City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: October 24, 2023
Agenda Item: 8.A
1 of 7
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Engineering and Street Services
Subject: Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance Replacing Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 7.04.800 (Access and Street Improvements) in its Entirety
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of exemptions pursuant to Section 15301, 15303, 15304, and 15305 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines and Section 21080.25 of CEQA.
2. Introduce for first reading the attached ordinance replacing the codified text of Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 7.04.800 in its entirety to clarify the City’s public right of way requirements for new development.
Summary
The City of Santa Monica is the owner and caretaker of the public right-of-way (ROW) and strives to ensure that the public ROW addresses the various needs of the community. New development and re-development on private parcels in the City cause traffic circulation impacts to the adjacent public ROW by increasing pedestrian and vehicular traffic, necessitating ROW dedications and related infrastructure improvements to ensure adequate traffic and pedestrian circulation and safety.
The City Engineer is responsible for enforcing the City’s public ROW standards for new development and re-development on private parcels. Chapter 7.04.800 sets forth the City’s public right of way requirements in general, but many of the City’s standard requirements are not clearly stated in the ordinance, including the circumstances under 2 of 7
which sub-standard alleys (typically 15 feet wide) must be widened to meet the 20 foot width standard necessary for adequate vehicular and pedestrian traffic circulation, as well as sufficient fire equipment and Resource Recovery and Recycling (RRR) truck access, in order to provide essential City services for such new development and redevelopment.
On March 14, 1978, Council adopted the existing ordinance, Chapter 7.04.800 – Access and street improvements – of the City’s Municipal Code with no amendments made since that time. The proposed update to this existing code section would clarify and accentuate the applicability of ROW acquisition and required ROW enhancements associated with private development and re-development projects in various zones in the city. The City Engineer recommends that Council adopt the proposed ordinance to replace ordinance Chapter 7.04.800 in its entirety.
Discussion
Council adopted Chapter 7.04.800 establishing access and street improvement regulations on March 14, 1978, and since this time, there have been no updates to this chapter. The proposed code section would improve, clarify, and provide a nexus connecting the requirements to applicable or eligible private development and redevelopment project types within the City. Staff from various departments, including Public Works, City Attorney’s Office, and Community Development, have collaborated to update Chapter 7.04.800 of the Municipal Code addressing the applicability of specific development or re-development project types to comply with various ROW acquisition and off-site improvement requirements as a direct impact from private development.
Highlights of the proposed ordinance are summarized in Table 1 and expanded on with several examples below of previous projects that required ROW acquisition and off-site improvements. The proposed changes further clarify key terms, applicability of development and re-development projects, and specific provisions for compliance prior to issuance of a final Certificate of Occupancy for the building development. 3 of 7
Project
type
Right-of-Way
Dedication
Off-Site Improvements
Dedication
(alleys)
Dedication
(streets
and
highways)
Sidewalk,
Parkways,
Curb and
Gutter,
Street Trees
Alley Paving,
Alley Lighting
(as required),
Utilities
Relocation
Roadway Paving,
Traffic Signals, and
Street Signs, Street
Lights, and Utilities
Relocation
Major
Projects X X X X X
All
other
projects
X
X
(as needed)
Table 1: Summary of Dedication and Off-Site Improvement Requirements Key Definitions
• Major Project: A “major project” is defined to be a residential, commercial, industrial, or institutional development which is defined in Chapter 9 of SMMC.
Meaning a Major Project would have to be a new development or redevelopment of a Parcel(s) that entails the construction of “Principal Structure(s)” as a “Newly Constructed Building”.
• Principal Structure is a main building (not an accessory building). • Newly Constructed Building is a new Principal Structure or addition or modification to existing Principal Structures where 50% of exterior walls are removed (as defined in Chapter 9 of SMMC).
4 of 7
Examples: Easement Dedication of ROW (ROW acquisition)
A new development provides an easement dedication to widen a non-standard alley.
