Improving engagement with the City’s boards and commissions through a variety of ways, including translating all city council and Rent Control Board agendas into SpanishVQPOSFRVFTU, and offering implicit bias training for commissioners.
Offering a nine-month mentorship program (SaMo Mentoring Initiative) to provide professional development opportunities for City of Santa Monica staff.
Collaborating with the California Conference for Equality and Justice to provide a training series covering core equity concepts and definitions across a range of topics to advance equity throughout our organizational culture.
Maintaining a public database of resources available to immigrant and other vulnerable communities in the changing political climate.
Partnering with Right to Be to support and empower our community members to take a stand against hate and intolerance. Collaborating with the California Conference for Equality and Justice to expand the “Conversations about Equity” dialogue series to the public.
Convening members of Santa Monica’s marginalized communities to form the Landback and Reparations Task Force, which is examining the harms done to those communities and exploring how to repair those harms.
Partnering with community members and organizations to provide history tours and host film screenings highlighting the histories of Communities of Color Citywide Equity Plan | 13
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Packet Pg. 408 Attachment: Attachment A - Santa Monica Citywide Equity Plan (7241 : Equity Plan) Five broad, multi-year goals have been identified for the Citywide Equity Plan. These goals emerged through community input, staff collaboration and data analysis. Each goal is supported by a set of established focus areas that guide the City’s long-term equity efforts.
Goals and Focus Areas
Goal 1: Confront and Repair
Harms through Truth,
Healing, and Restorative
Action
Acknowledge the City’s role
in past and present harm and
partner with communities
to design and implement
repair, using restorative justice
principles as a path to healing
and systemic change.
Goal 3: Expand Pathways to
Opportunity for Historically
Underserved Communities
Expand opportunities in housing,
education, economic mobility,
and wellness for members of
communities that have long
faced disinvestment.
Goal 2: Deepen Trust and
Belonging through Inclusive
Community Engagement
Commit to being a city
government that listens to
communities who have been
historically marginalized,
reflects on past and present
impacts, and works with these
communities to find meaningful
and healing solutions.
FOCUS AREAS
• Expand the understanding
of Santa Monica history
through preservation, art and
storytelling.
• Implement a Santa Monica
reparations program and
policy framework.
• Honor the contributions
of underrepresented
communities to Santa Monica.
FOCUS AREAS
• Build trusted relationships
with community groups.
• Reimagine Santa Monica’s
community engagement
to ensure more voices are
represented.
• Develop tools and processes
to create a broader
understanding of Santa
Monica’s services and budget.
• Support cultural celebrations
to create a better
understanding of different
cultures and histories within
Santa Monica.
FOCUS AREAS
• Develop specific plans and
strategies to advance equity
of different groups.
• Expand opportunities to
access affordable housing
and ownership.
• Broaden the community’s
understanding of equity
issues and integrate this
understanding into major
City initiatives to expand
community benefits for
historically underserved
groups.
14 | City of Santa Monica
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Packet Pg. 409 Attachment: Attachment A - Santa Monica Citywide Equity Plan (7241 : Equity Plan) Goal 5: Build a Culture
Where Equity Is Understood,
Practiced, and Valued
Create a workplace culture
where everyone feels included
and equity is understood and
practiced by staff, leaders, and
community partners.
Goal 4: Transform How
Government Works to
Deliver More Equitable
Outcomes
Deliver City services and
programs that are accessible,
safe, and welcoming to all,
supporting learning, connection,
and fair access across the
community.
FOCUS AREAS
• Set up clear ways to measure
progress and learn how City
actions affect people from
different backgrounds.
• Implement policies and
allocate resources to break
down systemic barriers to
City services and reduce
implicit and explicit bias when
working with the community.
• Expand opportunities
for representation and
inclusion on City boards and
commissions, task forces,
advisory boards, and other
working groups.
FOCUS AREAS
• Cultivate an organizational
culture that leads with equity.
• Expand opportunities for
people to work and be
promoted in City positions.
• Develop a broader
understanding of equity
and inclusion in the City’s
workforce through training
and City policies.
Santa Monica is
a city that values
diversity, inclusion,
and equity, and
we are committed
to upholding these
principles.
Lana Negrete, Mayor
Citywide Equity Plan | 15
8.A.a
Packet Pg. 410 Attachment: Attachment A - Santa Monica Citywide Equity Plan (7241 : Equity Plan) This section contains key projects and initiatives to advance equity in meaningful ways within each of the five goals. Together, these goals, focus areas, and projects form a roadmap for creating a more inclusive and equitable community— where every resident feels valued, supported, and able to access the resources and opportunities they need.
The projects listed below reflect the City’s commitment to advancing equity. Funding will be evaluated annually, with City staff actively pursuing public-private partnerships and alternative funding sources to support implementation. Each project includes a description, the lead department, and a timeline.
Key Projects
Goal 1: Confront and Repair Harms through
Truth, Healing, and Restorative Action
Create harms report on City actions that have harmed marginalized communities | 2026 Conduct a harms report, in conjunction with the Landback and Reparations Task Force, of the harms done to Santa Monica’s marginalized communities and recommend ways for the City to repair that harm.
Recognize Tongva history | 2027
Install signs at strategic locations across the city to raise awareness that we are on the land of Gabrieleño/Tongva.
Develop database of displaced residents | 2027
Develop database of all the people who were displaced by City actions through eminent domain to further the City’s repair work with them.
Implement recommendations from repair study | 2025-2030 Implement the Landback and Reparations Task Force’s recommendations from the repair study.
Address needs for rehabilitation programs | 2026-2030
Develop supportive housing for those with substance abuse issues and construct a new detox and sobering center.
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
HOUSING AND HUMAN SERVICES
Acknowledge the City’s role in past and present harm and partner with communities to design and implement repair, using restorative justice principles as a path to healing and systemic change.
16 | City of Santa Monica
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Packet Pg. 411 Attachment: Attachment A - Santa Monica Citywide Equity Plan (7241 : Equity Plan) Goal 2: Deepen Trust and Belonging through
Inclusive Community Engagement
Institute a Santa Monica Community Connectors Program | 2025 Convene community leaders who represent the diverse identities of the community to improve communication with the communities the City historically has not connected with.
Establish and maintain an equity-focused contact list | 2026 Create and maintain a list of contacts from marginalized communities in Santa Monica to increase communication and share opportunities with these groups.
Provide resource quick list in multiple languages | 2025 Create a contact list of the City’s most frequently used services, available in the most commonly spoken languages in Santa Monica.
Establish a comprehensive city grant and assistance resource guide | 2027 Create and maintain a centralized, user-friendly list of the City’s grants and resources available to the public.
Implement a pilot community participatory budget program | 2030 Invite the community to directly shape a portion of the City’s budget through a structured community engagement process.
Implement new community engagement feedback standards | 2027 Develop protocol to close the feedback loop on projects that involve extensive community engagement by reporting back to community about the progress of the project at the six- and 12-month mark.
Distribute a taxpayer receipt | 2026
Develop a taxpayer receipt—a personalized summary that shows residents how their local tax dollars are distributed across City services–to foster greater transparency and strengthen public trust.
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
C I T Y M A N AG E R ’ S O F F I C E & F I N A N C E D E PA RT M E N T Commit to being a city government that listens to communities who have been historically marginalized, reflects on past and present impacts, and works with these communities to find meaningful and healing solutions.
Citywide Equity Plan | 17
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Packet Pg. 412 Attachment: Attachment A - Santa Monica Citywide Equity Plan (7241 : Equity Plan) Goal 3: Expand Pathways to Opportunity for
Historically Underserved Communities
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
Support resident financial empowerment services | 2030
Develop programs focused on supporting individuals in their capacity to increase their financial standing through financial literacy training, micro lending services, and credit counseling, with guidance from expert partners (e.g., Richmond’s Office of Community Wealth Building).
Administer an equity microgrant program | 2026
The We Are Santa Monica Fund will transfer the funds earmarked for equity-focused initiatives to the DEI team to facilitate the administration of a microgrant program that will empower residents to launch community-led programs that advance equity in their neighborhoods.
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE & ALL DEPARTMENTS
Facilitate resident benefit from 2028 Olympics | 2028
Actively work, through involvement of the DEI team, to ensure that planning for the 2028 Olympics ensures that any benefits gained from the proximity are extended to all residents including those that are historically underrepresented in City events.
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Advance equity as part of the Santa Monica Airport conversion | 2030 Advance equity on the site of the airport’s conversion, including the construction of a multicultural center and the rewilding of the land in accordance with native practices, in partnership with tribal groups and the Kuruvungna Springs Foundation.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Adult-use cannabis social equity program | 2025-2027
Develop policy options so those negatively impacted by federal and state enforcement policies can benefit from the newly legalized industry.
HOUSING AND HUMAN SERVICES
Facilitate an increase in affordable housing | 2029
Facilitate the development of 8,895 new housing units between 2021 and 2029, as mandated by the Regional Housing Needs Assessment.
Create an aging and disability plan | 2028
Create an age-and disability-friendly action plan to address the current, emerging, and future needs of Santa Monica’s older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers.
INFORMATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Advance digital equity through distribution of used City computers | 2025-2030 Distribute used City computers in good condition to community members who need them, and provide a digital navigators program.
Expand opportunities in housing, education, economic mobility and wellness for members of communities that have long faced disinvestment.
18 | City of Santa Monica
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Packet Pg. 413 Attachment: Attachment A - Santa Monica Citywide Equity Plan (7241 : Equity Plan) Goal 4: Transform How Government Works
to Deliver More Equitable Outcomes
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
Initiate a communication project for non-desk employees | 2026 Initiate a partnership with the Department of Transportation and Public Works to develop new approaches for providing information to City staff who do not work at desks.
Conduct equity impact assessments | 2026-2030
The assessment, included in all staff reports, gives the council a simple and consistent framework for evaluating equity impacts of proposed policies, programs and services, allowing them to make informed, data-driven decisions that advance fairness and inclusion.
C I T Y M A N AG E R ’ S O F F I C E & A L L D EPA RT M E N TS Develop and implement standardized identity categories | 2025 Implement a standardized set of identity categories to be used citywide for all City surveys and forms, to provide greater insight into who our programs are reaching, who they are working for, and who may be missing from our considerations.
C I T Y M A N AG E R ’ S O F F I C E & C I T Y AT TO R N E Y Develop an identity-based abuse in the workplace policy | 2026 Develop a policy to outline when communications with the public cross the line into abuse and/ or identity-based harassment, as well as how to proceed when such incidents occur.
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE & HUMAN RESOURCES
Implement bias awareness training to promote equity in hiring | 2026 Implement bias awareness training for City staff who serve on interview panels, aOEQSPWJEF training to better evaluate responses to questions regarding DEI.
CITY CLERK’S OFFICE
Offer a Government 101 class | 2028
Provide a Government 101 class to engage community members of all backgrounds so they understand city government and are encouraged to participate on boards and commissions.
D E PA RT M E N T O F T R A N S P O RTAT I O N
Implement a Department of Transportation (DOT) mentorship program | 2026 Enhance retention and recruitment by launching a mentorship program for DOT staff.
F I N A N C E D E PA RT M E N T
Implement changes in procurement processes to increase economic opportunity for residents | 2030 Develop one- and five-year strategic plans to improve the City’s procurement processes for both external and internal stakeholders. These changes are directly responsive to a shared priority within the community: increased economic opportunity for those who live here.
Deliver City services and programs that are accessible, safe, and welcoming to all, supporting learning, connection, and fair access across the community.
Citywide Equity Plan | 19
8.A.a
Packet Pg. 414 Attachment: Attachment A - Santa Monica Citywide Equity Plan (7241 : Equity Plan) Goal 5: Build a Culture Where Equity Is
Understood, Practice, and Valued
Create a workplace culture where everyone feels included and equity is understood and practiced by staff, leaders, and community partners.
CITY COUNCIL
Include equity training in city council orientation process | 2026-2030 Provide equity training to all councilmembers as part of the orientation process to increase their understanding of the City’s and community’s collective role in addressing racial equity.
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
Elevate awareness of transgender inclusion | 2025-2026
Launch a series of community dialogues to elevate awareness of transgender issues, rights, and legal protections in partnership with the League of Women Voters.
Provide staff training focused on racial, disability, neurodiversity, and LGBTQ+ equity | 2025-2028 Collaborate with the California Conference for Equality and Justice on the 12-session “Conversations about Equity” virtual dialogue series to help employees understand equity SFMBUFEUPQJDT, engage in effective dialogue, and explore tools for BEWBODJOH equity in their daily work. Collaborate with CultureAlly to deliver annual trainings focused on disability inclusion and neurodivergence. Partner with Right to Be to support and empower our employees to take a stand against hate and intolerance.
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE & HOUSING AND HUMAN SERVICES
Initiate immigrant rights awareness series | 2025-2026
Launch an ongoing series of community events and service. focused on "Know Your Rights" events, one-on-one legal clinics, and family preparedness planning to address changes from the federal government for undocumented persons, visa and green card holders.
Goal 4: Transform How Government Works
to Deliver More Equitable Outcomes
LIBRARY
Advance Community Mapping | 2026
Implement Community Mapping initiative, incorporating quantitative and qualitative surveys, facilitated focus groups, one-to-one interviews, and other methods of engagement to identify community needs and aspirations.
PUBLIC WORKS
Create a Public Works equity plan | 2026-2028
Develop a comprehensive equity plan for 1ublic 8orks staff that will incorporate staff development, professional mobility, and *ndigenous land management. 20 | City of Santa Monica
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Packet Pg. 415 Attachment: Attachment A - Santa Monica Citywide Equity Plan (7241 : Equity Plan) The Path Forward
Achieving the goals of this Citywide Equity Plan will
require the shared commitment of many people
City staff, elected officials, various stakeholders,
and members of our community. The DEI team will
work closely with departments to monitor
progress on equity-related initiatives and provide
regular updates to the city council, employees,
and the community.
To make sure our equity efforts are making a real
difference, the City will use a clear and consistent
way to track progress. Each project will involve
setting specific goals, taking actions to meet those
goals, and measuring whether those actions are
helping people. We’ll look at how much we did,
how well we did it, and whether it helped improve
people’s lives. Every action will have a timeline
and a designated person or team responsible for
follow-through.
www.santamonica.gov/equity
Goal 5: Build a Culture Where Equity Is
Understood, Practice, and Valued
P O L I C E D E PA RT M E N T
Increase training in crisis intervention and cultural sensitivity | 2026 Partner with the Public Safety Reform and Oversight Commission to share information about the department’s implicit bias, transgender inclusion, and cultural sensitivity training with the community.
Strengthen recruitment, hiring, and promotion practices that reflect community diversity and equity values | Ongoing
Recruit and promote a diverse and representative police force, with current outcomes showing UIBUUIF4BOUB.POJDB1PMJDF%FQBSUNFOU exceeds citywide diversity benchmarks and national averages for women in law enforcement. These results reflect long-standing efforts to embed equity in recruitment, training, and culture—not just recent reforms.
F I R E D E PA RT M E N T
Increase training for Fire staff on assisting queer individuals in distress | 2027 Focus on building Fire Department staff capacity to recognize, respond to, and support the unique needs of queer individuals in crisis situations.
In the first year, all DEI-led efforts will use this full tracking system so we can learn what’s working
and what needs to change. What we learn
will help shape a public dashboard in 2026, so
anyone—residents, staff, and City leaders—can
see how we’re doing. Over time, we’ll support
all departments in using this approach so equity
becomes part of how the City plans, budgets, and
delivers services.
At its heart, this work is about more than numbers.
It’s about making sure every Santa Monica
resident
no matter who they are
has a fair chance
to feel safe, supported, and included. The projects
described in this report are intentional first steps—
rooted in what’s possible today, while laying the
groundwork for the future. They reflect a
commitment to meaningful, forward-moving
progress that can grow over time. With the right
tools and community partnership, we can turn
good intentions into real, lasting change.
For additional information and updates, please visit:
Citywide Equity Plan | 21
8.A.a
Packet Pg. 416 Attachment: Attachment A - Santa Monica Citywide Equity Plan (7241 : Equity Plan) 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401 | (310) 458-8411 | santamonica.gov antamonica.gov This Citywide Equity Plan is both a roadmap and a living document, designed to evolve as community needs shift and new insights emerge.
Rooted in the voices of residents and staff, the plan aims to ensure that all community members, regardless of race, gender, ability, or background, have equitable access to opportunities, resources, and City services.
Prepared by:
The following are a few of the partner organizations the City collaborated with UP develop this plan:
• African American Parent Student Staff Support
Group
• Black African American Parent Advisory Committee
• Black Agenda
• Black Santa Monica Community Group
• Committee for Racial Justice
• Disability Community Resource Center
• Ethiopian Community in Santa Monica
• Familias Latinas Unidad
• 4BOUB.POJDBInterfaith Council
• Santa Monica Bay Area
Human Relations Council
• Santa Monica Black
Empowerment Association
• Santa Monica College
• Santa Monica-Malibu
Council of PTAs
The following staff are part of the City
of Santa Monica's Diversity Equity and
Inclusion team:
Lisa Parson, Equity and Inclusion
Manager
Delana G. Gbenekama, Special
Assistant to the City Manager on
Equity and Community Recovery
David Gardinier, Equity and
Communications Coordinator
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Packet Pg. 417 Attachment: Attachment A - Santa Monica Citywide Equity Plan (7241 : Equity Plan) Reparations Study Session
Information
Department: City Manager's Office Sponsors:
Category: 07. Study Sessions
Attachments
Printout
January 23, 2024 Staff Report (web link)
February 13, 2024 Staff Report (web link)
City Council Strategic Priorities (Web Link)
November 15, 2022 Staff Report (web link)
Kuruvungna Springs Foundation (Web Link)
May 28, 2024 Council PowerPoint Presentation (web link) California State Reparations Task Force Final Report (Web Link) United Nations Principles on Remedy and Reparation (Web Link) Committee for Racial Justice Facebook Page (Web Link)
Gabrieleno/Tongva – San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians (Web Link) Santa Monica Black Empowerment Association
Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy (Web Link)
Zeal Arts Collective (Web Link)
LA County indigneous harms report and land acknowledgement (Web Link) Written Comments
PowerPoint Presentation
Recommended Action
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that Council provide direction on the key areas of focus for a City Reparations & Landback Program to study the historical harms done to Santa Monica’s marginalized communities and provide recommendations on how to address those harms.
Staff Report Body
Executive Summary
On January 23, 2024, the Council directed staff to survey reparations efforts in other jurisdictions, identify any potential legal issues with pursuing our own reparative efforts, and report back to the City Council. On February 13, 2024, the Council directed staff to consider a series of recommendations, including adopting a city-wide land acknowledgment initiative and a restorative justice approach to repair harm of past actions of the City of Santa Monica impacting diverse groups from various heritages and cultures. Following engagement with many diverse community members to develop the City’s equity plan, which will come to Council later this spring, and the evaluation of different jurisdictions’ reparations programs, staff intend to launch a comprehensive Reparations & Landback process. This 18 month process will be centered around a task force of community members and experts who will explore and recognize the multiple historical injustices faced by marginalized communities in Santa Monica as well as identify priorities and recommendations for how to repair those harms. This will be done through a phased approach that will require multiple inflection points with Council to ensure the direction of the task force is aligned with Council's vision. At the conclusion of this process, Council will be presented with the Task Force’s recommendations and the opportunity to adopt the policy framework for Santa Monica’s Reparations Program.
This work to develop the City’s Reparations Program will operate in phases, including community engagement and truth-telling, and culminating in the development of a comprehensive plan that will include a foundational harms report and repair recommendations within legal parameters. The recommendations will also include funding models, with considerations of external funding sources (e.g, grants, community fundraising) to implement those recommendations. Embracing this process will substantiate the City's commitment to racial justice and contribute to a more equitable and healed future for all Santa Monica residents.
Background
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of Santa Monica as a city—a time that naturally lends itself for self-reflection on both our impressive collective
accomplishments over the past 150 years, as well as the harms we’ve created along the way. As a part of this reflection process, the City has an incredible opportunity to take an unflinching look at the harm that has been done to our marginalized communities over the course of our history, and to make amends for that harm through a community-driven restorative justice process.
City of Santa Monica
California
Staff Report
6841
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Packet Pg. 418 Attachment: Attachment B - Feb. 2025 Staff Report (7241 : Equity Plan) In addition, the City’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team has recently completed a yearlong engagement process to learn our community’s equity priorities to inform Santa Monica’s first Citywide Equity Plan, which will come to Council this Spring. Throughout the community engagement process, which provided feedback from a diverse group of residents, the topic of restorative justice came up repeatedly as a key priority of our community.
Participants in community-led listening sessions shared specific incidents of bias in Santa Monica’s past that they saw as the cause for gaps in life outcomes for residents of color today, and proposed reparations of different types as a means to repair the harm that was done. Toward this end, staff in the City Manager’s Office will convene a task force that is made up of community members and subject matter experts in the fields of racial and restorative justice to identify those harms that have been done and make recommendations on how to repair them. This act of community introspection and atonement may become one of our biggest accomplishments yet, paving the way for a more equitable City that truly lives up to our stated strategic priority of justice, equity, and diversity.
Many recent developments have positioned the City to undertake this important work. In November 2022, the City offered a historic “Black Apology” to its African American
residents, in collaboration with the Committee for Racial Justice. In January 2024, the City Council followed up with a directive for staff to research reparations efforts nationwide and identify any legal challenges to pursuing reparations in Santa Monica. In February 2024, Council adopted all of the recommendations coming out of the ReFrame Mural project, including the following recommendations which pertain to restorative justice for Indigenous communities:
· Facilitate relationship with the Kuruvungna Springs Foundation and support their efforts to have their land transferred back to Indigenous sovereignty (began September 2024) · Adopt a Citywide land acknowledgement initiative (“Statement of Accountability” completed November 2024) · Facilitate Landback in Santa Monica
Further, the Council adopted an additional recommendation to “consider a restorative justice approach to repair harm from past actions of the City of Santa Monica impacting diverse groups from various heritages and cultures.” In light of this directive, and in response to growing community calls for reparations for harm done to communities of color in the Pico neighborhood, Belmar Triangle, and other historically biased interventions by the City, staff recommends implementing a comprehensive restorative justice approach.
Legal Guidelines for Reparations Programs
A May 2024 presentation from the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) team and additional guidance from the City Attorney’s Office provided Council with a horizon scan of reparations efforts across the country, including the legal considerations for proceeding with reparations under federal and California State law as well as several examples of cities that have recently implemented reparations programs.
According to City Attorney’s Office, a legally compliant reparations program may compensate or provide a benefit to a class of individuals or their descendants who
were harmed by past actions of the City, but the City cannot give a preference based on a person’s race based on the following laws: First, Proposition 209 prohibits race
conscious programs in employment, public education, or public contracting. Second, federal and state fair housing laws prohibit discrimination based on race. Third, federal and state equal protection laws require that the City treat two or more similarly situated persons in an equal manner. Race conscious policies are subject to strict scrutiny, which requires that the program be narrowly tailored to further a compelling government
interest. To meet this standard, the policy must be tied to an exact injury suffered by a specific individual or group of individuals to remediate specific, identified instances of past discrimination that violated the Constitution or a statute.
The City’s reparation program will be focused on providing accountability for historic injustice; address contemporary practices that perpetuate wrongdoing and persecution of oppressed communities; and provide restitution to remediate specific, identified instances of provable historical harm to victims and their descendants.
The City could establish a fund, policy, and process for making claims and awards from the fund. Accordingly, extending compensation to a beneficiary class of victims or their descendants based on a race-neutral common factor such as geography (i.e. those living in the Belmar Triangle at the time of the City’s condemnation), is consistent with legal requirements.
One recent example of a city’s race-neutral restorative justice approach happened on
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Packet Pg. 419 Attachment: Attachment B - Feb. 2025 Staff Report (7241 : Equity Plan) November 14, 2024, when the City of Palm Springs agreed to pay $5.9 million in reparations to families whose relatives were displaced in the by the city in the 1960’s.
At that time, the city demolished and burned the homes of over 2000 Black and Latino residents in a one square mile community known as Section 14, to make room for commercial development. In addition to the financial reparations to descendants of families that were directly impacted by the city’s actions, the Palm Springs city council approved funding for a broad restorative justice program applicable to the entire Palm Springs community, with outreach targeted to Section 14 families, including $10 million for a first-time homebuyer assistance program and another $10 million for a community land trust, and the construction of a monument to commemorate the history of the neighborhood.
About Reparations and Landback
Landback and reparations are forms of restorative justice gaining traction in communities across the country. Landback refers to the movement to return land taken through colonization to its original Indigenous inhabitants. While the most complete form involves transferring land back to Indigenous sovereignty, other approaches—such as co-managing land or restoring it to native plants with Indigenous stewardship practices—are also forms of Landback embraced by many Indigenous leaders. Nationwide, California is currently leading the way in Landback, with efforts at every level of government. At the federal level, 125 acres of Redwood National Park are now co-managed with the Yurok Tribe; at the State level, over 1,250 acres have been returned to California tribes since 2020; and at the local level, cities like Oakland, Berkeley, and Huntington Beach have returned parcels of land to local tribes.
On the other hand, reparations is typically, although not exclusively, used to describe restorative justice work to heal historic harms done to African American communities. The reparations movement is gaining momentum nationwide, with dozens of cities studying the issue and some already distributing reparations funds. Notable examples include Evanston, IL; Asheville, NC; Athens, GA; St. Paul, MN; and most recently, Palm Springs, CA, where funds have been granted to largely Black and brown communities displaced by condemnation, similar to Santa Monica’s Belmar Triangle.
Additionally, four states are exploring reparations, with California again leading the way. In 2023, the State published an extensive 1,100-page report that documents harms done to Black Californians and provides policy recommendations, many of which could be implemented at the local level, ranging from mandated racial impact analysis with policy decisions, to increasing housing options, to mitigating pollution from highways built in communities of color.
Both reparations and Landback are subject to the United Nations Principles on Remedy and Reparation, which states that full and effective reparation must include:
1. Restitution: The actors who caused harm have an obligation to return victims to the status quo before that harm occurred, or as close to it as possible.
2. Compensation: Compensation is to be provided for both material and moral damages, including lost economic opportunities and potential earnings, physical and psychological, and costs associated with the harm, such as legal expertise.
3. Rehabilitation: Actors causing harm must provide any necessary professional assistance as a result of the harms endured, such as medical or psychological care, and the victim(s) must be able to play a part in choosing that care.
4. Satisfaction: Satisfaction means that harms being done must stop and can include a public truth-telling and reckoning process, as well as a public apology restoring the reputation of the victim(s), and any commemoration honoring those who were harmed.
5. Guarantees of Non-repetition: Reviewing and reforming laws on the books to prevent future violations, with a focus on structural changes through legislative measures
Current conversations around reparations tend to focus on the monetary aspects of the work, which are certainly a part of true reparative justice work, as point two illustrates above. However, as a government agency, the City has many tools in its toolbox to bring about repair that satisfy the rest of these points through new policies and programs. Indeed, the City has already began the work on the fourth point of satisfaction—at least with our African American community—through The Black Apology. The Task Force will evaluate the myriad of options the City has to implement its restorative justice package to recommend a program responsive to Santa Monica.
The Reparations & Landback Task Force
To develop the work plan of the Reparations & Landback Task Force, staff engaged leaders in the Santa Monica area who held significant knowledge of Santa Monica’s history and past incidents of harm. In order to get their feedback, staff met one-on-one with leaders who responded with interest and availability/capacity from each of the organizations below:
· Committee for Racial Justice
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Packet Pg. 420 Attachment: Attachment B - Feb. 2025 Staff Report (7241 : Equity Plan) · Gabrielino-Tongva (Kuruvungna) Springs Foundation
· Gabrieleno/Tongva – San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians · Santa Monica Black Empowerment Association
· Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy
· Zeal Arts Collective
What emerged from these conversations was a confirmation of a need to focus on the more known historical incidents that require repair: the taking of Belmar triangle and the eradication of the Black and Brown community that was once there, the disruption of community and displacement caused by the siting and development of the 10 freeway, and the taking of Indigenous land to create the City of Santa Monica. From our broader community engagement efforts, staff is also aware of other harms that have not been as well documented and may need to be explored, including the displacement of the Jewish community in Ocean Park and impacts of development on the Latino community. In order to develop a comprehensive approach to begin to repair these harms, staff will initiate the Reparations & Landback Task Force that reports to the City Manager in March 2025. The Task Force will be structured with three sub-committees focused on Historical Research, Fundraising & Messaging, and Community Education and Events. Residency in Santa Monica will not be a requirement to serving on the Task Force so as to include national subject matter experts; our engagement partners agreed that a mix of Santa Monica residents and subject matter experts would be ideal for the Task Force’s composition.
The proposed timeline for the Task Force’s work is as follows:
· Phase 1: Orientation & Planning – April-July 2025
o Key focus areas: introductions, adoption of roles and decision-making processes, civic empowerment and advocacy trainings, overview of the Landback and reparations movements.
· Phase 2: Truth-Telling & Listening – August- October 2025 o Key focus areas: soliciting public input on the harms sustained and witnessed by members of Santa Monica’s marginalized communities, hosting a public truth-telling event, drafting and soliciting input on a community harms report, adoption of harms report by Council and community distribution
o Council involvement: attendance at public truth telling event; review and adoption of harms report · Phase 3: Repair – November 2025 –May 2026
o Key focus areas: Exploring both monetary and non-monetary forms of repair, exploring costs of monetary repairs along with potential funding streams, drafting and soliciting community feedback on recommendations report, adoption of recommendations by Council, adoption of plan for ongoing community engagement
By the end of this process, Council will have been engaged at multiple points including via participation in a community truth-telling event, review and feedback on a report documenting the harms experienced by the City’s marginalized communities for formal adoption, and in the review and adoption of a final set of recommendations to address these harms, thereby creating the City’s reparations program.
Key Considerations
Though the work of restorative justice is necessary in communities across the country and can be cathartic and deeply rewarding, it can also be painful, challenging, and contentious. One notable challenge is the potential for conflict both within and between communities of shared identity.
Historical factors such as colonization, white supremacy culture, the perception of “scarce” resources, and the very harms we aim to address have had a divisive impact on many of Santa Monica’s marginalized communities. These dynamics will inevitably surface as we confront the harm done to these groups. For example, the Indigenous peoples of what is now Santa Monica are often referred to collectively as “Tongva.” However, this term, coined in 1905, does not align with their traditional self-identification, which was tied to the interconnected villages they belonged to rather than a unified tribe or nation. This lack of historical recognition, combined with limited awareness from the dominant settler culture and the absence of federal recognition, has fueled territorial disputes and conflicts over rightful representation.
As an external party, the City cannot dictate resolutions to these disputes but must navigate them carefully, following the example of the County of Los Angeles in its restorative justice efforts with these communities. Further, for this important work of healing rifts between communities, selecting members who are willing to work across difference will be absolutely essential for its success.
Further challenges from communities who don’t understand the legitimacy or need for reparative justice work, as well as communities who feel that their unique issues are not addressed through this process will certainly be present. In response the DEI team, together with the Task Force is prepared to do extensive community education to overcome these obstacles, as have the many other communities have who are further along in their reparative justice process.
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Packet Pg. 421 Attachment: Attachment B - Feb. 2025 Staff Report (7241 : Equity Plan) Financial Considerations
In this period of elevated uncertainty, the city’s General Fund remains constrained by unprecedented liabilities, a backlog of infrastructure maintenance and capital projects, combined with significantly reduced general fund reserve levels as a result of unprecedented legal liabilities. Therefore, structuring a funding model will be imperative to the success of any reparations program the city implements.
Because the Reparations & Landback Task Force has not yet made their recommendations to Council on what harms to address and what remedies should be considered, we cannot know at this time how much this restorative justice process will cost. Amongst cities that have already begun paying reparations to their residents, price tags have ranged from $2.1 million in Ashville, NC to $10 million in Providence, RI, though notably, these efforts have been aimed at paying reparations for only one community, and not many communities as Council directed in Santa Monica. Funding streams in these cities have included American Rescue Plan Act funding (Providence, RI), instituting a 3% cannabis tax (Evanston, IL), sale of excess government property (Ashville, NC), and re-allocating funding from law enforcement budgets (San Francisco, CA). Other cities have relied on community fundraising. Given the state of the city’s financial challenges, staff will evaluate various funding models as part of its recommendations to implement a reparations program.
It should also be noted that the enduring nature inherent to a high-quality restorative justice process may actually help reduce the city’s immediate financial burden without diluting the city’s commitment to community restoration. Good reparations and Landback processes are not one-and-done solutions. They are long-term commitments that leave the communities and people who participate in them transformed and create expectations for a more equitable future than what was done before. Therefore, the recommendations around reparations funding will need to contemplate the initial funding requirements as well as a mechanism to provide on-going support to the program.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate budget action necessary as a result of recommended action. Staff will return to Council with the associated financial impacts and specific budget actions required based on direction received from Council. Future actions to complete the reparatory justice process will likely be in the $2-10 million dollar range, which can be paid over a period of time, and will include outside and community funding, in partnership with the Task Force.
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Packet Pg. 422 Attachment: Attachment B - Feb. 2025 Staff Report (7241 : Equity Plan) Receive Update and Take Action to Advance Racial Justice, Equity, and Social Diversity Information
Department: City Manager's Office Sponsors:
Category: 07. Study Sessions
Attachments
Printout
Racial Equity Assessment Tool
Written Comments
PowerPoint Presentation
Recommended Action
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council review and comment on the FY 2023-24 Equity Plan for the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) team in the City Manager’s Office and direct staff to proceed with the implementation of the plan.
Staff Report Body
Executive Summary
Santa Monica, a renowned global leader in the areas of sustainability and innovation, has recognized the need to address equity gaps within its community. Years of community engagement efforts and shared insights from community stakeholders have shed light on the disparities faced by Black and Latino communities in the City, revealing that unfortunately, despite its reputation as a progressive city with equity and inclusion as some of its central values, communities of color have experienced division and competition for limited resources. While the City has made significant efforts to address these challenges through internally focused changes and periodic investments into equity focused initiatives, to date there has been no cohesive, community facing plan to treat equity in Santa Monica as a core function of the City. To move forward into an inclusive, multi-faceted and coordinated approach to equity, the City has devised a comprehensive plan that involves evaluating policies for unconscious bias, conducting equity impact assessments for a selection of City projects, empowering residents through grants, and fostering staff growth opportunities, along with a robust community engagement effort that will culminate in the City’s first formalized Equity Plan.
The City will kick off the process with a panel discussion featuring diverse representation to explore the concept of strategic allyship. This will be followed by a seven-month community engagement phase dedicated to collective issue identification, focused on gathering information about residents’ equity priorities and challenges. These engagement opportunities will include large City community listening sessions, held both in person and virtually, as well as smaller, community led meetings. The City will offer stipends to community groups to host these sessions, ensuring diverse voices are heard and their insights can be incorporated into the DEI team’s analysis.
The DEI team will review community input, identify key issues, and collaborate with relevant departments to collate existing programs and policies addressing these challenges. We will then return to the community to co-generate solutions to key issues, with the knowledge of the City’s existing programs as a foundation for the discussions.
Following the community engagement process, the DEI team will present priorities and proposed solutions to the Council and ask the City Council to identify priority areas of focus. An Equity Task Force will be established to manage progress towards Council’s selected priority areas, comprising staff from relevant departments, and a regular system of engagement with the community, the Community Equity Coalition, will be created to foster collaboration among major city institutions, public and private sector partners, community stakeholders, and staff. By implementing this comprehensive plan, Santa Monica aims to proactively address equity challenges, strengthen community engagement, and build a more inclusive and equitable future for all residents. Through a collective effort involving residents, City departments, and diverse stakeholders, Santa Monica is committed to fostering lasting change and achieving multi-dimensional progress that benefits the entire community.
Background
The City of Santa Monica has long been recognized as a leader in municipal governance, from our AAA bond rating to our five-star rated library system, to our long list of accomplishments in the realm of environmental sustainability. However, one area in which the City has yet to play a leading role is in racial equity, as evidenced by our outcomes in this area. According to various sources including Race Counts and Healthy City, Black, Latinx, and Native American Santa Monicans fare worse than white Santa Monicans across nearly every quality-of-life indicator, and many of these inequities have worsened since 2020. As many of us in the community recently learned from reading “The Sum of Us” by Heather McGhee, these inequities not City of Santa Monica
California
Staff Report
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Packet Pg. 423 Attachment: Attachment C - July 2023 Staff Report (7241 : Equity Plan) only impact People of Color who feel their effects most directly, but the community as a whole suffers when they are not addressed. A look at just one economic consequence of racial inequality—Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—reveals that the LA regional GDP would be 58 percent higher if racial gaps in income were eliminated, according to the National Equity Atlas. As an economic engine for the region, the City has both a moral and economic obligation in closing these and other racial disparities. Further, due to the pervasiveness and entrenchment of existing inequalities, a strong and focused approach much like the City’s efforts to address climate change will be required if we ever hope to be a truly equitable community.
Throughout the nation, other municipalities have taken focused actions aimed specifically at addressing institutional racism, starting with the City of Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative in 2004. Since then, dozens of cities have launched offices of equity and other initiatives explicitly targeting institutional racism, leveraging the lessons learned in Seattle. Unfortunately, Santa Monica has taken a slower and more diluted approach in its efforts to combat racism to-date. Though some efforts at inclusion have been made, particularly around affordable housing, the Pico Wellbeing Project and the Black Agenda, the City has yet to take cohesive, citywide action aimed at moving the needle on racial equity. As a result, despite being the 18th largest city in LA County with the fourth largest budget, Santa Monica’s communities of color have at times expressed concern over projects and approaches that favor specific groups over their own, seeing the current equity efforts as “special projects” that have limited reach. This has had the effect historically of turning groups that should be allies into adversaries, who believe they must compete with each other for scarce resources.
While the City organization has lacked robust structures to advance equity in the ways that many other cities have, leaving progress in the hands of a few dedicated City staff, Santa Monica has continued to make progress due to its best resource: its residents. Santa Monica is rich in community organizations that have dedicated, in many cases, decades of energy toward righting the wrongs of the past and closing equity gaps. These groups include, but not necessarily limited to the Human Relations Council (HRC), the Committee for Racial Justice (CRJ), Santa Monica Black Lives Association (SMBLA), Familias Latinas Unidas (FLU), Parent Connection Group (PCG), Pico Neighborhood Association (PNA), the Church in Ocean Park, the Human Services Commission, Public Safety Reform and Oversight Commission, The People Concern, Community Corporation of Santa Monica, Pico Youth and Family Center (PYFC), Black Santa Monica Tours, Ethiopian Community in Santa Monica (ECOMISM), Santa Monica College’s Public Policy Institute and its Division of Equity, Pathways, and Inclusion, the Black Agenda, Virginia Avenue Park Advisory Board, Quinn Research Center, Juneteenth Celebration Committee Inc, Santa Monica League Women Voters, Westside NAACP, Westside MLK Day Coalition, Rent Control Board and Agency, and 18th Street Arts Center along with many other willing allies who have created a strong foundation for the advancement of equity in Santa Monica. It is now time for the City to step forward as a leader in equity through ambitious goals and sustained actions as detailed below.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
07/07/2023 (Attachment A) July 2023 Equity Update Information Item 09/08/2020 (Attachment B) Fall 2020 Equity Report
Best Practices from across the Country
Municipalities across the country have devised programs to repair the harm caused to Communities of Color by structural racism. Each of the cities discussed below has engaged in the development of a citywide equity plan or has created a citywide equity toolkit that guides action and measures progress, and have used these tools to advance transformational equity projects. These programs, examples of which are listed below, can serve as a model for possibilities the City could explore with input from residents, staff, and the City Council. The City is already exploring potentially creating a cannabis equity program in the future as detailed below.
City of Evanston Restorative Housing Program Funded by Cannabis and Real Estate Property Transfer Taxes In June 2019, the governor of Illinois signed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act into law, which made the sale of recreational marijuana legal effective January 1, 2020. The tax act allows municipalities to adopt ordinances to impose a local tax (up to 3 percent of retail price) on the operation of recreational cannabis dispensaries. In November 2019, the Evanston City Council adopted a resolution to commit the first $10 million of its cannabis tax revenues to fund reparations for housing assistance and relief initiatives for African American residents, economic development programs and opportunities for African American residents and entrepreneurs, and education initiatives for African American residents. The first reparations initiative the City introduced is the Restorative Housing Program, which addresses discriminatory housing policies and practices and inaction by the City from 1919-1969. Program goals include increasing Black homeownership and building generational wealth, improving the retention rate of Black homeowners, revitalizing Black owner-occupied homes, and building intergenerational equity among Black residents. Eligible residents can apply to receive $25,000 toward one of the following areas: down payment/closing cost assistance, home improvement, mortgage assistance and most recently a direct cash payment. With the rollout of its housing initiative, Evanston became the first municipality in the country to fund a reparations program. The City has since passed a real estate transfer tax on the sale of real estate valued over $1.5 million to help boost its reparations fund. The City will continue developing additional reparations initiatives in the future that align with the recommendations listed in the City Council resolution.
City of Saint Paul Children’s Savings Account, Guaranteed Income Pilot and CollegeBound Boost
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Packet Pg. 424 Attachment: Attachment C - July 2023 Staff Report (7241 : Equity Plan) The City of Saint Paul launched three related initiatives aimed at helping families meet basic needs to pave the way for economic prosperity while also investing in savings for their children’s education. The People’s Prosperity Guaranteed Income Pilot ran between October 2020 and April 2022. Funded by a mix of public and private dollars, the pilot program provided 150 families with $500 per month in guaranteed income for 18 months to pay for essentials, including food and housing. The City opened the pilot program to families enrolled in CollegeBound Saint Paul, a savings initiative launched by the City to provide each child born to a resident on or after January 1, 2020, with a college savings account, a $50 seed deposit and a $10 bonus deposit in their account every month. Funded by a variety of sources (i.e., City funds and staffing, local community foundations, corporate foundations and donors, and individual donors), CollegeBound Saint Paul is part of the City’s broader efforts to address financial insecurity and educational disparities, which deeply affect households/residents of color in particular. The City’s latest initiative, CollegeBound Boost, builds upon the guaranteed income and college savings initiatives by providing 333 low-income families participating in CollegeBound Saint Paul with $500 in guaranteed monthly income payments for two years and $1,000 deposits in each child’s CollegeBound Saint Paul college savings account. CollegeBound Boost is funded by $4 million in American Rescue Plan funds and $1 million in charitable funds. Income assistance programs of these types are growing in popularity and can also be found in San Francisco, Oakland, Birmingham, Alabama; Phoenix, Arizona; Gainesville, Florida; and Cook County, Illinois, to name a few.
City of Durham DEAR Program for Residents with Suspended Drivers’ Licenses After conducting an analysis that found that the licenses of one in five adults were revoked or suspended because of failure to appear in traffic court or pay court costs, the City of Durham launched the Durham Expunction and Restoration (DEAR) Program in October 2018 to offer free legal assistance with license restoration and expunctions. The analysis also showed that the suspensions disproportionately affected People of Color, and most were as a result of minor offenses such as expired registration or driving without a license. Individuals participating in the program were required to have their driving privileges suspended for a minimum of two years. The City’s Innovation Team collaborated with the Durham District Attorney’s Office, North Carolina Justice Center, Legal Aid of North Carolina, Durham County Criminal Justice Resource Center, and a host of other agencies (i.e., law schools, philanthropies, social justice organizations) over a two-year period to waive $2.7 million in fines and fees that kept more than 11,000 individuals from having their drivers’ licenses reinstated. The City and its partners continue to offer the DEAR Program to assist residents with expunctions and license restoration.
City of Long Beach Cannabis Equity Program
Recognizing that the war on drugs has disproportionately affected Communities of Color, the City of Long Beach established its Cannabis Equity Program to provide equitable opportunities for individuals who have been negatively affected by the criminalization of cannabis. The program aims to address the long-term, negative social impacts to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and low-income communities in Long Beach, including but not limited to loss of property, permanent disqualification from employment opportunities and family and community disintegration. The program provides opportunities in following three areas:
· Business ownership: Equity applicants interested in opening a cannabis business can receive the following assistance to guide them through the application process: access to application workshops, fee waivers, direct grants, expedited application and facility plan check review, cultivation tax deferrals and direct technical assistance. · Employment opportunities: Equity applicants interested in cannabis employment opportunities have access to employment opportunities, job fairs and orientations, and job search assistance. The City connects applicants to adult-use cannabis businesses, which are required to hire equity employees for at least 40 percent of the work hours performed at the business. · Community reinvestment: Every adult-use cannabis business is required to submit plans detailing how it will reinvest in communities affected by the war on drugs and how the business will support one or more of the following community priorities within eligible social equity program census tracts: child and youth development, violence prevention, re-entry, and economic inclusion.
Consideration of Adult-Use Cannabis in Santa Monica and Cannabis Equity Program In November 2022, Santa Monica voters approved Measure HMP, which will allow the City to impose a tax on all commercial cannabis activities. The City Council on June 13, 2023, held a study session on adult-use cannabis. The Council received a presentation on key policy considerations for allowing adult-use cannabis businesses and other non-retail cannabis business types within the City, discussed options for allowing adult-use cannabis sales and associated regulatory restrictions, and provided direction to staff to commence the necessary steps and analysis for creating an adult-use cannabis program and ordinance. The Council expressed interest in establishing a variety of adult-use cannabis uses in the City with clear rules that will provide options for both retail and non-retail uses, protect sensitive uses in the community and advance social equity. The Council’s direction to staff included commencing a cannabis equity study to help inform future policy options for promoting opportunities so those negatively impacted by federal and state enforcement policies can benefit from the newly legalized industry. Staff is working on advancing the Council’s direction beginning with an ordinance to allow the conversion of the existing medicinal cannabis retailers to adult-use later this year. The Council will subsequently vote to affirm permit use, standards and limitations, policy, and regulations at a future meeting prior to implementation. Read more in the staff report (Attachment C)
Actions We Can Take Now
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Packet Pg. 425 Attachment: Attachment C - July 2023 Staff Report (7241 : Equity Plan) Given the documented disparities in our community and the growing momentum within the City organization to address equity, there are many things that can be done now to address past harms, break down systemic barriers, and advance equity for all our community members.
Strengthening Staff Expertise
In 2022, representatives of nearly every city department participated in the city’s Racial Equity Committee and undertook projects that made their department’s community engagement strategies more inclusive, opened new pathways into the organization for those wishing to join our workforce and new pathways for mobility within the organization for those wishing to grow their careers, and modified policies to embed equity into daily operations. In 2023, the committee will continue to take on department level projects and will also begin to serve as a resource to the City when issues of bias or hate occur in the community by providing insight to City leadership about effective communications and community involvement. The committee will also spend a portion of its time evaluating existing policies and programs for unconscious bias and sharing its findings with City leadership.
Outside of the Racial Equity Committee, all staff will continue to have opportunities to participate in trainings about Implicit Bias, Interrupting Microaggressions, Bystander Intervention techniques, and more. These trainings provide staff with opportunities to connect with each other, discuss sensitive topics in a supportive environment, and learn how best to integrate the values of equity and inclusion into their daily work, creating a better environment for both staff and our community. The City’s affinity groups, Black Leadership Advocating for Change through Connection and Kinship/Knowledge (BLACCK), the Coalition of Asian and Pacific Employees of Santa Monica (CAPE SM), CommUNITY (a multi-identity affinity group), Out in Santa Monica, and the Santa Monica Alliance of White Anti-Racists, will continue to provide opportunities for staff to grow stronger as allies and advocates.
In addition, to expand our shared understanding of equity and how local government influences equity outcomes for all residents, DEI trainings will be arranged for both Councilmembers and Board and Commission members in 2023-2024.
Assessing Our Impact
Taking the time to consider the City’s work more deeply and how it impacts specific communities will allow us to make informed decisions, proactively address potential disparities, and ensure that our policies and programs uplift and support all members of our diverse community. To that end, the DEI team will initiate a 12-month pilot program that will allow the City to analyze new work in new ways by performing equity impact assessments on four projects selected from a list of initiatives submitted by City department heads for consideration. The team will use an equity impact assessment tool (Attachment D) to review current and future policies, programs, services, procedures, and budget decisions for the City. The analysis process will include understanding the scope and project area of the project/program, population(s), and areas of quality of life that may be affected, strategies for community engagement, potential impacts from the policy/program, and potential mitigation approaches for any negative impacts identified through the analysis process.
