to the conditions below.

X Denied. Pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.20.14.070, and Section 9.04.20.24.010 the City Council upholds the appeal, thus denying DR 97-013 and maintaining the original conditions of DR 467.

Other.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF ACTION: March 16, 1999

FINDINGS

1. On January 16, 1990 the City Council approved Development Review Permit 467 with specific findings and conditions intended to lessen any adverse impacts on the surrounding area resulting from construction of the building. The permit prescribed certain uses and the applicant has not made a good faith effort to abide by the existing conditions of approval.

2. Development Review Permit 467 required the building owner to comply with the following conditions:

a. Work with City staff and neighborhood representatives to identify appropriate tenants and uses for the ground floor street frontage area along Lincoln Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard. The pedestrian uses shall extend to a minimum depth of 30 feet along both the Wilshire Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard street frontages.

b. A minimum of 50% of the ground floor shall contain retail uses consistent with the category of retail uses permitted in the C6 District and General Plan Districts.

c. The gas station design and layout for lighting, ingress/egress and mechanical exhaust systems are specifically addressed in Council’s approval of the project. A service station was located on the site prior to the proposed redevelopment project. The placement of a service station use on site became an important part of the project approval due to Council’s concern over the elimination of service stations in Santa Monica during the late 1980’s and the early 1990’s.

d. As per the condition of DR467, which requires that the Planning Commission review the proposed hours for ground floor retail uses, on March 7, 1990, the Planning Commission approved the retail and service station hours as follows: 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday

e. Special conditions were attached to the DR permit to ensure the building design would specifically consider the pedestrian elements of design that include landscaping, lighting, access and relationship to the street.

3. A public hearing was held by the City of Santa Monica City Council on March 16, 1999 as part of the appeal of the decision of the Planning Commission, amending DR467. Evidence was presented by the developer of the proposed project and interested members of the public. In addition, written communication was submitted by the public including letters in opposition to the project and public testimony by 24 members of the public and neighborhood residents who opposed the project.

4. The public testimony and actions by the building owner, found the building owners ignored the prevailing conditions of approval and signed two lease agreements with ground floor tenants without the input of neighborhood groups to determine if these uses were appropriate for the area. In addition, one of the uses was for a general office, in violation of the development standard requiring a pedestrian-oriented use. The property owner violated the approved condition of the development review permit and filed a DR amendment to modify those standards.

5. A gas station was approved as part of the original project (DR Permit 467). The applicant has not established that a good faith effort was made to locate a tenant or that the operation of a service station was infeasible. Thus, an important part of the development project has never come to fruition. The service station has never had a tenant since 1997 when the building was substantially completed. In addition, the gas station was permitted to count towards the requirement that 50% of the ground floor maintain a pedestrian-oriented use. The loss of ground floor activity as a result of the space remaining vacant has been a detriment to the neighborhood.

6. The proposed modifications to the existing development review conditions, the physical location, size, massing, and placement of proposed structures on the site and the location of proposed uses within the project are not compatible with and do not relate harmoniously to surrounding sites and neighborhoods, in that the original conditions of approval were designed to make the building accommodate ground floor pedestrian uses along the street frontages. The request to modify the permitted ground floor uses would be detrimental to the neighborhood in that the concern and care taken in reviewing the original project would be ignored without a good faith effort on the part of the building owner to secure tenants.

7. The public testimony indicated that the building owners have not conducted the operation at all times in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties as per a condition of approval in that the owners have allowed the use of the loading dock for customer parking thereby blocking the alley when deliveries do occur and by locking the underground parking on weekends. Thereby this violates a condition of approval that requires on-site parking to be provided without charge to tenants and employees at the project site unless and until such time as a preferential parking district is established in the project area.

VOTE

Ayes: Feinstein, Holbrook, McKeown, O’Connor, Rosenstein, Genser

Nays: None

Abstain: None

Absent: None

NOTICE

If this is a final decision not subject to further appeal under the City of Santa Monica Comprehensive Land Use and Zoning Ordinance, the time within which judicial review of this decision must be sought is governed by Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.6, which provision has been adopted by the City pursuant to Municipal Code Section 1.16.010.

I hereby certify that this Statement of Official Action accurately reflects the final determination of the City Council of the City of Santa Monica.

Signature__________________________

MARIA M. STEWART, City Clerk Date