Every week, Santa Monica Next republishes a story from the City Manager’s Newsletter.
We’re excited to share that the City’s Planning Division officially launched the Local Coastal Program Update at this year’s State of the City event! As part of the booth that was set-up, we invited participants to share their most cherished places in the Coastal Zone, while we also shared details about where the coastal zone boundaries actually run. Spoiler alert for those who don’t know… it’s not just the beach, as Santa Monica’s Coastal Zone includes much of Downtown, including the Third Street Promenade!
The launch of this effort is of real significance for the City. Santa Monica has never had a fully certified Local Coastal Program. We have a certified Land Use Plan dating all the way back to 1992, but we’ve never been able to complete the second half of the requirement, known as the Implementation Plan (which functions as the zoning ordinance for the Coastal Zone).
Given that fact, for over three decades, projects in our Coastal Zone have faced a two-step process… first, projects would have to secure City approval, and then, that same project would have to separately obtain a Coastal Development Permit from the California Coastal Commission. That double review adds real delay, cost, and uncertainty for everyone from homeowners to small businesses to major public projects, in the very part of Santa Monica that will determine the nature of our local economic recovery.
With all of that as background, earlier this year, the City entered into a first-of-its-kind Memorandum of Understanding with the Coastal Commission. That MOU created a collaborative framework that maps out a pathway for Santa Monica to certify our first comprehensive LCP, with a targeted completion date of 2027.
Once certified, the City will have far greater local approval authority over projects like temporary events, outdoor dining, commercial tenant improvements, adaptive reuse, and residential development in the Coastal Zone. And that will mean less delay, less uncertainty, and more local decision-making, all while maintaining every protection for coastal resources and public access required under the Coastal Act.
The City has identified the LCP certification process as a central element of our broader economic recovery efforts, and finishing out this process will enhance our ability to both move quickly and to remove barriers for the people and projects that bring jobs and investment to Santa Monica.
More to come on this front in the coming months! In the meantime, please check out our project website for updates and to stay connected with the planning team as this process unfolds.
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