Throughout the assessment process, the DEI team will actively collect feedback from the departments leading the work. These engagements will serve to refine the assessment tool throughout the pilot period, ensuring its effectiveness and relevance. By incorporating the valuable insights and experiences of staff, the goal is to enhance the assessment process and strengthen its applicability across various City projects.
The DEI team is committed to providing comprehensive trainings on how to effectively utilize the equity impact assessment tool. Once the pilot period concludes, these trainings will be offered to all City departments. The objective is to encourage widespread adoption of an equity assessment process as an integral part of the regular workflow. By equipping departments with the knowledge and tools necessary to conduct equity impact assessments, we aim to embed equity considerations into the fabric of our decision-making processes, ultimately fostering a more inclusive and equitable city for all residents.
Grants for Equity
Many communities, including our own, have found significant value from developing a grant program that provides residents and community organizations with funds to advance equity in their communities. Santa Monica has done this through Cultural Affairs’ Community Access and Participation (CAP) program that funds exceptional artistic and/or heritage experiences and cultural opportunities which respond to community needs, and via Wellbeing Microgrants, which funded resident led projects that improved quality of life over a variety of areas. The DEI team will develop a similar grant program using the funds generated for equity uses from the Out of Home Kiosk Program, which will be available starting in 2025. In addition, there are vast resources available outside the City that can be applied toward equity programs. Staff will contract with a grant writer to assist with bringing outside funding to equity priorities to further amplify our progress toward transformational change for the communities that need it most.
Developing a Citywide Equity Plan
The efforts detailed above summarize the actions the City can take now with available resources. However, there is a larger goal for this work, and that is to develop and adopt a citywide equity plan that reflects the priorities of the diverse identities in our community, with an approach that is informed by insight from every City department. To develop this plan, we cannot rely on data and information collected prior to the pandemic. We will build on the
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Packet Pg. 426 Attachment: Attachment C - July 2023 Staff Report (7241 : Equity Plan) work produced in advocacy by our community stakeholders in recent years by engaging deeply in the community to understand the specific equity priorities for each community, and how the City and community can achieve multi-dimensional progress together.
Creating a citywide equity plan that leverages municipal resources to address equity challenges means aligning views and fostering a sense of mutual support and shared goals among community members. The kickoff event for the community engagement process will feature participation from individuals representing diverse races, sexual orientations, ages, abilities, and more. The focus will be on encouraging the open sharing of identitybased challenges and highlighting the significance of allyship among different identity groups. Actively involving voices from various backgrounds from the start will set a tone of ongoing collaboration and problem-solving, ensuring that our engagement efforts genuinely reflect the needs and concerns of all community members.
Following the kickoff, through a series of open and inclusive discussions, community members will have opportunities to freely express their concerns, share their experiences, and contribute to shaping our collective vision for a more equitable future. These opportunities will include a City hosted community listening session, which will be accessible both in person and virtually, providing an opportunity for a broader audience to come together and voice their perspectives on the critical issues of equity. Offering multiple platforms for participation ensures that community members can engage in a manner that suits their preferences and circumstances, fostering a rich and comprehensive dialogue around equity challenges and potential solutions.
To further amplify community voices and ensure a holistic representation of perspectives, stipends will be made available to individuals and community groups to assist them with holding their own listening sessions. The stipends, funded with 25% of the DEI team’s annual budget will be approved on a first come first serve basis via a public application and will remain available until funds are depleted. The stipends can be used to make the meetings as inclusive as possible, which could include paying for food, location, childcare, interpretation services or other accommodations for participants.
These stipends will enable community members to convene focused discussions, allowing for deeper exploration of specific equity concerns within their respective groups. To facilitate meaningful analysis and incorporation of the discussions in the development of citywide equity priorities, we will provide standardized documentation packets to guide the sessions and ensure that the valuable insights gathered are effectively integrated into our equity team's analysis. Listening sessions will run for a duration of eight weeks, providing ample time for comprehensive engagement, and capturing diverse perspectives from across the community.
This approach aims to create a robust framework for capturing resident input, understanding their unique equity priorities, and leveraging their collective wisdom to drive informed decision-making. By engaging residents at various levels, from large community sessions to focused group discussions, the DEI team is committed to fostering an inclusive and participatory approach that empowers every member of our community to contribute to the advancement of equity and social justice.
Following the community engagement process, the DEI team will review and analyze the community feedback to identify major themes and collaborate with departments to identify existing programs and policies that could address each theme. From there, the team will develop a reference guide listing existing City programs, policies and priorities that have been created to address the challenges identified and will share that information with the community.
The DEI team will host hybrid community meetings to share the major themes identified during the engagement process and share the existing City programs, policies, and priorities currently in place that are related to the areas of focus from the community. The team will again open an application process to offer stipends to individuals and community groups to host a series of working meetings where residents will document recommended solutions to the major themes to help bridge the gap between solutions offered by existing City programs, policies and priorities, and new programs, policies and initiatives that could be developed.
At the conclusion of the analysis stage, the DEI team will present the community identified priorities, along with proposed solutions to the City Council for consideration and endorsement, to ensure that the Council is informed about the identified areas of focus, can share their preferred priority areas from those identified by the community and staff, and can provide support and guidance in driving equity initiatives. These priorities will become the City’s equity plan for the following five years, and the team will provide regular updates to the Council and the community regarding the progress made toward each goal.
Implementing the Citywide Equity Plan
To facilitate internal collaboration in service of the identified equity priorities, many of which will likely require many departments to collaborate, a dedicated Equity Task Force will be established, consisting of staff members from relevant departments. This task force will convene monthly meetings to develop a comprehensive work plan that includes clear milestones and a timeline. With recognition that, for most departments, the initiatives selected will create additional work for City staff, the DEI team will also be available to embed within departments for three-month rotations, providing support and expertise in research and development to prevent delays due to lack of capacity. This approach ensures that progress is achieved in a
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Packet Pg. 427 Attachment: Attachment C - July 2023 Staff Report (7241 : Equity Plan) coordinated and consistent manner and allows departments to serve as valued subject matter experts in shaping new equity initiatives that are created to respond to the priorities set by the community.
Communities are not stagnant, and a one-time engagement process will not yield the deeper connection and collaboration with our residents that would best serve the work of advancing equity in Santa Monica. A Community Equity Coalition will be created following the principles of the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation model. This engagement will involve major city institutions, both public and private sector partners, community stakeholders, and staff members. These quarterly meetings will emphasize truth-telling, addressing systemic racism, and fostering healing and transformation. These sessions will also provide dedicated time to address emerging community concerns, ensuring that evolving needs and challenges are promptly addressed and incorporated into ongoing equity initiatives.
By implementing this comprehensive approach, the DEI team aims to foster a culture of equity, inclusion, and active community engagement. Through collaborative efforts, transparent decision-making processes, and ongoing dialogue, the City seeks to achieve meaningful and sustainable transformation while ensuring that community priorities remain at the forefront of its endeavors.
Legal Considerations
While the advancement of equity is a priority for the City, it is also important to keep in mind the existing state and federal legal framework regarding preferential treatment, based upon race, sex color, ethnicity, or national origin, including Proposition 209 (which prohibits preferential treatment in the areas of public employment, public education, and public contracting) as well as the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on the grounds that these programs violated the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Staff will endeavor to address the equity gaps in Santa Monica in a manner that both addresses systemic racism that was generated and reinforced by historical wrongdoings while being mindful of the considerations above, with the understanding that within each individual effort a myriad of social identities including gender, sexual orientation, class, and ability benefit from the more inclusive policies generated by these efforts.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
The stipends referenced in this report will be funded via the DEI team’s budget at $25,000, which is included in the City Manager’s Office budget for Fiscal year 2023-2024.
This report was prepared by:
Lisa Parson, Equity and Inclusion Manager
Delana G. Gbenekama, Acting Communications and Public Information Manager David Gardinier, Acting Equity and Communications Coordinator Powered by Granicus
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Packet Pg. 428 Attachment: Attachment C - July 2023 Staff Report (7241 : Equity Plan)
IDENTITY CATEGORIES
GENDER IDENTITIES
How do you describe your gender identity?
A. Man
B. Non-binary/Gender Nonconforming
C. Woman
D. Something else (Please specify: ________)
E. Prefer not to say
SEXUAL IDENTITIES
How do you describe your sexual identity?
A. Asexual
B. Bisexual or pansexual
C. Gay
D. Lesbian
E. Queer
F. Straight or heterosexual
F. Something else (Please specify: _______)
G. Prefer not to say
RACE - SHORTFORM
What is your race and/or ethnicity? Select all that apply and enter additional details in the spaces below.
• American Indian or Alaska Native
• Asian
• Black or African American
• Hispanic or Latino/A/E/X
• Middle Eastern or North African
• Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
• White
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Packet Pg. 429 Attachment: Attachment D - Identity Categories [Revision 1] (7241 : Equity Plan) RACE – LONGFORM
What is your race and/or ethnicity? Select all that apply and enter additional details in the spaces below.
• American Indian or Alaska Native
o Enter, for example, Navajo Nation, Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, Native Village of Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government, Nome Eskimo Community, Aztec, Maya, etc.
• Asian
o Chinese
o Asian Indian
o Filipino
o Vietnamese
o Korean
o Japanese
o Enter, for example, Pakistani, Hmong, Afghan, etc.
• Black or African American
For example, African American, Jamaican, Haitian, Nigerian, Ethiopian, Somali, etc.
o African American
o Jamaican
o Haitian
o Nigerian
o Ethiopian
o Somali
o Enter, for example, Trinidadian and Tobagonian, Ghanaian, Congolese, etc.
• Hispanic or Latino/A/E/X
o Mexican
o Puerto Rican
o Salvadoran
o Cuban
o Dominican
o Guatemalan
o Enter, for example, Colombian, Honduran, Spaniard, etc. • Middle Eastern or North African
o Lebanese
o Iranian
o Egyptian
o Syrian
o Iraqi
o Israeli
8.A.d
Packet Pg. 430 Attachment: Attachment D - Identity Categories [Revision 1] (7241 : Equity Plan) o Enter, for example, Moroccan, Yemeni, Kurdish, etc.
• Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
o Native Hawaiian
o Samoan
o Chamorro
o Tongan
o Fijian
o Marshallese
o Enter, for example, Chuukese, Palouan, Tahitian, etc. • White
o English
o German
o Irish
o Italian
o Polish
o Scottish
o Enter, for example, French, Swedish, Norwegian, etc.
PRONOUNS
• She/Her/Ella
• He/Him/El
• They/Them/Elle
• Something Else
AGE RANGE
• 0-9
• 10-19
• 20-29
• 30-39
• 40-49
• 50-59
• 60-69
• 70-79
• 80-89
• 90-99
• 100 and over
• Prefer not to disclose
8.A.d
Packet Pg. 431 Attachment: Attachment D - Identity Categories [Revision 1] (7241 : Equity Plan)
DISABILITY
Vision
Do you have difficulty seeing, even if wearing glasses? A. No difficulty
B. Some difficulty
C. A lot of difficulty
D. Cannot do at all
Hearing
Do you have difficulty hearing, even if using a hearing aid? A. No difficulty
B. Some difficulty
C. A lot of difficulty
D. Cannot do at all
Mobility
Do you have difficulty walking or climbing steps?
A. No difficulty
B. Some difficulty
C. A lot of difficulty
D. Cannot do at all
Cognition (Remembering)
Do you have difficulty remembering or concentrating?
A. No difficulty
B. Some difficulty
C. A lot of difficulty
D. Cannot do at all
Self-Care
Do you have difficulty with self-care, such as washing all over or dressing? A. No difficulty
B. Some difficulty
C. A lot of difficulty
D. Cannot do at all
Communication
Using your usual language, do you have difficulty communicating, for example understanding or being understood?
A. No difficulty
B. Some difficulty
C. A lot of difficulty
D. Cannot do at all
8.A.d
Packet Pg. 432 Attachment: Attachment D - Identity Categories [Revision 1] (7241 : Equity Plan)
RESEARCH
What Updates to OMB’s Race/Ethnicity Standards Mean for the Census Bureau April 8, 2024
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2024/04/updates-raceethnicity-standards.html Table 1. Revised Definitions for Minimum Race/Ethnicity Reporting Categories in 2024 SPD 15
Minimum
Race/Ethnicity
Reporting Category
Definition
American Indian or
Alaska Native
Individuals with origins in any of the original peoples of North, Central, and South America, including, for example, Navajo Nation, Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, Native Village of Barrow Inupiat Traditional
Government, Nome Eskimo Community, Aztec, and Maya.
Asian Individuals with origins in any of the original peoples of Central or East Asia, Southeast Asia, or South Asia,
including, for example, Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese.
Black or African
American
Individuals with origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa, including, for example, African American, Jamaican, Haitian, Nigerian, Ethiopian, and Somali.
Hispanic or Latino Includes individuals of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Salvadoran, Cuban, Dominican, Guatemalan, and other Central or South American or Spanish culture or origin.
Middle Eastern or
North African
Individuals with origins in any of the original peoples of the Middle East or North Africa, including, for example,
Lebanese, Iranian, Egyptian, Syrian, Iraqi, and Israeli.
8.A.d
Packet Pg. 433 Attachment: Attachment D - Identity Categories [Revision 1] (7241 : Equity Plan) Native Hawaiian or
Pacific Islander
Individuals with origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands, including, for example, Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Chamorro, Tongan,
Fijian, and Marshallese.
White Individuals with origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, including, for example, English, German, Irish, Italian, Polish, and Scottish.
Revisions to OMB's Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity A Notice by the Management and Budget Office on 03/29/2024 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/29/2024-06469/revisions-to-ombsstatistical-policy-directive-no-15-standards-for-maintaining-collecting-and
8.A.d
Packet Pg. 434 Attachment: Attachment D - Identity Categories [Revision 1] (7241 : Equity Plan) When an agency receives an OIRA exemption from collecting detailed data, it may use a format that includes only the minimum categories, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.
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Packet Pg. 435 Attachment: Attachment D - Identity Categories [Revision 1] (7241 : Equity Plan)
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Packet Pg. 436 Attachment: Attachment D - Identity Categories [Revision 1] (7241 : Equity Plan)
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Packet Pg. 437 Attachment: Attachment D - Identity Categories [Revision 1] (7241 : Equity Plan) Race Forward
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Packet Pg. 438 Attachment: Attachment D - Identity Categories [Revision 1] (7241 : Equity Plan)
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Packet Pg. 439 Attachment: Attachment D - Identity Categories [Revision 1] (7241 : Equity Plan)
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Packet Pg. 440 Attachment: Attachment D - Identity Categories [Revision 1] (7241 : Equity Plan) Equity Snapshot:
Standard Staff Report Attachment
1. Does this policy/program have a significant impact on racial, gender, or ability-based equity? ☐ Yes ☐ No
• If yes, briefly describe the impact: _____________
• If no, explain why no impact is expected: _____________
2. Were community voices from affected groups considered? ☐ Yes ☐ No • If yes, describe how input was gathered: _____________ • If no, explain why: _____________
3. Were any steps taken to reduce disparities or promote inclusion? ☐ Yes ☐ No
• If yes, describe changes made: _____________
• If no, explain why: _____________
8.A.e
Packet Pg. 441 Attachment: Attachment E - Equity Snapshot, Standard Staff Report Attachment (7241 : Equity Plan)
RACIAL EQUITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT TOOL
Why assess how racial and ethnic groups are impacted by our decisions? Asking questions related to racial equity can have a meaningful impact on city programs, policies, services and procedures. We strongly recommend that departments read through the questions below when working on programs, policies, services and procedures. We also advise departments to coordinate with their EIO and the DEI Team before any action is taken.
Why do we lead with race in our approach?
We lead with race because racism is baked into policies, practices and procedures that continue to perpetuate racial inequities across all systems. There are race-based inequities across all identities (e.g., age, gender identity, disability, religion, socioeconomic status, language, and citizenship status) that must be acknowledged. Racial equity is a process of eliminating racial disparities and improving outcomes for everyone no matter their identities. It’s when race can no longer be used to predict life outcomes.
PRE-PLANNING
1. Who will benefit from or be burdened by the particular proposed policy, practice or decision?
a. Does the decision worsen or ignore existing disparities?
2. What does the current data tell us?
3. Are there strategies to mitigate the unintended consequences?
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
4. Are all racial and ethnic groups that are affected by the policy, practice or decision at the table? How have you included the Gabrielino, Tongva and Kizh meaningfully in this process?
a. What are the racial equity impacts of this particular decision?
5. How specifically have you engaged communities?
6. How is the proposed policy, practice or decision perceived by each group?
7. Have you made an effort to build relationships with community members who you intend to solicit information from or partner with?
a. If so, explain how?
b. If not, what are your plans to get to know them and stay in contact with them on a consistent basis so they don’t feel you’re extracting information from them and then disappearing once you get what you need?
c. Are there opportunities to expand engagement?
8. When consulting with people from marginalized communities, it is best practice to compensate them for their time.
a. Have you set aside funds in your budget to do this?
b. If not, then what in-kind offer would you provide instead?
8.A.f
Packet Pg. 442 Attachment: Attachment F - Racial Equity Impact Assessment Tool - Shortform (7241 : Equity Plan)
IMPLEMENTATION
9. What is your plan for implementation?
10. What is your plan for communicating to community about your implementation plan?
POST-IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION
11. Post-Implementation: What does the data tell us?
a. Quantity: How much did we do?
b. Quality: How well did we do it?
c. Is anyone better off?
12. How will you ensure accountability?
a. How will you evaluate results?
b. How will you communicate the results to the community? i. What worked (based on community feedback and feasibility)? ii. What didn’t work (based on community feedback and feasibility)? iii. Improvements that could be made in the future (based on community feedback and feasibility)?
For questions, contact your department EIO.
Sources: GARE, Center for the Study of Social Policy
8.A.f
Packet Pg. 443 Attachment: Attachment F - Racial Equity Impact Assessment Tool - Shortform (7241 : Equity Plan) 1 Mitchell Kois
From: Catalina Langen <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2025 10:07 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: Santa Monica City Manager's Office; Caroline Torosis; Lana Negrete; Sandra Santiago; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Julie Rusk; Dr Karen Gunn; Dan Hall; Natalya Zernitskaya; Jesse Zwick
Subject: Letter of Community Support for Equity Plan
Attachments: Community Letter in Support of Citywide Equity Plan.pdf Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete, Mayor Pro Tem Torosis, Councilmembers Hall, Raskin, Snell, Zernitskaya, Zwick, and City Manager Chi,
Please see the attached letter regarding community support for the 7/29/2025 Council Meeting Agenda Item 11A - Approval of Citywide Equity Plan.
This letter is submitted on behalf of the Santa Monica Bay Area Human Relations Council (HRC).
Thank you,
Catalina
Catalina Langen
Director
Santa Monica Bay Area Human Relations Council
To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
8.A.l
Packet Pg. 444 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 1 Mitchell Kois
From: Mathew Millen <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2025 2:30 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Lana Negrete; [email protected]; Jesse Zwick Subject: July 29 Item 11 A
Attachments: 11AJuly29.pdf
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Completed
EXTERNAL
Attached are my comments for July 29 Item 11 A
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
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July 29, 2025
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Packet Pg. 445 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) Item 11-A
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Packet Pg. 465 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 1 Mitchell Kois
From: Tara Barauskas <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2025 7:29 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Item 11A-support for City Equity Plan
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete and Members of the City Council,
I would like to express our strong support for the City’s Equity Plan as presented in Item 11A. As a longstanding nonprofit partner of the City, we collaborate with you and many other organizations to support equity principles here in Santa Monica to create a more inclusive community. The Equity Plan prepared by the City’s staff, led by Lisa Parson, is an impressive and well thought out set of strategies and actions that will demonstrate the City’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness. The level of community outreach was particularly impressive. We hope that the City Council will agree to not only adopt this Plan but to implement the recommendations in the plan with urgency.
Thank you,
Tara
Tara Barauskas, LEED AP
Executive Director
Community Corporation of Santa Monica
1410 2nd Street, Suite 200
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 394-8487 ext. 133
[email protected]
www.communitycorp.org
I acknowledge with respect and gratitude the Tongva, Kizh, and Chumash Peoples on whose traditional territory I live and work.
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
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Packet Pg. 466 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 1 Mitchell Kois
From: Angela D. Scott <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2025 11:46 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Dan Hall; Lana Negrete; Natalya Zernitskaya; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell
Subject: Strengthen the Citywide Equity Plan - Item 11A Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete and Esteemed Councilmembers,
I am writing to express my appreciation for the City of Santa Monica’s bold and necessary steps toward acknowledging and repairing historical harms through the Citywide Equity Plan and the emerging Reparations & Landback framework. These initiatives represent a meaningful response to generations of injustice and exclusion experienced by many of Santa Monica’s historically marginalized communities— including the Black, Indigenous, Latino, Jewish, and disabled residents whose stories were far too long erased or ignored.
The Council’s adoption of racial justice, equity, and social diversity as a strategic priority, the 2022 Black Apology, and the forthcoming Reparations & Landback Task Force reflect not just moral leadership, but an institutional shift that centers truth, healing, and restoration. I commend the City for framing equity as both a value and a shared responsibility embedded across departments and community partnerships.
However, as the implementation phase of these efforts begins, I urge Council to address several key pain points that could hinder the long-term success of this transformative work:
Pain Points
1. Limited Fiscal Flexibility and Funding Sources
The City’s constrained General Fund, legal liabilities, and infrastructure backlogs raise questions about the feasibility of implementing reparative programs without sustainable financing mechanisms.
2. Community Tensions and Representation Disputes
The Reparations Study Session notes that historical trauma, internal division, and disputes over rightful representation—especially among Indigenous groups—could fracture community solidarity if not navigated with care.
3. Public Awareness and Buy-in
Resistance to restorative justice efforts—particularly from residents unaware of Santa Monica’s historical role in systemic harm—may jeopardize implementation unless addressed through consistent, transparent community education.
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
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Packet Pg. 467 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 2 4. Risk of Performative Action Without Measurable Impact Without well-resourced metrics and accountability mechanisms, there is a risk that the Equity Plan and Reparations Task Force become symbolic rather than transformative.
Recommendations for Sustainable Solutions
Establish a Dedicated Reparations and Equity Fund
Consider reallocating underutilized city-owned assets, leveraging public-private partnerships, and exploring voter-approved measures to support ongoing investments. A multi-year funding strategy could model successful approaches in cities like Evanston, Providence, and Palm Springs.
Codify a Restorative Justice Framework in Policy
Move beyond resolutions by integrating restorative justice principles into the City’s charter or municipal code—ensuring these efforts outlast political cycles and staffing transitions. Strengthen Community Education and Narrative Shifting Expand partnerships with schools, faith-based institutions, and neighborhood groups to host truth-telling forums, intergenerational storytelling projects, and cultural preservation initiatives to normalize this work across the city.
Create an Independent Equity Accountability Body
Establish an oversight committee with budget review authority and representation from impacted communities to track progress across departments and ensure timely implementation of Equity Plan projects.
Prioritize Reparations-Eligible Residents in Housing and Economic Development Programs While complying with legal limits under Prop 209, programs can be targeted using race-neutral indicators, such as geographic displacement (e.g., the Belmar Triangle, Pico neighborhood) and historical property loss, ensuring that benefits reach the communities most impacted.
Santa Monica has an opportunity to become a national model for municipal-level reparative justice. The roadmap has been drawn by your staff and shaped by the voices of those who have endured and survived inequity. Now, the challenge is to resource, implement, and protect this vision—ensuring that the legacy of equity is not just planned, but lived.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to a Santa Monica where every resident is seen, heard, and valued. I welcome continued collaboration and stand ready to support this work in any way possible.
With respect and solidarity,
Angela
Angela D. Scott (she/her), MBA/V
Student, Doctor of Education, Ed.D.
Organizational Change and Leadership
"You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas." - Shirley Chisholm
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
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Packet Pg. 468 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 3 I acknowledge with respect and gratitude the Tongva, Kizh, and Chumash Peoples on whose traditional territory I live and work.
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
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Packet Pg. 469 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 4 Mitchell Kois
From: Cris Gutierrez <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2025 9:58 AM
To: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems
Cc: Oliver Chi; Lisa Parson
Subject: Support 7/29/25 Agenda Item 11.A – Citywide Equity Plan Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete, Mayor Pro Tem Torosis and City Council Members:
As the Great Park Coalition Regenerative Sustainability Working Group, we support the adoption of the City of Santa Monica’s Citywide Equity Plan and that “The City of Santa Monica is committed to addressing past harms, breaking down systemic barriers, and advancing equity for all our community members.” The Great Park Coalition’s (GPC) effort is a non-partisan, diverse group currently made up of over 65 organizations (representing 20,000 individuals) as well as almost 800 listed individual supporters. The GPC welcomes all future uses of the airport site that are compliant with Measure LC and which align with the five Guiding Principles for the Santa Monica Airport Conversion (SMAC) Project. The Equity Plan’s overall aims reflect the essence of the GPC’s values and the sense that reclaiming our public land would offer everyone in our Santa Monica community the enjoyments of and benefits from the ecological gifts offered at the Great Park.
We positively highlight Goal 3, which includes input from the City Manager’s Office & Community Development Department:
“Advance equity as part of the Santa Monica Airport conversion | 2030 Advance equity on the site of the airport’s conversion, including the construction of a multicultural center and the rewilding of the land in accordance with native practices, in partnership with the Kuruvungna Springs Foundation.” Rewilding the airport land aligns with the SMAC Project Guiding Principle “Start with Nature” and a “multicultural center” aligns with “Celebrate Place.” Embracing multiculturalism and rewilding is significant and essential. Cultural diversity and biodiversity are fundamental to our existence on Earth, and nurturing human and habitat health involves Santa Monica doing what it can to heal past harms and to care conscientiously for our present and future well-being by uplifting our relationships to each other and to Nature as interdependent. Our Rights of Nature/Sustainability Rights Ordinance deems no less.
What it specifically means to construct a multicultural center and to include rewilding to advance equity as part of the recreation of our public land at the airport site can generate thoughtful, open discussions as part of our community’s process. These goals should be considered within the context of and integrated thoughtfully into the overall SMAC project planning process being careful to respect the multi-year SMAC Project process itself.
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
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Packet Pg. 470 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 5 The Gabrielino-Tongva are the Indigenous inhabitants of Santa Monica and the Los Angeles Basin with a profound and enduring understanding of being “in right relationship” with the land, embodying a deep sense of environmental stewardship and responsibility. Their cultural practices, traditions, and very identity are inextricably linked to caring for and protecting the land and its resources.
The Tongva also have a vast understanding of the local ecosystem, including the plants, animals, and natural processes.
This knowledge, accumulated over generations, guides their land management practices also known as Traditional Ecological Knowledge.
The Equity Plan’s SMAC inclusion would be entirely appropriate, as it would support the creation of a nature-based regeneration and restorative ecosystem in keeping with, indeed bringing alive, the Guiding Principles of the Santa Monica Airport Conversion Project that have been adopted by the Santa Monica City Council.
1. Start with Nature
2. Inspire Wonder
3. Balance Economics
4. Amplify Versatility
5. Celebrate Place
We support the adoption of the City of Santa Monica Citywide Equity Plan’s goals generally and look forward to planning their inclusion in the Santa Monica Airport final master plan for a future Great Park.
Sincerely,
Regenerative Sustainable Working Group
Santa Monica Great Park Coalition
Michael Brodsky, Airport2Park
Kate Davies, UC Berkeley
Kyle Drees, Patagonia Santa Monica
Emmy Fay, California State University Monterey Bay
Cris Gutierrez, Santa Monica Community Gardens and SaMo Safe Streets Alliance Susan Jain, Santa Monica Arts Commission
Dylan Jericiau, Team Marine
Ben Kay, Santa Monica Clean Beaches & Ocean Parcel Tax Citizens Oversight Committee Andreas Kemkes, Verdant Venice
Dean Kubani, Santa Monica Commission on Sustainability, Environmental Justice & the Environment James Oliver, Centre for Applied Ecological Remediation David Pettit, Santa Monica Commission on Sustainability, Environmental Justice & the Environment Sylvie Rokab, Love Thy Nature
Cynthia Rose, Santa Monica Spoke and SaMo Safe Streets Alliance Jerry Rubin, Santa Monica Urban Forest Task Force
Alison Starcher, Ishihara Park Learning Garden
Kent Strumpell, Climate Action Santa Monica
Paola Vezzulli, Collective Fields, Regenerative Farming Laurene von Klan, Climate Action Santa Monica
Sarah Wauters, Verdant Venice
Randy Ziglar, Santa Monica Community Gardens
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
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Packet Pg. 471 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 6 Mitchell Kois
From: Cris Gutierrez <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2025 9:56 AM
To: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems
Cc: Oliver Chi; Lisa Parson
Subject: Support 7/29/25 Agenda Item 11.A – Citywide Equity Plan Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete, Mayor Pro Tem Torosis and City Council Members:
As the Great Park Coalition Regenerative Sustainability Working Group, we support the adoption of the City of Santa Monica’s Citywide Equity Plan and that “The City of Santa Monica is committed to addressing past harms, breaking down systemic barriers, and advancing equity for all our community members.” The Great Park Coalition’s (GPC) effort is a non-partisan, diverse group currently made up of over 65 organizations (representing 20,000 individuals) as well as almost 800 listed individual supporters. The GPC welcomes all future uses of the airport site that are compliant with Measure LC and which align with the five Guiding Principles for the Santa Monica Airport Conversion (SMAC) Project. The Equity Plan’s overall aims reflect the essence of the GPC’s values and the sense that reclaiming our public land would offer everyone in our Santa Monica community the enjoyments of and benefits from the ecological gifts offered at the Great Park.
We positively highlight Goal 3, which includes input from the City Manager’s Office & Community Development Department:
“Advance equity as part of the Santa Monica Airport conversion | 2030 Advance equity on the site of the airport’s conversion, including the construction of a multicultural center and the rewilding of the land in accordance with native practices, in partnership with the Kuruvungna Springs Foundation.” Rewilding the airport land aligns with the SMAC Project Guiding Principle “Start with Nature” and a “multicultural center” aligns with “Celebrate Place.” Embracing multiculturalism and rewilding is significant and essential. Cultural diversity and biodiversity are fundamental to our existence on Earth, and nurturing human and habitat health involves Santa Monica doing what it can to heal past harms and to care conscientiously for our present and future well-being by uplifting our relationships to each other and to Nature as interdependent. Our Rights of Nature/Sustainability Rights Ordinance deems no less.
What it specifically means to construct a multicultural center and to include rewilding to advance equity as part of the recreation of our public land at the airport site can generate thoughtful, open discussions as part of our community’s process. These goals should be considered within the context of and integrated thoughtfully into the overall SMAC project planning process being careful to respect the multi-year SMAC Project process itself.
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
Item 11-A
July 29, 2025
8.A.l
Packet Pg. 472 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 7 The Gabrielino-Tongva are the Indigenous inhabitants of Santa Monica and the Los Angeles Basin with a profound and enduring understanding of being “in right relationship” with the land, embodying a deep sense of environmental stewardship and responsibility. Their cultural practices, traditions, and very identity are inextricably linked to caring for and protecting the land and its resources.
The Tongva also have a vast understanding of the local ecosystem, including the plants, animals, and natural processes.
This knowledge, accumulated over generations, guides their land management practices also known as Traditional Ecological Knowledge.
The Equity Plan’s SMAC inclusion would be entirely appropriate, as it would support the creation of a nature-based regeneration and restorative ecosystem in keeping with, indeed bringing alive, the Guiding Principles of the Santa Monica Airport Conversion Project that have been adopted by the Santa Monica City Council.
1. Start with Nature
2. Inspire Wonder
3. Balance Economics
4. Amplify Versatility
5. Celebrate Place
We support the adoption of the City of Santa Monica Citywide Equity Plan’s goals generally and look forward to planning their inclusion in the Santa Monica Airport final master plan for a future Great Park.
Sincerely,
Regenerative Sustainable Working Group
Santa Monica Great Park Coalition
Michael Brodsky, Airport2Park
Kate Davies, UC Berkeley
Emmy Fay, California State University Monterey Bay
Cris Gutierrez, Santa Monica Community Gardens and SaMo Safe Streets Alliance Susan Jain, Santa Monica Arts Commission
Dylan Jericiau, Team Marine
Ben Kay, Santa Monica Clean Beaches & Ocean Parcel Tax Citizens Oversight Committee Andreas Kemkes, Verdant Venice
Dean Kubani, Santa Monica Commission on Sustainability, Environmental Justice & the Environment James Oliver, Centre for Applied Ecological Remediation David Pettit, Santa Monica Commission on Sustainability, Environmental Justice & the Environment Sylvie Rokab, Love Thy Nature
Cynthia Rose, Santa Monica Spoke and SaMo Safe Streets Alliance Jerry Rubin, Santa Monica Urban Forest Task Force
Alison Starcher, Ishihara Park Learning Garden
Kent Strumpell, Climate Action Santa Monica
Paola Vezzulli, Collective Fields, Regenerative Farming Laurene von Klan, Climate Action Santa Monica
Sarah Wauters, Verdant Venice
Randy Ziglar, Santa Monica Community Gardens
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Packet Pg. 473 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 8 Mitchell Kois
From: Gabrielino Springs <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2025 9:48 AM
To: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; Jesse Zwick; councilmtgitems; Rick Valte; Peter James; Christopher Dishlip; Susan Cola; Douglas Sloan
Subject: Re: Agenda Item 11.A – Citywide Equity Plan / Land Back / Kuruvungna Village Springs Attachments: Airport to Park Concept.pptx
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
EXTERNAL
July 28, 2025
Dear City Council:
I’m Bob Ramirez, a long-time resident of Santa Monica, a Designer and Builder of homes and landscapes, a Santa Monica Arts Commissioner, and the President and Director of the Gabrielino Tongva Springs Foundation, the Land Steward of Kuruvungna Village Springs.
The 1938 mural in the lobby of City Hall depicts the first contact between the Portola Expedition and the Native People at Kuruvungna Springs on August 4, 1769. This mural recently became the subject of Reframe, which proposed recommendations which were approved unanimously by the City Council last year.
Recommendation #8 to ‘Facilitate Land Back in Santa Monica’, and Recommendation #9, to ‘Facilitate Kuruvungna Springs Relationship’ has offered us an opportunity to address and correct an historical injury to our native habitat: the complete erasure of the local native environment by development.
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Packet Pg. 474 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) Airport to Park Concept
Presented to the SM Public Arts Committee by Bob Ramirez May 19, 2025
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Packet Pg. 475 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) The Site
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Packet Pg. 476 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) Start with Nature
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Packet Pg. 477 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) Inspire
Wonder
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Packet Pg. 478 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) Celebrate Place
• A Tongva inspired, spiral
ramped mound constructed of
recycled runway materials
rises to a promontory for
gathering, and celebration.
• Steps lead up to the 48 foot
height, and lookouts are
aligned with the points of the
compass.
• Secondary alignments for
solstices and equinoxes invoke
connection with the cosmos.
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Packet Pg. 479 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) Balance
Economics
• The 150’ L x 4,100’ L concrete runway contains 34,166 cubic yards of material.
• To break up and haul off to a landfill would require
approximately 6,000 truck loads.
• The runway should be regarded as an on-site quarry of building material, recycled as ‘Santa Monica Stone’.
• Portions of the runway can be sawn into large building blocks to form the 2,200 long, 16’ high walls of the spiral ramped Tongva Hill.
• Broken up concrete runway rubble from the associated site improvements can be used as permeable fill.
• When plantings are established, maintenance costs will be minimal.
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Packet Pg. 480 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) The 18” thick sawn blocks of
runway concrete arranged in an
ascending spiral, are inclined
inward to capture the rain and
fog.
An impervious layer of clay deep
below the mound of concrete
rubble impounds water to
create an aquifer.
A solar powered pump
distributes water to springs on
the upper flanks of the mound
to irrigate pockets of lush
vegetation and percolates back
into the basin.
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Packet Pg. 481 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) Amplify
Diversity
• Tongva Hill provides an amble through plant
communities and historical layers, with a promontory
for gathering, celebration, vistas and contemplation.
• Moomat Ahiko, the Breath of the Ocean, the daily
onshore breeze, is welcomed and softened by mound,
providing sheltered activities downwind.
• The monument serves as a node of biodiversity, using
Traditional Ecological Knowledge to de-colonize and
re-wild a fragment of the city.
• Tongva Park has almost no native plants.
• Tongva Hill will be enveloped with native plants
allowing for an inspiring passage through varying
microclimates and plant communities to celebrate the
diversity of our natural environment.
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Packet Pg. 482 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) Examples of Monumental Earthworks
In North America
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Packet Pg. 483 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND Cahokia
1100 AD
Mississippian Culture; present day Illinois
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Packet Pg. 484 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) Chaco Culture
900-1150 AD
New Mexico
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Packet Pg. 485 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) Teotihuacan, Mexico 1
st
-5
th Century AD
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Packet Pg. 486 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) Item 11-A
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Packet Pg. 487 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) Bio / Bob Ramirez
• CEO of Ramirez Design, Designer and Builder of notable homes and gardens since 1980
• President of the Gabrielino Tongva Springs Foundation and Steward of the ancient village of Kuruvungna in West Los Angeles.
• Arts Commissioner for the City of Santa Monica.
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Packet Pg. 488 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 9 Land Back:
The Great Park project will transform the 192 acres of airport land; a portion of this land should be given back to the native plants and animals that also call this land their home.
Santa Monica covers 8.4 square miles of developed land; 40 acres of airport land, less than 1% of the area of the City, could be restored with native habitats and provide educational, recreational and spiritual opportunities for the future.
Kuruvungna Springs:
Our work at Kuruvungna Village Springs involves the restoration of the 2-acre site in partnership with native plant specialists, community groups, and an enthusiastic army of volunteers.
Traditional Ecology Knowledge has allowed us to transform a once abandoned and neglected site into a sanctuary and refuge for Native Life.
Our deep experience with the land and water, creating relationships with our plant and animal relatives, will enable us to collaborate meaningfully with the airport conversion team.
Recycle the Runway:
The 35,000 cubic yards of concrete runway can be recycled into a Tongva inspired spiral-ramped Ziggurat, enveloped with native plants, leading up to a promontory with vistas of the mountains and the bay.
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Packet Pg. 489 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 10 A gentle ADA-conforming spiral ramp encircling the mound planted with local native vegetation allows for an inspiring passage through varying microclimates and plant communities that celebrate the diversity of our natural environment.
Captured rainwater, impounded in an artificial aquifer and pumped using solar power, create springs emerging on the north facing slope to irrigate lush vegetation, before percolating back into the basin through layers of crushed runway.
Here is a brief presentation of this concept:
This living, breathing monument embraces the Five Guiding Principles of the Great Park Design:
Start with Nature
Inspire Wonder
Balance Economics
Amplify Versatility
Celebrate Space
We ask that this small parcel of Land be given Back to the Native Plants and Animals which will benefit our entire community in ways we have yet to understand.
Thank You for your support for our future Great Park.
Respectfully,
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Packet Pg. 490 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 11 Bob Ramirez
President
Kuruvungna Village Springs
Gabrielino~Tongva Springs Foundation
P.O. Box 642043
Los Angeles, CA 90064
501(c)(3) EIN 95-4396168
Gabrielinosprings.com
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Packet Pg. 491 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 12 Mitchell Kois
From: Santa Monica Great Park Coalition <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2025 8:56 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: July 29, 2028 Council Meeting - Item 11.A. - Equity Plan Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete, Mayor Pro Tem Torosis and Councilmembers, The Santa Monica Great Park Coalition, a grassroots community organization composed of more than 65 non-profit organizations representing more than 20,000 community members, shares and supports the goals of the Equity Plan, and believes that they can be furthered by the conversion of the Santa Monica Airport into a Great Park.
While the GPC takes no positions on specific uses and programs to be included in the park (at this time), we are excited to note that the draft plan includes reference to the closure of the airport and the future of the land there, as a means to expand pathways to opportunity for historically underserved communities in Santa Monica, and specifically refers to a proposal from one of our coalition members, the Kuruvungna Springs Foundation. Our Regenerative Sustainability Working Group is sending you a separate letter on that proposal. Again, while GPC does not have positions on specific proposals, we can say that it is exciting that there would be a way to relate the environmental restorative aspects of the park to the land’s pre-colonization environment, cultures and history.
We do, however, want to point out ways that a park replacing the airport will further the goals of the Equity Plan. We must not forget that due to redlining and restrictive covenants “minorities” (we use that word in its historical sense) in Santa Monica were restricted to living in certain areas — principally along the railroad tracks and industrial areas (the Pico Neighborhood) and in Ocean Park (which was where Santa Monica’s skid row was located). These are the areas of the city where even today most of our economically disadvantaged residents live (e.g., where the schools have the highest number of pupils qualifying for subsidized lunches), predominantly in apartments. Additionally in Sunset Park, half the housing units are apartments, the vast majority of them (3,309 as of 2021) rent-controlled.
Because these neighborhoods are dense they have relatively few parks. They have high percentages of apartment dwellers who need parks for recreation and for picnics. They also bear the brunt of environmental impacts from Santa Monica’s industrial history. The pollution from the freeway that ripped through the Pico Neighborhood and from the airport falls mostly on these neighborhoods. However, and Item 11-A
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Packet Pg. 492 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 13 this is where the connection to the goals of the Equity Plan come in, these are the neighborhoods in Santa Monica that will receive the most direct benefits from closing the airport and replacing it with a park that is accessible to them.
Thank you for your consideration. The Great Park Coalition stands ready to support the City’s efforts to advance equity in a meaningful way in the coming years.
Sincerely,
The Great Park Coalition Leadership Team
John Fairweather
Cris Gutierrez
Frank Gruber
Zina Josephs
Joe Pertel
Ann Bowman
The Great Park Coalition is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, nonpartisan group of over 65 diverse organizations representing 20,000+ individuals committed to transforming the Santa Monica Airport site back into a 192-acre all-public, not privatized Great Park in accordance with the 2014 Measure LC City Charter Amendment.
The Great Park will add significant new green and open spaces, increase sports & recreational opportunities, enhance the City's arts and cultural experiences, honor the history of the site, support sustainability practices incl
==============================
Santa Monica Great Park Coalition
Web: www.GreatParkCoalition.org
E-mail: [email protected]
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Packet Pg. 493 Attachment: Written Comments - July 29, 2025 Meeting (7241 : Equity Plan) 1 David Yakobson
From: Bonnie Johnstone <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2025 6:45 PM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Equity plan-yes
EXTERNAL
Please, a Yes vote on EquityPlan this Tues. night!
Thanks. Bonnie Johnstone
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Packet Pg. 494 Attachment: Written Comments (7241 : Equity Plan) Equity Plan
August 12, 2025
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Packet Pg. 495 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) DEI Team
Lisa Pa rson
Equity and Inclusion Manager
Da vid Ga rd inie r
Equity and Communications Coordinator
De la na G. Gb e ne ka m a
Special Assistant to the City Manager
on Equity and Community Recovery
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Packet Pg. 496 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Agenda
1. What is the plan?
2. Advancing equity in challenging times
3. Equity as a value
4. Community comments & priorities
5. Goals 1-5
6. Project timeline
7. Recommended actions
8. What's ahead
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Packet Pg. 497 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) What is the plan? • City's first Citywide Equity Plan • Created to build a strong foundation that will equip the city to meaningfully apply equity as a core value in every City
department
• Focused on building equity both within the
community and city hall
• Fiveyear workplan through 2030 • Responds to community and staff feedback Item 8-A
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Packet Pg. 498 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Advancing Equity in Challenging Times
• Limited resources due to financial
constraints
• Operating with fewer staff than
pre-COVID-19
• Adversarial political environment
• Focused, manageable initiatives
with existing capacity and
resources
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Packet Pg. 499 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Equity and Our Strategic Priorities
While equity is no longer a strategic priority,
it remains a core value. How does that play
out in reality? Our community has ideas.
Clean Streets and Safe Neighborhoods
"Ma king sure Pub lic Works re sp onse s a re e q ua lly d isp e rse d a c ross the c ity a nd not b a se d sole ly on # of c a lls.”
Economic Opportunity and Growth
“Exp a nd ing our m ind se t to offe r m ore low [b a rrie rs to] e ntry e c onom ic p a thw a ys b e yond stre e t ve nd ing ." Affordable, Livable, Secure Housing for All
"Do b e tte r outre a c h into C om m unitie s of C olor so w e know a b out op p ortunitie s. O ffe r a ssista nc e w ith d oc um e nta tion for se niors a nd the d isa b le d ."
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Packet Pg. 500 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Santa Monica's Demographics
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Packet Pg. 501 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) • More than 60 community
-led listening sessions
• Participation from African American,
Latino (English/Spanish), Ethiopian,
Jewish, LGBTQ+, Muslim, disability,
senior, young adult, parent communities, and more
• Community was first engaged to share
their priorities
• Re-engaged community to co-create
solutions based on top concerns
• Staff voices were also included through
two internal panels and a survey that yielded 250 responses Engaging Our Community
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Packet Pg. 502 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Connecting youth with industry
mentors to guide them into career
paths
As first-generation immigrants, our
community members have
difficulties accessing crucial
information and getting help.
Create meaningful economic
development opportunities for
underrepresented groups.
Economic opportunity can't just be street
vending or hotel work, develop partnerships
with gaming companies and aerospace for
people who are historically underrepresented but every bit as capable.
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Packet Pg. 503 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Community Priorities • Economic development opportunities for historically marginalized
• Housing affordability
Diversity in leadership
• Reparative justice for past harms • Cultural competency training for City employees
• Equitable civic engagement
and public participation
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Packet Pg. 504 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Goal 1
C onfront a nd re p a ir ha rm s throug h
truth, he a ling a nd re stora tive a c tion. • Landback & Reparations Task Force • Living into our Statement of Accountability (Land Acknowledgment)
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Packet Pg. 505 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Goal 2
De e p e n trust a nd b e long ing
throug h inc lusive c om m unity
enga gement.