The vehicular access to the new development is from the alley which will increase vehicular volumes in the alley causing vehicular circulation impacts. The existing alley was 15 ft in width. A City standard 20 ft alley width required 2.5 ft of dedication on the development side (which is ½ of the standard width measured from the centerline of the alley). Most substandard alleys in the city are 15 ft wide. See Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Alley Easement Dedication Example
(For Vehicular Access and Circulation)
Cities throughout the state have adopted a 20-foot wide alley standard to ensure adequate access for two-way car traffic, to accommodate trash bins and allow access for trash trucks to conduct pick-ups, to align with fire code to ensure adequate space for fire trucks during emergencies, and allow enough room for all the utilities to service residents and businesses. Approximately ninety percent (90%) of City’s alleys are 20 feet wide. The remaining alleys that are less than 20 feet wide are considered substandard.
Another easement dedication example would be a curb ramp easement dedication. The project required upgrades to the existing curb ramp which included part of the landing area of the curb ramp to encroach onto the development property requiring an easement dedication for pedestrian access (as shown by green triangle in Figure 2 below).
5 of 7
Figure 2: Curb Ramp Easement Dedication (for Pedestrian Access) Example: Off-site Improvements
As part of the development shown in Figure 3, the developer was required to implement various offsite improvements due to the impact of the development on the surrounding ROW. New sidewalk, curb & gutter, curb ramp and roadway paving improvements were implemented along the entire frontage and rear of the property along the alley. For example, the development was required to pave the full width of the street on both 5th Street and Broadway due to the various trenching operations that occurred within the street, along with anticipated heavy vehicle and equipment usage of the street roadways including the alley.
Figure 3: Off-Site Improvements: New Sidewalk, Curb & Gutter, Curb Ramp and Paving
Public Outreach
The community was notified of the proposed ordinance updates by staff and an inperson outreach meeting was held on April 12, 2023, in the City Council Chambers.
City staff mailed and emailed notification of the proposed ordinance changes to 6 of 7
community members, developers, consultants, contractors, and attorneys potentially affected by the update, informing them of pending clarifying updates to the existing ordinance.
After the public meeting, staff circulated a draft of the ordinance and a copy of the presentation given on April 12, 2023. The documents were and are currently posted on the City website in order to garner stakeholder feedback and public input prior to the Council meeting. During the feedback period, between April 2023 and July 2023, staff received clarification questions on a couple of key points in the ordinance. Staff subsequently met with stakeholders to address pertinent comments while updating the draft ordinance with the collective input received. This resulted in refined definitions of project types that would prompt ROW dedication and off-site requirements and helped clarify the effect ROW dedications would have on project development standards (e.g.
Floor Area Ratio calculations and parcel setback requirements).
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
3/14/1978 (Attachment A) Ordinance adding Section 7164 to the Santa Monica Municipal Code, pertaining to public access and improvement requirements for development projects (CCS No. 1085)
Environmental Review
The ordinance is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Sections 15301, 15303, 15304, 15305 of the CEQA Guidelines and Section 21080.25 of CEQA. Section 15301 (Class 1 – Existing Facilities) exempts projects that consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. Section 15303 (Class 3 – New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures) exempts the construction and location of limited numbers of new, small facilities or structures; installation of small new equipment and facilities in small structures; and the conversion of existing small structures from one use to another where only minor modifications are made in the exterior of the structure. Section 15304 (Class 4 – Minor Alterations to Land) exempts 7 of 7
minor public or private alterations in the condition of land, water, and/or vegetation which do not involve removal of healthy, mature, scenic trees except for forestry or agricultural purposes. Section 15305 (Class 5 – Minor Alterations in Land Use Limitations) exempts minor alterations in land use limitations in areas with an average slope of less than 20%, which do not result in any changes in land use or density.
Additionally, Section 21080.25 of CEQA states that CEQA does not apply to pedestrian and bicycle facilities that improve safety, access, or mobility, including new facilities, within the public right-of-way. The ordinance would establish easement requirements on existing streets/alleys and right of way enhancements such as widening, sidewalk improvements, new paving, and curb improvements to improve vehicular and pedestrian safety. Therefore, the ordinance is exempt from CEQA.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There are no financial or budgetary impacts to the City as a result of the recommended action. Staff will return to Council if specific budget actions are required in the future.
Prepared By: Joshua Carvalho, Civil Engineer
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Existing Ordinance 3_14_78 Ordinance (CCS No. 1085)
B. Proposed Ordinance
C. PowerPoint Presentation