Planning Commission Meeting: June 16, 2004 Santa Monica,
California
TO: The Honorable Planning
Commission
FROM: Planning Staff
SUBJECT: Text Amendment 04-005 Regarding Permitted
Uses, Prohibited Uses, Allowable Floor Area Ratios and the Development Review
Threshold for the C2 Neighborhood Commercial District on Montana Avenue
INTRODUCTION
The proposed text amendment would adopt permanent standards to replace
the provisions of Interim Ordinance No. 2106 (CCS) relative to permitted uses,
prohibited uses, allowable floor area ratios and the development review
threshold for the Montana Avenue commercial district. Ordinance No. 2106 (CCS)
is due to expire on September 11, 2004.
BACKGROUND
On
December 7, 1999, the City Council considered written communication and
testimony from community organizations and concerned residents regarding
increased business and development activity in the Montana Avenue neighborhood
commercial district. Problems included
inadequate parking for retail businesses with incidental food service; sidewalk
intrusion from sidewalk dining and news racks, the lack of landscaping at
building frontages, and development incompatible with the scale of the existing
neighborhood commercial district and adjacent residential neighborhood.
The
City Council directed staff to return with an interim ordinance to address the
following issues:
(1) Floor
Area Ratio (FAR);
(2) Discretionary review thresholds;
(3) Sidewalk dining and incidental food
service establishments; and
(4) Setbacks and landscaping along Montana
Avenue.
Staff proposed an interim ordinance to the Council which addressed the above issues but did not recommend changes to the front setback or landscaping requirements as this issue will be addressed during the planning process to revise development standards for the Montana Avenue neighborhood commercial district. On May 23, 2000 the City Council adopted Ordinance No.1975 (CCS) amending the allowable floor area ratios, the development review threshold, permitted uses and prohibited uses in the C2 Neighborhood Commercial district along Montana Avenue. The provisions of Ordinance No. 1975 (CCS) were extended until September 11, 2004 by Ordinance No. 1978 (CCS) adopted on June 27, 2000, Ordinance No.2040 (CCS) adopted on March 5, 2003 and Ordinance no. 2106 (CCS) adopted on January 13, 2004 to provide staff with additional time to implement a permanent ordinance.
Ordinance No. 2106 (CCS) required staff to disapprove all applications for administrative approval and development review permits filed after May 23, 2000 for any development or business within the C2 District on Montana Avenue between 6th Court and 17th Street, unless the project or business complies with standards contained in the ordinance. It also allowed existing cinemas as a permitted use.
Floor Area Ratios
The Zoning Ordinance currently allows the following
maximum floor area ratios (FAR) along Montana Avenue:
|
Parcel Square Footage |
FAR |
FAR if at Least Thirty Percent of Project is
Residential, or if at Least Eighty Percent of the project is a Grocery Store |
|
|
0 – 7,500 |
|
0.75 |
0.75 |
|
7,501 – 15,000 |
|
0.50 |
0.75 |
|
15,000 – 22,500 |
|
0.45 |
0.65 |
|
22,501 and up |
|
0.40 |
0.55 |
While development standards along Montana
Avenue are the most restrictive commercial standards in the City, given the
proximity to residential uses, the low scale character of the street, and the
concern that recent development projects may not be consistent with the purpose
and intent of a neighborhood commercial district, staff believes a reduction in
development standards is warranted. The
following is recommended, which is consistent with the provisions of the
interim ordinance:
|
Parcel Square Footage |
FAR |
FAR if at Least Thirty Percent of Project is
Residential |
|
|
0 – 7,500 |
|
0.60 |
0.75 |
|
7,501 – 15,000 |
|
0.40 |
0.75 |
|
15,000 – 22,500 |
|
0.35 |
0.65 |
|
22,501 and up |
|
0.25 |
0.55 |
These standards provide a 20% to 25% reduction in maximum permitted development. This would result in buildings with FARs that are more consistent with the typical FAR in the area, which is .60 or less. The greatest percentage reduction is recommended for the larger parcels. No FAR changes are recommended for projects where at least 30% of the project is residential. In order to encourage mixed-use development, staff continues to support incentives for residential development in commercial districts. However, staff does not recommend that the proposed ordinance retain the existing FAR incentive for grocery stores as this use is well represented on Montana Avenue.
