Missing Middle Housing
Realignment Plan
Shawn Landres, Planning Commissioner
Presentation to City Council
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
What Is Missing Middle Housing?
The housing types that sit between single-family houses and large apartment buildings: duplexes, fourplexes, cottage courts, and small apartment buildings at neighborhood scale.
The missing middle income band
Homes priced for households at roughly 120–200% of Area Median Income (teachers, firefighters, nurses) who earn too much for subsidized housing and too little to buy here.
The form drives affordability
The right size and density produce workforce-range prices on the open market, without deedrestricting every unit.
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Who Is Missing from Santa Monica
Firefighter + Teacher
$100,700 + $62,500
Police Officer + Spouse
$110,484 + working spouse
Nurse raising children
$110,000
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
The Cottage Court
6–7 detached cottages
7 on R-2 (7,500 SF), 6 on R-1 (6,000 SF), around a shared courtyard 850 SF each, 28–30 feet
Type V-A wood frame, two stories, R-3 per building
Unified street facade
neighborhood scale preserved
At least 1 deed-restricted at 200% AMI
the workforce covenant
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
A Recognized Building Form
The MMHRP establishes the cottage court as a permitted building form across every pathway where missing middle housing belongs.
R-1
Single-family parcels
R-2
Small multifamily parcels
MHO
Moderate Income Housing
Overlay
§9.31.196
Community assembly parcels
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Eight Policy Updates
Density at 1 per 800 SF RHNA-compatible across every eligible parcel size AHPP ratcheted fee trade Reduced fee in exchange for 200% AMI workforce covenant Disaggregated transportation fee Unbundled from parking; zero-parking projects pay less Pre-approved plans + rapid ministerial review 30-day expedited for pre-approved plans; modeled on SB 684 and SB 1123
R-3 building code classification Per building, not per project. Saves ~10% on hard costs.
Revolving Capital Fund Bridges the financing gap created by the workforce covenant Lot consolidation via existing courtyard exception Leverages SMMC §9.08.030(F) for family assemblies of adjacent parcels AB 1070 advocacy State-level reform to normalize the cottage court form Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
The Community Assembly Pathway
Congregation-owned parking lots. Zero units in three years.
The Mix
50%
Market-rate sale
congregational discretion
30%
Workforce sale
at 200% AMI
20%
Affordable rental
at 80% AMI
Land stays in tax-exempt hands.
Congregation retains fee title; cottages conveyed as improvements only on a 99-year ground lease.
Net profit to the congregation helps finance parking replacement or access as needed.
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Community Assembly: What's Different
Three amendments that apply only to §9.31.196 projects. 1 §9.31.196 Alternative Compliance
50/30/20 mix replaces the 50% at 80% AMI requirement that has produced nothing. Lot tie permits adjacent-parcel community assembly retention.
2 Nonprofit Developer Partner Waiver
Waivable where the congregation (or an affiliated 501(c)(3)) demonstrates operational capacity through facility management and fiduciary governance.
3 CLT Ground Lease Standards
99-year renewable term. Formula resale for the workforce tier. Land may not be transferred out of tax-exempt ownership.
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
New Housing for Working Santa Monicans
R-1 and R-2 Owner-Occupants ~150 cottages
Original program scope, Portland-matched buildout
Family Assemblies (consolidation) 20–40 cottages
Adjacent parcel assemblies under courtyard exception
Community Assembly Parcels 120–160 cottages
Three-tier mix on §9.31.196 parcels, no public subsidy
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026