Here is where the rewritten bill returns. AB 1740 no longer exempts anything at the bluff. Instead, it does something subtler: it puts Santa Monica on a deadline to finish its coastal plan by 2029, and the Commission on a deadline to certify it. More subtle is a hint that the state budget’s vote next week includes ‘trailer bill’ wording setting that until the LCP is certified, all housing projects are allowed. 

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2026/06/sm-a-r-t-column-the-dual-process-part-three-the-line-the-sea-is-moving-toward/

Former Mayor Sue Himmelrich -- a longtime champion of tenants rights who has helped spearhead two local tax measures for affordable housing -- is seeking a seat on Santa Monica's Rent Control Board.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2026/June-2026/06_24_2026_Former_Mayor_Seeks_Rent_Board_Seat.html

Assembly Bill 1740, authored by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-51st District), now requires Santa Monica to submit a complete proposed LCP to the commission by Jan. 1, 2029. Under the amended version of the bill, the commission must act on that submission within six months of receipt, provide the city a written list of any identified issues within 45 days, and — if it fails to act on the complete proposal within six months — submit quarterly written updates to the Legislature explaining the delay.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/controversial-coastal-development-bill-washes-ashore-with-radically-reduced-scope-and-impact/

The slow coastal permitting the city blames on Sacramento is a wound of its own making — and AB 1740 is the wrong way to close it.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2026/06/sm-a-r-t-column-santa-monica-built-the-delay-it-now-wants-a-law-to-erase-part-one/

A proposal to bar an individual City Councilmember from placing an item on the agenda without a co-sponsor was quickly dismissed Tuesday night.

The item was viewed by residents -- who sent more than 60 emails opposing the rule change -- as a way of silencing Councilmember Lana Negrete, who is the lone dissenting voice on a dais dominated by Santa Monica's liberal establishment.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2026/June-2026/06_11_2026_Single_Councilmember_Can_Keep_Placing_Items_on_Agenda.html

Housing and Human Services Director Aileen Reynolds is recommending council authorize an $800,000 contract with the Los Angeles County Homeless Services and Housing Department to launch a Predictive Prevention Pilot aimed at keeping at-risk Santa Monica residents housed before a crisis occurs.

Read More: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp_backissues/060926.pdf

Housing and Human Services Director Aileen Reynolds is recommending council authorize an $800,000 contract with the Los Angeles County Homeless Services and Housing Department to launch a Predictive Prevention Pilot aimed at keeping at-risk Santa Monica residents housed before a crisis occurs.

Read More: https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp_backissues/060926.pdf

The City Council on Tuesday will consider a rule change that bars a single Councilmember from placing a discussion item on the agenda.

Instead, at least two, and no more than three, Councilmembers would need to co-sponsor a discussion item "to require collaboration (that) shows increased support for an item to be considered," according to the staff report to the Council.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2026/June-2026/06_09_2026_Proposed_Rule_Change_Could_Silence_Residents.html

Consider this jaw-dropping example: One nonprofit, the Community Corporation of Santa Monica (CCSM), received $37.5 million in taxpayer-funded loans from the City's Housing Trust Fund (money the city does not expect to be repaid) to rehabilitate a single 40-unit rent-controlled apartment building on Virginia Avenue (2033-2101 Virginia Ave.). That's $937,500 per apartment.

Read More: https://www.smobserved.com/story/2026/06/08/opinion/span-classbrnwsbreaking-news-spantaxpayer-dollars-down-the-drain-in-santa-monica-when-affordable-housing-becomes-luxury-waste/9903.html

Los Angeles County landlords have regained a significant degree of pricing flexibility following the expiration of the county’s post-fire rent gouging restrictions on May 29, 2026. After more than 16 months of emergency controls enacted in response to the January 2025 wildfires, property owners will no longer be bound by the 10% cap tied to pre-fire rental rates.

Read More: https://files.constantcontact.com/588963b0501/8910556a-cb01-4843-9a31-6d82439fec95.pdf