Officials to discuss design changes
The future of downtown Santa Monica will be a key point of debate at a meeting tonight between city leaders.
Officials are set to decide whether sidewalks should be wider, streets narrower, parking spaces swapped for other uses, and whether buildings should be allowed to stand taller, with center courtyards required.
Most agree the downtown area needs to attract more residents and be more pedestrian-oriented — like some European cities, with good public transportation and apartments stacked above street-level merchants.
They disagree, though, on the importance of mandatory courtyards and on how much red tape developers should have to wade through to get their project approved. Projects often take from 14 to 18 months, or longer, to move through City Hall.
575,“It’s ridiculous,” said City Councilman Herb Katz, an architect.
Downtown includes everything between Ocean Avenue to the west and Lincoln Boulevard to the east, and Wilshire Boulevard to the north and Colorado Avenue to the south. At issue are the developing residential areas off of Fifth, Sixth and Seventh streets, as well as commercial areas to the west.
A temporary ordinance that limits downtown construction expires June 26, and local politicians want to establish permanent standards for development and construction before then.
Perhaps one of the most contentious recommendations from City Hall staffers, who call upon a consultant report from the ROMA Design Group, is that developers would be able to circumvent the Architectural Review Board for their projects under 30,000 square feet that meet a set of planning requirements. Currently, all project downtown must go through a rigorous public review process in front of multiple review boards. Proponents say the proposal will shorten approval times. Opponents say it’s dangerous to remove public input from the process.
“I think that’s really a terrible idea,” said City Councilman Ken Genser, a land use and planning consultant. “I’d ask staff how they can implement their own internal review process. But I think when we ask for something a little more, I certainly would not contemplate eliminating the public review process.”
Another key issue is whether some new construction projects should be allowed to be built a story higher, if courtyards are included. There are varying height restrictions throughout downtown, depending on the area — whether it’s commercial or residential. Proponents say courtyards will open up buildings and make them more street-oriented. Opponents say requiring ground-floor courtyards compromises opportunities for retail space.
The board of directors from the Bayside District Corp., the nonprofit organization that manages the commercial area of downtown, last month weighed in against the proposed courtyard requirement. Members said it came out of the blue, apparently concocted by overzealous officials in the planning department.
“I think the problem here is urban planners started designing buildings,” said John Warfel, chairman of the Bayside board, who also is a property owner downtown.
“I think the problem here is urban planners started designing buildings.” — — JOHN WARFEL Chairman, Bayside District Corp
Other issues set to be discussed tonight include whether sidewalks should be widened and roads narrowed on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh streets; whether parking requirements should be relaxed in new construction projects to allow developers to offer more housing units or retail space, and a variety of other changes, including setbacks and special provisions for historic properties.
The 42-page staff report can be accessed on City Hall’s Web site at www.santa-monica.org, under the City Council agenda dated for today.
In the meantime, Genser said City Hall is in a difficult situation because of threatened lawsuits by land use attorneys representing developers who think Santa Monica should be doing a better job of supplying new housing.
“We are under legal pressure from the state to accommodate more housing in the city,” he said. “And this is the kind of thing — while many cities don’t comply with the state regulation, we get sued...”
John Warfel
Chairman, Bayside District Corp.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 13, 2004. Read the original PDF.