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 Areas Goals 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 Conservation Goals: 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 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 Health Goals: 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

Transportation Goal: 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 Development Goal: 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 Use Goals: 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 % 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

Housing Goals: 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

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