ACTION Apartment Association

Neighborhood, Slow-Growth Groups Band to Defeat 'The Plaza' Project

02/19/2020 8:14 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A coalition of neighborhood and slow-growth groups sent an ultimatum Tuesday to City officials and the developer of "The Plaza at Santa Monica" -- withdraw the proposed project or we will fight to stop it.

The nine groups predicted they would defeat the 357,000-square-foot mixed-use hotel development proposed by Clarett West on City owned land in the heart of Downtown.

The project includes a 240-room luxury hotel, 106,800 square feet of creative workspace, approximately 40,000 square feet of open public space and 48 units of affordable housing, according to the Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

Michigan trainer brings mini service horse on his first flight

02/18/2020 10:05 AM | Angelica Jue (Administrator)

Calls on DOT of consider mini horses as viable service animals

It's not every day you see a horse on a plane, let alone in first class. But Fred the Mini Service Horse went wheels up with a purpose.

Is California headed back into drought

02/17/2020 8:18 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The most recent U.S. Drought Monitor, issued on Thursday, shows an oval-shaped patch of Central California slipping back into moderate drought. This is after a couple months where the Drought Monitor showed the state to be almost drought-free.

But did the drought in California ever really end? Climatologist and weather expert Bill Patzert thinks Southern California continues to be mired in a two-decade drought, and he uses rainfall figures for downtown Los Angeles to illustrate his point.

Millennials 'Gamechangers' Shaping Santa Monica

02/17/2020 8:10 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica is increasingly becoming a city of Millennials who are shaping its economy, social views and policies, Mayor Kevin McKeown said Wednesday in his State of the City address.

Millennials -- those between 25 and 40 years old -- hold well paying tech jobs in what has become known as "Silicon Beach" and are helping to drive up housing prices, the Mayor said.

Backyard landlord: What to know before building an ADU or granny flat

02/14/2020 7:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

In 2017, when California relaxed the rules for obtaining building permits for accessory dwelling units — otherwise known as ADUs or “granny flats” — on single-family residential properties, it ignited a building industry gold rush of sorts and ushered in the dawn of the microdeveloper.

Now, legally permitted ADUs are becoming more commonplace as property owners build from scratch or transform carriage houses, backyard cottages and garage apartments into units that proponents say can ease Southern California’s housing crisis.

SMa.r.t. Column: The City’s Hidden Thirst

02/14/2020 7:25 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

City Council voted last month to increase water rates throughout the city by about 100% over a period of 5 years. The proposed increase led to disagreement and bitterness among many residents.

Controversies over the rate increases mark the first hints of a hard, unpleasant reality that will soon hit the city and its residents: we may not have enough water to supply the city’s needs in the next decade.

Santa Monica's 2020 Economic Summit - State of the City

02/13/2020 2:53 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

See the Mayor's address at: https://www.santamonica.gov/blog/santa-monica-2020-economic-summit-state-of-the-city

Rent hikes could be smaller for L.A. tenants under new plan at City Hall

02/13/2020 8:14 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin wants to clamp down on rent increases for hundreds of thousands of tenants, tightening the rules under a longstanding city ordinance. Under a new proposal, Bonin wants to adjust those rules so that landlords can no longer boost rents by 3% even when inflation is much lower, eliminating that "floor." His plan would cap annual increases at 60% of the consumer price index.

Rent Control Again: Is This Vote Needed?

02/13/2020 8:11 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

It was a head-scratcher the other day when the AIDS Healthcare Foundation submitted more than 1 million voter signatures aiming to place comprehensive rent control before Californians next fall, just two years after they rejected the same idea by a 20 percent margin.

But no one in politics today seems to heed what the voters want.

City Council Green Lights Safety Improvements for Wilshire Boulevard

02/12/2020 10:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

At its meeting last night, the Santa Monica City Council unanimously approved roadway safety improvements for Wilshire Boulevard as part of the City’s commitment to Vision Zero, the elimination of fatal and severe injury collisions by 2026. To reach this goal, ten intersections are targeted for safety improvements. Four are on Wilshire Boulevard--at 16th, 18th, 21st, and 25th Streets.