Santa Monica Sustainable City Plan

Purpose

The Sustainable City Plan was created to enhance our resources, prevent

harm to the natural environment and human health, and benefit the

social and economic well-being of the community for

the sake of current and future generations

Sustainable City Plan – What Is It?

Long-Term City Council Adopted Policy

Developed Separately From General Plan

SCP Goals and Indicators Inform Update of General Plan Elements Housing Element

Open Space Element

Conservation Element

Land Use and Circulation Elements

Sustainable City Plan – Structure

Guiding Principles – Statement of commitment

Goals – Provide detailed vision for community sustainability

Indicators – Measure progress toward goals

Indicator Targets – Help drive implementation

Implementation Plan – Currently being developed by SCTF

Sustainable City Plan – Goal AreasGoals represent commitments for both municipal operations and the

community as a whole

• Resource Conservation

• Environmental and Public Health

• Transportation

• Economic Development

• Housing

• Open Space and Land Use

• Community Education and Civic Participation

• Human Dignity

Resource ConservationGoals: Decrease consumption of non-local, non-renewable, non-recyclable

energy, water, materials and fuels and promote renewable resource use

How Are We Doing?• Energy use and GHG emissions have

risen slightly over the past few years

• Reduced citywide water use approximately 6% between 1990 and 2005

• Increased waste diversion from landfills from 14% in 1990 to 62% in 2002. Waste generation has increased over that period

• In general we’re doing well when compared to other cities but need more participation by community institutions and businesses

Environmental and Public HealthGoals: Minimize/eliminate the use of hazardous and toxic materials and the

levels of pollutants entering the air, soil and water

How Are We Doing?

• Bay Health improved significantly since 1990

• % permeable land area slightly increased

• Reduced Citywide sewage flows by 14% since 1990

• Hazardous waste collection improving

• VMT increased slightly (1.2%) from 1992 – 2001

• On the whole doing well in this area

TransportationGoal: Maximize mobility and access / Reduce traffic and

pollution associated with transportation

How Are We Doing?

• AVR for business far exceeds regional levels

• Bus ridership has steadily increased over past decade

• Over 70% of residents report using alternative modes of transportation occasionally

• Traffic is bad in many parts of the city

• Only 3% of arterial streets have bike lanes

Economic DevelopmentGoal: Nurture a diverse, stable local economy

How Are We Doing?

• Santa Monica has a strong and diverse economy

• Jobs and Housing are out of balance (increased from 1.36 in 1998 to 1.45 in 2001)

• Real cost of living is rising faster than real household incomes

• Income disparity is narrowing, likely due to gentrification

• No Long-Range Economic Development Plan

Open Space and Land UseGoals: Develop and maintain a diverse open space system and urban

environment that supports the community and the natural environment

How Are We Doing?

• Open Space has increased significantly over the last decade

• Size and diversity of community forest has increased 17% since 1995

• 88% of residents live within ½ mile of park/open space (55% within ¼ mile)

• % of residential mixed-use projects within ¼ mile of transit nodes – data not currently available

HousingGoals: Provide a mix of affordable, livable and green housing

types for people of all socio-economic, cultural and household groups

How Are We Doing?• Housing Affordability for low

and middle income groups is a major problem in Santa Monica

• New and rental housing affordable to low and v. low income people fell from 86% in 1998 to 54% in 2003

Key Points

• Sustainable solutions will come from integrated planning– Long-Range Land Use and Transportation Planning Should

Happen Concurrent with Long-Range Economic Development Planning

– Transportation and Traffic Problems Closely Linked to Housing and Economic Development

• Sustainable Design and Construction can significantly reduce resource use and waste generation over the long-term

SCP Indicators Report

• Designed as a tool to aid decision making at the Council, staff and community level

• Provides information about the overall sustainability of the community

For More Information

www.smepd.org