Santa Monica Earns LA County a Reputable 8th Spot Among the 50 Priciest Zip Codes in California

07/05/2017 8:55 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Whether you want to live next door to the wealthy or just to see where housing calls for some big bucks every month, here are California’s Most Expensive ZIP Codes, a research done by RENTCafé based on data from Yardi Matrix.

Santa Monica Rents Continue to Rise, New Survey Finds

07/05/2017 8:44 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

July 5, 2017 -- Santa Monica apartment rental rates -- already among Southern California's highest -- inched up 1.1 percent in June, marking the fifth consecutive month rents have increased, a new survey has found.

The city’s rents were up moderately -- or 4 percent -- compared to the same time last year, according to the report by Apartment List, a heavily used site for people hunting for dwelling units throughout the country.

Currently, median rents in Santa Monica are $1,650 for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,120 for a two-bedroom.

No Major Public Park in Final Draft of Downtown Santa Monica Plan

07/05/2017 8:30 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

July 5, 2017 -- A proposal by slow-growth advocates for a major public park in the heart of downtown has been rejected in the final draft of a City plan guiding the future development of Santa Monica's central business district.

After six contentious years, the City’s last draft of the Downtown Community Plan (DCP) heads to its final public hearing during a special meeting of the City Council at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The City also is requiring developers to set aside some of the units for “affordable housing,” which can range from units for those who are extremely low income to moderate earners.

Still, almost 40 percent of the total square footage proposed so far in the DCP belongs to three projects which are primarily luxury hotels, with affordable housing (12 percent or less of each) and some “community” and “cultural” uses added.

Parking spots for residences are cut as well.

Older buildings of one or two stories, which are still prevalent downtown, would be replaced under the DCP by buildings of five to seven stories.

California lawmakers have tried for 50 years to fix the state's housing crisis.

07/05/2017 7:55 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Here's why they've failed

Despite soaring demand for housing in the Bay Area, the city hasn’t approved any new development projects in more than five years.

Foster City’s experience is shared by governments across California: The law requires cities and counties to produce prodigious reports to plan for housing — but it doesn’t hold them accountable for any resulting home building.

The law, passed in 1967, is the state’s primary tool to encourage housing development and address a statewide shortage of homes that drives California’s affordability problems.

Now, a bill from Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) would, for the first time, force cities and counties that have fallen behind on their housing goals to take steps to eliminate some of the hurdles they put in front of development, such as multiple planning reviews for individual projects. Wiener’s legislation passed the state Senate this month and is awaiting a vote in the Assembly as part of a package of bills aimed at addressing the state’s housing problems.

SMa.r.t.-Where is The There, There?

06/30/2017 12:01 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Why I never/seldom go downtown and never really want to go there.

What is downtown for me, a resident of Ocean Park? The Apple store. Maybe. What else is there? Barnes & Noble is said to be leaving, though a new/used bookstore has just opened near 2nd Street. Otherwise, just the same national chains rattling their goods.

There is a push by the city to advocate and develop more housing downtown, but one should ask the question of “why?”

Remove the ECLS from the Civic Center

06/30/2017 10:50 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Early Childhood Lab School (ECLS) does not belong in the Civic Center Specific Plan. Building it requires accepting a terrible economic deal that uses resident-owned land to benefit private interests instead of addressing the greatest public good.

Santa Monica College (SMC) proposes to lease two acres at $1/year for 65 years and accept $6M from the City’s general fund to build an ECSL satellite campus and private child-care facility for children of city employees, college personnel, and the RAND Corporation (headquartered across Main Street from the Civic Center).

Santa Monica City Council Approves Record Budget

06/29/2017 10:52 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

June 29, 2017 -- The Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday approved a record $1.57 billion biennial budget that represents a 27 percent jump from its predecessor even as the City braces for an economic slow-down.

Approved was a $774.9 million budget for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, with spending increases driven by construction of a downtown fire station, a $77 million bond for an annex to City Hall and steep costs tied to employee pensions and health care.

The second half of the biennial budget is $802.8 million.

In a statement, City Manager Rick Cole said the biennial budget “marks a transition” as the City faces $387 million in unfunded employee pension costs and other rising spending at a time when bounties from sales taxes, property taxes and other tradition revenues slow.

Santa Monica City Council Names New City Attorney, Lane Dilg

06/28/2017 10:57 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Ms. Dilg comes to Santa Monica as part of a distinguished career in public service. She is currently Senior Counsel to UCLA, where she provides legal advice across the broad range of the University’s teaching, research and public service activities, in substantive areas ranging from constitutional and employment law to health, business and real estate law.

Prior to her time at UCLA, Dilg spent four years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Central District Office in California. There she prosecuted public corruption, organized crime, human trafficking, fraud and other federal criminal offenses. Dilg also served as Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where she was a trusted legal advisor to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein in confirmation hearings for United States Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and during consideration of the Affordable Care Act. Ms. Dilg’s experience also includes time as a civil litigator at the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and Susman Godfrey, LLP. She served last year as a member of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris’ transition team upon Senator Harris’ election to the United States Senate. She is currently an Appellate Lawyer Representative to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Proposed Per-Capita Spending in Santa Monica Far Exceeds Most Comparable Cities

06/28/2017 9:48 AM | Angelica Jue (Administrator)

The City of Santa Monica’s per capita spending for operations in its proposed $773.7 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year far exceeds that of most comparable cities in the region, according to an analysis by The Lookout.

A sample survey of half a dozen well-to-do municipalities in Los Angeles County shows Santa Monica is only second to Beverly Hills when it comes to per capita spending and spends more than twice as much per resident as Culver City and Torrance.

Minimum Wage Ordinance

06/22/2017 2:01 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica has a new minimum wage law. As of July 1, 2016, the minimum wage is $10.50 per hour, with annual increases as shown below, reaching $15.00 per hour on July 1, 2020. Smaller businesses (less than 25 employees) and qualifying nonprofits have an additional year to comply with the new law.