April 6, 2018 -- The Santa Monica Rent Control Board on Thursday is poised to back a ballot measure that would roll back rent-controlled rates to the amount initially paid by the tenants under full vacancy decontrol.

The proposed charter amendment -- which the Board would ask the City Council to place on the November ballot -- would reset some rents at rates established almost two decades ago, according to the staff report.

The proposed measure also should give the Board "clear authority to authorize surcharges, under appropriate and limited circumstances," according to staff.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2018/April-2018/04_06_2018_Santa_Monica_Board_Poised_to_Recommend_Charter_Amendment_Expanding%20_Rent_Control.html

SANTA MONICA RENT CONTROL BOARD NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Thursday, April 12, 2018

A public hearing on the following topic will be conducted at the regular Santa Monica Rent Control Board meeting on Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber, 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401:

1) Consideration of amendments to Regulation 3120, respecting limitations on surcharges that may be added to controlled rents.

Read More on page 2: http://backissues.smdp.com/040618.pdf

See Detail at: https://www.smgov.net/rentcontrol/

Amid ongoing warnings about underfunded public employee pension funds, more than a dozen California state lawmakers are augmenting their $107,242 salaries by collecting retirement payments from previous government jobs, a practice that taxpayer activists condemn as “double dipping.”

Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica)

Read More:  http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-double-dipping-california-legislator-pensions-20180404-htmlstory.html

NONE THAT I CAN THINK OF

I COULD BE WRONG

About this whole district voting thing.

But I don’t think so.

The reasons to fight the lawsuit now underway to change our voting system to choose our City Council representatives, from city-wide, at-large to voting by districts for our own neighborhood representative — that were given by our Mayor Ted Winterer in his Feb. 26 deposition, are probably similar to those embraced by the other six Council members.

Read More: http://smdp.com/curious-city-4/165338

April 3, 2018 -- Median rents in Santa Monica dipped for the second month in a row in March, but were nonetheless 80 percent higher than their counterparts nationwide, a new tally of rents across the U.S. has found.

The analysis, from Apartment List, showed rents for two-bedroom units were up 1.4 percent from the same month last year in Santa Monica, lagging California’s average increase in rents of 2.9 percent and the national average of two percent.

Still, of 55 cities in Southern California analyzed, Santa Monica placed fairly low on the list of median cost for two-bedroom units...

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2018/April-2018/04_03_2018_Santa_Monica_Rents_Dip_but_Still_80_Percent_Higher_than_National_Median.html

As tenant advocacy groups gather signatures to put rent-control reform on the November ballot, Santa Monica’s Rent Control Board is looking at the local possibilities if it succeeds. At their March meeting, the RCB expressed doubt it would be able to build consensus fast enough to draft a tandem measure to immediately expand its authority to either limit rents or expand rent control to more units if the Affordable Housing Act passes.

The Board, which supports the repeal Costa Hawkins, the statewide law that limits local rent control laws, would need to draft language for a measure to give to City Council by June to make the 2018 election. The City Council has the final authority to submit a local ballot measure by August. Several members said the timeline was simply too tight.

Read More: http://smdp.com/rent-control-board-unlikely-to-pursue-immediate-reform-in-2018-election/165318

April 2, 2018 -- A proposed apartment complex on Lincoln Boulevard, initially deemed by City officials as being too imposing and too close to the Santa Monica Freeway, heads back to the Planning Commission on Wednesday with a recommendation of approval after changes to the blueprints.

Developed by WNMS Communities, the five-story, 69,896-square-foot mixed-use project at 1650 Lincoln Boulevard, is one of many such developments meant to turn the commuter thoroughfare into more of a family neighborhood.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2018/April-2018/04_02_2018_Apartment_Project_Near_Freeway_that_Triggered_Health_Concerns_Returns_to_Santa_Monica_Planning_Commission.html

The City of Santa Monica has filed a new argument to have a lawsuit challenging its voting system thrown out of court.

The city filed a summary judgment motion last week asking the court to rule in its favor and terminate the lawsuit before going to trial.

Plaintiffs (Pico Neighborhood Association, including co-chair Oscar de la Torre and his wife Maria Loya) have accused the city of violating the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) with the use of at-large elections. The suit seeks to force the City to move to a district-based system.

Read More: http://smdp.com/city-mounts-new-effort-to-torpedo-voting-lawsuit/165266

Today, a trial judge ruled that Seattle can’t deny landlords the right to choose their own tenants. Seattle’s “first in time” rule forced landlords to offer any vacant unit to the first qualified applicant. Representing several small-time landlords, PLF challenged the rule in Yim v. City of Seattle. The trial court granted our clients a win on all their constitutional claims.

Read More: https://pacificlegal.org/victory-in-plfs-challenge-to-seattles-implicit-bias-rule/

How high would your taxes be without Proposition 13? Try our new online tax calculator!

From: Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

Guess no more! Your property taxes may be a game to politicians but not to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the taxpayer's resource. Enter the estimated current market value of your home to find out how much you could be paying in property taxes without Proposition 13.

Read More and access the calculator at: https://www.hjta.org/how-high-would-your-taxes-be-without-proposition-13/