January 22, 2018
SMCLC joins neighborhood groups (NOMA, FOSP, NEN) in support of interim ordinance downsizing new mega-homes in our neighborhoods.
Letter sent to City Council:
TO: City Council
FROM: Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City (“SMCLC”)
RE: City Council Agenda Item 7-A (interim ordinance establishing interim development standards in the R1 zoning district)
Santa Monica is a beautiful city comprised of many neighborhoods with their own distinct identities. Each of our neighborhoods has unique characteristics, history, and a sense of place which contribute to residents appreciating where they live along with the opportunity to know and engage with their neighbors.
It’s vitally important to the livability of our City that as new homes are built, our neighborhoods feel enhanced, not diminished.
SMCLC strongly supports the valuable work undertaken by our neighborhood associations (NOMA, FOSP NEN) and others who have urged the City to fix our residential building codes to curb city approval of new mega-homes that are too big and too impactful for their neighbors. The NOMA and FOSP letters and questionnaires establish the critical need for the city to address this issue now in response to the negative impacts being felt especially in the north of Montana and Sunset Park neighborhoods.
The rash of new, drastically out-of-scale homes being built or proposed to be built in our city now is incompatible with and threatens the character and identity of these neighborhoods. These mega houses appear to hog virtually every square inch of their lots and loom over their neighbors so as to obstruct their neighbors’ light and air and erode their privacy.
We have read the interim zoning ordinance proposed by staff and we support it as an essential first step in revising our building codes to reduce the size, scale, and density of new residential structures to better protect and preserve the character of Santa Monica’s neighborhoods, the quality of life for the residents who live there, and the effective implementation of LUCE.
Sincerely,
Diana Gordon
Co-chair, SMCLC