ACTION Apartment Association

California lawmakers pass bills to address housing shortage

06/03/2017 10:09 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

California lawmakers took steps to address the state’s affordable housing shortage Thursday by passing bills to speed construction and generate money for subsidized housing.

SB35 removes some development restrictions in cities that fall behind on housing production goals. It passed 23-12 in the Senate. AB73 rewards cities for streamlining the approval of housing, particularly for developments near public transportation. It passed the Assembly 46-19. The Senate also voted 30-9 to put a $3 billion bond for affordable housing on the ballot

NOMA residents increasing private security patrols

06/03/2017 10:05 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Quick arrests by the Santa Monica Police Department after two violent break-ins in the North of Montana neighborhood have not quieted neighborhood fears of a perceived spike in burglaries. Now, neighbors who have already been paying for private security for decades want to step up patrols even more.

May was a disturbing month – on the 15th, multiple men assaulted and robbed Andrew West in his home on 17th Street. West is still recovering from his injuries in the hospital. Then, less than ten days later police say the same burglars struck again – this time allegedly stabbing resident Imtiaz Tar and hitting his housekeeper Dinah Barrera with a hammer inside Tar’s home on 19th Street. Tar’s wife and son were also home when the attack happened on May 26.

Opinion: The consequences of repealing Costa Hawkins

06/03/2017 9:58 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

By Ted Edlin

Ted Edlin, who has lived in Berkeley for more than 50 years, was formerly president of the Council of Neighborhood Associations, vice-president of NEBA, chair of the Housing Advisory Commission, and a member of the Fire Commission, now known as the Disaster and Fire Safety Commission.

Assembly Bill AB 1506 ( which has been withdrawn) was sponsored by Assembly persons from Santa Monica. This article was written before it was withdrawn but I thought the information would be useful to those interested in the effects of rent control without Costa Hawkins.

This bill proposes to repeal Costa Hawkins (Vacancy decontrol/recontrol) bill passed 20 years ago. In the interest of full disclosure I owned rental units in Berkeley in the 1970s, lived under Berkeley rent control for 30 years, and had numerous interactions with the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board during the course of those 30 years.

Assembly Passes Two of Santa Monica Legislators’ Housing Bills

06/02/2017 11:56 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

June 2, 2017 -- Two pieces of legislation proposed by Assemblyman Richard Bloom, whose district includes Santa Monica, that are aimed at tackling what he calls California’s “housing crisis” easily passed in the State Assembly on Thursday.

AB 1521 requires owners of affordable housing properties that are being taken off the market to accept purchase offers from “a preservation entity” that intends to maintain the affordability restriction.

It passed by a vote of 50 to 6.

AB 1568 allows local governments to use new sales tax and increased property tax revenue to finance infrastructure improvement projects, which a statement from Bloom’s office says will create “a new dedicated funding source for affordable housing.”

10 of the worst landlords in Los Angeles

06/02/2017 9:06 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Community Investment Department of Los Angeles is a bit like rummaging through the trash bin at a farmers’ market. You’re going to find some bad apples.

“There are good operators and bad operators, those that are exploitative and those that aren’t,” says Daniel Gomez, Director of Code Enforcement at HCIDLA. “To say ‘slumlords’ isn’t right anymore. Bad operators today are those that look only at the potential of the property, not the property itself.” In other words, where bad landlords used to be cheap, now they’re greedy.

He estimates that about 95 percent of the landlords in LA are good, decent, non-predatory. The other five percent are what he refers to as “bad actors.” In response, HCIDLA is beginning to focus its work on identifying and isolating bad actors. But how do you pick out the worst among the city’s tens of thousands of landlords?

Charges Filed Against Home Invasion Assault/Robbery in Santa Monica

06/01/2017 8:15 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Last Friday, 90402 was shocked to learn that Imtiaz Tarr, 60, and his teenage son were brutally attacked by two men who attacked them with hatchets, at their home just South of San Vicente Blvd on 19th Street. The attack culminated in a pursuit and a barricade situation, then two arrests. Today, the suspects were charged. The press release is below.

and

http://smdp.com/suspects-linked-to-two-home-invasion-assaults/161179

Santa Monica Landlords Show Little Interest in Housing Voucher Bonuses

05/31/2017 8:41 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

May 31, 2017 -- Faced with daunting disinterest among Santa Monica landlords, the City is intensifying a campaign that offers them $5,000 signing bonuses and other financial assistance to accept renters with housing vouchers.

Now entering its third year, the City program rolled out again last month, offering to award the bonuses to the first 45 landlords who apply, as in the past.

But there hasn’t been a rush to cash in so far.

Applications Add Up for Residents Panel on Pay and Benefits at Santa Monica City Hall

05/31/2017 8:36 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

May 31, 2017 -- A newly approved committee inspired by resident anger over high pay and benefits at Santa Monica City Hall is getting plenty of applicants, including a former City Manager from the 1970s and a former City analyst involved in labor negotiations.

As of Tuesday, the half dozen applicants for the Compensation Study Advisory Committee included former Santa Monica City manager James D. Williams and former City administrative analyst Homa Mojtabai.

Others who have submitted their applications are Janine T. Bush, Dominic A. Gomez, Sophia T. Le and Laurence E. Eubank.

Safety of Santa Monica Streets Could Emerge as New Worry in Plan for Development Downtown

05/31/2017 8:33 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

May 31, 2017 -- A string of pedestrian fatalities on Santa Monica’s busy streets has prompted new worries about a City plan to allow 3.2 million square feet of new development in an already built-out downtown.

The last draft of the Downtown Community Plan (DCP) goes before the City Planning Commission for a final time tonight. The meeting is in City Council chambers and starts at 6 p.m.

Although the commission is primarily advisory, its members are selected by the City Council and big disagreements between the two are unusual.

Federal Judge Dismisses Suit Against Santa Monica Short-Term Rental Ban

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

May 30, 2017 -- A California Federal Court last week dismissed a claim against the City of Santa Monica that argued that the California Coastal Act overrode the City's ban on short-term vacation rentals listed on such sites as Airbnb.

In his ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II found that Federal court was the wrong venue to argue that claim and noted that he already had dismissed all other federal claims in the class action suit filed by a retired school teacher last June.