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# Richard Bloom: Keep Santa Monica's height limits, judge exceptions case by case
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/102604-story-20041026-5/
- Published: 2004-10-26T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:20:35.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Downtown, #archive-import

*By RICHARD BLOOM*

Under no circumstances should our zoning laws be changed to allow higher buildings as a right. Santa Monica has had strict height limits in place for many years. They have worked well for our community.

Exceptions to the height limit are currently under consideration in our downtown. These exceptions are part of development agreements. Development agreements provide the opportunity to “trade-off” things like added height in exchange for public benefits. For example, a higher building might be offset by public open space.

Two projects asking to exceed the height limit are the Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Santa Monica Place. Each project presents opportunities and challenges. The Fairmont proposal was reviewed by the City Council about a year ago. Many comments were received from the council and the hotel is now revising its proposal.

Santa Monica Place is preparing a proposal to tear down its current facility, including the city-owned parking structures. All parking would be replaced underground. The project would include an outdoor mall that would connect the Civic Center (itself undergoing significant revision) with the existing Promenade. The proposal includes a large number of apartments and condominiums. These are proposed to be in buildings that exceed our height limit.

All of these would be significant changes to downtown Santa Monica.

It will be the responsibility of the next City Council to make certain that each agreement work to the benefit, and not the detriment, of the entire community. Revenue to the city is certainly one consideration; a successful economy is essential to the future of our city. However, revenue cannot and need not be the main consideration.

If our community does not derive significant benefit or if the detriment to the community is too great, then the proposals must be rejected.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 26, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102604.pdf?ref=smdp.com)