ACTION Apartment Association

'The Plaza' Project Raises Questions Staff Won't Answer

08/03/2020 9:56 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

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).

SMa.r.t. Column: Room to Breathe!

07/31/2020 8:32 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

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

Plaintiffs in Santa Monica Voting Rights Suit File Petition for Rehearing

07/31/2020 8:30 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

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).

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

Local 11 Drowns Out Community Voices In 'Plaza' Debate

07/31/2020 8:27 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

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).

Negotiations for proposed Plaza at Santa Monica set to continue

07/30/2020 8:23 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

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.

HOMELESS TSUNAMI IS COMING

07/29/2020 12:22 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

For the tenants who are thinking that they can avoid paying their rent during this forbearance period, they have a rude awakening coming. While the eviction process is on hold in Santa Monica (we have a moratorium until Sept. 30, on evictions) this is not a period of “Free Rent” or “Cancelled Rent.” The protesters who want to “Cancel Rent” are living in a dream world of some Utopian fantasy that completely ignores any semblance of reality and basic social economies. It may look and sound like a happy little way to make life okay for those tenants to just “cancel rent” but someone else is left holding the debt that monthly rents pay.

Council Approves Negotiations With Developers of "The Plaza" Project

07/29/2020 12:02 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

At its July 28, 2020 meeting, the Santa Monica City Council voted to continue negotiations with Clarett West Development, LLC, and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, LLC to develop a 2.57-acre City-owned property bounded by 4th Street, 5th Street, and Arizona Avenue. The proposed project, The Plaza at Santa Monica, is the product of a competitive process initiated by the City in 2013. 

Council’s action last night does not constitute final approval of the proposed project, but it allows staff to continue negotiations.  

Santa Monica Extends Coronavirus Emergency

07/29/2020 12:00 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Citing the continued spread of the coronavirus, the City of Santa Monica on Tuesday extended its local health emergency and most associated orders through August 31.

The one-month extension comes as "key metrics continue to show community spread of COVID-19," City officials said in a statement.

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2020/07/28/santa-monica-extends-local-emergency-to-august-31

Vote planned to end California’s eviction ban

07/29/2020 11:50 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A statewide moratorium on evicting tenants during the coronavirus pandemic could end in the next 2 ½ weeks, triggering what some fear could be “a wave of evictions” unless lawmakers reinstate the ban.

THE “PLAZA” – A VERY BAD DEAL

07/28/2020 9:14 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Now, we have another potential developer profit-making deal in the works – this time involving the biggest parcel of land in our downtown – on OUR public land; our 2.5 acres at 4th/5th and Arizona.

The developers are two real estate investment firms skilled in finding undervalued properties, getting approvals to develop them, and then selling their interests, profiting and moving on.