ACTION Apartment Association

Landlords need to stop whining

08/25/2020 12:56 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

And yet, the powerful and well-funded California Apartment Assn. and California Chamber of Commerce have come out against the last anti-eviction bill standing. AB 1436 from Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) would prohibit the removal of renters who miss payments for either until 90 days after the COVID-19 state of emergency ends or April 2021, whichever occurs first.

Why We Decided to Withdraw from the Race for City Council

08/25/2020 10:12 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Andrew Browning and Dominic Gomez

After much thought, the two of us have decided to withdraw from the race for Santa Monica City Council.

We withdrew because it became clear that the best way to affect change in Santa Monica was to consolidate the number of candidates challenging the incumbents, incumbents who have overseen the rapid decline of our city.

Only Four Council Candidates to Vie for SMRR Endorsement

08/25/2020 10:10 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Only four of the 15 candidates actively running for a full term on the City Council will seek the backing of Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR) at the powerful group's convention this month.

Incumbents Gleam Davis, Ted Winterer and Ana Jara, and Planning Commissioner Mario Fonda-Bonardi will seek the SMRR endorsement in the race for four open four-year seats at the tenant group's online convention August 30.

Out of the running are incumbent Terry O'Day and School Board member Oscar de la Torre, who failed to notify SMRR by August 8 that they was seeking the group's endorsement.

Santa Monica Cracking Down on Parties

08/25/2020 10:09 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Organizers of parties in Santa Monica face fines of up to $1,000 and loss of utilities under action taken by officials this week.

On Tuesday, Interim City Manager and Director of Emergency Services Lane Dilg issued a twenty-fourth supplement that allows enforcement against previously prohibited large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2020/08/25/santa-monica-explicitly-prohibits-large-gatherings-and-extends-local-emergency-to-september-30

Council to debate new rent restrictions

08/24/2020 10:10 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

City officials are proposing new rules governing rental units that would discourage or outright prevent landlords from offering leases of less than a year in length.

Under the new rules, rent controlled leases would have mandatory minimums of one year while market rate landlords would be required to offer one-year leases unless the tenant requested a shorter length of stay.

City launches COVID assurance program to support local businesses

08/24/2020 10:09 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Last Wednesday the City launched the “Santa Monica Shines” COVID-19 assurance program to ensure businesses have the best safety practices and to encourage people to shop locally.

Businesses who enroll in the program will be trained on the latest health and safety requirements and how to ensure customer compliance. Following an onsite evaluation of their protocols, they will receive the Santa Monica Shines Safety Assurance Seal to publicly display.

Outside agency to finish report on looting

08/24/2020 10:09 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Three council members are asking for an outside agency to expedite an analysis of the City’s response to recent looting and riots.

The Santa Monica Police Department has been gathering information about the incident. Councilmembers Terry O’Day, Kristin McCowan and Sue Himmelrich are now asking staff to promptly retain an outside expert to compile the final report.

Rent Control Board seeks general counsel replacement

08/24/2020 10:06 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica’s Rent Control Board formed a subcommittee comprised of local commissioners who have been tasked with finding a replacement for the board’s general counsel.

The Rent Control Board met last week for its second meeting since June 11, when the board adopted its 2020-2021 Operating Budget. Like July’s meeting though, the agenda was a lot lighter than usual since the board only took up discussion on two items outside of the meeting’s public comment period.

Attorney Stephen Lewis is set to retire in November, meaning the board has only a few months to find a sufficient replacement for the position...

Slate: Phil Brock, Oscar de la Torre, Mario Fonda-Bonardi

08/24/2020 10:03 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

If you are struggling to sort through the list of 21 candidates aiming for the four Santa Monica City Council seats up for grabs in November, the formation of alliances might help you out. A four-person challenger alliance was announced in local media this week that includes Phil Brock, Oscar de la Torre, Mario Fonda-Bonardi, and Christine Parra. Their goal is to oust incumbents Gleam Davis, Ana Jara, Terry O'Day and Ted Winterer.

Losing Our City!

08/24/2020 9:56 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

With such existential threats to all residents’ quality of life and financial well-being (renter and homeowner alike), where is our city leadership? Why was there no formal appeal of the allocations during the appeal window? Where is the coalition-building with other similarly impacted cities? Rather than spending $10M to $20M fighting AGAINST its own residents in the district lawsuit, imagine if the city had used a fraction of those resources fighting FOR the residents by, for example, participating in a coalition with other cities to sponsor a ballot initiative prohibiting state control of local land use.