Business owners waiting to open in Santa Monica are getting through the city's permitting process weeks faster than they were a year ago.

More than 90% of first-round plan checks are completed on time, a 40-percentage-point improvement in just four months, Mayor Caroline Torosis announced during her State of the City address on Thursday, July 23. She delivered the speech on Main Street between Hollister Avenue and Ocean Park Boulevard, on a block closed to traffic for the free community event.

"For a small business owner, that can be the difference between opening in March and opening in July," Torosis said. "Sometimes, it is the difference between opening and not opening at all."

The turnaround stems from the city's Realignment Plan, which the City Council unanimously adopted on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, when retail vacancies sat near 16% and office vacancies hovered around 35%.

What the plan changed

The Realignment Plan set specific permitting turnaround targets: one week for ADU conversions, two weeks for restaurant tenant improvements, three weeks for single-unit dwelling construction, and five weeks for nonresidential or mixed-use new construction. To hit those marks, the council approved a five-year, $528,000 contract with Archistar, Inc. on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, for AI-assisted plan check review of single-family and ADU projects.

The city tracks results on its public-facing Santa Monica Scorecard dashboard at santamonica.gov.

Housing pipeline

Torosis also reported that the city approved nearly 1,800 new homes over the past year, including more than 450 permanently affordable units. She did not specify whether those represent entitlements, building permits, or certificates of occupancy.

Nearly 70% of Santa Monica residents rent. Torosis cited that figure while announcing the $6 million Santa Monica Renter Aid program, launched the week of July 23 to help families before a difficult month becomes an eviction.

New businesses filling vacancies

Torosis pointed to recent openings as evidence of renewed confidence: a James Beard-honored chef opening Seline, Raising Cane's creating 100 jobs, and the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pizzeria opening on Third Street.

The council is also moving to increase development potential downtown. On Tuesday, July 14, council members held a first reading on zoning ordinance amendments that would boost building capacity on city-owned sites in the Downtown Community Plan area and the Gateway Master Plan area. A second reading is required before the changes take effect.

What's next

The Realignment Plan also cut outdoor dining fees to $1 per square foot for sidewalk dining and $2 per square foot for parklets, and eliminated city wastewater capacity charges for restaurant operators. The city's General Fund is structurally balanced for the coming fiscal year, freeing up nearly $110 million in planned investment in parks, streets, libraries, public safety, and public spaces.