ACTION Apartment Association

Where's the Analysis?

03/11/2020 3:10 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

The City Council is about to take a step that will change the nature of Santa Monica forever ("Council Could Immediately Streamline Permit Process to Spur Housing Development," March 5, 2020).

At its meeting Tuesday, it plans to adopt an emergency ordinance that would allow fast-tracking housing projects, skipping levels of review, including that of the public.

Left unrestrained by public outrage, large, dense Soviet-style housing projects will spring up in every corner of the city. Why this rush to annihilation?

An obscure group of non-elected government apparatchiks known as the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) decreed that Santa Monica should add 8,874 more low-cost housing units to one of the densest cities in the state within the next nine years.

Community Groups Urge Santa Monica Council to Reject Housing Targets

03/11/2020 1:10 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Nine community groups on Tuesday urged the City Council to appeal the "unattainable, irrational, and environmentally unsustainable" housing targets mandated by the State.

The letter came hours before the Council takes up an emergency interim ordinance streamlining Santa Monica's permitting process to reach the mandated 8,874 units, 70 percent of them affordable ("Council Could Immediately Streamline Permit Process to Spur Housing Development," March 5, 2020).

California lawmaker proposes new housing bill after SB 50 defeat

03/11/2020 9:28 AM | Angelica Jue (Administrator)

Six weeks after his high-profile effort to force California cities to increase housing density failed in the Legislature, the Democratic lawmaker behind the proposal introduced on Monday what he called a “light touch” approach — still pushing for more housing units in many single-family neighborhoods while also offering other communities the ability to skip lengthy environmental review for larger projects.

The bill by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) would allow construction of duplex, triplex and fourplex residential units without additional local government approval in single-family neighborhoods using what’s known as “by-right” provisions of state law. The number of units that could be built would depend on the size of the city, with fourplex projects aimed at cities with a population greater than 50,000.

City Council to vote on pensions

03/10/2020 9:00 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica City Council will vote Tuesday to make cuts to retirement and health care benefits for municipal employees after negotiations with employee unions stalled for more than a year.

Santa Monica and other California cities are trying to resolve multi-million dollar deficits between the pensions they promised workers and the value of CalPERS, the state’s public employee pension fund that suffered severe losses during the Great Recession.

Santa Monica Scrambles to Meet Housing Targets Other Cities Are Opposing

03/09/2020 5:02 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

As Santa Monica revs up to meet its State mandate to add nearly 9,000 new housing units over eight years, other cities have taken a much more cautious, if not contentious, approach.

SMa.r.t. Column: Spend, Baby, Spend!

03/06/2020 11:54 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Surprise, Surprise! Santa Monica is out of money and about to run a deficit. Crime and homelessness have led to a decline in parking revenue and hotel stay taxes. Who could have seen that coming?

~ Instead of examining their recent spending sprees and learning a lesson from them, our city fathers want to pick our pockets yet again.

Consumers Should Beware of Price Gauging Under Coronavirus State of Emergency

03/06/2020 11:50 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

As health-related supplies fly off store shelves amid growing fears of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Santa Monica City Attorney’s office is asking consumers to beware of illegal price gauging.

Price gouging, or raising the cost of certain goods or services more than 10 percent during a State of Emergency, is against the law, according to the Consumer Protection Division.

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2020/03/06/santa-monica-city-attorney-warns-about-price-gouging-following-statewide-declaration-of-emergency-for-novel-coronavirus-cases

Council Could Immediately Streamline Permit Process to Spur Housing Development

03/06/2020 11:42 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City Council could vote Tuesday to eliminate hearings for many large housing projects in an effort to issue permits for some 1,100 units a year, up from 200.

WS Communities Secures $157 Million Loan for Market-Rate SRO Developments

03/05/2020 2:37 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica's largest residential developer has received a $157 million loan to build ten apartment buildings Downtown, according to a Los Angeles real estate site.

They include six market-rate single room occupancy (SRO) developments that triggered a legal battle with the City last year.

Disabled Tenant Sues Santa Monica Landlord For Refusing Housing Voucher

03/04/2020 9:28 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A disabled 72-year-old tenant sued her Santa Monica landlord Monday for refusing to accept a housing voucher needed to pay the rent-controlled apartment she has occupied for 38 years.