By Jorge Casuso
August 25, 2026 -- A single-family neighborhood targeted for transit-oriented multi-family development will be the focus of a meeting tonight held by City Community Development officials.
The informational meeting will address implementation of SB79, a State law that allows multi-family developments of up to five stories within half a mile of transit stops. In Santa Monica the development would take place around the three Expo Line stations, as well as three bus stops Downtown, City officials said.
The meeting will also address proposed amendments to the City's Zoning Ordinance that would increase development standards on 89 single-family parcels in the Expo/Bundy Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Zone north of the I-10 Freeway and east of Dorchester Avenue.
The single-family parcels in the Pico Neighborhood near Gandara Park comprise the only section of the city slated for development under SB 79, after the Council "introduced an ordinance temporarily excluding five of Santa Monica’s six transit-oriented development zones from SB 79 requirements," said City Manager Oliver Chi.
"The remaining zone (for the area around the Expo/Bundy station, whose half-mile radius reaches into our Pico Neighborhood) does not yet meet the State’s threshold to qualify for that exclusion."
The Council 's 6 to 1 vote to allow the development to take place on the single family parcels has triggered stiff opposition from residents of one of Santa Monica's most affordable and diverse single-family areas.
Residents -- who have launched the website gandarapark.org -- note that the Council's super-majority rejected a proposal by the Planning Commission "to increase development standards on a limited number of multifamily properties," according to the website.
"It is important to distinguish between SB 79 and the City's July 28 decision," the website states. "SB 79 is state law," while the Council's action "was a local policy decision."
The website notes that Mayor Caroline Torosis and Councilmembers Dan Hall, Ellis Raskin, Jesse Zwick, Natalya Zernitskaya and Barry Snell voted "in favor of the R1 approach," while Councilmember Lana Negrete voted against it.
The first project proposed after the Council's decision was unveiled at a City-mandated developer community meeting on August 12 and consists of a three-story, 40-foot-tall development totaling 10,000 square feet at 2904 Delaware Avenue that includes five three-bedroom units and five parking spaces.
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," according to the website.
They also "questioned whether the proposed condominiums would actually provide attainable 'missing middle' housing and asked what the units were expected to sell for," the website reported. "The development team did not provide anticipated sales prices at the meeting and agreed to follow up."
Tonight's informational community meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. There will be an option to attend the meeting online by clicking: https://www.santamonica.gov/sb79-transit-oriented-development