1 City Council Meeting: October 28, 2025 Santa Monica, California RESOLUTION NUMBER xxx (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DECLARING ITS INTENTION TO AMEND THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY PLAN TO:
(1) ALLOW FLEXIBILITY IN DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, LAND USES, AND
PROCESSES FOR THE CITY TO MANAGE ITS REAL ESTATE ASSETS IN
ALIGNMENT WITH THE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND GROWTH; AND (2) PROVIDE FLEXIBILITY IN DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS,
LAND USES, AND PROCESSES FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARCELS WITHIN
THE FORMER GATEWAY MASTER PLAN AREA
WHEREAS, Downtown Santa Monica (“Downtown”) is one of Los Angeles County’s most recognizable city centers; and
WHEREAS, framed by the Santa Monica Bay and mountains, the Downtown is located centrally at the western edge of the city, providing convenient retail, entertainment, and employee destinations for all the City’s neighborhoods; and WHEREAS, with its unique location, the Downtown serves as the heart of the local community, making it a destination not only for locals and Angelenos who see a vibrant, exciting, and urban-scale ambiance, but also for world travelers who come here to enjoy easy access to beaches, hotel accommodations, culture, shopping, and the larger region; 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, services, and housing that form unique experiences enjoyable to both residents and visitors; and 2 WHEREAS, the DCP includes “standards,” including, but not limited to, height and floor area ratio requirements, that respond to the DCP’s vision and principals, and that direct future development and infrastructure within the Downtown Plan area; and WHEREAS, the DCP identifies the area adjacent to the 1-10 freeway as a “Gateway” possessing conditions that necessitate special considerations regarding development standards and regulations; and
WHEREAS, the DCP identifies a future effort, the Gateway Master Plan, which would identify critical improvements, provide a framework for orderly development of currently vacant or underutilized areas, and explore various funding models for implementation, which would potentially include participation by properties within the Gateway Master Plan area; and
WHEREAS, the Gateway Master Plan area is generally bound by 5th Street, Colorado Avenue, and the I-10 Freeway; and
WHEREAS, the Gateway Master Plan planning process was initially scheduled to be completed by 2021, but was delayed due to the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) and other City emergencies and priorities; and
WHEREAS, with the City Council’s adoption of the Fiscal Year 2025-2027 Operating Biennial Budget in June 2025, the City Council affirmed its commitment to various Strategic Priorities, including, but not limited to promoting economic opportunity and growth and promoting affordable, livable, and secure housing for all; and WHEREAS, the City’s Strategic Priority regarding activating economic opportunity and growth includes objectives to use the City’s real estate strategically, develop distinct 3 business attraction and retention strategies, and activate our public spaces with signature events; and
WHEREAS, the City’s Strategic Priority regarding developing affordable, livable, and secure housing for all includes expanding affordable housing options, stabilizing the Housing Trust Fund, and pursuing equity-based housing initiative; 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 uses and access to a broad range of housing options; 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, consistent with these Strategic Priorities and important government interests, the City seeks to revive the “Gateway” concepts in the DCP while also allowing the City to be more strategic regarding the use of City-owned parcels that meets the goals for housing production and also flexibility for other uses; and WHEREAS, proposed amendments to the DCP will include, but are not limited to, providing flexibility in development standards, land uses, and processes for the City to manage its real estate assets in alignment with the strategic objective of economic opportunity and growth; and
WHEREAS, proposed amendments to the DCP will also provide more flexibility in development standards and uses for public and private parcels within the former Gateway Master Plan area in order to support the strategic objectives of economic opportunity and growth and developing housing opportunities for all; and 4 WHEREAS, proposed amendments will allow the City to maximize land residual revenues through redevelopment or joint-venture opportunities at all City-owned sites; and
WHEREAS, this Resolution of Intention represents the formal initiation of the process for the City Council to consider making amending the DCP to allow more flexibility in development standards, land uses, and processes for the City-owned parcels and provide more flexibility in development standards and uses for both public and private parcels within the former Gateway Master Plan area in order to support the strategic objectives of economic opportunity and growth and developing housing opportunities for all.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Pursuant to Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.45.060(B), the City Council does hereby announce its intention to consider amending the text of the Downtown Community Plan to allow more flexibility in development standards, land uses, and processes for the City to manage its real estate assets in alignment with the strategic objective of economic opportunity and growth. The amendments would also provide more flexibility in development standards and uses for City-owned and private parcels within the former Gateway Master Plan area generally bound by 5th Street, Colorado Avenue, and the I-10 Freeway in order to support the strategic objectives of economic opportunity and growth and developing housing opportunities for all.
SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect. 5 APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________
Heidi von Tongeln,
Interim City Attorney