• Provide an Online Resource Hub
for Vulnerable Communities
• Launch Santa Monica
Community Connectors
Program
• Create the Santa Monica
Taxpayer Receipt
Taxpayer Receipt Example:
$17,000 taxes
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Packet Pg. 506 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Goal 3
Exp a nd p a thw a ys to op p ortunity
for historic a lly und e rse rve d
c om m unitie s. • Administer Equity Microgrant Program • Create and Implement Aging and Disability Plan • Embed Equity into the Airport Conversion Plan Item 8-A
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Packet Pg. 507 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Goal 4
Tra nsform how g ove rnm e nt
w orks to d e live r m ore
e q uita b le outc om e s. • Bias awareness training for City staff and hiring panels • Snapshot of equity impact assessments for staff reports
• Standardized identity categories
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Packet Pg. 508 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Goal 5
Build a c ulture w he re e q uity is
und e rstood , p ra c tic e d a nd
va lue d . • Equity and bystander intervention trainings • History tours and film screenings • Equity training at council orientation Item 8-A
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Packet Pg. 509 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Project Completion: FY 2025-26
• Outreach to Non-English-Speaking Residents (RES)
• Conversations about Equity (CMO)
• Hate Speech Policy (CMO)
• Grants Assistance Guide (CMO + CDD + HHS)
• Multilingual Directory of City Services (CMO)
• Signage Acknowledging Tongva Land in
Tongva Park (CMO + RAD + PW)
• Community Mapping Initiative (Library)
• Increase Training in Crisis Intervention and
Cultural Sensitivity (SMPD)
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Packet Pg. 510 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Project Completion: FY 2026-27
• Procurement Reform (FIN)
• Cannabis Social Equity Program (CDD)
• Community Conversations About Equity (CMO)
• Disability and Neurodivergence Training for Staff
(CMO)
• Taxpayer Receipt
• Cultural competence in Policing Community
Education Series (CMO + SMPD)
• Hate Speech Policy (CMO)
• SaMo Government 101 (CMO + City Clerk)
• We Are Santa Monica Equity Grants
• Mentorship Program (DOT)
• Landback and Reparations Task Force (CMO)
• Commemoration of Japanese Internment (CMO)
• Public Education and Truth Telling Event Series
(CMO)
• Increased Training for Fire Staff on Assisting Queer
Individuals in Distress (SMFD)
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Packet Pg. 511 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) • Aging & Disability Action
Plan (CDD)
• 6-Month Community
Follow-up Policy (CMO)
• Financial Empowerment
Center (CMO + CDD + HHS)
Project Completion: FY 2027-29
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Packet Pg. 512 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) Project Completion: FY 2029-30 & Beyond
• Computer Donation for Youth (ISD)
• PW Equity Plan
• Cultural Celebrations (RAD & CMO)
• Cultural Tours (RAD & CMO)
• SaMo Mentoring Initiative (CMO)
• Standardized Identity Categories for City Work
(CMO)
• Equity Assessment Snapshot for staff reports
(CMO)
• Bias Training for Interview Panelists (CMO)
• Community Connectors Program (CMO)
• Digital Navigator Program (ISD)
• Participatory Budgeting Pilot (FIN)
• Construction of 8895 Housing Units (HHS)
• Leverage Pro-housing Designation and Incentivize
Affordable Housing (HHS)
• Detox and Sobering Center (HHS)
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Packet Pg. 513 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) • Receive and approve the
Citywide Equity Plan
• Approve the budget
amendment transferring
the remaining funds
($32,496) earmarked for
equity in the We Are Santa
Monica Fund to the Santa
Monica Equity Grant Fund
Recommended Actions
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Packet Pg. 514 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) What's Ahead This Year
• Continued focus on supporting immigrant and trans communities • Launch of Equity Grant Program • Supporting Equity and Inclusion Officers to complete department projects in December
• Landbackand Reparations Task Force
presentation to council December
2025
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Packet Pg. 515 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7241 : Equity Plan) City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: August 12, 2025
Agenda Item: 10.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Arminé Chaparyan, Director, Administration
Subject: Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance 1) Amending the Text of the City’s Zoning Ordinance to Promote Economic Recovery and Increase Land Use Flexibility in the City’s Downtown Area; and 2) Amendments to Interim Zoning Regulations to Promote Economic Recovery by Increasing Land Use Flexibility in the City’s Downtown Area and Establishing a Pilot Program to Allow Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Uses in the Office Campus District Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines,
2. Introduce for first reading the attached ordinance amending the text of Santa Monica Municipal Code Article 9 Planning and Zoning to Promote Economic Recovery and Increase Land Use Flexibility in the City’s Downtown Area, and
3. Introduce for first reading the attached interim zoning ordinance amending Interim Zoning Regulations Established to Promote Economic Recovery by Increasing Land Use Flexibility in the City’s Downtown Area and Establishing a Pilot Program to Allow for Exclusively Commercial Outdoor Uses in the Office Campus District to Allow Additional Flexibility Related to Community Assembly Uses in the Bayside Conservation District.
Summary
On July 25, 2023, Council adopted Interim Zoning Ordinance Number 2754 (CCS) (“IZO 2754”), establishing interim zoning regulations promoting economic recovery in the City’s Downtown, including the Third Street Promenade Area and Santa Monica Place, and also included minor clerical amendments further supporting economic recovery. On September 26, 2023, the Council introduced for first reading Interim Zoning Ordinance
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Number 2761 (CCS) (“IZO 2761”), which was adopted on October 10, 2023, extending and amending the interim zoning regulations established by IZO 2754 through November 22, 2028.
Interim Zoning Ordinance No. 2761 included zoning changes supporting a variety of potential commercial uses within the Downtown. These changes focused on enabling certain outdoor rooftop commercial uses on Public Parking Structures owned by the City, greater flexibility for restaurants providing entertainment, and provided a streamlined review for alcohol permits.
On October 22, 2024, the Council introduced Interim Zoning Ordinance Number 2794 (CCS) (“IZO 2794”), which was adopted on November 11, 2024, amending the interim zoning regulations to further promote economic recovery efforts within the Downtown and Third Street Promenade area, simplifying the review process for new businesses. Amendments were focused on streamlining the review process for uses within the Third Street Promenade area by eliminating Conditional Use Permit and Minor Use Permit requirements, and expanding the streamlining of alcohol permits for a variety of different commercial uses. On October 22, the Council also introduced and adopted Ordinance Number 2793 (CCS), an emergency ordinance amending the Sign Code by relaxing limitations to encourage the use of creative signs and to enhance overall business promotion on the Promenade.
These amendments were critical in providing greater certainty and predictability for property owners and their existing tenants, along with prospective businesses considering locations within the Promenade area. Additionally, consistent with the City’s Outdoor Space Program efforts, the IZO included a pilot program limited to the Office Campus District that would allow exclusively outdoor uses such as open-air markets to locate on private property, subject to meeting certain conditions.
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On March 25, 2025, the Council adopted amendments to the Interim Zoning Ordinance (IZO No. 2809 CCS) to further promote economic recovery efforts within the Third Street Promenade area, encouraging the reuse and occupancy of existing buildings by exempting community assembly uses from applicability and additional operational requirements specific to the use for properties located with the BC Districts. The Council also introduced and adopted Ordinance Number 2805 (CCS), an emergency ordinance amending the Sign Code providing consistency in the allowable digital sign area for each property facing the Promenade, in response to property owner feedback subsequent to the amendments adopted on October 22, 2024.
As part of the discussion, Council gave staff direction on bringing forward interim zoning regulations related to economic recovery efforts that can be permanently adopted into the Zoning Ordinance. As such, staff is recommending certain alcohol-related IZO regulations that are ready for permanent Zoning Ordinance adoption.
On July 2, 2025, the Planning Commission adopted resolution number 25-013 (PCS) recommending that the City Council amend the text of the Zoning Ordinance related to promoting economic recovery and increase land use flexibility in the City’s Downtown area. The proposed amendments were previously adopted as interim zoning regulations, with minor changes, and include expanded opportunities for Alcohol Exemption permits, increased operational flexibility for restaurants with entertainment, and removal of the prohibition against certain fast-food restaurants in establishments with frontage along the Third Street Promenade. The Planning Commission recommended these interim zoning regulations for permanent adoption.
The Council will be considering permanent adoption of these amendments that have demonstrated to be supportive and effective for businesses as they have been tested and improved based on feedback since adopted as interim zoning
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regulations in 2023.
Additionally, the Council will be considering additional amendments to existing Interim Zoning Ordinance Number 2809 (CCS) for the Downtown area.
Consistent with the Council’s continued support of local businesses and to promote economic recovery efforts within the Downtown area, staff proposes additional land use flexibility that would support existing businesses in the Downtown and flexibility in Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for existing buildings located on the Promenade:
• Relocation Flexibility for Existing Pawn Shop Establishments within the Downtown area: Allow existing legal non-conforming Pawn Shop establishments located in the Downtown to relocate to another location within the Downtown area, except within the Ocean Transition (OT District). • Allow FAR Flexibility for Existing Non-Conforming Buildings on the Promenade:
Allow properties on the Promenade with legal non-conforming buildings approved pursuant to a Development Review Permit to retain their floor area development rights and exempt from certain non-conforming building restrictions.
The proposed IZO amendments would amend the current interim zoning regulations for the downtown and would maintain the current expiration date of November 22, 2028, although the Council could make any of the interim zoning regulations permanent amendments to the Zoning Ordinance at any time.
Discussion
Based on Council direction provided at their March 25, 2025 meeting, staff proposes to codify and make permanent certain Interim Zoning Ordinance (IZO) standards that have been effective in supporting the opening of new businesses
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within the downtown. Although the current IZO is effective through November 22, 2028, permanent adoption of certain interim standards would provide the business community with greater certainty in the City’s ongoing commitment to support new and existing businesses. Maintaining other allowances under the current IZO including more recent changes adopted in October 2024 and March 2025 would allow staff to continue evaluating such amendments for effectiveness and respond to community feedback by immediately making enhancements or address conflicts that may arise with standards while in its interim status. Staff will continue to evaluate the downtown land use changes in the IZO, in coordination with DTSM and business community, for additional streamlining opportunities to further simplify operational standards. Staff anticipates bringing forward the existing IZO standards for permanent adoption, along with a broader scope of land use changes that will apply citywide, throughout the forthcoming year.
Current IZO standards with updated changes proposed to be codified permanently in the Zoning Ordinance focus on supporting restaurants and streamlining alcohol permitting, which include:
• Expanded Alcohol Exemptions. In addition to restaurants, Administrative Alcohol Exemption (AE) permits are allowed for additional uses within the Bayside Conservation (BC) zoning district the Santa Monica Place including bars/nightclubs, retail, convenience markets/liquor stores, small/large scale commercial entertainment and recreation facilities, and cultural/instructional facilities. To provide consistency and additional support for businesses within the most active commercial area within the downtown, staff recommends an additional change to the current IZO provision by expanding the boundaries of this allowance an additional block to include properties along Ocean Avenue between Wilshire Boulevard and Colorado Avenue within the Ocean Transition (OT) District Figure 1). This would result in a more equitable approach in providing flexibility for businesses with alcohol service in the area west of 4th Street to the beach, around the Promenade’s recently established entertainment
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zone.
Figure 1: Current Alcohol Exemption Boundaries include Third Street Promenade Area and Santa Monica Place. Proposed Expanded Boundary Includes the Ocean Transition (OT) District Along Ocean Avenue Between Wilshire Boulevard and Colorado Avenue.
• Restaurants with Entertainment. Removal of some operational restrictions on ancillary entertainment before a discretionary Conditional Use Permit is required, allowing greater flexibility for restaurants with entertainment located within the Promenade and Santa Monica Place. Previous restrictions included: dancing, maximum number of televisions, and pub crawl prohibitions restrictions. Consistent with the AE expansion boundaries described above, staff recommends expanding these provisions to include the BC Districts and OT District between Wilshire Boulevard and Colorado Avenue to ensure consistency in requirements as these zoning ordinance sections are interrelated.
• Eliminate Prohibition on Fast Food Restaurants on the Promenade. On March 14, 2023, based on the economic conditions and the high vacancy
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rate along the Promenade, Council adopted an IZO that eliminated the prohibition criteria of fast food restaurant types with frontage on the Third Street Promenade and restored these Limited-Service and Take-Out Restaurants as permitted uses, allowing a full range of restaurants. This IZO has increased flexibility of use and opportunities for economic recovery enabling additional dining options on the Promenade and increased interest from prospective restaurants. Although the current IZO is effective through April 28, 2028, permanently eliminating this prohibition would further economic recovery efforts on the Promenade.
These amendments reflect short and medium-term policy and procedural changes specific to the evolving economic vitality of the Promenade area.
Alcohol permit streamlining with the broadened range of permitted uses with fewer operating restrictions in the BC Districts and Santa Monica Place has been critical for new businesses opening in the Downtown and is appropriate for permanent adoption. Further expansion to the OT District along Ocean Avenue would provide consistency in permitting and overall operations for businesses within the centralized commercial area of the Downtown. The recent interim elimination of the fast-food restrictions on the Promenade has resulted in new restaurant operators with others forthcoming. The effectiveness of these particular interim provisions have been tested and revised based on feedback since adopted as interim standards and thereby warrant its permanent adoption.
In coordination with DTSM and the City’s Economic Development staff, continued evaluation of the Promenade and Downtown area changes will be ongoing.
These IZO standards recommended for permanent adoption, and revised as described above, are reflected in Attachment A.
Additional Amendments to Current Interim Zoning Ordinance Consistent with the Council’s continued support of local businesses and to promote economic recovery efforts within the Downtown area, staff continues
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evaluation of streamlining zoning requirements. Accordingly, staff proposes to amend the current IZO to allow additional land use flexibility that would 1) support existing nonconforming pawn shops in the downtown with the ability to relocate to another property within the downtown, and 2) provide flexibility in Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for existing buildings located on the Promenade to be flexible in the designing tenant spaces based on prospective business needs:
• Relocation Flexibility for Existing Nonconforming Pawn Shop Establishments within the Downtown area: Pawn shop establishments are not permitted in the Downtown area making any existing establishments legal non-conforming uses. Non-conforming use standards do not allow an existing business to relocate to another property and retain its non-conforming status, and the business would be subject to the underlying zoning of its new location. In efforts to support existing downtown businesses, the proposed change would allow existing pawn shop establishments located in the Downtown to relocate to another location within the Downtown area, except within the Ocean Transition (OT District). This change is the simplest approach to allow existing shops to relocate based on their financial or operational needs without impacting other non-zoning related permitting requirements established for pawnbrokers in the municipal code including but not limited to the maximum number of pawnbroker licenses allowed in the City (SMMC 6.14.050(e)). Prior to the adoption of the Downtown Community Plan (DCP) in 2017, pawn shops were a permitted use in most areas of the Downtown, except along Ocean Avenue within the Ocean Transition District. This proposal to allow an existing establishment to relocate anywhere in the Downtown except for Ocean Avenue is consistent with former policy in terms of locations for this particular use.
• Allow Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Flexibility for Existing Non-Conforming Buildings on the Promenade: A building that exceeds the current maximum allowable floor area is considered a non-conforming building in terms of FAR. Such floor
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area is allowed to be maintained however cannot be replaced if such floor area was removed or demolished over multiple project renovations. This change would allow existing properties on the Promenade that were approved pursuant to a Development Review Permit (DRP) to retain their floor area development rights, exempt from this particular non-conforming building restriction. Flexibility would allow floor area to be removed and replaced at any given time in accordance with their DRP without losing its non-conforming rights to floor area, provided the floor area is placed within the site’s existing building envelope. This ensures that the property’s existing building shape and form remains generally unchanged. This change is focused on providing property owners with design flexibility in commercial tenant spaces based on the needs of prospective businesses over time.
These proposed changes are reflected as underlined text in Attachment B. Any strikethrough text indicates those standards that are being removed from the IZO and codified permanently into the Zoning Ordinance, as discussed in the prior section of this report.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
May 12, 2020 Council adopted two Emergency Interim Zoning Ordinances establishing interim zoning regulations to support the
economic recovery of local businesses impacted by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
November 10, 2020 Extended Emergency Interim Zoning Ordinances for both Citywide and Promenade, extended through December 31,
2022.
April 13, 2021 (“IZO
2667”), September 28,
2021 (“IZO 2682”), and
January 25, 2022 (“IZO
2690”)
Subsequent amendments to the “Promenade” IZO.
October 11, 2022 and Council adopted Ordinance 2726 (CCS) approving Zoning Meeting Date Description
October 25, 2022 Ordinance amendments for the Third Street Promenade Area
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January 24, 2023 Council held a discussion requesting that the City develop strategies to revitalize the Third Street Promenade.
July 25, 2023 Council adopted Promenade Interim Zoning Ordinance 2754 to Promote Economic Recovery in the City’s Downtown
area, including the Third Street Promenade Area and Santa Monica Place, and Provide Other Minor and Clerical
Amendments to the Zoning Ordinance Related to Economic
Recovery.
September 26, 2023 Council adopted Interim Zoning Ordinance 2761 extending Interim Zoning Ordinance 2754 promoting economic
recovery in the City’s Downtown area, including the Third Street Promenade Area and Santa Monica Place, and
providing other minor clerical amendments to the Zoning Ordinance related to economic recovery.
October 22, 2024 Council adopted Interim Zoning Ordinance 2794 amending Interim Zoning Ordinance 2761 promoting economic
recovery by increasing land use flexibility in the City’s Downtown Area, establishing a pilot program to allow
exclusively commercial outdoor uses in the office campus district, and providing other minor and clerical amendments.
Council amended Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter
9.61: Signs to increase flexibility for signage in the Bayside Conservation District and Third Street Promenade Area, and make other minor changes to promote economic recovery,
public safety and welfare.
March 25, 2025 Council adopted amendments to the Interim Zoning Ordinance (IZO No. 2809 CCS) to further promote
economic recovery efforts within the Third Street
Promenade area, encouraging the reuse and occupancy of
existing buildings by exempting community assembly uses from applicability and additional operational requirements specific to the use for properties located with the BC
Districts. The Council also introduced and adopted
Ordinance Number 2805 (CCS), an emergency ordinance
amending the Sign Code providing consistency in the
allowable digital sign area for each property facing the Promenade, in response to property owner feedback
subsequent to the amendments adopted on October 22,
2024.
Environmental Analysis
The proposed amendments to interim zoning regulations previously established as described above are categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15301 of the
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CEQA Guidelines. Section 15301 of CEQA Guidelines provides (Class 1 Existing Facilities) exemption for the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the lead agency's determination. Projects that fall into this class of exemption include alterations to existing streets, sidewalks, gutter, bicycle facilities, and other similar facilities and additions of safety or health protection during for use in conjunction with existing facilities. The proposed amendments would allow for flexibility in land uses for the Downtown.
No expansion of the existing land uses is proposed. Therefore, the proposed amendments qualify under the Class 1 exemption.
Text Amendment Findings
1. The proposed amendments to the text of the Zoning Ordinance are consistent with the General Plan in that the amendments implement LUCE policies to adapt to changing conditions and to support small businesses. Specifically, Goal LU9 states to actively monitor and manage land use changes to address community needs, promote citywide sustainability and ensure community livability. The City’s economic recovery efforts seek to support new and existing businesses with zoning flexibility. In addition, Policy LU13.4 seeks to reduce regulatory costs on small businesses and for the City to continue exploring ways to streamline the approval process for new and existing businesses. Accordingly, the proposed amendments support small businesses by simplifying alcohol-related processing and operational standards. The proposed amendments to the downtown area are consistent with citywide goals and policies related to maintaining a diversified and sustainable economy based on the proposed expansion of applicable commercial uses that can obtain an administrative Alcohol Exemption Permit, allowance of all restaurant types on the Promenade, and fewer restrictions on restaurants providing entertainment.
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2. The proposed amendments to the text of the Zoning Ordinance are consistent with the purpose of the Zoning Ordinance to promote the growth of the City in an orderly manner and to promote and protect the public health, safety, and general welfare in that proposed amendments will provide continued support necessary for the City’s business retention and economic recovery efforts by addressing the needs of the business community by simplifying land use standards and streamlining review procedures.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of recommended action. Staff will return to Council if specific budget actions are required in the future.
Prepared By: Steve Mizokami, Principal Planner
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments
B. 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit C. Written Comments
D. PowerPoint Presentation
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1 City Council Meeting: August 12, 2025 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER _________ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA AMENDING THE TEXT OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND INCREASE LAND USE FLEXIBILITY IN THE CITY’S
DOWNTOWN AREA
WHEREAS, on July 6, 2010, the City Council adopted the Land Use and Circulation Element of the City’s General Plan (“LUCE”), which designates the proposed general distribution, location and extent of land uses within the City; and WHEREAS, on July 25, 2017, the City Council of the City of Santa Monica (“City Council”) adopted the Downtown Community Plan (“DCP”) which sets forth the City’s vision of Downtown as a high quality, mixed-use district offering opportunities as a major public space framed by a mix of retail, restaurants, and services that form unique experiences enjoyable to both residents and visitors; and WHEREAS, the DCP supports activities that enrich the Promenade, including street performances and events that enliven the street and provide memorable experiences for visitors, while also seeking to expand cultural opportunities, including live music venues and upgraded state-of-the art cinemas; and WHEREAS, the DCP acknowledges that the Promenade is an essential component of the Downtown’s economic sustainability and emphasizes the importance of reevaluating and refreshing the Promenade so that it remains attractive and exciting to residents and visitors alike; and
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Packet Pg. 528 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and 2 WHEREAS, the Bayside Conservation (BC) District, extending from 4th Court to the west side of 2nd Street and the south side of Wilshire Boulevard to the east side of Broadway, is located within the DCP and is considered the pedestrian and economic heart of the City; and
WHEREAS, the DCP contemplates that the BC District will continue as a lively mix of pedestrian-oriented uses with dynamic activity day and night and promote a 7-day active district, with land use regulations that support a diversity of entertainment and cultural options, in particular the addition of cultural amenities such as museums, theaters and cinemas; and
WHEREAS, the Lincoln Transition (LT) District, consisting of parcels along Lincoln Boulevard within the DCP area, is envisioned as a transition to become a Downtown gateway while respecting the lower-scale residential neighborhood to the east; and WHEREAS, the DCP encourages the evolution of the LT District as the eastern gateway to the Downtown, with pedestrian realm and open-space standards to guide new investment in making Lincoln Boulevard a more walkable street, including promoting ground floor uses that active the street and serve the local community; and WHEREAS, the Wilshire Transition (WT) District consists of properties on the north side of Wilshire Boulevard between the east side of 2nd Street and west side of 7th Street, is located within the DCP and hosts a multitude of different building types and heights with both large Class-A office developments and smaller two- and three-story structures that house a mixture of small neighborhood serving retail and dining; and
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Packet Pg. 529 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and 3 WHEREAS, the DCP contemplates that the WT District will continue to support smaller local serving uses that provide easily accessible goods and services to the surrounding neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, the Ocean Transition (OT) District, consisting of parcels located on or adjacent to Ocean Ave and across from Palisades Park, is intended to promote public and private enhancements to make Ocean Avenue a more consistently enjoyable walking experience and more integrated into the larger Downtown multimodal circulation network; and WHEREAS, standards for the OT support the overall improvement of the pedestrian experience, restaurants with outdoor dining, small-scale retail and services, and housing and office uses on upper floors; and WHEREAS, DCP Goal LU3 contemplates that the Downtown will continue to be the economic center for the City, providing a diverse and flexible mix of uses that can meet future resident, business and visitor demand; and WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the City Manager, as the Director of Emergency Services (“Director of Emergency Services”), proclaimed the existence of a local emergency pursuant to Chapter 2.16 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code to ensure the availability of mutual aid and effectuate the City’s response to the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”), and this local emergency was restated on March 14, 2020, through a revised declaration of local emergency to ensure compliance with all digital signature requirements (the “Executive Order”)’ and
WHEREAS, on March 16, 2020, the Director of Emergency Services issued a Third Supplement to the Executive Order, requiring the closure of a wide range of
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Packet Pg. 530 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and 4 businesses including bars, nightclubs, on-premises restaurant service, movie theatres, live performance venues, gyms, fitness centers, spas, hair salons, massage parlors, and nail salons; and
WHEREAS, on March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-33-20 directing all residents of the State of California to heed directives issued by the State Health Officer on the same date instructing all Californians to stay home except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors; and
WHEREAS, on March 19, 2020, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued an enhanced Health Officer Order, the Safer at Home Order for Control of COVID-19, amending and superseding its earlier March 16, 2020 Order, closing all nonessential businesses, and limiting gatherings to 9 people or less; and WHERAS, after March 19, 2020, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, on multiple occasions, amended and modified its Health Officer Order, recognizing the issues posed by community transmission of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, and, in response, maintaining public health measures that have, at differing times, included strict limitations on public gatherings, required closures of certain businesses, and strict limitations and protocols for the operations of businesses permitted to remain open; and WHEREAS, as of March 31, 2023, the local, state, and federal COVID-19 emergency declarations have concluded; and WHEREAS, although the emergency orders have been lifted, the economic impacts of the COVID-19 closures of, and limitations on, businesses have been and
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Packet Pg. 531 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and 5 continue to be devastating to the local Santa Monica economy; and the Downtown area is continuing to experience economic uncertainty; and WHEREAS, as the commercial and economic landscape evolves, Downtown’s economic recovery and competitive advantage will depend on its ability to deliver on a diverse range of unique dining, retail, and entertainment uses; and WHEREAS, as restaurant and entertainment environments across the region and county continue to evolve, there is a need to adjust allowed uses and dining and entertainment options to enable economic recovery and provide increased flexibility to minimize vacancies on the Third Street Promenade and the Downtown areas; and WHEREAS, the City has an important governmental interest in maintaining a thriving business community and protecting the health, safety, and economic welfare of its citizens and businesses; and
WHEREAS, vacancy rates and economic impacts can threaten the health, safety, and economic welfare of citizens and businesses; and WHEREAS, on October 25, 2022, City Council adopted an Ordinance amending the text of the City’s Zoning Ordinance related to economic recovery in commercial districts Citywide and in the area including and immediately adjacent to the Third Street Promenade; and
WHEREAS, these zoning changes codified Emergency Interim Zoning Ordinances approved in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and focused on relaxing barriers that had been shown to create unnecessarily difficult processes for simple changes of use inhibiting the establishing of common neighborhood-servicing uses; and
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Packet Pg. 532 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and 6 WHEREAS, on January 24, 2023, City Council held a discussion session requesting that the City develop strategies to revitalize the Third Street Promenade that included, but were not limited to, establishing an arts and entertainment district in the 1200 block of the Third Street Promenade, expanding outdoor dining opportunities, promoting available space and development opportunities, Zoning Ordinance amendments to expand allowable uses, and opportunities to partner with Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. on street performances; and WHEREAS, allowing eligible businesses the flexibility to engage in new uses will facilitate business recovery and generate increased sales tax revenue for the City; and
WHEREAS, on July 25, 2023, due to the continued economic uncertainty arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the high vacancy rate along the Promenade in the Downtown area, the City Council adopted Interim Zoning Ordinance Number 2754 (CCS) (“IZO 2754”), which adopted interim zoning regulations to: (1) provide greater flexibility for restaurants that provide entertainment within the Third Street Promenade Area District; (2) expand Alcohol Exemption (AE) permits to additional uses to further streamline the review of alcohol permits while also correcting and refining existing AE permit condition; (3) enable the Director of Planning to consider commercial uses that are not clearly defined in the Zoning Code; (4) extend terms for Temporary Use Permits; and (5) allow outdoor rooftop commercial uses on public parking structures owned by the City (the “interim zoning regulations”); and WHEREAS, IZO 2754 became effective September 22, 2023 and was set to expire on November 22, 2023; and
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Packet Pg. 533 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and 7 WHEREAS, on October 10, 2023, the City Council adopted Interim Zoning Ordinance Number 2761 (CCS) (“IZO 2761”), extending the interim zoning regulations for the full 60 months in accordance with SMMC 9.46.090(C), to November 22, 2028; and
WHEREAS, on October 22, 2024, Council adopted amendments to the Interim Zoning Ordinance to further promote economic recovery efforts within the Downtown and Third Street Promenade area, simplifying the review process for new businesses; and
WHEREAS, the amendments were focused on streamlining the review process for uses within the Third Street Promenade area by eliminating Conditional Use Permit and Minor Use Permit requirements, and expanding the streamlining of alcohol permits for a variety of different commercial uses; and WHEREAS, on October 22, 2024 Council also introduced and adopted Ordinance Number 2793 (CCS), an emergency ordinance amending the Sign Code by relaxing limitations to encourage the use of creative signs and to enhance overall business promotion on the Promenade; and
WHEREAS, these amendments were critical in providing greater certainty and predictability for property owners and their existing tenants, along with prospective businesses considering locations within the Promenade area; and WHEREAS, consistent with the City’s Outdoor Space Program efforts, the IZO also included a pilot program limited to the Office Campus District that would allow exclusively outdoor uses such as open-air markets to locate on private property, subject to meeting certain conditions; and
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Packet Pg. 534 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and 8 WHEREAS, on March 25, 2025, Council also introduced and adopted Ordinance Number 2805 (CCS), an emergency ordinance amending the Sign Code providing consistency in the allowable digital sign area for each property facing the Promenade, in response to property owner feedback subsequent to the amendments adopted on October 22, 2024; and
WHEREAS, on April 8, 2025, the Council amended the IZO and adopted Ordinance No. 2809 (CCS) to further promote economic recovery efforts within the Third Street Promenade area, encouraging the reuse and occupancy of existing buildings by exempting community assembly uses from applicability and additional operational requirements specific to the use for properties located with the BC District; and ,
WHEREAS, the amendments to the interim zoning regulations support local business retention and promote new business opportunities within the Downtown, addressing the needs of the business community and residents and supporting small businesses by simplifying land use standards and streamlining review procedures; and
WHEREAS, the City would now like to codify and make permanent certain IZO standards that have been effective in the opening of new businesses within the Downtown since their establishment; and
WHEREAS, making certain standards permanent would provide the business community with even greater certainty in the City’s ongoing commitment to supporting new and existing businesses; and
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Packet Pg. 535 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and 9 WHEREAS, the current IZO standards and other minor changes to be codified permanently in the Zoning Ordinance may include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) expanding permitted land uses and limiting discretionary reviews within the downtown; (2) providing greater flexibility for restaurants located within the Third Street Promenade Area, including removing certain operation restrictions on ancillary entertainment before a CUP is required; (3) expanding alcohol exemptions within the BC districts; (4) simplifying alcohol exemption criteria; and (5) eliminating the fast food prohibition on the Promenade; and
WHEREAS, these changes reflect short and medium-term policy and procedural changes specific to the evolving economic vitality of the Promenade and Downtown area; and
WHEREAS, alcohol permit streamlining with the broadened range of permitted uses with fewer restrictions in the BC Districts has been critical for new businesses opening in the Downtown and is appropriate for permanent adoption; and WHEREAS, other policy changes in streamlining land use review will be evaluated for improvements over time based on feedback and continued evaluation of the Promenade and Downtown area changes will be ongoing; and WHEREAS, on June 4, 2025 in accordance with Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.46.030(B), the Planning Commission adopted a Resolution of Intention, Resolution Number 25-010 (PCS), declaring its intention to consider recommending to the City Council that the City Council amend the text of the Zoning Ordinance to promote economic recovery and increase land use flexibility in the City’s Downtown Area; and
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Packet Pg. 536 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and 10 WHEREAS, on July 2, 2025, the Planning Commission conducted a duly noticed public hearing to consider recommending to the City Council that the City Council amend the text of the Zoning Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, City Council now desires to adopt the recommended changes to the Zoning Ordinance to promote economic recovery and increase land use flexibility in the City’s Downtown Area.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The text of Santa Monica Municipal Code is hereby amended to promote economic recovery and increase flexibility in the City’s Downtown Area, as set forth in Exhibit A.
A. The proposed amendments to the text of the Zoning Ordinance are consistent with the General Plan in that the amendments implement LUCE policies to adapt to changing conditions and to support small businesses. Specifically, Goal LU9 states to actively monitor and manage land use changes to address community needs, promote citywide sustainability and ensure community livability.
The City’s economic recovery efforts seek to support new and existing businesses with zoning flexibility. In addition, Policy LU13.4 seeks to reduce regulatory costs on small businesses and for the City to continue exploring ways to streamline the approval process for new and existing businesses. Accordingly, the proposed amendments support small businesses by simplifying alcohol-related processing and operational standards. The proposed amendments to the downtown area are consistent with citywide goals and policies related to maintaining a diversified and
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Packet Pg. 537 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and 11 sustainable economy based on the proposed expansion of applicable commercial uses that can obtain an administrative Alcohol Exemption Permit, allowance of all restaurant types on the Promenade, and fewer restrictions on restaurants providing entertainment.
B. The proposed amendments to the text of the Zoning Ordinance are consistent with the purpose of the Zoning Ordinance to promote the growth of the City in an orderly manner and to promote and protect the public health, safety, and general welfare in that proposed amendments will provide continued support necessary for the City’s business retention and economic recovery efforts addressing the needs of the business community by simplifying land use standards and streamlining review procedures
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.
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Packet Pg. 538 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and 12 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:
_________________________
Douglas Sloan, City Attorney
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Packet Pg. 539 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and CHAPTER 9.10 DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS
Section 9.10.040 Land Use Regulations
Table 9.10.040 prescribes the land use regulations for Downtown Districts. The regulations for each district are established by letter designations below. These designations apply strictly to the permissibility of land uses; applications for buildings or structures may require discretionary review.
“P” designates permitted uses.
“L(#)” designates limited uses, which are permitted by right, provided they comply with specific limitations listed at the end of the table.
“MUP” designates use classifications that are permitted after review and approval of a Minor Use Permit.
“CUP” designates use classifications that are permitted after review and approval of a Conditional Use Permit.
“—” designates uses that are not permitted.
Land uses are defined in Chapter 9.51 (“Use Classifications”) of Article 9 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code (“Zoning Ordinance”). Use classifications and sub-classifications not listed in the table are prohibited. Accessory uses are permissible when they are determined by the Zoning Administrator to be necessary and customarily associated with and appropriate, incidental, and subordinate to, the principal uses and which are consistent and not more disturbing or disruptive than permitted uses. The table also notes additional use regulations that apply to various uses. Section numbers in the right-hand column refer to other Sections of this Ordinance.
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Packet Pg. 540 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and TABLE 9.10.040 LAND USE REGULATIONS—DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS
Use Classification LT NV
BC (Third
Street
Promenade
Area)
BC
(Excluding
Third Street
Promenade
Area)
TA OT WT
Additional
Regulations
Residential Uses
Residential Dwelling Types
Accessory Dwelling Unit P P P P P P P
Section 9.31.025
Accessory
Dwelling Units
and Junior
Accessory
Dwelling Units
Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit P P P P P P P
Section 9.31.025
Accessory
Dwelling Units
and Junior
Accessory
Dwelling Units
Multiple-Unit Dwelling P P L(1) L(1) P P P
Section 9.31.195,
Multiple-Unit
Dwelling Projects
Senior Citizen Multiple- Unit
Dwelling P P L(1) L(1) P P P
Section 9.31.195,
Multiple-Unit
Dwelling Projects
Housing Types for Specific Needs
Congregate Housing P MUP,
L(3) MUP, L(1) MUP, L(1) MUP MUP MUP
Section 9.31.110,
Congregate
Housing
Elderly and Long-Term Care P L(3) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) Emergency Shelters L(6)/CUP L(6)/
CUP CUP/L(1) L(1),L(6)/CUP
L(6)/C
UP
L(6)/
CUP
L(6)/
CUP
Section 9.31.130,
Emergency
Shelters
Family Day Care See sub-classifications below.
Large L(1) L(3) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1)
Section 9.31.140,
Family Day Care,
Large
Small L(1) L(3) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1)
Group Residential MUP MUP, L(3) MUP, L(1) MUP, L(1) MUP MUP MUP Section 9.31.155, Group Residential
Senior Group Residential P L(3) P P P P P Section 9.31.155, Group Residential
Low Barrier Navigation
Centers P P P P P P P
Section 9.31.175,
Low Barrier
Navigation
Centers
Residential Facilities See sub-classifications below.
Residential Care, General P L(3) L(1) L(1) P L(1) L(1) Section 9.31.270, Residential Care
Facilities
Residential Care, Limited P P L(1) L(1) P P P
Residential Care, Senior P L(9) L(1) L(1) P L(9) L(9)
Hospice, General P L(3) L(1) L(1) P L(1) L(1) Section 9.31.270, Residential Care
Facilities Hospice, Limited P P L(1) L(1) P P P
Single-Room Occupancy
Housing L(1) L(3) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1)
Section 9.31.330,
Single Room
Occupancy
Structures
Supportive Housing P P L(1) L(1) P P P
Transitional Housing P P L(1) L(1) P P P
10.A.a
Packet Pg. 541 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and Public and Semi-Public Uses
TABLE 9.10.040 LAND USE REGULATIONS—DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS
Use Classification LT NV
BC (Third
Street
Promenade
Area)
BC
(Excluding
Third Street
Promenade
Area)
TA OT WT
Additional
Regulations
Adult Day Care L(1) L(3) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1)
Child Care and Early
Education Facilities P P P P P P P
Section 9.31.120,
Child Care and
Early Education
Facilities
Colleges and Trade Schools,
Public or Private CUP L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1)
Community Assembly L(7)/CUP CUP L(15) P CUP L(1) L(7)/
CUP
Section 9.31.100,
Community
Assembly
Community Gardens P P - P P P P
Cultural Facilities P P P P P P P
Hospitals and Clinics P P L(1) L(1) P - P
Community Clinic L(29) L(29) L(29) L(29) L(29) L(29) L(29) Park and Recreation Facilities,
Public P P P P P P P
Public Safety Facilities P P P P P P P
Schools, Public or Private CUP L(3) L(1) P P - CUP
Social Service Centers P P - P P P P
Section 9.31.350,
Social Service
Centers
Commercial Uses
Animal Care, Sales, and
Services See sub-classifications below.
Grooming and Pet Stores L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP P L(5)/CUP L(5)/ CUP
L(5)/
CUP
L(5)/
CUP
No more than 10
dogs or cats can
be kept overnight
Pet Day Care Services MUP MUP - MUP MUP MUP MUP
Veterinary Services MUP MUP - MUP MUP - MUP
Automobile/Vehicle Sales and
Service See sub-classifications below.
Alternative Fuels and Recharging
Facilities
CUP/
L(19)
CUP/
L(19) - - CUP/L(19) - -
Automobile Rental L(10) L(10) L(10) L(10) L(10) L(10) L(10) Section 9.31.050,
Automobile Rental
Automobile Storage Use - - - - - - -
Section 9.31.070
Automobile/Vehi
cle Sales, Leasing,
and Storage
New Automobile/Vehicle
Sales and Leasing
L(8),
L(5)/CUP
L(8),
L(5)/CUP
L(8),
L(5)/CUP
L(8),
L(5)/CUP
L(8),
L(5)/C
UP
- -
Additions 7,500 sq ft or less to
Automobile/ Vehicle Sales and
Leasing buildings
existing as of 7/06/2010
L(20)/
MUP
- - - - - -
Additions larger than 7,500 sq
ft to Automobile/Vehicle Sales
and Leasing buildings
existing as of 7/06/2010
L(20)/
CUP
- - - - - -
Automobile/Vehicle Repair,
Major
L(19) - - - - - - Section 9.31.060,
Automobile/Vehi
cle Repair, Major
and Minor
Automobile/Vehicle Service
and Repair, Minor
L(19) - - - - - -
10.A.a
Packet Pg. 542 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and Automobile/Vehicle Washing L(19) - - - - - - Section 9.31.080, Automobile/Vehi
TABLE 9.10.040 LAND USE REGULATIONS—DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS
Use Classification LT NV
BC (Third
Street
Promenade
Area)
BC
(Excluding
Third Street
Promenade
Area)
TA OT WT
Additional
Regulations
cle Washing
Service Station L(19) L(19) - - L(19) - - Section 9.31.320, Service Stations
Towing and Impound - - - - - - -
Banks and Financial
Institutions
See sub-classifications below.
Banks and Credit Unions L(4)/CUP L(3),
L(5)/CUP
- - L(4)/
CUP
L(4)/
CUP
L(4)/
CUP
Check Cashing Businesses - - - - - - -
Business Services L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP L(15) L(5)/CUP L(5)/ CUP
L(5)/
CUP
L(5)/
CUP
Commercial Entertainment and
Recreation See sub-classifications below.
Cinemas & Theaters, up to
99 seats
- CUP P P P - -
Cinemas & Theaters, more than
99 seats
- - P CUP CUP - -
Convention and Conference
Centers
CUP CUP P CUP CUP CUP CUP
Large-Scale Facility L(21)/
CUP
L(21)/
CUP
L(21)/CU P L(21)/ CUP L(21)/
CUP
L(21)/
CUP
-
Small-Scale Facility L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP L(5)/C UP
L(5)/
CUP
L(5)/
CUP
Section 9.31.340
Small Scale
Facility
Fortunetelling P P P P P P P
Eating and Drinking
Establishments See sub-classifications below.
Bars/Nightclubs/Lounges CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP(1
0)
- Section 9.31.040,
Alcoholic
Beverage Sales
Restaurants, Full-Service,
Limited Service & Take-Out
(2,500 sq ft and smaller,
including Outdoor Dining and
Seating)
P P L(22) P P P P P Section 9.31.040,
Alcoholic
Beverage Sales
Section 9.31.280,
Restaurants,
Limited Service,
and Take-Out
Only
Section 9.31.200,
Outdoor Dining
and Seating
Section 9.31.290,
Restaurants with
Entertainment
Restaurants, Full-Service,
Limited Service & Take-Out
(2,501 – 5,000 sq ft,
including Outdoor Dining and
Seating)
P P L(22) P P P P P
Restaurants, Full-Service,
Limited Service & Take-Out
(greater than 5,000 sq ft,
including Outdoor Dining and
Seating)
CUP P L(22) P P P P CUP
Food Hall (up to 175 seats) CUP CUP P CUP CUP CUP CUP
Equipment Rental - - - - L(5)/C
UP
- -
Food and Beverage Sales See sub-classifications below.
10.A.a
Packet Pg. 543 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and Convenience Market CUP L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP L(5)/C UP
L(5)/
CUP
- Section 9.31.040,
Alcoholic
Beverage Sales
Farmer’s Market CUP P P P P P P
General Market L(12)/ L(12)/ L(12)/ L(12)/ CUP L(12)/ L(12)/ L(12) Section 9.31.040, TABLE 9.10.040 LAND USE REGULATIONS—DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS
Use Classification LT NV
BC (Third
Street
Promenade
Area)
BC
(Excluding
Third Street
Promenade
Area)
TA OT WT
Additional
Regulations
CUP CUP CUP CUP CUP / CUP Alcoholic
Liquor Stores CUP CUP P CUP CUP CUP - Beverage Sales
Funeral Parlors and Mortuaries CUP - - - - - -
Instructional Services L(5)/CUP L(3),
L(5)/CUP
L(1),
L(5)/CUP
L(5)/CUP L(5)/C
UP
L(1),
L(5)/
CUP
L(1),
L(5)/
CUP
Live-Work L(13) L(3)(13) L(1)(13) L(13) L(13) L(1)(1
3)
L(13) Section 9.31.170,
Live-Work Units
Lodging See sub-classifications below.
Bed and Breakfast MUP MUP P MUP MUP MUP MUP Section 9.31.090, Bed and
Breakfasts
Hotels and Motels CUP CUP P CUP CUP CUP CUP,
L(19)
Maintenance and Repair
Services
L(5)/CUP - - - - - -
Nurseries and Garden Centers L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP - L(5)/CUP L(5)/C UP
- L(5)/
CUP
Section 9.31.220,
Outdoor Retail
Display and Sales
Offices See sub-classifications below.
Business and Professional L(14)/
CUP
L(3),
L(5)/CUP
L(1) L(1) L(3),
L(5)/C
UP
L(1) L(1)
Creative L(14)/
CUP
L(3),
L(5)/CUP
L(1) L(1) L(3),
L(5)/C
UP
L(1) L(1)
Medical and Dental L(14)/
CUP
L(3),
L(5)/CUP
P L(1) L(3),
L(5)/C
UP
L(1) L(1)
Walk-In Clientele L(14)/
CUP
L(3),
L(5)/CUP
L(1) L(5)/CUP L(3),
L(5)/C
UP
L(5)/
CUP
L(5)/
CUP
Outdoor Newsstands MUP MUP MUP MUP MUP MUP MUP Section 9.31.210, Outdoor
Newsstands
Parking, Public or Private CUP CUP - CUP CUP,
L(11)
- CUP
Personal Services See sub-classifications below.
General Personal Services L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP P L(5)/CUP L(5)/C UP
- L(5)/
CUP
Section 9.31.230,
Personal Service
Physical Training L(17),
L(5)/CUP
L(17),
L(5)/CUP
L(17),
L(21)/CU
P
L(17),
L(5)/CUP
L(17),
L(5)/C
UP
L(17),
L(5)/
CUP
L(17),
L(5)/
CUP
Tattoo or Body Modification
Parlor
P P P P P P P Section 9.31.230,
Personal Service
Retail Sales See sub-classifications below.
Building Materials Sales and
Services
P - - - - - -
Section 9.31.220,
General Retail Sales, Small- Scale L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP P L(5)/CUP L(5)/ CUP
L(5)/
CUP
L(5)/
CUP
10.A.a
Packet Pg. 544 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and General Retail Sales,
Medium-Scale
CUP CUP P CUP CUP - CUP Outdoor Retail
Display and Sales
General Retail Sales, Large- Scale - - - - - - -
Medical Marijuana
Dispensaries
CUP - - - - - - Section 9.31.185,
Medical
TABLE 9.10.040 LAND USE REGULATIONS—DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS
Use Classification LT NV
BC (Third
Street
Promenade
Area)
BC
(Excluding
Third Street
Promenade
Area)
TA OT WT
Additional
Regulations
Marijuana
Dispensaries
Pawn Shops - - - - - - -
Swap Meets - - - - - - -
Industrial Uses
Artist’s Studio P P L(2) L(1) P P P
Commercial Kitchens - - - CUP - -
Industry, Limited - - L(2),
L(23)
- - - -
Media Production See sub-classifications below.
Support Facilities L(14)/
CUP
L(3),
L(5)/CUP
L(1) L(1) L(3),
L(5)/C
UP
L(1) L(1)
Transportation, Communication, and Utilities Uses
Bus/Rail Passenger Stations P P P P P - P
City Bike Share Facility P P P P P P P
Communication Facilities See sub-classifications below.
Antennas and Transmission
Towers
- - - - - - -
Equipment within Buildings - - - - - - -
Light Fleet-Based Services - - - - MUP - -
Utilities, Major L(18) - - - - - -
Utilities, Minor P P P P P P P
10.A.a
Packet Pg. 545 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and Specific Limitations:
(1) Limited to upper floors, and on the ground floor where the entire tenant space shall be located at least 25 feet from the front property line, except for residential units shall be limited to upper floors only. (2) A minimum depth of 25 feet from the front parcel line adjacent to a street for the entire ground-floor street frontage shall be designed to accommodate interactive uses. For purposes of this limitation, interactive uses shall be commercial uses with an interactive element, including, but not limited to, retail sales, exhibitions, displays, demonstrations, or instruction. (3) Between 4th and 7th Court, permitted in mid-block parcels on the ground floor and upper floors. On all other parcels, permitted anywhere on the ground floor if the space has street frontage and was occupied by office on, or is vacant but was occupied by office in the 12 months preceding, the date this Ordinance is effective; otherwise, permitted on upper floors and on the ground floor where the entire tenant space including the primary entry is located at least 50 feet from the front property line.
(4) Permitted except no ground floor tenant space shall exceed 20 linear feet of ground floor street frontage without a Conditional Use Permit.
(5) Permitted if within buildings existing as of the date the ordinance codified in this Chapter is effective. Permitted in new buildings, except:
(a) No individual ground floor tenant space shall occupy more than 7,500 square feet of floor area and/or exceed 50 linear feet of ground floor street frontage without a Conditional Use Permit. (b) Ground floor tenant spaces in the Santa Monica Place are not subject to size limitations. (6) Limited to shelters containing less than 55 beds; Conditional Use Permit required for emergency shelters with 55 or more beds.
(7) Any community assembly facility abutting a residential district shall require approval of a Conditional Use Permit. (8) Limited to automobile/vehicle dealer showrooms only which must display one alternative fuel automobile/vehicle if such an automobile/vehicle is available in the dealer’s fleet, and limited to six showrooms in the Third Street Promenade Area. (9) Facilities for 6 or fewer residents are permitted by right. Facilities for more than 6 residents shall be subject to L(1) if located in the OT and WT zoning districts and L(3) if located in the NV zoning district. (10) Permitted as an ancillary use to support a primary use. (11) Limited to public parking facilities only.
(12) General markets greater than 15,000 square feet require approval of a Conditional Use Permit, except general markets in the Mixed-Use Boulevard district greater than 25,000 square feet require approval of a Conditional Use Permit. (13) If the commercial use requires a MUP or CUP, an application shall be required in accordance with SMMC, Chapter 9.41.
Even if the commercial use would otherwise be permitted, no such use shall be approved where, given the design or proposed design of the live-work unit, there would be the potential for adverse health impacts from the proposed use on the people residing in the unit. An example of a potential health impact is the potential for food contamination from users that generate airborne particulates in a unit with an unenclosed kitchen. (14) All new construction requires approval of a Conditional Use Permit or permitted if within buildings existing as of the date the ordinance codified in this Chapter is effective, except:
(a) New additions of 50% or more additional square footage to an existing building at any one time, or incrementally, after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this Chapter, requires approval of a Conditional Use Permit. (b) No ground floor, street-fronting, non-office or non-media production support facility use, non-medical or non-dental office use tenant space shall be changed into an individual office use or a media production support facility use, or individual medical or dental office use occupying more than 7,500 square feet of floor area and/or exceeding 50 linear feet of street frontage without the approval of a Conditional Use Permit. (15) Limited to the ground floor with frontage along 2nd Court and 3rd Court alleys or to upper floors. (16) Limited to public parking facilities only.
