By REBECCA GROSS Special to the Daily Press
(Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series that tracks the city’s expenditures which appear on the upcoming Santa Monica City Council consent agenda. Consent agenda items are routinely passed by the city council with little or no discussion from elected officials or the public. However, many of the items have been part of public discussion in the past.) The Santa Monica City Council is poised to spend $150,000 tonight to pay for a consultant to help figure out how to standardize development downtown.
The Council last November passed a law that lowered the development threshold for downtown buildings to 7,500 square feet, thereby creating the need to create design standards.
City staff has recommended that the ROMA Design Group, which has done other projects for the city and specifically downtown, be awarded the contract.
The ROMA Design Group will assist the city in developing guidelines for downtown development, prepare zoning code modifications and conduct a public process involving businesses, architects, and community and neighborhood organizations.
City staff proposed financing the project with $28,000 remaining from a wireless antenna update study, $65,000 earmarked for another project and $57,000 from other savings in the planning and development department.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 20, 2003. Read the original PDF.