April 18, 2017 -- Faced with rising complaints about salaries and benefits for Santa Monica City employees -- among the highest for California municipalities -- staff is recommending a temporary panel of residents be created to examine the contentious issue.

The ad hoc committee would be comprised of five residents and assist “in critically reviewing and objectively considering” employee compensation, according to the report by Gigi Decavalles-Hughes, the City’s finance director, released on Monday.

Read More:  https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/April-2017/04_18_2017_Residents_Committee_Recommended_to_Examine_High_Cost_of_Santa_Monica_City_Employee_Compensation.html

Downtown Things’ll Be Great: Big Promises in the Community Plan Draft Sees Down-Zoning of Height Limits, Promises of Open Space, and a Cap on Development Post-Implementation

City Manager Rick Cole and City Planning Manager Jing Yeo, both reiterated that the DCP was primarily a housing plan – creating space and housing for people “who work and live here.”

Read More: http://smmirror.com/2017/04/downtown-thingsll-be-great-big-promises-in-the-community-plan-draft-sees-down-zoning-of-height-limits-promises-of-open-space-and-a-cap-on-development-post-implementation/

Less than three weeks after the Rent Control Board voted unanimously to support an Assembly bill that would repeal the CostaHawkins Act, the bill itself is on life support. In fact, several sources familiar with talks in Sacramento say AB 1506 is dead. “No one is ready for it yet,” said the senior field representative for Assemblymember Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), Tim Harter. Bloom recently made the decision to pull the bill for now. AB 1506 could still come back before the Assembly next year, giving Bloom more time to sell the idea to its many detractors.

Read More on page 1: http://backissues.smdp.com/041417.pdf

It’s a sensitive plan after a heated election. Longtime residents fuming over a changing city railed against “overdevelopment” and pushed Measure LV in November, an initiative that would have required a vote on nearly every new building in the City over two stories.

The measure failed but the dialogue over development shifted.

The final draft revealed Wednesday presented a scaled-back vision for downtown – with buildings limited to about four of five stories in the core areas near the Third Street Promenade. The City wants to encourage housing development, especially near the Expo Line, allowing mixed-use developments near the train to reach seven stories.

Read More: http://smdp.com/city-reveals-downtown-plan-years-in-the-making/160564

April 13, 2017 -- How do you find common ground between developers proposing 20-plus-story high-rises and slow-growth activists who want most buildings in Santa Monica's downtown to be no more than two stories tall?

City officials hope that the long-awaited final draft of the Downtown Community Plan (DCP) released at a public meeting Wednesday evening will help bridge that often acrimonious gap.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/April-2017/04_13_2017_Santa_Monica_Downtown_Plan_Seeks_to_Strike_a_Compromise_Officials_Say%20.html

To view the full plan: http://www.downtownsmplan.org/

Pasadena landlords who evict tenants to demolish their property or use the property for personal use can no longer avoid paying relocation fees.

Read More: https://www.pasadenaweekly.com/2017/04/13/first-and-last/

Construction is the major theme of tonight’s Rent Control Board meeting, as the members discuss the City’s massive new seismic safety retrofit ordinance and tweak tenant protections. The Board will consider changes to an ordinance that allows rent control tenants to pay reduced rent while there is significant construction at their building that effects habitability or reduces services unless the construction is necessary and reasonable.

“These draconian decrease regulations will likely give birth to a new cottage industry that we can call ‘Decreases R Us,’” Building owner Wes Wellman said. “Activists will organize tenants on every retrofit to pursue rent decreases from an enabling and compliant rent control administration.” 

Condon says the City is currently working on an analysis of construction and will likely discuss pass through costs this summer.

Read More on page 1: http://backissues.smdp.com/041317.pdf

CITY OF SANTA MONICA Ordinance Numbers 2537-2540 (CCS) (City Council Series) The following ordinance summaries are for Ordinance Numbers 2537 through 2540, which were adopted by the City Council at its meeting of March 28, 2017: Ordinance Number 2537 amends the California State Building Codes to adopt updates to seismic retrofit requirements and adopting enhancements to local tenant laws. 

Ordinance Number 2538 amends Santa Monica Municipal Code 8.96 relating to Abatement of Nuisances to include additional requirements related to vacant buildings. 

These ordinances will become effective thirty days after adoption. The full text of the ordinance is available from the Office of the City Clerk located at 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, California 90401; phone (310) 458-8211

Read More on page 5: http://backissues.smdp.com/041317.pdf

Fair Housing Workshop: The City’s Attorney’s office is sponsoring a fair housing workshop on Tuesday, April 18 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. registration) at the Santa Monica Main Library (Sixth Street and Santa Monica Blvd.). The workshop will explain the laws that prohibit housing discrimination. There will also be a panel on disability issues in rental housing. The presenters include Chancela Al Mansour, Executive Director of the Housing Rights Center; Denise McGranahan, Senior Staff Attorney at Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles; Andrea Cavanaugh, Consumer Specialist, City of Santa Monica; and Gary Rhoades, Deputy City Attorney, City of Santa Monica.

All owners, property managers, tenants, advocates, and attorneys are invited to RSVP and attend free of charge. A continental breakfast will be provided and library parking will be validated. Please reserve your spot by April 14, by going to www.smconsumer.org. On the right side of the home page, click the “Save the Date and Register! Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office Hosts Fair Housing Workshop” link.

Read More on pg. 3: http://backissues.smdp.com/041217.pdf

Reservations: http://www.smconsumer.org

Reserve your spot by April 14, by going to www.smconsumer.org. On the right side of the home page, click the “Save the Date and Register! Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office Hosts Fair Housing Workshop” link. 

The official release event is open to the public and will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Civic Center East Wing. 

The plan builds on past efforts to incentivize housing, revitalize the Third Street Promenade, preserve historic assets, stimulate art and cultural activities, and address sustainability.

Read the article: http://smdp.com/downtown-community-plan-released-today/160519

Visit the website: http://www.downtownsmplan.org/