(17) Youth-serving personal services, physical training requires review and approval of passenger loading and drop-off plan by the Director.
(18) Limited to electric distribution substations.
(19) Limited to legally established existing uses as of the date this Specific Plan is effective. (20) Auto dealerships existing as of July 6, 2010 are considered permitted uses. Expansions to existing dealerships conforming to the urban auto dealership format standards in Section 9.31.070, Automobile/Vehicle Sales, Leasing and Storage are permitted. Expansions to existing dealerships of 7,500 square feet or less that do not conform to the urban auto dealership format standards shall require an MUP. Expansions to existing dealerships larger than 7,500 square feet that do not conform to the urban auto dealership formal standards shall require a CUP. (21) No individual Fitness Center tenant space shall exceed 100 linear feet of ground floor street frontage without the approval of a Conditional Use Permit.
(22) Restaurant, Limited-Service and Take-Out establishments with frontage on the Third Street Promenade and the following characteristics shall be prohibited:
(a) More than 150 locations nationwide at the time that the application for the establishment is deemed complete by the
10.A.a
Packet Pg. 546 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and City; and
(b) Characteristics, including but not limited to, orders placed at a walk-up window, counter, or machine; payment prior to food consumption; and food served with disposable, one-time, or limited-use wrapping, containers, or utensils.
Reserved.
(23) Excludes commercial laundries and dry cleaning plants, monument works, medicinal cannabis, and medicinal cannabis products.
(24) Reserved
(25) Reserved
(26) Reserved
(27) Reserved
(28) Reserved
(29) Permitted if all objective planning standards set forth in Government Code Section 65914.900 are met.
10.A.a
Packet Pg. 547 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and A. Alcohol Exemption Zoning Conformance Permit.
1. Citywide Excluding the Bayside Conservation (BC) District, Ocean Transition (OT) District, Santa Monica Place, and Santa Monica Pier. Except as provided in paragraphs 2 and 3, below, limited and full-service restaurants that offer alcoholic beverages incidental to meal service that are located citywide, excluding the Bayside Conservation (BC) District; the Ocean Transition (OT) District south of Wilshire Boulevard; and the area bounded by 2nd Street to the west, Broadway to the north, 4th Street to the east, and Colorado to the south;,and the Santa Monica Pier shall be exempt from the provisions of the Conditional Use Permit requirement of subsection B of this Section if such a permit is approved in writing by the Director and if the applicant agrees in writing to comply with all of the following criteria and conditions:
a. If a counter service area is provided, food service shall be available at all hours the counter is open for patrons, and the counter area shall not function as a separate bar area;
b. Window or other signage visible from the public right-of-way that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted;
c. Customers shall be permitted to order meals at all times and at all locations where alcohol is being served. The establishment shall serve food to patrons during all hours the establishment is open for customers; d. The premises shall maintain a kitchen or food-serving area in which a variety of food is prepared on the premises;
10.A.a
Packet Pg. 548 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and e. Sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption beyond the premises shall be permitted if authorized by the premises’ California Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) license;
f. No video or other amusement games shall be permitted on the premises;
g. Entertainment may only be permitted in the manner set forth in Section 9.31.290, Restaurants with Entertainment;
h. The primary use of any outdoor dining area shall be for seated meal service. Patrons who are standing in the outdoor seating area shall not be served;
i. The operation shall at all times be conducted in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator shall control noisy patrons leaving the restaurant; j. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. with complete closure and all employees vacated from the building by 1:00 a.m. All alcoholic beverages must be removed from the outdoor dining area no later than 11:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. No after-hours operation is permitted;
k. Liquor bottle service shall be prohibited. Wine and beer bottle service shall not be available to patrons unless full meal service is provided concurrent with the bottle service. For purposes of this paragraph, “bottle service” means the service of any full bottle of liquor, wine, or beer of more than 375 ml, along with glass ware, mixers, garnishes, etc., in which patrons
10.A.a
Packet Pg. 549 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and are able to then make their own drinks or pour their own wine or beer. All food items shall be available from the premises’ full service menu; l. No organized queuing of patrons at the entry or checking of identification to control entry into and within the establishment shall be permitted. There shall not be any age limitation imposed restricting access to any portion of the restaurant;
m. The premises shall not organize or participate in organized “pubcrawl” events where participants or customers pre-purchase tickets or tokens to be exchanged for alcoholic beverages at the restaurant; n. Establishments with amplified music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code; o. Prior to occupancy, a security plan shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues;
p. Prior to occupancy, the operator shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcohol-awareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s
policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABCsponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the
10.A.a
Packet Pg. 550 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and employee shall attend the alcohol awareness training within 90 days of hiring.
In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments;
q. Within 30 days from the date of approval of this exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the State ABC;
r. Prior to occupancy, the operator shall submit a plan describing the establishment’s designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the establishment’s patrons. The plan shall specify how the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as offering on the menu a free non-alcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages; s. Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to please not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood; t. Employees of the establishment shall walk a 100-foot radius from the facility at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons; and
u. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy
10.A.a
Packet Pg. 551 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division. Project development shall be consistent with such plans, except as otherwise specified in these conditions of approval. Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director;
v. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section.
2. Bayside Conservation (BC) District, Ocean Transition (OT) District, and Santa Monica Place.
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, above, in the Bayside Conservation (BC) District; the Ocean Transition (OT) District south of Wilshire Boulevard;,and the area bounded by 2nd Street to the west, Broadway to the north, 4th Street to the east, and Colorado to the south, the following uses that offer alcoholic beverages incidental to the primary use, including bars/nightclubs/lounges that primarily serve alcoholic beverages, shall be exempt from the provisions of the Conditional Use Permit requirement of subsection B of this Section if such a permit is approved in writing by the Director and if the applicant agrees in writing to comply with all of the following criteria and conditions established for each use:
a. Restaurants (Full-Service and Limited Service and Take Out) and Food Halls
i. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.
ii. From 8:00 a.m. until at least 10:00 p.m., food service shall be available at all times when alcohol is being served.
10.A.a
Packet Pg. 552 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and iii. Sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption beyond the premises shall be permitted if authorized by the premises’ California Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) license.
iv. Window or other signage visible from the public right-ofway that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted. v. Entertainment may only be permitted in the manner set forth in Section 9.31.290(D), Restaurants with Entertainment; vi. Except as may be permitted by a Temporary Use Permit issued in accordance with Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 9.44, Temporary Use Permits, alcohol shall not be served in any disposable containers such as disposable plastic or paper cups.
vii.vi. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
viii.vii. Premises with amplified music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, except that Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.Establishment shall comply with SMMC Chapter 4.12 Noise, except that Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.
ix.viii. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan
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Packet Pg. 553 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and shall address both physical and operational security issues. x.ix. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcohol- awareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABCsponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director.
The operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments.
xi.x. Within 30 days from the date of approval of the exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
xii.xi. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall
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Packet Pg. 554 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and submit a plan describing the premises’ designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the premises’ patrons. The plan shall specify how the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as by offering on the menu a free non-alcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages.
xiii.xii. Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood. xiv.xiii.Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons.
xv.xiv. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division. Project development shall be consistent with such plans. Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director. xvi.xv. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section.
b. Bars/Nightclubs/Lounges
i. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.
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Packet Pg. 555 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and ii. Sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption beyond the premises shall be permitted if authorized by the premises’ California Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) license.
iii. Window or other signage visible from the public right-ofway that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted. iv. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
v. Premises with amplified music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, except that Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.Establishment shall comply with SMMC Chapter 4.12 Noise, except that Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.
vi. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues. vii. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcohol- awareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies
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Packet Pg. 556 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program
within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments. viii. Within 30 days from the date of approval of this
exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
ix. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan describing the premises’ designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the premises’ patrons. The plan shall specify how the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as by offering on the menu a free non-alcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages.
x. Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to
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Packet Pg. 557 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood. xi. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons.
xii. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division. Project development shall be consistent with such plans.
Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director.
xiii. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section.
c. Convenience Markets and Liquor Stores
i. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage sales shall be 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily.
ii. Window or other signage visible from the public right-ofway that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted. iii. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall
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Packet Pg. 558 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
iv. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues. v. Within 30 days from the date of approval of this
exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
vi. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons.
vii. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division. Project development shall be consistent with such plans.
Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director.
viii. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section.
d. Cultural Facilities and Instructional Services
i. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.
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Packet Pg. 559 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and ii. Service of alcoholic beverages shall be incidental to the primary use.
iii. Sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption beyond the premises shall be permitted if authorized by the premises’ California Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) license.
iv. Window or other signage visible from the public right-ofway that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted. v. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
vi. Establishment shall comply with SMMC Chapter 4.12
Noise, except that Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.
vi.vii Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues. vii.viii. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcohol- awareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall
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Packet Pg. 560 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments.
viii.ix. Within 30 days from the date of approval of the exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
ix.x. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons.
x.xi. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division. Project development shall be consistent with such plans.
Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the
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Packet Pg. 561 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and Director.
xi.xii. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section.
e. Outdoor Rooftop Commercial Uses: Cinemas, Community
Assembly, Small/Large-Scale Commercial Entertainment and Recreation Facilities
i. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.
ii. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
iii. Premises with amplified sound or music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, except that Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.Establishment shall comply with SMMC Chapter 4.12 Noise.
iv. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues. v. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall
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Packet Pg. 562 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcohol- awareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments.
vi. Within 30 days from the date of approval of the exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
vii. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan describing the premises’ designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the premises’ patrons. The plan
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Packet Pg. 563 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and shall specify how the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as by offering on the menu a free non-alcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages.
viii. Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood. ix. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons.
x. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division. Project development shall be consistent with such plans.
Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director.
xi. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section.
f. Commercial Entertainment and Recreation: Small-Scale Facilities and Large-Scale Facilities
i. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.
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Packet Pg. 564 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and ii. Service of alcoholic beverages shall be incidental to the primary use.
iii. Sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption beyond the premises shall be permitted if authorized by the premises’ California Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) license.
iv. Window or other signage visible from the public right-ofway that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted. v. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
vi. Premises with amplified music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, except that Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.Establishment shall comply with SMMC Chapter 4.12 Noise, except that Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.
vii. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues. viii. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcohol- awareness training program for all employees
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Packet Pg. 565 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments.
ix. Within 30 days from the date of approval of the
exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
x. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan describing the premises’ designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the premises’ patrons. The plan shall specify how the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as by offering on the menu a free non-alcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages.
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Packet Pg. 566 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and xi. Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood. xii. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons.
xiii. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division. Project development shall be consistent with such plans.
Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director.
xiv. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section.
g. Retail Sales: General Retail Sales, Small-Scale and Medium-Scale i. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage sales for offsite consumption and or on-site tasting shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.
ii. Window or other signage visible from the public right-of-way that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted.
iii. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner
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Packet Pg. 567 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
iv. Premises with amplified music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code.Establishment shall comply with SMMC Chapter 4.12 Noise, except that Section
4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.
vi. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues.
vii. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcoholawareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABC- sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public
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Packet Pg. 568 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments.
vii. Within 30 days from the date of approval of the exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
viii.Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan describing the premises’ designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the premises’ patrons. The plan shall specify how the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as by offering on the menu a free non- alcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages.
ix. Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood. x. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons.
xi. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division.
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Packet Pg. 569 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and Project development shall be consistent with such plans. Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director. xii. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section.
3. Santa Monica Pier. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, above, limited and full service restaurants, bars/nightclubs/lounges, food halls, and small and medium scale general retail sales on the Santa Monica Pier shall be exempt from the provisions of the Conditional Use Permit requirement of subsection B of this Section if such a permit is approved in writing by the Director and if the applicant agrees in writing to comply with all of the following criteria and conditions:
a. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.
b. From 8:00 a.m. until at least 10:00 p.m., food service shall be available at all times when alcohol is being served.
c. Sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption beyond the premises shall be permitted if authorized by the premises’ California Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) license.
d. Window or other signage visible from the public right-of-way that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted.
e. Except as may be permitted by a Temporary Use Permit issued in accordance with Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 9.44, Temporary Use Permits, alcohol shall not be served in any disposable containers such
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Packet Pg. 570 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and as disposable plastic or paper cups.
f. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
g. Liquor bottle service shall be prohibited. Wine and beer bottle service shall not be available to patrons unless food service is provided concurrent with the bottle service. For purposes of this paragraph, “bottle service” means the service of any full bottle of liquor, wine, or beer of more than 375 ml, along with glass ware, mixers, garnishes, or other items used for the mixing of drinks, which patrons are able to then use to make their own drinks or pour their own wine or beer.
h. The premises shall not organize or participate in organized “pub- crawl” events where participants or customers pre-purchase tickets or tokens to be exchanged for alcoholic beverages at the premises. i. Premises with amplified music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code. j. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues.
k. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcohol10.A.a Packet Pg. 571 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and awareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments.
l. Within 30 days from the date of approval of this exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
m. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan describing the premises’ designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the premises’ patrons. The plan shall specify how the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as by offering on the menu a free non- alcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages.
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Packet Pg. 572 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and n. Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood.
o. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons.
p. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division. Project development shall be consistent with such plans, except as otherwise specified in these conditions of approval. Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director.
q. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section.
4. With respect to the Director’s decision for Alcohol Exemption Zoning Conformance Permits for restaurants with over 50 seats and subject to subsection D(1) above, within 2 business days from the date when the determination has been made concerning the application and posted on the City’s website, the Director shall transmit a notice of determination that summarizes the determination and provides a website link to the Statement of Official Action to the applicant at the address shown on the application and to all property owners and residential and commercial tenants within a radius of 750 feet from the exterior boundaries of the property involved in the
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Packet Pg. 573 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and application.
9.31.290 Restaurants with Entertainment
A. Except as provided in subsection B, below, restaurants may provide entertainment including but not limited to music, DJs, song, dance, stand-up comedy, and poetry readings for the patrons’ enjoyment if they meet the following standards.
1. There is sit down meal service provided at all times while the entertainment is taking place.
2. There is no permanent or temporary dance floor or dance area for patrons.
3. There is no cover charge or minimum drink purchase requirement.
4. The entertainment is provided only in the dining areas.
5. No more than three television screens including video projectors or similar audio/visual devices shall be utilized on the premises. None of these televisions or projection surfaces shall exceed 60 inches measured diagonally. No billiard/pool tables, video games, bowling, darts, and other similar entertainment activities may be provided.
6. Liquor bottle service shall be prohibited. Wine and beer bottle service shall not be available to patrons unless full meal service is provided concurrent with the bottle service. All food items shall be available from the full service menu. Bottle service shall mean the service of any full bottle of liquor, wine, or beer of more than 375 ml, along with glass ware, mixers, garnishes, etc., in which patrons are able to then make their own drinks or pour their own wine or beer.
7. No organized queuing of patrons at the entry or checking of identification
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Packet Pg. 574 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and to control entry into and within the establishment shall be permitted. There shall not be any age limitation imposed restricting access to any portion of the restaurant.
8. The establishment shall not organize or participate in organized “pubcrawl” events where participants or customers pre-purchase tickets or tokens to be exchanged for alcoholic beverages at the restaurant.
9. Establishments with amplified music shall comply with Section 4.12.140.
B. Third Street Promenade Area Bayside Conservation (BC) Districts, Ocean Transition (OT) District, and Santa Monica Place. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A, restaurants located in the Bayside Conservation Districts,Third Street Promenade Area Ocean Transition (OT) District south of Wilshire Boulevard, and the area bounded by 2nd Street to the west, Broadway to the north, 4th Street to the east, and Colorado to the south, may provide entertainment including but not limited to music, DJs, song, dance, stand-up comedy, and poetry readings for the patrons’ enjoyment if they meet the following standards.
1. There is sit down meal service provided at all times while the entertainment is taking place.
2. The entertainment is provided indoors only within the dining areas.
3. Dancing shall be ancillary to the primary restaurant use and temporary dance areas may be provided within portion(s) of the dining area provided that seating for sit down meal service is available for patrons at all times while dancing is taking place.
4. There is no cover charge or minimum drink purchase requirement.
5. Establishment shall comply with SMMC Chapter 4.12 Noise, except that
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Packet Pg. 575 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.Establishment shall comply with SMMC Chapter 4.12 Noise. Establishments providing amplified sound or music shall not be subject to SMMC Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music
C. A restaurant with entertainment beyond the scope of the limitations set forth in subsections A or B above, as applicable, shall also be considered a Bar/Nightclub/Lounge as defined in Chapter 9.51, and such entertainment use shall be prohibited unless a separate Conditional Use Permit for that use has been obtained.
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Packet Pg. 576 Attachment: A. Permanent Zoning Ordinance Amendments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and 1 City Council Meeting: August 12, 2025 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER _________ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
INTERIM ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA MONICA AMENDING INTERIM ZONING REGULATIONS SET FORTH IN INTERIM ZONING ORDINANCE NUMBER 2809 TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC RECOVERY BY INCREASING LAND USE FLEXIBILITY IN THE CITY’S DOWNTOWN
AREA AND ESTABLISHING A PILOT PROGRAM TO ALLOW EXCLUSIVELY
OUTDOOR COMMERCIAL USES IN THE OFFICE CAMPUS DISTRICT
WHEREAS, on July 6, 2010, the City Council adopted the Land Use and Circulation Element of the City’s General Plan (“LUCE”), which designates the proposed general distribution, location, and extent of land uses within the City; and WHEREAS, on July 25, 2017, the City Council of the City of Santa Monica (“City Council”) adopted the Downtown Community Plan (“DCP”) which sets forth the City’s vision of Downtown as a high quality, mixed-use district offering opportunities as a major public space framed by a mix of retail, restaurants, and services that form unique experiences enjoyable to both residents and visitors; and WHEREAS, the Bayside Conservation (BC) District, extending from 4th Court to the west side of 2nd Street and the south side of Wilshire Boulevard to the east side of Broadway, is located within the DCP and is considered the pedestrian and economic heart of the City; and
WHEREAS, the DCP contemplates that the BC District will continue as a lively mix of pedestrian-oriented uses with dynamic activity day and night and promote a 17 hour/7 day active district, with land use regulations that support a diversity of entertainment and cultural options, in particular the addition of cultural amenities such as museums, theaters and cinemas; and
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Packet Pg. 577 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 2 WHEREAS, the DCP supports activities that enrich the Promenade, located within the BC District, including street performances and events that enliven the street and provide memorable experiences for visitors, while also seeking to expand cultural opportunities, including live music venues and upgraded state-of-the art cinemas; and WHEREAS, the DCP acknowledges that the Promenade is an essential component of the Downtown’s economic sustainability and emphasizes the importance of reevaluating and refreshing the Promenade so that it remains attractive and exciting to residents and visitors alike; and
WHEREAS, the Lincoln Transition (LT) District, consisting of parcels along Lincoln Boulevard within the DCP area, is envisioned as a transition to become a Downtown gateway while respecting the lower-scale residential neighborhood to the east; and
WHEREAS, the DCP encourages the evolution of the LT District as the eastern gateway to the Downtown, with pedestrian realm and open-space standards to guide new investment in making Lincoln Boulevard a more walkable street, including promoting ground floor uses that active the street and serve the local community; and WHEREAS, the Wilshire Transition (WT) District consists of properties on the north side of Wilshire Boulevard between the east side of 2nd Street and west side of 7th Street, is located within the DCP and hosts a multitude of different building types and heights with both large Class-A office developments and smaller two- and threestory structures that house a mixture of small neighborhood serving retail and dining; and
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 578 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 3 WHEREAS, the DCP contemplates that the WT District will continue to support smaller local serving uses that provide easily accessible goods and services to the surrounding neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, DCP Goal LU3 contemplates that the Downtown will continue to be the economic center for the City, providing a diverse and flexible mix of uses that can meet future resident, business, and visitor demand; and WHEREAS, the Office Campus (OC) District designation is applied to limited areas of the City, located outside the Downtown, that are currently developed with substantial office campus uses; and
WHEREAS, the OC District is intended to provide for office and similar uses which require large expanses of floor area on large parcels, as well as a diversity of housing types; and
WHEREAS, development intensity within the OC District is intended to provide for office uses and other uses within a campus-like environment that will be compatible with abutting residential neighborhoods, especially in terms of scale and building mass; and
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the City Manager, as the Director of Emergency Services (“Director of Emergency Services”), proclaimed the existence of a local emergency pursuant to Chapter 2.16 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code to ensure the availability of mutual aid and effectuate the City’s response to the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”), and this local emergency was restated on March 14, 2020, through a revised declaration of local emergency to ensure compliance with all digital signature requirements (the “Executive Order”); and
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 579 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 4 WHEREAS, on March 16, 2020, the Director of Emergency Services issued a Third Supplement to the Executive Order, requiring the closure of a wide range of businesses including bars, nightclubs, on-premises restaurant service, movie theatres, live performance venues, gyms, fitness centers, spas, hair salons, massage parlors, and nail salons; and
WHEREAS, on March 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-33-20 directing all residents of the State of California to heed directives issued by the State Health Officer on the same date instructing all Californians to stay home except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors; and
WHEREAS, on March 19, 2020, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued an enhanced Health Officer Order, the Safer at Home Order for Control of COVID-19, amending and superseding its earlier March 16, 2020 Order, closing all nonessential businesses, and limiting gatherings to 9 people or less; and WHEREAS, after March 19, 2020, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, on multiple occasions, amended and modified its Health Officer Order, recognizing the issues posed by community transmission of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, and, in response, maintaining public health measures that have, at differing times, included strict limitations on public gatherings, required closures of certain businesses, and strict limitations and protocols for the operations of businesses permitted to remain open; and
WHEREAS, as of March 31, 2023, the local, state, and federal COVID19 emergency declarations have concluded; and
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 580 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 5 WHEREAS, although the emergency orders have been lifted, the economic impacts of the COVID-19 closures of, and limitations on, businesses have been and continue to be devastating to the local Santa Monica economy; and the Downtown area is continuing to experience economic uncertainty; and WHEREAS, as the commercial and economic landscape evolves, Downtown’s economic recovery and competitive advantage will depend on its ability to deliver on a diverse range of unique dining, retail, and entertainment uses; and WHEREAS, as restaurant and entertainment environments across the region and county continue to evolve, there is a need to adjust allowed uses and dining and entertainment options to enable economic recovery and provide increased flexibility to minimize vacancies on the Third Street Promenade and the Downtown areas; and WHEREAS, the City has an important governmental interest in maintaining a thriving business community and protecting the health, safety, and economic welfare of its citizens and businesses; and
WHEREAS, vacancy rates, in addition to economic impacts that threaten the health, safety, and economic welfare of its citizens and businesses, may lead to public safety impacts, including, but not limited to, increased calls for emergency services; and
WHEREAS, on July 25, 2023, Council adopted Interim Zoning Ordinance Number 2754 (CCS) (“IZO 2754”), establishing interim zoning regulations promoting economic recovery in the City’s Downtown, including the Third Street Promenade Area and Santa Monica Place, and also included minor clerical amendments further supporting economic recovery; and
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 581 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 6 WHEREAS, on September 26, 2023, Council introduced for first reading Interim Zoning Ordinance Number 2761 (CCS) (“IZO 2761”), which was adopted on October 10, 2023, extending and amending the interim zoning regulations established by IZO 2754 through November 22, 2028; and
WHEREAS, IZO No. 2761 included zoning changes supporting a variety of potential commercial uses within the Downtown, including: enabling certain outdoor rooftop commercial uses on Public Parking Structures owned by the City, greater flexibility for restaurants providing entertainment, and provided a streamlined review for alcohol permits; and
WHEREAS, on October 22, 2024, Council introduced Interim Zoning Ordinance Number 2794 (CCS) (“IZO 2794”), which was adopted on November 11, 2024, amending the interim zoning regulations to further promote economic recovery efforts within the Downtown and Third Street Promenade area, simplifying the review process for new businesses; and
WHEREAS, amendments were focused on streamlining the review process for uses within the Third Street Promenade area by eliminating Conditional Use Permit and Minor Use Permit requirements, and expanding the streamlining of alcohol permits for a variety of different commercial uses; and WHEREAS, on October 22, 2024, the Council also introduced and adopted Ordinance Number 2793 (CCS), an emergency ordinance amending the Sign Code by relaxing limitations to encourage the use of creative signs and to enhance overall business promotion on the Promenade; and
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 582 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 WHEREAS, these amendments were critical in providing greater certainty and predictability for property owners and their existing tenants, along with prospective businesses considering locations within the Promenade area; and WHEREAS, additionally, consistent with the City’s Outdoor Space Program efforts, the IZO included a pilot program limited to the Office Campus District that would allow exclusively outdoor uses such as open-air markets to locate on private property, subject to meeting certain conditions; and
WHEREAS, on March 25, 2025, the Council adopted amendments to the Interim Zoning Ordinance (IZO No. 2809 CCS) to further promote economic recovery efforts within the Third Street Promenade area, encouraging the reuse and occupancy of existing buildings by exempting community assembly uses from applicability and additional operational requirements specific to the use for properties located with the BC Districts; and
WHEREAS, Council also introduced and adopted Ordinance Number 2805 (CCS), an emergency ordinance amending the Sign Code providing consistency in the allowable digital sign area for each property facing the Promenade, in response to property owner feedback subsequent to the amendments adopted on October 22, 2024; and
WHEREAS, as part of the discussion, Council gave staff direction on bringing forward interim zoning regulations related to economic recovery efforts that can be permanently adopted into the Zoning Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the City wishes to keep some regulations as interim zoning regulations to continue to monitor their effectiveness; and
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 583 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 8 WHEREAS, consistent with Council’s continued support of local businesses and to promote economic recovery efforts within the Downtown area, Council seeks to adopt additional regulations that will allow for land use flexibility to support existing businesses in the Downtown and flexibility in Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for existing buildings located on the Promenade; and
WHEREAS, these proposed amendments to IZO 2809 will allow existing legal non-conforming Pawn Shop establishments located in the Downtown to relocate to another location within the Downtown area, except within the Ocean Transition (OT District); and
WHEREAS, these proposed amendments will also allow properties on the Promenade with legal non-conforming buildings approved pursuant to a Development Review Permit to retain their floor area development rights and exempt from certain non-conforming building restrictions; and
WHEREAS, the proposed IZO amendments would amend the current interim zoning regulations for the downtown and would maintain the current expiration date of November 22, 2028, although the Council could make any of the interim zoning regulations permanent amendments to the Zoning Ordinance at any time; and WHEREAS, the interim zoning regulations support a variety of potential commercial uses within Downtown; and
WHEREAS, allowing eligible businesses the flexibility to engage in new uses will facilitate business recovery and generate increased sales tax revenue for the City; and
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 584 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 9 WHEREAS, the City Council finds and declares that a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and general welfare exists due to the devastating impact the COVID-19-mandated closures and limitations have had on the local economy, including, but not limited to, the high vacancy rate in the Third Street Promenade Area, and that the approval of additional use permits, variances, building permits or any other applicable entitlement for use which is required in order to comply with the current regulations would result in a threat to public health, safety, and welfare.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Notwithstanding any provisions of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, the regulations set forth in Exhibit A shall apply. Changes in Exhibit A reflect amendments to Interim Zoning Ordinance Number 2809.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or any appendix thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Interim Zoning 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 Interim Zoning Ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Interim Zoning 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 Interim Zoning Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Interim Zoning Ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without
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Packet Pg. 585 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 10 regard to whether any portion of the Interim Zoning 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 Interim Zoning Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Interim Zoning Ordinance shall become effective 30 days after its adoption.
SECTION 5. Ordinance shall be of no further force or effect as of November 22, 2028.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
Douglas Sloan, City Attorney
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 586 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 11 EXHIBIT A
Please note: Underlined words represent additions to the existing IZO. Words with strikethroughs represent words deleted from the existing IZO. Double strikethroughs represent regulations that will be codified through a separate ordinance.
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 587 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 11 (A) Notwithstanding any provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.080 to the contrary, the following regulations related to Determining Floor Area shall apply:
9.04.080 Determining Floor Area
A. Excluded from Floor Area. Floor area does not include:
1. Stairways and stairwells;
2. Elevators, elevator equipment rooms, and elevator shafts;
3. Ramps to a subterranean or semi-subterranean parking structure or ramps between floors of a parking structure provided the ramp does not accommodate parking;
4. Loading spaces and docks used exclusively for loading and unloading as required by Section 9.28.080;
5. Unenclosed decks, balconies, porches, and platforms not used for commercial or restaurant activity;
6. In the Third Street Promenade Area, unenclosed rooftop areas used for commercial or restaurant activity (“unenclosed rooftop areas”), subject to the following specific standards:
a. Unenclosed rooftop areas shall be surrounded by a barrier not to exceed 42 inches in height with an allowable transparent barrier not to exceed 42 inches in height. The barrier shall be permanently affixed to the rooftop; b. Unenclosed rooftop areas, including barrier, shall be set back a minimum five feet from the edges of the building;
c. Portable restrooms, storage sheds, or other similar temporary structures shall not be permitted on the rooftop;
d. Rooftop features such as sunshades, trellises, or canopies shall not exceed 10 feet in height with a maximum aggregate coverage of 50% of the
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 588 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 12 unenclosed rooftop area;
e. Unenclosed rooftop areas shall not be accessible to the public outside of their normal business operating hours.
7. Covered and uncovered courtyards, arcades, atria, paseos, walkways, and corridors located at or near the street level and are accessible to the general public provided they are not used as sales, display, storage, service, or production areas;
8. Parking areas located below finished grade or finished floor of habitable space where the vertical distance between finished grade and finished floor is 5 feet or less;
9. Semi-subterranean parking areas that meet the following criteria:
a. The parking area is located below finished grade along a minimum of one street frontage,
b. The portions of the parking area located above finished grade are a result of the site’s slope and cannot feasibly be fully subterranean due to geological or physical site constraints, and
c. The facades of any of the visible portions of the parking area located above finished grade are appropriately treated and landscaped;
10. Mechanical equipment rooms, electrical rooms, telecommunication equipment rooms, and similar space located below grade
11. Enclosures constructed pursuant to Section 9.31.060, Automobile Repair, Major and Minor, for outdoor hoists in existence on the adoption of Ordinance Number 1452 (CCS);
12. Attics;
13. Accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units established in
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 589 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 13 accordance with Section 9.31.025;
14. Commercial outdoor space permitted pursuant to SMMC 9.31.199, Outdoor Commercial Uses on Private Property, and SMMC 9.31.200, Outdoor Dining and Seating on Sidewalks, shall be excluded from floor area.
15. In the Third Street Promenade Area, any unenclosed rooftop parking areas on City-Owned Parking Structures as set forth in Section 9.10.050(a). (B) Notwithstanding any provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.090 to the contrary, the following regulations related to Determining Floor Area Ratio shall apply:
9.04.090 Determining Floor Area Ratio
Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is the ratio of the floor area, excluding the areas described below, of all principal and accessory buildings on a site to the site area. To calculate FAR, floor area is divided by site area, and typically expressed as a decimal. For example, if the floor area of all buildings on a site totals 20,000 square feet, and the site area is 10,000 square feet, the FAR is expressed as 2.0. For parcels containing one or more zoning designations, only that portion zoned for commercial or industrial use shall be used as parcel area when calculating floor area ratio.
A. Floor Area Ratio Exclusions
1. Floor area devoted to basements;
2. Unenclosed decks, balconies, porches, outdoor dining areas permitted pursuant to Section 9.31.200, Outdoor Dining and Seating on Sidewalks, provided the dining areas have not more than a 42-inch high barrier surrounding the dining area and is visible from the public right-of-way, and other open spaces, and outdoor space permitted pursuant to Section 9.31.199, Outdoor Commercial Uses on Private Property.
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 590 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 14 3. In the Third Street Promenade Area, any unenclosed rooftop parking areas on City-Owned Parking Structures that are converted to outdoor rooftop commercial use in accordance with SMMC 9.10.050(a).
(C)Notwithstanding any provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section
9.10.040 to the contrary, the following land use regulations shall apply in the Downtown Districts:
9.10.040 Land Use Regulation
Table 9.10.040 prescribes the land use regulations for Downtown Districts. The regulations for each district are established by letter designations below. These designations apply strictly to the permissibility of land uses; applications for buildings or structures may require discretionary review.
“P” designates permitted uses. Uses not listed in Table 9.10.040 may be permitted upon a determination by the Director, or designee, that the use is similar to, and not more intrusive or disruptive than, uses permitted in the District. Factors to be considered in making this determination shall include, but are not limited to, maximum parking requirements, operational characteristics, and prior determinations on similar uses. “L(#)” designates limited uses, which are permitted by right, provided they comply with specific limitations listed at the end of the table. “MUP” designates use classifications that are permitted after review and approval of a Minor Use Permit. Uses not listed in Table 9.10.040 may be permitted after review and approval of a Minor Use Permit upon a determination by the Director, or designee, that the use is similar to, and not more intrusive or disruptive than, a use that requires an MUP in the District. Factors to be considered in making this determination shall include, but are not limited to, maximum parking requirements, operational characteristics, and
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 591 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 15 prior determinations on similar uses.
“CUP” designates use classifications that are permitted after review and approval of a Conditional Use Permit. Uses not listed in Table 9.10.040 may be permitted after review and approval of a Conditional Use Permit upon a determination by the Director, or designee, that the use is similar to, and not more intrusive or disruptive than, a use that requires a CUP in the District. Factors to be considered in making this determination shall include, but are not limited to, maximum parking requirements, operational characteristics, and prior determinations on similar uses.
“—” designates uses that are not permitted.
Land uses are defined in Chapter 9.51 (“Use Classifications”) of Article 9 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code (“Zoning Ordinance”). Use classifications and sub-classifications not listed in the table are prohibited. Accessory uses are permissible when they are determined by the Zoning Administrator to be necessary and customarily associated with and appropriate, incidental, and subordinate to, the principal uses and which are consistent and not more disruptive than Permitted uses. The table also notes additional use regulations that apply to various uses. Section numbers in the right-hand column refer to other Sections of this Ordinance.
TABLE 9.10.040 LAND USE REGULATIONS—DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS
Use Classification LT NV
BC (Third
Street
Promenade
Area)
BC
(Excludin
g Third
Street
Promenad
e
Area)
TA OT WT
Additional
Regulations
Residential Uses
Residential Dwelling Types
Accessory Dwelling Unit P P L(1) L(1) P P P
Section
9.31.025
Accessory
Dwelling Units
and Junior
Accessory
Dwelling Units
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Packet Pg. 592 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 16 Junior Accessory Dwelling
Unit P P L(1) L(1) P P P
Section
9.31.025
Accessory
Dwelling Units
and Junior
Accessory
Dwelling
Units
Multiple-Unit Dwelling P P L(1) L(1) P P P
Section 9.31.195,
Multiple-Unit
Dwelling
Projects
Senior Citizen
Multiple- Unit Dwelling P P L(1) L(1) P P P Section
9.31.195,
Multiple-Unit
TABLE 9.10.040 LAND USE REGULATIONS—DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS
Use Classification LT NV
BC (Third
Street
Promenade
Area)
BC
(Excludin
g Third
Street
Promenad
e
Area)
TA OT WT
Additional
Regulations
Dwelling Projects
Housing Types for Specific Needs
Congregate Housing P MUP,
L(3) L(1) L(1) MUP MUP MUP
Section
9.31.110,
Congregate
Housing
Elderly and Long-Term Care P L(3) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) Emergency Shelters L(6)/CUP L(6)/
CUP CUP/L(1) L(1),
L(6)/CU
P
L(6)/C
UP
L(6)/
CUP
L(6)/
CUP
Section 9.31.130,
Emergency
Shelters
Family Day Care See sub-classifications below.
Large L(1) L(3) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1)
Section 9.31.140,
Family Day Care,
Large
Small L(1) L(3) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1)
Group Residential MUP MUP,
L(3) L(1) L(1) MUP MUP MUP Section 9.31.155,Group Residential Senior Group Residential P L(3) L(1) L(1) P P P Section 9.31.155, Group Residential
Low Barrier Navigation
Centers P P L(1) L(1) P P P
Section
9.31.175, Low
Barrier
Navigation
Centers
Residential Facilities See sub-classifications below.
Residential Care, General P L(3) L(1) L(1) P L(1) L(1) Section
9.31.270,
Residential
Care Facilities
Residential Care, Limited P P L(1) L(1) P P P
Residential Care, Senior P L(9) L(1) L(1) P L(9) L(9)
Hospice, General P L(3) L(1) L(1) P L(1) L(1) Section
9.31.270,
Residential
Care
Facilities
Hospice, Limited P P L(1) L(1) P P P
Single-Room
Occupancy Housing L(1) L(3) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1)
Section
9.31.330,
Single Room
Occupancy
Structures
Supportive Housing P P L(1) L(1) P P P
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Packet Pg. 593 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 17 Transitional Housing P P L(1) L(1) P P P
Public and Semi-Public Uses
Adult Day Care L(1) L(3) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1)
Child Care and Early
Education Facilities P P P P P P P
Section
9.31.120, Child
Care and
Early
Education
Facilities
Colleges and Trade Schools,
Public or Private CUP L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1) L(1)
Community Assembly L(7)/CUP CUP L(25) P CUP L(1) L(7)/
CUP
Section
9.31.100,
Community
Assembly,
except that
Community
Assembly uses
located within
BC (Third
Street
Promenade
Area) and BC
(Excluding Third
Street Promenade
TABLE 9.10.040 LAND USE REGULATIONS—DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS
Use Classification LT NV
BC (Third
Street
Promenade
Area)
BC
(Excludin
g Third
Street
Promenad
e
Area)
TA OT WT
Additional
Regulations
Area) shall be
exempt.
Community Gardens P P L(25) P P P P
Cultural Facilities P P P P P P P
Hospitals and Clinics P P P P P - P
Community Clinic L(29) L(29) L(29) L(29) L(29) L(29) L(29) Park and Recreation
Facilities, Public P P P P P P P
Public Safety Facilities P P P P P P P
Schools, Public or Private CUP L(3) L(1) P P - CUP
Social Service Centers P P - P P P P
Section
9.31.350,
Social Service
Centers
Commercial Uses
Animal Care, Sales, and
Services See sub-classifications below.
Grooming and Pet Stores L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP P P L(5)/
CUP
L(5)/
CUP
L(5)/
CUP
No more than
10 dogs or
cats can
be kept overnight
Pet Day Care Services MUP MUP - MUP MUP MUP MUP
Veterinary Services MUP MUP - MUP MUP - MUP
Automobile/Vehicle Sales and
Service See sub-classifications below.
Alternative Fuels and
Recharging Facilities
CUP/
L(19)
CUP/
L(19) - - CUP/L(19) - -
Automobile Rental L(10) L(10) L(10) L(10) L(10) L(10) L(10) Section
9.31.050,
Automobile
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Packet Pg. 594 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 18 Rental
Automobile Storage Use - - - - - - -
Section
9.31.070
Automobile/Veh
icle Sales,
Leasing, and
Storage
New
Automobile/Vehicle
Sales and Leasing
L(8),
L(5)/CUP
L(8),
L(5)/CUP
L(8) L(8) L(8),
L(5)/C
UP
- -
Additions 7,500 sq ft
or less to Automobile/
Vehicle Sales and
Leasing buildings
existing as of 7/06/2010
L(20)/
MUP
- - - - - -
Additions larger than
7,500 sq ft to
Automobile/Vehicle
Sales and Leasing
buildings
existing as of 7/06/2010
L(20)/
CUP
- - - - - -
Automobile/Vehicle
Repair, Major
L(19) - - - - - - Section
9.31.060,
Automobile/Veh
icle Repair,
Major
and Minor
Automobile/Vehicle
Service and Repair,
Minor
L(19) - - - - - -
Automobile/Vehicle
Washing
L(19) - - - - - - Section
9.31.080,
Automobile/Veh
icle Washing
Service Station L(19) L(19) - - L(19) - - Section
9.31.320,
Service
Stations
Towing and Impound - - - - - - -
Banks and Financial
Institutions
See sub-classifications below.
Banks and Credit Unions L(4)/CUP L(3),
L(5)/CUP
P P L(4)/
CUP
L(4)/
CUP
L(4)/
CUP
Check Cashing Businesses - - - - - - -
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Packet Pg. 595 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 20 TABLE 9.10.040 LAND USE REGULATIONS—DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS Use Classification LT NV
BC (Third
Street
Promenade
Area)
BC
(Excludin
g Third
Street
Promenad
e
Area)
TA OT WT
Additional
Regulations
Business Services L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP P P L(5)/
CUP
L(5)/
CUP
L(5)/
CUP
Commercial Entertainment
and Recreation See sub-classifications below.
Cinemas & Theaters, up to
99 seats
- CUP L(24) P P - -
Cinemas & Theaters, more
than 99 seats
- - L(24) P CUP - -
Convention and
Conference Centers
CUP CUP P P CUP CUP CUP
Large-Scale Facility L(21)/
CUP
L(21)/
CUP
L(25) P L(21)/
CUP
L(21)/
CUP
-
Small-Scale Facility L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP L(25) P L(5)/C
UP
L(5)/
CUP
L(5)/
CUP
Section
9.31.340
Small Scale
Facility
Fortunetelling P P P P P P P
Eating and Drinking
Establishments See sub-classifications below.
Bars/Nightclubs/Lounges CUP CUP L(26) L(26) CUP CUP - Section 9.31.040, Alcoholic
Beverage
Sales
Restaurants, FullService, Limited Service
& Take-Out (2,500 sq ft
and smaller, including
Outdoor Dining and
Seating)
P P L(22)P P P P P Section
9.31.040,
Alcoholic
Beverage Sales
Section
9.31.280,
Restaurants,
Limited
Service, and
Take-Out Only
Section
9.31.200,
Outdoor Dining
and Seating
Section
9.31.290,
Restaurants
with
Entertainment
Restaurants, Full-Service,
Limited Service & Take-Out
(2,501 – 5,000 sq ft,
including Outdoor Dining
and Seating)
P P L(22)P P P P P
Restaurants, FullService, Limited Service
& Take-Out (greater than
5,000 sq ft, including
Outdoor Dining and
Seating)
L(28)/CU
P
P L(22)P P P P CUP
Food Hall (up to 175 seats) CUP CUP P P CUP CUP CUP
Equipment Rental - - - - L(5)/C
UP
- -
Food and Beverage Sales See sub-classifications below.
Convenience Market CUP L(5)/CUP P P L(5)/C
UP
L(5)/
CUP
- Section
9.31.040,
Alcoholic
Beverage Sales
Farmer’s Market CUP P P P P P P
General Market L(12)/
CUP
L(12)/
CUP
P P L(12)/
CUP
L(12)/
CUP
L(12)
/ CUP
Section
9.31.040,
Alcoholic
Beverage Sales Liquor Stores CUP CUP L(26) L(26) CUP CUP -
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 596 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 20 Funeral Parlors and
Mortuaries
CUP------
Instructional Services L(5)/CUP L(3),
L(5)/CUP
PP L(5)/C
UP
L(1),
L(5)/
CUP
L(1),
L(5)/
CUP
Live-Work L(13) L(3)(13) L(1)(13) L(13) L(13) L(1)(1
3)
L(13) Section
9.31.170, Live-
Work Units
Lodging See sub-classifications below.
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 597 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 1 TABLE 9.10.040 LAND USE REGULATIONS—DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS Use Classification LT NV
BC (Third
Street
Promenade
Area)
BC
(Excludin
g Third
Street
Promenad
e
Area)
TA OT WT
Additional
Regulations
Bed and Breakfast MUP MUP P P MUP MUP MUP Section 9.31.090, Bed and
Breakfasts
Hotels and Motels CUP CUP P P CUP CUP CUP,
L(19)
Maintenance and Repair
Services
L(5)/CUP - - - - - -
Nurseries and Garden
Centers
L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP - P L(5)/C
UP
- L(5)/
CUP
Section 9.31.220,
Outdoor Retail
Display and Sales
Offices See sub-classifications below.
Business and Professional L(14)/
CUP
L(3),
L(5)/CUP
L(1) L(1) L(3),
L(5)/C
UP
L(1) L(1)
Creative L(14)/
CUP
L(3),
L(5)/CUP
L(1) L(1) L(3),
L(5)/C
UP
L(1) L(1)
Medical and Dental L(14)/
CUP
L(3),
L(5)/CUP
P P L(3),
L(5)/C
UP
L(1) L(1)
Walk-In Clientele L(14)/
CUP
L(3),
L(5)/CUP
L(1) L(1) L(3),
L(5)/C
UP
L(5)/
CUP
L(5)/
CUP
Outdoor Newsstands MUP MUP P P MUP MUP MUP Section 9.31.210, Outdoor
Newsstands
Parking, Public or Private CUP CUP - CUP CUP,
L(11)
- CUP
Personal Services See sub-classifications below.
General Personal Services L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP P P L(5)/C
UP
- L(5)/
CUP
Section
9.31.230,
Personal
Service
Physical Training L(17),
L(5)/CUP
L(17),
L(5)/CUP
L(17) L(17) L(17),
L(5)/C
UP
L(17),
L(5)/
CUP
L(17),
L(5)/
CUP
Tattoo or Body Modification
Parlor
P P P P P P P Section
9.31.230,
Personal
Service
Retail Sales See sub-classifications below.
Building Materials Sales
and Services
P - - - - - -
Section 9.31.220,
Outdoor Retail
Display and Sales
General Retail Sales,
Small- Scale
L(5)/CUP L(5)/CUP P P L(5)/
CUP
L(5)/
CUP
L(5)/
CUP
General Retail Sales,
Medium-Scale
CUP CUP P P CUP - CUP
General Retail Sales,
Large- Scale
- - - - - - -
Medicinal
Cannabis
Retailers
CUP - - - - - - Section
9.31.185,
Medicinal
Cannabis
Retailers
Pawn Shops - - - - - - - Section 9.27.050
Nonconforming
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 598 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 2 Uses
Swap Meets - - - - - - -
Industrial Uses
Artist’s Studio P P L(2) L(1) P P P
Commercial Kitchens - - - CUP - -
Industry, Limited - - L(2),
L(23)
- - - -
TABLE 9.10.040 LAND USE REGULATIONS—DOWNTOWN DISTRICTS
Use Classification LT NV
BC (Third
Street
Promenade
Area)
BC
(Excludin
g Third
Street
Promenad
e
Area)
TA OT WT
Additional
Regulations
Media Production See sub-classifications below.
Support Facilities L(14)/
CUP
L(3),
L(5)/CUP
L(1) L(1) L(3),
L(5)/C
UP
L(1) L(1)
Transportation, Communication, and Utilities Uses
Bus/Rail Passenger Stations P P P P P - P
City Bike Share Facility P P P P P P P
Communication Facilities See sub-classifications below.
Antennas and
Transmission Towers
- - - - - - -
Equipment within Buildings - - - - - - -
Light Fleet-Based Services - - - - MUP - -
Utilities, Major L(18) - - - - - -
Utilities, Minor P P P P P P P
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 599 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 3 Specific Limitations:
(1) Limited to upper floors, and on the ground floor where the entire tenant space shall be located at least 25 feet from the front property line, except for residential units shall be limited to upper floors only. (2) A minimum depth of 25 feet from the front parcel line adjacent to a street for the entire ground-floor street frontage shall be designed to accommodate interactive uses. For purposes of this limitation, interactive uses shall be commercial uses with an interactive element, including, but not limited to, retail sales, exhibitions, displays, demonstrations, or instruction. (3) Between 4th and 7th Court, permitted in mid-block parcels on the ground floor and upper floors. On all other parcels, permitted anywhere on the ground floor if the space has street frontage and was occupied by office on, or is vacant but was occupied by office in the 12 months preceding, the date this Ordinance is effective; otherwise, permitted on upper floors and on the ground floor where the entire tenant space including the primary entry is located at least 50 feet from the front property line.
(4) Permitted except no ground floor tenant space shall exceed 20 linear feet of ground floor street frontage without a Conditional Use Permit.
(5) Permitted if within buildings existing as of the date the ordinance codified in this Chapter is effective. Permitted in new buildings, except:
(a) No individual ground floor tenant space shall occupy more than 7,500 square feet of floor area and/or exceed 50 linear feet of ground floor street frontage without a Conditional Use Permit. (b) Ground floor tenant spaces in the Santa Monica Place are not subject to size limitations. (6) Limited to shelters containing less than 55 beds; Conditional Use Permit required for emergency shelters with 55 or more beds.
