An 18-story, 172-unit apartment building was allowed by the Santa Monica Planning Commission unanimously on June 18. This was in response to an appeal from the Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility, which wanted a full environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act.
The 1437 6th Street Owner LLC built the project, which has 26 affordable flats and two levels of underground parking with room for 55 cars and 88 bikes. The 194-foot-tall building is in the Neighbourhood Village zoning district, which is 109 feet taller than the local height limit. Under California’s Density Bonus Law, the floor area ratio goes from 4.0 to 10.0.
SAFER said the project needed to be reviewed by CEQA because it was optional and a possibly historic building at 1433 6th Street would be torn down. The group said that the Santa Monica Municipal Code gives the Architectural Review Board (ARB), which cleared the project’s design on April 21, the power to deal with environmental effects, such as public health and safety.
As an appeals body, the commission turned down the case, upholding the project’s exemption from CEQA as a ministerial move under Section 15268 of the CEQA Guidelines. The commissioners said they could only look at design features like materials, colours, and landscaping, and they didn’t have the power to require environmental improvements. They used past cases, like one from 2018 in St. Helena, to back the exemption.
The design of the project includes two tall shapes: one with a white plaster facade that looks like local building and the other with an all-glass front. All of the units have porches, a roof deck, and windows that can be opened. The ARB set rules to improve the east and west slopes and make sure the right plants were chosen.
The commission also said that the site’s historic status wasn’t set when the project was applied for, and state law says that historic status can’t be changed after an application is considered complete. During the required 75-day review process, no proposals to name landmarks were made.
While SAFER’s appeal, which was sent on April 29, did not specifically mention environmental effects, it did focus on claims related to the process. The ARB’s approval is complete when the commission makes its decision, which must be made within 30 days of the hearing in accordance with the rules of the local and settlement agreement.
