ACTION Apartment Association

First candidates pull papers for local office

07/17/2018 10:00 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Elaine Golden-Gealer, Naomi Sultan, Joseph Bonoventura and Lori Brown received applications for the Rent Control Board.

AND

https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2018/July-2018/07_17_2018_Twenty_Candidates_Pull_Nominating_Papers_on_First_Day_of_Santa_Monica_Election_Season.html

Planning Commission to review final draft of coastal plan

07/17/2018 9:57 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A new 300-page policy framework for development along the city’s coastline is heading into its final stages but concerns remain over two key policy areas: parking and short-term rentals like Airbnbs. A March letter from the state’s official authority on beach access, the California Coastal Commission, worries some of Santa Monica’s proposed policies could hurt visitor access.

Parking:

The Coastal Commission is concerned reduced parking standards for new development downtown...

Short term rentals:

Coastal Commission staff is suggesting a require all new hotels provide at least 25 percent of the units as lower cost accommodations, either on-site or at some other property in the coastal zone. If a low-cost hotel is redeveloped, the Coastal Commission says cheap rooms should be replaced at a one-to-one ratio, either on-site or within the coastal zone. Staff also suggests an in-lieu payment option that would go into a city fund.

In addition, the Commission says Santa Monica shouldn’t take Airbnbs completely off the table.

How Many Rent-burdened Tenants Lose Their Homes in Santa Monica?

07/16/2018 4:41 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The following is the text of a power-point presentation written by Wes Wellman, a long-time Santa Monica Realtor and member of ACTION Apartment Association.

We’re all concerned about "rent-burdened" tenants who can lose their homes because they can’t afford their rent.

That made me wonder just how many were evicted in 2017. So I did some research. And this is what I found.

Out of the 26,000 rent-controlled units in Santa Monica in 2017, there were a total of 102 evictions.

When I drilled down even further into the 2017 stats, I discovered that out of the 26,000 units with 102 evictions I was surprised to find only 12 were related to non-payment of rent.

Repealing Costa-Hawkins Can Only Make Things Worse For California Residents

07/16/2018 10:13 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

This November, Californians will vote on a ballot proposal to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, known most commonly as simply “Costa-Hawkins.” The statewide law, enacted in 1995, limits rent control to buildings built before February of 1995 and prohibits municipalities from expanding rent control to include “vacancy control.” Vacancy control means taking away the right of landlords to increase the rents of vacant units to match market price.

So, repealing Costa-Hawkins would mean eliminating the current regulations on rent control, opening the door for city governments to impose their own rent regulations on newer buildings, and allowing for the possibility of vacancy control. This is a dangerous measure for several reasons; repealing Costa-Hawkins would prove harmful not only to property owners but to California’s economy as a whole.

Citing housing shortage, Berkeley votes to crack down on vacant buildings

07/16/2018 10:09 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

BERKELEY — In a new effort to squeeze more homes into a chronically under-supplied market, officials here are zeroing in on the city’s low-hanging housing fruit — vacant buildings.

The Berkeley City Council this week voted to start fining some landlords who let their properties sit empty too long, hoping the move will help boost the city’s housing stock and clean up its unsightly rundown buildings.

California Democratic Party Endorses Proposition 10 Campaign to Expand Rent Control

07/16/2018 10:05 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Responding to skyrocketing rents, the California Democratic Party today voted overwhelmingly to endorse Proposition 10, the Affordable Housing Act, which would repeal the anti-rent control Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, and return the power of regulating rents back to local communities. With over 95% of the votes cast by California Democratic Party Executive Board members, the Yes on Prop 10 effort overcame the high 60% threshold to secure the party endorsement for the November 6 election.

AND: http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2018/July-2018/07_16_2018_California_Democratic_Party_Endorses_Ballot_Measur_to%20Expand_Rent_Control%20.html

Election Season Kicks Off in Santa Monica Next Week

07/12/2018 3:12 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

July 11, 2018 -- The contests are starting to take shape as Santa Monica kicks off another election season Monday, the first day candidates can begin pulling nomination papers for the November 6 races.

Candidates for City Council, Rent Control Board and the School and College boards have until August 10 at 5 p.m. to file their nominating petitions signed by at least 100 registered voters in their jurisdiction.

If an incumbent chooses not to run, the deadline would be extended to August 15 at 5 p.m.

Three seats on the five-member Rent Board -- those of members Nicole Phillis, Steve Duron and Todd Flora -- are open in November. Phillis and Duron are expected to run for re-election.

Flora has been termed out after serving eight years. The Rent Board is the only local body with term limits, which is part of the Rent Control charter

Why Santa Monica is fighting the California Voting Rights Act

07/12/2018 9:56 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

by Ted Winterer and Gleam Davis

The city of Santa Monica received a letter from a Malibu law firm in late 2015 claiming that its at-large election system — in which all voters choose the whole city council — discriminated against Latino residents. We were both on the City Council at the time and found it surprising, not least because the then-mayor was Mexican American.

Still, the letter threatened a lawsuit under the California Voting Rights Act if the council did not immediately agree to change to district-based elections. It turns out Santa Monica wasn’t alone. Dozens of cities have received similar demand letters — many from the same lawyer — and many have altered their election systems in response.

Rent Control Board to discuss potential corporate housing ban

07/12/2018 8:23 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Rent Control Board will take up the issue of corporate tenants tonight, nearly a month after a newly remodeled rent control building on Tenth Street appeared on corporate housing websites. Chairperson Anastasia Foster and Commissioner Nicole Phillis placed the discussion item on tonight’s agenda regarding a “prohibition of rental of controlled units as corporate housing.”

At the moment, there is no regulation to prevent a company from becoming a tenant in a rent control building. Once a corporation is on the lease, they have the same protections as a person – including a cap on annual increases and protections from eviction. It is up to the landlord whether to allow subleases in the units, but otherwise, corporations are free to offer the space to traveling employees.

“Commissioner Phillis and I want to see if a majority of the Board has any interest in taking up a regulation to prevent corporate rentals in rent-controlled units,” Foster said in an email to the Daily Press.

Rent control and tenants’ rights set to be larger political issues in 2018 elections

07/12/2018 7:56 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Along with a growth in activity from tenants union and rent strikes, more and more local groups are succeeding in putting these issues on the political agenda. This grassroots energy flows in part from the fact that, in addition to traditionally being a local issue, housing was barely a factor in the 2016 election.