(7) Any community assembly facility abutting a residential district shall require approval of a Conditional Use Permit. (8) Limited to automobile/vehicle dealer showrooms only which must display one alternative fuel automobile/vehicle if such an automobile/vehicle is available in the dealer’s fleet, and limited to six showrooms in the Third Street Promenade Area.
(9) Facilities for 6 or fewer residents are permitted by right. Facilities for more than 6 residents shall be subject to L(1) if located in the OT and WT zoning districts and L(3) if located in the NV zoning district. (10) Permitted as an ancillary use to support a primary use. (11) Limited to public parking facilities only.
(12) General markets greater than 15,000 square feet require approval of a Conditional Use Permit. (13) If the commercial use requires a MUP or CUP, an application shall be required in accordance with SMMC, Chapter 9.41.
Even if the commercial use would otherwise be permitted, no such use shall be approved where, given the design or proposed design of the live- work unit, there would be the potential for adverse health impacts from the proposed use on the people residing in the unit. An example of a potential health impact is the potential for food contamination from users that generate airborne particulates in a unit with an unenclosed kitchen. (14) All new construction requires approval of a Conditional Use Permit or permitted if within buildings existing as of the date the ordinance codified in this Chapter is effective, except:
(a) New additions of 50% or more additional square footage to an existing building at any one time, or incrementally, after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this Chapter, requires approval of a Conditional Use Permit.
(b) No ground floor, street-fronting, non-office or non-media production support facility use, non-medical or non-dental office use
tenant space shall be changed into an individual office use or a media production support facility use, or individual medical or dental office use occupying more than 7,500 square feet of floor area and/or exceeding 50 linear feet of street frontage without the
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 600 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 4 approval of a Conditional Use Permit.
(15) Limited to the ground floor with frontage along 2nd Court and 3rd Court alleys or to upper floors. (16) Limited to public parking facilities only.
(17) Youth-serving personal services, physical training requires review and approval of passenger loading and drop-off plan by the Director.
(18) Limited to electric distribution substations.
(19) Limited to legally established existing uses as of the date this Specific Plan is effective. (20) Auto dealerships existing as of July 6, 2010 are considered permitted uses. Expansions to existing dealerships conforming to the urban auto dealership format standards in Section 9.31.070, Automobile/Vehicle Sales, Leasing and Storage are permitted. Expansions to existing dealerships of 7,500 square feet or less that do not conform to the urban auto dealership format standards shall require an MUP. Expansions to existing dealerships larger than 7,500 square feet that do not conform to the urban auto dealership formal standards shall require a CUP. (21) Except in Santa Monica Place, no individual Fitness Center tenant space shall exceed 100 linear feet of ground floor street frontage without the approval of a Conditional Use Permit. (22) Reserved. Restaurant, Limited-Service and Take-Out establishments with frontage on the Third Street Promenade and the following characteristics shall be prohibited:
(a) More than 150 locations nationwide at the time that the application for the establishment is deemed complete by the City; and
(b) Characteristics, including but not limited to, orders placed at a walk-up window, counter, or machine; payment prior to food consumption; and food served with disposable, one-time, or limited-use wrapping, containers, or utensils.
(23) Excludes commercial laundries and dry cleaning plants, monument works, medicinal cannabis, and medicinal cannabis products.
(24) Permitted use. Additionally, outdoor cinemas/theaters are permitted, limited only to City-owned property or the rooftops on City- owned parking structures.
(25) Permitted use. Additionally, any outdoor use shall be limited only to City-owned property or the rooftops on City-owned parking structures.
(26) Permitted, subject to obtaining an Alcohol Exemption pursuant to SMMC 9.31.040(D)(2). If no Alcohol Exemption is obtained, a Conditional Use Permit is required.
(27) Restaurants up to 7,500 sf and located at least 75 feet of a residential use in a residential district are permitted. All other restaurants shall require approval of a Conditional Use Permit. (28) Permitted if located on the west side of Lincoln Boulevard. Restaurants located on the east side of Lincoln Boulevard shall require
approval of a Conditional Use Permit.
(29) Permitted if all objective planning standards set forth in Government Code Section 65914.900 are met. (D) Notwithstanding any provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code to the contrary, the following regulations set forth in Section 9.10.050 related to Outdoor Rooftop Uses on City-Owned Parking Structures shall apply:
9.10.050 Outdoor Rooftop Commercial Uses on City-Owned Parking Structures Any proposed conversion of parking area to accommodate an outdoor rooftop commercial use on the top-level of an existing City-Owned parking structure within the Third Street Promenade Area shall be subject to the following:
A. Excluded as Floor Area and from Floor Area Ratio. Any unenclosed rooftop
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 601 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 5 parking areas on City-Owned Parking Structures that are converted to and utilized as outdoor rooftop commercial space as permitted in the district, including any new enclosed structures supportive of such permitted uses erected within the converted parking area including but not limited to, temporary or permanent restroom facilities, concession stands, and storage structures, shall be excluded from floor area and floor area ratio requirements.
B. Allowable Height Projections. Maximum height projections as measured from the finished parking surface level, including any deck-leveling surfaces as required, shall be allowed as set forth in Section 9.21.060(A).
C. Applicability Certain Land Use and Zoning Related Provisions.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Chapters 9.65, Child Care Linkage Program,
9.66, Transportation Impact Fee Program, 9.67, Parks and Recreation Development Impact Fee Program, and 9.68, Affordable Housing Commercial Linkage Fee Program, for purposes of determining applicability, conversion of rooftop parking area on City- owned parking structures to outdoor rooftop commercial use shall not be considered a “Project” and shall not be subject to associated impact fees.
(E) Notwithstanding any provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.21.060 to the contrary, the following regulations related to Height Projections shall apply:
9.21.060 Height Projections
No structure shall project above the height limits established in this Article except as specified in this Section.
A. Building-Mounted and Attached Structures. Table 9.21.060 establishes the maximum permitted projection(s) above the height limit of a building and into the daylight plane for structures that are typically mounted or attached to a building. These projections are
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 602 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 6 by right, with no discretionary permit required. Table 9.21.060 also establishes limitations in the horizontal coverage of permitted projections. Some allowances apply in all Zoning Districts while others are limited to specified Zoning Districts. In the Single-Unit Residential (R1) District, allowed height projections into the minimum side stepback areas above 23 feet shall be permitted. None of these projections shall permit occupiable space above the height limit. The total aggregate coverage of projections shall not exceed 30% of a roof’s area. This limitation shall not apply to solar energy systems (see Section 9.21.150).
TABLE 9.21.060: ALLOWED PROJECTIONS ABOVE HEIGHT LIMITS AND DAYLIGHT PLANE Structure
Maximum Aggregate
Coverage of Building’s
Roof Area (%); Other
Locational Restrictions
Maximum
Vertical
Projection (ft.)
Above the
Height
Limit*
Projections Allowed in All Zoning Districts:
Skylights No limit 1 ft.
Skylights on flat roofs 30%; May not be located
within 5 ft. of any edge of
the roof
5 ft.
Chimneys, vent stacks 5% 5 ft.
Windscoops 5% 5 ft.
Solar energy systems located on a rooftop See Section 9.21.150 See Section
9.21.150
Antennas
One standard television receive-only nonparabolic
antenna and one vertical whip
Antenna
10%; May not be located
between the building and
any
street-facing parcel line
25 ft.
Other antennas See Chapter 9.32, Telecommunications Facilities TABLE 9.21.060: ALLOWED PROJECTIONS ABOVE HEIGHT LIMITS AND DAYLIGHT PLANE
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 603 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 Structure
Maximum Aggregate
Coverage of Building’s
Roof Area (%); Other
Locational Restrictions
Maximum
Vertical
Projection (ft.)
Above the
Height
Limit*
Parapets, fire escapes, catwalks, and open guard rails
required by law As required by law As required by
law
Projections Allowed in All Districts Except R1 and OP-1 Districts:
Non-occupiable features such as steeples, spires, towers, domes, and cupolas 10% 10 ft.
Rooftop features for outdoor living areas, such as
sunshade, open railings, trellises, and landscaping 25% 10 ft.
Elevator shafts 15% 18 ft.* above
the roofline
Stairwells 25% 14 ft.* above
the roofline
Mechanical rooms and enclosures 25% 12 ft.* above
the roofline
Ventilating fans, water tanks, cooling towers, or other equipment required to operate and maintain a building,
along with screening of such equipment
required by Section 9.21.140, Screening
Total area enclosed by all
screening may not exceed
30% of roof area
12 ft.
Projections Allowed for Outdoor Rooftop Commercial Uses on City-Owned Parking Structures Located in the Third Street Promenade Area:
Outdoor cinema and theater screens. None 25 ft. above the finished parking
surface level,
including deckleveling surfaces as
required.
Concession stands, restroom facilities, storage
structures, shade structures, or similar structures
associated with rooftop cinemas/theaters,
None 15 ft. above the
finished parking
surface level,
including deckleveling surfaces as
required.
Structures associated with rooftop community
assembly, community gardens, and small/large-scale
commercial entertainment and recreation facilities
None 15 ft. above the
finished parking
surface level,
including deckleveling surfaces as
required.
(F) Notwithstanding any provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code to the contrary, the following regulations set forth in Section 9.27.030 Legal Nonconforming Structures and 9.27.050 Legal Nonconforming Uses shall apply:
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 604 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 9.27.030 Legal Nonconforming Structures
A nonconforming structure may be maintained as follows:
A. Repairs, Alterations, and Improvements. Subject to Chapter 9.25 and subsection (B) of this Section, repairs, alterations, or improvements may be made to nonconforming buildings.
B. Additions and Enlargements. An addition to or enlargement of a nonconforming building shall be permitted if the addition or enlargement is made to conform to all the development standards and use regulations of the District in which it is located.
C. Replacing Nonconforming Features or Portions of Buildings. Nonconforming features or portions of buildings that are removed shall not be replaced unless they conform to the provisions of this Chapter, with the exception of the following: Notwithstanding this requirement,
1. nNonconforming architectural features which have been removed from any existing building which is designated as a Historic Resource or listed on the Historic Resources Inventory may be replaced if the Landmarks Commission determines that such feature contributes to the building’s historic architectural integrity and that the reconstruction conforms to the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Landmarks Commission review of such reconstruction shall be processed generally in accordance with the procedures for processing applications for Certificates of Appropriateness contained in Chapter 9.56. Any project subject to Landmarks Commission review under this Section shall not require additional review by the Architectural Review Board. The determination of the Landmarks Commission under this Section shall be appealable to the City Council.
2. Properties directly facing the Third Street Promenade within the BC (Third Street Promenade Area) District developed pursuant to an approved Development
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 605 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 Review Permit (DRP) shall be permitted to remove and replace any non-conforming floor area at any given time and thereby retain the floor area and floor area ratio development rights granted by the DRP and/or original building permit, subject to the following:
a. Floor area may be rebuilt in the same location or relocated within the existing building envelope of the approved DRP;
b. Floor area may be rebuilt as a building addition in conformance with all other applicable district development standards in effect at the time of proposed addition, in a manner that does not expand any other existing non-conforming building features, including but not limited to maximum building height. The rebuilt floor area shall not be subject to development fees pursuant to Article 9 Planning and Zoning.
D. Moving. No nonconforming building shall be moved in whole or in part to any other location on the parcel unless every portion of the building is made to conform to all of the regulations of the District in which it is located. A relocated building shall be considered a new structure. However, if the building is a City-Designated Historic Resource, the Landmarks Commission may approve nonconforming setbacks through the issuance of a Certificate of Appropriateness.
E. Damaged or Destroyed. A nonconforming building which is damaged or destroyed may be restored or replaced in accordance with Section 9.27.040.
F. Demolition. An existing nonconforming building that is demolished shall lose any legal nonconforming status and may only be replaced or rebuilt if the entire structure is made to comply with all currently applicable zoning ordinance requirements unless:
1. The existing building is a Historic Resource or is listed on the City’s Historic Resources Inventory, provided the alteration or addition conforms with the Secretary
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 606 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Illustrated Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings.
2. The existing building is commercial or industrial and is altered in accordance with all of the following criteria:
a. The alterations only involve the replacement of the footings, cripple walls, stem walls, or similar structural components between the structure’s footings and the finished floor of the first story as defined in Chapter 8.12 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code;
b. The alterations are only undertaken to the minimum extent necessary to maintain a safe structure;
c. The existing exterior wall elements or principal support structure remain in place at all times and provide necessary structural support to the building upon completion of the alterations; and
d. No new floor area is added.
3. The existing building is residential and is altered or added to in accordance with all of the following criteria:
a. The alterations or additions to the existing residential building include the replacement of the footings, cripple walls, stem walls, or similar structural components between the structure’s footings and the finished floor of the first story as defined in Chapter 8.12 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code; and b. The existing first story exterior wall elements remain in place at all times and provide necessary structural support to the building upon completion of the alteration or addition.
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 607 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 4. The building was demolished as a result of a non-voluntary fire or explosion, earthquake, or other natural disaster and it is restored or replaced in accordance with Section 9.27.040.
G. Termination. A nonconforming building need not be discontinued and removed or altered so long as the nonconforming building is maintained in accordance with this Section. (Added by Ord. No. 2486CCS §§ 1, 2, adopted June 23, 2015) (G) Notwithstanding any provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section, the following regulations set forth in Section 9.27.050, Legal Nonconforming Uses, shall apply:
9.27.050 Legal Nonconforming Uses.
A legal, nonconforming use may be maintained subject to the following provisions:
A. Change of Ownership. A change of ownership, tenancy, or management of a nonconforming use shall not affect its status as a legal, nonconforming use.
B. Abandonment. If a nonconforming use of a building, structure, or parcel ceases for a continuous period of one year or more, the use shall be considered abandoned, and the building, structure, or parcel shall thereafter be used only in accordance with the regulations for the District in which it is located except as provided below. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide evidence demonstrating to the satisfaction of the Director that the use was legally established and has not been abandoned. Notwithstanding the above, no nonconforming residential use shall be considered abandoned regardless of the length of time of non-use unless the Director determines the building is dangerous, unsafe, a health and safety hazard, and/or uninhabitable, and these conditions cannot be remedied.
1. The one-year period to determine that a nonconforming use has been abandoned shall commence when the use ceases and any one of the following occurs:
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 608 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 a. The business license lapses;
b. The site is vacated;
c. The lease is terminated;
d. Utilities are terminated; or
e. A conforming use that meets the applicable requirements of this Ordinance is lawfully established in the space previously occupied by the nonconforming use.
2. Once the one-year period has commenced under subsection (B)(1) that period shall only be terminated if the nonconforming use is fully licensed, permitted, and operational for 60 continuous days. Operational shall mean that the nonconforming use is open for business to the public and provides services typically associated with the nonconforming use during the hours and days that are customary for that nonconforming use.
3. Cessation of use due to remodeling shall not be considered abandonment so long as building permits are active in accordance with Chapter 8.08 of the Municipal Code.
However, if the building permit expires before the use resumes, the one-year period under subsection (B)(1) shall relate back and commence with the cessation of use.
4. Except as provided in subsection (B)(5), no nonconforming use may be resumed, reestablished, or reopened once it has been determined to have been abandoned for one year.
5. If the nonconforming use of a building, structure, or parcel occurred in a Citydesignated Historic Resource, the nonconforming use may be resumed, reestablished, or reopened even if that nonconforming use has been abandoned for more than one year and other uses have occurred since that abandonment if a Conditional Use Permit is
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 609 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 obtained based on the following findings:
a. The City-designated Historic Resource was not in residential use as of December 16, 2014;
b. The proposed use is compatible with existing and permissible land uses within the District and the general area in which the proposed use is to be located;
c. The proposed use is compatible with any of the land uses presently on the subject parcel if the land uses are to remain;
d. The physical location or placement of the use on the site is compatible with and relates harmoniously to the surrounding neighborhood; e. The subject parcel is physically suitable for the type of land use being proposed; and
f. The proposed use would not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or general welfare.
6. Notwithstanding the foregoing, or anything to the contrary in this Ordinance, the following legal, nonconforming uses may be resumed, reestablished, or reopened, even if that nonconforming use has been abandoned for more than one year, unless a conforming use that meets the applicable requirements of the Zoning Ordinance has been lawfully established in the space previously occupied by the nonconforming use:
a. In areas excluding the Third Street Promenade Area:
i. Restaurant, full service,
ii. Restaurant, limited service and take-out,
iii. Food hall,
iv. General retail sales, small scale, and
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 610 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 v. General retail sales, medium scale;
b. In the Third Street Promenade Area:
i. Bar/nightclub/lounge,
ii. Restaurant, full service,
iii. Restaurant, limited service and take-out,
iv. Food hall,
v. General retail sales, small scale, and
vi. General retail sales, medium scale.
7. Pursuant to Subsection H below, following the relocation of an existing nonconforming pawn shop within the Downtown, any subsequent use of the abandoned building or tenant space shall be of a conforming use only in accordance with the land use regulations for the district in which it is located, and its nonconforming use rights as a pawn shop shall be terminated.
C. Conversion to Conforming Use. If a nonconforming use is converted to a conforming use, the nonconforming use may not be resumed except as authorized by subsection (B)(5).
D. Expansion of Nonconforming Use. A nonconforming use of a building or portion of a building that conforms to the development standards of this Chapter shall neither be expanded into any other portion of the building nor changed except to a conforming use.
The nonconforming use of land shall not be expanded or extended in area, except that outdoor dining areas and other outdoor spaces permitted pursuant to Sections 9.31.199, Outdoor Commercial Uses on Private Property, and 9.31.200, Outdoor Dining and Seating on Sidewalks, shall not be considered an expansion in area for the purposes of this subsection.
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 611 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 E. Intensification of Uses. A nonconforming use shall not be permitted to substantially change in mode or character of operation. A substantial change in mode or character of operation shall include, but is not limited to, addition of uses, a change in operational hours that extends past 11:00 p.m. any night Sunday through Thursday and/or midnight on Friday and/or Saturday or begins before 7:00 a.m., a 5% increase in the floor area of the premises, or a 5% increase in the number of seats in any restaurant, but in no case shall the increase exceed any established seating limitation in the underlying zoning district.
F. Continuation/Reinstatement. The uses existing in a structure that have been restored pursuant to Section 9.27.040 may be continued/reinstated in the reconstructed/replacement structure so long as no continued/reinstated nonconforming uses are expanded, changed or substituted.
G. Legal, Nonconforming Rent-Controlled Multiple-Unit Properties.
Notwithstanding subsection (D), existing multi-unit residential units in the R1 Single-Unit Residential District that are presently controlled by Article XVIII of the City Charter may be expanded in area provided such expansion complies with all other applicable Code provisions, including those governing height, number of stories, setbacks, stepbacks, floor area ratio, and off-street parking (unless the City's Parking and Traffic Engineer determines that the provision of parking is not feasible), and the number of housing units on the multiunit residential property does not increase.
H. Relocation of Nonconforming Pawn Shops within the Downtown Area Existing legal nonconforming pawn shop establishments located in the Downtown as of August 12, 2025 may relocate anywhere in the Downtown, except within the Ocean Transition (OT) District, and shall retain its legal non-conforming use status in its new location. Following relocation, any subsequent use of the abandoned tenant space shall be
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Packet Pg. 612 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 of a conforming use only, and its nonconforming use rights as a pawn shop shall be terminated, pursuant to Subsection B(6) above.
(H) Notwithstanding any provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.28.040 to the contrary, the following regulations related to Calculating Off-Street Parking and Loading Spaces shall apply:
9.28.040 Calculating Off-Street Parking and Loading Spaces A. Rules for Calculating Required Spaces. The following rules shall be followed for calculating the amount of off-street parking and loading spaces.
1. Rounding. Fractional space requirements totaling 0.5 or above shall be rounded up to the next whole space after calculating the total number of required spaces.
Rounding up shall not apply to loading spaces; however, a minimum of one space shall be provided.
2. Residential Uses. For purposes of calculating off-street parking requirements for dwelling units, all private living spaces including, but not limited to, dens, studios, family rooms, studies and lofts shall be considered as “bedrooms” except that a maximum of one such room per unit shall not count as a bedroom if it is less than 100 square feet in area. Kitchens, bathrooms, and one living room per unit shall not be considered bedrooms. Semiprivate rooms shall not count as bedrooms if they have no doors and a minimum 7-foot opening to adjacent living space. A loft or mezzanine shall not count as a bedroom if the maximum width of the loft or mezzanine is less than 7 feet.
3. Non-residential Uses. Unless otherwise specified, the floor areas used to calculate the number of off-street parking and loading spaces required for non-residential uses shall include:
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Packet Pg. 613 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 a. All floor area located above or below grade devoted to office, retail, service, or other activities and uses, storage areas, restrooms, lounges, lobbies, kitchens, and interior hallways and corridors, unless exempted by this Chapter; and
b. All outdoor areas that will accommodate a permanent activity that will generate a demand for parking facilities in addition to that which is provided for principal activities and uses within the building or structure.
4. Multiple Uses. When two or more principal uses are located on the same parcel, the estimated parking demand shall be the sum of the estimated demand of the various individual uses computed separately, in accordance with this Section, unless shared parking is approved pursuant to Section 9.28.180.
5. Exclusions. Floor area devoted to the following shall not be included when determining required parking and loading spaces:
a. Automobile parking;
b. Loading areas;
c. Driveways, drive aisles, ramps;
d. Bicycle parking;
e. Showers or locker areas not associated with a physical training, personal service or instructional service; and
f. Outdoor dining areas and other outdoor space permitted pursuant to Section 9.31.199, Outdoor Commercial Uses on Private Property, and Section
9.31.200, Outdoor Dining and Seating on Sidewalks.
(G)Notwithstanding any provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.31.040 to the contrary, the following regulations related to Alcoholic Beverage Sales shall apply:
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Packet Pg. 614 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 1. 9.31.040 Alcoholic Beverage Sales
A. Purpose.
1. To limit the potential for community problems such as public drunkenness, drunk driving, traffic accidents, violent crime, noise, and nuisance from an overabundance or overconcentration of the availability of alcohol and its consumption. To regulate traditional alcohol outlets, including bars, restaurants, liquor stores, and supermarkets, as well as new types of alcohol outlets, to ensure that public health, safety, and welfare are not threatened.
2. To establish control measures that will permit the City to review and approve new alcohol outlets on a case-by-case basis and to condition that approval based on the specific type of alcohol outlet, neighborhood location, and potential problems involved.
B. Conditional Use Permit Required. No person shall dispense for sale or other consideration, alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, malt beverages, and distilled spirits, for on-site or off-site consumption without first obtaining a Conditional Use Permit unless the proposed use has received an Alcohol Exemption Zoning Conformance Permit in accordance with subsection D or is otherwise determined to be exempt after a Zoning Conformance Review in accordance with subsection E.
C. Findings for Approval of Conditional Use Permit. The Planning Commission, or the City Council on appeal, may approve the dispensing, for sale or other consideration, alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, malt beverages, and distilled spirits for on-site or off-site consumption only if, in addition to the required findings for Conditional Use Permits contained in Section 9.41.060, Required Findings (for a Conditional Use Permit), all of the following findings can be made in an affirmative manner:
1. The proposed alcohol sales will not adversely affect the welfare of
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Packet Pg. 615 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 neighborhood residents in a significant manner;
2. The proposed alcohol sales will not contribute to an undue concentration of alcohol outlets in the area;
3. The proposed alcohol sales will not detrimentally affect nearby neighborhoods, considering the distance of the alcohol outlet to residential buildings, churches, schools, hospitals, playgrounds, parks, and other existing alcohol outlets; and
4. The sale of alcohol will not increase traffic congestion or generate a demand for parking that will adversely affect surrounding businesses and residents.
D. Alcohol Exemption Zoning Conformance Permit.
1. Citywide Excluding the Bayside Conservation (BC) District, Santa Monica Place, and Santa Monica Pier. Except as provided in paragraphs 2 and 3, below, limited and full-service restaurants that offer alcoholic beverages incidental to meal service that are located citywide, excluding the Bayside Conservation (BC) District and the area bounded by 2nd Street to the west, Broadway to the north, 4th Street to the east, and Colorado to the south, shall be exempt from the provisions of the Conditional Use Permit requirement of subsection B of this Section if such a permit is approved in writing by the Director and if the applicant agrees in writing to comply with all of the following criteria and conditions:
a. If a counter service area is provided, food service shall be available at all hours the counter is open for patrons, and the counter area shall not function as a separate bar area;
b. Window or other signage visible from the public right-of-way that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted;
c. Customers shall be permitted to order meals at all times and at all
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Packet Pg. 616 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 locations where alcohol is being served. The establishment shall serve food to patrons during all hours the establishment is open for customers; d. The premises shall maintain a kitchen or food-serving area in which a variety of food is prepared on the premises;
e. Sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption beyond the premises shall be permitted if authorized by the premises’ California Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) license;
f. No video or other amusement games shall be permitted on the premises;
g. Entertainment may only be permitted in the manner set forth in Section 9.31.290, Restaurants with Entertainment;
h. The primary use of any outdoor dining area shall be for seated meal service. Patrons who are standing in the outdoor seating area shall not be served; i. The operation shall at all times be conducted in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator shall control noisy patrons leaving the restaurant; j. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. with complete closure and all employees vacated from the building by 1:00 a.m. All alcoholic beverages must be removed from the outdoor dining area no later than 11:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. No after-hours operation is permitted;
k. Liquor bottle service shall be prohibited. Wine and beer bottle service shall not be available to patrons unless full meal service is provided concurrent with the bottle service. For purposes of this paragraph, “bottle service” means the
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Packet Pg. 617 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 service of any full bottle of liquor, wine, or beer of more than 375 ml, along with glass ware, mixers, garnishes, etc., in which patrons are able to then make their own drinks or pour their own wine or beer. All food items shall be available from the premises’ full service menu;
l. No organized queuing of patrons at the entry or checking of identification to control entry into and within the establishment shall be permitted.
There shall not be any age limitation imposed restricting access to any portion of the restaurant;
m. The premises shall not organize or participate in organized “pubcrawl” events where participants or customers pre-purchase tickets or tokens to be exchanged for alcoholic beverages at the restaurant; n. Establishments with amplified music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code; o. Prior to occupancy, a security plan shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues;
p. Prior to occupancy, the operator shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcohol-awareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABCsponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the employee shall
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Packet Pg. 618 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 attend the alcohol awareness training within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments; q. Within 30 days from the date of approval of this exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the State ABC;
r. Prior to occupancy, the operator shall submit a plan describing the establishment’s designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the establishment’s patrons. The plan shall specify how the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as offering on the menu a free non-alcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages;
s. Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to please not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood;
t. Employees of the establishment shall walk a 100-foot radius from the facility at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons; and u. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division. Project development shall be consistent with such plans, except as otherwise specified in these conditions of approval. Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to
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Packet Pg. 619 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 approval by the Director;
v. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section.
2. Bayside Conservation (BC) District and Santa Monica Place.
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, above, in the Bayside Conservation (BC) District and the area bounded by 2nd Street to the west, Broadway to the north, 4th Street to the east, and Colorado to the south, the following uses that offer alcoholic beverages incidental to the primary use, including bars/nightclubs/lounges that primarily serve alcoholic beverages, shall be exempt from the provisions of the Conditional Use Permit requirement of subsection B of this Section if such a permit is approved in writing by the Director and if the applicant agrees in writing to comply with all of the following criteria and conditions established for each use:
a. Restaurants (Full-Service and Limited Service and Take Out) and Food Halls
i. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.
ii. From 8:00 a.m. until at least 10:00 p.m., food service shall be available at all times when alcohol is being served.
iii. Sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption beyond the premises shall be permitted if authorized by the premises’ California Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) license.
iv. Window or other signage visible from the public right-of-way that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted.
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Packet Pg. 620 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 v. Entertainment may only be permitted in the manner set forth in Section 9.31.290(D), Restaurants with Entertainment; vi. Except as may be permitted by a Temporary Use Permit issued in accordance with Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 9.44, Temporary Use Permits, alcohol shall not be served in any disposable containers such as disposable plastic or paper cups.
vii. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
viii. Premises with amplified music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, except that Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.
ix. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues.
x. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcoholawareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program
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Packet Pg. 621 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments.
xi. Within 30 days from the date of approval of the exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
xii. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan describing the premises’ designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the premises’ patrons. The plan shall specify how the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as by offering on the menu a free non-alcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages.
xiii. Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood. xiv. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick
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Packet Pg. 622 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons.
xv. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division.
Project development shall be consistent with such plans. Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director. xvi. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section. b. Bars/Nightclubs/Lounges
i. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.
ii. Sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption beyond the premises shall be permitted if authorized by the premises’ California Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) license.
iii. Window or other signage visible from the public right-of-way that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted. iv. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
v. Premises with amplified music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, except that Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music
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Packet Pg. 623 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 shall not apply.
vi. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues.
vii. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcoholawareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments.
viii. Within 30 days from the date of approval of this exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 624 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 ix. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan describing the premises’ designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the premises’ patrons. The plan shall specify how the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as by offering on the menu a free non-alcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages.
x. Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood. xi. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons.
xii. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division.
Project development shall be consistent with such plans. Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director. xiii. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section. c. Convenience Markets and Liquor Stores
i. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage sales shall be 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily.
ii. Window or other signage visible from the public right-of-way
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Packet Pg. 625 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises. iii. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues.
iv. Within 30 days from the date of approval of this exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
v. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons.
vi. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division.
Project development shall be consistent with such plans. Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director. vii. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section. viii.Cultural Facilities and Instructional Services. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily. ix. Service of alcoholic beverages shall be incidental to the
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Packet Pg. 626 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 primary use.
x. Sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption beyond the premises shall be permitted if authorized by the premises’ California Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) license.
xi. Window or other signage visible from the public right-of-way that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted. xii. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
xiii. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues.
xiv. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcoholawareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 627 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments.
xv. Within 30 days from the date of approval of the exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
xvi. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons.
xvii. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division.
Project development shall be consistent with such plans. Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section. d. Outdoor Rooftop Commercial Uses: Cinemas, Community
Assembly, Small/Large-Scale Commercial Entertainment and Recreation Facilities i. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.
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Packet Pg. 628 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 ii. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
iii. Premises with amplified sound or music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, except that Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.
iv. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues.
v. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcoholawareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 629 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments.
vi. Within 30 days from the date of approval of the exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
vii. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan describing the premises’ designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the premises’ patrons. The plan shall specify how the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as by offering on the menu a free non-alcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages.
viii. Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood. ix. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons.
x. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division.
Project development shall be consistent with such plans. Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director.
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 630 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 xi. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section. e. Commercial Entertainment and Recreation: Small-Scale Facilities and Large-Scale Facilities
i. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.
ii. Service of alcoholic beverages shall be incidental to the primary use.
iii. Sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption beyond the premises shall be permitted if authorized by the premises’ California Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) license. Window or other signage visible from the public right-of-way that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted.
iv. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
v. Premises with amplified music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, except that Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.
vi. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 631 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 address both physical and operational security issues. vii. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcoholawareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments.
viii. Within 30 days from the date of approval of the exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
ix. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan describing the premises’ designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the premises’ patrons. The plan shall specify how
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 632 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as by offering on the menu a free non-alcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages.
x. Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood. xi. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division.
Project development shall be consistent with such plans. Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director. xii. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section. xiii. Retail Sales: General Retail Sales, Small-Scale and MediumScale. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage sales for off-site consumption and or on-site tasting shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily. xiv. Window or other signage visible from the public right-of-way that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted. xv. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or
10.A.b
Packet Pg. 633 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
xvi.Premises with amplified music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code. xvii. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues.
xviii. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcohol-awareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation.
The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABCsponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting similar establishments. xix.Within 30 days from the date of approval of the exemption, the
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Packet Pg. 634 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
xx. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan describing the premises’ designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the premises’ patrons. The plan shall specify how the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as by offering on the menu a free nonalcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages.
Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood.
xxi.Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons. xxii. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division. Project development shall be consistent with such plans. Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director.
xxiii. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section.
3. Santa Monica Pier. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, above, limited and full service restaurants, bars/nightclubs/lounges, food halls, and small and medium scale general retail sales on the Santa Monica Pier shall be exempt from the provisions of the Conditional Use Permit requirement of subsection B of this Section
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Packet Pg. 635 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 if such a permit is approved in writing by the Director and if the applicant agrees in writing to comply with all of the following criteria and conditions:
a. The permitted hours of alcoholic beverage service shall be 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily.
b. From 8:00 a.m. until at least 10:00 p.m., food service shall be available at all times when alcohol is being served. Sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption beyond the premises shall be permitted if authorized by the premises’ California Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) license. c. Window or other signage visible from the public right-of-way that advertises beer or alcohol shall not be permitted.
d. Except as may be permitted by a Temporary Use Permit issued in accordance with Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 9.44, Temporary Use Permits, alcohol shall not be served in any disposable containers such as disposable plastic or paper cups.
e. The premises shall at all times conduct operations in a manner not detrimental to surrounding properties by reason of lights, noise, activities or other actions. The operator of the premises shall control noisy patrons leaving the premises.
f. Liquor bottle service shall be prohibited. Wine and beer bottle service shall not be available to patrons unless food service is provided concurrent with the bottle service. For purposes of this paragraph, “bottle service” means the service of any full bottle of liquor, wine, or beer of more than 375 ml, along with glass ware, mixers, garnishes, or other items used for the mixing of drinks, which patrons are able to then use to make their own drinks or pour their
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Packet Pg. 636 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 own wine or beer.
g. The premises shall not organize or participate in organized “pubcrawl” events where participants or customers pre-purchase tickets or tokens to be exchanged for alcoholic beverages at the premises. Premises with amplified music shall be required to comply with Chapter 4.12, Noise, of the Santa Monica Municipal Code.
h. Prior to occupancy, a security plan for the premises shall be submitted to the Chief of Police for review and approval. The plan shall address both physical and operational security issues.
i. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan for approval by the Director regarding employee alcohol awareness training programs and policies. The plan shall outline a mandatory alcohol-awareness training program for all employees having contact with the public and shall state management’s policies addressing alcohol consumption and inebriation. The program shall require all employees having contact with the public to complete an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of the effective date of the exemption determination. In the case of new employees, the plan shall require all such new employees to attend an ABC-sponsored alcohol awareness training program within 90 days of hiring. In the event the ABC no longer sponsors an alcohol awareness training program, all employees having contact with the public shall complete an alternative program approved by the Director. The operator of the premises shall provide the City with an annual report regarding compliance with this requirement. The operator of the premises shall be subject to any future Citywide alcohol awareness training program affecting
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Packet Pg. 637 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 similar establishments. Within 30 days from the date of approval of this exemption, the applicant shall provide a copy of the signed exemption to the local office of the ABC.
j. Prior to occupancy, the operator of the premises shall submit a plan describing the premises’ designated driver program, which shall be offered by the operator to the premises’ patrons. The plan shall specify how the operator will inform patrons of the program, such as by offering on the menu a free nonalcoholic drink for every party of 2 or more ordering alcoholic beverages. k. Notices shall be prominently displayed urging patrons to leave the premises and neighborhood in a quiet, peaceful, and orderly fashion and to not litter or block driveways in the neighborhood.
l. Employees of the premises shall walk a 100-foot radius from the premises at some point prior to 30 minutes after closing and shall pick up and dispose of any discarded beverage containers and other trash left by patrons. m. The exemption shall apply to approved and dated plans, a copy of which shall be maintained in the files of the City Planning Division. Project development shall be consistent with such plans, except as otherwise specified in these conditions of approval. Minor amendments to the plans shall be subject to approval by the Director.
4. In the event of a conflict between the regulations of this Section and regulations issued by the ABC, the ABC regulations shall control and be deemed to have modified contrary provisions of this Section. With respect to the Director’s decision for Alcohol Exemption Zoning Conformance Permits for restaurants with over 50 seats and subject to subsection D(1) above, within 2 business days from the date
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Packet Pg. 638 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 when the determination has been made concerning the application and posted on the City’s website, the Director shall transmit a notice of determination that summarizes the determination and provides a website link to the Statement of Official Action to the applicant at the address shown on the application and to all property owners and residential and commercial tenants within a radius of 750 feet from the exterior boundaries of the property involved in the application.
E. Zoning Conformance Review.
1. When an existing alcohol outlet without a Conditional Use Permit changes ownership or undergoes an interior remodel, it shall be subject to Zoning Conformance review in accordance with the following:
i. Except as provided in paragraph b, below, an existing alcohol outlet that was lawfully established and is nonconforming solely due to the lack of an approved Conditional Use Permit is exempt from the requirements of this Section if the licensed premises have remained in continuous operation without substantial change in mode or character of operation. Approval of a Conditional Use Permit shall be required for a change in the licensed classification. The operation of an existing nonconforming alcohol outlet shall be considered lapsed and a Conditional Use Permit shall be required where operations have been discontinued for a period of over one year. The one-year period to determine that a nonconforming alcohol outlet has been abandoned shall commence when the use ceases and any one of the following occurs:
(1) The business license lapses;
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Packet Pg. 639 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 (2) The site is vacated;
(3) The lease is terminated;
(4) Utilities are terminated; or
(5) A conforming use that meets the applicable
requirements of this Article is lawfully established in the space previously occupied by the nonconforming alcohol outlet. ii. Once the one-year period has commenced under subsection (E)(1)(a)(i) that period shall only be terminated if the nonconforming alcohol outlet is fully licensed, permitted, and operational for 60 continuous days.
Operational shall mean that the nonconforming alcohol outlet is open for business to the public and provides services typically associated with the nonconforming alcohol outlet during the hours and days that are customary for that nonconforming alcohol outlet.
iii. Cessation of use due to remodeling shall not be considered abandonment so long as building permits are active in accordance with Chapter 8.08 of the Municipal Code. However, if the building permit expires before the use resumes, the one-year period under subsection (E)(1)(a)(i) shall relate back and commence with the cessation of use. Any existing premises where operations have been discontinued for these time periods shall be required to obtain a Conditional Use Permit prior to resuming business whether or not a Conditional Use Permit was obtained in the past for the premises.
iv. A substantial change in mode or character of operation shall include, but is not limited to, a change in operational hours that extends
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Packet Pg. 640 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 past 11:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight on Friday and Saturday, a 5% increase in the floor area of the premises, a 10% increase in the shelf area used for the display of alcoholic beverages, queuing outside the establishment, age requirements for entry, checking identification at the door, implementing a cover charge, offering bottle service, or a 5% increase in the number of seats in any restaurant that serves alcoholic beverages, but in no case shall the increase exceed any established seating limitation in the underlying zoning district. (1) “Bottle service” shall mean the service of any
full bottle of liquor, wine, or beer, of more than 375 ml, along with glass ware, mixers, garnishes, etc., in which patrons are able to then make their own drinks or pour their own wine or beer.
(2) “Cover charge” shall mean requiring payment
of customers before they may enter the establishment.
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph a, above, when an existing alcohol outlet (i) located within the Bayside Conservation (BC) District and (ii) without a Conditional Use Permit changes ownership or undergoes an interior remodel, it shall be subject to Zoning Conformance review to confirm consistency with current operations, except that an existing alcohol outlet that was lawfully established and is nonconforming solely due to the lack of an approved Conditional Use Permit shall not be subject to a zoning conformance review if the licensed premises have remained in continuous operation without substantial change in mode or
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Packet Pg. 641 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 character of operation. As used in this paragraph, a substantial change in mode or character of operation shall include, but is not limited to: a 5% increase in the floor area of the premises; a 10% increase in the shelf area used for the display of alcoholic beverages; implementing a cover charge, that is, requiring payment from customers before they may enter the premises; or a 5% increase in the number of seats in any restaurant that serves alcoholic beverages, but in no case shall the increase exceed any established seating limitation in the underlying zoning district.
2. When an existing alcohol outlet with a Conditional Use Permit changes ownership or undergoes an interior remodel, it shall be subject to Zoning Conformance review to ensure compliance with the existing CUP.
(H)Notwithstanding any provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.31.290 to the contrary, the following regulations related to Restaurants with Entertainment shall apply:
2. 9.31.290 Restaurants with Entertainment
A. Except as provided in subsection B, below, restaurants may provide entertainment including but not limited to music, DJs, song, dance, stand-up comedy, and poetry readings for the patrons’ enjoyment if they meet the following standards.
1. There is sit down meal service provided at all times while the entertainment is taking place.
2. There is no permanent or temporary dance floor or dance area for patrons.
3. There is no cover charge or minimum drink purchase requirement.
4. The entertainment is provided only in the dining areas.
5. No more than three television screens including video projectors or similar audio/visual devices shall be utilized on the premises. None of these televisions or
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Packet Pg. 642 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 projection surfaces shall exceed 60 inches measured diagonally. No billiard/pool tables, video games, bowling, darts, and other similar entertainment activities may be provided.
6. Liquor bottle service shall be prohibited. Wine and beer bottle service shall not be available to patrons unless full meal service is provided concurrent with the bottle service. All food items shall be available from the full service menu. Bottle service shall mean the service of any full bottle of liquor, wine, or beer of more than 375 ml, along with glass ware, mixers, garnishes, etc., in which patrons are able to then make their own drinks or pour their own wine or beer.
7. No organized queuing of patrons at the entry or checking of identification to control entry into and within the establishment shall be permitted. There shall not be any age limitation imposed restricting access to any portion of the restaurant. The establishment shall not organize or participate in organized “pub-crawl” events where participants or customers pre-purchase tickets or tokens to be exchanged for alcoholic beverages at the restaurant.
8. Establishments with amplified music shall comply with Section 4.12.140.
B. Third Street Promenade Area and Santa Monica Place. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A, restaurants located in the Third Street Promenade Area and the area bounded by 2nd Street to the west, Broadway to the north, 4th Street to the east, and Colorado to the south, may provide entertainment including but not limited to music, DJs, song, dance, stand-up comedy, and poetry readings for the patrons’ enjoyment if they meet the following standards.
1. There is sit down meal service provided at all times while the entertainment is taking place.
2. The entertainment is provided indoors only within the dining areas.
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Packet Pg. 643 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 3. Dancing shall be ancillary to the primary restaurant use and temporary dance areas may be provided within portion(s) of the dining area provided that seating for sit down meal service is available for patrons at all times while dancing is taking place.
4. There is no cover charge or minimum drink purchase requirement.
5. Establishment shall comply with SMMC Chapter 4.12 Noise, except that Section 4.21.140 Nightclubs, Bars and Establishments with Amplified Music shall not apply.
C. A restaurant with entertainment beyond the scope of the limitations set forth in subsections A or B above, as applicable, shall also be considered a Bar/Nightclub/Lounge as defined in Chapter 9.51, and such entertainment use shall be prohibited unless a separate Conditional Use Permit for that use has been obtained. (I) Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.31.199.5, Pilot Program for Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Uses on Private Property in the Office Campus District, shall be added and read in its entirety as follows:
9.31.199.5 Pilot Program for Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Uses on Private Property in the Office Campus District
A. Purpose and Applicability. The purpose of this Section is to initiate a pilot program that permits commercial uses that occur predominantly on outdoor spaces, such as outdoor antique markets, night markets, and similar multi-vendor open-air ventures in the Office Campus (OC) District while ensuring that they do not result in an adverse impact on adjacent land uses, with emphasis on any surrounding residential uses. The requirements of this Section are not applicable to outdoor sales conducted in conjunction with an existing retail business. See Section 9.31.220, Outdoor Retail Display and Sales.
B. Definitions. The definitions in Section 9.52.020 apply to the terms and phrases
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Packet Pg. 644 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 in this Section, unless otherwise specified herein. In addition, the following terms and phrases have the following meanings when used in this Section:
1. Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Use. A commercial uses that occurs predominantly outdoors. Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Uses may be operated by businesses that do not meet the definition of Eligible Business for purposes of Section
9.31.199, Outdoor Commercial Uses on Private Property.
C. Limitation on Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Uses. Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Uses shall be designed, located, and operated in accordance with the requirements of this Section. No Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Use may operate within the City without first obtaining a Zoning Conformance Review Permit in accordance with Chapter 9.38.
D. Location; Minimum Distance from Residential Districts.
1. Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Uses may be permitted on surface parking lots in the Office Campus (OC) District. Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Uses are not required to be associated with the primary use of the parcel on which they are located.
2. The perimeter of the Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Use shall be located a minimum of 500 feet from any residential district.
E. Minimum Parcel Size. Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Uses may be conducted on parcels of 30,000 square feet or greater.
F. Duration of Use. Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Uses may only operate four times per month for no more than five consecutive days. Setup and cleanup may occur for up to two consecutive days prior to and after the market operations.
G. Food Sales. Food sales may be provided, including from food trucks, subject to compliance with all applicable law, including, but not limited to, City and County
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Packet Pg. 645 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 regulations. The requirements of Section 9.31.190, Mobile Food Truck Off-Street Venue, shall not apply to Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Uses complying with the provisions of this Section.
H. Hours of Operation. The hours of operation shall not exceed 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day of the event. Setup shall begin no earlier than 5 a.m. and all cleanup shall be concluded no later than 12 midnight.
I. Amplified Sound. No amplified sound, including, but not limited to, music or a public address system, shall be audible beyond the boundaries of the parcel on which the Outdoor Commercial Use is being conducted.
J. Parking and Circulation. A parking, loading, and circulation plan shall be approved by the Mobility Division through the Zoning Conformance Review process to ensure that events do not adversely impact vehicular traffic, safety, public right-of-way, or transit services.
K. Sanitary Facilities. A minimum of two portable sanitary facilities (including at least one ADA accessible stall) shall be located onsite and remain open for public use throughout the duration of the event. Additional sanitary facilities shall be provided in compliance with the current Building and Plumbing Codes, if applicable.
L. Security. Private security shall be provided during all hours that the event is open to the public.
M. Solid Waste and Litter. Refuse and recycling containers shall be provided for the proper disposal of litter. There shall be personnel assigned to clean up litter throughout the duration of the event.
1. A refuse and recycling plan shall be prepared for review by the City’s Resource Recovery and Recycling Division through the Zoning Conformance Review
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Packet Pg. 646 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 process if the Exclusively Outdoor Commercial Use meets any of the following:
a. More than 1,000 attendees are anticipated;
b. If more than 2,500 attendees are anticipated; or
c. If food or beverages will be served.
N. Licensing. Each vendor shall be properly licensed, including, but not limited to, licenses required by the City and/or the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, as applicable.
O. Building Permits and/or Fire Department Permits. Any proposed temporary stand, platforms, fences, canopies, tents and other similar miscellaneous structures requiring a building permit, or special building permit for a limited period of time, shall obtain such required permit in accordance with the Building Code. Fire Department permits or review and approval by the Fire Department may also be required for tents, canopies, open flames, candles, and or cooking, and such permits or review shall also be obtained in accordance with all applicable law.
(I) Notwithstanding any provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section
9.31.340 to the contrary, the following regulations related to Small Scale Facility (Commercial Entertainment and Recreation), Game Arcades shall apply:
SMMC 9.31.340 Small Scale Facility (Commercial Entertainment and Recreation), Game Arcades.
The noise and loitering commonly associated with game arcades tend to decrease compatibility with adjacent and surrounding uses. In order to mitigate the impacts of hits use on other land uses, specific location limitations, development standards, and provisions shall be imposed on arcades and video machines. The following performance standards shall apply to game arcades.
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Packet Pg. 647 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 1. Applicability. Except as provided in subsection 2, below, arcades shall be permitted only in the OF District with approval of a Minor Use Permit and only in the following 2 locations: on the Santa Monica Pier and fronting on the Promenade. A Minor Use Permit shall also be required for existing arcades at such time as those arcades apply for City permits for expansion or remodeling or any other development requiring a permit from the City or within one year of the date of adoption of this Ordinance.
2. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subsection 1, above, the provisions of this Section 9.31.340 shall not apply to game arcades located in the Bayside Conservation (BC) District.
B. Number of Machines. Four or fewer arcade or game machines shall be permitted in any commercial business. More than four arcade or game machines for any commercial business constitutes an arcade which shall be subject to the standards and provisions of this Section.
C. Noise Attenuation Requirements.
1. Any arcade building or tenant space shall be constructed to achieve a minimum sound transmission class (STC) sound rating of 50 between the arcade and any adjacent use that shares a common wall or floor-ceiling assembly.
