What Say You. The Development Agreement Conversation
SUSAN CLOKE
Columnist, Santa Monica Mirror
February 9, 2012
Development Agreement (DA) is the buzzword of
the day when talking about new building projects in Santa Monica. Although the City entered into its
first DA in the 1980’s only a handful have been processed since. Now the City has a whopping 31 DAs in
the pipeline. And that’s what the conversation is all about.
A development agreement is a tool in the
planning toolbox. It allows a city
and a developer to enter into a negotiated contract for an exchange of rights
and benefits not covered by other, standard planning tools such as conditional
use permits and variances. It is a
tool that allows greater flexibility.
Note however that, by law, all Development Agreements must be consistent
with the LUCE.
The LUCE, adopted in 2010, is a blueprint for
the build out of the City for the next 20 years. The Zoning Ordinance must conform to the LUCE as it lays out
development rights. The new Zoning
Ordinance is in progress and a draft will go to the Planning Commission this
coming spring and to the Council for final approval at the end of 2013.
The Planning Department currently lists 48
pending applications, a mix of DA requests and Administrative Approvals. Four are hotels: the Miramar, the
Courtyard Marriott, the Hampton Inn and 710 Wilshire. Two are for auto dealerships. One is for a Science Classroom Building. One is Bio Tech Research and
Development. The rest are for
residential development. Some are
residential only and some ask for ‘mixed use’, which is a combination of
residential and office and/or commercial.
The two largest projects are ones that, due to
their size and their complexity, would be DA applications even after the new
Zoning Ordinance is adopted.
One, The Miramar proposes to “redevelop a mixed
use hotel with new food and beverage facilities, spa, banquet facilities,
retail space along Wilshire Boulevard and condominiums on the upper floors of
new buildings and the retention and rehabilitation of the existing Palisades
Building and the preservation of the Landmark Moreton Bay Fig Tree.”
At issue are the design changes to a locally and
internationally known hotel, the increased size and scale of the proposed
project for a new total of 565,000 sq. ft., the addition of new condominiums,
and the addition of affordable housing on 2nd Street property owned
by the hotel.
Central to the discussion are the community
benefits being offered by the hotel and/or requested by the City as part of the
negotiation of the DA contract.
The Miramar has had two ‘float up’ hearings in front of the Planning
Commission and one ‘float up’ hearing in front of the City Council.
The largest requested DA is located on the old Papermate
site in the Bergamot District. It
is proposed to be a mixed use Creative Arts/Residential and Neighborhood
Commercial for a total of 766,000 sq.ft. That includes 498 new residential units in 361,000 sq. ft.; creative
arts spaces in 375,000 sq.ft.; and neighborhood commercial in 30,000 sq.ft.
The 766,000 sq.ft. currently being requested is
a significant reduction from the original application. The proposal has met with community
opposition to both the proposed scale and to the design.
Both projects have been in the pipeline for
several years with community meetings and planning meetings. Further meetings
for both projects are on a to be determined basis and there will be much
discussion on each of these projects in the community and at public hearings.
But what about the projects that are not
grabbing public attention? The greatest number of projects on the Planning
Department list is residential.
Planning Director David Martin said, “This increase is the result of
several factors including: LUCE policies that encourage the construction of
mixed-use residential projects along transit boulevards and near light rail
stations, a CEQA exemption for mixed-use housing projects with 100 units or
less located within one half mile of a major transit stop, an increase in the
number of rental housing units being proposed and constructed in the Los
Angeles region, historically low interest rates, the strong demand for housing in Santa Monica, the stability of Santa
Monica as a place to invest, and the overall desirability of the city as a
place to live.
Reading from the list of pending applications we
see, for example, 32 units in a total of 31,717 sq.ft.; 55 units in a total of
33,137 sq.ft.; 100 units in a total of 54,280 sq.ft.; 100 units in a total of
54,942 sq.ft.; 100 units in a total of 55,064 sq.ft.; 100 units in a total of
37,200 sq.ft.; 498 units in a total of 361,000 sq,ft. These are seven examples of the proposed 40+ projects that
include residential development.
Do the math and you will see that what is being
proposed is mostly studios along with some small one bedroom units. Perfectly wonderful as part of a larger
mix, but of concern if all, or most, are in this low end of the size range.
Housing of this size and type is traditionally
temporary in nature. It is
designed for students or for starter housing. It could be used as a weekend or vacation getaway for
someone with a house elsewhere. It
could have many uses but it typically has one, sometimes two, occupants and a relatively
high turnover.
We could change the demographics of our
population if all of the proposed residential development were approved as
proposed. We could have a less
permanent population and therefore perhaps one that is less involved in the
City. Yet much of our dynamism as
a City comes from the sense of ownership of the City that is felt by so many.
Analyzing the size of residential units to
understand their impact on the future of the City is an essential part of the
complex decision making process that should go into every DA negotiation.
The LUCE identified Santa Monica as needing more
housing and it identified affordable housing as a community benefit. Building
smaller units is one way to create affordable housing but there are other ways.
Affordable housing for families,
for people who work in the City but can’t afford to live here are also
identified in the LUCE as a community benefit.
Each project needs to be looked at with an
understanding of how it will enhance or detract from the character of the City.
Will it bring the kind of benefits identified as we went through the LUCE
process? What are the traffic impacts of the project? What are its impacts on
schools and parks and City services? What benefits will the project bring to the City?
The hard part for everyone, through all this dry
reading, is to be able to “see” the changes each project would make to the
future life of the City. But it is
that understanding that the Council will ask for as they review the list of
projects in the pipeline again at its February 12 meeting.
We want good applicants. Their projects are a part of what makes
Santa Monica a dynamic city. As we
approve new development let’s remember why the City is so desirable and let’s make
decisions protective of the character of the City even as it grows and changes.
What Say You?