Discretionary Review Threshold
The discretionary review threshold in the C2
district is currently 11,000 square feet.
Any project exceeding this size requires Planning Commission approval of
a Development Review permit. The most
recently approved projects in the area include a 2-story, 10,998 square foot
building and a 2-story, 10,996 square foot building. Both projects are on an
approximately 15,000 square foot parcel and just under the threshold for
Planning Commission review. Although these projects are consistent with the
Zoning Ordinance, the community has expressed concern that this size of
development is out of character with the existing building scale and
incompatible with the single-family neighborhood to the north and multi-family
neighborhood to the south.
The majority of parcels along Montana Avenue are 7,500 square feet or
less. Based on the FAR contained in the
proposed ordinance, the maximum development on a 7,500 square foot parcel would
be 4,500 square feet. Staff believes a
4,500 square foot development, which is less than half the size of the most
recent projects approved on Montana Avenue, would not impact the intensity of
uses or scale of development in the area.
Development on sites 15,000 square feet or larger would likely result in
projects that, at a minimum, are over 5,000 square feet. Additionally, 15,000 square foot sites could
encompass two to three parcels, depending on the lot size. Staff believes the potential development
size could result in adverse impacts on the surrounding area. Therefore, in order to allow closer review
of the location, size, massing, and placement of the proposed structure on the
project site, the proposed ordinance recommends that the 5,000 square foot
development review threshold contained in the interim ordinance be incorporated
into the Zoning Ordinance. This reduced
development review threshold will also facilitate greater public participation
in the permit process for new development on Montana Avenue.
Sidewalk
cafes and newsstands
Sidewalk cafes associated with restaurants and outdoor newsstands intrude into the pedestrian right-of-way, especially between 7th Street and 17th Street where the distance between the curb and property line is only 10 feet. Street signs, light poles, traffic signals and their control boxes, parking meters, fire hydrants, etc, further reduce this sidewalk width. Although sidewalk cafes and newsstands enhance the pedestrian environment of Montana Avenue, adding privately owned newsstands and sidewalk dining areas often leave areas of the Montana Avenue sidewalk difficult to travel along on a busy day. For these reasons, these uses were prohibited by the interim ordinance.
In February 2003 the Council directed staff to analyze and develop standards for sidewalk dining that would increase the opportunities for outdoor dining. As a result, Ordinance No. 2088 (CCS) was adopted by the Council in July 2003 which established an approval process administrated by staff for sidewalk dining areas City-wide of less than 200 square feet (Attachment B). Since these sidewalk dining areas enliven the sidewalk without a significant parking impact, additional off-street parking is not required pursuant to the provisions of the ordinance. To date, only 5 outdoor dining areas City-wide have been approved pursuant to the ordinance.
Ordinance No. 2088 (CCS) was not applied to the Montana Avenue commercial area because of the interim ordinance. However, staff believes that the provisions of Ordinance No. 2088 (CCS) should be applicable on Montana Avenue, which is one of the City’s pedestrian intensive commercial areas. Outdoor dining should be encouraged as an amenity that enlivens the street and promotes pedestrian activity and sense of neighborhood.
Based upon feedback from the 2 adjacent neighborhood groups and the Montana Avenue Merchants Association (see below), staff is recommending that the Zoning Ordinance not be modified and newsstands again be permitted pursuant to approval of a Performance Standards Permit (PSP) and sidewalk cafes be permitted consistent with Interim Ordinance No. 2088 (CCS) or any other ordinance that might extend the provisions of Ordinance No. 2088 (CCS) which allows sidewalk cafes City-wide under specified conditions. Sidewalk cafes that do not conform to the provisions of Ordinance No. 2088 (CCS) will be required to obtain a Performance Standards Permit.
