At last night’s meeting, the Santa Monica City Council reviewed and approved adjustments to the midyear budget . The budget responds to softening revenues that are impacting the City sooner than originally projected. A $2 million shortfall is expected this budget period predominantly due to a reduction in Transient Occupancy Tax from hotel guests.   

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2020/02/26/city-council-approves-midyear-budget-and-continues-budget-restructuring

Beginning March 12, 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau will begin mailing correspondence to all households to direct individuals to respond to the 2020 Census.

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2020/02/26/santa-monica-gears-up-for-2020-census-to-ensure-a-complete-count

The City Council on Tuesday voted to halt negotiations on the proposed "The Plaza at Santa Monica" project over concerns it may not meet the requirements of California's recently expanded Surplus Land Act.

The closed-session vote came after City Attorney Lane Dilg expressed concerns the proposed 99-year ground lease for the City owned property at Fourth Street and Arizona Avenue could trigger the amended law.

The revised law -- which went into effect on January 1 -- "incentivizes the use of public property for affordable housing and other purposes," Dilg said.

Read More: http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2020/February-2020/02_26_2020_City_Halts_Negotiations_on_The_Plaza_Project.html

AND: https://www.smdp.com/city-suspends-negotiations-over-plaza-project/186794

To amend the application process thresholds for 100% affordable housing projects and all other housing projects compliant with the Housing Accountability Act.

Read More on page 3: https://s3.amazonaws.com/smdp_backissues/022520.pdf

With the recent closure of several stores and a vacancy rate topping 15%, Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade is not immune from the nationwide shift away from brick-and-mortar retail.

While the Promenade’s total sales are up after two years of decline, the shopping district will, over the long term, need to become less dependent on traditional retailers like Banana Republic, which closed last month, and cultivate a mix of shops, restaurants, bars and entertainment venues that reflect changing consumer tastes, stakeholders said.

It’s a challenging task for a public street with 38 landlords who operate independently of each other.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/small-spaces-are-the-big-idea-for-reviving-the-promenade/186691

Ultimately, is this just another sign that our city has grown too much for our public safety folks to handle? Again, we call for our infrastructure, including public safety, to be our priority, before growth.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2020/02/a-dinner-invitation-porn-and-a-city-on-fire/

On Monday, February 24, the City will be hosting a Community Town Hall on Santa Monica 2050. Attendees will learn about the technological, urban, and business model disruptions impacting Santa Monica and provide input on their vision for future. Santa Monica Main Library, MLK Auditorium, from 6-8 p.m.

Read More on pg. 7: https://s3.amazonaws.com/smdp_backissues/022220.pdf

Over the next decade, Santa Monica and other cities in California will have to rethink how they produce affordable housing.

The state is set to require communities across the state to produce more market-rate and affordable housing than ever before to try to make a dent in a housing shortage that has sent the price of rents and mortgages soaring and thrown thousands of people onto the streets. Housing for low- and moderate-income renters will be particularly tough to produce in the quantities that the state needs, and municipalities will need to find new ways to fund housing projects and make them cheaper and easier to build.

Currently, Santa Monica requires for-profit developers to include a certain amount of affordable units in market-rate housing projects and provides funding for nonprofit developers like Community Corporation of Santa Monica to construct 100% affordable buildings. 

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/primer-affordable-housing/186621

In Santa Monica, both market-rate and affordable developers must guide housing projects through a review process that takes one to three years.

But with a forthcoming state mandate to zone for roughly 6,000 affordable units and 3,000 market-rate units between 2021 and 2029, putting new housing through a lengthy and expensive review process is no longer feasible, Planning Commission Chair Leslie Lambert said Wednesday before the commission voted to support expediting the process for 100% affordable housing and market-rate housing up to 60 feet tall that conforms to existing standards.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/housing-could-be-easier-and-cheaper-to-build-under-new-city-plan/186559

A Tax hike is inevitable.

Read More: https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-02-20/skelton-newsom-state-of-the-state-homelessness