1 City Council Meeting: May 27, 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 SECTIONS
8.08.060 AND 8.08.070 TO EXTEND CERTAIN TIME FRAMES FOR BUILDING
PERMIT APPLICATIONS AND ISSUANCE
WHEREAS, Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 8.08.060 sets forth requirements and time frames for applications for permits issued under Article VIII of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, Building Regulations; and
WHEREAS, Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 8.08.70 sets forth requirements and time frames for permit issuance, extension, and renewal for permits issued under Article VIII of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, Building Regulations, including timeframes to start and complete construction work pursuant to the permit; and WHEREAS, on February 11, 2025, the City Council gave direction to staff to return with regulations granting all development, land use, or subdivision applications as allowed by applicable State law (including any such applications granted on appeal) that were approved prior to January 6, 2025 an extension of two years beyond their current expiration dates and all complete building permit applications submitted or issued prior to January 6, 2025 an extension of one year beyond their current expiration dates (including dates to start and complete work), provided that applicant attests the project will comply with current code requirements.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
2 SECTION 1. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 8.08.060 is hereby amended to read as follows:
§ 8.08.060 Permit Application
(a) Application. To obtain a permit, the applicant shall first file an application in writing on a form furnished by the Building Officer for that purpose. Every such application shall identify and describe the work to be covered by the permit for which each application is made, the responsible party for the work and such other information that the Building Officer may require to show conformance to applicable laws and regulations. When an architect or engineer prepares or is required to prepare submittal documents, the application shall designate the architect and/or engineer of record. (b) Submittal Documents. When required by the Building Officer, plans, specifications, engineering calculations, diagrams, soil investigation reports, sound tests, material tests, Construction Management Plans as required by Chapter 8.98 of this Code, special inspection and structural observation programs and other data shall be submitted with each application for a permit. When an architect or engineer does not prepare such plans, the Building Officer may require the applicant submitting such plans or other data to demonstrate that State law does not require that a licensed architect or engineer prepare the plans before accepting submittal documents or permit application.
Deferral of any submittal items shall require prior approval of the Building Officer.
If the Building Officer approves the deferral of submittals to a time after permit issuance, the approved plans shall list the deferred submittals. The deferred submittal items shall not be installed until the Building Officer has approved their design and submittal documents.
3 (c) Investigation. Whenever work for which a permit is required by this Chapter has been commenced without first obtaining a permit, a special investigation shall be made before a permit may be issued for such work when so ordered by the Building Officer. (d) Information on Plans and Specifications. Plans and specifications shall be drawn to scale and shall be of sufficient clarity to indicate the location, nature and extent of the work proposed and show in detail that it will conform to the provisions of all relevant laws, ordinances, rules and regulations.
(e) Special Inspection and Structural Observation Program. When the Building Code requires special inspection and/or structural observation, the architect or engineer of record shall prepare an inspection program which shall be submitted to the Building Officer for approval prior to issuance of the building permit. The inspection program shall designate the portions of the work to have special inspection, the name or names of the individuals or firms who are to perform the special inspections and indicate the duties of the special inspectors, including any required nondestructive testing.
The Building Officer, or when approved by the Building Officer, the owner, the engineer or architect of record, or an agent of the owner, but not the contractor or any other person responsible for the work, shall employ the special inspector. When structural observation is required, the inspection program shall name the individuals or firms who are to perform structural observation and describe the stages of construction at which structural observation is to occur. The inspection program shall include samples of inspection reports and provide time limits for submission of reports (f) Preconstruction Meetings. The Building Officer may require the permit holder to participate in a preconstruction conference prior to the completion of plan review and 4 permit issuance to review the plans and specifications for adequacy and sufficiency of details and conformance to building standards and interpretations. (g) Change of Architect or Engineer of Record. If the circumstances require, the owner may designate a substitute architect or engineer of record who shall perform all the duties required of the original architect or engineer of record. In such cases, the owner shall notify the Building Officer in writing if the architect or engineer of record is changed or is unable to continue to perform the duties. The architect or engineer of record shall be responsible for reviewing and coordinating all submittal documents prepared by others, including deferred submittal items, for compatibility with the design of the building. (h) Expiration of Application for Permit.
(1) A permit application shall expire if no permit is issued within eighteen months after the date the permit application is filed, except as provided below. (A) An application for a demolition permit for the demolition of residential buildings and structures, which are subject to the replacement project requirements of the City's Zoning Ordinance, shall expire if no permit is issued within two years following the date the application is filed. (B) An application for a permit for a project subject to the construction rate program of the City's Zoning Ordinance shall not expire while that project remains on the waiting list for a building permit.
(C) An application for a demolition permit for a building or structure in which the original permit was issued more than forty years before the date of filing of the demolition permit application shall expire if no permit is issued within three years following the date the application is filed. 5 (D) An application for a project that requires a Coastal Development Permit shall expire if no building permit is issued within three years of the building permit application filing date; however, if the project includes an approved vesting tentative map, the permit application expiration date shall be extended to be concurrent with the term of the vesting tentative map for the project.
