Local voters will decide whether to boost Santa Monica's luxury real estate tax to help fund municipal services and amend the City Charter to help diversify its workforce.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2020/August-2020/08_04_2020_Santa_Monica_Voters_to_Decide_Fate_of_Two_Ballot_Measures.html

The recently formed Public Safety Reform Advisory Committee held its first community listening session last Thursday to hear from residents who described their experiences with local police officers and recommended public safety changes they would like to see instituted in the city.

The 2-hour discussion held by the 15-member committee, which has been tasked with reviewing proposals for public safety reforms, featured dozens of comments from the more than 100 residents who tuned into the Zoom session last week.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/public-safety-committee-holds-first-community-listening-session/195061

A measure proposing the increase of fees on property sales worth more than $5 million will appear on November ballots after a unanimous vote by Santa Monica City Council this week. 

Read More on page 1: https://s3.amazonaws.com/smdp_backissues/080120.pdf

City Hall remains closed but some of Santa Monica’s essential services and departments are planning to open this week.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/city-services-whats-opening-soon/195020

A total of 27 City Council hopefuls -- including all five incumbents -- have pulled papers as Santa Monica's nominating period enters its final week on Monday.

As of Friday evening, 25 potential candidates had pulled papers from the City Clerk's office to run for four seats with four-years terms and eight for one seat with a partial 2-year term.

Also pulling nominating papers was Dominic Gomez, a former member of the Community Compensation Advisory Committee, where he was a vocal critic of the City's spending policies.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2020/July-2020/07_31_2020_More_Than_Two_Dozen_Council_Hopefuls_Vie_for_Five_Open_Seats.html

Dear Editor,

I find it unbelievably odd that the Santa Monica Council gave more weight to the voices of Local 11 members than to those of residents who for years have been opposed to the “Plaza” project ("Santa Monica Council Votes to Continue Negotiations on 'The Plaza' Project Downtown," July 29, 2020).

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2020/07_31_2020_LETTERS_The_Plaza_Project_Raises_Questions_Staff_Wont_Answer.html

Three days ago, your City Council gave away your land in the center of downtown for 30 pieces of silver. The giveaway did not produce any cash; instead, your city council proposed to give an out of town developer 2.5 acres of the people’s land at 5th and Arizona. This land is worth at least $62 million in today’s dollars, and the lease is for the next 99 years. We receive nothing, zip, zero, nada. Imagine what the parcel will be worth 99 years from now! For that very tidy easy to count sum of zero dollars, Santa Monica receives:

• 11 stories of hotel, offices, and retail space, which we won’t need

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2020/07/sma-r-t-column-room-to-breathe/

Plaintiffs in the voting rights lawsuit against the City have asked the California Appeals Court for a rehearing after it found that Santa Monica's at-large election system does not violate State law.

Filed last Friday, the petition contends that the Court's July 9 ruling "contains several critical and factual mistakes" ("Santa Monica's Election System Does Not Violate Latino's Voting Rights, Appeals Court Rules," July 9, 2020).

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2020/July-2020/07_30_2020_Plaintiffs_in_Santa_Monica_Voting_Rights_Suit_File_Petition_for_Rehearing.html

AND: https://smmirror.com/2020/07/plaintiffs-in-voting-rights-case-against-santa-monica-petition-for-rehearing/

By Charlyce Bozzello

Unite Here Local 11 has long supported the controversial “Plaza at Santa Monica” development, thanks to a neutrality agreement signed by the developer that guarantees new dues dollars for the union.

Now, with the help of its friends on the City Council, it looks like the union is finally getting its wish.

On Tuesday night, the City Council voted 6-1 to move ahead with negotiations on the mixed-use development ("Santa Monica Council Votes to Continue Negotiations on 'The Plaza' Project Downtown," July 29, 2020).

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2020/07_30_2020_Local_11_Drowns_Out_Community_Voices_In_Plaza_Debate.html

Negotiations concerning a proposed project at 4th and Arizona, known as The Plaza at Santa Monica, are set to resume after a vote by City Council Tuesday night.

The future of the controversial downtown development project was up in the air in recent months after Interim City Manager Lane Dilg recommended temporarily halting negotiations between staff and Clarett West Development, LLC and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, LLC, back in February while the city attempted to discover if the development would be in violation of any state laws.

At its meeting on Tuesday, Council directed staff to adjust priorities in the negotiations of the 2.57-acre property to better reflect the input that’s been received from the public throughout the process, as well as impacts of COVID-19 on the economy, city revenues, and community needs.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/negotiations-for-proposed-plaza-at-santa-monica-set-to-continue/194873