1 City Council Meeting: February 25, 2025 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER _________ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 8.12.040
TO DESIGNATE CITY HALL EAST AS AN ESSENTIAL FACILITY
WHEREAS, Government Code section 65300 requires each city and county to adopt a comprehensive, long-term General Plan “for the physical development of the county or city, and any land outside its boundaries which in the planning agency’s judgment bears relation to its planning”; and
WHEREAS, Government Code section 65302 requires that a General Plan include at least eight required “elements;” and
WHEREAS, Government Code section 65302(g)(1) requires a Safety Element as one of the required elements of the General Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Safety Element establishes the City’s goals, policies, and programs to reduce the short- and long-term risk of death, injuries, property damage, and social dislocation due to natural and human-made hazards, including, but not limited to, geologic hazards, including earthquakes, ground failure, and landslides; flooding; hazardous materials and waste; airport hazards; and climate change effects, including sea level rise, droughts, heat waves, and fire; and
WHEREAS, the Safety Element also includes mapping of known seismic and other geologic hazards and addresses evacuation routes, military installations, peakload water supply requirements, and minimum road and clearances around structures, as those items relate to identified fire and geologic hazards; and 2 WHEREAS, the City’s Safety Element was last updated on February 21, 1995; and WHEREAS, since that time, significant new information has become available on public safety risks in the City, including, but not limited to, the designation of the Santa Monica Fault Zone, flooding, wildfires, and climate change effects; and WHEREAS, additionally, the State has established new statutory requirements pertaining to the Safety Element; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 379 (2017) requires the City to address climate adaptation and resiliency through the preparation of a vulnerability assessment or reliance on a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan that addresses climate adaptation risks and vulnerabilities; and WHEREAS, Senate Bill 1035 (2018) requires the update of the Safety Element upon adoption of the Housing Element update, which shall be updated at least every eight years, to address new requirements and incorporate updated information during this time; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 99 (2019) requires the Safety Element to identify residential developments in any hazard area that does not have at least two emergency evacuation routes; and
WHEREAS, Assembly Bill 747 (2019) requires the Safety Element to be reviewed and updated as necessary to identify evacuation routes and their capacity, safety, and viability under a range of emergency scenarios; and
WHEREAS, the City adopted its Sixth Cycle Housing Element on October 11, 2022, which was certified by the California Department of Housing and Economic Development on or about October 14, 2022; and
3 WHEREAS, the City is also currently in the process of updating the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan which will identify local disaster hazards, assess the possibility of these hazards occurring and estimate potential costs, and identify actions to mitigate disaster losses; and
WHEREAS, integration of the Safety Element Update and Local Hazard Mitigation Plan ensures that City goals and policies to address hazards are aligned; and WHEREAS, the amended Safety Element includes updated goals, policies, and actions, including disaster preparedness, emergency response operations, and recovery; and
WHEREAS, the amended Safety Element provides a contextual framework and overview of the City’s hazard mitigation strategy and emergency response operation, including: (1) identifying potential evacuation routes and critical facilities; (2) describing the resources available to the public to help them prepare for and mitigate hazards; and (3) establishing the framework for improving the City’s effectiveness and capacity for emergency preparedness, response, and recovery; and
WHEREAS, “Essential Facilities” are those which are necessary for emergency operations subsequent to a natural or man-made disaster and are categorized as Risk Category IV as defined in Chapter 16 of the California Building Code; and WHEREAS, Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 8.12.040 designates police stations, fire stations, and City Hall as “Essential Facilities;” and WHEREAS, while the existing City Hall has been seismically retrofitted, its age and condition makes it unsuitable to serve as an Essential Facility, whereas the newly 4 constructed City Hall East is better equipped to satisfy the requirements of an essential facility; and
WHEREAS, as part of the Safety Element adoption, Staff is proposing that Section
8.12.040 of the Building Code be amended to replace “City Hall” with “City Hall East” as an identified Essential Facilities; and
WHEREAS, on October 9, 2024 and November 13, 2024, the Building and Fire Life Safety Commission conducted duly noticed public hearings to consider recommending to the City Council that the City Council adopt the updated Safety Element and the proposed amendment to Section 8.12.040; and
WHEREAS, on February 11, 2025, the City Council conducted a duly noticed public hearing to consider the Building & Fire Life Safety Commission’s recommendation and now desires to adopt the amendment to Section 8.12.040 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code to designate City Hall East as an Essential Facility.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 8.12.040 is hereby amended to read as follows:
§ 8.12.040 Essential facilities.
The following facilities are designated as essential facilities, which are necessary for emergency operations subsequent to a natural or man-made disaster: police stations, fire stations and City Hall East. Such facilities shall be categorized as Risk Category IV as defined in Chapter 16 of the California Building Code.
5 SECTION 2. 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 effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. 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 4. 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 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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Douglas Sloan, City Attorney