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Upcoming Meetings — Please Attend

Thursday, August 20, 2026 | 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Location	Virginia Avenue Park – The Annex 2200 Virginia Avenue, Santa Monica
Who	Community Development Director Jing Yeo and Mayor Caroline Torosis
Purpose	Neighborhood-requested discussion regarding SB 79, the recent R1 upzoning decision, and development occurring in our neighborhood.

Following the August 12 developer community meeting for 2904 Delaware Avenue, neighbors requested a meeting with Community Development Director Jing Yeo and Mayor Caroline Torosis to discuss our concerns regarding SB 79, the recent R1 upzoning decision, and development occurring in our neighborhood.

Community Development Director Jing Yeo granted our request, and the meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, August 20 from 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Please attend and encourage your neighbors to attend.

Help us spread the word. Please let your neighbors know about both upcoming meetings and encourage them to sign up on our neighborhood website to receive updates and important information about issues affecting our neighborhood.

Tuesday, August 25, 2026 | 6:30 p.m.

Location	Santa Monica City Hall – Council Chambers, Second Floor 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica
Hosted by	City of Santa Monica Planning Division
Purpose	Informational community meeting regarding implementation of SB 79 and proposed amendments to the City's Zoning Ordinance.

The City of Santa Monica has scheduled an informational community meeting regarding implementation of SB 79 and proposed amendments to the City's Zoning Ordinance.

According to the City's mailed notice, the proposed amendments would increase development standards on 89 R1-zoned parcels in the Expo/Bundy TOD Zone located north of the I-10 Freeway and east of Dorchester Avenue.

The City states that increasing development standards on these 89 R1 parcels would allow the entire Expo/Bundy TOD Zone to qualify for temporary exclusion from SB 79 until 2030.

The meeting will be facilitated by City Planning Division staff.

Can't attend? Submit comments to housingupdates@santamonica.gov.

What Happened at the July 28 City Council Meeting?

July 28, 2026 – City Council Item 11.C

• The City Council considered how to make the Expo/Bundy Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Zone eligible for temporary exclusion from SB 79.
• The Planning Commission had previously recommended increasing development standards on a limited number of multifamily properties.
• The City Council rejected that approach because of concerns about potentially displacing renters on those properties and instead chose to place the additional development capacity on R1 single-family properties in our neighborhood.
• Mayor Caroline Torosis and Councilmembers Dan Hall, Ellis Raskin, Jesse Zwick, Natalya Zernitskaya and Barry Snell voted in favor of the R1 approach.
• Councilmember Lana Negrete voted in opposition and urged her colleagues not to approve the R1 upzoning.
• The City's current proposal would affect 89 R1 parcels north of the I-10 Freeway and east of Dorchester Avenue.
• It is important to distinguish between SB 79 and the City's July 28 decision. SB 79 is state law. However, the decision to place this additional local development capacity on R1 properties in our neighborhood—rather than the multifamily properties recommended by the Planning Commission—was a local policy decision made by the Santa Monica City Council.
• Neighborhood residents have raised concerns about fairness, displacement, development speculation, neighborhood character, infrastructure and the cumulative impacts of concentrating additional development in the Pico Neighborhood.

What Happened at the 2904 Delaware Avenue Community Meeting?

August 12, 2026 – Developer Community Meeting

A developer community meeting was held regarding the proposed development at 2904 Delaware Avenue, an R1 property on our single-family residential street.

• The developer is proposing a five-unit condominium/townhouse development.
• The development team stated that the project is utilizing SB 79 because the property is located within one-half mile of a qualifying Metro E Line station.
• The proposal consists of five three-bedroom/three-bathroom units, totaling approximately 9,900–10,000 square feet of residential development.
• The proposed development would be three stories and approximately 40 feet high, with five on-site parking spaces.
• The developer's representatives explained that the August 12 community meeting was required before submission of the project's formal administrative approval application.
• Residents raised concerns about parking, traffic, sewer and infrastructure capacity, street trees, setbacks, neighborhood character, affordability and the cumulative impact of additional development on our neighborhood.
• Residents questioned whether the proposed condominiums would actually provide attainable “missing middle” housing and asked what the units were expected to sell for. The development team did not provide anticipated sales prices at the meeting and agreed to follow up.
• Residents also learned that the project intends to utilize SB 79 and State Density Bonus provisions to obtain development standards that differ from the neighborhood's underlying R1 zoning.
• The developer agreed to provide additional information and documentation, including information regarding requested setback deviations, an arborist report concerning nearby street trees, additional project renderings, responses regarding parking and height, and a record of comments received during the community meeting.
• Following this meeting, neighbors requested the August 20 meeting with Community Development Director Jing Yeo and Mayor Caroline Torosis so that these concerns could be addressed directly with City leadership.

Why This Matters

The proposed development at 2904 Delaware Avenue provides a real-world example of the development pressure now occurring on our R1 streets.

The developer submitted an SB 330 preliminary application on July 14, which was subsequently withdrawn.

On July 28, the Santa Monica City Council voted to increase development standards on R1 parcels in our neighborhood as part of the City's strategy to temporarily exclude the broader Expo/Bundy TOD Zone from SB 79.

A development notice for the proposed five-unit project at 2904 Delaware Avenue appeared on July 29.

On July 30, the developer submitted a new SB 330 preliminary application, which is currently under review.

While the July 28 City Council action did not create the 2904 Delaware project, the timing and development activity underscore why residents are closely monitoring the City's proposed zoning changes and their cumulative impact on our neighborhood.

The City is now proposing amendments affecting 89 R1 parcels in our neighborhood, and the August 25 City-sponsored community meeting is an opportunity for residents to ask questions and make their concerns known before those zoning amendments move forward.