The Santa Monica City Council faces a packed agenda Tuesday with decisions on emergency infrastructure upgrades, a multimillion-dollar federal grant application and a contentious historic preservation appeal among the items requiring action.
The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall Council Chambers, 1685 Main Street, Room 250, to consider more than a dozen items, including several with significant financial implications and tight regulatory deadlines.
Airport Fuel Tanks Face December Deadline
Among the most time-sensitive matters is a $400,000 contract modification with Fleming Environmental Inc. to remove four underground fuel storage tanks at Santa Monica Airport before a state-mandated Dec. 31 deadline.
The tanks, located at 3000 31st Street within the Atlantic Aviation operational area, consist of three 12,000-gallon aviation fuel tanks and one 500-gallon tank installed in the mid-1980s. After nearly 40 years of service, recent testing revealed the tanks do not comply with California Health and Safety Code requirements.
The state Water Resources Control Board issued a formal clarification in April concluding the system must be upgraded or permanently closed. After exploring retrofit options that could compromise system integrity, city officials decided in September to proceed with full decommissioning.
According to city documents, the Santa Monica Fire Department notified the Airport that by Dec. 1, the city's contractor must submit a UST System Closure Permit Application for review and approval. Tank removal and environmental remediation are scheduled for early 2026.
The modification would increase the total contract with Fleming Environmental to $931,000 over five years, with funding from the Airport Fund.
$7.25 Million Sought for Reservoir Retrofit
The council will also vote on authorizing a grant application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for approximately $7.25 million to seismically retrofit the Riviera Reservoir.
The 25-million-gallon reservoir, constructed in 1962 beneath tennis courts at Riviera Country Club, represents more than 60% of the city's total water storage capacity and is critical for meeting daily peak demands and emergency response.
A recent structural analysis by Stantec Consulting Services found that foundation, wall and roof elements require upgrades to meet current seismic standards in the 2022 California Existing Building Code. The project's total estimated cost is $14.5 million.
The city would provide a local match of approximately $7.25 million from the Water Enterprise Fund, potentially including a future water revenue bond. Staff increased the local match above minimum requirements to improve chances of receiving the grant.
According to the staff report, if the grant is awarded, staff would return to Council with budget changes including appropriation of funds for the local match. Grant awards are anticipated in 2027-2028, with construction expected to begin in 2028-2029 after the 2028 Olympics conclude, as Riviera Country Club will host the Olympic golf event.
Historic Preservation Appeal Highlights Designation Debate
In what could prove the meeting's most contentious item, the council will hear an appeal of the Landmarks Commission's decision to designate a Craftsman bungalow at 1125 18th Street as a Structure of Merit.
Commissioner Pam O'Connor filed the appeal after the commission voted 4-2 in July to grant the designation despite staff recommendations and a consultant's assessment that found the property does not meet designation criteria.
The 952-square-foot residence, built in 1923, was nominated by the Santa Monica Conservancy after the property owner filed a demolition permit. The Conservancy argued the building represents a unique or rare example of architectural design with features including an offset entryway and asymmetrical window muntins.
However, city staff and consultant Page & Turnbull concluded the modest Craftsman bungalow remains a relatively common building type in the neighborhood and city. According to the 2018 Historic Resources Inventory, 178 Craftsman-style buildings were deemed individually eligible citywide, with 30 in the Wilshire Montana neighborhood alone.
Staff recommends the council approve the appeal and deny the Structure of Merit designation.
The appeal statement also argues more broadly that the Structure of Merit designation is flawed and should be removed from the Landmarks Ordinance, though staff notes this policy question is outside the scope of the appeal and not before the City Council as part of the public hearing.
Hazard Mitigation Plan Requires Adoption
The council must also adopt the city's updated Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, required by federal law for eligibility for non-emergency hazard mitigation grant funding.
The plan, last updated in 2016, identifies six natural hazards posing significant risk to Santa Monica: earthquake, tsunami, wildfire, flood inundation due to dam failure, extreme weather exacerbated by climate change, and sea-level rise.
Notably, the plan was revised after the January 2025 Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed over 6,800 structures in neighboring Pacific Palisades and Malibu. The fire prompted California to update Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps in March, including areas of Santa Monica in wildfire zones for the first time.
The plan includes 13 mitigation action items, from water infrastructure seismic assessments to tsunami alerting systems and natural dune restoration expansion.
Chief Resilience Officer Lindsay Call prepared the hazard mitigation plan with support from a multi-departmental Resilience Planning Committee. The National Institute of Building Science has found that for every $13 spent on hazard mitigation projects, $6 is saved on disaster losses.
Second Readings
The council will also consider second readings and adoptions of several ordinances previously introduced Oct. 28, including amendments to rental housing registration requirements for units not subject to local rent control, vacant property registration requirements, and outdoor dining regulations designed to simplify the city's sidewalk dining program for economic recovery.
All three ordinances are interim zoning ordinances that received first reading at the October meeting.