ACTION Apartment Association

Too many units, too little time

04/29/2022 1:06 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Following the Department of Housing and Community Development’s (HCD) rejection of Santa Monica’s initial Housing Element plan on Feb. 8, the City has until Oct.15 to bring its plan into compliance. Council members say that’s not enough time and during an April 26 meeting voted to request an extension from the state.

Push Poll Tries to Convince Santa Monica Voters to Vote for New Transfer Tax

04/29/2022 12:30 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A push poll interview company is calling Santa Monica voters to gauge their response to Sue Himmelrich's ballot proposal to establish an increase over the current tax on sales of property over $8 million. Push polls are billed as surveys of opinion to the respondent but actually give information in an attempt to sway the voter.

Santa Monica Rents Fall Flat

04/29/2022 12:23 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica rental rates fell flat in April after rising last month for the first time since October, according to Apartment List's monthly report released Thursday.

The median rent for an apartment rose 0.1 percent, after increasing 2.8 percent in March. That increase reversed decreases totaling 5.5 percent over the previous four months.

City Seeks More Time to Meet State Housing Deadline

04/28/2022 10:03 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Council also voted to extend a contract with Wood LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental consulting firm, to help revise the plan California housing officials said fails to detail how the City plans to meet its quota.

Severe SoCal Water Restrictions Ordered

04/27/2022 9:19 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Water officials in Southern California declared a water shortage emergency Tuesday amid the state's worsening drought.

Outdoor watering will be immediately restricted to just one day a week across areas in Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California said in a release.

Density - Plaintiffs say SB10 includes a blatant constitutional overreach

04/27/2022 9:17 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is asking a Los Angeles Court to reject a lawsuit that seeks to overturn one of California’s recently enacted mandatory housing density laws, SB 10, which allows for 10 residential units on one parcel of land irrespective of local restrictions that say otherwise. The legislation allows municipalities to overrule zoning restrictions that were enacted by ballot initiatives, thereby running roughshod over the will of voters.

LA City Council calls on state to pass bill restricting Ellis Act evictions

04/26/2022 5:01 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

For the second time this year, the Los Angeles City Council has called for the state to pass legislation requiring a minimum of five years of ownership before a homeowner can invoke the Ellis Act to evict tenants and take property off the rental market.

Public input wanted on Rent Control charter amendment

04/26/2022 4:22 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Board is debating a proposed City Charter amendment that would make several revisions to its powers including requiring the registration of all non-rent-controlled rental units, amend existing rules to require that an owner intend to occupy a unit for at least three years instead of one year when seeking an owner exemption, require an owner to re-offer the unit to the displaced tenant if the owner fails to reside in the unit for at least three years, to allow an owner 60 days, instead of 30 days, to take occupancy of the unit, allow Commissioners to be elected to a maximum of three full terms to align with City elected officials and state that an election need not be held if the number of qualified candidates does not exceed the number of open board positions.

L.A. Residents Express Lowest-Ever Satisfaction With Quality of Life

04/26/2022 2:23 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

“For the first time since the inception of this survey, respondents’ ratings dropped in each of the nine categories, and eight of the nine fell to their lowest rating ever,” said Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative, who oversees the index.

Letter to Editor: Your “Standing Firm With Santa Monica” Initiative

04/26/2022 2:21 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The following is an open letter to Councilmember Sue Himmelrich from Santa Monica resident Arthur Jeon regarding a proposed transfer tax ballot initiative.

The rest of the money will go into the ongoing pile of billions to address “homelessness,” a bottomless pit sucking up money while the problem only gets worse because the thinking around solving the issue is braindead, and doesn’t comport with reality.