The Tuesday meeting of the Santa Monica City Council will be heavy on development projects but Council will also tackle how, or even if, they should fund local neighborhood associations.
Housing Pilot Program Under Review
Council members will review the status of an emergency ordinance establishing a pilot program that allows market-rate housing projects more flexibility in providing affordable housing units off-site. The Off-site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program, approved in August, was designed to incentivize stalled housing projects facing financial challenges.
Since adoption, the city has received six applications totaling 1,088 units, reaching the program's 1,000-unit cap. Five projects elected to build affordable units off-site, while one chose to pay in-lieu fees of approximately $2.2 million rather than construct nine affordable units on-site.
The pilot allows developers three options: build market-rate units first and develop required affordable units off-site within four years while depositing $150,000 per unit in escrow; rehabilitate existing uninhabitable units and deed-restrict them as affordable; or pay in-lieu fees to the city's Housing Trust Fund.
Housing providers who participated in a September workshop generally supported the program but raised concerns about the $150,000 gap financing amount being insufficient. Community organization Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights has called for additional milestones to ensure off-site affordable housing actually gets built.
Staff is seeking council direction on whether to terminate, extend or modify the pilot program's terms.
Zoning Map Amendments for Two Properties
The council will consider zoning changes for two properties that staff says were inadvertently rezoned in previous updates, creating legal nonconforming conditions that impede leasing and financing.
The first involves a portion of 2644 30th Street, where staff recommends changing only the commercial office building footprint from Single-Unit Residential to Neighborhood Commercial zoning. The 35,000-square-foot building has operated as office space since 1956 but was rezoned to residential during 2010 and 2015 updates. One tenant plans to vacate in early 2027, and the nonconforming status creates barriers to finding replacement tenants.
The property owner has volunteered to execute a 10-year covenant preventing redevelopment of the commercial space or adjacent parking lot for housing projects, addressing neighbor concerns about large-scale development.
The second property at 1331 Wilshire Boulevard faces similar issues with "split zoning" that runs through an existing commercial building formerly occupied by Rite Aid. Staff recommends expanding Mixed-Use Boulevard zoning to cover the entire commercial structure while leaving the surface parking lot in residential zoning.
Both proposals have raised questions about spot zoning, though staff argues they simply correct mapping errors rather than create incompatible land uses.
Building Code Updates Adopted
The council will consider adopting the 2025 California Building Standards Code and related local amendments. The state publishes updated building codes every three years, with the 2025 edition becoming effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Local amendments focus primarily on seismic safety requirements due to earthquake risks in Southern California. Most changes carry over previous local amendments, with one new addition related to home hardening and fire safety measures.
The Building and Fire-Life Safety Commission recommended adoption at its Sept. 10 meeting. Assembly Bill 130, signed in June, generally freezes residential building code updates for nearly six years, but the proposed amendments qualify for exceptions as carryover provisions or home hardening measures.
Neighborhood Grant Program Reform
Staff will present options for reforming the Neighborhood Organization Grant Program, which has been suspended since July following political endorsements by participating groups during recent elections.
The program previously provided up to $7,000 annually to seven recognized neighborhood organizations representing over 50,000 households citywide. Due to differing kinds of tax-exempt status, some of the groups are legally permitted to engage in political endorsements but they have always been prohibited from using city money to do so.
However, a majority of the current Council have said they do not want to provide money to any organization that engages in political activity.
Three reform options are under consideration: enhanced communications support including reinstating the Seascape magazine at an estimated $200,000 annually; a modernized grant program with formal participation agreements and five-year penalties for political endorsements; or in-kind support through fee waivers and co-sponsorship of community events.
The Tuesday meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, with public comment accepted on all items.