(E) An application for a one hundred percent affordable housing project shall expire if no building permit is issued within three years of the building permit application filing date. For the purposes of this Section, one hundred percent affordable housing projects are any housing projects where all of the dwelling units are deed restricted as affordable to fifty percent AMI households, eighty percent AMI households, or moderate-income households.
(F) Notwithstanding the foregoing, all complete applications filed prior to January 6, 2025 shall be extended for an additional period of 1 year, provided that the applicant attests that the project will comply with all current code requirements applicable to the project.
(2) No action may be taken on an application after expiration. Plans and other data submitted for review may thereafter be returned to the applicant or purged by the Building Officer. To obtain a permit, applicants shall submit a new application, new submittal documents and pay a new plan review fee. All applicable standards in effect at the time of the new application shall then apply to the project
6 (i) Extensions. The Building Officer may grant three six-month extensions of the eighteen- month plan check time period set forth in subsection (h)(1) above. The Building Official may grant one twelve-month extension of the plan check time period set forth in (h)(1)(D) and (E), above. In all cases, the applicant must demonstrate that:
(1) No changes have been made or will be made to the original plans and specifications except as required by the original plan review; and (2) No pertinent laws or ordinances have been amended subsequent to the date the original application was filed which would cause the development project at issue to be inconsistent with such amended provisions; and (3) Any approvals granted under Article IX of the Municipal Code are still valid and have not expired; and
(4) Circumstances beyond the control of the applicant have prevented the permit from being issued in the authorized time period
SECTION 2. Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 8.08.070 is hereby amended to read as follows:
§ 8.08.070. Permit issuance, extension and renewal
(a) Issuance. If the Building Officer finds that the work described in an application for a permit and submittal documents conforms to the requirements of this Article, the California Building Standards Code and other pertinent laws and ordinances, and that the applicant has paid all required fees, the Building Officer shall issue a permit for the work to the applicant. When a permit is issued for which plans are required, the construction 7 documents shall be approved in writing or by stamp.
No building permit or demolition permit shall be issued by the City for any development that requires a coastal development permit under the California Coastal Act of 1976, Public Resources Code Section 30000 et seq., until such time as a coastal development permit has been issued for such development. (b) Partial Permit. The Building Officer may issue a permit for the construction of part of a building, structure or building service equipment before the entire plans and specifications for the whole building, structure or building service equipment have been submitted or approved, provided adequate information and detailed statements have been filed complying with all pertinent requirements. The holder of a partial permit shall proceed without assurance that the permit for the entire building, structure or building service will be granted.
(c) Expiration. Every permit issued under the provisions of this Code expires by limitation and becomes null and void when any of the following circumstances is applicable:
(1) Failure to Start Construction. If the building or work authorized by such permit is not started within one year from the date of permit issuance; (2) Cessation of Work. If the building or work authorized is suspended or abandoned at any time after the work has started, for a period of one hundred eighty days or more;
(3) Time to Complete. In addition to subsections (1) and (2) above, every permit issued under the provisions of this Chapter expires by limitation and becomes null and void when the time allowed to complete all work authorized by the permit exceeds three years from the date of permit issuance, except as provided in subsection (A). The time 8 allowed to complete all work authorized by a permit: (1) issued and active as of March 13, 2020; (2) issued between March 13, 2020 and December 31, 2022; or (3) issued pursuant to a complete application submitted between March 13, 2020 and December 31, 2022, shall be five years.
(4) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the time allowed to start and complete all work authorized by a permit issued prior to January 6, 2025 shall be extended for an additional period of 1 year, provided that the applicant attests that the project will comply with all current code requirements applicable to the project.
(d) Extensions.
(1) Extensions of time from the stated periods in subsection (c) above may be permitted for good reason, provided such requests are submitted to the Building Officer in writing prior to permit expiration. The written request must demonstrate that:
(A) Due to circumstances beyond the owner's or permittee's control, construction could not be commenced, continued or completed in the authorized time period;
(B) If construction has started, substantial progress has been made; (C) The condition of the property presents no health or safety hazard; and (D) The continued delay will not create any unreasonable aesthetic impact to the neighborhood or substantial economic detriment to neighboring property owners.
(2) The time periods set forth to start construction within one-year or resume construction after cessation of work for one hundred eighty days may each be extended no more than once, and the time period set forth to complete construction may be 9 extended no more than three times; however, if the project includes the preservation of a designated City of Santa Monica landmark, the period to complete construction may be extended no more than four times. Each extension of time shall not exceed one hundred eighty days.
(e) Extension Request Appeals. The decision of the Building Officer may be appealed to the Director of Planning and Community Development, who shall conduct a de novo review. Any such appeal shall be filed in writing within seven days of the decision of the Building Officer. The decision of the Director of Planning and Community Development shall be final.
(f) Renewal. Before any work authorized under an expired permit can be recommenced, the permit holder shall file an application for renewal. Such application shall include all original submittal documents and shall identify any changes that have been made or will be made in the original plans and specifications for such work. If the Building Officer finds that the work remaining to be completed under the permit conforms to the requirements of applicable codes and standards and other pertinent laws and ordinances, and that the applicant has paid all required fees, the Building Officer shall renew the permit for the work to the applicant. No work shall recommence until the renewal application and submittal documents are approved.
SECTION 3. 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.
10 SECTION 4. 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 5. 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