A Good Night for Businesses and Students

By Oliver Lukacs
Staff Writer

July 9 -- The City Council Tuesday night advanced Santa Monica College $10.2 million in earthquake recovery funds for a new Liberal Arts building, allowed corner stores to stay open longer and sent back for tweaking a nearly $5,000 hike in business permit fees.

The council enthusiastically and unanimously approved the advance for the proposed new three-level, 59,887-square-foot building that will replace the old structure on the SMC campus damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Deemed more cost efficient to completely rebuild than to rehab, the facility should be completed by May 2006.

Advancing the federal funds for the building -- which will include two subterranean levels (one with 35 faculty parking spaces) -- will defer for one year $2.5 million earmarked for the Palisades Bluff Capital Improvement project and $1,406,368 to seismically retrofit the earthquake-battered downtown parking structures.

Mayor Richard Bloom seized on the opportunity to mend fences between the City and college, which in the past have locked horns over earthquake funds and land use issues. Bloom directed staff to work with the college to explore ways the two institutions can better address planning issues together.

With top college officials, including SMC President Dr. Piedad F. Robertson, sitting in the chamber looking on, Bloom acknowledged that “it’s no secret that we haven’t always seen eye to eye on issues.” Collaborating on the new Liberal Arts building, he said, “is a good direction for us to go.”

The council, however, was not so enthusiastic about a one-time $4,720 fee hike on new business permits that would act as an indirect tax to subsidize a stepped-up proactive “monitoring program.” The program would break from the old complaint-driven system used by the planning department’s code enforcement unit on commercially zoned properties.

The code enforcement crackdown would spread over a five-year period eight systematic inspections at the cost of $590 each. Two existing full-time code enforcement officers would be exclusively dedicated to the task, while another five inspectors would handle the 2,700 complaints currently backlogged.

The fee would jack-up Conditional Use and Development Review permits to $12,037 and Performance Standards permits to $5,592 on the 500 existing permits currently held by businesses in Santa Monica, which have an estimated 50 percent compliance rate.

“My concern is the cost of this for everyone,” said Councilman Herb Katz, who wanted a fee model that was “more fair across the board…a sliding scale” that didn’t charge both small and large businesses a flat fee.

Councilman Ken Genser suggested charging the $590 inspection fee only if a violation is found and reducing the number of inspections for non-violators.

“The purpose is not to pass out citations,” said Genser. “The purpose is to get compliance.”

Genser was concerned that because there would be no new enforcement staff hired, the increased workload would end up “cannibalizing our existing staff.”

City Manager Susan McCarthy responded that “there is no staff to cannibalize,” since only two of the seven spots are currently filled.

After Councilman Bob Holbrook’s suggested that the limited staff should “get a grip on focusing on the major (violations) and not the minor ‘by the way’” violations, the council sent the item back for revision.

In a another business-friendly move, the council voted unanimously to allow the Planning Commission, or City Council on appeal, to modify the Special Conditional Use Permit standards for existing neighborhood market stores located in residential areas. The permits would cover building height, setback and parcel coverage, parking, off-street loading and hours of operation on a case-by-case basis.

City Attorney Marsha Moutrie said that current City laws, which dictate that corner stores in residential neighborhoods close at 7 p.m., are there to soften the environmental impact on neighbors.

Jay Trevino, a top planning department official, said contrary to the logic of the law, the longer operational hours for corner stores are not an “impact, but another amenity to the neighborhood,” adding to its “livability.” In fact, Trevino said that residents view shorter hours as “an inconvenience.”

Local Activist Jerry Rubin argued in favor of longer hours because it adds to the neighborly feeling people want.

“It means a lot to people to have that small business local neighborhood market atmosphere,” Rubin said.