March 23, 2023 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Inconsistency With Small Portion Of Santa Monica Zoning Ordinance:

At the end of the Santa Monica City Council’s recent special meetings, which took place on the nights of May 27-28 for Biennial Budget Study Session presentations, Mayor Kevin McKeown introduced a motion to reconsider a small portion of the Zoning Ordinance.

The motion was to reconsider whether to allow Tier 3 development in an area designated Mixed Use Boulevard Low on Colorado Avenue east of 20th replica watches Street and on the south side of Broadway east of 20th street, a motion that passed unanimously by all five members present (Council members Pam O’Connor and Terry O’Day were not present for the vote).

If the marathon debates over the Zoning Ordinance and LUCE amendments taught us anything, it was that there would certainly be an outpouring of public ire and the-sky-is-falling hysteria, misguided or not.

“This item on the agenda has gotten every conceivable response from my being told that I was increasing development and increasing Tier 3, to being told that I was some how betraying the interest in housing in the community,” McKeown said.“And frankly this motion does neither.”

McKeown said his motion was in response to emails he received that misinterpreted his requested motion, some finding in it, perhaps, their own fears and concerns.

“I put this on the agenda in the interest of consistency and transparency and it has turned out to be one of the more phenomenal political Rorschach tests I’ve ever seen,” McKeown said. “A Rorschach test is where there is a blob on a piece of paper and everyone sees something different, which actually reveals more about the person seeing than about the blob of ink.”

In this case, the blob of ink was only a motion to reconsider a small portion of the Zoning ordinance, not a definitive ruling or final hearing – just a motion for a reconsidering.

Last week, McKeown had oral surgery and was “laid up for a day,” spending that time “in the thrilling endeavor of watching” the entire Zoning meetings again – which would really take more than a day, even for someone with time to kill and Buddhist like patience – “making sure that we didn’t miss anything.”

What McKeown found was that there was an inconsistency. On May 5 there was a motion by Councilmember Sue Himmelrich, seconded by Mayor Pro Tempore Tony Vazquez, to remove Tier 3 from Mixed Use Boulevard Low, except for three places, one of those being Broadway.

At 2:45 am on May 6, as the meeting went on into early morning, there was a second motion that was made to direct staff to prepare a resolution of intent to remove the Broadway activity center from the LUCE.

“When I saw the two of those juxtaposed,” McKeown continued, “I realized that what we had done was on the one hand decide that we did not want a lot of commercial development adjacent to the future Saint John’s [hospital] phase two, which was 750,000 square feet of medical offices between that and the Colorado Center. And then at another point we had decided to remove the activity center but not the Tier 3.”

Councilmember Ted Winterer offered a possible direction that Council could take, a preview to what the discussion will be like later this month when it will be an item up for discussion at City Council.

“I’d make a suggestion that we bring this item forward on June 23, but just to look at a way to no longer allow Tier 3 commercial development in that area, but continuing to allow for the prospect of Tier 3 housing development,” Winterer said.

His suggestion addresses Santa Monica’s perennial housing issues by restricting large companies from commercializing land that could otherwise be used for housing.

To this end, Councilmember Gleam Davis, a supporter of Tier 3 for more housing, wondered why this idea hadn’t been applied to more areas in the City.

“If our goal is to get more housing…I’m just curious why at Broadway and Colorado we are willing to do Tier 3 for 100 percent housing, whether it is market rate or affordable, but in other areas in the City we were limiting it,” Davis said. “So I don’t know that we have to have that discussion tonight at 1:30 am – that’s probably not the right place – but I would like to hear back from people, why that distinction?”

in News
Related Posts

Gasolina Cafe Owner, Sandra Cordero, to Open New Tapas Bar in Santa Monica

March 23, 2023

March 23, 2023

Tapas bar expected to open late spring in former Heroic Italian space at 516 Santa Monica Boulevard  Sandra Cordero, the...

California’s AB 1217 Could Supersede Costly Outdoor Dining Permits Proposed by Municipalities

March 22, 2023

March 22, 2023

Legislation would preempt local ordinances and preserve regulatory flexibility for struggling neighborhood restaurants By Sam Catanzaro A new bill proposed...

Emerging Artist Jesse Liu Opens First-Ever Exhibition in Venice Gallery

March 22, 2023

March 22, 2023

“Spring Fever” currently on display at Yiwei Gallery By Keemia Zhang Local artist Jesse Liu has opened her first solo...

Santa Monica Place Invites LGBTQIA+ Artisans to Apply for Made With PRIDE Marketplace

March 21, 2023

March 21, 2023

Partnering with Streetlet, the marketplace will take place each weekend in June and showcase local goods made in Southern California....

Santa Monica Councilmember Phil Brock Appointed to National League of Cities Council on Youth, Education, and Families

March 21, 2023

March 21, 2023

Brock to collaborate with group of local leaders to develop and guide programs for communities across the country Santa Monica...

Santa Monica Receives $70,000 Donation From Kiwanis Charities for Scoreboards in Two Parks

March 21, 2023

March 21, 2023

Donation will fund the installation of new scoreboards at Historic Belmar Park and Los Amigos Park The Santa Monica City...

Should Santa Monica Close the Airport?

March 21, 2023

March 21, 2023

Santa Monica City Council recently voted to begin the process of closing Santa Monica Municipal Airport. The decision was kick-started...

City Council Puts Plan for Use of Parking Lots for Affordable Housing in Motion

March 21, 2023

March 21, 2023

Sites are located at 1217 Euclid Street, 1211-1217 14th Street and 1146 16th Street By Dolores Quintana ​​During the Santa...

Santa Monica Warns Residents of Crypto Ponzi Scheme

March 21, 2023

March 21, 2023

City says 30 + households in Santa Monica have reported being victimized by CryptoFX, LLC Over 30 households in Santa...

Man Arrested for Sexual Assaults Targeting Homeless Victims

March 20, 2023

March 20, 2023

Anthony Pittman faces rape charges in connection to series of sexual assaults A West Hollywood man has been arrested in...

SMa.r.t. Column: Going Bare

March 20, 2023

March 20, 2023

(part 3 of 3 articles) Every City faces periodic interruptions to its normal life. Some interruptions in our City are...

Santa Monica Mall Owner, Macerich, Finds Way Out of Retail Property Crisis

March 19, 2023

March 19, 2023

Move comes amidst a crisis for retail property owners, with loans coming due for refinancing with much higher interest rates...

Historic Santa Monica Property “The Witbeck House” Listed for Sale at $22.5M

March 19, 2023

March 19, 2023

Greene & Greene-designed home features 26,000+ square foot lot with five bedroom home A historic property known as The Witbeck...

New Affordable Housing Complex Completed in Santa Monica’s Pico Neighborhood

March 18, 2023

March 18, 2023

Las Flores offers 73 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments at 1834-1848 14th Street By Sam Catanzaro Community Corp. of Santa...

Are You Staying in Santa Monica Over the Summer?

March 17, 2023

March 17, 2023

Spring is officially here, which means summer is just around the corner. Santa Monica residents, what are your travel plans...