That the problem still persists after hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars have been spent is reflected in the numbers -- in 2008, 999 homeless people were counted in Santa Monica. In 2020, it was 985.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2022/April-2022/04_25_2022_Its_Deja_Vu_for_Santa_Monicas_Homeless_Policies.html

Solicitors are being posted outside the Gelson’s Grocery Store, Bob’s Market and possibly other neighborhood store locations to solicit signatures for a petition to place a new Santa Monica property “transfer tax” (i.e., sales tax) onto this November ballot.

Read More: https://s3.amazonaws.com/smdp_backissues/042322.pdf

An empty lot used to store vehicles for an auto dealership at 1807 Broadway might become a mixed-use development with an art gallery as reported by Urbanize Los Angeles. The idea was proposed to the Santa Monica Architectural Review Board on April 18. 

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2022/04/mixed-use-development-with-art-gallery-planned-for-santa-monica/

The city has a goal to be fully independent of the state’s water system, which supplies about a third of the city’s water needs and is under severe and increasing climate-change pressure. But a Public Works staff report to City Council last June suggested that the State’s new housing requirements would cause the city to fall short of that goal [link: https://tinyurl.com/2p862b4p]. A real, comprehensive master plan would plan for that eventuality, and start orienting the city toward a drier, hotter future with fewer resources. This would include guidelines for the design of buildings and courtyard-enabled city blocks similar to the methods developed by Professor Knowles.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2022/04/sma-r-t-column-planning-the-real-future/

Dear Editor,

For anyone wondering if certain City Council members willingly attract more homeless people to our City, note Sue Himmelrich’s recent radio comments.

The Mayor stated she’d “happily house” homeless who migrate here, and that attracting more homeless is “a risk that I personally am willing to take." No word on whether she cares if residents and local business owners aren’t waving pom-poms to support her “personally” cheerleading the risks to the rest of us.

Read More  https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2022/04_22_2022_LETTERS_Council_Members_Must_Denounce_Notion_City_Wants_More_Homeless.html

Santa Monica must strike out in a new direction if it hopes to make significant inroads in addressing its longstanding homeless problem, a new report concludes.

The report authored by attorney Elizabeth Mitchell -- who recently reached a groundbreaking settlement with the City of Los Angeles over its homeless policies -- lays out a number of legal and policy options the City can use.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2022/April-2022/04_21_2022_Santa_Monica_Needs_Radical_Shift_in_Homeless_Policies.html

While previous Councils balked at the idea of such increases, some Council members on Tuesday viewed the proposed hike from the current $340 to the approved $410 as not nearly enough.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2022/April-2022/04_20_2022_Council_Hikes_Campaign_Contrbution_Limit.html

So, this week, we focus on the proposed transfer tax itself, the rationale, implementation  issues and why it’s a bad idea for Santa Monica.  

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2022/04/sma-r-t-column-new-city-financial-plan-the-resident-homeowner-bank-part-ii-who-pays-the-proposed-transfer-tax-and-where-does-the-money-go/

The Santa Monica Rent Control Board has released its 2021 Annual Report summarizing developments during the year and presenting detailed information about the status of controlled rental housing in Santa Monica.

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/blog/santa-monica-rent-control-board-releases-2021-annual-report

The Public Rights Division of the Santa Monica City Attorney's Office invites you to the 2022 Virtual Fair Housing Workshop on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The workshop presenters are Deputy City Attorneys Gary Rhoades, Autumn Rindels, and Jonathan Erwin-Frank. Topics will include:

• Reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities
• Santa Monica’s Right to Return program
• Pandemic-related issues in fair housing
• Source-of-income discrimination laws which protect Section 8 voucher-holders and users of rental assistance

Read More/Register: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2022/04/13/santa-monica-to-host-virtual-fair-housing-workshop-on-april-26