Incidental
food service establishments
The
Zoning Ordinance allows retail establishments such as coffee shops, bakeries
and delis to include seating for on-site consumption of food or beverages. These businesses are defined as incidental
food establishments subject to the following restrictions: no orders are taken at tables or seats;
total seating area is limited to 250 square feet, or 33% of the retail space,
which ever is less; and no more than 20 seats are permitted. No additional off-street parking spaces are required
for this use because it is considered incidental and secondary to the primary
retail business activity.
The
majority of the establishments offering incidental food service are located
within the 5 block area between 7th Street and 12th
Street and in the 2 blocks between Euclid Street and 15th Street.
Incidental food serving establishments are a neighborhood serving use that
enhance Montana Avenue’s pedestrian character by encouraging patrons to
casually shop, walk, sit and enjoy pastry, coffee, juice and other deli-type
fare. However, the community has raised concerns that the concentration of
incidental food serving uses are contributing to the area’s parking congestion
which result from a slower turnover of patrons and available parking spaces. The parking problems appear particularly
acute in the multi-family district south of Montana Avenue since this area is
fully developed with limited on-street parking available.
The
parking problems in the area and particularly south of Montana Avenue result
from two basic factors: insufficient on-site residential parking and
insufficient on-site commercial parking. In some cases, on-site residential
parking spaces are being used for storage or other non-parking purposes,
necessitating the use of limited on-street parking spaces. In most cases,
however, the parking demand generated by residential and commercial uses is not
being met on-site. This demand comes from residents and from the owners,
employees and customers of the commercial businesses on Montana Avenue. Further, incidental food service uses, while
popular, are not destination uses and are among a number of different types of
businesses that attract local and other residents to stroll and shop along the
Montana Avenue commercial district
Based
upon feedback from the nearby neighborhood organizations and the Montana Avenue
Merchants Association, staff is recommending that the prohibition against
incidental food service be lifted. At present, incidental food service is
limited to those that had authorization for such use prior to the interim
ordinance. The merchants and neighbors indicated to staff that they wanted to
continue to allow customers the opportunity to casually shop, walk, sit and
enjoy a quick snack and beverage inside the establishment or on the sidewalk at
other food and beverage serving establishments on the street.
The
proposed text amendments are consistent and reinforce the City’s Land Use
Element (LUE) policies and objectives.
Specifically, the proposed text amendments are consistent with those
City–wide objectives and the policies and objectives for the Neighborhood
Commercial Districts and Urban Design which are intended to encourage the
preservation of the City’s neighborhoods, neighborhood serving uses and the
pedestrian scale and character of public spaces.
CEQA
STATUS
The project is exempt from the provisions of the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of
the State Implementation Guidelines in that the project lowers density
standards and the discretionary review threshold in the C2 zoning district
along Montana Avenue. As a result, projects will be smaller in size and more
projects will be subject to discretionary and environmental review. The project
also lifts interim prohibitions against sidewalk cafes, incidental food service
and newsstands. These uses are
currently permitted by the Zoning Ordinance throughout the City, including all
C2 Neighborhood Commercial Districts. As a result, removing the interim
prohibition of the uses will not result in any new environmental impacts. As individual
projects are submitted for approval, they will be individually reviewed
pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act. If it is determined that a project subject to CEQA has the
potential to cause a direct physical change to the environment, additional
analysis will be completed in accordance with the provisions and requirements
of the California Environmental Quality Act.
HISTORIC
RESOURCES INVENTORY STATUS
The proposed
text amendment will not have impacts on historic resources in that the proposed
text amendment does not remove any of the existing protections for properties
identified on the City’s Historic Resources
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
Pursuant to Government Code Section 65804, notice of the
public hearing for the Text Amendment was published in the “California” Section
of the Los Angeles Times newspaper at least ten consecutive calendar
days prior to the hearing. Notice of
the public hearing was also sent to all neighborhood organizations, interested
persons and organizations on the City’s comprehensive mailing list, and posted
on the City’s Web site. A copy of the
notice is contained in Attachment A. A
public notice similar to the one published in the Los Angeles Times has been
placed at the public planning counter to provide additional notice.
