General Plan Land Use (LUCE)

2010 Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) The Land Use Element and Circulation Elements are key components of Santa Monica’s General Plan, establishing the City’s land use, urban design, and transportation vision. These policy documents provide a long-term framework for implementing this vision, and are a tool for good decision making. They provide flexibility for changes in the City’s economy and land use, and establish criteria and measurements for periodically assessing how well the community’s goals are being met and if adjustments to the policies are necessary. The 2010 Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) update is a vision and plan for the next 20 years, and reflects a 6 year community input process. The recently adopted comprehensive rewrite of the Zoning Ordinance implements many aspects of the LUCE, and provides clear, accessible and easily administered Zoning Ordinance that can be understood by all. The Zoning Update allows land use policies to be translated directly into standards that implement the goals and objectives of the Land Use Element on a daily basis. As part of the Zoning Update, several aspects of the LUCE were amended. Additionally, the LUCE was amended on July 25, 2017 following the adoption of the Downtown Community Plan.