2. All arcades shall comply with the City’s noise ordinance, Chapter 4.12.
D. Maximum Number of Machines. The number of arcade or game machines shall not exceed one machine per each 30 square feet of floor area.
E. Adult Supervision/Surveillance. All arcade and game machines and all areas of the business shall be readily observed at all times by an adult supervisor of the arcade either by direct observation from a raised dais or through a video camera monitoring system approved by the Santa Monica Police Department with cameras positioned so
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Packet Pg. 648 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 that the supervisor can observe all areas of the arcade simultaneously on a multi-screen monitor. If a video camera monitoring system is utilized, it shall be installed so that the monitoring supervisor is visible from the main arcade area and a sign shall be displayed at all entries to the arcade informing patrons that a video monitoring system is in use. In addition to the required supervision from a raised dais or video camera monitoring system, an adult supervisor shall be present in the main arcade area at all times that the arcade is open. If the number of arcade and game machines exceeds forty, there shall be 2 such adult supervisors present in the main arcade area.
F. Lighting. The arcade shall be fully and adequately lighted for easy observation of all areas of the premises.
G. Bicycle Racks. A bicycle storage rack or racks accommodating a minimum of four bicycles shall be maintained adjacent to the arcade building and off the public sidewalk to adequately accommodate bicycles utilized by arcade patrons. (J) Notwithstanding any provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.31.370 to the contrary, the following regulations related to Temporary Uses and Seasonal Sales shall apply:
9.31.370 Temporary Uses and Seasonal Sales
1. This Section establishes standards and requirements for certain uses that are intended to be of limited duration of time and that will not permanently alter the character or physical facilities of the site where they occur. Temporary uses shall require approval of a Temporary Use Permit pursuant to Chapter 9.44 with the following exceptions: Seasonal sales of holiday-related items such as Christmas trees, pumpkins and similar items that have a duration of not more than 45 consecutive calendar days and are conducted in conjunction with an established retail commercial business holding a
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Packet Pg. 649 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 valid City business license or conducted by a school or place of worship;
2. Temporary carnivals, fairs, and festivals with a duration of not more than 3 days when conducted by a school or place of worship on land owned by the school or place of worship;
3. Art displays under the sponsorship of any recognized art organization or accredited school on any parking lot in any commercial or industrial district provided that the art display is on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday when the place or places of business, which have control of the parking lot are not open for business on the day the art display is to occur;
4. Trailers that provide residences for security personnel associated with any approved construction site;
5. Construction offices where approved construction projects are being diligently completed;
6. Yard sales limited to 2 per calendar year, for each dwelling unit, for a maximum of 2 days each;
7. Events which occur in theaters, meeting halls, or other permanent public assembly facilities;
8. Private social gatherings in private residences.
B. Temporary Uses Requiring a Temporary Use Permit. Temporary uses may be permitted with the approval of a Temporary Use Permit, pursuant to Chapter
9.44,Temporary Use Permits, subject to compliance with the standards. Additional or more stringent requirements may be established through the Temporary Use Permit process in order to prevent the use from becoming a nuisance with regard to the surrounding neighborhood or the City as a whole.
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Packet Pg. 650 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 1. Stand-Alone Seasonal Sales. Seasonal sales of holiday related items such as Christmas trees, pumpkins, and similar items conducted for a period not to exceed 45 consecutive calendar days.
2. Temporary Outdoor Sales. Temporary outdoor sales conducted by an established retail commercial business holding a valid City business license, including, but not limited to, grand opening events, sidewalk sales, and other special sales events subject to the following standards:
a. Temporary outdoor sales shall be conducted by an established retail commercial business holding a valid City business license for the same site. b. Outdoor display and sales areas must be located on a paved or concrete area on the same parcel as the structure(s) containing the business with which the temporary sale is associated.
c. Location of the displayed merchandise must not disrupt the normal circulation of the site, nor encroach upon driveways, pedestrian walkways, or required landscaped areas, or obstruct sight distances or otherwise create hazards for vehicle or pedestrian traffic.
d. Number of Events. No more than 4 events shall be allowed on any 1 site within any 12-month period, except sidewalk sales located on the public rightof-way shall be limited to 2 events for periods not exceeding 3 consecutive days each within any 12-month period. Business Improvement Districts and Areas shall be exempt from the limitations on number of events.
3. Special Events. Other short-term special events, outdoor sales, art sales, and displays that do not exceed 3 consecutive days, may be permitted in accordance with the following standards:
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Packet Pg. 651 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 a. Location. Events are limited to nonresidential districts. b. Number of Events. No more than 4 events shall be allowed on any 1 site within any 12-month period.
c. Recreational Special Events. Short-term recreational special events shall be part of an existing Commercial Recreation or Personal Service use located on the same site.
d. Carnivals, Fairs, and Festival Events. Carnivals, fairs, and festival events are also subject to the following standards:
i. Location. Events are limited to areas within commercial or employment districts, or on land owned by a school or place of worship. ii. Time Limit. When located adjacent to a Residential District, the hours of operation shall be limited to 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
4. Other Temporary Uses. The following temporary uses may also be permitted subject to the approval of a Temporary Use Permit when conducted for a period not to exceed 180 consecutive calendar days:
a. Circuses and carnivals subject to compliance with Article 6 of the Municipal Code; Fairs, festivals, and concerts, when not held within premises designed to accommodate such events, such as auditoriums, stadiums, or other public assembly facilities;
b. Off-site contractors’ construction yards;
c. Similar temporary uses or other temporary uses supportive of economic recovery, which the Director has determined will be compatible with the purposes of the district and surrounding land uses.
d. The Zoning Administrator may approve a single extension of a
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Packet Pg. 652 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 7 Temporary Use Permit under this subsection for an additional 180 days, subject to any additional operational conditions as deemed necessary, and subject to a finding that the operation of the approved temporary use at the location and within the time period specified operated in a manner that did not jeopardize, endanger, or otherwise constitute a menace to the public health, safety, or general welfare.
Any proposed extension exceeding 180 days not meeting the requirements of this subsection be shall be subject to Minor Use Permit approval pursuant to Subsection C below.
C. Temporary Uses Requiring a Minor Use Permit. Other special events, temporary uses, outdoor sales, and displays not specifically limited under this Section that exceed 180 consecutive calendar days shall require the approval of a Minor Use Permit pursuant to Chapter 9.41, Minor Use Permits and Conditional Use Permits. (K) Notwithstanding any provisions of Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.44.060 to the contrary, the following regulations related to Temporary Uses Requiring a Minor Use Permit shall apply:
9.44.060 Temporary Uses Requiring a Minor Use Permit
Other special events, temporary uses, outdoor sales, and displays not specifically limited under Section 9.31.370 that exceed 180 consecutive calendar days shall require the approval of a Minor Use Permit pursuant to Chapter 9.41, Minor Use Permits and Conditional Use Permits
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Packet Pg. 653 Attachment: 2025.08.12 - CDD-Ord - Amended Promenade IZO Amendment With Exhibit (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery 1 David Yakobson
From: Santa Monica Forward <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, August 8, 2025 3:47 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems
Subject: Item 10A - Zoning Ordinance Pilot Program - SM Forward Support Letter
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete and Santa Monica City Council Members, Santa Monica Forward urges you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions.
This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
We urge your full support.
Sincerely,
Brad Ewing and Carl Hansen
C0-chairs, Santa Monica Forward
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
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Packet Pg. 654 Attachment: Written Comments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and Emergency Order Provisions 2 --
We are working for a diverse, progressive, sustainable and equitable Santa Monica.
SantaMonicaForward.org
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
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Packet Pg. 655 Attachment: Written Comments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and Emergency Order Provisions 3 David Yakobson
From: PNA <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, August 9, 2025 10:12 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: Lana Negrete; Barry Snell; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Jesse Zwick; Natalya Zernitskaya
Subject: City Council Agenda Item 10A, August 12 - 2025 Attachments: SM CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM 10A.pdf
EXTERNAL
Honorable Mayor Lana Negrete
Santa Monica City Council
Re: Agenda Item 10A – August 12, 2025 City Council Meeting Dear Mayor Negrete and Councilmembers,
We write in support of the proposed Interim Zoning Ordinance (“IZO”) that would provide greater flexibility and expand the options available to housing developers in meeting the City’s inclusionary housing requirements in a fair and equitable way across all neighborhoods. Santa Monica needs real affordable housing. We believe the proposed IZO is necessary in order to achieve this goal.
The Pico neighborhood represents a small portion of the City of Santa Monica, yet historically it has shouldered a disproportionately high percentage of the City’s affordable housing units. We have voiced this concern for many years and have consistently urged the Council to adopt policies that promote a more balanced and equitable distribution of affordable housing citywide.
We are encouraged to see that the proposed IZO takes this issue seriously by ensuring that newly required affordable units are distributed throughout the City - excluding the Pico neighborhood. Given the concentration of affordable housing already present in our community, this is a fair and thoughtful policy approach.
We remain deeply supportive of building “real” affordable housing - in Santa Monica for Santa Monicans. We strongly urge the City to use its existing point system for tenant selection to legally prioritize existing and lifelong residents - particularly seniors 55+ and disabled residents - under the principle of “Better Neighborhoods, Same Neighbors,” ensuring that those who have spent their lives contributing to Santa Monica can continue to call it home.
We respectfully and strongly urge the City Council to adopt this ordinance.
Thank you for your continued leadership and consideration.
Sincerely,
Tony Huizar
Chair, Pico Neighborhood Association
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
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Packet Pg. 656 Attachment: Written Comments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and Emergency Order Provisions
PICO NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
August 9, 2025
Honorable Mayor Lana Negrete
Santa Monica City Council
Re: Agenda Item 10A – August 12, 2025 City Council Meeting Dear Mayor Negrete and Councilmembers,
We write in support of the proposed Interim Zoning Ordinance (“IZO”) that would provide greater flexibility and expand the options available to housing developers in meeting the City’s inclusionary housing requirements in a fair and equitable way across all neighborhoods. Santa Monica needs real affordable housing. We believe the proposed IZO is necessary in order to achieve this goal.
The Pico neighborhood represents a small portion of the City of Santa Monica, yet historically it has shouldered a disproportionately high percentage of the City’s affordable housing units. We have voiced this concern for many years and have consistently urged the Council to adopt policies that promote a more balanced and equitable distribution of affordable housing citywide.
We are encouraged to see that the proposed IZO takes this issue seriously by ensuring that newly required affordable units are distributed throughout the City - excluding the Pico neighborhood. Given the concentration of affordable housing already present in our community, this is a fair and thoughtful policy approach.
We remain deeply supportive of building “real” affordable housing - in Santa Monica for Santa Monicans. We strongly urge the City to use its existing point system for tenant selection to legally prioritize existing and lifelong residents - particularly seniors 55+ and disabled residents - under the principle of “Better Neighborhoods, Same Neighbors,” ensuring that those who have spent their lives contributing to Santa Monica can continue to call it home.
We respectfully and strongly urge the City Council to adopt this ordinance.
Thank you for your continued leadership and consideration.
Sincerely,
Tony Huizar
Chair, Pico Neighborhood Association
PICO NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION Santa Monica, CA 90404
[email protected] | pnasantamonica.wordpress.com
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
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Packet Pg. 657 Attachment: Written Comments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and Emergency Order Provisions 4 David Yakobson
From: Jacob Wasserman <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2025 7:50 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Natalya Zernitskaya; Caroline Torosis; Ellis Raskin
Cc: Council Mailbox; councilmtgitems
Subject: In Support: Item 10.A
EXTERNAL
I write in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the Planning Commission, on which I serve. As a resident and voter, I fully support Item 10.A to make it easier to open and maintain a business downtown.
A number of the existing zoning regulations are outdated at best and detrimental to a vibrant commercial core at worst. The fixes proposed there to have succeeded so far in the interim zoning ordinance, and I hope they can be codified permanently.
Jacob Wasserman
90403
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
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Packet Pg. 658 Attachment: Written Comments (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Zoning Ordinance and Emergency Order Provisions Economic Recovery
Zoning Amendments
Downtown / Promenade
City Council
August 12, 2025
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
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Packet Pg. 659 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Purpose
1. Convert Downtown interim economic recovery provisions shown to be successful to permanent standards
• Simplified permitting for alcohol sales for many business types • Flexibility for restaurants with entertainment
• Remove limitations/prohibition on fast food restaurants
2. New Provisions Added to Existing Downtown IZO
• Additional Land Use Flexibility: Pawn Shops
• Retention of Legal Non-Conforming FAR for buildings on the Promenade
Item 10-A
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Item 10-A
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Packet Pg. 660 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Background
July 25, 2023 - Promenade IZO Adopted by Council
• Greater Flexibility for Restaurants to provide Entertainment • Expanded Uses that can obtain Alcohol Exemptions
• Allows Certain Rooftop Outdoor Uses on City Parking Structures October 22, 2024 - Promenade IZO & Sign Code Amendments • Simplified Land Use Review: Removed Discretionary CUPs, MUPs for Promenade Area • Relaxed Sign Code Limitations to Encourage Creative Signs / Business Promotion • Pilot Program for Open-Air Markets
March 25, 2025 - Promenade IZO & Sign Code Amendments
• Added Flexibility for Community Assembly Uses
• Animated/Digital Sign Area : Standardized Sign Area Calculations to Ensure Consistency Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
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Packet Pg. 661 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery ❑ Expanded Alcohol Exemptions: BC & OT Districts, SM Place - Restaurants, Bars/Nightclubs, Retail, Entertainment & Cultural Facilities - Expand Area to include Ocean Ave (south of Wilshire to Colorado) ❑ Restaurants w/Entertainment: Greater Flexibility
- Reduces Operational Restrictions on Entertainment
- Applies to BC District, OT District, SM Place
❑ Eliminate Restrictions on Fast Food Restaurants on Promenade - Allows any Type of Restaurant: Fast Casual, Sit-Down, Take-Out - Allows entire range of all Restaurant Types.
Proposed for Permanent Adoption
Item 10-A
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Packet Pg. 662 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery ❑ Expanded Alcohol Exemptions: BC & OT Districts, SM Place - Wine Tasting Retail, Interactive Art Instruction, Art Gallery - Entertainment: Pickle Pop, Holey Moley Mini Golf
❑ Restaurants w/Entertainment: Greater Flexibility
- 1212 Santa Monica
- Consistent with Entertainment Zone intent of attracting visitors ❑ Eliminate Restrictions on Fast Food Restaurants on Promenade - Yogurtland
- Raising Cane’s
Proposed for Permanent Adoption
Item 10-A
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Packet Pg. 663 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Alcohol Exemption Expanded Uses & Restaurants w/ Entertainment Current IZO Boundaries + New Expansion to Ocean Avenue
SM Place Third Street Promenade
Wilshire Blvd
Colorado Ave
Ocean Ave
• 1212 Santa Monica
• AJA Vineyards
• Holy Moley
• Splatter Studio
• Pickle Pop
• SM Art Museum
Item 10-A
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Packet Pg. 664 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery ❑ Additional Land Use Flexibility: Pawn Shop Relocation - Allows Existing Non-Conforming Pawn Shops to relocate within the Downtown Area (except along Ocean Avenue)
- Consistent with prior permitted areas for Pawn Shops (pre-2017) - Staff will continue to reevaluate Pawn Shops in the Downtown ❑ Retention of Legal Non-Conforming FAR (buildings on the Promenade) - Allows Shifting/Removal/Replacement of any non-conforming floor area (based on current Code) based on DR Permit Entitlement
- Allows Tenant Space Design Flexibility to meet Commercial Tenant needs.
Proposed Amendments to Downtown IZO
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Packet Pg. 665 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery Recommendation
Staff Recommends the Council:
❑ Permanently Adopt IZO Amendments
❑ Adopt New Provisions to Current Downtown IZO
Item 10-A
August 12, 2025
Item 10-A
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Packet Pg. 666 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7107 : Codifying Downtown Economic Recovery City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: August 12, 2025
Agenda Item: 10.B
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Arminé Chaparyan, Director, Administration
Subject: Introduction and Adoption of an Ordinance Establishing Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding that the Emergency Ordinance is statutorily exempt from the California Environment Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 21080.085(a) of the California Public Resources Code and was previously analyzed in the 2021- 2029 6th Cycle Housing Element Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
2. Introduction and Adoption of an Emergency Ordinance Amending the Zoning Ordinance to Establish a Pilot Program Allowing for Flexibility and Incentives for Complying with the City’s Affordable Housing Production Program.
Summary
The City’s Affordable Housing Production Program (AHPP), codified as Chapter 9.64 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, was enacted in 1998 and requires developers of market-rate housing projects to contribute to affordable housing production by either:
1) Constructing inclusionary affordable residences onsite in a multiple-unit project; 2) Constructing affordable residences offsite in another development; or 3) Paying an affordable housing fee that is deposited into the Citywide Housing Trust Fund and used by the City to subsidize affordable housing developments.
Since the enactment of the AHPP, the program has produced more than 1,200 affordable lower income units.
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The City’s AHPP has been amended numerous times to increase affordable housing production and meet the City’s other related housing goals. On April 9, 2019, Council authorized modification to the AHPP to remove the extremely low income housing option from the list of standard community benefits for Tier 2 projects. On April 11, 2023, as part of the 6th Cycle Housing Element implementing actions, Council adopted amendments to the Zoning Ordinance that included streamlining the approval of housing projects and modifying the AHPP to establish a 15% on-site inclusionary requirement.
Despite the City’s recent efforts to streamline the approval of housing development projects, many of the approved (entitled) housing projects have yet to begin construction. An estimated 3,300 market rate units and 800 affordable units have been approved but remain unbuilt, or “frozen.” The residential construction industry is facing significant financial challenges due to macroeconomic and global political factors.
Therefore, Council gave direction to staff on June 10, 2025 to “establish a pilot program allowing market-rate housing projects more flexibility in how they provide affordable housing units off-site, while also allowing these housing projects to be eligible for density bonus, incentives/concessions, and modifications.” The proposed emergency ordinance responds to Council’s direction by creating a pilot incentive program targeted at housing projects that have received their approvals prior to the effective date of this proposed ordinance. The pilot would provide a local density bonus and create flexibility in the AHPP off-site affordable housing option by removing the requirement that the Certificate of Occupancy for the affordable housing be issued before the Certificate of Occupancy for the market-rate housing and be replaced instead with three options that are further discussed in this report:
• Option 1: Developer purchase of land for the off-site affordable units combined with gap financing at $150,000 per unit (assumes 4% tax credits) • Option 2: Developer completes substantial rehabilitation of existing units in a number equivalent to required off-site affordable units
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• Option 3: Developer pays in-lieu fee of $43.91/sf for apartments and $51.30/sf for condominiums per off-site affordable housing unit, which is adjusted annually by Council resolution. These funds would be used to fund affordable housing, including affordable developments. This fee is adjusted annually based on construction cost index.
Discussion
On October 14, 2022, the State of California’s Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) certified the City’s 6th Cycle 2021-2029 Housing Element. To implement Program 1.J of the 6th Cycle Housing Element, the AHPP was amended in April 2023 as part of a package of Zoning Ordinance amendments to encourage the production of housing. Under the AHPP, developers of multiple unit projects are required to do one of the following (depending on the number of units):
SMMC Chapter 9.64 AHPP Requirements
Number of Units* Minimum Requirement
0-5 units Pay the Affordable Housing Fee**
6-19 units 15% affordable units for up to 80% Area Median Income (AMI)
20 units or more 15% affordable units with even distribution across Very Low (50% AMI), Low (80% AMI), and Moderate Income (between
80%-120% AMI)
*Pre-Density Bonus
**Fees updated annually and effective 12/1/24 are $43.91 /sf for apartments and $51.30/sf for condominium. Fee is based upon the floor area of the project as defined in SMMC 9.04.080 and includes (1) the actual floor space of all habitable rooms on all levels and mezzanines, interior balconies, lofts, and closets; (2) Restrooms, lounges, lobbies, kitchens, storage areas, and interior hallways and corridors; (3) portions of basements that meet Building Code requirements for habitable space; (4) enclosed and roofed porches and balconies; (5) Interior courtyards, atria, paseos, walkways and corridors that are fully enclosed; (6) storage; and (7) covered parking at or above grade.
For projects of 20 units or more, the AHPP requires that 15% of on-site units are deed restricted as affordable, with the affordable units distributed equally among all affordable income levels (very low, low, and moderate). The even distribution allows these projects to meet the City’s RHNA obligations across all affordable income levels.
The AHPP includes an off-site option (for multiple unit projects with 20 units or more), which increases the inclusionary requirement to 20% for both ownership and rental
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housing projects. The off-site affordable housing may be anywhere in the City, except in areas where there are larger concentrations of affordable housing (i.e., Pico neighborhood).
Since the City’s adoption of the 6
th Cycle Housing Element and associated changes to
the Zoning Ordinance and General Plan, the City has streamlined the approval of more than 3,400 market rate units and 900 affordable units through a ministerial process (i.e., no public hearings). Despite the City’s success in streamlining and entitling housing development projects, most of these projects have yet to begin construction. As shown below, the number of units that have had building permits issued for construction dropped significantly in the last 2 years with only 2 building permits for multifamily units issued in 2025 (one for a 100% affordable housing project, and the other for a 3 unit apartment building).
The dramatic slowdown in housing construction is due in large part to elevated interest rates, construction material costs volatility, labor shortage and wage pressure, and stagnant rental rates. Housing developers have also indicated that local factors including the Measure GS transfer tax have resulted in difficulty obtaining construction
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financing. As a result, additional flexibility is needed to facilitate the construction of housing, beyond the entitlement phase.
This proposed ordinance providing flexibility for AHPP compliance is consistent with Program 2.C of the certified 6th Cycle Housing Element which states:
Program 2.C Update the City’s Affordable Housing Production Program to Increase the Number of Affordable Housing Units at all Income Levels In order to increase the number of affordable housing units at all income levels such that 15% of all new multi-unit residential housing units are affordable to low and moderate income households and aim to achieve the Quantified Objective for lower income households as shown in Figure 5-1, Chapter 5, the AHPP on-site and off-site option for housing projects located outside of the Downtown shall be revised to maximize the contributions of the AHPP to achieving the RHNA affordable housing allocation and advancing the City’s affordable housing goals. Areas to be considered may include, but not be limited to:
• Increase the threshold (to at least 6 units) at which projects are required to provide on-site or off-site affordable units;
• Eliminate the current “menu” option of affordability requirements and instead establish a new base affordability percentage;
• Re-evaluate the in-lieu fee option for applicants to pay a fee instead of constructing affordable units to ensure that the fee supports the funding and construction of new affordable housing throughout the City; and • Evaluate the possibility of a mixed-compliance option that would provide applicants more flexibility in meeting AHPP requirements. • Increase the minimum percentage of required off-site affordable units to be higher than the on-site option;
• Allow projects to locate off-site affordable housing anywhere in the City that is not a disadvantaged area as defined by SB535, which includes socioeconomic and environmental metrics
• Allow market-rate projects to comply with AHPP off-site option through acquisition and rehabilitation of existing rental units and converting those to deed-restricted units.
This ordinance implements the provisions of Program 2.C as underlined above.
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Proposed Ordinance
In response to Council direction on June 10, 2025, Staff is proposing an emergency ordinance that would establish a pilot program for qualified projects to meet their inclusionary obligations through alternative means.
Eligibility – To be eligible, projects must meet the following requirements:
• Be a multiple-unit project of 6 units or more
• Have obtained final approval of all required discretionary and ministerial City permits (except for Architectural Review Board approval and post-entitlement phase permits), on or before August 12, 2025.
• Cannot have obtained a building permit, be under construction, or have been completed (i.e., obtained a building permit for construction or a Certificate of Occupancy [CofO])
• A previously entitled multi-unit project meeting all of the above requirements may also be eligible if re-entitled on the same property prior to December 31, 2026.
Based on a review of current City records, up to 3,598 approved market rate units and 642 approved affordable units within 37 approved projects could potentially be eligible to utilize the incentives established under this ordinance.
Program Options
Eligible projects under the ordinance may pursue one of the following program options to satisfy their affordable unit obligations of the City’s AHPP:
• Option 1: Alternative Off-Site Location for Affordable Units (with land and gap financing provided)
Under this option, developers may choose to develop the previously approved affordable units off-site in an alternate location. These lower income units cannot be in the Pico neighborhood pursuant to Section 9.64.060(E). Option 1 provides a developer the ability to meet its inclusionary requirements for several housing development
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projects by “pooling” its affordable housing units off-site into a single location/building.
With this option, the affordable units at the off-site location will be dedicated to lower income households to be eligible for the State’s Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) credits and deed restricted for 75 years. This option requires the developer to provide the off-site land and a gap financing amount of $150,000 per affordable unit (the “shortfall” or gap between TCAC funds received and cost of construction for the affordable housing). Under Option 1, the off-site affordable units may be constructed 48 months after the market rate project’s building permit issuance. For market rate projects in the coastal zone, the off-site affordable units may be constructed 18 months after coastal development permit amendment to allow time for the Coastal Commission approval process.
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• Option 2: Substantial Rehabilitation of Off-Site Housing in Lieu of New Construction
Under this option, developers may choose to satisfy the affordable housing obligation through substantial rehabilitation of affordable housing units at an off-site location. As part of this option, the units to be rehabilitated must be declared unhabitable by the City.
Thereafter, a rehabilitation plan must be approved, and, if the building is occupied, existing tenants of the rehabilitated units must be provided relocation assistance in accordance with State and local requirements. The rehabilitation must be completed prior to the C of O of the market rate development. Rehabilitated units shall be deedrestricted for 75 years. • Option 3: In Lieu Fee Option for Off-Site Housing (without land provided) The third option allows a developer to satisfy the affordable housing obligation in Chapter 9.64 by paying the same in-lieu fee already contemplated in the AHPP, without providing the off-site land. The in-lieu is calculated based on the floor area of the multiple-unit (market rate) project and is assessed per SF.
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The requirements for each of these options are summarized in the table below:
Program
Option
Requirements Timeline
Option 1
Off-Site
Construction
o The off-site property must be owned in
whole, or in part, or by a City-approved
affordable housing provider;
o The off-site property cannot be located in
the Pico neighborhood, consistent with
Section 9.64.060(E)
o The off-site property must not be
impacted by soil or groundwater
contamination, as determined by a Phase
I Environmental Site Assessment
o Affordable units cannot include studios
o Affordable units must have long-term
affordability requirements for lower
income households (80% AMI or less) for
a minimum of 75 years
o Prior to, and as a condition of issuance of
the first building permit issued for the
market rate development(s), the applicant
shall place the Gap Financing Amount of
$150,000 per offsite affordable unit in an
escrow account and enter into a joint
escrow agreement executed by the City
or a City approved affordable housing
provider
o Construction of the off-site
affordable housing must
commence:
- Within 48 months following
the issuance of the first
final building permit for any
market rate project
(excluding grading or early
start construction permits),
City may grant a 12 month
extension or
- For any market rate project
located in the Coastal
Zone, within 18 months
from Coastal Development
Permit Amendment (if
granted), City may grant a
12 month extension;
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o Recordation of Affordability Covenants
o Recordation of Purchase Option
agreement (to be void upon CofO of
affordable housing)
Option 2
Substantial
Rehabilitation
of Existing
Units
o The units for rehabilitation must be at
imminent risk of loss to the housing stock
and deemed unfit for human habitation
due to at least 4 violations of Health and
Safety Code
o Displaced tenants must be provided
relocation assistance prior to
rehabilitation work and have the right to
reoccupy rehabilitated units
o The rehabilitated units cannot include
studios
o Rehabilitated units must have long-term
affordability requirements for lower
income households for a minimum of 75
years
o A rehabilitation plan must be
provided prior to obtaining a
building permit for the market rate
project
o CofO for the rehabilitated units
must be issued prior to CofO for
the market rate housing project
Option 3
In-Lieu Fee
o Developer must pay in lieu fee of
(Affordable housing unit base fee per
SF) x (residential floor area of
multiple-unit project)
o This affordable housing fee shall
be paid in full upon issuance of a
final building permit for the market
rate development project.
Program Benefits
Developers choosing to utilize any of the options in this pilot program are eligible for the following benefits:
Local Density Bonus (All Options)
Under State Density Bonus (SDB) law, a housing development must provide affordable units on-site to be eligible for a density bonus as well as incentives, concessions, and the waiver or reduction of development standards. SDB law provides an initial maximum density bonus of 50% if a housing development project provides 15% of its base density units (pre-density bonus) as very low income units on-site. The City’s AHPP provides the same 50% density bonus for developments providing 15% inclusionary on-site that are evenly distributed amongst the three income categories (very low, low, and moderate). Pursuant to AB 1287, an additional bonus of 50% (for a total of 100%) may be requested by a developer if an additional 15% of moderate income units are provided on-site.
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With this new pilot program, the multiple-unit (market rate) project(s) complying with options 1-3 would not be eligible for the benefits provided under SDB law, but would be eligible for a local density bonus that is equivalent to the density bonuses provided in Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 9.22, Density Bonus even though on-site affordable is not provided. However, as compared to SDB, the pilot program would permit the market rate development to build all of the total number of previously approved units, which includes the previously approved on-site affordable units, (i.e., base density units + bonus units) at market rate.
In comparison to the existing AHPP which requires 20% offsite, the pilot program would require 15% of the base density units (pre-density bonus) to be deed restricted (and/or rehabilitated) for lower income households off-site. For approved projects utilizing the additional density bonus of AB 1287 (i.e., up to 100% density bonus), the pilot program would require 30% of the base density units (pre-density bonus) to be deed restricted (and/or rehabilitated) for lower income households off-site. Therefore, the pilot program would yield the same number of affordable units, albeit all for lower-income households.
The graphic below shows two examples of how the pilot program would work 1) a previously approved housing development project with 150 units utilizing 50% bonus under SDB and the anticipated unit yield under the pilot program; and 2) a previously approved housing development project with 200 units utilizing 100% bonus under SDB and the anticipated unit yield under the pilot program.
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Approved Housing Development Projects with 50% Density Bonus Approved Housing Development Projects with 100% Density Bonus
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Flexibility in Construction Timing (Option 1)
The City’s AHPP currently requires off-site affordable units to be completed (i.e., obtain C of O) prior to or concurrent with the market rate units. Under Option 1 of this pilot program, developers would have up to 5 years (48 months plus a 12 month extension) after the building permit issuance of the market rate project to construct the affordable units. This flexibility in timing would help developers in obtaining construction financing of the market-rate housing project.
Financial Predictability with Payment of In-Lieu Fee (Option 3) The City’s AHPP currently includes the in-lieu fee option for multiple-unit projects of 6 units or less. The pilot program would expand this option to eligible approved multipleunit projects with 20 units or more. The in-lieu fee option provides financial predictability for the housing developer and allows an affordable housing developer to leverage the fee dollars with other sources of funding (such as federal/state grants and low income housing tax credits), potentially resulting in more affordable units. Additionally, a 100% affordable project provides some economies of scale that are not available to a mixed income housing building that has only a few affordable units.
Additional Policy Considerations
The following is additional policy context for review as Council considers this pilot program.
The pilot program provides incentives and more flexible inclusionary options to address constraints that developers are currently facing, including financial difficulties in constructing previously-approved housing developments. The pilot program has been proposed as one tool to help increase financial feasibility and facilitate the construction of approved residential units that have been “frozen” due to difficulties in construction financing. While there is no guarantee that the pilot program alone will lead to “shovels in the ground”, given the economic uncertainty and multitude of other outside factors affecting the construction industry, this program would be beneficial in addressing some of the financial challenges within the housing market and thereby serving as one important tool for supporting housing construction.
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• Timelines for Construction of Affordable Units – Option 1 of the pilot program provides up to a 5-year period for commencement of the affordable housing construction, after the issuance of the building permit for the first market rate project. With this flexible timeline, the affordable housing construction is permitted to trail the market rate housing construction. The pilot program’s gap financing amount is based on an assumption of the off-site affordable housing development obtaining 4% tax credit financing. Due to the likelihood of a number of potential affordable housing projects competing for a limited pool of tax credits, there is the possibility that the units may be constructed outside of the reporting period for the 6th Cycle Housing Element (2021-2029). Currently, there are three rounds in a year for applications for 4% tax credits allocations. These application rounds are highly competitive and there could be a scenario in which no development in Santa Monica receives tax credit allocations in a round or a case in which only one or two development(s) from Santa Monica are awarded tax credit allocations in a round, which could include City-funded affordable housing developments and preservation deals for existing affordable housing development. This pilot program contemplates the possibility that building permits for affordable units are not obtained within the required timeline of this ordinance, and in this case the City would then exercise its Option Agreement for transfer of the off-site property, meaning that the City receives the land and gap financing (at the $150,000/unit with future escalation). • Total Number of Units and Moderate Income Units - The City’s AHPP currently requires that multiple-unit projects of 20 units or more provide 15% on-site affordable units that are evenly divided amongst very low, low, and moderate income households. Under the pilot program, developers may construct off-site affordable units for lower income households only (since moderate income units are not eligible for tax credits). To help create the environment necessary for housing construction to occur and maintain project eligibility for tax credits, moderate income units would not be required. While this could affect the City’s progress towards meeting its RHNA for moderate income units, this pilot program
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would result in a greater number of total market rate units entitled and constructed as compared to the current AHPP.
• Collection of In-Lieu Fees – The payment of in-lieu fees under Option 3 would place the responsibility of constructing affordable units on the City, rather than developers. The City would be responsible for land acquisition, seeking other sources of funding, and partnering with an affordable housing provider. Given the same economic uncertainties outlined earlier, and prevailing wage and skilled labor provisions applicable for City projects, it is possible that fewer affordable units may be constructed by the City with the in-lieu fees compared to the number of units the developer would otherwise have been required to provide onsite. However, the advantage of the in-lieu fee option is that it would provide the City with greater control of development and operation of the affordable housing units. Additionally, as previously stated, the City would be able to leverage fee dollars with other sources of funding (such as federal/state grants and low income housing tax credits) as well as utilizing City-owned property, potentially resulting in more affordable units.
Environmental Review
The ordinance has been analyzed as part of the 2021-2029 6th Cycle Housing Element Environmental Impact Report (EIR) [SCH No. 20212269242021] that was certified by Council on October 12, 2021, with an Addendum to the EIR approved on October 11, 2022. These amendments implement Program 2.C that was described and analyzed in the 6th Cycle Housing Element EIR. Additionally, pursuant to Section 21080.085(a) of the California Public Resources Code, the ordinance is statutorily exempt from CEQA.
Under PRC Section 21080.085(a), CEQA does not apply to actions contained in an approved housing element pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65583 of the Government Code. The ordinance implements the certified 6th Cycle Housing Element.
Therefore, the ordinance is statutorily exempt and no further environmental review under CEQA is required.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
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There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the ordinance. Staff will return to Council if specific budget actions are required in the future.
While the program will require extra staff time to implement, no new staff are being requested at this time and it is anticipated that the workload can be accommodated by staff. Since this is a pilot program, staff will monitor the workload and return to Council if any changes to staff is necessary. The effect of additional in-lieu fees on the City’s Housing Trust Funds is unknown and will be dependent on which eligible projects elect to utilize Option 3 of the pilot program.
Prepared By: Rachel Kwok, Environmental Planner
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Attachment A - Santa Monica_Off-Site Affordable Housing Pilot Progam Ordinance
B. Written Comments
C. PowerPoint Presentation
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ORDINANCE NUMBER ____ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SANTA MONICAADDING SECTION 9.64.065 TO THE SANTA
MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH AN OFF-SITE
AFFORDABLE HOUSING PILOT PROGRAM
WHEREAS, California has a statewide housing crisis, represented by a shortage of nearly 3,500,000 homes; and
WHEREAS, California’s housing crisis stifles economic growth, contributes to the homelessness epidemic, consumes an ever-growing share of the paychecks of working families; and
WHEREAS, the State has declared that restrictive zoning, land use, and burdensome permitting policies at the local and state level are a major cause of the shortfall between California’s housing needs and the available supply of housing; and WHEREAS, the City’s Affordable Housing Production Program (AHPP), codified as Chapter 9.64 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, was enacted in 1998 and requires developers of market-rate housing projects to contribute to affordable housing production by either:
1) Constructing inclusionary affordable residences onsite in a development; 2) Constructing affordable residences offsite in another development; or 3) Paying an affordable housing fee that is deposited into the Citywide Housing Trust Fund and used by the City to subsidize affordable housing developments; and WHEREAS, Since the enactment of the AHPP, the City has produced more than 1,200 affordable lower income units; and
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WHEREAS, the City’s AHPP has been amended numerous times to increase affordable housing production and meet the City’s housing goals; and WHEREAS, on April 9, 2019, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2609 (CCS), which authorized modification to the AHPP to remove the extremely low income housing option from the Tier 2 community benefits for housing projects with an application that was determined complete before March 26, 2019, and after November 27, 2019; and WHEREAS, on October 22, 2019, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2622 (CCS), to extend the removal of the extremely-low income housing option from the Tier 2 community benefits to housing projects with an application that was determined complete before March 26, 2019, and after November 27, 2020; and WHEREAS, on October 27, 2020, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2654 (CCS), to extend the removal of the extremely-low income housing option from the Tier 2 community benefits to housing projects with an application that was determined complete before March 26, 2019, and after February 28, 2022; and WHEREAS, on April 11, 2023, as part of the 6th Cycle Housing Element implementing actions, the City Council adopted Ordinance Number 2742 (CCS), which included amendments to the Zoning Ordinance that included streamlining the approval of housing projects and modifying the AHPP to establish a 15% on-site inclusionary requirement; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to State Density Bonus Law, Government Code Section 65915 et seq., projects that provide a certain percentage of affordable units in a housing development project are eligible for density bonuses, incentives or concessions, and waivers or reductions of development standards; and
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WHEREAS, in accordance with Chapter 9.22, Density Bonus, housing projects of 20 units or more that provide onsite affordable units in accordance with the 15% inclusionary requirement set forth in the AHPP are eligible for the greatest density bonus and incentives or concessions permitted under State Density Bonus Law; and WHEREAS, the residential construction industry is facing significant financial challenges due to macroeconomic and global political factors; and WHEREAS, while the City has streamlined the approval of more than 3,400 market rate projects and 900 affordable units through a ministerial process, most of these projects have yet to begin construction; and
WHEREAS, the number of building permits that have been issued in the City has dropped significantly in the last two years and, in 2025, two building permits have been issued by the City to date; and WHEREAS, in light of these factors, on June 20, 2025, the City Council gave direction to staff to “establish a pilot program allowing market-rate housing projects more flexibility in how they provide affordable housing units off-site, while also allowing these housing projects to be eligible for density bonus, incentives/concessions, and modifications”; and
WHEREAS, housing development projects that do not provide affordable housing units on site are not eligible for bonuses, waivers and modifications or incentives and concessions under State Density Bonus Law; and
WHEREAS, there exists a current and immediate threat to public health, safety, and welfare due to factors that deter construction of previously entitled housing projects that have not pulled building permits to date; and
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WHEREAS, this ordinance responds to Council’s direction to address the housing crisis in the City by creating a pilot incentive program targeted at increasing the feasibility for previously entitled housing projects that have not pulled building permits to date; and WHEREAS, the pilot would create flexibility in the AHPP off-site affordable housing option by removing the requirement that the Certificate of Occupancy for the affordable housing be issued before the Certificate of Occupancy for the market-rate housing, subject to alternative means of securing performance for production of the affordable units; and
WHEREAS, to incentivize the production of housing units, the pilot program would further provide that housing projects that provide units offsite in accordance with the pilot program are eligible for local density bonuses, incentives and concessions and waivers and modifications equivalent to those provided for in Chapter 9.22, Density Bonus.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. New Section 9.64.065 is hereby added to the Santa Monica Municipal Code and shall read in its entirety as follows:
Section 9.64.065 Off-Site Affordable Housing Pilot Program.
A. Definitions. As used in this Section:
1. “100% affordable housing project” means a 100% affordable housing project as defined in Section 9.52.020.0050.
2. “Affordability covenants” means 75-year affordability covenants that are included in a recorded deed restriction, in form approved by the City Attorney.
3. “Affordable housing provider” means an affordable housing provider reasonably approved by the City.
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4. “Applicant” means the applicant, or its successors in interest, for a discretionary and ministerial City permit applicable to a multiple-unit project.
5. “Building permit” means a final building permit issued by the City’s Building Official (excluding grading or early start construction permits).
6. “Gap financing amount” means the amount of financing necessary to complete a 100% affordable housing project assuming that (a) the off-site affordable project will obtain a 4% federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and/or tax-exempt bond allocation; and (b) that there will be no land acquisition costs. The gap financing amount shall be $150,000, per offsite affordable unit to be constructed within the 100% affordable housing project. The gap financing amount shall be increased annually, commencing on the first anniversary from the effective date of this ordinance, by the last published annual average in the ENR Building Cost Index for the LA region, but shall not exceed an annual increase of five (5) percent. The gap financing amount should be calculated from the effective date of the ordinance until deposited into escrow in accordance with Section
9.64.065(D).
7. “Multiple-unit project” means an eligible multiple-unit project pursuant to Section 9.64.065(B).
8. “Multiple-unit project property” means the property on which a multiple-unit project will be built.
9. “Off-site property” means a clean, uncontaminated property in the location specified in Section 9.64.060(E).
10. “Option” means a purchase option for the off-site property that may be exercised by the City or an affordable housing provider, at the election of the City, for the purchase amount of one hundred dollars ($100.00).
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11. “Option agreement” means a purchase option agreement, including escrow instructions upon exercise of the Option, approved as to form by the City Attorney, and executed by the City or an affordable housing provider, at the election of the City, and the owner of the off-site property. The option agreement shall be recorded in the official records of Los Angeles County.
12. “Protected unit(s)” means any of the following:
a. Residential dwelling units that are or were subject to a recorded covenant, ordinance, or law that restricts rents to levels affordable to persons and families of lower or very low income within the past five years. b. Residential dwelling units that are or were subject to any form of rent or price control through a public entity’s valid exercise of its police power within the past five years.
c. Residential dwelling units that are or were occupied by lower or very low-income households within the past five years.
d. Residential dwelling units that were withdrawn from rent or lease in accordance with California Government Code Sections 7060 et seq. within the past 10 years.
13. “Rehabilitation property” means a property proposed for substantial rehabilitation of units pursuant to Section 9.64.065(E).
14. “Uncontaminated property” means a property free from hazardous substances, as defined under state and federal law.
B. Eligible Multiple-Unit Projects. In order for Applicants to use the provisions of this Section 9.64.065, each multiple-unit project shall contain 6 or more residential units and shall have obtained final approval of all required discretionary and ministerial City
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permits, except for Architectural Review Board approval and post-entitlement phase permits, as defined in Government Code Section 65913.3(j)(3), on or before August 12, 2025; provided, however, that except as otherwise expressly provided in Section (D)(5)(b), herein, multiple-unit projects that have obtained a building permit, are under construction, or have been completed are not eligible. The applicant of an entitled multiunit project that meets the requirements of Section 9.64.065.B may also use the provisions of Section 9.64.065 to satisfy the requirements of Section 9.64.060 for a project if the applicant obtains a new entitlement for the same multiple-unit project property prior to December 31, 2026.
C. Exclusions. Nothing in this Section 9.64.065 shall conflict with or supersede state or local requirements for on-site replacement of protected units, including, but not limited to, those set forth in the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, as amended from time to time, Government Code Sections 66300 et seq., and Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter
9.34, Residential Unit Replacement Requirements.
D. Alternative Off-Site Option. Notwithstanding Section 9.64.040(B), an applicant for a multiple-unit project may satisfy the affordable housing obligation in Chapter 9.64 by providing affordable housing units in a 100% affordable housing project on an off-site property in accordance with this section if the applicant complies with the following requirements:
1. The requirements of subsections (B) through (E), and (I) of Section 9.64.060 shall apply and be met by the applicant.
2. The off-site property shall also meet the following requirements:
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a. The off-site property shall not have any lien or encumbrance on title that would prevent the recordation of an option agreement and affordability covenants in first priority position on title in favor of the City. b. The off-site property shall be owned in whole or in part and operated by an affordable housing provider reasonably approved by the City for the life of the 100% affordable housing project.
3. Requirements for Affordable Units. The affordable units in the 100% affordable housing project shall be rental units and shall comply with the provisions of subsections (E) and (J) of Section 9.64.050, unless modified pursuant to Section
9.64.065(G). The number of off-site affordable units in the 100% affordable housing project shall be calculated as set forth in Section 9.64.065(H).
4. Annual Report. The affordable housing provider operating the 100% affordable housing project shall submit an annual report pursuant to the Affordability Covenants recorded on the off-site affordable housing property as discussed in Section
9.64.065(D).
5. Additional Requirements for Off-Site Units.
a. The applicant shall satisfy all the following requirements prior to and as a condition of issuance of a building permit for any multiple-unit project:
i. Identify the location of the off-site property, and identify each multiple-unit project that will locate its required affordable housing units in the 100% affordable housing project to be constructed on the off-site property, and the number, bedroom mix, size, and affordability level of units in the 100 % affordable housing project that will be attributed to each multiple-unit project. Designated units in the 100% affordable housing
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project shall not be counted more than once to satisfy the required affordable housing units required for each multiple-unit project. ii. Identify and enter into an agreement with an affordable housing provider that will own, in whole or in part, and operate the 100% affordable housing project.
iii. The applicant shall procure a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) of the off-site property, and a Phase II ESA of the offsite property, if necessary, conducted by a City approved experienced environmental professional, to determine the potential presence on or under the off-site property of hazardous waste, as defined under state and federal laws. If contaminants are detected in soil at or above regulatory levels, then the results of the soil sampling shall be shared with the City reviewed and acted upon by the appropriate regional, state, or local regulatory agencies as needed. If remediation is necessary, a No Further Action letter or similar documentation indicating case closure shall be obtained under the appropriate oversight agency prior to project occupancy. City has the right in its reasonable discretion to reject any off-site property that indicates the potential presence of hazardous waste and/or require the applicant to execute an environmental indemnity agreement in form approved by the City Attorney. In the event that the City rejects the off-site property due to the potential presence of hazardous waste, applicant shall have the opportunity to propose an alternate off-site location, subject to the same requirements under Section 9.64.065(D) or proceed with alternative options under Section 9.64.065(E) and (F).
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b. The applicant of a multiple-unit project located in the Coastal Zone with an approved Coastal Development Permit requiring an on-site affordability covenant that has already been recorded against the multi-unit project property may be eligible to relocate the affordable units to an off-site property pursuant to this Section 9.64.065 any time (1) after the California Coastal Commission has approved the relocation of the affordable units to an off-site property without any other material changes to the terms and/or conditions of the Coastal Development Permit; and (2) prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the multiple-unit project; provided, however, that all other requirements under Section 9.64.065(D) are satisfied.
c. Prior to, and as a condition of, issuance of the first building permit issued for any multiple-unit project, or issuance of the first certificate of occupancy for a multi-unit project located in the Coastal Zone, the applicant shall place the Gap Financing Amount for that multiple-unit project in an escrow account and enter into a joint escrow agreement executed by the City or an affordable housing provider, at the election of the City, and the applicant, with instructions that provide as follows:
i. The Gap Financing Amount shall be distributed to the City or an affordable housing provider at no cost to either the City or affordable housing provider, at the election of the City, if construction of the off-site affordable housing project does not commence within (a) forty-eight (48) months following the issuance of the first building permit for any multipleunit project not located in the Coastal Zone, or (b) eighteen (18) months
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following the date the Coastal Commission approves a Coastal Development Permit or Coastal Development Permit amendment that allows a multiple-unit project in the Coastal Zone to locate its affordable units on an off-site property; provided, that the City may grant a twelve (12) month extension by making a written finding of good cause prior to the expiration of the initial forty-eight (48) month term.
ii. If construction of the 100% affordable housing project does commence within the applicable forty-eight (48) months following the issuance of the first building permit for a multi-unit project, or eighteen (18) months following the date the Coastal Commission approves a Coastal Development Permit or Coastal Development Permit amendment that allows a multiple-unit project in the Coastal Zone to locate its affordable units on an off-site property; or within the twelve (12) month extension period if an extension is granted by the City, then the Gap Financing Amount shall be returned to the applicant upon applicant’s deposit into the joint escrow account of a ready-to-issue building permit letter from the City to construct the 100% affordable housing project on the off-site property.