Conclusion
The proposed text amendment will lower allowable
floor area ratios along Montana Avenue to ensure that commercial development is
more compatible and in scale with the adjacent neighborhoods. The development
review threshold will be lowered to 5,000 square feet to allow for closer review
of the location, size, massing, and placement of proposed developments and
facilitate greater public participation in the permit process for new
development on Montana Avenue. Incidental food service, newsstands and sidewalk
dining will be allowed back on Montana Avenue to enhance the pedestrian
environment and allow neighbors and customers alike to enjoy the ambience of
the street.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Planning Commission
recommend approval of the proposed text amendment to the City Council, based on
the following findings:
1.
The proposed amendment is consistent in principle with the
goals, objectives, policies, land uses, and programs specified in the adopted
General Plan in that Land Use Element Objective
#1.1 states (in part): “Ensure neighborhood participation in the City planning
process”. Decreasing the development review threshold to 5,000 square feet is
consistent with this objective. Objective #1.1 also states (in part):
“Protecting the quality of life in all residential neighborhoods.” Objective
#3.2 states: “Protect the scale and
character of residential neighborhoods adjacent to commercial areas.” Reducing
the allowable floor area ratios to ensure more compatible commercial
development with the adjacent neighborhoods is consistent with this
objective. Objective #1.7 states:
“Protect and expand uses that provide for the day-to-day shopping and service
needs of nearby residents. The City shall encourage the provision of
neighborhood commercial services within walking distance of all neighborhoods.”
Objective #3.3 states: “Enhance the pedestrian scale and character of streets
and public spaces.” Policy #3.3.13 requires that ground floor street frontage
in neighborhood commercial districts feature pedestrian-oriented design
qualities.” Restoring opportunities for sidewalk dining is consistent with
these objectives and policies.
2. The public
health, safety, and general welfare require the adoption of the proposed
amendment in that reducing the allowable floor area ratios and development
review threshold will provide for more public input into larger development
projects and will help ensure for more compatible commercial development
adjacent to two residential neighborhoods. In addition, providing for
opportunities for sidewalk dining and incidental food service will enhance the
pedestrian character of Montana Avenue and enhance neighborhood serving food
and beverage-oriented retail and restaurant uses on the street.
Prepared
by: Suzanne Frick, Director
Amanda Schachter, Planning Manager
Paul Foley, Senior Planner
Planning and Community Development Department
Attachment:
A: Notice of Public Hearing
B.
Ordinance No. 2088
(CCS)
C.
Letters to Council from
NOMA, Wilmont and Montana Merchants Association, March 2003
D.
Proposed Text Amendment
PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS TO
PART 9.04.08.16 C2 NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL DISTRICT
Added language in Italics
Deleted language in Strike-out
9.04.08.16.10
Purpose.
The C2 District is intended to
protect and enhance neighborhood commercial areas by promoting the
concentration of businesses that provide convenience goods and services used
frequently by local residents. This District
provides for a scale and character of development that is consistent with
pedestrian-orientation and which tends to attract and promote a walk-in
clientele. Development within this
District should maximize humans scale elements while providing a sensitive
transition between these uses and neighboring residences, including the provision
of adequate and properly sited parking facilities. Additionally, the C2 District encourages residential mixed use of
commercially zoned parcels to further enhance the transition between
neighborhood commercial and adjacent residential uses, consistent with the
goals, objectives and policies of the General Plan.
9.04.08.16.020 Permitted Uses.
The following convenience goods and service type uses shall be
permitted in the C2 district, if conducted within an enclosed building, except
where otherwise permitted:
(a) Appliance stores.
