October 17, 2017 -- The City of Santa Monica is considering the one-time use of up to $500,000 in federal block-grant funds for an affordable apartment project in Venice for the homeless, according to a report from the City's housing manager.

The City’s federal Community Development Block Grant funds would be spent to rehabilitate 14 existing affordable units at 102 Navy Street, one block south of the Santa Monica border.

Read More:   https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/October-2017/10_17_2017_City_of_Santa_Monica_Considers_Using_Grant_Funds_for_Homeless_Apartments_in_Venice.html

With the images of Mexico City’s devastating earthquake still fresh in everyone’s minds, the Rent Control Board stressed urgency during last week’s discussion of mandatory earthquake retrofit costs.

The Board is considering whether owners should be allowed to pass through the costs of retrofitting their building to rent controlled tenants.

“I think we are up against the clock when facing the big one and it’s scary because we are behind,” board member Nicole Phillis said. “There are 1,300 buildings that are vulnerable and I’m concerned with creating an incentive system that would get retrofits sooner.”

About 550 buildings owners will have received notices to inspect their buildings by the end of October, however, some buildings will not receive notices until August 2018, according to the City’s notification schedule.

The board unanimously agreed that they need to hear much more from the community and stakeholders before they make a decision.

Read More: http://smdp.com/threat-of-the-big-one-looms-over-rent-control-board-discussions/162898

October 15, 2017 -- The California Coastal Commission last week signed off on two major public projects that will further transform Santa Monica's Civic Center.

The projects -- a three-building childcare center on the current Civic Center surface parking lot and a nearly $75 million addition to City Hall -- will not hurt access to the beach, the commission decided.

“The unanimous approval for both projects reaffirms a decade of thoughtful planning and community engagement in achieving the goals of the 2005 Civic Center Specific Plan,” said Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole.

Read More:   https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/October-2017/10_16_2017_California_Coastal_Commission_%20Approves_Santa_Monica_Civic_Center_Projects.html

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http://smdp.com/162929/162929

October 13, 2017 -- Tenants and apartment owners wrestled Thursday over the possibility of allowing Santa Monica landlords to raise rents to help pay the cost of mandatory seismic retrofitting, including nearly 1,300 multi-family buildings under rent control.

Each side staked out opposing positions in a public hearing before the City Rent Control Board, which is looking at the impact of the law, adopted in March, that covers almost 2,000 buildings considered at risk of serious damage in the event of an earthquake.

Read More:   https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/October-2017/10_13_2017_Santa_Monica_Rent_Board_Weighs_Hikes_for_Earthquake_Retrofits.html

Tens of thousands of dollars are on the line for the owners of rent controlled buildings this week, as the Rent Control Board (RCB) considers whether to allow them to pass along earthquake retrofit costs to their tenants. Their decision will impact the rents of as many as 10,000 individual apartments in the City, according to staff estimates. 

The Board will hear public comment on the issue Thursday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers inside City Hall.

Read More: http://backissues.smdp.com/101117.pdf

by Michael Millman

So, Los Angeles provided a pass through wherein the Tenants pay 50% of the cost, amortized over seven years, with a financial cap of $38 per month. Again, San Francisco provided a 100% contribution by Tenants, amortized over 10 years. Many Small Family-Owned Apartments in Santa Monica are held by senior citizens, disabled, and elderly persons on fixed incomes who will not otherwise qualify for conventional lending. The Santa Monica Housing Committee, which has access to $60,000,000 has failed, and continues to fail and refuse, to provide any low interest loans to Apartment Owners; none.

Read More on page 6: http://backissues.smdp.com/101117.pdf

Santa Monica also prohibits smoking in common areas of all multi-unit housing (both apartments and condos), and inside units for all residents who moved in after November 22, 2012.

Read More on page 4: http://backissues.smdp.com/101117.pdf

The annual Rental Property Maintenance Seminar will be held October 10, 2017, at 9:30 a.m. in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Santa Monica Main Library.

Read More:   https://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/Rent_Control/Information_and_FAQ/Maintenance%20workshop%20flyer%2010-11-17.pdf

More than three years after moving here, Gupta is now in a position to affect real change. As he settles into his new job directing policy for the City by the Sea, he’s focused on the same issue that has been on the minds of many residents – the growing homeless population in Santa Monica and what do to about it. The City reported a 26 percent increase in the number of homeless this year alone. More people are living on the streets now than in any other time in recent history.

Read More: http://smdp.com/homeless-top-of-mind-for-citys-new-deputy-manager/162819

October 5, 2017 -- Reinhard Kargl was elected chair of the Wilmont Montana Neighborhood Coalition (“Wilmont”) on Tuesday. A freelance science and tech writer for European publications, Kargl has lived in the neighborhood -- which the City's largest with 20,000 residents -- for 25 years.

The day after his election, Kargl shared his thoughts about the current state of Wilmont and the future it faces as the neighborhood closest to Downtown. Wilmont stretches from Pacific Coast Hwy to 21st Street and Wilshire Boulevard to Montana Avenue. This is the first of a series of interviews with Santa Monica leaders and stakeholders.

Read More:   https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/October-2017/10_05_2017_New_Wilmont_Chair_Weighs_in_on_Santa%20Monicas_Largest_Neighborhood.html