Council Meeting 9-9-03 Santa Monica, California

ORDINANCE NUMBER ____ (CCS)

(City Council Series)

AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA

MONICA REQUIRING NEW OR EXPANDED USES ON THE THIRD STREET PROMENADE TO HAVE A PROMENADE FRONTAGE THAT DOES NOT EXCEED FIFTY LINEAR FEET AND REQUIRING ANY REMAINING PROMENADE FRONTAGE WITHIN THE BUILDING OR SITE TO PROVIDE A MINIMUM DEPTH OF FIFTY FEET

SECTION 1. Findings 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 and creating a pedestrian shopping mall pursuant to the Pedestrian Mall Act.

(b)The Third Street Mall failed. It did not attract shoppers; and, as a result, businesses on the mall continued to founder, and the downtown business district continued to decline.

(c) In 1986, the City Council again acted to revitalize the downtown by adopting a specific plan for transforming the failing mall.

(d) The Specific Plan made variety the foundation of the mall=s future, mandating a diverse mixture of uses and activities appealing to residents and visitors alike.

(e) Pursuant to this plan, the City embarked upon a substantial effort to transform the moribund Third Street Mall into an innovative 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 renamed the Third Street Promenade.

(f) From the time of its conception, the Promenade was distinguished from other shopping areas by the unusual and carefully balanced mix of opportunities it afforded, including street performance, sidewalk dining, cinema, bookstores, special events, clothing stores, specialty shops, and night clubs.

(g) Thus, the Third Street Promenade was conceived and created not simply as 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.

(i) The plan succeeded: the Third Street Promenade flourished, becoming a favored destination for local residents, Southern Californians and international travelers alike.

(j) As such, it became, and remains, an engine which drives Santa Monica=s economy.

(k) However, maintaining the delicate balance of entertainment, restaurants and retail uses, which is the foundation of the Third Street Promenade=s success, has been an ongoing challenge.

(l) 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 and diversity.

(m) In 1996, the City revised the Third Street Mall Specific Plan through the adoption of the Bayside District Specific Plan. A critical objective of this plan remained to A[a]ttract and accommodate a mix of uses@ serving residents, visitors and tourists during both daytime and evening hours. To this end, the specific plan established a ten-year projection and plan for facilitating controlled growth of retail outlets on the Third Street Promenade.

(n) In the ensuing years, retail growth far exceeded expectations. This trend threatened to convert the Promenade into an ordinary shopping mall.

(o) Therefore, in November of 2001, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS) establishing a moratorium on new and expanded ground floor retail use. This moratorium was extended by Ordinances Number 2032, 2062, and 2082 (CCS) for the reasons detailed in the findings of these ordinances and for the reasons given here. The findings of these moratorium ordinances describe the threat to the Promenade=s viability which the ordinances address.

(p) After adoption of Ordinance Number 2030 (CCS), the City Council established a Promenade Uses Task Force to study the Promenade issues, 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.

(q) The Task Force met regularly between May 2002 and March 2003, considering goals and objectives for the Promenade and the Downtown, reviewing relevant City policies and regulations, and conducting community workshops.

(r) The Task Force prepared a report and a series of recommendations for review by the City Council.

(s) The Task Force report identified oversized retail uses as limiting opportunities for a wide variety of storefronts. As the report explains, a mosaic of storefronts is critical to the Promenade=s vibrancy and vitality and enlivens and enriches its pedestrian-oriented character. The absence of such variety would adversely effect these essential components of the Promenade.

(t) The trend towards oversized uses is a significant threat to the diverse atmosphere of the Promenade.

(u) On June 10, 2003, the City Council reviewed the recommendations of the Promenade Uses Task Force and directed that staff return with an interim ordinance to respond to the threat posed by oversized uses.

(v) For these reasons, the City's zoning and planning regulations should be revised as they pertain to oversized uses on the Promenade.

(w) Pending completion of these permanent revisions, in order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, it is necessary on an interim basis to change current development standards as they relate to oversized retail uses on the Promenade.

(x) As described above, there exists a current and immediate threat to the public safety, health, and welfare should the interim ordinance not be adopted and oversized retail uses not be allowed consistent with these proposed revisions. Therefore, it is necessary to establish on an interim basis the following development standards.

SECTION 1. Promenade Frontage Requirements for New or Expanded

Uses

(a) A new or expanded use to be located on the Third Street Promenade shall only be issued a business license or building permit if the Third Street Promenade frontage of the new or expanded use would not exceed fifty (50) feet.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Section, no business license or building permit shall be issued for a new or expanded use if any remaining Promenade frontage on the site or within the building containing the use has a depth of less than fifty (50) feet.

(c) A new or expanded use shall also comply with the property development standards for the district in which it is to be located as set forth in the City=s Zoning Ordinance except to the extent inconsistent with this Section.

SECTION 2. This Ordinance shall apply to any business license or building permit application filed after September 9, 2003.

SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall be of no further force or effect sixty days from its effective date unless prior to that date, after a public hearing, noticed pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.20.22.050, the City Council, by majority vote, extends this interim ordinance.

SECTION 4. 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.

SECTION 5. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this 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 6. 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 thirty (30) days from its adoption.

APPROVED AS TO FORM:

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MARSHA JONES MOUTRIE

City Attorney