(b) Appliance repair shops.
(c) Art galleries.
(d) Artist studios above the first floor.
(e) Branch offices of banks or savings and
loan institutions.
(f) Barber or beauty shops.
(g) Child day care centers.
(h) Cinemas in existence prior to May 23,
2000.
(i) Cleaners.
(j) Congregate housing.
(k) Domestic violence shelters.
(l) General
offices above the first floor; and on the ground floor for parcels located at
least one hundred fifty feet from Montana Avenue, Ocean Park Boulevard, or Pico
Boulevard.
(m) General retail and specialized retail
uses.
(n) Homeless shelters with less than
fifty-five beds.
(o) Laundromats.
(p) Libraries.
(q) Multifamily dwelling units.
(r) Offices and
meeting rooms for charitable, youth, and welfare organizations.
(s) Photocopy shops.
(t) Places of worship.
(u) Plant
nurseries (provided all supplies, except planted stock, are kept entirely
within an enclosed building).
(v) Restaurants
of fifty seats or less and at which no alcohol is served or consumed.
(w) Schools.
(x) Senior group housing.
(y) Senior housing.
(z) Shoe repair stores.
(aa) Single-family dwelling units.
(bb) Single-room occupancy housing.
(cc) Specialty offices.
(dd) Tailors.
(ee) Theaters with fewer than seventy-five
seats.
(ff) Transitional housing.
(gg) Accessory uses which are determined by the Zoning Administrator
to be necessary and customarily associated with, and appropriate, incidental,
and subordinate to, the principal permitted uses and which are consistent with
and no more disturbing or disruptive than permitted uses.
(hh) Other uses determined by the Zoning
Administrator to be similar to
those listed above which are consistent with and no more
disturbing or disruptive than permitted uses.
9.04.08.16.030 Uses subject to performance standards
permit.
(a)
Large family day care
homes.
(b) Sidewalk cafes.
9.04.08.16.035 Uses subject to use permit.
(a) Outdoor newsstand.
9.04.08.16.040 Conditionally permitted uses.
The following uses may be permitted in the C2 District subject to
the approval of a Conditional Use Permit.
(a)
Banks and savings and
loan institutions.
(b)
Expansion or
intensification of automobile repair facilities existing as of July 11, 1995.
(c)
Homeless shelters with
fifty-five beds or more.
(d)
Medical, dental and
optometrist offices provided that the use does not exceed twenty-five percent
fo the total square footage of the building, or three thousand square feet,
whichever is less.
(e)
Restaurants of fifty
seats or less at which alcohol is served or consumed.
(f)
Service stations.
(g)
Take-out or fast-food
restaurants.
(h)
Theaters over
seventy-five seats.
9.04.08.16.050 Prohibited uses.
(a) Cinemas, unless in existence prior to
May 23, 2000.
(b) Drive-in and drive-through restaurants.
(c) Firearms dealerships.
(d) Parking
structures located below the ground in conjunction with commercial development,
except for parking below grade exclusively for residential uses.
(e) Rooftop parking.
(f) Any use not specifically authorized.
9.04.08.16.060 Property development standards.
All property in the C2 District shall be developed in accordance
with the following standards:
(a) Front Yard
Setback. Landscaping as required pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code
Part 9.04.10.04. The building must comply with build-to-line requirements
pursuant to the provisions contained in Santa Monica Municipal Code Section
9.04.10.02.050.
(b) Maximum Building Height. Two
stories, not to exceed thirty feet.
