ACTION Apartment Association

City Manager Offers Insight into Law Enforcement Decisions

09/03/2025 7:56 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

In the letter, Chi notes the City Charter gives the City Manager sole authority over "personnel related situations" and that he has the Council's backing to develop "new law enforcement programs."

Groups Call for Retaining Police Chief

09/03/2025 7:54 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

In an unusual move, Santa Monica's most prominent slow-growth group on Tuesday joined an effort to retain Police Chief Ramon Batista after his surprise resignation last month.

The Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City, which for 20 years has kept its focus on development, joined five neighborhood groups that have asked the City Council and City Manager to reject the popular chief's resignation submitted on August 22.

Letter from City Manager Chi to Neighborhood Groups

09/03/2025 7:45 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The following letter was sent over the weekend to Northeast Neighbors Board Member Tricia Crane in response to a request by five Santa Monica neighborhood groups that the City Council and City Manager reject the resignation of Police Chief Ramon Batista.

Read his letter at: https://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2025/09_03_2025_Letter_From_City_Manager_to_Neighborhood_Groups.html

L.A. cracks down on Hollywood party houses and illegal short-term rentals.

09/03/2025 7:15 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The city of Los Angeles is expected to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines after settling multiple lawsuits against the owners of illegal short-term rentals and party houses in the Hollywood area who were accused of wreaking havoc for neighboring residents.

LA County braces for potential federal funding cuts to housing and homelessness services

09/03/2025 7:12 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Los Angeles region is at risk of losing millions of dollars in federal funding for some homelessness services because of a Trump Administration order that aims to end support for Housing First policies, county authorities said.

Landscape Expo

09/02/2025 9:21 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Sept. 13 event will showcase a new demonstration garden located next to the Miles Memorial Playhouse at Christine Emerson Reed Park. The garden serves as a model for implementing low-water systems for pollinator-friendly plantings and edible crops.

Firing of Santa Monica Police Chief Batista

08/29/2025 9:08 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

by Arthur Jeon

It's obvious he was fired despite all the niceties mouthed.

Read the entire letter: https://www.smobserved.com/story/2025/08/26/opinion/firing-of-santa-monica-police-chief-batista/9238.html

Santa Monica Rents Remain Flat

08/29/2025 9:02 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Rents -- which dipped -0.2 percent nationwide and -0.1 percent locally this month -- are not expected to pick up again this year after the official arrival of the rental market's slow season, the site's researchers predict.

Council approves limited affordable housing pilot program allowing units to be built off-site

08/27/2025 9:04 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The pilot program offers three options for developers to meet affordable housing requirements: constructing units off-site with $150,000 per unit in gap financing, rehabilitating existing uninhabitable units, or paying in-lieu fees of $43.91 per square foot for apartments and $51.30 per square foot for condominiums.

War Over Transit-Oriented Housing Bill Heats Up

08/27/2025 8:57 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

On Tuesday, State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who authored SB 79, announced "a surge of major endorsements" for the bill, which allows new residential buildings of up to seven stories near major transit stops.

Endorsing the bill since Saturday were the California Democratic Party, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, climate investor Tom Steyer, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles Homelessness Service Providers.