Upcoming community meetings will help explain the process for developing affordable housing on city-owned sites

May 9, 2025 11:52 AM
by Heather Averick

At its Feb. 25 meeting, the Santa Monica City Council directed staff to declare two city-owned properties designated for affordable housing in the state certified Housing Element as “surplus land” and issue solicitations for the development of affordable housing at these sites. The two sites are:

The city will issue solicitations for these properties by the end of June.

Per council direction, the solicitations will include requirements that proposals maximize affordable housing to meet the city’s Housing Element obligations.

Additional priorities for proposals to include for Bergamot Station Arts Center are potential artist housing and preservation of current uses and tenants.

For 4th/5th/Arizona, priorities include revenue-generating sources, whether that is market-rate apartments, a hotel or other commercial sources of revenue.

Both solicitations will include a request for community benefit uses.

The solicitations will be released June 30 and sent to a list of developers that have registered with the California Department of Housing and Community Development, or HCD, and will be available on HCD’s website.

The city must engage in a 90-day negotiation process with every developer that responds to the solicitation. If none of the proposals are deemed acceptable, the city would then advance with a request for proposal process outside of the standard surplus land process.

Following consideration and selection by the City Council of a development team, staff will prepare an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement, to be executed by the city manager and development team, which will detail the scope and timing of the community outreach process to allow for public input into the design and community uses.

Staff anticipate returning to council with a final development proposal for consideration and approval in the first quarter of 2026.

What is Surplus Land?

Housing staff have received questions from the community about what “surplus land” means.

Under California’s Surplus Land Act, any public land not being used for city business that the city wants to make available for sale or development must be used for certain purposes, including the development of affordable housing.

The two city-owned sites above were already set aside by the City Council for the purpose of affordable housing to meet the city’s Housing Element obligations. Designating the above properties as “surplus land” allows the city to consider proposals for other uses on these properties, in addition to affordable housing, which can generate revenue to help sustain the affordable housing.

Upcoming community meetings

For more information, please attend one of the upcoming “Future Affordable Housing Development – Notices of Availability for City-Owned Land" community meetings. During these meetings, Housing and Human Services Department staff will detail the Surplus Land Act Notice of Availability process, which city-owned sites were identified for affordable housing and why, and what additional items will be prioritized in the proposal outside of affordable housing. The meeting will end with a Q&A.

Dates of the community meetings are:

Please also see this blog post.

Authored By

Heather Averick
Director of Housing and Human Services

Categories

Housing, Programs, Services, Strategic Priorities, Your City Hall