ACTION Apartment Association

Six Big Lies Keeping the Real Estate Bubble Inflated

11/06/2019 8:09 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Every so often SMart invites a guest columnist to write an article about local planning issues. This week and next we have invited Dick Platkin, a former planner for the City of Los Angeles, who is writing about the lies that the building and financial industries perpetuate in their quest for profits using the wedge of new State of California laws gutting local development controls. Since this year the State has been feverishly passing laws unleashing over development, (the City of Santa Monica is now supposed to build 5000 new units in the next 10 years) we felt this article was relevant to expose the lies used to sell this overdevelopment. While Dick’s article was written about Los Angeles identical issues apply in Santa Monica. Just substitute Santa Monica every time he mentions Los Angeles. This article first appeared in City Watch LA a few weeks ago.

Construction Set to Begin on 100-unit Lincoln Boulevard Mixed-Use Project

11/06/2019 8:07 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Construction is set to start next spring for a mixed-use development in Downtown Santa Monica that will bring 100 apartments and nearly 6,000 square feet of retail space to Lincoln Boulevard just blocks from the Expo Line.

Project developer, NMS Properties-affiliated firm WS Communities, plans on replacing a surface parking lot at 1430 Lincoln Boulevard with a five-story building containing 100 apartments, 5,878 square feet of ground-floor retail and a four-level subterranean parking garage with 296 parking spaces.

Santa Monica Is Reimagining The Promenade

11/06/2019 8:03 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The last time Santa Monica's main shopping strip was overhauled, the Berlin Wall was still standing and the World Wide Web was a proposal on paper.

Thirty years later, the Soviet Union has crumbled and, for the first time in history, more general merchandise was sold on the web than in brick and mortar stores.

Santa Monica Home Prices Post Highest Jump in Nation

11/06/2019 8:00 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica saw home prices rise higher than any other large city in the nation, with the median price of a home soaring by $155,000 over the past year, according to an analysis by Forbes magazine.

The study, which is based on data sourced from the real estate site Zillow, analyzed home prices in the 500 largest U.S. cities between September 2018 and September 2019.

City's Wellbeing Summit to Cost Nearly $250,000

11/06/2019 7:59 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City of Santa Monica's Wellbeing Summit next month -- meant to "spark conversation and action around community wellbeing" -- will cost $242,500, which will be paid for by sponsors.

So far, the City has raised $229,500 from 19 sponsors for the event on November 16 at the Santa Monica College (SMC) Center for Media and Design, according to a report from City Manager Rick Cole sent to the City Council Thursday.

Beware of Price-Gauging During Fire Emergency, City Officials Warn

11/06/2019 7:57 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

As wildfires rage just north of Santa Monica's border, the City Attorneys office on Wednesday cautioned residents to be wary of price-gauging.

The ban on price-gouging applies to "temporary and permanent housing, food, emergency supplies, medical supplies, building materials, gasoline, transportation, and emergency cleanup."

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2019/10/30/santa-monica-city-attorney-s-office-warns-of-price-gouging-during-state-of-emergency-in-los-angeles-county

Struggling Rent Control Seniors Can Register for Cash Assistance Next Month

11/06/2019 7:55 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Rent-burdened Santa Monica seniors can begin registering for financial assistance next month under an expanded City funded program that helps cover their basic needs.

Starting November 4, the City will accept registrations for the Preserving Our Diversity (POD) pilot program that helps impoverished seniors who after decades living in rent-controlled apartments can no longer afford to pay the rent.

Earlier this year, the City Council boosted funding for the program from an initial $200,000 a year in 2017 that assisted some two dozen seniors to $2 million that will help between 250 and 400 seniors, City officials said.

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2019/10/29/low-income-senior-renters-can-register-for-preserving-our-diversity-pilot-program-starting-november-4

Audit Subcommittee to No Longer Take Ethics Complaints

11/06/2019 7:53 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica's audit subcommittee -- created four years ago to increase financial transparency -- will no longer directly receive and respond to ethics complaints.

On Tuesday, the City Council voted to revise the subcommittee's role to instead "clearly support" the City's confidential 24-hour ethics hotline "as the primary method to report suspected illegal or improper activity."

City Council Approves Changes to Development Standards for Single-Unit Dwellings

10/23/2019 3:39 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

After a year and a half of public engagement, the Santa Monica City Council approved changes to the development standards for Santa Monica’s single-unit residential (R1) neighborhoods. Early last year, City Council directed staff to prioritize the review of R1 standards after neighborhood groups shared concerns over the size and scale of new single-family home construction. On January 24, 2018, Council approved temporary standards through an Interim Zoning Ordinance.

The goals of the new standards are to address the size of new home construction in the context of neighborhood scale, to incentivize the retention of existing homes, and to make the standards more user-friendly.

Los Angeles City Council approves moratorium on evictions

10/22/2019 2:46 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Los Angeles City Council approved an emergency moratorium on evictions Tuesday that aims to stop landlords from quickly booting tenants before new statewide rental rules take effect in January.