Item 7-C
City Council Meeting 11-12-02
Santa Monica, California
TO: Mayor
and City Council
SUBJECT: Introduction
and First Reading of an Interim Ordinance Extending the Interim Ordinance
Modifying the Development Review Thresholds in the C3, C3C, and BSC Districts
to 7,500 Square Feet, and Exempting Affordable Housing Projects With No More
Than 50 Units from Development Review Permit and Conditional Use Permit
Requirements in All Zoning Districts Except in the LMSD, DP, BP, and R-MH
Districts.
INTRODUCTION
This
report recommends that the City Council introduce for first reading an interim
ordinance extending for 18 months the interim ordinance that lowered the
development review thresholds in the Downtown to 7,500 square feet, established
exemptions from the interim ordinance if specified percentages of the housing
units are affordable, and added a broader City-wide exemption from development
review and conditional use permit requirements for 100% affordable housing
projects containing fifty units or less.
The initial 45-day interim ordinance will expire on December 27, 2002
unless extended prior to that date.
The proposed ordinance will extend the
interim standards until June 26, 2004.
The proposed ordinance is contained in Attachment A.
On September 24, 2002, the City
Council introduced the initial ordinance for first reading. Following second
reading and adoption, this ordinance will be effective for forty-five days and
will expire on December 27, 2002. The
proposed ordinance would extend the initial interim ordinance for an additional
18 months.
At
the September 24, 2002 City Council meeting, Council directed staff to: 1)
consider excluding the Bayside Commercial (BSC) District from the lowered
development review thresholds; 2) consider incentives for mixed use development
in the Downtown; and 3) consider exempting residential projects that are
required to devote more than 20% floor area to non-residential pedestrian
orientated uses.
1) The recommended term of the proposed interim
ordinance extension is eighteen months.
During this time, staff in consultation with the community, will develop downtown design standards. These
standards will establish the community’s vision for development in the downtown
and provide greater predictability for applicants. In conjunction with development of the downtown design standards,
it is envisioned that an alternate development review process will be
established to implement the new standards.
Due to preparation of the downtown design standards, establishment of a
new development review process, and short term of the interim ordinance
extension, staff recommends that the BSC District and both sides of Wilshire
Boulevard be included in the proposed interim ordinance. Interim standards that
apply to the BSC, C3 and C3C Districts, including both sides of Wilshire Boulevard,
will ensure consistency throughout the Downtown while new standards are being
developed.
2) With regard to incentives for mixed-use
development, the current incentives appear to be effective in producing the
desired amount of residential development within the Downtown. In the Downtown, 24 mixed-use projects
containing 925 units have been built and/or filed over the past 4-˝ years. The zoning ordinance currently provides
substantial incentives for the production of residential development. In the BSC, C3 and C3C Districts, any floor
area devoted to residential uses is eligible to receive a FAR (Floor Area
Ratio) discount of 50%; the City eliminates the restriction on the number of
stories that can be built if the structure contains at least one floor of
residential use and offers increased maximum height to projects with a
designated number of floors of residential use. In addition, the floor area devoted to residential use is
discounted 50% when determining the threshold for a Development Review
permit. Given the substantial
incentives that the City already provides to facilitate housing development and
the success of these incentives, staff believes that additional incentives are
not warranted or appropriate at this time.
3)
The forty-five day interim ordinance currently provides an exemption if
a project contains a minimum of eighty percent of floor area devoted to
multi-family residential use provided a certain percentage of affordable
housing units are provided. A section
has been added to the interim ordinance to ensure that residential projects in
commercial districts which are required to devote more than twenty percent of
floor area to pedestrian oriented uses shall also be exempt if these projects
contain the maximum percentage of multi-family residential use authorized by
the Zoning Ordinance. This provision
was included in Ordinance No. 1999 (CCS) which lowered the development review
threshold in the City’s other non-residential districts.
As prepared, the proposed Ordinance is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) in that it can be seen with certainty that the proposed ordinance does not have the potential to significantly impact the environment. Indeed, the proposed Ordinance serves to further protect the environment by ensuring that development projects are designed to be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood and incorporate pedestrian design features. Providing an exemption for affordable housing projects consisting of not more than 50 units is consistent with the exemptions for affordable housing provided in CEQA.
Public Notice
A legal advertisement was published in the
“California” section of the Los Angeles Times at least ten consecutive calendar
days prior to the hearing. A copy of
the notice is contained in Attachment C.
Financial Impact
If the Council lowers the review
threshold, workload will increase and no funds are available to increase
staffing. Although the requirement of
preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will increase costs for
development applications, city revenues will not be impacted since applicants
reimburse environmental costs.
Additionally, on October 22, 2002, the City Council reordered the City Planning
Division priorities and associated consultant costs in order to accommodate
this work effort.
Conclusion
The recommended term of the extension is 18 months, or
until June 26, 2004. This length of extension
is necessary to complete the community process required for implementing a
permanent ordinance, which will involve preparation of design guidelines for
the Downtown and the creation of a new permit process. Staff estimates that drafting standards,
conducting the associated public process, and preparing the Zoning Ordinance
modifications will take approximately one year. The 18-month extension will ensure that the interim ordinance
remains in effect until the new standards have been implemented.
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Council
introduce the attached interim ordinance for first reading.
PREPARED BY: Suzanne Frick, Director of Planning and Community Development
Jay Trevino, Planning Manager
C: Public Notice