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Pension costs force discussion of new taxes and service cuts

05/02/2019 9:09 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

City Council discussed putting new types of taxes on the 2020 ballot and seeking corporate sponsorship to make up for flatlining revenues during a discussion of the City of Santa Monica’s finances Tuesday.

Council met Tuesday to review plans to shrink the City’s budget over the next several years as pension costs balloon and sales tax and parking revenue dwindle. City staff presented Council with a range of options to reduce costs, including eliminating about 29 currently vacant jobs, streamlining or cutting some services and putting new taxes on the 2020 ballot. The City has about 2,300 full-time employees who provide about 660 distinct services with a budget of more than $700 million per year.

City of Santa Monica Previews Biennial Budget

05/02/2019 8:52 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

At a special study session last night, April 30, City staff previewed the strategy for its budget for the next two fiscal years as part of a six-year strategy for shaping a government that works better and costs less. Santa Monica City Council members asked a wide range of questions about aspects of the overall plan in anticipation of the release of the Proposed FY 2019-21 Biennial Budget on May 23.

Community Corps to Build 94 Units Across 14th Street from Woodlawn Cemetery

05/02/2019 8:27 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Community Corp. of Santa Monica (CCSM) will be holding a public hearing this month on their proposal to build 55 affordable housing units on 14th Street, across the street from Woodlawn Cemetery. The public input hearing will be held on May 21 at 6:30 at Virginia Avenue Park.

CCSM already has loan approval for a 39-unit affordable housing project next door at 1820 and 1826 14th Street. That project is all one-bedroom units with the exception of the 2-bedroom manager's unit.

California’s population growth is the slowest in recorded history

05/02/2019 7:58 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

California’s 2018 population growth was the slowest in state history, new demographic data show — underscoring shifting immigration patterns, declining birthrates and economic strains that are making it harder for some to afford living here.

The state added 186,807 residents last year, bringing the estimated total population to 39,927,315 as of Jan. 1, according to estimates released by the state Department of Finance on Wednesday. The overall growth rate slipped to 0.47% last year from 0.78% in 2017, the slowest since data collection started in 1900, department spokesman H.D. Palmer said.

The Squeeze On LA Renters Is Worse Than You Thought: USC Study

05/02/2019 7:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Trying to survive in Los Angeles as a renter is even harder than previously understood. A news study by researchers at USC, uses a new methodology to break down the disparity between rent and wages, finding that Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., have the nation's widest disparity between income and rental housing affordability.

It's a reality that workers and renters intuitively know, but a new statistical model puts it into stark perspective.

Planning Commission Set to Recommend Outright Ban on 'Micro Units'

05/01/2019 8:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Planning Commission on Wednesday is expected to recommend an all-out ban on market rate "micro units" planning officials say threaten to undermine Santa Monica's housing policies.

The Commission will discuss recommending that the City Council amend the Zoning Ordinance to restrict Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) housing citywide unless it is 100 percent affordable or specialized housing.

City Asks Appeals Court To Expedite Voting Rights Ruling

05/01/2019 8:35 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City of Santa Monica on Monday asked the California Court of Appeal to expedite its ruling in the voting rights lawsuit to assure a Council election is held in November 2020 as scheduled.

The City requested that the Court grant "calendar preference" for the case and "set an expedited briefing and argument schedule that would result in a decision by July 10, 2020," City officials said in a statement.

AND: https://smmirror.com/2019/04/city-asks-appeals-court-to-expedite-crva-decision/

AND: https://www.smdp.com/city-hall-is-asking-a-state-court-to-rule-on-its-appeal-of-the-voting-rights-case-it-has-been-fighting-for-almost-two-years-by-july-2020/175145

Will California Senate Bill SB 50 Wipe out your neighborhood?

05/01/2019 8:07 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Written by legislator Scott Wiener, SB 50 rewards developers to buy and demolish single-family housing and apartments near rail, train, ferry or busy bus stops AND near jobs and good schools. SB 50 kills local planning rules, letting buildings tower over homes. The towers can include NO parking, NO space for trees, NO setbacks, and NO design standards. All that developers must do is include a few "affordable" rental units.

City Files Motion to Facilitate November 2020 Council Election

04/30/2019 9:03 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Today, the City of Santa Monica filed a motion requesting that the California Court of Appeal grant calendar preference to the City’s appeal from the trial court’s order in Pico Neighborhood Association, et al. v. City of Santa Monica. The City requested that the Court set an expedited briefing and argument schedule that would result in a decision by July 10, 2020.

Staff Recommends Planning Commission Nix Proposed Market Rate SROs

04/30/2019 9:01 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Planning Commission on Wednesday is expected to deny six Downtown projects totaling 361 units that fail to comply with recent interim ordinances barring market-rate “micro units” in Santa Monica.

The Single Room Occupancy (SRO) units, which range from 220 to 373 square feet, are clustered on 5th, 6th and 7th streets between Colorado and Arizona avenues, according to the staff report.