September 6, 2018 -- Santa Monica planning officials are embarking on a long-awaited initiative this fall to preserve the Pico Neighborhood from a wave of gentrification that threatens its character and affordable housing supply, City officials announced this month.

The move comes after the City Council in January voted to make a zoning plan for Santa Monica's poorest and most diverse area its top planning priority. The Council first identified the issue in May 2015.

City planners already have embarked on "understanding the existing physical conditions and zoning analysis" of the neighborhood, said a report issued this month by Planning Director David Martin and Julie Rusk, who heads the City's Office of Civic Wellbeing.

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