ACTION Apartment Association

California just cut the red tape on housing in San Francisco. Is L.A. next?

07/05/2024 2:08 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Officials estimate the law, Senate Bill 423, will cut approval time for projects in San Francisco from two years to six months, streamlining that housing advocates consider a much-needed course correction in a city where construction is beset by delays and high costs.

Housing advocates hope the new rules in San Francisco means other major California cities in need of more housing, including Los Angeles

Just the Facts -- SMPD Launches New Blog

07/05/2024 8:14 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

"This seemed like the perfect opportunity to help correct the record and feed public curiosity about the work we do," Aklufi said.

Opinion: Clouds…and we’re screwed - Charles Andrews

07/03/2024 12:19 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

So it might seem irrelevant who we elect to our City Council this November. But it isn’t. You now have three Council members who have come down firmly on the side of more and more development “needed” in Santa Monica — Jesse Zwick, Caroline Torosis, Gleam Davis. And you have all their power brokers bowing to developers — SM “Forward,” SMRR, SM “Democratic” Club, and “The Community for Excellence in Public Schools” — all endorsing our worst nightmare, four pro pro rah rah mo’ mo’ taller bigger development candidates: Dan Hall, Natalya Zernitskaya, Barry Snell, Ellis Raskin. If even one or two of them win Council seats, we’re screwed. And right now, other than our incumbents —
Phil Brock, Oscar de la Torre and Christine Parra — we have no candidates running against them. No PAC money, no organization. WTHeck. Screwed.

Council Adopts Budget With Added Public Safety Spending

07/02/2024 9:05 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The move was prompted by Mayor Phil Brock's urgent proposal to "sequester" as much as $3.8 million to address a public safety "crisis" highlighted when a homeless sex offender attacked three women on the beach the day before the vote ("Homeless Sex Offender Goes on Violent Rampage on Santa Monica Beach," June 25, 2024).

Public Safety: Do We Need More? Let's Study the Matter, says Santa Monica City Council

07/01/2024 11:46 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Brock said in a phone interview that he considered it "beyond the pale" that the council could not find a way to increase public safety now. "So we're letting the city burn for another 4 months b/f we can even talk about what's needed."

SM.a.r.t Column: Santa Monica Under SCAG’s Boot

07/01/2024 10:42 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Four years ago, our esteemed colleague Mario Fonda-Bonardi wrote the prescient essay below when much of the legislative development juggernaut was beginning to make itself felt in our city. Let’s take a look at the questions in the article and see if any of them, even a single one, has been answered four years later (please remember the dates in the article refer to events four years ago).

Homeless Population Drops in First County-Run Count

07/01/2024 10:37 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The four-hour-long count taken in Santa Monica on the night of January 24 "reflects the actual number of people, along with what LAHSA calls 'improvised dwellings' counted by volunteers," City officials said

In Santa Monica, volunteers -- who for the first time were led by LAHSA and not the City -- physically counted 479 homeless persons outdoors, including at city beaches.

It also recorded 173 individuals in shelters, including those staying that night at SAMOSHEL, the city’s shelter.

Santa Monica Rental Market Remains Sluggish

07/01/2024 10:35 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The report released Wednesday found that the median rent in the city decreased by -0.3 percent during the month, and has now fallen by a total of -4.0 percent over the past 12 months.

Major Political Establishment Groups to Field United Council Slate

07/01/2024 10:34 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica's political establishment will field a united slate in the November race for four City Council seats after the local Democratic Club made its endorsements Wednesday.

The group, "by a wide margin," endorsed Santa Monica College Trustee Barry Snell, Planning Commission Chair Ellis Raskin, Natalya Zernitskaya and Pier Corporation Board member Dan Hall, Club officials announced Thursday.

Letter: A call to restore our city to its former glory by Dr. Houman David Hemmati

06/27/2024 9:10 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Let’s harness our collective passion to enact the needed change.