The Gelson’s site development, as a quasi government bonus project, is provided with bonus development rights that allow increasing the number of market rates units by 50% without providing any additional affordable units than would be required for the base development permitted by city zoning. A government gift to a private developer and their investors. Not a bad deal I guess for the developer’s return on investment. However wrong it did go, Pruitt-Igoe was built with the premise that it would help solve a shortage of affordable housing and provide a lower income level of society a leg up and a healthy, more open planned, environment. 

Is it ironic that the un-founded cry that there is a “housing shortage” is used to justify a project such as is proposed at Gelson’s? There are, per California Dept. Of Finance, about 4500+ vacant units in Santa Monica, as well as a declining state population.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2022/03/sma-r-t-column-the-development-at-ocean-park-lincoln/

Cypress Equity Investments has begun construction on a new development in Santa Monica as reported by Urbanize Los Angeles. The project is yet another mixed use development that is being built at the northwest corner of Centinela Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard where a Aahs! store used to stand. 

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2022/03/53-unit-development-with-retail-coming-to-former-aahs-space/

Of more than 488,000 households who applied for assistance since the program launched in March 2021, about 180,000 were approved. Four percent were denied, and more than half of applicants are still awaiting a response, according to the study, produced by the National Equity Atlas, Housing Now and the Western Center on Law & Poverty using state data. 

Read More: https://calmatters.org/housing/2022/03/california-rent-relief-wait/

Ellis said he is not a hawker of development who is willing to be fast and loose with the environment regulations and development standards. However, at the same time he views himself as a progressive and said he is committed to ensuring that the City develops in an equitable manner and is able to meet its state mandated requirement to build almost 9,000 new units by 2029.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/planning-commissioner-ellis-raskin-declares-council-candidacy/213947

 The application period for a state program providing assistance to people with unpaid rent or utilities due to COVID-19 will close at the end of the month, the Los Angeles Housing Department announced Thursday.

Read More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/smallbusiness/angelenos-can-apply-for-additional-rental-assistance-through-march-31/ar-AAUzrA1?ocid=hplocalnews

With housing prices skyrocketing, and the homeless crisis worsening statewide, a new report released Wednesday determined that California needs to build another 2.5 million homes in the next eight years in order to ease the housing crisis.

Read More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/california-must-build-2-5m-houses-by-2030-to-avoid-exacerbating-homeless-crisis-report-finds/ar-AAUzdms?ocid=hplocalnews

March 2, 2022 10:58 AM
by David White

The Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce and the City of Santa Monica hosted the annual State of the City on February 15, 2022. The complete event video is available on YouTube. This is the second in a two-part blog series covering City Manager David White’s State of the City address. The first part looked back at 2021.

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/blog/envisioning-santa-monica-s-future

March 2, 2022 10:47 AM
by David White

The Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce and the City of Santa Monica hosted the annual State of the City on February 15, 2022.  In this two-part blog series, we share excerpts from City Manager David White’s address, which can be viewed on YouTube. First, we look back at 2021 before exploring what lies ahead.

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/blog/santa-monica-s-year-in-review-for-2021

Dear Editor,

It is an outrage that the project at Lincoln and Ocean Park Boulevards will be administratively approved without any City public hearings and without possible appeal to the Planning Commission and the City Council ("Gelson's Proposed Project is a Done Deal," February 23, 2022).

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2022/03_02_2022_LETTERS_The_Buck_Stops_with_the_Council.html

Rents in Santa Monica dipped for the fourth straight month in February, after rising steadily during the first ten months of 2021, according to Apartment List's monthly report released Tuesday.

The 0.4 percent dip comes after rents in Santa Monica fell by 0.5 percent in January, 2.8 percent in December and 1.8 percent in November.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2022/March-2022/03_01_2022_Santa_Monica_Rents_Drop_Again.html