RESOLUTION NO.
_______ (CCS)
(City Council
Series)
A RESOLUTION
OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
AMENDING THE LAND
USE AND CIRCULATION ELEMENT
OF THE GENERAL
PLAN
WHEREAS, on October 23,
1984, the City Council of the City of Santa Monica adopted the Land Use and
Circulation Element of the General Plan; and
WHEREAS, one of the land use classifications is the
Downtown Core, an area bounded by Wilshire Boulevard, 2nd Street,
Colorado Avenue and 5th Court, and the south side of Wilshire Boulevard
from 2nd Street to Lincoln Boulevard; and
WHEREAS, the Land Use Element requires that this area
contain the primary concentration of comparison retail and additional
complimentary uses, particularly hotels and cultural facilities, but also
general office and high density residential uses; and
WHEREAS,
on November 23, 1993, the City Council of the City of Santa Monica adopted the
Civic Center Specific Plan through the adoption of Resolution No. 8685(CCS);
and
WHEREAS,
the Civic Center Specific Plan set forth a new vision for the Civic Center
area, which anticipated that a variety of public improvements in the area would
be funded by private commercial and residential development on the RAND
property; and
WHEREAS, following adoption of the plan,
WHEREAS, in
April 2000, the revitalization of the Civic Center took a major step forward
when the Citys Redevelopment Agency purchased 11.3 acres of the 15-acre RAND
property; and
WHEREAS, later that year, the City Council approved a
Development Agreement for construction of a new RAND Headquarters facility,
which is now complete, and demolition of the existing RAND facilities which
will begin soon; and
WHEREAS, recognizing
the unique opportunities associated with public ownership of a majority of the
properties in the Civic Center area, the City embarked on an update to the
Civic Center Specific Plan by establishing the Civic Center Working Group to
guide the community planning process; and
WHEREAS, during 2001, the Working Group held a series
of well-attended public meetings to develop a plan for the
WHEREAS, the Working Group-recommended plan was
reviewed by several boards and commissions, including the Planning Commission,
prior to Council consideration; and
WHEREAS, on April 23, 2002 the City Council
considered and conceptually approved the Civic Center Specific Plan and
directed staff to incorporate the Santa Monica Place site into the draft
Specific Plan; and
WHEREAS, as a result,
WHEREAS, during 2002, the City Council, Civic Center
Working Group and Promenade Uses Task Force reviewed options for the Santa
Monica Place element of the Specific Plan and directed staff to incorporate the
Santa Monica Place options into the environmental analysis to be prepared for
the project; and
WHEREAS, in 2003 the City began
preparing the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in compliance with the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) which assessed the draft Civic
Center Specific Plan and associated development projects; and
WHEREAS, the draft EIR was
released for public review during June and July 2004, comments were addressed
and the Final EIR was completed in October 2004; and
WHEREAS, on May 18, 2005 the
Specific Plan and EIR were reviewed by the Planning Commission whose vote to
forward a recommendation to the City Council resulted in a technical denial; and
WHEREAS, on May 18, 2005 the
Planning Commission also reviewed the proposed amendment to the Land Use and
Circulation Element of the General Plan and forwarded a recommendation to the
City Council not to amend the Land Use Element; and
WHEREAS, on June 1, 2005 the
technical denial by the Planning Commission was appealed to the City Council;
and
WHEREAS, on June 28,
2005 the City Council conducted a public hearing on the Civic Center Specific
Plan and certified that the Final Environmental Impact Report has been prepared
in full compliance with State law and City CEQA Guidelines; and
WHEREAS, the site occupied by Santa Monica Place is governed by the provisions of the Land Use Element of the General Plan which apply to the Downtown Core area of the City; and
WHEREAS, prior to adoption of the amended Civic Center Specific Plan, the City Council must find that the Specific Plan is consistent with the General Plan; and
WHEREAS,
amendment of the Land Use Element of the General Plan is necessary to ensure
that the proposed project complies with the General Plan,
NOW,
THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SECTION
1. Pursuant
to the Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.04.20.18.100, the City
Council hereby adopts the amendment to the Land Use Element of the General Plan
contained in Exhibit 1.
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SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
________________________
MARSHA JONES MOUTRIE
City Attorney
F:\CityPlanning\Share\RESO\2005\CCSP
- LUCEAmend.doc
EXHIBIT
1
LAND USE ELEMENT AMENDMENT
1.3.6
Until a Third
Street Mall and Downtown Core Area Specific Plan is Bayside District and
Core
Area: 4 stories (56); 3.0 FAR
Frame: 4 stories (56); 2.5 FAR
and
permit by site development review up to:
Core Area: 6 stories (84); 3.5 FAR
Frame: 6 stories (84); 3.0 FAR
1.3.7 Once the
Third Street Mall and Downtown Core Specific Plan is Bayside District
and