(c) Maximum Floor
Area Ratio. The maximum floor area ratio shall be determined as follows:
(1) C2
District along Montana Avenue:
FAR if at Least Thirty
Percent of Project is
Residential
Parcel Square
Footage FAR
0 – 7,500 0.60 .75 0.75
7,501 – 15,000 0.40
.50
0.75
5,001 – 22,500 0.35
.45
0.65
22,501 and up 0.25
.40
0.55
(2)
C2 District other than
Pico Boulevard along Ocean Park Boulevard:
FAR if at Least Thirty
Percent of Project is
Residential,
or if at Least Eighty Percent of the project is a Grocery Store
Parcel Square
Footage FAR
0 – 7,500 0.75 0.75
7,501 – 15,000 0.50 0.75
5,001 – 22,500 0.45 0.65
22,501 and up 0.40 0.55
(3)
C2 District on Pico
Boulevard:
FAR if at Least Thirty
Percent of Project is
Residential,
or if at Least Eighty Percent of the project is a Grocery Store
Parcel Square
Footage FAR
0 – 7,500 1.0 1.0
7,501 – 15,000 0.70 1.0
5,001 – 22,500 0.60 0.85
22,501 and up 0.50
0.75
(d) Minimum Lot Size.
Seven thousand five hundred square feet. Each parcel shall have minimum
dimensions of fifty feet by one hundred fifty feet, except that parcels
existing on the effective date of this Chapter shall not be subject to this
requirement.
(e) Rear Yard Setback. None, except:
(1) Where rear parcel line abuts a
residential district, a rear yard equal to:
5' + (stories x lot width)
50'
The required rear yard may be used for parking or loading to
within five feet of the rear parcel line provided the parking or loading does
not extend above the first floor level and provided that a wall not less than
five feet or more than six feet in height is erected and maintained along the
rear commercial parcel line.
Access driveways shall be permitted to cross perpendicularly the
required rear yard provided the driveway does not exceed the minimum width
permitted for the parking area. A required rear yard shall not be used for
commercial purposes.
(2) That needed to
accommodate landscaping and screening for a rear yard buffer required pursuant
to the provisions of Part 9.04.10.04.
(f) Side Yard Setback. None, except:
(1) Where the interior
side parcel line abuts a residential district, an interior side yard equal to:
5' + (stories x lot width)
50'
The interior side yard may be used for parking or loading to
within five feet to the interior side property line provided the parking or
loading does not extend above the first floor level and provided a wall not
less than five feet or more than six feet in height is erected and maintained
along the side commercial parcel line. A required interior side yard shall not
be used for access or for commercial purposes.
(2) That needed to
accommodate landscaping required for a street side yard, landscape buffer and
screening pursuant to the provisions of Part 9.04.10.04.
(3) A ten-foot setback
from an interior property line shall be required for
portions
of buildings that contain windows, doors, or other openings into the interior
of the building. An interior side yard less than ten feet shall be permitted if
provisions of the Uniform Building Code related to fire-rated openings in side
yards are satisfied.
(g) Development
Review. A Development Review Permit is required for any development of more
than eleven thousand square feet of floor area, except that within the C2
District along Montana Avenue, a Development Review Permit shall be required
for any development of more than 5,000 square feet. Square footage devoted
to residential use shall be reduced by fifty percent when calculating whether a
development review permit is required.
9.04.08.16.065 Deed restrictions.
Prior to issuance of a building permit for a project which,
pursuant to this Part, has received a density bonus, or was not subject to a
development review permit because the calculation of the residential square
footage of the project was reduced by fifty percent, the applicant shall
submit, for City review and approval, deed restrictions or other legal
instruments setting forth the obligation of the applicant to maintain the
residential use of the project for the life of the project.
9.04.08.16.070 Special project design and development
standards.
Projects in the C2 District shall comply with the following
special project design and development standards:
(a)
Retail or restaurant
uses shall be limited to the first floor except that such uses may extend to a
mezzanine level.
(b)
Ground floor street frontage
of each structure shall be designed with pedestrian orientation in accordance
with Section 9.04.10.02.440 of this Chapter, and designed to accommodate
pedestrian-oriented uses to a minimum depth of fifty feet from the front of the
structure.
9.04.08.16.080 Architectural Review
All new
construction, additions to existing buildings, and any other exterior
improvements that require issuance of a building permit shall be subject to
architectural review pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 9.32 of this
Article.