ACTION Apartment Association

City Council race begins with newcomers vying for open seat

06/08/2022 12:50 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

With primary voting concluded, attention is now turning to the November general election and in Santa Monica this means City Council election season.

This year there are three Council seats up for election, one of which is confirmed as an open seat as Mayor Sue Himmelrich will not be running for a third term on Council.

Rent Board Poised to Jack Up Registration Fee, Rents

06/08/2022 12:21 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Under the registration fee increase proposed by staff -- the biggest in nine years -- the amount paid by a landlord would rise from $198 to $228 per unit, half of which can be passed on to the tenant.

Community Corp. Holds Ribbon-Cutting for Mar Vista Affordable Housing Development

06/08/2022 12:20 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The new development provides 50 newly constructed, 100 percent affordable apartments in the Mar Vista and is the organization’s first development outside of Santa Monica. It is located at 3960 Grand View Boulevard.

Primary Election Today

06/07/2022 9:21 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Ballot drop box locations:

Montana Avenue Library, 1704 Montana Ave.

Santa Monica Library Main Branch, 601 Santa Monica Blvd.

Virginia Avenue Park, 2200 Virginia Ave.

Marine Park, 1406 Marine St.

Vote Center Locations:

Grant Elementary School, 2368 Pearl St.

St. Anne Church and Shrine, 2011 Colorado.

Santa Monica College, 1900 Pico Blvd.

Civic Center Parking Structure, 330 Olympic Dr (2nd floor).

Joslyn Park, 633 Kensington Rd.

Professional Development Learning Ctr, 2802 4th St.

Marine Park, 1406 Marine St.

Virginia Avenue Park, 2200 Virginia Ave.

Rent control tenants facing third highest annual rent increase in history

06/07/2022 8:12 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

This year, the 12 month change in Consumer Price Index published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange County region was an unusually high 8.5 percent. This reflects the high inflation rates seen nationwide.

As a result, this year’s maximum allowable annual rent increase was calculated at 6.4 percent. However, the actual rate used will be 6 percent, as an amendment to the Rent Control Charter limits the maximum allowable adjustment to 6 percent in any given year.

Rent Control Board Meeting June 9, 2022

06/06/2022 9:20 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Agenda Item 11. - PUBLIC HEARINGS- Rent Control Board Meeting – June 9, 2022, 7:00 p.m., Via Live Stream

A. Consideration of whether to establish a ceiling on the 2022 General Adjustment.

B. Consideration and adoption of the RCB FY 22/23 Operating Budget.

C. Consideration of whether to amend subsection (b) of Regulation 11200 respecting an increase in the annual registration fee.

D. Consideration of whether to recommend to the City Council that the City place on the November 2022 ballot an amendment to the City Charter and Rent Control Amendment allowing for a suspension of rent increases during certain declared emergencies.

At its last meeting the Santa Monica Rent Board approved an annual rent increase of 6% as of September 1, 2022. This month, per item 11. A above, they will consider (meaning approve) a limit of the increase of $140 per month, which would apply to all units with Maximum Allowable Rents of $2,325 and above.

Source: Wes Wellman's Fast Lane News, June 3, 2022

SMa.r.t. Column: The Sound of Silence Is Big & Tall

06/06/2022 9:17 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

That well of silence would be the Planning Commission, the City Council, and Us, the resident voters, who continue to perpetrate the not too slow demise of what had been a fairly successful and desirable beachfront community, by being too silent. Residents and visitors alike shared the environmental, sustainable, and lifestyle benefits that a low rise beach environment, with fresh air, blue skies, and manageable traffic, provided for all, including for those in the Valley or the east side escaping the summer heat for a day at the beach. But success seems to breed contempt for “enough”, and greed “for more”, until it causes a rot, and in the case of a beachfront town that provided a relief, an escape valve, a ‘central park’ for so many, it builds itself into a shadow covered, traffic mired, non resident-friendly or un-useable, quagmire. Downtown.

LA County Treasurer and Tax Collector Mails Notices of Delinquent Payments

06/06/2022 9:15 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Keith Knox, Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector, is in the process of mailing approximately 162,000 Notices of Delinquency (Notices) to Los Angeles County property owners who have not paid their Annual and/or Supplemental Secured Property Taxes in full for the 2021-22 tax year.

New research casts doubt on rent control as a way to help the poor

06/03/2022 5:18 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Rent control was supposed to make housing more affordable for lower-income Americans. Turns out, it may be doing just the opposite.

Councilmember Brock's Open Letter on Transfer Tax

06/03/2022 5:07 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

I spend a lot of time listening to residents and it’s clear to me that the most important things we can do to respond to current concerns are to increase the levels of emergency response services in programs implemented by our public safety officers, such as the Police Department’s Homeless Liaison Program and the Fire Department’s Critical Response Unit, both of which operate on a limited basis today, and bring back critical services reduced during the pandemic such as library services, park maintenance and after-school programs.