Agenda - City of Santa Monica

in-lieu fees established for the downtown area. S pecific language in Section
5.2.1(h) of the Development Agreement addresses this issue. T he applicant
disagrees with this provision, and proposes additional language to be added to
this section that would allow the City to waive the downtown parking in-lieu fees,
provided the Developer produces a parking demand study demonstrating to the
satisfaction of the City Planning Department that the number of proposed parking
spaces identified on t he final Project Plans will satisfy the building’s projected
parking demand. Staff believes the project should be s ubject to any future
ordinance, and additional exceptions should not be created.
LUCE Consistency
The project is located in the Downtown Frame land use designation and within the
LUCE Downtown District. More specifically, the project is located within the Bayside
District Specific Plan area that provides more specific goals for properties located in the
Bayside zoning districts. The LUCE vision for the Downtown seeks to maintain and
enhance the Downtown area as a t hriving, mixed-use urban environment in which
people can live, work, be entertained, and be c ulturally enriched. The Downtown
designation and District allows for the broadest mix of uses and activities, and seeks to
provide new housing units in mixed-use projects.
The proposed Development Agreement is consistent with the objectives, policies,
general land uses and programs specified in the general plan and any applicable
specific plan, in that consistent with LUCE Policy D7.1 of the Downtown District, the
proposed mixed-use project balances a broad mix of uses that creates dynamic activity
in both the daytime and evening hours including retail and high-density residential uses
in the Downtown. Consistent with Policy D7.2, the project encourages local-serving
uses that are an integral part of complete neighborhoods and support an overall trip
reduction strategy. The proposed project is also consistent with Policy D8.7 in that it
encourages mixed-use developments to have active ground floor uses that face the
boulevard with residential uses located on the upper floors. The implementation of a
Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan in efforts to reduce vehicle trips in the
area and reduce associated parking demand is consistent with LUCE Circulation Policy
T19.2 which seeks appropriate TDM requirements for new development. Furthermore,
the project is consistent with LUCE’s overall land use policies by providing community
benefits for the area, including but not limited to, additional affordable housing units
exceeding AHPP requirements, a variety of contributions to support area improvements,
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