Following receipt by the escrow officer of the ready-to issue building permit letter, the Gap Financing Amount shall be disbursed to the applicant. iii. For purposes of this subsection (c)(i) and (c)(ii), “commence” means that the project has received either grading or building permits and grading or construction activities begin on the site.
6. Prior to and as a condition of issuance of any building permit(s) for the first multiple-unit project(s), or prior to and as a condition of issuance of any certificate of
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occupancy for a multiple-unit project in the Coastal Zone, the applicant shall complete the following steps:
a. Execute and record on the off-site property an Option Agreement that authorizes the City or an affordable housing provider, at the election of the City, to exercise the Option in the event that construction of the 100% affordable housing project does not commence (a) within forty-eight (48) months following the issuance of the first building permit for any multiple-unit project not located in the Coastal Zone that is locating its affordable housing units in the off-site affordable housing project, or (b) eighteen (18) months following the date the Coastal Commission approves a Coastal Development Permit or Coastal Development Permit amendment to allow a multiple-unit project in the Coastal Zone to locate its affordable units in the off-site affordable housing project, or within the twelve (12) month extension period if an extension is granted by the City. Upon exercise of the Option and as such process is provided in the Option Agreement, the fee simple interest in the property shall transfer to the City only if construction of the off-site 100% affordable housing project does not commence (a) within forty-eight (48) months following the issuance of the first building permit for any multiple-unit project not located in the Coastal Zone that is locating its affordable housing units in the off-site affordable housing project, or (b) eighteen (18) months following the date the Coastal Commission approves a Coastal Development Permit or Coastal Development Permit amendment to allow a multiple-unit project in the Coastal Zone to locate its affordable units in the off-site affordable housing project, unless the City grants a twelve (12) month extension for good cause in writing prior to the expiration of the forty-eight (48) month term. If construction of the off-site 100%
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affordable housing project does commence within the applicable forty-eight (48) month term, or within the twelve (12) month extension period if an extension is granted by the City, then the Option Agreement shall automatically become null and void, and shall be removed from title upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the 100% affordable housing project. For purposes of this subsection (6)(a), “commence” has the meaning given in subsection (5)(c)(iii). b. Concurrently with the recordation of the Option Agreement on the offsite property, the applicant or owner shall execute and record on each multiple-unit property a Notice of Off-Site Affordability Covenants that discloses the location of the off-site property and the description of the Affordability Covenants to be recorded on the off-site property. The Notice of Off-Site Affordability Covenants shall not impose any duty on the applicant or owner of the multiple-unit property to comply with any affordability requirements on-site and shall merely serve as notice that the affordability requirements of Chapter 9.64 are to be satisfied off-site. The Notice of Off-Site Affordability Covenants shall be in a form approved by the City Attorney.
c. Concurrently with the recordation of the Option Agreement on the offsite property, the applicant or owner shall execute and record on the off-site housing property Affordability Covenants in compliance with Section 9.64.130, which shall be recorded ahead of any monetary liens.
d. The applicant or owner shall provide a current title report evidencing that no monetary liens are recorded on title of the off-site property at the time the Option Agreement and Affordability Covenants are recorded. The Option Agreement and Affordability Covenants shall each provide that no monetary liens
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may be recorded on the off-site property until the building permit is issued for construction of the 100% affordable housing project.
e. If an applicant of a multiple-unit project located in the Coastal Zone timely satisfies the requirements above, the City shall execute a termination of the preexisting multiple-unit project’s onsite affordable covenant agreement within ten (10) business days of issuance of the building permit for the 100% affordable housing project.
7. Unit Mix. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, affordable units proposed for the off-site property shall not include studio units.
E. Substantial Rehabilitation of Units at an Off-Site Property in lieu of New Construction. Notwithstanding Section 9.64.040(B), and excluding any required affordable or rent controlled replacement units that may be required pursuant to Government Code Sections 66300.5 and 66300.6, an applicant for a multiple-unit project may satisfy the affordable housing obligation in Chapter 9.64 by substantial rehabilitation of affordable housing units at an off-site property, subject to the following conditions:
1. Substantially Rehabilitated. Units to be substantially rehabilitated at an off-site property must comply with the following provisions:
a. Prior to issuance of a building permit for a multiple-unit project, the City Council must determine at a public hearing that the units proposed for substantial rehabilitation at an off-site property must be at imminent risk of loss to the housing stock and the units proposed for substantial rehabilitation are unfit for human habitation due to the existence of at least four violations of the conditions listed in subdivisions (a) to (g), inclusive, of Section 17995.3 of the Health and Safety Code.
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b. The applicant must commit to providing the displaced tenants with relocation assistance in accordance with Section 4.36.100 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, provided that (i) if the owner elects to satisfy the temporary relocation obligations by payment of the daily per diem, the total amount paid to the tenant shall be no less than four times the tenant’s rent; and (ii) if the owner elects to satisfy their temporary relocation obligations by providing a comparable replacement unit, the owner shall additionally pay the tenant four times the tenant’s monthly rent and shall reduce the tenant’s monthly rent during relocation, if necessary, so that the rent does not exceed 30% of the tenant’s income. c. Any displaced tenant, regardless of income status for displaced tenants of rent-controlled units, must have the right to reoccupy the rehabilitated units.
d. Rehabilitated units must have long-term affordability requirements for lower income households, for a term of not less than 75 years. e. As a condition to issuance of a certificate of occupancy for any multiunit property that will satisfy the affordable housing obligation in Chapter 9.64 by substantial rehabilitation of off-site units, and prior to initial occupancy after rehabilitation, the City’s Building Official shall issue a certificate of occupancy indicating compliance with all applicable state and local building code and health and safety code requirements for the substantially rehabilitated units.
2. Additional Requirements for Substantially Rehabilitated Units. a. Prior to obtaining a building permit for a multiple-unit project, the applicant shall provide a rehabilitation plan which has been approved by the City’s Housing Division Manager that includes the following information:
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i. Documentation evidencing applicant’s ownership or control of the rehabilitation property during the period of rehabilitation; ii. A property assessment report performed by a licensed appraiser for the rehabilitation property, including all units proposed for substantial rehabilitation;
iii. Identification and location of the units that will be substantially rehabilitated;
iv. Scope and budget for substantial rehabilitation;
v. Demonstrated sources and uses of financing required for substantial rehabilitation; and
b. Applicant shall indicate the exact location of units that will be provided to very and lower--income households.
c. Applicant shall comply with Chapter 8.100, Tenant Protection During Construction, as amended from time to time.
d. The applicant or owner shall provide a current title report evidencing that no monetary liens are recorded on title of the off-site property hosting the substantially rehabilitated units.
e. Execute and record on the property hosting the substantially rehabilitated units a 75-year deed restriction to ensure that the rehabilitated units are restricted for rental to qualifying lower income households at an affordable rent, in form approved by the City Attorney.
f. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, substantially rehabilitated units shall not include studio units.
F. In Lieu Fee Option for Off-Site Housing (without land provided).
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1. Notwithstanding Section 9.64.070, an applicant for a multiple-unit project may satisfy the affordable housing obligation in Chapter 9.64 by paying an in-lieu fee based on the following formula:
(Base Unit Fee per Square Foot) x (total square feet of the residential floor area in the multi-unit project)
2. For purposes of this Section, the City's base unit fee per square foot shall be established pursuant to Section 9.64.070 by resolution of the City Council.
Commencing on July 1, 2026, and on July 1st of each fiscal year thereafter, the City's base unit fee per square foot shall be adjusted based on changes in construction costs and land costs.
3. The affordable housing fee shall be paid prior to issuance of a building permit for any multiple-unit project utilizing Section 9.64.065(F).
4. The City shall deposit any payment made pursuant to this Section
9.64.065(F) in a reserve account separate from the General Fund to be used only for development of affordable housing, administrative costs related to the production of this housing, substantial rehabilitation of existing affordable housing, a City sponsored program of rental subsidies for lower income Santa Monica residents, and monitoring and evaluation of this affordable housing production program.
G. Local Incentive Density Bonus. Multiple-unit projects satisfying their affordable housing obligation in lieu of Chapter 9.64 in accordance with Section 9.64.065 shall be eligible for a local incentive of density bonuses, incentives and concessions, waivers and reductions of development standards, and reduced parking ratios equivalent to those set forth in Chapter 9.22, Density Bonus, as if the affordable units were provided on the site of the multiple-unit project. Further, as an additional local density bonus, any on-site
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affordable units that were formerly part of an approved multiple-unit project can convert to market-rate units in the revised multiple-unit project. Any off-site affordable housing project shall be eligible for density bonuses, incentives and concessions, waivers and reductions of development standards, and reduced parking ratios under State Density Bonus Law.
H. Calculation of Off-Site Affordable Units. The number of affordable units to be provided in the 100% affordable housing project shall be calculated as follows:
1. Eligible Housing Projects Entitled Without Additional Very Low or Moderate-Income Units to Obtain Additional Density Bonuses Pursuant to Government Code Section 65915(v): For housing projects previously entitled that do not propose additional moderate-income units to obtain additional density bonuses pursuant to Government Code section 65915(v), any applicant utilizing the off-site options under this Section 9.64.065 shall provide no less than fifteen percent (15%) of the base density number of units, prior to the award of any market rate density bonus units under State Density Bonus Law (California Government Code Section 65915 et. seq.) and Chapter 9.22, Density Bonus within each multiple-unit project as:
a. Affordable deed-restricted units in an offsite 100% affordable housing project in accordance with subsection (D),
b. Substantially rehabilitated deed-restricted units in accordance with subsection (E), or
c. Equivalent in-lieu fee in accordance with subsection (F).
By way of illustration, if the base density number of units (prior to the award of a market rate density bonus) is 100 units, then the applicant must provide 15 deed restricted units at the designated off-site property.
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2. Eligible Housing Projects Entitled With Additional Proposed Density Bonuses Pursuant to Government Code Section 65915(v): For housing projects previously entitled with additional very low income or moderate-income units and proposed additional density bonuses pursuant to Government Code Section 65915(v), any applicant utilizing the off-site options under this Section 9.64.065 shall provide no less than the percentage of very low or moderate income units as required in the chart contained in Government Code Section 65915(2) as calculated against the base density.:
a. Affordable deed-restricted units in a 100% affordable housing project in accordance with subsection (D);
b. substantially rehabilitated deed-restricted units in accordance with subsection (E); or
c. Equivalent in-lieu fee in accordance with subsection (F).
By way of illustration, if the base density number of units (prior to the award of a market rate density bonus) is 100 units, and the applicant of a multiple-unit project has obtained approval of an additional 50 percent density bonus (for a total 100 percent density bonus) by providing additional Moderate Income units pursuant to Government Code Section 65915(v)(2), then the applicant must provide 30 deed restricted units at the designated off-site property.
SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Urgency Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effectuate the provisions of this Urgency 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
10.B.a
Packet Pg. 702 Attachment: Attachment A - Santa Monica_Off-Site Affordable Housing Pilot Progam Ordinance [Revision 4] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing 20 of 20
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Urgency Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Urgency Ordinance, and each 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 Urgency Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. Pursuant to Sections 615 and 619 of the City Charter, for the reasons stated in the recitals above, the City Council declares this Urgency Ordinance to be necessary as an emergency measure for preserving the public peace, health, and safety, with the result that this Urgency Ordinance shall be introduced and adopted at the same meeting and shall become effective immediately upon its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
______________________________
DOUGLAS SLOAN
City Attorney
10.B.a
Packet Pg. 703 Attachment: Attachment A - Santa Monica_Off-Site Affordable Housing Pilot Progam Ordinance [Revision 4] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing 1 David Yakobson
From: Colin Maduzia <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 4:37 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Jesse Zwick; councilmtgitems
Subject: Agenda Item 10:B Introduction and Adoption of an Ordinance Establishing Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program
EXTERNAL
Honorable Council Members,
I respectfully—but firmly—oppose the Ordinance Establishing Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program.
The foundation you cite for creating this legislation is an "emergency." The current situation, honorable Council Members, fails to meet the criteria of an emergency. SMMC 9.52.020 describes an emergency as a sudden unexpected occurrence demanding immediate action to prevent or mitigate loss or damage to life, health, property or essential public services.
If anything, your actions will be causing damage to life and public services. The future state you propose is much closer to meeting the criteria of an emergency than the current situation.
And you are doing this without meaningful homeowner input.
I urge the Council to recommit to transparency and principles of fair government.
Represent us, the residents and homeowners who elected you, not developers manipulating the current environment.
I submit four brief points for your consideration.
1. First, this process undermines transparency and due process. Homeowners are stakeholders who have invested their savings and their lives into this community with the expectation that zoning decisions will be made openly, with public notice and a chance to be heard. Skipping that step erodes trust in our local government.
2. Second, I am not opposed to change. But this change is incompatible with the established character of our neighborhood. A building of this scale will overshadow homes, reduce privacy, and alter the look and feel of our streetscape in a way that is permanent and irreversible.
3. Third, the increased density will strain our local infrastructure—adding traffic to already narrow residential streets, reducing available parking, and placing new demands on utilities, schools, and emergency services that have not been planned for.
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 704 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 2 4. Finally, this sets a dangerous precedent that destabilizes long-term planning and property values. If lots can be radically upzoned without community input, what’s to prevent more such changes, until the very fabric of this great city is gone?
I respectfully ask the Council to revisit this decision, restore a transparent process, and involve homeowners in any future zoning changes that directly affect their community. --
Colin Maduzia
1725 Hill St, Santa Monica, CA 90405
[email protected]
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 705 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 1 David Yakobson
From: Dave Bantz <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 1:28 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya
Cc: councilmtgitems; Armine Chaparyan; Rachel Kwok; Benjamin Anderson; Christian Robert; Lindsay Green; Michael Contento; Shawn Gehle
Subject: Council Agenda Item 10.B, Support
Attachments: 2025_0812_OFFICEUNTITLED_Letter of Support_SM Housing Ordinance.pdf
EXTERNAL
Dear Councilmembers,
On behalf of OFFICEUNTTITLED (OU), design and architecture firm in West LA, please see the attached letter expressing our strong support for the proposed Off-Site Affordable Housing Pilot - Incentive Program (Agenda Item
10.B).
We urge the City Council to adopt the Off-Site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program and stand ready to collaborate with the City, affordable housing partners, and the development community to ensure its success.
Sincerely,
Dave Bantz, Michael Contento, Ben Anderson, Christian Robert, Shawn Gehle, and Lindsay Green Co-Founders & Principals
DAVE BANTZ
PRINCIPAL
[email protected]
Main: +1 (310) 730 6698
Mobile: +1 (858) 414 0650
OFFICEUNTITLED
4200 Sepulveda Blvd, #104
Culver City, CA 90230
Check out the Latest for OU!
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 706 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program)
OFFICEUNTITLED
4200 Sepulveda Boulevard, Suite 104
Culver City, California 90230
www.officeuntitled.com
August 12, 2025
Santa Monica City Council
1685 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
RE: Support for the Proposed Emergency Housing Zoning Ordinance (Agenda Item 10.B) Dear Mayor and Councilmembers,
On behalf of OFFICEUNTITLED (OU), a West Los Angeles–based architecture and design firm with active residential projects in Santa Monica, we are writing to express our strong support for the proposed Off-Site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program.
Santa Monica’s urgent housing shortage is well documented, and with only two multifamily building permits issued so far in 2025, it’s clear that new approaches are necessary to move approved projects from entitlement to construction. This ordinance provides exactly the kind of flexibility and incentive structure needed to help make that happen.
We believe the pilot program strikes the right balance between preserving the City’s affordable housing goals and addressing the financial realities that have stalled so many projects. By allowing developers to meet inclusionary requirements through off-site construction, substantial rehabilitation, or in-lieu fees, while still ensuring long-term affordability, the City is creating practical pathways to get housing built.
From our perspective as architects, these provisions will:
• Catalyze stalled housing projects by improving financing feasibility. • Support production of more affordable units in dedicated developments that benefit from economies of scale. • Leverage design and development expertise to deliver high-quality housing that meets the needs of diverse communities.
As practitioners working on housing projects in Santa Monica today, we have already seen interest from clients in pursuing projects under this program should it be adopted. We are confident that this ordinance will help unlock housing production in the near term and serve as a model for other jurisdictions.
We urge the City Council to adopt the Off-Site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program and stand ready to collaborate with the City, affordable housing partners, and the development community to ensure its success.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Anderson, Christian Robert, Shawn Gehle, Lindsay Green, Michael Contento, & Dave Bantz Co-Founders & Principals
on behalf of OFFICEUNTITLED (OU)
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 707 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 1 David Yakobson
From: Tara Barauskas <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 11:58 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Support for item 10B on tonight's agenda
Attachments: AHPP Pilot Ordinance - Nonprofit support letter with logos (final).docx.pdf
EXTERNAL
Please distribute the attached letter of support\ for item 10B. Thank you!
Tara Barauskas, LEED AP
Executive Director
Community Corporation of Santa Monica
1410 2nd Street, Suite 200
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 394-8487 ext. 133
[email protected]
www.communitycorp.org
I acknowledge with respect and gratitude the Tongva, Kizh, and Chumash Peoples on whose traditional territory I live and work.
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 708 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) August 11, 2025
To: Hon. Mayor Negrete and City Council members
From: Community Corp. of Santa Monica
EAH Housing
Hollywood Community Housing Corp.
Re: Emergency Ordinance to Establish Off-Site Affordable Housing Pilot Program (Agenda Item #10B, August 12, 2025 City Council agenda) We are all active nonprofit affordable housing providers in the City of Santa Monica. While we sometimes compete for development sites and project opportunities, we share the same goal of increasing the supply of affordable housing in the City. We collectively write in support of the pending emergency ordinance on the August 12th agenda that would establish a pilot program to allow for new options for market rate developers to satisfy their AHPP inclusionary housing obligations (the “AHPP Pilot Ordinance”).
Docusign Envelope ID: A90E2EEC-4371-4207-806A-4734D5C4108D Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 709 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) As nonprofit developers we all compete for the same limited pool of available financial resources. The City’s affordable housing trust fund has been a critical source of financing for our projects, but funding scarcity remains an ongoing challenge and concern. Tax credits and bond financing – the life blood of our development pipeline – are awarded through an inherently unpredictable and often highly competitive process. For these reasons, we are excited to see the AHPP Pilot Ordinance come forward which will create multiple potential new funding sources and opportunities for Santa Monica’s nonprofit housing providers.
First, the ordinance offers a more flexible and market-oriented option for market-rate developers to partner with nonprofits to deliver offsite 100% affordable housing projects, as compared to the current very rigid rarely used AHPP offsite option. The City has entitled roughly 3,600 market rate units in mixed-income projects that are not advancing. There are over 640 affordable units included in this pipeline at risk of never materializing. We anticipate the AHPP Pilot Ordinance will unlock these units by creating a more workable and financially viable offsite option for both for profit and not for profit housing providers.
Second, the AHPP Pilot Ordinance creates an expanded in lieu fee option that could result in substantial payments into the City’s affordable housing trust fund.
The sizable in lieu fee payments would help leverage the creation of more affordable housing units in our future projects by stabilizing and augmenting this important capital source for nonprofit affordable development.
Lastly, by establishing a “substantial rehabilitation” AHPP option the City will create a mechanism for older at-risk units to be upgraded, preserved and converted into a permanent source of affordable housing. This dovetails with the likely passage of Assembly Bill 670 which increases the opportunity for local governments to satisfy a portion of the RHNA requirements through the rehabilitation of existing multifamily buildings.
In summary we believe the AHPP Pilot Ordinance is a thoughtful and timely approach by the City to increase affordable housing opportunities. The ordinance represents a “win-win” for housing by creating new affordable funding sources and incentivizing market rate and non-profit development partnerships. The result will be the development of more affordable housing throughout Santa Monica. We therefore urge you to support the AHPP Ordinance.
Docusign Envelope ID: A90E2EEC-4371-4207-806A-4734D5C4108D Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 710 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) _________________
Tara Barauskas
Executive Director
Community Corp. of Santa Monica
__________________
Sarah Letts
Executive Director
Hollywood Community Housing Corp.
__________________
Denice Wint
VP of Real Estate Development
EAH Housing
Docusign Envelope ID: A90E2EEC-4371-4207-806A-4734D5C4108D Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 711 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 2 David Yakobson
From: Nikki Kolhoff <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 12:00 PM
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Natalya Zernitskaya; Jesse Zwick
Subject: City Council 8/12/25 - Item 10B In Lieu Fees for Market Rate Housing - OPPOSE
EXTERNAL
Dear City Council -
Please do NOT move forward with a "pilot program" that allows developers to build even MORE market rate housing under the guise of another fake "emergency." We do NOT have an emergency in the production of market rate units. We have more than doubled our RHNA target for market rate units only halfway through the cycle.
Allowing developers to pay a fee to not build affordable units, but still get credit for those units and still get all the bonuses based on those units is outrageous. The fees will never equal the cost of a unit and there is no guaranty they will ever be built. There is no guaranty the land will be available and no guaranty the financing will be available. And even if they were built, it decreased the affordability of each project and they might not get built in this RHNA cycle.
This approach of concentrating affordable projects is segregation and is a modern version of redlining that you decry.
Also, you need to stop focusing on market-rate housing incentives under the guise of a fake emergency. We do not have a housing supply emergency, we have an affordability problem. We have overproduced on our RHNA market-rate numbers - more than doubling our assigned target only halfway through the cycle. We need to HALT zoning changes that incentivize more market rate development because we are NOT required to build more of that under RHNA! Where is our MID-CYCLE RHNA REVIEW? We are now halfway through the 8-year cycle and neither council nor staff are the slightest bit introspective. We need to press pause and assess where we are, what has worked, what hasn't, and tailor any remaining development in this cycle to the targets we haven't met.
Your failure to focus on the RHNA targets we haven't met risks throwing us into Builder's Remedy. If you continue on this path, the only conclusion to draw is that you want Builder's Remedy to happen.
Regards,
Nikki Kolhoff
Santa Monica Resident
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 712 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 3 David Yakobson
From: Heather Thomason <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 11:59 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Barry Snell; Jesse Zwick; Dan Hall; Natalya Zernitskaya Subject: 10B - oppose
EXTERNAL
Mayor Negrete and Council Members,
I urge you to reject this ordinance. It started as an idea to preserve places like the Virginia Avenue apartments, but has morphed into a policy that masquerades as affordable housing while undermining it.
This proposal is fundamentally backwards. It allows developers to pay a fee instead of building affordable units, yet still receive the entirety of the state's astonishing and excessive density bonuses as if they built them. The result? Entirely market-rate towers with even lower affordable housing percentages than current requirements.
The math is damning. Staff admits this will likely produce fewer affordable units, with construction potentially delayed up to five years—meaning these units may not even count toward our RHNA obligations.
This creates the very segregation you claim to oppose. These developments' only redeeming value is that affordable residents can share amenities with affluent neighbors—creating upward mobility opportunities. This proposal destroys that, pushing affordable housing to isolated off-site locations. And leaving us with 7-story soulless, market rate towers that we don't even need because we've already built 225% of our market rate mandate.
We need to fulfill our affordable housing mandate. Adding giant towers that dwarf the surrounding neighborhoods and are 90%—or now 100%!—market-rate does very little to accomplish this, and in fact work against it. Huge buildings make land more expensive, drive out nature, and congest our city. And for what? To make room for affluent, privileged, mostly white people? For the profit of developers who *only* care about making money and not the communities they are building in, or the low-income residents these affordable units would serve? Please engage developers and financiers who truly care about affordable housing and diversity in housing and are finding creative ways to build 100% affordable units in high-cost markets. These people exist.
Thank you.
Heather Thomason
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 713 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 4 David Yakobson
From: Karen Croner <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 11:55 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: Lana Negrete; Ellis Raskin; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; Caroline Torosis
Subject: Re: Item 10A and 10 B - oppose
EXTERNAL
I am writing to oppose the building of off site low income housing - for a city declaring their concern for economic and racial diversity, building off site affordable housing, where residents are not allowed to enjoy the pools, pizza ovens, gardens etc of the market rate buildings, this off site off affordable seems to truly perpetuate discrimination and racism. Also, the delay of 5 years in also unfair to low income renters/owners.
Further, the wish to eliminate setbacks on RI lots, so that homes will only have several feet between them is also an example of discrimination against lower income buyers and renters. Setbacks are created so people can have privacy, reduce noise pollution. To force these 10 to 20 unit developments into crowded conditions with no air, sunlight, Garden area is again discriminatory.
Further, the trumped up emergency move of last week led to the demolition of a house with no warning to neighbors of toxic fumes, and also for a council who claims to care about the environment, this demolition resulted in the inability to save valuable windows, appliances, fixtures to be used in other housing. That is incredibly wasteful and not good for our environment you care so much about.
Further, other cities have been successful at requiring 25 to 30% affordable units in their market rates. There is no rule that you must do 10 to 15%. It feels discriminatory to only push for a small amount of affordable units. If you truly care about social justice, diversity, as you claim, then you can push for greater percentage of affordable units.
Further, I stand in full support of Mayor Negrete’s speech last session. And I believe that any council that accused her of racism deserves censure.
Sincerely,
Karen Croner
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 714 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 5 David Yakobson
From: Allison Riley <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 10:55 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: Sam Shapiro-Kline
Subject: Support for Item 10.B.
Attachments: 250811 VCH Support Offsite AH.pdf
EXTERNAL
Please find attached our support letter for the proposed Ordinance for oƯ-site aƯordable housing.
Best regards,
Allison Riley, she/they
Co-Executive Director, Venice Community Housing
building affordable housing and communities since 1988
200 Lincoln Blvd., Venice, CA 90291
Office: 424-268-5120
Main: 310.399.4100
Fax: 310.399.1130
Email: [email protected]
VCH acknowledges our presence and work on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Tongva, Kizh, and Gabrielino peoples.
VCH stands and strives to act in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 715 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) August 11, 2025
Santa Monica City Council
1685 Main Street, Room 250
Santa Monica, CA 90401
VIA Email: [email protected]
Subject: Santa Monica City Council Meeting – August 12, 2025 Support with modifications - Item 10.b. Adoption of an Ordinance Establishing Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program
Dear Mayor and Councilmembers:
On behalf of Venice Community Housing Corporation, a non-profit, community-based organization committed to developing and preserving affordable housing across the Westside, I am writing to express our support for Item 10.B, which would expand flexibility in how developers meet their affordable housing obligations—specifically by allowing the construction of off-site affordable units, in-lieu fees for larger developments, and support major rehabilitation of existing housing in Santa Monica.
As an organization deeply committed to developing and preserving affordable, community-driven housing, we believe this policy change could unlock urgently needed homes for low-income individuals and families. We understand there are approximately 3600 mixed-income units approved by the city of Santa Monica that have been stalled, thereby stalling 360 affordable housing units. This pilot program is an opportunity to move these projects forward quickly.
We need many tools to build the necessary housing to meet the needs of the community and therefore urge the City remove unnecessary obstacles and embrace a variety of tools to enable affordable homes to be produced alongside the market rate developments.
We urge the Council to approve this item.
Sincerely,
Allison Riley Erika Lee
Co-Executive Director Co-Executive Director
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 716 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 6 David Yakobson
From: Mathew Millen <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 10:54 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Lana Negrete; [email protected]; Jesse Zwick Subject: Aug 12th 10B comments
Attachments: Aug1210B.pdf
EXTERNAL
Attached are my comments for tonight's council meeting
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 717 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 718 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 719 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 7 David Yakobson
From: Connor Webb <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 10:56 AM
To: Lana Negrete; Ellis Raskin; Jesse Zwick; Dan Hall; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; Caroline Torosis; councilmtgitems
Subject: Item 10.B: Support more housing in Santa Monica
EXTERNAL
Dear Council,
I urge you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through this targeted pilot.
Santa Monica’s housing pipeline is frozen. Thousands of approved homes, including hundreds of affordable units, aren’t moving forward because today’s financing and cost conditions make them unbuildable.
This ordinance is among the most important actions this council can take toward delivering on its promise to build housing.
It can unlock over 3,500 market-rate homes and 600 deed-restricted affordable units, many deeply affordable for lower-income residents. By voting yes, you will help move them toward construction. A no vote leaves these projects stalled and the people who would live in them shut out of our community indefinitely.
The projects exist, the approvals are already in place, and this ordinance provides a viable path to build.
Please vote yes.
Sincerely,
Connor Webb
90404
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 720 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 1 David Yakobson
From: Mark Borenstein <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 8:10 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Objection to Emergency Ordinance -- Item 10-B
EXTERNAL
Written Comments on Item 10-B
Another bogus emergency? You have got to be kidding. Haven’t you realized that making big changes in City policy based on merely reciting the words “preserving the public peace, health, and safety,” does not create an emergency required under the City Charter. Do you even know what how Municipal Code defines an “emergency?” “A sudden unexpected occurrence demanding immediate action to prevent or mitigate loss or damage to life, health, property or essential public services.” SMMC 9.52.020. This proposed ordinance does not even come close.
Nor does legislating by emergency lead to transparent legislating. This latest so-called “emergency” will be the 9th time since January you declared an emergency about something. Legislating by emergency decree-- who does that sound like? deprives your constituents of any chance to evaluate and digest a significant change in City policy.
This “emergency” appears to give developers a chance to make even more money by allowing them 4 years—four years—to build the low and moderate income housing they promised to build, in order to receive extraordinarily generous housing bonuses. At least that is what it looks like with just a few days to digest the proposed emergency ordinance.
Now you seem to be proposing to give developers a chance to make even more money, while saturating our city with more market rate housing and placing an even higher burden on our already crowded surface streets, police and other city services. And this proposed emergency ordinance will put the City even further behind its 6th cycle targets for affordable housing, and well above its targets for market rate housing.
We hear repeatedly from certain council members about the “missing middle” and the absence of lowand moderate-income housing in Santa Monica. This proposed emergency ordinance puts the lie to that oft cited concern. On top of that, you’ve given the community 4 days to review the 17-page staff report and the twenty-page emergency ordinance. Not nearly enough time to consider the possible consequences of the draft proposal. Stop governing by emergency decree, especially when there is no real immediate threat to the public peace, health, and safety. Reject this proposed emergency ordinance and follow the rules for adopting ordinances that encourage a thorough Planning Commission review and meaningful public input, before the ordinance takes effect.
Mark Borenstein, Stanford Street
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 721 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 1 David Yakobson
From: Gail Gordon
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2025 6:43 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Natalya Zernitskaya; Ellis Raskin
Subject: Housing Commission recommendations for Agenda Item 10B Re: City council meeting: August 12, 2025. Agenda item 10B:
“Introduction and Adoption of an Ordinance Establishing Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program”
Dear Santa Monica City Council:
At the August 7th Housing Commission meeting the commission voted unanimously to oppose in its entirety the proposed ordinance “Establishing Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program”.
The Housing Commission strongly urges the City Council to vote against this program, for the following reasons:
Option 1: Concentration of Low-Income Residents in 100% Affordable Buildings Housing low-income residents exclusively in buildings dedicated solely to affordable housing contradicts HUD’s goals of promoting equitable and fair housing. It is essential that low-income and higher-income residents share walls, fostering community integration and helping to destigmatize lowincome individuals. Shared walls create opportunities for social interaction and can positively influence the social and economic mobility of the next generation of low-income residents.
Some may argue that locating affordable housing separately—away from higher-income areas— reduces developers’ costs, particularly when using land of lower value and less expensive construction materials. However, this approach undermines the broader goals of inclusive community development and equitable housing.
Option 2: Rehabilitation of Off-Site Housing
This approach does not contribute to the creation of additional affordable housing, which runs counter to the city’s goal of expanding housing options. Additionally, it may result in the temporary or permanent relocation of existing tenants in rehabilitated buildings, potentially disrupting their stability and community ties.
Option 3: Use of In-Lieu Fees
This approach shifts the responsibility for producing affordable housing from developers to the city.
While it relieves developers of the need to secure additional funding or land, it also places the burden on the city to find these resources. As a result, it will likely produce significantly fewer affordable units than if the original developer built them directly.
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 722 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 2 The Santa Monica Housing Commission recommends that the City Council rejects Off-Site Affordable Housing Pilot Program Ordinance agenda item 10.B. in its entirety.
Santa Monica Housing Commission.
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 723 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 3 David Yakobson
From: Dustin Shahan <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2025 8:32 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems; [email protected] Subject: Support Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
I agree with the views of Santa Monica Forward below. PROMPTLY starting this pilot will allow future evaluation and refinement for implementing long term policy on this critical issue.
Santa Monica Forward urges you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
We urge your full support.
Sincerely,
Dustin Shahan
90401
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 724 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 1 David Yakobson
From: Hank Koning <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2025 2:33 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya
Cc: councilmtgitems; councilmtgitems; Rachel Kwok
Subject: Council Mtg Agenda Item 12.B - SUPPORT
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete and City Councilmembers,
I am writing to support the proposed pilot program to incentivize property owners and developers to move forward with building housing on sites that already have an approved (but not yet built) housing project.
The housing crisis is real and Cities need to do what they can to facilitate housing production.
I respectfully request the City Council approve the pilot program to incentivize housing production in the draft ordinance for Agenda Item 10.B provided by City Staff.
Kind regards
____________________
Hank Koning, FAIA, LFRAIA, LEED AP Founding Principal
KoningEizenberg| 1454 25th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404 Direct: 424 220 2733 (incl. VM and SMS texts)
www.kearch.com
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 725 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 1 David Yakobson
From: Jake Pierce <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2025 4:30 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems; [email protected] Cc: Azeen Khanmalek; Scott Epstein
Subject: Abundant Housing LA: Strong support Item 10.B (Off-Site Affordable Housing Pilot) Attachments: AHLA_ Support for Item 10.B.pdf
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
Abundant Housing LA is proud to stand with Santa Monica Forward in urging you to approve the Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program.
This ordinance will unlock the production of housing, which has otherwise come to a halt in Santa Monica, allow for more homes and ultimately improve affordability in this remarkable city.
Please see our attached letter.
Thanks,
Jacob Pierce
Housing Elements & Policy Analyst
Abundant Housing LA
@jacobpierceLA
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Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 726 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) Re: Support for Item 10.B (Off-Site Affordable Housing Pilot Program Ordinance) Dear Santa Monica City Council,
On behalf of Abundant Housing LA (AHLA), I write to express strong support for the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program. We are proud to stand with Santa Monica Forward in urging you to move this reform forward.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes—including hundreds of affordable units—are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes—including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents—this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale. Many members of this Council have repeatedly expressed a firm commitment to building more housing. This ordinance presents an actionable step to do just that. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them will instead continue to suffer the throes of housing scarcity.
AHLA and its advocates in Santa Monica are deeply concerned with the community’s affordability—more than four in 10 renters are overspending on housing costs—and its rate of housing production. If Santa Monica continues apace it will not come close to meeting its state-obligated housing production numbers at any income level by the fall of 2029.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
Abundant Housing urges your full support.
Sincerely,
Azeen Khanmalek
Executive Director
Abundant Housing LA
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 727 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 1 David Yakobson
From: Chasen Daniels <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2025 10:11 AM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems; [email protected] Subject: Support Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
I agree with the views of Santa Monica Forward below.
Santa Monica Forward urges you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
We urge your full support.
Sincerely,
Chasen Daniels
90401
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 728 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 1 David Yakobson
From: Pam O'Connor <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2025 6:54 AM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems; [email protected] Subject: Support Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
I agree with the views of Santa Monica Forward below.
Santa Monica Forward urges you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
We urge your full support.
Sincerely,
Pam O’Connor
Former Mayor/Councilmrmber
[ZIP CODE]
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 729 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 2 David Yakobson
From: Eli Gill <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2025 7:47 AM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems; [email protected] Subject: Support Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
I agree with the views of Santa Monica Forward below.
Santa Monica Forward urges you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
We urge your full support.
Sincerely,
Eli Gill
90403
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 730 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 3 David Yakobson
From: Jonathan Hale <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2025 8:16 AM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems; [email protected] Subject: Support Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
I agree with the views of Santa Monica Forward below.
Santa Monica Forward urges you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place.
What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
We urge your full support.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Hale
90025. Frequent visitor of Santa Monica from Sawtelle, would consider moving if there were an abundance of housing options
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 731 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 4 David Yakobson
From: Joaquin Nafstad <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2025 10:46 AM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems; [email protected] Subject: Support Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
I agree with the views of Santa Monica Forward below.
Santa Monica Forward urges you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
We urge your full support.
Sincerely,
Joaquin Nafstad
90405
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 732 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 1 David Yakobson
From: Judy Kruger <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, August 8, 2025 11:39 AM
To: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya
Cc: councilmtgitems; Armine Chaparyan; Rachel Kwok; Paula Larmore ([email protected]); Judy Kruger (Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce) Subject: Support Letter to Council: August 12, Agenda Item 10.B, Pilot Program to Incentive Housing - SUPPORT
Attachments: 8_8_25 Chamber Letter to City Council.pdf
EXTERNAL
Good Morning Mayor Negrete and Councilmembers:
Please see attached Chamber's Letter of Support for Agenda Item 10.B Pilot Program to Incentivize Housing.
Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Best Regards,
Judy
Judy Kruger
CEO & President
213-703-1340
[email protected]
smchamber.com
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 733 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) August 8, 2025
City Council
City of Santa Monica
1685 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Re: August 12, Agenda Item 10.B, Pilot Program to Incentive Housing -
SUPPORT
Dear Mayor Negrete and City Councilmembers:
On behalf of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, we are writing to support the proposed pilot program to incentivize property owners and developers to move forward with building housing on sites that already have an approved (but not yet built) housing project.
We frequently hear from our members that the cost and lack of available housing options in Santa Monica directly impacts their ability to attract and retain local employees.
Given the stagnant state of multi-family housing production in Santa Monica, we appreciate the Council acknowledging that this type of bold action is necessary. The building permit data provided in the City Staff Report (page 4) regarding the number of multi-family housing units that have been constructed over the past 15 years and, particularly, the very low number of units that commenced construction in the past two years is alarming. We appreciate City Staff presenting this important data for the public’s review and your consideration as part of this item.
Our Santa Monica businesses have continued to experience economic uncertainty and if the Council is successful at stimulating housing production with this pilot program it will provide more opportunities for a “built in” local customer base to patronize our businesses.
The Chamber respectfully requests the City Council approve the pilot program to incentivize housing production in the draft ordinance for Agenda Item 10.B provided by City Staff.
Respectfully Submitted,
President & CEO
Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce
Board Executives
Chair
Paula Larmore
Harding, Larmore,
Kutcher & Kozal LLP
Past Chair
Charlie LopezQuintana
ETC Hotels
Treasurer
Addie VanGessel
Tavern on Main
Vice-Chair
Dustin Peterson
Fairmont Miramar
Hotel & Bungalows
Vice-Chair
Jeremy Rawitch
RAND
Vice-Chair
Vee Gomez
Beach Yoga SoCal
Vice-Chair
Melissa Cohen
Boston Properties
Vice-Chair
Elias Garcia
Kaiser Permanente
Directors
Eddie Guerboian
Jeweler
Neil Carrey
Attorney
Elnie Vannatim
Cedars-Sinai
Gina Gribow
EKA Public Affairs
Directors
Jessica Rincon
Sanbourne
Lilit Avagyan
US Bank
Jenn Verma
Lionsgate
Ben Marcus
UP Partners
Yvette Sims
Hair by Yvette
Cheree
Michael Altchule
UCLA Health
Shanna Johnson
Regent
Shari Davis
Santa Monica
College
Wesly Hernandez
SNAP Inc.
Berta Negari
XYZ Rent
Garrett Childers
SM Fire 1109
Doreen Lahav
Prism Places
Kara Block
DHF Architects
Carlos Madrid
SMPD POA
Jared Amerson
Providence Saint
John’s
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 734 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 2 David Yakobson
From: Leslie Lambert <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, August 8, 2025 12:29 PM
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: [email protected]; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; [email protected]; Dan Hall; Natalya Zernitskaya
Subject: Item 10B on the August 12, 2025 Agenda
EXTERNAL
I strongly urge the City Council to proceed with adoption of the Pilot Program that allows market rate housing developers to satisfy the City's inclusionary housing requirements by funding off-site affordable housing projects. The very good reasons for creating this program include:
1. It will serve to unclog the housing production pipeline by making housing projects more financially feasible. Approximately 3,300 units in proposed projects are stalled because of the "perfect storm" of adverse market conditions. Developers' contributions to off-site affordable housing will be less than the present value of the rent differential between on-site affordable units and market rate units. (But these contributions will be sufficient to make off-site affordable housing feasible.) This reduced market rate development cost will act as a financial incentive to move forward with the projects. I assume this program has been vetted with for profit and nonprofit housing developers.
2. The feasibility of 100% affordable housing projects is being threatened by the draconian cuts in Federal housing funding being proposed.The Pilot Program will help fill the gaps created by this loss. There are 800 affordable housing units in the City's pipeline. It is possible that some of these projects could proceed with the financial assistance created by this Program..
3. There is much to be said for 100% affordable housing versus inclusionary units' being scattered around a market rate project. For example, affordable housing projects provide wrap around social services and tenant spaces and amenities that are not included in mixed income projects.
In my opinion, the claim that 100% affordable housing versus inclusionary housing is segregationist is nonsense.
I do have a few thoughts about the Program design iself.
1. Allowing up to 48 months, with a 12 month extension, to begin the affordable housing project after building permit issuance for the market rate project is excessive. The rationale in the staff report is that it provides the market rate developer time to arrange construction financing. In my experience, developers have generally arranged construction financing before pulling a permit.
Generally, the building permit is the last step before starting construction. But the most negative aspect of this time frame is that it delays the production of affordable housing. The City had a very bad experience years ago with a developer who completed the market rate project without building the off-site affordable units. This is why the City has tightened up rules governing off-site housing. Please reduce the timeframe for meeting the off-site housing requirements. I suggest that a Certificate of Occupancy for the market rate project not be issued until a building permit, or at least a grading permit, is issued for the new construction of the off-site affordable housing project.
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 735 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 3 2. It is critical that the developer of the off-site housing be allowed to use Low Income Tax Credits.
Otherwise, the objectives of the Pilot Program will not be met and the off-site housing will not be built.
3. Just a reminder that a nonprofit developer should be included in the off-site project as the managing general partner. This is required for access to the property tax exemption afforded 100% low income housing and, therefore, important for project feasibility.
4. Unless the City can deposit the off-site funds under "lock and key", these funds should not be deposited in the Housing Trust Fund, We have learned that HTF monies can be "borrowed" for other City purposes.
5. Off-site units should be affordable to very low and low income households exclusively in order to maximize the property tax exemption and the Low Income Tax Credit allocation unless the nonprofit partner elects to include moderate income units.
Thank you for considering this very innovative program. I look forward to its adoption.
Leslie Lambert
Sunset Park Resident
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 736 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 4 David Yakobson
From: Sam Shapiro-Kline <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2025 7:23 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems; [email protected] Subject: Support Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
The Off-site Affordable pilot program is the most consequential vote on housing that you have faced as a council. Tuesday's vote will determine whether the city builds any new market rate housing at all in 2025.
Whether you support housing and support making Santa Monica more affordable does not depend on how many ordinances you pass, but on how many units get built.
By that metric this council is failing. 3 market rate units have been permitted in 2025. This is your opportunity to get hundreds if not thousands of units to begin construction in 2025.
Please support Item 10.B,
Sam Shapiro-Kline
I agree with the views of Santa Monica Forward below.
Santa Monica Forward urges you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
We urge your full support.
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 737 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 5 Sincerely,
Sam Shapiro-Kline
90403
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 738 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 6 David Yakobson
From: Matias Fuchs-Lynch <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2025 7:50 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems; [email protected] Subject: Support Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
I can’t tell you how exciting it has been to see demolition happen on several long-vacant sites in Santa Monica.
These are places that have sat empty for years, and I’m overjoyed to see that finally something will happen there.
Please support the proposed ordinance so that these projects can continue. If the ordinance doesn’t pass, those lots will remain empty, creating just more blight in our city.
I agree with the views of Santa Monica Forward below.
Santa Monica Forward urges you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
We urge your full support.
Sincerely,
Mati Fuchs-Lynch
90403
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 739 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 7 David Yakobson
From: Caro Vilain <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2025 8:08 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems
Subject: Support Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
I agree with the views of Santa Monica Forward below.
Santa Monica Forward urges you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
We urge your full support.
Sincerely,
Caro Vilain
90404
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 740 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 8 David Yakobson
From: Daniel Walsh <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2025 10:09 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems; [email protected] Subject: Support Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
I agree with the views of Santa Monica Forward below.
Santa Monica Forward urges you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
We urge your full support.
Sincerely,
Daniel Walsh, CAIA
90401
Daniel P. Walsh, CAIA
[email protected]
570-807-9818
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 741 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 9 David Yakobson
From: 1814 18th Street <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2025 10:14 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems; [email protected] Subject: DO NOT SUPPORT Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
I do not agree with the views of Santa Monica Forward. Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen primarily because of strict rent control laws along with rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles. This ordinance would undoubtedly contribute to decreased property values and my immediate re-examination of desire to provide housing in Santa Monica. I urge you to withhold support.
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 742 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 10 David Yakobson
From: Tracey Alexander <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2025 10:22 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Dan Hall; Barry Snell; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya
Cc: councilmtgitems; [email protected]
Subject: Support for Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Councilmembers,
At Santa Monica Forward we urge you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted off-site affordable pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deedrestricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing in our community. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
I urge your full support.
Sincerely,
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
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Packet Pg. 743 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 11 Tracey Alexander
90272
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August 12, 2025
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Packet Pg. 744 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 12 David Yakobson
From: Michael Gillooly <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2025 11:07 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems; [email protected] Subject: Support Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
I agree with the views of Santa Monica Forward below.
Santa Monica Forward urges you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
We urge your full support.
Sincerely,
Michael Gillooly
90066
Michael Gillooly
[email protected]
(805) 558-9845
LinkedIn
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
10.B.b
Packet Pg. 745 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) 13 David Yakobson
From: John Lin <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2025 11:42 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; councilmtgitems; [email protected] Subject: Support Item 10.B
EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council,
I agree with the views of Santa Monica Forward below.
Santa Monica Forward urges you to adopt the proposed ordinance reforming the Affordable Housing Production Program through a targeted pilot program.
Santa Monica’s market for new housing construction is frozen. Thousands of entitled homes - including hundreds of affordable units - are not moving forward. Rising interest rates, construction costs, and local financing obstacles have made these projects unbuildable under current conditions. This ordinance is your opportunity to change that.
By unlocking development of over 3,500 market-rate homes and more than 600 deed-restricted affordable homes - including deeply affordable units for lower-income residents - this ordinance delivers exactly what Santa Monica needs: housing at scale, now.
Many of you ran on a platform of building more housing. In Santa Monica Forward’s view, this ordinance is the most consequential action you can take to deliver on that promise. Vote yes, and thousands of new homes will have a real chance of being built. Vote no, and those homes will remain unbuilt, and the people who would live in them excluded from our community.
The urgency is clear. The projects exist. The approvals are in place. What’s missing is a financially viable path to construction. This ordinance provides it.
We urge your full support.
