On Jan. 10, Santa Monica City Council confirmed and ratified a Proclamation of Local Emergency due to the Palisades Fire, setting aside ways to expedite education and business activity that have been hampered from the flames.
One order is that schools, Child Care, and Early Education facilities (as defined by Santa Monica Municipal Code) that were displaced by the Palisades Fire may operate within the City’s non-residential zones on a temporary basis without first obtaining a Conditional Use Permit.
Jing Yeo, the City’s Acting Community Development Director, stated during the Jan. 10 meeting that she has spoken to several schools that have been displaced so far. Even if the Local Emergency is discontinued in the coming months, the permit exemption for schools will last for 12 months.
One of the schools displaced was Palisades Charter High School, which had a significant portion of campus damaged or destroyed this past week. On Monday, Pali High stated it is “urgently” seeking help to secure a temporary campus. The start of the school’s second semester was delayed until Jan. 21, and will temporarily follow an online learning plan thereafter.
“We have a unique opportunity to show the strength and resilience of our community in the face of adversity,” Pali High Principal Pamela Magee stated. “By coming together, we can ensure that our students can stay in their learning environment, with their friends and mentors, at a time when they need it most.”
Council, at the request of Vice Mayor Caroline Torosis, will also expand flexibility for businesses displaced from the flames, with Councilmember Jesse Zwick adding that flexibility should apply to building code requirements that go along with change of use.
Yeo stated that the City’s prior experience with removing barriers to business development during the COVID-19 pandemic will make the implementation easier.
“Schools are a bit of a unique use,” Yeo said. “Other kinds of businesses like retail, restaurants, what have you, that will be actually a much simpler endeavor if they’re looking for space. We’re already starting to work to try and identify available spaces.”
Councilmember Ellis Raskin added that he wants to prioritize schools in the matter of gaining space to operate, wanting educational opportunities “front of the line.”
In addition, the emergency proclamation suspends enforcement of provisions in the Santa Monica Municipal Code relating to home-sharing and vacation rentals, as well as residential leasing regulations against “persons who provide alternative accommodations within the City of Santa Monica” to persons displaced by fires.
The City’s regulations related to home-sharing and residential leases, as well as the prohibition against stays of longer than 30 days in bed and breakfast and hotels, the proclamation stated, “may impede the ability of residents, landlords and local businesses to house those displaced.”
Tenants wishing to accommodate persons displaced by the fire on a temporary basis will not be restricted from doing so by lease terms limiting the number of occupants or pets in a residential unit. No landlord shall endeavor to evict a residential tenant based on the presence of “unauthorized occupants or pets” if they have been displaced due to a fire evacuation order or warning, or poor air quality conditions.
Torosis added that she would like to see the City’s Below Market Housing waitlist shift as well during the emergency, prioritizing those who qualify for the waitlist that have been displaced from the flames. The Vice Mayor stated that the City worked similarly in its waitlist in the aftermath of the 2018 Woolsey Fire.
