ACTION Apartment Association

Large projects move forward on Lincoln Boulevard

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

Plans for two new apartment complexes on Lincoln Boulevard between Colorado Avenue and Interstate 10 are moving forward, bringing an additional 166 units to the stretch of road. Combined with four neighboring projects currently underway, a total of 623 units are slated for development along the stretch of busy roadway.

A five-story, 66-unit building with 5,324 square feet of retail will replace the Aaron Brothers Art and Framing store at 1641 Lincoln Boulevard. The Architectural Review Board signed off on the plans Monday.

Low-income requirements for Los Angeles updated for 2017

05/05/2017 8:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The median income in Los Angeles County is now $64,300, according to a new estimate released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development last month.

That’s important because the agency’s income limits for rental assistance and affordable housing eligibility are based on area median income. Thus, a single person making 80 percent of that number ($50,500) would qualify for housing set aside for low-income tenants.

Santa Monica Downtown Community Plan – A Plan for Developers, or Residents?

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

The most glaring problem I see with the proposed Downtown Community Plan (DCP) is that it has retained several locations referred to as opportunity sites. These sites represent increases in uses that we already have in sufficiency i.e. office, hotel, high end retail and unaffordable housing. More of these can only succeed in exacerbating our traffic problems and the strain on our infrastructure. They simply provide more benefit to developers and not the residents.

Hertzberg bill kills incentive for smart water management

05/04/2017 1:15 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

By JON COUPAL, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

State Sen. Bob Hertzberg attempted to justify the latest plan to take more of your money in a column appearing in the Los Angeles Daily News. But his plan would result in precisely the opposite of what he claims and would simply be another fleecing of California homeowners.

Sen. Hertzberg states the obvious when he says that California needs to increase its water supply. But for decades, instead of working to meet California’s need for more water, the majority party in Sacramento has done nothing but saddle California taxpayers with bond debt. Voters were told these bonds would expand water supply. Only with the last several years of drought did we find out that no new water sources or water storage facilities were ever built. Consequently, the shortage got so bad that last year we were forced to ration water.

True to form, Hertzberg’s Senate Bill 231 does nothing to increase California’s water supply. In fact, it does the exact opposite. It ensures that a potential source of new water will be wasted.

City considers Parks Bond for November 2018 Ballot

05/04/2017 7:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City is moving forward with plans to potentially place a parks bond on the 2018 ballot to pay for park expansions and upgrades to existing parks. The City has hired a strategic research company to conduct a survey to gauge support for a bond.

Santa Monica voters overwhelmingly supported Measure A last November, a countywide parcel tax that will fund park improvements starting July 2018. It is estimated Santa Monica will receive $10 million over the following ten years from the measure. However, the City’s director of community and cultural services, Karen Ginsberg, says that is not enough money to fund the City’s ambitious parks agenda.

Next Week: Learn More About Your City Clerk’s Office

05/04/2017 7:27 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Monday, May 8 kicks off City Clerks Week in Santa Monica and across the country. City Clerk Denise Anderson-Warren and her team will offer special programming aimed at educating the public about the role of City Clerks and sharing Santa Monica history through the lens of historical documents.

Through the portal, the public may research past City Council items outside business hours and skip the Public Records Request process. Denise Anderson-Warren explains, “The advantage of the Public Portal over the website is that the portal offers final and often executed documents.”

and

https://www.smgov.net/departments/clerk/

Rent Control Makes It Harder to Vote with Your Feet

05/03/2017 1:41 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Gary M. Galles, p,

Professor of Economics, Pepperdine

One advantage of a federal system is enabling people ill-treated by one government body to “vote with their feet” toward less abusive jurisdictions. That escape valve is one rationale for reserving some political policy determination for state rather than national government, or to local rather than state government. However, devolving political power to lower level governments does not serve citizens’ rights when it comes to rent control, because rent control paralyzes owners’ ability to escape imposed burdens by voting with their feet.

Santa Monica’s Newest Affordable Housing Complex Takes Concrete Step

05/03/2017 12:11 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

May 3, 2017 -- Compared to the 900,000 square feet in apartment/mixed use projects that might one day be its neighbors, the building in progress at 1626 Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica is tiny.

But the size of “The Arroyo” is far outweighed by its significance, housing advocates say.

At about 55,700 square feet, the five-story building will be the biggest 100 percent affordable housing project constructed in Santa Monica in three years and helps the City deliver on an affordable housing mandate it often fails to meet ("Construction of Affordable Housing in Santa Monica Expected to Drop Again," February 7, 2017).

Advocates push for more housing in Downtown Santa Monica

05/03/2017 8:01 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Housing advocates are lining up at Planning Commission meetings to push commissioners to expand development potential in the Downtown Community Plan (DCP), the zoning document that will dictate rules for new construction in the heart of the city for the next twenty years.

“I think this plan addresses political problems but not the real problems of the housing shortage and climate change,” Carl Hanson, Director of Government Affairs for the Chamber of Commerce said. Housing advocates feel that the plan has moved toward the slow-growth side of the political spectrum in Santa Monica, ignoring escalating rents and the need for housing.

Even with the restricted heights, planning staff estimates about 2,500 new apartments will come to the downtown area over the next 15 to 20 years. With those units the population could double, adding another 3,200 people to the 230 acre area. However, housing advocates worry the number will not ease the rent burden in Santa Monica.

City wins $30,000 settlement in Tenant Harassment Case

05/03/2017 7:57 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A former landlord will pay the City $30,000 to settle a tenant harassment lawsuit involving a rent controlled apartment on Ocean Avenue.

The harassment allegations involve a single rent-controlled unit owned by Sean Gharib at 757 Ocean Avenue. The same tenant, Nina Edwards, has lived in the apartment with her son since 1984 and paid $850 in rent when Sean Gharib purchased the foreclosed unit in 2015, according to Deputy City Attorney Eda Suh.