The City Council has long sought the repeal or reform of the Ellis Act, a state law which allows owners of rent-controlled properties to evict tenants and to pursue other uses of their properties provided they don’t re-enter the rental market for at least five years. Every loss of controlled rental stock is painful to a Council which has made the affordability of housing for low and moderate income households a priority, but unfortunately state law preempts local authority.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/letters-to-the-editor-repeal-or-reform-ellis-act/172769

The City of Santa Monica recently published the results of its Resident Satisfaction Survey. This survey, conducted biennially since 1998 (the last survey was conducted in 2015), provides input from residents on how well the City is delivering services, and helps identify priority focus areas.

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/blog/the-resident-survey-results-are-in

When city staff invited Long Beach property owners and tenant advocates for a joint “tenant protections focus group” meeting in September 2018, it quickly became clear that there was little the two sides could agree on, as recalled by some of those present.

The meeting was part of a process kicked off last January by 1st District Councilmember Lena Gonzalez, who asked city staff to produce a progress report on the city’s search for “revenue tools and incentives for the production of affordable and workforce housing” to include “policies that support tenants adopted in other cities.”

Read More: https://www.lbbusinessjournal.com/rental-properties-city-council-to-consider-tenant-protection-policies/

The Coastal Commission has approved a partial demolition and remodel of a long vacant building in one of the Santa Monica’s most desirable locations. The properties at 423 – 429 Ocean Ave.  The 16 former apartments have been vacant for a decade and will be converted into 14 condominiums after the Coastal Commission required an increase density beyond limits previously set by Santa Monica.

Read More: http://backissues.smdp.com/020919.pdf

City Hall is asking a developer building 19 condominiums in the Pico neighborhood to make some of the units affordable after some nearby residents said the project would accelerate gentrification in the area. The developer, Behzad Soroudi, originally planned to build 21 condos in a two-story building at the corner of Virginia Avenue and 21st Street and designate two of them as affordable. In 2014, the Planning Commission asked him to remove two condos to make the design of the building more consistent with the neighborhood and improve the site’s landscaping. Soroudi then elected to pay an in-lieu fee to the City of Santa Monica’s affordable housing fund.

Read More: http://backissues.smdp.com/020919.pdf

To better prepare yourself and those around you for an earthquake, OEM (Office of Emergency Management) recommends a simple three- step process. The first step is to have your kit ready.

Read More:https://www.actiontakesaction.com/admin/website/system-pages/?pageId=1837908

Last year’s expensive battle over a California ballot measure that would have allowed cities to expand rent controls should be a wake-up call for the real estate industry, National Multifamily Housing Council vice president Jim Lapides said during ULI’s Housing Opportunity 2019 conference.

California voters soundly defeated Proposition 10, but it was one of the costliest ballot initiatives in U.S. history, with groups spending more than $100 million to either support or defeat the initiative.

“We cannot keep having these fights,” Lapides said. “It behooves us to come to the table with real workable solutions that are palatable to policymakers and their constituents.”

Read More: https://urbanland.uli.org/industry-sectors/residential/revisiting-rent-control-preserving-affordable-housing-for-california/

Glendale landlords may soon have to limit annual rent increases to 7% or pay tenant relocation fees.

Glendale officials signaled Tuesday evening they would support a proposed ordinance requiring landlords to offer tenants a one-year lease and pay relocation fees if their rent is raised more than 7% annually and the tenant opts to leave.

A vote on the Right to Lease ordinance — the result of months of debate over how to address rising rents in the city that have sent some residents packing — is tentatively scheduled for next Tuesday.

Read More: https://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/news/tn-gnp-me-glendale-right-to-lease-20190206-story.html

Santa Monicans may not always see eye to eye with each other or City Hall, said Mayor Gleam Davis.

That doesn’t mean they can’t work together to solve Santa Monica’s problems, she said.

“It’s okay to complain. I know things are not perfect, but complaining only identifies the problem,” Davis said in her closing remarks at the State of the City Wednesday night. “Help us do the harder and more satisfying work of bringing real solutions to the more difficult problems that we all collectively face.”

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/communication-and-civility-seen-as-challenges-at-state-of-the-city/172685

by attorney Kevin Shenkman

Mr. Koury, in his most recent letter to the editor attempts to create an alternate reality by proclaiming what he calls “facts” (“Voting Rights Attorney Stands to Make Millions,” February 4, 2019).

Mr. Koury hopes that he can confuse the public into believing those alternative “facts.” That is truly dangerous, both in Santa Monica and our nation as a whole.

Had the Santa Monica City Council brought its elections into compliance with the law when we raised the issue in 2015, we would be paid $0.00 -- but they were too arrogant to believe that they, too, are required to comply with the California Voting Rights Act and the California Constitution.

Read More: http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2019/02_06_2019_LETTERS_Alternative_Facts_About_Voting_Rights_Case_Truly_%20Dangerous.html