Santa Monica’s Planning Commission put off a discussion

of the Bergamot Area Plan last week, hoping to have more time for the

development-themed document at a meeting in the very near future.

That near future is Feb. 13, when Commissioners will

consider the Bergamot Area Plan in a special meeting and give direction on land

use districts and regulations, design guidelines, and development standards.

The discussion is part of an evolutionary process that

will ultimately create a plan that will serve as a guide for transforming a

one-time industrial area into a thriving mixed-use neighborhood that is

pedestrian-friendly, arts-focused, and built around the future Expo Line.

The Bergamot Area Plan was previously on the Planning

Commission’s Jan. 30 docket, however there was not enough time at that meeting

to fully explore the agenda item.

Once developed, the Bergamot Area Plan will be a planning

tool balancing “community preferences for land uses, circulation networks,

infrastructure, parking strategies, and design of buildings in the mixed-use,

transit-oriented Bergamot area.”

Partially funded by a federal grant that encourages

“compact, mixed-use development linked to transit,” the Bergamot Area Plan

impacts both 140 acres of land known as the Bergamot Transit Village and the

Mixed-Use Creative District. It is also part of a larger development plan to

reduce vehicular dependence and greenhouse gas emissions by creating

communities of affordable housing, local jobs, and mixed-use development.

The Bergamot Area Plan has been in development for almost

three years now, with community meetings, public outreach, studies, and

workshops already part of the process. Planning commissioners will have a stab

at addressing any gaps in the plan before ultimately sending it off to council

members for final approval.

City Hall received $652,000 in 2010 from the Department

of Housing and Urban Development to develop the Bergamot Area Plan.