by JOHN CYRUS SMITH, Chairman of the Santa Monica Recreation and Parks Commission.

AT THE THURSDAY, JUNE 15 SPECIAL Meeting of the Recreation and Parks Commission, the Commission unanimously approved a motion recommending that the City Council devote two-thirds of the 2.73 acre, 4th/5th & Arizona site to ground level public park space as part of the Downtown Community Plan.

I hope the Council will also consider buying our landmarked Post Office (which is now for sale) for $40 million and make THAT the new City Hall Annex, which is currently slated to be built behind City Hall and would cost twice as much, even before you add the interest on the bonds being touted to finance it.

Read More on pg. 5: http://backissues.smdp.com/062217.pdf

A lawsuit challenging the way voters choose their Councilmembers in Santa Monica will continue, despite a City effort to have the suit thrown out of court.

Earlier this month, a Superior Court judge overruled the City Attorney’s objections that the suit based on the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) is invalid. The Pico Neighborhood Association brought the lawsuit against the City in 2016 in an effort to force Santa Monica to change to district-based elections.

Read More: http://smdp.com/lawsuit-challenging-santa-monica-elections-survives-city-challenge/161439

The Santa Monica Smokefree Housing Ordinance passed in 2012 allows all residents who smoked to continue to smoke in their units. Only when those residents move out, are their units required to become smokefree.

Our group, Smoke-Free Living Santa Monica, is hoping that residents of apartments and condominiums in Santa Monica, especially those who are still suffering from a neighbor’s tobacco smoke, will contact the mayor and/or their favorite council members. Tell the City Council that it’s time to review the Santa Monica ordinance and take action to strengthen it. 

Read More: http://smdp.com/letter-to-editor-smokefree-laws-are-not-enough/161423

Coyotes can be very active this time of year. During spring and into early summer, coyote cubs will emerge from their dens along with other members within their pack in search of food. The loss of pets can become more prevalent as mother coyotes attempt to teach their young how to hunt.

We’ve received numerous calls about coyote sightings, some that have resulted in a loss of a pet. In response to this, Santa Monica’s Animal Control unit has increased its effort to “haze” coyotes within the city. The term “haze” consists of using air horns, water guns, tennis ball sticks, or simply walking towards coyotes in an attempt to instill fear of humans. Ultimately, our goal is to reduce the prevalence of coyotes in the community.

Read More: http://smmirror.com/2017/06/how-to-live-safely-with-urban-coyotes/

The city is fifth in the nation in terms of renters

 stretched thin by housing costs

The high cost of housing in Los Angeles is very well documented, and so is the lack of affordability for many area residents. But a new report from apartment listing site Abodo yields some surprising results about how stretched thin LA renters are compared to those in other U.S. cities.

Read More:  https://la.curbed.com/2016/11/3/13510538/housing-costs-high-los-angeles-affordable-rent

June 20, 2017 -- Santa Monica’s Recreation and Parks Commission is recommending a public park be created over two-thirds of the nearly three-acre site slated for a 12-story, 357,000-square-foot mixed-use project anchored by a hotel.

The Plaza earmarks 12 percent of the project, or 42,000-square feet, for 48 “affordable” apartments -- a key selling point for the City Council as it tries to live up to a 1990 mandate that 30 percent of new housing be earmarked for low-income earners.

Read More:  https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/June-2017/06_20_2017_Recreation_and_Parks_Commission_Calls_for_Downtown_Park_on_Proposed_Plaza_at_Santa_Monica_Site.html

June 20, 2017 -- The Santa Monica Planning Commission on Wednesday will consider a five-story mixed-use apartment complex on Lincoln Boulevard that is the largest project in the City's effort to re-makes the commuter thoroughfare into a community of apartment dwellers.

The propose 155,435-square-foot development by FSTAR LLC at 1613-1637 Lincoln Boulevard includes 191 apartments on the upper floors, anchored by 12,477-square feet of commercial space at ground level.

In the mix are 15 units (or about 8 percent of the total units) reserved for low- income earners, a range which in this case means those earning 30 percent of the area’s median income.

Read More:  https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/June-2017/06_20_2017_Santa_Monica_Planning_Commission_to_Consider_Largest_Lincoln_Project.html

Santa Rosa’s controversial rent control law was defeated this month by just 781 votes out of more than 33,000 cast, according to final results released Friday by Sonoma County election officials.

Read More: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/7108036-181/santa-rosas-rent-control-law?artslide=0

Santa Monica is about to shell out $45 million toward tackling its biggest threat to long-term fiscal sustainability: its long-term unfunded pension obligations for staff members under CalPERS. The money will add up to about an 11 percent decrease in the City’s unfunded liability, according to estimates from PERS cited by the City.

The City Council approved the decision Tuesday to pay down a chunk of the City’s more than $380 million unfunded liability in order to save costs overtime. 

Read More: http://smdp.com/city-leaders-put-45-million-toward-employee-pensions/161385

June 16, 2017 -- Earlier this year Santa Monica neighborhood activists complained they didn’t have a representative on the Audit Subcommittee, charged with overseeing audits of the municipal budget.

Now they have one.

On Tuesday, the City Council appointed Elizabeth Van Denburgh, board member and treasurer for the Wilshire Montana Neighborhood Coalition (Wilmont), to the subcommittee.

Read More:  https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/June-2017/06_16_2017_Council_Appoints_Neighborhood_Activist_to_Santa_Monica_Financial_Oversight_Panel.html