Attachment H
General Plan Analysis for the Ocean Avenue Project
2010 Land Use and Circulation Element Consistency
Vision, Mix of Uses, Development Intensity
The Ocean Avenue Project site is located in the 2010 LUCE’s Downtown District and has a Downtown Core General Plan Land Use Designation. Policies in this District are geared primarily toward reinforcing the Downtown as the focus of the City, encouraging a broad mix of uses and new investment in the District that creates dynamic daytime and evening activity, and reinforces the Downtown as the place with the greatest concentration of activity in the City.
As outlined in the LUCE, this broad mix of uses in the Downtown includes retail, hotels, office, high-density residential, and entertainment and cultural uses (Goal D.7, Policy D.7.1). With respect to Downtown residential development, units with a diversity of types, forms, sizes, tenure, and affordability for all income levels are encouraged (Policy D7.7). Policy D1.4 also states that new and expanded hotels and other visitor-serving uses are also to be encouraged.
General LUCE discussion about the Downtown District recognizes that the Downtown is considered a true urban place where streets are important pedestrian activity spaces, buildings are generally the tallest in the City, and the intensity of development is higher than in the rest of the City (page 1.3.8).
The LUCE’s Downtown District also specifically identifies the subject property as one of seven sites in the Downtown District to focus new investment given its accessibility to transit and ability to accommodate mixed-use development, contribute to the pedestrian-oriented environment, and support substantial community benefits; (Goal D1.5).
DCP Goal LU1 supports the Downtown Community Plan area as a high quality, mixeduse district offering opportunities for housing for people across the income spectrum, jobs, arts and culture, local-serving retail and community/visitor gathering places.
The proposed project is consistent with these LUCE and DCP goals and policies based on the project’s mix of uses comprised of a new full-service hotel, provision of 64 market-rate housing units, 25 deed-restricted affordable housing units, and 11 rentcontrolled housing units, retail and dining, and a full range of community benefits. These community benefits include the commitment to construct and operate a Cultural Uses Campus open to the public; protection of two designated historic Landmark Buildings; provision of publicly-accessible open space; and a development plan that includes buildings with a range of building heights from 53’ to a maximum height of 130’ while still providing substantial ground level open space on the parcel.
Urban Form and Design
With respect to urban form and design in the Downtown District, the LUCE provides guidance addressing neighborhood compatibility, pedestrian-oriented design, historic preservation, and improving connections to the open spaces just west of the District.
Specifically, Policy D10.2 highlights the need for new development along the east side of Ocean Avenue to provide landscaping and open space to create a visual connection to Palisades Park.
The importance of further enhancing the Downtown’s pedestrian-oriented environment is stated in LUCE Policy D8.1 which seeks to create a lively streetscape with places for people to socialize, small, landscaped gathering spaces and plazas. LUCE Policy D8.3, calls for designing buildings with a variety of heights, architectural elements, and shapes to create visual interest along the street, and LUCE Policy D8.7 encourages mixed-use development to have active ground floor uses that face the boulevard with residential or office uses located on the upper floors.
Finally, given the Downtown’s significant role in the City’s history and the array of buildings that exemplify this history, LUCE Policy D7.5 supports exploration of options for the adaptive reuse or retention of historic resources and requires new buildings constructed in proximity to existing historic resources to respect the context and character-defining features of the historic resource.
The project’s urban design and building massing strategy are consistent with these LUCE goals and policies. Through continued study, the project has been comprehensively modified to more clearly address the project’s relationship to each its neighborhood context, and comply with the 2017 DCP development parameters that were established addressing requirements for pedestrian orientation, open space, and context appropriate scale.
Transportation and Circulation
There are a number of LUCE and DCP circulation goals and policies that are relevant to the Ocean Avenue Project proposal. These goals and policies support the integration of land use and transportation by addressing vehicle trip reduction, parking availability, and multi-modal network improvements within transit-oriented districts such as Downtown.
Encourage major employers to provide covered and secure bicycle parking and shower and locker facilities for their bicycle commuters, or to assist in funding bicycle transit centers in nearby locations in order to help create a complete network of high-quality bicycle facilities in the City (Goal T9 and Policy T10.2). Provide adequate parking in residential and commercial neighborhoods by creating new parking only as necessary based on demand studies, sharing and better managing existing parking resources (Goal T22, Goal T23). Create an integrated transportation and land use program that seeks to limit total peak period vehicle trips with a Santa Monica origin or destination to 2009 levels by imposing appropriate TDM program requirements; implementing land use policies that focus development potential in locations best served by transit; and requiring community benefits incentives so that new development will contribute toward improving surrounding neighborhoods (Goal T19, Policies T19.1 and T19.6).
Leverage the economic, environmental and social value of the Expo Line terminus by providing additional mixed-use development opportunities on nearby sites; also provide affordable housing, local employment, and robust community benefits emphasizing a walkable district through design and the application of extensive TDM measures (DCP Policy LU5.1).
Sustainability and Climate Change, Housing, and Community Enrichment There are a series of LUCE and DCP goals and policies addressing sustainability and climate change, housing, and community enrichment that would provide guidance for the proposed project. In summary, these LUCE policies emphasize integration of land use and transportation by focusing development near transit and creating complete neighborhoods; support construction of affordable and workforce housing; and development of programs and amenities that support community culture, art, and recreation:
Implement the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) reduction policies of the LUCE that focus new growth in mixed-use, transit-oriented districts; focus new growth along existing corridors and nodes; support the creation of walkable neighborhoods; and support a wide range of pedestrian, bicycle, and transit improvements in the City (Sustainability and Climate Change Policy S2.1)
Improve the environmental performance of buildings with respect to energy, water, and other sustainability standards (Sustainability and Climate Change Goal S5).
Set project standards requiring designers and developers to consider and integrate sustainable practices on site, infrastructure and building design beginning early in the design process, and throughout the project’s life cycle (DCP LU5.3).
Require compliance with the Affordable Housing Production Program and seek additional opportunities to increase the percentage of affordable housing as a component of for-sale and mixed-use housing projects (Housing Policy H1.2). Incentivize additional affordable housing and workforce housing as a community benefit along the boulevards and in the districts (Housing Policy H1.7 and H2.2). Expand the amount, quality, diversity, and interconnectivity of parks, open space, and recreational facilities throughout the City, in particular, outdoor gathering places such as paseos, plazas, and outdoor dining areas in activity centers, along boulevards, and near new transit stations (Community Enrichment Goal CE1 and Policy CE1.1)
The proposed project has incorporated a wide range of sustainable design features and commitments into its design and operations. These include energy and water usage reductions, implementation of a TDM Program, inclusion of an on-site system for rainwater and greywater capture and use of recycled water for project landscaping, and EV vehicle charging infrastructure. The project will also provide 25 deed-restricted affordable housing units, as well as publicly-accessible open space area on the parcel.
All of project components are consistent with LUCE and DCP goals and policies as outline above.