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# Putting the brakes on development
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/putting-the-brakes-on-development/
- Published: 2007-09-04T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T02:46:11.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Government & Politics, Mid-City, #archive-import

*Development agreements OK’d*

MID-CITY The City Council last week adopted an emergency interim ordinance that requires development agreements for large projects in the industrial corridor, where a dramatic increase in building and land speculation have raised fears about the city’s ability to support such projects.

The ordinance, which exempts auto dealerships, will be in effect for 60 days. City planners are expected to come back in that time with a permanent solution.

Elected officials, along with residents, felt it was crucial to impose some kind of restrictions on development in the old industrial corridor until the Land Use and Circulation Element process has been completed. The new LUCE will drive development in the city for the next 20 years or more.

Planning Director Eileen Fogarty said the industrial area currently is not equipped with the infrastructure and amenities to allow for the safe use of the area.

“In addition, the unplanned introduction of new residents to an existing industrial area almost always creates conflicts with existing industrial uses because of safety, and other operational impacts such as traffic, parking, noise, odor and hours of use,” Fogarty wrote in a report to the council.

The Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City, along with other neighborhood groups, had called for a moratorium on development, however, city staff felt development agreements were the way to go because a moratorium would have required the council to have made additional and stronger findings, and would have required a super majority vote, something which was not possible because there were only five members present when the issue was debated last week.

Fogarty said city planners reviewed several options that ranged from taking no action to instituting a moratorium. Staff felt that requiring development agreements would be stronger in the long run because they ensure that projects will be approved consistent with the desire of the community and the direction of the council. They give the council flexibility to define and shape projects.

The interim ordinance establishes a development agreement requirement for projects containing more than 7,500 square feet of floor area or more than 15 housing units in the industrial corridor, artist studios or single room occupancy units, and establishes development agreement requirements for changes in land use on parcels that exceed 32,000 square feet in the light manufacturing district and 15,000 square feet in the manufacturing zone.

Council members made sure not to include auto dealerships since operators of those businesses had worked with city staff for years in a plan that allows them to expand into the industrial corridor, providing some relief for Santa Monica Boulevard, where the vast majority of dealerships are located.

Staff was also directed to include an exemption for affordable housing when the issue returns in September.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 4, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/090407.pdf?ref=smdp.com)