ACTION Apartment Association

Most Oppose Rival Tax Measures, Poll Finds

07/05/2022 4:57 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Rival ballot measures that would hike the local transfer tax on high-end properties currently lack the support needed for voter approval, according to a local monthly poll of select residents.

The monthly push poll of nearly 200 "civically engaged" Santa Monica residents concerned with crime and safety issues also found little support for Downtown's safety ambassador program.

Revised budget offers more hope for restoration of City services

07/05/2022 12:37 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Tweaks to the City’s Fiscal Year 2022 to 2033 budget have leveraged one time funds and new revenue sources in an effort to restore sorely desired resident services such as after school care, sports field access and library services.

SMa.r.t. Column: A Tale of Two Cities

07/05/2022 12:26 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City of Santa Monica is surrounded on three sides by the City of Los Angeles. Therefore, while the jurisdictions are different, the development processes, pressures and outcomes are very similar. This article by a SMart guest columnist, Dick Platkin, explains what is happening in Los Angeles as both these cities struggle to implement the implausible and impossible affordable housing numbers required by the State of California’s Housing and Community Development mandates to be built over the next 8 years.

City Council Approves Ballot Measure That Would Increase Hotel Bed Tax

07/05/2022 12:25 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

In a vote on June 28, the Santa Monica City Council approved placing a measure on the November ballot to raise the city’s hotel bed tax to fund measures to address homelessness.

Campaign Mounted to Cut 9/1 Rent Increase from 6% to 3%

07/01/2022 9:04 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A major campaign has been mounted to cut in half the 9/1/2022 rent increases recently approved by the Rent Control Board.

Santa Monica Extends Local Emergency to December 31, 2022

07/01/2022 9:01 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

In addition, this order maintains the City’s existing protections against eviction for reasons other than nonpayment of rent. One exception is that the protection for evictions based on a tenant’s denial of a landlord’s entry into the unit will not be extended.

SMa.r.t. Column: It’s Time to Look at the Facts of Santa Monica’s Housing History

07/01/2022 8:55 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Since 1960, Santa Monica has added a net 1.5 housing units for each new resident, children included. This translates into 14,795 net new housing units supporting a net population increase of 9,794.

Santa Monica kept building new housing units even in decades that experienced net declines in city population.

New restrictions will go into effect on July 5

07/01/2022 8:52 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

At their June 14, however, Santa Monica City Council unanimously approved an ordinance that implements further water restrictions, including limiting outdoor watering to two days per week. The new restrictions will go into effect on July 5, 2022.

Eviction Protections

07/01/2022 8:48 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica's remaining health emergency orders -- including tenant protections against evictions -- have been extended through the end of the year unless the County terminates them earlier.

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/coronavirus-eviction-moratorium

Eviction Protections

07/01/2022 8:44 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Residential Eviction Protections for Non-Payment of Rent

Los Angeles County Eviction Moratorium: For rent due from July 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022, tenants whose household income is at or below 80 percent Area Median Income are protected from eviction for nonpayment of rent, if they certify their income and inability to pay due to financial impacts related to COVID-19. To be protected, tenants must provide notice to their landlord within 7 days of rent is due, every month that rent is due.