Sincerely,
John Lin
90401
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
Item 10-B
August 12, 2025
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Packet Pg. 746 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 2] (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program) Off-Site Affordable Housing
Pilot Incentive Program
August 12, 2025
City Council
Item 10-B
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Packet Pg. 747 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Purpose & Pilot Program Objectives
• Proposed pilot program responsive to June 10 Council direction • Objectives
• Target approximately 40 housing projects that have received their approvals prior to August 12, 2025 in orderto unlock “frozen” units • Consistent with Housing Element Program 2.C, provide 3 new options to comply with AHPP
• Increase flexibility in off-site affordable housing option by removing requirement that CofO for affordable housing project be issued before CofO for market rate project
• Create new local density bonus program
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Packet Pg. 748 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Housing By the Numbers
Affordable Housing • Since enactment of the AHPP in 1998, more than 1,200 affordable units produced
Housing Approvals • Since 6th Cycle Housing Element
adoption, more than 3,400 market rate
units and 900 affordable units
approved through a ministerial process
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Packet Pg. 749 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Housing Construction
Residential construction industry facing
difficult economic challenges
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Packet Pg. 750 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Housing Construction
In Santa Monica, building permits issued for housing construction dropped significantly in the last 2 years with only 2 building permits for multifamily units issued in 2025 Item 10-B
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Packet Pg. 751 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Existing Affordable Housing Production Program
Chapter 9.64 of SMMC
Number of
Units*
Minimum Requirement
0-5 units Pay the Affordable Housing Fee**
6-19 units 15% affordable units for up to 80% Area
Median Income (AMI)
20 units or
more
15% affordable units with even
distribution across Very Low (50% AMI),
Low (80% AMI), and Moderate Income
(between 80%-120% AMI)
20% for off-site construction – deed
restricted to Lower Income households
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Packet Pg. 752 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Proposed Pilot Program
Eligibility
• Be multiple-unit project of 6 units or more
• Have obtained final approval of all required discretionary and ministerial City permits, on or before August 12, 2025
• AB130 time limits do not apply to previously approved projects • Cannot be under construction or have been completed
• A previously approved project can be redesigned and approved prior to December 31, 2026
• Could use new standards for housing projects and new pilot program potentially resulting in more units
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Packet Pg. 753 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Proposed Pilot Program
• Option 1: Alternative Site
• Construct same number of off-site affordable units after the market rate project begins construction
• Pay gap financing at $150,000 per unit (assumes 4% tax credits) • Option 2: Rehabilitation Option
• Complete substantial rehabilitation of existing units in a number equivalent to required off-site affordable units
• Option 3: In-Lieu Fee Option
• Pay in-lieu fee of $43.91/sf for apartments and $51.30/sf for condominiums per off-site affordable housing unit (adjusted annually) into Housing Trust fund
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Packet Pg. 754 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program Benefits
• Eligibility for local density bonus equivalent to what it is provided under State Density Bonus
• Flexibility in construction timing of affordable housing project (Option 1)
• Reduces uncertainty for housing developers (especially with Option 3)
• Allows “pooling” of off-site lower income units and leverage tax credit for economies of scale
• Provide relief to help unlock “frozen” units and facilitate the construction of affordable units
Item 10-B
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Packet Pg. 755 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Identify
Off-Site
Location
and Enter
into
Agreement
Building Permit
Issuance for 1st
Market Rate Project
Gap Financing
Deposit into
Escrow Account
Certificate of
Occupancy for 1st
Market Rate Project
Building Permit for
Off-Site Affordable
Housing Within 48 months,
with 12 month extension
Market Rate Construction Affordable Units
Construction
Option 1: Alternative Off-Site Location
• Building permit for off-site affordable units must be issued within 48 months of building permit for market-rate project
• Off-site affordable property must be owned (whole orin part) by affordable housing provider • Affordable units must not include studios and must be deed restricted for minimum 75 years Item 10-B
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Packet Pg. 756 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Option 1: Alternative Off-Site Location
• Building permit for off-site affordable units must be issued within 18 months of CDP • Off-site affordable property must be owned (whole or in part) by affordable housing provider
• Affordable units must not include studios and be deed restricted for minimum 75 years Identify Off-Site
Location and
Enter into
Agreement
Building Permit Issuance for 1st
Market Rate Project
Gap Financing Deposit into
Escrow Account
Coastal Development
Permit Amendment for
Market Rate Project
Within 18 months
Coastal Zone project
Market Rate Construction Affordable Units
Construction
Building
Permit for
Off-Site
Affordable
Housing
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Packet Pg. 757 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Pilot Program
100 Base
Units
50 Bonus Units
Under SDB
(50% of 100 base
units)
Base Project (market rate +
15% Affordable Units) +
Extra Bonus Units
AHPP
Total 150 units
(135 market rate + 15 affordable)
100 Base
Units
50 Bonus Units
Under SDB
(50% of 100 base
units)
Base Project +
Extra Bonus Units
15 affordable units
off-site
(15% x 100 units)
150 market rate units
Pooling of
affordable units
off-site
affordable units from
other market-rate
projects
15% Lower-Income
Affordable
(85 market rate
+ 15 affordable)
Option 1: Alternative Off-Site Location
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Packet Pg. 758 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Gap Financing+ Off Site Land
• Gap Financing placed in interest-bearing escrow account before issuance of building permit for market rate project
• Assumes 4% tax credits and no requirement for prevailing wage (no City funding for the affordable housing project)
• If construction on affordable units does not commence within 48 months (with possibility of 1-year extension) of building permits for market rate project then City will receive gap financing & land where off-site units will be located
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Packet Pg. 759 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Gap Financing+ Off Site Land
• $150,000 Gap Financing + Land is based on the average of the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) Subsidy for the past six completed City-funded affordable housing development
• HTF Subsidy less any Land Acquisition Costs
• Applied 5% escalation per year
• Average of $158,781 per residence with escalations
• Includes Prevailing Wages
• HTF Subsidy (less land) ranged from $99,470 to $246,463 per residence with escalations
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Packet Pg. 760 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Analysis of Gap FinancingAmount
• The proposed $150K/unit subsidy gap was determined after HR&A Advisors reviewed a confidential pro forma for an affordable development that could pool affordable units required by multiple entitled developments.
Development Program
Large R2 Lot.
Land Area – 12,300.
Gross Bldg. SF – 51,00; 7 stories.
# Units – 72 (including one manager’s unit.
Parking – None.
Unit Mix – 1BR & 2BR units (450-700 s.f.).
Income Distribution – 10%@30%; 19%@50%; 19%@60%; 51%@70%. Implementation Period – 2 years entitlements & permits; 2 years construction.
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Packet Pg. 761 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Analysis of Gap FinancingAmount
Development Cost
Approx. $40 million; $550K/unit, not including land.
Financing Sources
Construction – 4% tax credit equity; bank loan; $121/unit subsidy gap from private developer(s); lease-up income; General Partner equity. Permanent Sources - 4% tax credit equity; bank loan; $121/unit subsidy gap from private developer(s); deferred developer fee; lease-up income; General Partner equity.
Net Operating Income (Year 1 Stabilized)
Gross Potential Income – Approx. $1.5 million; after vacancy allowance Annual Operating Cost – Approx. $700K
Net Operating Income – Approx. $800K
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Packet Pg. 762 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Analysis of Gap FinancingAmount
• HR&A’s review of the draft ordinance amount of $150K/unit is generally consistent with other City project subsidies, not including land.
• HR&A Found Some Modeling Assumptions Aggressive:
• Annual rent and expenses growth.
• Permanent loan term.
• Unamortized deferred developer fee.
• Scale of assumed lease-up income.
• Real estate tax exemption did not include special assessments. • Conclusion
• After adjusting the pro forma calculations to address the above concerns, HR&A concluded that the subsidy gap amount should be in the $150K-$160K range Item 10-B
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Packet Pg. 763 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Option 2: Substantial Rehabilitation
• Rehabilitation plan must be approved prior to issuance of building permit for market-rate project
• CofO for rehabilitated units must be issued before CofO for market-rate project
• Rehabilitated units must be deed restricted for minimum 75 years Item 10-B
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Packet Pg. 764 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Option 3: In-Lieu Fee
• Fees updated annually based on changes in construction and land costs • Fees based on floor area of market rate project (base fee X floor area) • Effective 12/1/24 are $43.91 /sf for apartments and $51.30/sf for condominium
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Packet Pg. 765 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Option 3: In-Lieu Fee
Examples of Fees for Approved Projects Using Option 3
Floor Area (SF) In-Lieu Fee
(based on floor area) Market Rate Units Required Affordable Units Project #1 152,683 $ 6,704,310.53 146 26
Project #2 97,107 $ 4,263,968.37 114 13
Project #3 353,131 $ 15,505,982.21 358 64
Project #4 240,672 $ 10,567,907.52 234 26
Project #5 161,044 $ 7,071,442.04 106 8
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Packet Pg. 766 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Recommendation
1. Adopt a finding that the Emergency Ordinance is statutorily exempt from CEQA and was previously analyzed in the 2021- 2029 6th Cycle Housing Element Environmental Impact
Report (EIR).
2. Adopt the Emergency Ordinance Amending the Zoning
Ordinance to Establish a Pilot Program Allowing for Flexibility and Incentives for Complying with the City’s Affordable Housing Production Program
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Packet Pg. 767 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Clarifying Changes to Proposed Ordinance
1. Section 9.64.065 D.3. (Page 8)
• The affordable units in the 100% affordable housing project shall be rental units and shall comply with the provisions of subsections (E)(2)-(5) and (J) of Section 9.64.050
2. Section 9.64.065 D.5.c. (Page 10)
• Prior to, and as a condition of, issuance of the first building permit issued for any multiple-unit project, or issuance of the first certificate of occupancy for a multi-unit project located in the Coastal Zone, the applicant shall place the Gap Financing Amount for that multiple-unit project in an interest-bearing escrow account
3. Section 9.64.065 D.5.c.iii. (Page 12)
• For purposes of this subsection (c)(i) and (c)(ii), “commence” means that the project has received either grading or a building permits and grading or construction activities begin on the site.
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Packet Pg. 768 Attachment: PowerPoint Presentation (7104 : Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: August 12, 2025
Agenda Item: 11.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Anuj Gupta, Director of Transportation, Parking Operations (DOT) Subject: Parking Rate Restructuring Strategies
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of categorical exemption pursuant to Section 15273 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines
2. Review and provide direction and recommendations on the parking rate restructuring proposals presented herein;
3. Provide approval for proposed rate structure; and
4. Direct staff to begin the California Coastal Commission approval process for the proposed rates and return to Council with a parking resolution for approval upon completion of the Coastal Commission process.
Summary
Santa Monica’s publicly owned parking facilities are an essential component of the City’s ability to serve its residents, visitors, and businesses. According to the fiscal year 2024-25 budget projection, parking generates $51.4M in annual revenue: $36.1M goes to the General Fund, with the remaining $15.3M going to the Beach and Pier Funds.
Roughly 6.3% ($51.4M of $810.2M) of the City’s total revenue and 7.7% ($36.1M of $470.4M) of the City’s General Fund revenue comes from parking fees and permits from the City’s 42 parking facilities (containing 13,000 parking spaces), 5,800 on-street metered parking spaces, and thousands more non-metered spaces. This parking service helps support the diverse local economy and quality of life in Santa Monica by providing convenient access to housing, retail centers, hotels, restaurants, employment, public beaches and community parks, education and recreation centers, special events, municipal services, and social service agencies.
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Parking infrastructure is a valuable public asset that is best supported and maintained through fiscally responsible policies that meet the following goals:
• Generate revenue to support parking and other important city services. • Provide excellent customer service, ease of use, and availability. • Support economic development.
• Pricing strategies that avoid excessively subsidizing driving and promote more sustainable mobility choices.
• Parking pricing that aligns with other parking prices in adjacent locations including private parking and public parking in neighboring areas. • Address the California Coastal Commission's public access and equity concerns.
Herein, staff will present proposed parking rates for Council’s consideration.
Background
The Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) establishes goals and policies to inform the management of parking in Santa Monica, including Policy T24.2 (Use price as the primary tool for achieving parking availability targets) and T26.6 (Use parking pricing as a tool to manage congestion). Since the adoption of the LUCE, parking rates have been adjusted occasionally in furtherance of these policy objectives, including July 10, 2012, concurrent with the demolition and reconstruction of Parking Structure 6, and May 10, 2016, in advance of the debut of the Expo Line extension to Santa Monica, now known as the E Line. On April 24, 2018, the City Council adopted a resolution establishing new transient parking rates and permit parking fees for various City parking facilities. Since 2018 there have been some increases in residential parking permit rates, but the majority of the permits and transient parking rates have not been changed. Over the past seven years, the Consumer Price Index rose by approximately 25%, increasing the cost of providing parking services, yet parking rates have largely remained unchanged.
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Changing parking rates is a lengthy and comprehensive process that includes an initial Council approval, approval by the California Coastal Commission (CCC), and the adoption of a parking resolution by Council. Typically, the initial Council approval is accompanied by a parking study performed by a parking consultant, and an in-depth public outreach and engagement process. CCC’s approval of parking rate increases is necessary because the vast majority of the City’s parking supply is within the Coastal Zone, where rate increases require a Coastal Development Permit (CDP).
Discussion
Since the summer of 2024, the Department of Transportation’s Parking Operations staff have been working on a new parking rate study with Walker Consultants (Walker), a parking planning and engineering firm with 60 years of experience in this field. The parking rate study included data gathering and analysis of parking supply and demand, peak congestion solutions, enticements for drawing more users during low periods, routine meetings, public outreach and engagement, and rate and memorandum preparation.
Data Gathering and Coordination
Walker has gathered data to inform this study from many sources including the JustPark parking data management system. JustPark is software purchased by the City that consolidates all parking transactions for every different kind of payment system the City uses for its various parking transactions. Within JustPark, the City has every parking transaction dating back to 2016. Walker utilized this data to get a clear picture of changing demand, occupancy, stay duration, and revenue at the City’s 42 facilities and 5,800 meters.
Comparative rates from myriad sources were evaluated. This included pricing at privately managed parking in Santa Monica and the region, public parking pricing in neighboring municipalities and jurisdictions, similar shopping areas comparable to our downtown, as well as other beach parking facilities north and south of the City. This data helped inform decision making related to new parking pricing proposals.
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City and Walker staff met regularly to coordinate all aspects of the parking study, development of the rate proposals, and approaches to community, City Council, and CCC engagement.
Public Outreach and Engagement
City and Walker staff met with various neighborhood and business groups to receive input and discuss attracting visitors, peak congestion management, parking enforcement, and pricing incentives to attract longer parking sessions in their respective venues. The results of these meetings are discussed in detail in the Walker Public Outreach Memo (Attachment 2). The meetings included the following:
• Downtown Santa Monica, Inc.
• Santa Monica Pier Corporation Board
• Community for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS)
• Pier Tenants Association
• Disability Commission
• Combined Neighborhood Organization Virtual Meeting
o Invitations sent to the following organizations
▪ Friends of Sunset Park
▪ Ocean Park Association
▪ Santa Monica Mid City Neighbors
▪ Pico Neighborhood Association
▪ North of Montana Association
▪ Santa Monica Northeast Neighbors
▪ Wilshire Montana Neighborhood Coalition
▪ Families for Safe Streets
• Main Street Business Improvement District
• Santa Monica Travel and Tourism
In addition, an online public survey was administered through QR code signage posted in each of the 42 City-owned parking facilities. The results of this survey are discussed in the Walker Public Outreach Memo (Attachment 2).
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As a part of the parking data collection effort, an in-person survey was also conducted at various parking structures and beach lots to determine the number and type of parking users who are Santa Monica residents and how long people stayed when they parked at City owned facilities.
For the beach lots, 1,208 surveys were conducted on April 2, 5, and 6, 2025, at lots 1 North, 4 South, and 5 South yielding the following results:
• 19% of beach lot users are Santa Monica residents.
• Santa Monica residents stayed longer at beach lots than non-residents. o 219 mean (average) minutes for Santa Monica residents compared to 181 mean (average) minutes for non-residents.
o 155 median minutes for Santa Monica residents compared to 133 median minutes for non-residents.
• 54% of Santa Monica residents used a permit to park in the lot. • 18.6% (225 total) of those surveyed used a permit.
• 10.3% (125 total) of those surveyed used a day beach permit. • 6.5% (78 total) of those surveyed used a disabled permit. • 1.8% (22 total) of those surveyed used a senior beach permit.
For the downtown lots, 1,187 surveys were conducted on December 9, 14, and 17, 2024 at structures 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 yielding the following results:
• 40% of downtown lot users were Santa Monica residents. • Santa Monica residents spent less time at downtown lots than non-residents. o 96 mean (average) minutes for Santa Monica residents compared to 114 mean (average) minutes for non-residents.
o 60 median minutes for Santa Monica residents compared to 73 median minutes for non-residents.
• 66% of all parkers parked 90 minutes or less, while JustPark data for an entire year indicated 47% of parkers parked 90 minutes or less.
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California Coastal Commission
To receive approval from CCC for parking rate increases in the Coastal Zone, a comprehensive Coastal Development Permit (CDP) will be needed. Santa Monica’s parking zone under a CDP generally includes all parking areas bounded by the west side of 4th Street (north of the 10 Freeway) and the west side of Lincoln Boulevard (south of the 10 Freeway). This area covers about 85% of the City’s paid parking inventory. Santa Monica is not unique in this respect; other jurisdictions are also required to perform these efforts through the CDP process to obtain approval for pricing changes from the CCC.
City and Walker staff have had multiple meetings with CCC staff and neighboring jurisdictions that are currently pursuing CDPs for beach parking rate changes. These meetings have helped us to understand the limits of what we believe the CCC will or will not approve based on based on what we have seen approved in other coastal jurisdictions.
Upon receiving approval for the 2018 City rate increases, the following conditions were applied by the CCC for the City’s subsequent rate increases.
Special Conditions:
1. Future Parking Rate Increase. BY ACCEPTANCE OF THIS PERMIT, the City acknowledges that any future rate increases of any parking facilities within the City’s coastal zone shall require the issuance of a new coastal development permit or an amendment to this coastal development permit. As part of such application, the City shall provide the following:
A. A feasibility analysis to incorporate hourly parking rates for all parking spaces on the beach lots. The alternatives analysis must include a fee schedule, at least in part informed by the occupancy data comparing the beach flat rate lots and the inland hourly rate lots.
B. A feasibility analysis of a Low-income Parking Pass Program to provide free annual parking passes to qualified low-income individuals,
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or to identify methods for acceptance of the State of California Golden Bear Pass within the paid parking areas on the beach.
C. A proposed fee schedule and a parking monitoring and reporting plan for any future programmatic parking rate increases.
D. For any temporary parking rate adjustments for special, large-scale events such as the Olympics, a separate coastal development permit shall be required. The Executive Director may waive the temporary parking rate increase if the rate increase does not significantly impact coastal resources, including public coastal access.
City and Walker staff have prepared memoranda to address these concerns and intend to submit them with the City’s CDP application (after tentative City Council approval of rates).
Timeline (tentative)
• August 12, 2025
o If Council approves these proposed parking rates or provides direction as to what rates they wish to approve, Staff will apply for a Coastal Development Permit (CDP).
• August 12, 2025 through August, 2026
o CDP application process. This process is estimated to take at least a year, which can include up to 6 months for the initial review. There are lengthy review times and the CCC frequently requests additional information from the City regarding its permit application. Once the CCC receives all the information, the CDP is scheduled for a hearing at a CCC monthly meeting. If approved, then the CDP would be issued.
• August – September 2026
o Return to Council with a parking resolution including CDP Approved parking rates.
• October 2026
o Implement new parking rates citywide.
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Conclusions and Recommendations
One pricing structure does not fit all. Special consideration was given to the type of user (residents, businesses and workers, visitors such as customers and beachgoers, and delivery services), time of year, seasonal supply and demand, and the use of incentives to attract or manage demand. Overall, the goal is to promote Santa Monica’s parking services more effectively across a wide range of users. Different pricing scenarios were applied to different areas of the City based on each area’s unique characteristics.
City staff’s pricing proposal seeks to address supply and demand imbalances while also generating a projected 16%-17% ($8.2M-$8.9M) increase in revenues over current fiscal levels. This revenue projection aligns with City Council direction provided to staff at the March 2025 Council workshop.
While the revenue projections tied to the proposed rate increase are grounded in data and reflect an optimistic outlook, the rate increase is influenced by a variety of dynamic factors, including commercial space occupancy, evolving commuter and travel patterns, telecommuting trends, and unforeseen events such as natural disasters. Persistent volatility in national and international political conditions may also affect consumer behavior and economic stability in ways that are difficult to predict at the local level.
Furthermore, the post-COVID landscape continues to bring an unusually high level of difficulty in forecasting revenues.
All pricing proposals have factored in the following:
• The need for revenue generation to cover City expenses such as capital, operations, and maintenance costs for providing public parking. • The need for revenue generation to cover essential City services, such as clean and safe initiatives, maintenance of infrastructure, community programming, and library services, etc.
• Supporting quicker economic recovery for businesses and encouraging the visiting of local businesses and public spaces.
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• Alignment with new city initiatives such as the Promenade entertainment zone. • Supporting multi-modal travel options to mitigate traffic congestion and reduce emissions.
• The CCC’s mission is to provide equitable public access to coastal resources.
All existing and proposed rates are listed in Attachment 1 (Pricing Table) and additional pricing considerations and reasoning are expanded upon in Attachment 3 (Walker Rates Memorandum).
Beach and Pier
Beach lots are in high demand during summer and warm weather days and parking frequently sells out on busy days, thus restricting beach access to potential beach goers who planned to drive and use these lots. To enhance the availability of spaces to the public and match the high demand at these lots, moderate price increases are proposed. These increases are in line with what neighboring City and LA County beach areas charge and are in general alignment with permissible rates that staff believe will be approved of by CCC.
The following are examples of some of the proposed rates. The complete list of existing and proposed rates can be found in Attachment 1 (Pricing Table).
Location and Day of Week Current Proposed
Northern Beach Zone (Lots
4N – 9N) Apr - Oct Nov -Mar Apr - Oct Nov - Mar
Weekdays (per entry) $10.00 $7.00 $12.00 $8.00
Weekends (per entry) $12.00 $10.00 $15.00 $12.00
Placards for people with
disabilities (current & valid) Free Free
50% of
posted rate
50% of posted
rate
Central Beach Zone (Lots 1N
– 3N and 1S – 3S) Apr - Oct Nov -Mar Apr - Oct Nov - Mar Weekdays (per entry) $15.00 $7.00 $20.00 $ 8.00
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Weekends (per entry) $15.00 $10.00 $20.00 $12.00
Short-term lots (per hour) $1.00 $1.00 $3.00 $2.00
Placards for people with
disabilities (current & valid) Free Free
50% of
posted rate
50% of posted
rate
Southern Beach Zone (Lots
4S and 5S) Apr - Oct Nov -Mar Apr - Oct Nov - Mar
Weekdays (per entry) $10.00 $7.00 $12.00 No change
Weekends (per entry) $12.00 $10.00 $15.00 No change
Short-term lots (per hour) $1.00 $1.00 $3.00 $2.00
Placards for people with
disabilities (current & valid) Free Free
50% of
posted rate
50% of posted
rate
Downtown Santa Monica
Demand for parking in the downtown area has seen a significant decline over the last several years and has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. This downturn is attributed to a combination of factors, including the rise of online shopping, telework, fluctuations in retail space occupancy, evolving consumer behavior, shifts in driving/alternative transportation preferences, changes in tourism volume, natural disasters, and other contributing factors. To help facilitate economic recovery and to leverage the relatively low parking demand as an opportunity, staff recommends restructuring rates at downtown structures and surface lots. The proposed changes aim to reduce the cost of longer stays, streamline the pricing model, and generate additional revenue by eliminating the free parking grace period.
Below is a graph of downtown parking occupancy / reduced demand since 2017 that demonstrates an increase in availability of off-street parking spaces downtown.
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Staff have noted that 47% of parkers using the downtown structures exit before the expiration of the 90-minute free period. As a result, the entire revenue burden for the downtown parking structures falls on the remaining 53% of parkers; drivers who park for more than 90 minutes subsidize the parking costs for those who park for less than 90 minutes, despite the likelihood that a parker who stays for a longer period of time is more likely to spend time and money patronizing local businesses. The free period upfront and the rapidly escalating fees that reach their maximum at $20 on weekdays and $25 on weekends encourage shorter stays. Given the city’s strategy of revitalizing Downtown and its iconic Third Street Promenade as a destination, most recently through the City Council’s approval of the Downtown Entertainment Zone, City staff and the consultant sought to align the parking rate structure with this goal by incentivizing longer stays through a more balanced pricing approach.
Finally, the current parking rate structure’s price escalation (with an increase in price every 30 minutes after the 90-minute free period elapses) is likely to create an urgency among many visitors to leave Downtown Santa Monica sooner rather than later. A longer, flat rate for the first 3 hours and approximately every three hours after that, would create a “sunk cost” for drivers that provides an incentive to stay longer, and may reduce the anxiety of drivers concerned that “the meter is always running” when they park in one of Santa Monica’s downtown parking structures.
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Staff is therefore proposing replacing the 90-minute free period in the downtown structures with a modest flat rate for the first 3 hours ($2 for 3 hours on weekdays and $3 for 3 hours on weekends). This provides parking for the first 3 hours at a rate significantly less than the current $5.00 for three hours on weekdays and $6.00 on weekends and allows a moderate reduction in price for almost all other increments of parking in the downtown structures, while increasing revenue by 15-20%. There would likely still be a 15-minute free period in case a driver can’t find a parking space or decides not to park. The policy also addresses a desire expressed by local businesses for an inexpensive parking price (a flat rate) for customers that may come to downtown Santa Monica for dinner and shopping in the evening. The proposed rate structure also allows for a 20% reduction in the cost of monthly parking permits for employees.
Below are some examples of proposed rates. The complete list of existing and proposed rates are listed in Attachment 1 (Pricing Table).
Downtown Parking Structures 1 - 2, 4- 8, KEC
Current Weekday Proposed Weekday
Per Entry (Mon-Fri) Per Entry (Mon-Fri)
First 90 minutes FREE
0 - 3 Hours $2.00 1.5 – 2.0 hours $2.00
2.0 – 2.5 hours $3.50
2.5 – 3.0 hours $5.00
3.0 – 3.5 hours $7.00
3 - 5 Hours $8.00 3.5 – 4.0 hours $9.00
4.0 – 4.5 hours $11.50
4.5 – 5.0 hours $14.00
5.0 – 5.5 hours $17.00
5 hours - Daily
Maximum $16.00 5.5 hours or more
$20.00
Daily Maximum $20.00
Downtown Parking Structures 1 - 2, 4- 8, KEC
Current Weekend Proposed Weekend
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Per Entry (Sat - Sun) Per Entry (Sat - Sun)
First 90 minutes FREE
0 - 3 Hours $3.00 1.5 – 2.0 hours $2.00
2.0 – 2.5 hours $4.00
2.5 – 3.0 hours $6.00
3.0 – 3.5 hours $8.50
3 - 5 Hours $10.00 3.5 – 4.0 hours $11.00
4.0 – 4.5 hours $14.00
4.5 – 5.0 hours $17.00
5.0 – 5.5 hours $21.00
5 hours to Daily
Maximum $20.00 5.5 hours or more
$25.00
Daily Maximum $25.00
Current Monthly Parking Rates $220 per month
Proposed Monthly Parking
Rates $176 per month
Main Street
The Main Street lots have seen a resurgence in parking demand during the previous summer and continuing to the present Fridays through Sundays. Parking frequently sells out on busy days thus restricting access and frustrating visitors and merchants alike. To enhance the availability of spaces to the public and match the high weekend and seasonal demand at these lots, City staff and its consultant have proposed parking pricing consistent with specific feedback from the Main Street Business Improvement Association (MSBIA), that the busy periods for parking on weekends and in the summer could benefit from the access created by higher parking prices and that parking rates during slower periods should undergo more moderate price increases.
The following are some of the proposed rates, with the complete rates listed in Attachment 1 (Pricing Table).
Main Street Area Lots 9, 10, 11, and 26
Current
Each hour $1.25
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Monthly Employee Permit $80.00
Disabled placards (current & valid) Free
Proposed
Nov 1 - March
31 Apr 1 - Oct 31
Mon -– Sun Mon - Thu Fri - Sun
Each hour $1.50 $2.00 $2.50
Monthly Employee Permit $96.00 annually
Disabled placards (current &
valid) One-half (50% of) the posted rate
Mid-City
Mid-City Lots face medium demand due to the adjacent medical facilities and modest rate increases are proposed in these lots. The proposed rates are below.
Mid-City Lots 7, 8, and 12 Current Proposed
Each hour $1.00 $1.25
Daily maximum (per entry) $14.00 $16.00
Monthly $55.00 $65.00
Disabled placards (current &
valid) Free
One-half (50% of) the posted
rate
ADA Parking at City Surface Lots
As indicated in the pricing tables above, staff is proposing a reduced rate of 50% of the posted rate at City-owned surface lots for people using placards for people with disabilities. Currently, the City is obligated by state law to provide free parking for people using placards at on-street meters only. The City currently charges full price for placard parking at the City-owned structures.
Changing the surface lot pricing to 50% of the posted rate aligns with the policies of other neighboring jurisdictions, while increasing the availability of ADA parking to drivers who rely on accessible parking. In 2020, changing the ADA parking at City structures from free to full price significantly increased the availability of ADA parking spaces and reduced misuse. When ADA parking was free, ADA spaces were frequently abused, and often used for long-term vehicle storage. Implementing standard pricing
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successfully addressed this issue and ensured that ADA spaces remained available for those who truly need them.
This change in policy for surface lots was presented to the Disabilities Commission.
While Commission members appreciated and supported the objectives of reducing ADA placard abuse and increasing access to those spaces, some expressed opposition to charging anything for ADA parking while other members were more open to the concept of reduced-price parking.
City Parking Meters
The City has roughly 5,800 parking meters with 2 rate structures. The meters have high utilization, and staff are proposing a modest rate increase to adjust for inflation and to match the demand level.
Current Proposed
City-wide and Main Street $1.25/hour $1.50/hour
Downtown $2.50/hour $3.00/hour
Coastal $2.50/hour $3.00/hour
Environmental Review
The changes to parking rates are categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15273 of the CEQA Guidelines, which states that CEQA does not apply to the establishment, modification, structuring, restructuring, or approval of rates, tolls, fares, and other charges by public agencies which the public agency finds are for the purpose of meeting operating expenses, purchasing for leasing supplies, equipment, or materials, meeting financial reserve needs and requirements, and obtaining funds for capital projects, necessary to maintain service within existing service areas. The rate changes would continue to provide for maintenance of the City’s existing facilities and services. Therefore, parking rate changes are exempt from CEQA.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
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There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the recommended action. Staff will return to Council if specific budget actions are required in the future. These rates, once approved and implemented, are estimated to increase future parking-related revenues by 16%-17% ($8.2M-$8.9M). These increases are contingent upon the factors outlined in this staff report.
Prepared By: Zach Pollard, Parking Manager
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Attachment 1 -Pricing Table
B. Attachment 2 -Walker Outreach Memo
C. Attachment 3 -Walker Rates Memo
D. Written Comments
E. PowerPoint Presentation
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Attachment 1 -Pricing Table
Beach, Pier, and Annenberg Beach House Parking Pricing Recommendations:
Location and Day of Week Current Proposed
Northern Beach Zone (Lots 4N –
9N) Apr - Oct Nov - Mar Apr - Oct Nov - Mar
Weekdays (per entry) $10.00 $7.00 $12.00 $8.00
Weekends (per entry) $12.00 $10.00 $15.00 $12.00
Placards for people with disabilities
(current & valid) Free Free
50% of posted
rate
50% of posted
rate
Central Beach Zone (Lots 1N – 3N
and 1S – 3S) Apr - Oct Nov - Mar Apr - Oct Nov - Mar
Weekdays (per entry) $15.00 $7.00 $20.00 $8.00
Weekends (per entry) $15.00 $10.00 $20.00 $12.00
Short-term lots (per hour) $1.00 $1.00 $3.00 $2.00
Placards for people with disabilities
(current & valid) Free Free
50% of posted
rate
50% of posted
rate
Southern Beach Zone (Lots 4S
and 5S) Apr - Oct Nov - Mar Apr - Oct Nov - Mar
Weekdays (per entry) $10.00 $7.00 $12.00 No change
Weekends (per entry) $12.00 $10.00 $15.00 No change
Short-term lots (per hour) $1.00 $1.00 $3.00 $2.00
Placards for people with disabilities
(current & valid) Free Free
50% of posted
rate
50% of posted
rate
Santa Monica Pier Deck Apr - Oct Nov - Mar Apr - Oct Nov - Mar Weekdays (per hour) $3.75 $2.50 $4.25 $3.00
Weekdays (daily maximum per
entry) $18.00 $12.00 $20.00 $15.00
Weekends (per hour) $3.75 $3.50 $4.25 $4.00
Weekends (daily maximum per
entry) $18.00 $15.00 $22.00 $18.00
Placards for people with disabilities
(current & valid) Free Free
50% of posted
rate
50% of posted
rate
Annenberg Community Beach
House Apr - Oct Nov - Mar Apr - Oct Nov - Mar
Daily (per hour) $3.00 $3.00 $4.00 $4.00
Daily maximum (per entry) $12.00 $8.00 $15.00 $10.00
Placards for people with disabilities
(current & valid) Free Free
50% of posted
rate
50% of posted
rate
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Packet Pg. 786 Attachment: Attachment 1 -Pricing Table (7095 : Parking Rates) Additional proposed Beach Permit and miscellaneous rates are listed below:
Permit Type Current Proposed Rationale
Day Beach (Sunrise -
Sunset)
Annual: $155
6-month Semiannual:
$105
Monthly: $27
Annual: $186
6-month Semiannual:
$126
Monthly: $32
20% adjustment
(increase) for
increased costs of the
parking operation.
Senior Beach (Sunrise
- Sunset)
Annual: $25 $30 20% adjustment
(increase) for
increased costs of the
parking operation.
Day Lot (work hours -
for beach and pier
employees)
Annual: $155
6-month Semiannual:
$105
Monthly: $27
Annual: $186
6-month Semiannual:
$126
Monthly: $32
20% adjustment
(increase) for
increased costs of the
parking operation.
Main Street
Employees (work
hours) for parking in
beach lots.
Annual: $155
6-month Semiannual:
$105
Monthly: $28
Annual: $186
6-month Semiannual:
$126
Monthly: $32
20% adjustment
(increase) for
increased costs of the
parking operation.
Overnight Beach
Resident and Guests
Annual: $150
6-month Semiannual:
$75
Monthly: $15
Annual: $180
6-month Semiannual:
$90
Monthly: $18
20% adjustment
(increase) for
increased costs of the
parking operation.
ADA Parking for OffStreet (Surface) Lots,
including: Beach lots,
Main Library surface
lot, Main Street parking
lots, Mid-City parking
lots, Downtown
parking lots.
Free 1/2 the posted rate. Remove the financial
incentive for abuse of
ADA placards, thereby
improving access for
people with disabilities.
Improved access and
parking management.
EV Parking Permit -
Annual - Beach Lot 5S
$75.00 $97.50 30% increase. This
amount compared to
one's own investment
in their own charging
apparatus is small.
This represents a very
small price compared
to the cost of an EV.
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Packet Pg. 787 Attachment: Attachment 1 -Pricing Table (7095 : Parking Rates) Downtown Santa Monica Parking Pricing Recommendations
Downtown Parking Structures 1 - 2, 4- 8, and KEC
Current Weekday Proposed Weekday
Per Entry (Mon-Fri) Per Entry (Mon-Fri)
First 90 minutes FREE 0 - 3 Hours $2.00
1.5 – 2.0 hours $2.00
2.0 – 2.5 hours $3.50
2.5 – 3.0 hours $5.00
3.0 – 3.5 hours $7.00 3 - 5 Hours $8.00
3.5 – 4.0 hours $9.00
4.0 – 4.5 hours $11.50
4.5 – 5.0 hours $14.00
5.0 – 5.5 hours $17.00 5 hours - Daily
Maximum
$16.00
5.5 hours or more $20.00
Daily Maximum $20.00
Downtown Parking Structures 1 - 2, 4- 8, and KEC
Current Weekend Proposed Weekend
Per Entry (Sat - Sun) Per Entry (Sat - Sun)
First 90 minutes FREE
0 - 3 Hours $3.00
1.5 – 2.0 hours $2.00
2.0 – 2.5 hours $4.00
2.5 – 3.0 hours $6.00
3.0 – 3.5 hours $8.50
3 - 5 Hours $10.00
3.5 – 4.0 hours $11.00
4.0 – 4.5 hours $14.00
4.5 – 5.0 hours $17.00
5.0 – 5.5 hours $21.00
5 hours to Daily
Maximum 5.5 hours or more $25.00 $20.00
Daily Maximum $25.00
Current Monthly Parking Rates $220 per month
Proposed Monthly Parking Rates $176 per month
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Packet Pg. 788 Attachment: Attachment 1 -Pricing Table (7095 : Parking Rates) Downtown Parking Structure 9
Current Weekday Proposed Weekday
Per Entry (Mon-Fri) Per Entry (Mon-Fri)
First 90 minutes FREE
0-3 hours $2.00
1.5 – 2.0 hours $2.00
2.0 – 2.5 hours $3.00
2.5 – 3.0 hours $4.00
3.0 – 3.5 hours $5.50
3-5 hours $7.00
3.5 – 4.0 hours $7.00
4.0 – 4.5 hours $9.00
4.5 – 5.0 hours $11.00
5.0 – 5.5 hours $14.00
5 hours + $14.00
5.5 hours or more $17.00
Current Weekend Proposed Weekend
Per Entry (Sat - Sun) Per Entry (Sat - Sun)
First 90 minutes FREE
0-3 hours $2.00
1.5 – 2.0 hours $2.00
2.0 – 2.5 hours $3.50
2.5 – 3.0 hours $5.00
3.0 – 3.5 hours $7.00
3-5 hours $8.00
3.5 – 4.0 hours $9.00
4.0 – 4.5 hours $11.50
4.5 – 5.0 hours $14.00
5.0 – 5.5 hours $17.00
5 hours + $17.00
5.5 hours or more $20.00
Current Monthly Parking Rates $187 per month
Proposed Monthly Parking Rates $154 per month
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Packet Pg. 789 Attachment: Attachment 1 -Pricing Table (7095 : Parking Rates) Downtown Parking Structure 10
Current Weekday Proposed Weekday
Per Entry (Mon-Fri) Per Entry (Mon-Fri)
First 30 minutes $0.50
0-2 hours $2.00
0.5 - 1.0 hour $1.00
1.0 - 1.5 hours $1.50
1.5 - 2.0 hours $2.00
2.0 - 2.5 hours $3.00
2 - 3 hours $3.00
2.5 - 3.0 hours $4.00
3.0 - 3.5 hours $5.50
3 - 4 hours $7.00
3.5 - 4.0 hours $7.00
4.0 - 4.5 hours $9.00
4 - 5 hours $9.00
4.5 - 5.0 hours $11.00
5.0 - 5.5 hours $14.00 5 hours + $15.00
5.5 hours or more $17.00
Current Weekend Proposed Weekend
Per Entry (Sat - Sun) Per Entry (Sat - Sun)
First 30 minutes $0.50
0-2 hours $2.00
0.5 - 1.0 hour $1.00
1.0 - 1.5 hours $1.50
1.5 - 2.0 hours $2.00
2.0 - 2.5 hours $3.50
2 - 4 hours $3.50
2.5 - 3.0 hours $5.00
3.0 - 3.5 hours $7.00
3 - 4 hours $8.00
3.5 - 4.0 hours $9.00
4.0 - 4.5 hours $11.50
4 - 5 hours $11.50
4.5 - 5.0 hours $14.00
5.0 - 5.5 hours $17.00 5 hours + $18.00
5.5 hours or more $20.00
Current Monthly Parking Rates $187 per month
Proposed Monthly Parking Rates $154 per month
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Packet Pg. 790 Attachment: Attachment 1 -Pricing Table (7095 : Parking Rates) Main Library Garage and Civic Structure
Current Weekday Proposed Weekday
Per Entry (Mon-Fri) Per Entry (Mon-Fri)
First 30 minutes Free First 30 minutes Free
0.5 – 1.0 hour $0.50 0.5 - 1.0 hour $1.00
1.0 – 1.5 hours $1.00 1.0 - 2.0 hours $2.00 1.5 – 2.0 hours $2.00
2.0 - 2.5 hours $3.00 2.0 - 3.0 hours $4.00 2.5 - 3.0 hours $4.00
3.0 - 3.5 hours $5.50
3.0 - 4.0 hours $7.00
3.5 - 4.0 hours $7.00
4.0 - 4.5 hours $8.50 4.0 - 5.0 hours $10.00 4.5 - 5.0 hours $10.00
5.0 - 5.5 hours $12.00
5.0 - 6.0 - hours $12.00 5.5 hours+ $14.00
Daily Maximum $14.00 6.0 hours+ $14.00
Daily Maximum -
Weekday $14.00
Current Weekend Proposed Weekend
Per Entry (Sat - Sun) Per Entry (Sat - Sun)
First 30 minutes Free First 30 minutes Free
0.5 – 1.0 hour $1.00
1.0 – 1.5 hours $2.00 0.5 – 2.0 hours $2.00
1.5 – 2.0 hours $3.00
2.0 - 2.5 hours $4.00 2.0 - 3.0 hours $4.00 2.5 - 3.0 hours $5.00
3.0 - 3.5 hours $5.00
3.0 hours+ $5.00
3.5 - 4.0 hours $5.00
4.0 - 4.5 hours $5.00
4.5 - 5.0 hours $5.00
5.0 - 5.5 hours $5.00
5.5 hours+ $5.00
Daily Maximum $5.00 Daily Maximum -
Weekend $5.00
Civic Structure Main Library
Current Monthly Parking Rates $160 per month $154 per month Proposed Monthly Parking Rates $160 per month $154 per month
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Packet Pg. 791 Attachment: Attachment 1 -Pricing Table (7095 : Parking Rates) Downtown Lots 27, 29, and 30
Current
Rate Daily Maximum per Entry Current and Valid ADA
Placard
$1.25/30 minutes $17.50 Free
($2.50/hour) $17.50
Proposed
Rate Daily Maximum per Entry Current and Valid ADA
Placard
$1.50/30 minutes $17.50 (unchanged) One-half (50% of) the posted rate
$3.00/hour
Main Library Surface Lot
Current
Rate Current and Valid ADA Placard
$1.00/hour Free
Proposed
Rate Current and Valid ADA Placard
$1.50/hour One-half (50% of) the posted rate
Main Street Area
Main Street Area Lots 9, 10, 11, and 26
Current
Each hour $1.25
Monthly Employee Permit $80.00
Disabled placards (current & valid) Free
Proposed
Nov 1 - March 31 Apr 1 - Oct 31 Apr 1 - Oct 31
M - Sunday Mon - Thursday Fri - Sunday
Each hour $1.50 $2.00 $2.50
Monthly Employee Permit $96.00 annually
Disabled placards (current & valid) One-half (50% of) the posted rate
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Packet Pg. 792 Attachment: Attachment 1 -Pricing Table (7095 : Parking Rates) Mid-City Lots
Mid-City Lots 7, 8, and 12 Current Proposed
Each hour $1.00 $1.25
Daily maximum (per entry) $14.00 $16.00
Monthly $55.00 $65.00
Disabled placards (current & valid) Free One-half (50% of) the posted rate Civic Auditorium Parking Lot
Current Proposed
Each hour $1.25 $1.50
Disabled placards (current & valid) Free One-half (50% of) the posted rate City Meters
Current Proposed
City-wide and Main Street $1.25 $1.50
Downtown $2.50 $3.00
Coastal $2.50 $3.00
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Packet Pg. 793 Attachment: Attachment 1 -Pricing Table (7095 : Parking Rates) Miscellaneous Parking Rates and Rationales
Permit Type Current Proposed Rationale
Special Holiday Rate
including Memorial
Day, July 4, Labor Day
N/A
Up to $75, at the discretion
of the Director of
Transportation
For example, Newport
Beach holiday rates are up
to $51.00 for these holidays
that experience
exceptionally high demand.
As lots fill,
managing/reallocating
demand through higher
rates can increase access.
Special Event Rate -
Parking Structures
Wkdys -(M - F)
$30.00, Wknd
(Sat - Sun) $35
Up to $75, at the discretion
of the Director of
Transportation
The Olympics and other
large, upcoming events
could generate high
demand for parking, which
may be priced at a
premium.
EV Parking Permit -
Annual - Lots 7, 8, 9,
11 $50.00 $65.00
30% increase. This amount
compared to one's own
investment in their own
charging apparatus is
small. This represents a
very small price compared
to the cost of an EV.
EV Parking at Meters Free
Subject to posted paid
parking requirements for
the general, driving public.
Although this provision is
set to expire in the fall per
state law.
Parking Access Cards $10.00 $15.00
Increasing parking
expenses overall.
ADA Parking for OffStreet (Surface) Lots,
including: Beach lots,
Main Library surface
lot, Main Street parking
lots, Mid-City parking
lots, Downtown
parking lots.
Free 1/2 the posted rate.
Remove the financial
incentive for abuse of ADA
placards, thereby improving
access for people with
disabilities. Improved
access and parking
management.
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Packet Pg. 794 Attachment: Attachment 1 -Pricing Table (7095 : Parking Rates) Memorandum
Public Outreach Efforts – City-wide Parking Rate Study
1 Date: July 16, 2025
To: Zach Pollard, Parking Manager
City: Santa Monica
From: Steffen Turoff, Jonathan Wicks, Walker Consultants Project Name: Santa Monica City-wide Parking Rate Study Public Outreach:
City staff and the Consultant held a series of public meetings and presentations to present preliminary ideas for parking rate changes at parking facilities and locations throughout the city and to elicit feedback from stakeholders. The meetings generally included representatives from the city and the consultant, who presented findings and recommendations from the Citywide Parking Study, initiated in response to the City Council’s directive to raise revenue and support citywide goals such as Clean and Safe Santa Monica and economic vitality.
The public outreach meetings conducted as part of the parking rate update study include the following:
Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. Board of Directors Meeting: April 24, 2025 Presentation and feedback highlights: The focus of the parking discussion for this meeting was in addition to the goal of raising revenue, encouraging longer stays by visitors to downtown, simplifying parking rate structures and understanding parking rates in peer cities and private sector pricing.
Several weekday and weekend parking rate scenarios were discussed, including a "Three Hours for $2" model on weekdays and a “Three hours for three hours” on weekends, with two additional rate bands (three to five hours, five hours to all day), among others. Comparative analysis was provided against other commercial districts such as Old Pasadena, Beverly Hills, and Culver City, as well as private centers like The Grove and Westfield Century City.
Directors’ generally acknowledged some consistency between lowering parking rates for longer stays and support for the Entertainment Zone concept, approved by city council. The feedback regarding a low, flat rate for parking in the downtown structures for the first three hours, thereby lowering the price of 90% of parking stays above 90 minutes but eliminating the grace period, was met with concern that a significant reduction the price of parking for longer stays would not entice people to stay longer, but that the loss of the 90 minutes free period could cause people coming to downtown to not come at all.
Members also inquired about the availability of employee parking options and the feasibility of implementing flat-rate parking during after-hours and overnight.
Following further discussion, a motion was made to extend the free parking grace period from 90 minutes to three hours, in spite of concerns that the result would be a dramatic loss of parking revenue and questions as to whether the price of parking was the primary obstacle to a recovery of downtown’s economic health.
11.A.b
Packet Pg. 795 Attachment: Attachment 2 -Walker Outreach Memo (7095 : Parking Rates) Memorandum
Public Outreach Efforts – City-wide Parking Rate Study
2 The motion also contained a request to explore the implementation of flat-rate parking during afterhours and overnight periods (which was subsequently studied) and evaluate the feasibility of reducedcost parking options for employees (also explored).
Community for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS), Executive Committee Meeting, May 5, 2025 City staff and the consultant presented proposed public parking rates citywide, and the rationale behind the rate changes. The committee expressed support for the rate proposals as a means of helping the city’s general fund and support for city services.
Disabilities Commission Monthly Meeting: Wednesday May 14, 2025 City staff, including traffic and parking enforcement from the police department, as well as the consultant, discussed the proposal for parking rate changes citywide but focused on a proposal to charge some amount for parking for people with disabilities (ADA) placards in off-street parking lots, particularly the city’s beach lots. The presentation highlighted the lack of accessible parking that results for people with disabilities when ADA parking is free, due to factors such as people only entering the facilities and then using the parking because there is no charge (rather than needing accessible parking) to oversized vehicles with placards occupying multiple spaces all day, essentially storing vehicles because parking is free if the ADA placard is utilized.
Traffic enforcement and the police department spoke about the challenges of enforcing against ADA placard abuse, particularly when free parking created a strong incentive to use the placards.
Among the ideas presented by city staff and the consultant were charging half the posted rate for ADA parking, charging only on weekends, or charging a relatively nominal amount for parking (such as from $2.00 to $5.00). A small number of the commissioners spoke, but those who did expressed a strong desire to keep all ADA parking in the city free.