Tuesday the City Council will consider placing a measure on the Nov. 6 ballot to require a super-majority Council vote to increase density in the city’s building guidelines: the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) and Downtown Community Plan (DCP). The two documents set maximum height and density throughout the city.

If passed by Council, the measure would make development a key campaign issue two years after the grassroots initiative Measure LV failed to get enough votes. LV would have required a city-wide vote on all new development over two stories in Santa Monica. Instead of requiring citizen votes, the newly proposed measure would restrict the Council’s ability to tweak the rules that govern all new projects.

Read More: http://smdp.com/council-to-debate-development-measure-tuesday/167024

For the past four years, New York City has tried to persuade landlords and real estate brokers to rent apartments to low-income people and homeless people with bonuses and pledges that rent would be guaranteed with government vouchers.

The incentives have helped thousands of people move into permanent housing throughout the city. But some landlords have still refused to accept vouchers, city officials said, which is against the law for buildings with six apartments or more.

Last year, the city created a unit to combat such violations, and on Wednesday, the unit took its first legal action, filing lawsuits against the manager of Seaview Estates, a complex on Staten Island, and a real estate broker who rented apartments in two Bronx buildings.

Read More: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/nyregion/nyc-government-vouchers-lawsuit.html?hpw&rref=nyregion&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well

The controversy over two, new public bathrooms at Clover Park had been swirling long before it reached the City Council this month. Several commissioners say they complained about the $2.3 million price tag for two buildings to house toilets long before Santa Monica’s most powerful unelected official found himself defending the cost.

After the brief discussion, the Council unanimously voted to approve the $2.3 million contract.

Read More: http://smdp.com/2-3-million-public-potty-price-tag-gives-council-pause/166968

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office successfully concluded the prosecution of Shabi Jafri, a local real estate agent and operator of an illegal vacation rental business which unlawfully took approximately nine residential housing units off of the rental housing market.  Jafri had been charged with operating his illegal vacation rental business without City Permits and refusing to comply with City Administrative Citations. 

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2018/06/18/illegal-vacation-rental-business-operator-in-santa-monica-convicted

Scientific survey designed to obtain feedback from residents on service delivery and key issues

A randomly selected group of 400 to 500 residents will be invited to participate in the scientific survey. Those who are selected will receive a postcard in the mail starting this week and will have two weeks to complete the survey.

Read  More: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2018/06/18/city-launches-resident-satisfaction-survey-through-the-end-of-june

World renowned architect Frank Gehry’s signature Santa Monica project sailed through its final preliminary review Tuesday, as the City Council lauded the design as “iconic.”  The project’s centerpiece, a curving 12-story hotel tower, will be wrapped in white metal to reflect the golden hues of the setting sun from its perch on Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard.

The Council was the fourth board to review the latest design iteration, which removed ten stories from the central tower originally included in the 2013 plans. The project now includes a 115-room hotel, a 40,000 square foot museum, about 80 apartments including 19 rent-controlled units and 18 deed-restricted “affordable” units, 24,700 square feet of retail space, and a 5,000 square foot public observation deck.

Read More: http://smdp.com/city-begins-negotiations-for-gehry-building/166905

Home sharing sites Airbnb and HomeAway will have to verify hosts are properly registered with the City of Santa Monica before booking guests, after a U.S. District Court judge dismissed a legal challenge to local rules. The judge said the city has a right to keep the international websites from facilitating illegal business transactions here.

Santa Monica’s strict home sharing ordinance prohibits the use of apartments, condominiums and houses for short-term rentals unless the host is present during the stay. Hosts must register with the City and obtain a business license. City leaders say the rules maintain the character of local neighborhoods and preserve housing in the midst of a statewide crisis.

Read More: http://smdp.com/airbnb-loses-latest-court-battle-over-santa-monicas-strict-rules/166918

According to a press release from the City of Santa Monica issued Friday, June 15, a” federal district court has upheld the City of Santa Monica’s home-sharing law in the face of a challenge brought by Airbnb and Homeaway.com.”

Airbnb and Homeaway.com filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate those portions of the City’s “Home-Sharing Ordinance” that penalize online platforms for booking short-term rentals of unlicensed properties. 

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2018/06/homesharing-update-in-santa-monica/

Eight big challenges the City must address right now.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2018/06/sm-a-r-t-santa-monica-must-prepare-for-future/