Conservancy News

Important City Council Budget Session Tuesday, May 23
*Attend Meeting and/or Write to Council*

Your Conservancy Board is very concerned about the negative impact the city budget cuts of the last three years have had on our Historic Preservation Program. These cuts have reduced the number of Landmarks Commission meetings, limited Commission responsibilities, and raised the cost of designation applications so only the wealthiest property owners can afford to apply for landmark protections.

Landmarks applications are in sharp decline and Santa Monica may already be losing significant historic resources that we can never get back.

What’s Going Wrong?

• Landmarks applications cost $6000-$7000 to file, the most in California!
• Timelines for landmark nominations see untenable delays of nine months or more.
• Owners have little incentive to consider landmarking without reinstatement of planning division fee waivers and reasonable timelines.
• Relying on the public to review demolition permits is not sustainable; Landmarks Commission review of demolition permits for buildings 40-years or older must be reinstated!
• Without a timely and affordable process, we cannot seek out and recognize historic resources significant to historically marginalized groups that will contribute to the city’s stated commitment to social justice.

Acknowledging the city’s current funding constraints, we are asking Council to recommend Restoration of the Preservation Program in 2 Phases.

Phase 1 (NOW): Budget neutral optimization to reduce the cost burden on applicants right away!

• Restore monthly meetings of the Landmarks Commission to ensure city-wide review of historic resources.
• Reduce the cost of Landmark Applications by streamlining consultant and staff reports.
• Streamline Certificate of Appropriateness analysis to focus on conformance with the standards.
• Return Demolition Review to the Landmarks Commission.

Phase II (NEXT YEAR): Restore the 2019 Preservation Planner position (a credentialed professional in preservation and planning with skills in historical analysis) so that:

• Landmark Application Analysis can be conducted in house just as all other discretionary building permits are evaluated, eliminating the need to hire costly outside consultants, and streamlining the process.
• Applicants can be informed of Incentives such as encouraging the use of the State Historic Building Code and Zoning Ordinance exceptions to achieve programmatic goals while preserving historic features.
• With reduced costs, fee waivers for nonprofit organizations can be restored to ensure equitable access to the program.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SUPPORT THIS PROPOSAL

Attend the Council Meeting this Tuesday, May 23 to speak about the urgency of restoring the Preservation Program – AND/OR – Use the talking points above to write to Council by noon on Tuesday to put your support in the public record.

Send your email to councilmtgitems@santamonica.gov with “May 23, 2023 Agenda Item 7A Five-Year Financial Forecast Update, FY 2023-25 Proposed Biennial Budget” in the subject line.

To read the Conservancy’s letter to City Council, please click here.

Landmarks are irreplaceable, we can’t afford to wait to restore the city’s Historic Preservation Program!

We are seeking nominations for our 2023 Preservation Awards! Each year we honor exemplary projects and contributors to the preservation of Santa Monica’s architectural and cultural heritage. Award winners will be announced at our Annual Meeting in early summer.

The two-story American Colonial-style house at 401 Ocean Boulevard was the winner of a Rehabilitation Award last year. Photo credit: David Kaplan

Since 2004, winning projects have included residences as well as commercial and institutional buildings of all sizes. These projects have entailed restoration, renovation, rehabilitation, stewardship, and adaptive reuse as well as additions to historic buildings and homes. Awards are also presented to individuals for their stewardship of historic properties as well as to individuals and groups for community service as volunteers and advocates of preservation. Studies of historic districts and other preservation planning work is also eligible.

This year, we have integrated the concept of resiliency into our stewardship award category in recognition of the fact that historic properties and associated projects often contribute to community resilience through their energy efficiency and preparedness for climate impacts. For more information about how historic preservation aligns with resilience and sustainability, click here.

To nominate a project, person, structure, or group, please download the 2023 Preservation Award Nomination Form, follow the instructions and email your submission to awards@smconservancy.org. Not all questions apply to all categories so answer as many as you deem appropriate for your nominee.

The deadline for nominations is April 6, 2023. Winners will be announced at our Annual Meeting in early summer. Click here to view past awards. We are happy to answer any questions, please email them to the address listed above.

The Conservancy would like to thank the 700 citizens who wrote to our City Council to successfully urge them to write a letter to the State Housing and Community Development asking that the Neighborhood Commercial zones not be upzoned as required by the City’s new housing element. That upzoning would have allowed Montana, Ocean Park, Pico and Main Street to have buildings, by right, from 55’ to 88’ tall. The current Neighborhood Commercial zoning base height is 32’ but certain affordable housing  projects are already allowed to go up to 65’. The additional height of the upzoning would incentivize massive construction and the attendant demolition of many small businesses and buildings of historical importance further reducing the authenticity of these important neighborhood serving corridors. The State may or may not  approve this request  but it’s significant when this many citizens make their voices heard.

The Conservancy salutes the diligent efforts being made to meet the need for housing, particularly affordable housing. We also have deep concerns about recommendations in the current zoning proposal that would allow for buildings at effectively double the height and across multiple lots in the neighborhood commercial districts of Main Street, Montana Avenue and parts of Ocean Park and Pico Boulevards.

Click here to read the Conservancy’s official letter, sent as public comment for City Council’s special meeting tonight (2/22/23) at 6pm. Click here for the meeting agenda.

Santa Monica City Council to Discuss Potential Zoning Changes on Main Street, Montana Avenue and parts of Ocean Park and Pico Boulevards

Tonight at 6pm the Santa Monica City Council will hold a special meeting to discuss the new Housing Element including potential zoning changes on Main Street, Montana Avenue and parts of Ocean Parkand PicoBoulevards.

Here at the Conservancy, we salute the diligent efforts being made to meet the need for housing, particularly affordable housing. We also have deep concerns aboutrecommendations in the current zoning proposal that would allow for buildings at effectively double the height and across multiple lots in the neighborhood commercial districts of Main Street, Montana Avenue and parts of Ocean Parkand PicoBoulevards.

Specifically, the proposal to allow 55 ft. high heights and lot consolidation in these areas threatens to undermine the character of our City’s most pedestrian-oriented commercial areas which are home to many of the City’s historic resources and small local businesses. Allowing new construction at this scale would also create large floor-plate retail spaces only affordable to corporate tenants, likely wiping out many existing local small businesses all together.

We think there are other parts of the City with underutilized potential for new housing opportunities, including our major commercial corridors. It is our position that these smaller neighborhoods are not the right place to build necessary housing.

Click here to read the Conservancy’s official letter, sent as public comment for tonight’s meeting. Click here for the meeting agenda. Public comment is now closed, but the public can attend the meeting in person at City Hall Chambers, 1685 Main Street, Room 250, or watch live here. A recording of the meeting will be posted here.