Homelessness was on the rise, pedestrian deaths reached what is likely a record high and several high-profile crimes stoked new fears about public safety.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/December-2017/12_22_2017_Top_News_Stories_of_2017.html

A controversial hotel/mixed use project designed by Frank Gehry for downtown Santa Monica will be the first of three major projects to re-surface after a long battle over a development plan for the core of the beach city.

An updated "concept plan” for the two-acre project at Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue will be the subject of a January 11 community meeting, the City’s Department of Planning and Community Development announced Thursday.

Read More:   https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/December-2017/12_22_2017_Frank_Gehry_Mixed_Use_Hotel_for_Dowmtown_Santa_Monica_on_Front_Burner_Again.html

by Charles Andrews

Yes, I focused on some of the “evil and corruption” that are starting to see the light of day because of the deposing of all our City Council members in the course of the lawsuit to bring district voting to our City, as mandated by state law, to replace our current at-large voting that is being labeled discriminatory towards minorities. But there’s so much more. Think Malibu attorney Kevin Shenkman with the subpoena and deposition power, locally, of Robert Mueller in DC. Once you start asking those questions under oath, there’s no telling where the trails may lead. 

Read More on page 4: http://backissues.smdp.com/122017.pdf

In recent months there hasn’t been a day in which at least one Santa Monica resident expressed to me concerns about our homeless population, whether by email, a phone call or stopping me on the street to chat.

My colleagues on the City Council and I are paying close attention to this issue – we see and feel the impacts of a substantially larger street population every day, just like everyone else, and reducing homelessness has become our top priority at City Hall.

Read More: http://smdp.com/doubling-down-on-homelessness/163632

The City Council has approved using $500,000 in federal community development block grants to help remodel about a dozen affordable housing apartments just one block south of Santa Monica’s border.

In exchange for the funding, Venice Community Housing (VCH) will set aside three of the 14 apartments for people on the Santa Monica Homeless Service Registry.

The apartments are part of the City’s multipronged approach to dealing with a booming homeless population.

Read More: http://smdp.com/council-approves-500000-to-rehab-homeless-housing-in-venice/163637

A couple months of declining prices aside, Los Angeles rents are high and likely to climb in coming years. But monthly payments vary quite a bit from neighborhood to neighborhood, as a new price map from Zumper illustrates.

Covering 50 different neighborhoods across central Los Angeles (apologies to residents of the San Fernando Valley and harbor area), the map displays the median price in each area over the final quarter of 2017.

Read More:   https://la.curbed.com/2017/12/18/16792996/los-angeles-rental-prices-map-2017

A majority of the West Hollywood City Council agreed last night to rewrite the city’s ban on Airbnb and other short-term rentals to permit such rentals in owner-occupied houses and apartments with no restriction on the number of rental days each year.

In its review of an ordinance brought forth by several City Hll departments, the Council also agreed that a tenant must obtain written permission from the building owner before renting his apartment. A condo owner would have to obtain permission from his homeowners association. And the tenant or property owner would have to pay the same room tax charged to hotels, which is 12.5%

Read More: http://www.wehoville.com/2017/12/19/weho-city-council-approves-owner-occupied-short-term-rentals/

Work swiftly. Quietly. Under cover of darkness. Succeeding before anyone has even gotten wind of it, before it can be stopped.

There are those here who have always suspected there might be nefarious intent behind what we consider the wholesale selling out of our city, not just a difference of urban planning philosophies.

Some corruption. Maybe even actual criminal activity. Salaries are sky high for coveted City staff positions, and it takes six figures to get elected even dogcatcher.

Read More: http://smdp.com/evil-and-corruption/163621

A bill to repeal California’s longstanding ban on rent control received little fanfare—until it died a slow death in committee. Can activists bring it back next year? 

Assemblymember David Chiu has been hailed as a hero on housing. His efforts to pass an ambitious spending and reform package with other Bay Area politicians landed him a glowing spread feature in San Francisco Magazine, and the accolades of newspapers across the state.

But one white whale remained in his agenda: bringing back rent control. In this ongoing saga, Chiu might make history as the only California politician to be picketed at his office by supporters of a bill that he supported as a coauthor.

Read More: https://www.thebaycitybeacon.com/politics/advocates-prepare-a-one-two-punch-for-rent-control/article_4e68df08-e3bc-11e7-9c1f-f7532fd27dcb.html

AND

http://www.potreroview.net/assembly-member-david-chiu-champions-housing/

The City Council has asked staff to look into drafting a ballot measure for the 2018 election that would protect against development exceeding the size guidelines in the Downtown Community Plan (DCP), which was adopted after intense debate earlier this year. 

The request of Mayor Ted Winterer and Councilmember Kevin McKeown narrowly passed with four votes, relying on the caveat that most Councilmembers would not support any solutions that would require large developments go directly to the ballot box.

Read More: http://backissues.smdp.com/121817.pdf