ACTION Apartment Association

SMa.r.t. The Future of Our City Is At Stake

10/05/2020 7:09 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

So are we on a road to “nowhere”? How will this fast changing and diminishing quality of life affect our city? What will its future be? Just another piece of a larger metropolis. Recently the City Council finished constructing a 50,000 sq ft city hall annex at twice the cost of comparable municipal buildings. It then spent over $25 million fighting district elections and residents’ effort combatting the enormous benefit of development contributions to “friendly” incumbent re-election campaigns!

Poll Shows Lack of Support for Council Incumbents

10/05/2020 7:06 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A recent poll of registered Santa Monica voters forecasts trouble for local incumbents, with less than 10 percent of the respondents saying they plan to support the current Council members.

The telephone survey of 305 likely voters conducted for Eyes on Local 11, an anti-hotel union watchdog group, found that 53.29 percent of the respondents have not decided who they will vote for.

More than a third -- 35.53 percent -- said they planned to vote for "someone new,"

Santa Monica Conservancy introduces 21st Century Task Force

10/02/2020 8:42 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Santa Monica Conservancy has sought to preserve historic buildings around town for nearly 20 years. But in an effort to adapt to the needs of the community, the conservancy recently formed a task force that has already begun drafting ideas on how to continue protecting local landmarks well into the future.

California’s Prop 21 would let cities expand rent control

10/01/2020 9:46 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

California voters overwhelmingly rejected a more expansive rent control measure two years ago known as Proposition 10. Last year, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a decade-long limit on rent increases to 5% a year plus inflation and barred landlords from evicting tenants without a reason.

City Council candidate forum

10/01/2020 9:43 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The next of the Santa Monica candidate forums co-sponsored by the Committee For Racial Justice and the Santa Monica League of Women Voters Educational Fund will be a zoom meeting on Sunday evening, October 4, which will feature candidates for City Council and will start at 6 p.m. All the candidates were invited. To date, 15 have confirmed.

Read More on page 11: https://s3.amazonaws.com/smdp_backissues/100120.pdf

California’s rent strike: Who pays and how it works

10/01/2020 9:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

As the pandemic stretches into its seventh month, tenants and landlords have found themselves facing the same question: Who’s going to pay the rent if unemployment continues to hover north of 11%?

City of Santa Monica Partners with the Straus Institute at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law to Offer Aide in Eviction Disputes

09/30/2020 12:25 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution will collaborate with the City of Santa Monica to provide mediation for landlords and tenants who are navigating payment of deferred rent alongside city- and state-wide eviction moratorium orders in place through the end of the year. Pro bono services will be offered through the Straus Mediation Clinic and externship program.

Santa Monica City Council Approves Miramar Expansion

09/30/2020 12:10 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica City Council has approved plans that have been in the works for a decade to redevelop the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, despite opposition from the mayor and a councilmember.

In a meeting that began Tuesday night and ended in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, Santa Monica City Council approved the proposed redevelopment of the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows with a 4-2 vote.

AND: https://www.smdp.com/city-council-approves-miramar-revitalization/196964

The Artful Dodgers By Mary Marlow

09/30/2020 12:06 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Miramar Hotel managed to use a loophole in 2006 when they purchased the Miramar property for $200 million to save approximately $1.2 million every year in property taxes.

That means the County of Los Angeles, the City of Santa Monica and the local school district lost needed revenue for the past 14 years of around $20 million dollars.

I bring these lost revenues up now because the Miramar is coming before our City Council with another revenue dodge -- a development agreement that offers meager community benefits in exchange for a massive new building that will bring them profits in excess the generous 12 percent expected of hotel projects.

Something's Not Right

09/29/2020 9:54 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

And in two minutes you’re going to know exactly what it is and what you can do about it. First the facts… —The Santa Monica City Council is set to vote THIS Tuesday, September 29th on the super-sized Miramar Hotel, owned by Michael S. Dell, whom Forbes says is the 39th-richest person in the world, worth $35 billion. —The hotel would essentially DOUBLE in SIZE.