Amongst what has become the regular parade of lawsuits and administrative updates, Tuesday’s meeting of the Santa Monica City Council features a pair of items to support the local restaurant industry, a $600,000 study of safety on Santa Monica Blvd, the extension of rules to help streamline openings for new businesses and a potential attempt to secure homeless services outside city limits.
Zoning Overhaul
The council will consider the first reading of an ordinance that would permanently adopt Economic Recovery Interim Zoning Ordinance 2825, which has been credited with helping establish new businesses in the downtown area. The measure would also extend many of those same streamlining provisions to non-residential commercial districts across the city.
Staff are recommending the council approve the changes, which are aimed at simplifying land use processing, easing alcohol-related operating standards and expanding exemptions for alcohol permits throughout the entire downtown area, including the Santa Monica Pier.
The proposed ordinance would also adopt interim zoning provisions providing flexibility for schools, child care facilities and early education centers displaced by last year’s Palisades fire, in line with the city’s 2025 Regional Fires Emergency Order.
Staff said the changes build on the success of prior economic recovery interim zoning ordinances and are intended to reduce barriers for new businesses while maintaining appropriate oversight.
A separate but related public hearing will address an extension of Interim Zoning Ordinance 2844, which governs resource recovery and recycling room standards. Staff is recommending updated applicability thresholds and revised dimensional standards for recycling rooms to support a Self-Certification Building Permit Pilot Program aimed at further easing the path for new commercial tenants.
Santa Monica Boulevard Safety
The council will also be asked to receive and adopt the Santa Monica Boulevard Safety Study, a nearly $590,000 effort funded in part through a California Department of Transportation Sustainable Communities planning grant.
The study, overseen by the Department of Transportation and Mobility and led by Director Anuj Gupta, examined a roughly four-mile stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard from Ocean Avenue east to Centinela Avenue at the city limit. It analyzed 10 years of reported crash data and paired those findings with extensive community input to develop a series of phased safety and transit recommendations.
According to the staff report, Santa Monica Boulevard has long been identified as a high-priority corridor for safety improvements. A 2017 city analysis found eight fatal or severe injury crashes along the corridor, while a 2022 Local Roadway Safety Plan identified 206 total crashes over a subsequent study period, including one fatality and nine severe injuries.
The city was awarded $522,327 in grant funds in August 2023, with an additional $67,673 in matching funds from Transportation Impact Fee revenues bringing the total project budget to $590,000. The council accepted the grant in November 2023.
Staff conducted a study session with the council in June 2025 and held a public open house at the Santa Monica Family YMCA on Sept. 6, 2025, before finalizing the study’s recommendations.
If the council approves the study Tuesday, staff will begin identifying funding for Phase 1 improvements and pursuing larger grant opportunities to support longer-term Phase 2 implementation. The improvements are intended to reduce crashes for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and transit riders while better connecting residents to major destinations and employment centers.
The study is part of the city’s broader Vision Zero commitment, which the council first adopted Feb. 23, 2016, with the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries on Santa Monica roadways.
Retail-to-Restaurant Conversions
In councilmember discussion items, Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Zwick and Councilmember Lana Negrete are asking the council to direct the city manager and city attorney to analyze options for supporting the conversion of vacant retail spaces into restaurants and hospitality businesses.
The proposal calls for a review of potential pilot program options that could waive, reduce or defer fees for qualifying conversion projects, including fees related to outdoor dining and wastewater and sewer connections. The analysis would also look at financial incentives and support for tenant improvements such as grease interceptors, ventilation systems, ADA upgrades, fire and life safety modifications, and utility changes — costs that have been cited as significant barriers to restaurant conversions.
Housing for the homeless
Santa Monica has held negotiations with several property owners in the Pico neighborhood for new homeless housing and service opportunities. During the closed session of Tuesday’s meeting a new piece of property will be added to the negotiation list, this time in the City of Bell. According to the agenda, City Manager Oliver Chi is in talks with the Salvation Army about uses for their shelter at 5600 Rickenbacker Rd. No details are available regarding the potential terms of use for the property but if a decision is made in closed session, Council will make a public report.
Tuesday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 1685 Main Street.
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