By Jorge Casuso
February 25, 2025 -- A new State law paves the way for "substantially larger" projects to be essentially rubber stamped if a City fails to adopt a compliant housing plan, City planning officials informed the City Council this month.
AB 1893 updates the builders remedy provision under the Housing Affordability Act (HAA) to include certain mixed-use projects that include at least 500 net new residential units, according to a memo from City Community Development officials.
It was one of more than 30 bills directed at "addressing the Statewide housing crisis and homelessness" signed into law last year, the memo said. Most went into effect on January 1.
Several of the legislative changes are "particularly relevant" to the City and may require changes to local laws and procedures, wrote Arminé Chaparyan, the City's director of Community Development.
The memo highlights AB 1893, which expands the definition of a "housing development project" under the HAA to include a minimum 500-unit project with 50 percent commercial and 50 percent residential square feet.
Projects that meet the definition cannot be denied, reduced in density or made unfeasible "unless adverse public health and safety findings can be made," the memo states.
"The potential implication of Council direction is that substantially larger projects will be eligible for the City’s administrative approval process," the memo said.
The streamlined process only requires developers to hold one community meeting before submitting an application and to receive design approval from the Architectural Review Board (ARB).
At its first full meeting on December 17, the newly seated Council directed staff to draft an ordinance allowing all "housing projects" in non-residential zones to be approved administratively, the memo notes ("Council Makes it Easier to Build Large Housing Projects," December 18, 2024).
The proposed ordinance, which exempts the Bergamot Area Plan, allows projects to be processed administratively regardless of the size of the parcel.
"The potential implication of Council direction is that substantially larger projects will be eligible for the City’s administrative approval process," the memo said.
The new law also modified the builder’s remedy provisions by "vesting” existing builder’s remedy projects submitted before January 1 and establishing new development parameters for those filed after that date.
"This means that in the future, should the City fail to adopt a certified Housing Element by the mandated deadline, any future eligible builder’s remedy projects would be subject to certain limits and standards."
The City's failure to adopt a compliant housing plan in 2022 paved the way for 14 proposals rushed into Santa Monica's development pipeline under the builder's remedy provision ("City Officials Caught Off Guard by Flurry of Development Submissions," October 13, 2022).
All but one was withdrawn the following year under a settlement agreement with the developer approved by the Council ("Council Approves Agreement That Removes 'Builder's Remedy' Projects," May 10, 2023).
Unlike its slow-growth predecessor, the current Council is pro-housing and, if still in office, is expected to submit a compliant housing element for the eight-year housing cycle starting in 2029.
