Rent control is once again gaining momentum in America. A long-held economic theory about rent control is that the approach actually hurts affordability over the long term by constricting supply, for example by incentivizing landlords to convert rental units into condos. Across the United States, there’s evidence that the economic arguments against rent control are no longer as compelling to as many people as they once were.

Read More: https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/rent-control-policies-gaining-momentum-across-america

City leaders say the bill doesn’t go far enough to encourage the production of affordable housing

The city of Los Angeles is siding against Senate Bill 50, with elected leaders arguing not against density—but market rate housing.

On a 12-0 vote, the City Council adopted a resolution opposing the bill, which seeks to allow apartment and condo buildings up to five stories tall near some bus stops and train stations, even in areas zoned strictly for single-family homes. The goal is to increase the supply of housing and drive down prices for both renters and buyers.

But councilmembers argued the bill would encourage more market rate housing that Los Angeles does not need, without protecting existing affordable housing and promoting more of it.

Read More: https://la.curbed.com/2019/4/16/18410879/sb-50-los-angeles-opposition-california-density

The Venice Stakeholders Association is prepared for an expensive legal battle

A group of Venice residents opposed to plans for a 154-bed homeless shelter in the beachside neighborhood are gearing up for an expensive legal fight.

Mark Ryavec, president of the Venice Stakeholders Association, a neighborhood group that has repeatedlychallenged the city’s homelessness policies in the area, says the organization has raised $200,000 to pay for lawsuits challenging plans for the shelter.

Read More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/venice-neighborhood-group-raises-dollar200k-to-fight-homeless-shelter/ar-BBW0j3y

Over 200 bills have been introduced by state legislators this year to tackle California’s housing crisis. Here are some of the bigger ones:

Read More: https://medium.com/@firstcultural/2019-california-housing-legislation-highlights-787d0652bdbf

A transportation center that sells Big Blue Bus (BBB) passes and parking permits opened downtown Monday.

The GoSaMo Center replaced the former Transit Store on the ground level of Parking Structure 5 at 1444 4th St. It will offer services and information for drivers who park in Santa Monica and BBB riders, as well as a public restroom. Visitors will be able to buy TAP cards, bus passes and apply for reduced fares, as well as obtain parking permits, validations and register for monthly parking.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/city-reopens-storefront-for-transit-and-parking-passes/174318

This tech hub is booming as never before. Expedia is building a $900-million campus. Google, Facebook and Salesforce are expanding. And Amazon, closing in on Boeing as the area’s largest private employer, is currently advertising 10,000 jobs.

In seven years, Seattle saw its population swell from 609,000 to 725,000, making it the fastest-growing metropolis in the country.

Seattle could not in good conscience ignore its blue-collar roots and simply let gentrification happen. So last month, after years of political negotiations and legal wrangling, the City Council unanimously adopted a measure to build affordable housing.

Read More: https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-seattle-housing-gentrification-tech-boom-20190416-story.html

A 2016 law authored by Santa Monica Assemblymember Richard Bloom that makes accessory dwelling units (ADU), or "granny flats," easier to build is headed for some updates.

On Wednesday, AB 881, which clarifies key provisions of the existing law, passed out of the Assembly Local Government Committee and is headed to the Appropriations Committee.

"AB 881 will help ADU statute to function as intended,” said Bloom, a former Santa Monica mayor.

The bill will likely have little impact in Santa Monica, which modified its granny-flat regulations last year.

The bill clarifies the definition of public transit and an ADU’s distance from it, as well as the types of existing structures that can be converted, according to Bloom's staff.

It also removes provisions that "have given cities unreasonably broad discretion for denying ADU permits."

In addition, it removes the owner occupancy requirement in the existing statute that "unfairly subjects ADUs to a requirement not in existence for any other kind of housing," Bloom's staff said.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2019/April-2019/04_12_2019_Santa_Monica_Lawmakers_Granny_Flat_Law_Getting_Update.html

AND: https://www.smdp.com/bill-aimed-at-boosting-small-housing-units-advances/174271

This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to create a rental registry online portal, which would be designed to receive specified information from landlords regarding their residential tenancies and to disseminate this information to the general public. The bill would require the department to complete the rental registry online portal, the form necessary to support it, by January 1, 2021, and would require landlords who own or operate property that includes more than 15 dwelling units to register within 90 days and annually thereafter. The bill would require landlords to provide a variety of information regarding the location of rental property, its ownership, and its occupancy, among other things.

Read More:  http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB724

A new study, released recently by the Southern California Association of Governments, reports positive effects of implementing a $4 congestion fee to enter or travel through a specified area of the Westside of Los Angeles. The report, the first of its kind for the area, says LA commuters lose over 100 hours a year while sitting in traffic and that this fee can help reduce that time by up to 24 percent.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2019/04/congestion-fee/

Beginning May 1, 2019, Santa Monica businesses will begin receiving 100 percent green power.

The City of Santa Monica through the Clean Power Alliance introduced Santa Monica residents to green power in February 2019.

Through the change, electricity delivery and billing will remain with Southern California Edison (SCE), but business customers will have a choice of three Clean Power Alliance energy plans derived from 100 percent carbon-free energy sources.

The plans can be adjusted freely without restriction. Energy plans range from 100 percent, 50 percent and 36 percent renewable power. Santa Monica selected the “100 percent green power” plan as the default for all businesses. This means that businesses will automatically be enrolled in 100 percent renewable unless they select a different plan.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2019/04/sm-businesses-transition-to-green-power/

AND: https://patch.com/california/santamonica/santa-monica-businesses-transition-100-green-power