santa monica sustainable city plan purpose the sustainable city plan was created to enhance our...
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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