Prioritizing Housing and Safety

Tight Budget Zeros in on Public Safety

06/30/2025 11:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The adopted budget adds a police sergeant and a community services officer, beefs up security at three City facilities and adds an emergency paramedic unit.

The budget, which kicks in on July 1, also includes funding to launch a Fire Department ambulance operator program, maintain and repair broken street lights and make streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.

City of Santa Monica Seeks Applicants for City Boards and Commissions

06/17/2025 11:07 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The application window is now open, with vacancies on a variety of advisory bodies, including the Disabilities Commission, the Measure GS Resident Oversight Committee, and the L.A. County West Vector Control District Board, among others.

The deadline to submit applications is Tuesday, June 17, and appointments are scheduled to be made by the City Council on Monday, June 24.

SM.a.r.t Column: California’s Transit Death Spiral: How Housing Mandates Are Backfiring

06/16/2025 10:10 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

California’s ambitious housing mandates were supposed to solve the affordability crisis. Instead, they’re creating a vicious cycle that’s killing public transit and pushing working families further from opportunity. New UCLA research reveals a stunning pattern: every $230 increase in monthly rent predicts a 22% drop in bus and train ridership. This isn’t coincidence—it’s displacement economics in action.

Council Hikes Water and Sewer Rates

06/11/2025 9:47 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Under the new rates that take effect July 1, single family homes will see an annual increase in water rates of about $180 each year over five years, while sewer rates will rise by about $48.

Commercial buildings will pay an average of $720 more each year over five years for water and $186 more for sewer.

Meanwhile, an average 8-unit multifamily building will see an annual increase of about $48 per unit for water and $12 per unit for sewer each year over five years.

SM.a.r.t. Column: A City Dying by a Thousand Cuts

06/09/2025 10:47 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica, once celebrated for its blend of coastal charm and progressive ideals, is slowly bleeding out — not from one dramatic failure, but from a thousand small, systemic ones. Mismanagement, unchecked spending, and leadership bloat are gradually eroding the city’s ability to function, let alone thrive. While the public is told that resources are limited, executive compensation continues to soar.

We demand accountability for homelessness, public safety, and infrastructure!

City Council Poised to Raise Water Rates

06/09/2025 10:42 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Multifamily buildings would see monthly increase of about $4 per unit for an average 8-unit building, while commercial buildings would see monthly rates rise by about $60 each year over five years.

SM.a.r.t Column: Oops!! What Happened? And What Are You Going to Do About It?

06/02/2025 11:16 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A major concern in many of our articles is State-Mandated Housing Densification. These mandates require Santa Monica to build 8,895 new housing units over an eight-year period, a staggering 430% increase from prior requirements. This is not merely a quantitative concern; we see it as “an urban experiment based on highly contestable assumptions” and view the increase in required housing density as an existential threat to the city’s established fabric and quality of life.

Bill to Build Taller Housing Projects Near Transit Headed to Senate Floor

05/28/2025 1:15 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A bill that makes it faster and easier to build taller residential buildings near transit stops by overriding local zoning restrictions is on its way to a full vote of the State Senate.

Senate Bill 79, which has the City Council's support, was approved by the Senate by a 4 to 2 vote Friday and must be passed by the full Senate by June 6.

DTSM Board approves budget amendment for parking, events and lighting cuts

05/27/2025 9:13 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The revised plan shifts $400,000 originally set aside for enhanced maintenance in zones one through three back into parking structure custodial services, after city officials clarified they would not be able to fully absorb those responsibilities. DTSM will also use $228,000 in carryover funds from the current fiscal year to help cover parking facility-related costs next year, bringing the total for parking structure maintenance to about $628,000.