Coastal resources: coastal development permits: Santa Monica.

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation includes claims about reducing traffic accidents which is mentioned in the official summary but may be interpreted more broadly than intended.

Coastal Development Permits for Santa Monica

This law allows cities like Santa Monica to become urban multimodal communities if they meet certain criteria and exempts them from some coastal development permits, focusing on bicycle facilities.

What This Bill Does

• Allows a city to designate itself as an 'urban multimodal community' if it has at least one high-quality transit corridor or priority area, plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and traffic fatalities, and specific types of bicycle lanes.
• Requires cities that want this status to submit documentation for review by the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and post information on their website.
• Authorizes counties to designate individual local coastal program segments as urban multimodal communities if they meet similar criteria.
• Exempts certain activities in urban multimodal communities from needing coastal development permits, focusing on bike lane installations that do not block public access.

Who It Names or Affects

• Cities and counties in California
• The city of Santa Monica specifically

Terms To Know

Urban multimodal community

A city or part of a county that meets certain criteria related to public transit, environmental goals, and bike facilities.

Coastal development permit

A special permission needed for building or changing things in coastal areas under the California Coastal Act.

Limits and Unknowns

• The law will stop allowing some exemptions on January 1, 2037.
• It only applies to specific cities and counties that choose to follow these rules.

Official Summary Text

AB 1740, as amended, Zbur.
Coastal resources: coastal development permits:
urban multimodal communities: bicycle facilities.
Santa Monica.
The California Coastal Act of 1976 requires, among other things, anyone wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, except as specified, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission or a local government, as provided. The act provides that a coastal development permit is not required for specified types of development in specified areas, as provided.
This bill would
authorize a city to designate itself as an urban multimodal community if the city has (1) at least one high-quality transit corridor or transit priority area in the city, (2) adopted plans that include targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fatal and severe injury crashes, and (3) Class
I, Class II, or Class IV bicycle facilities, as defined. If a city meets the criteria to designate itself as an urban multimodal community, the bill would require documentation be submitted to the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation for review and would require the documentation to be posted on the city’s internet website and the city to notify the commission of their submission. The bill would authorize a county to designate an individual local coastal program segment, as defined, as an urban multimodal community so long as the county, among other things, meets the same criteria and process requirements as a city. The bill would
provide that a coastal development permit is not required for certain activities and types of development within
an urban multimodal community,
the city of Santa Monica,
as
specified.
The bill would repeal these permit exemptions on January 1, 2037.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for Santa Monica.
This bill would also provide that a coastal development permit is not required for the installation of Class I, Class II, or Class IV bicycle facilities, as defined, within the
right-of-way of a state highway if the project does not eliminate existing public coastal accessways.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF