ACTION Apartment Association

Mixed-use Apartment Projects in Downtown Santa Monica Headed for Hearing

10/02/2017 12:07 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

October 2, 2017 -- Proposals for two apartment complexes in downtown Santa Monica go to the City’s Planning Commission on Wednesday, as the pace of more than 3 million square feet in new building picks up after being left in limbo by a long fight over development.

The five-to -six story mixed-use buildings proposed by NMS and WNMS, the City's two largest residential developers, would replace existing surface parking lots.

1430-1444 Lincoln and 1313-1325 6th Street

AND

http://backissues.smdp.com/100317.pdf

Why Seismic Retrofitting Santa Monica Buildings is Essential Before the Next Big Earthquake

10/01/2017 10:07 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

By CAROLINE TOROSIS, a Commissioner on the Santa Monica Rent Control Board

A SERIES OF DESTRUCTIVE EARTHQUAKES in Mexico this month is a stark reminder that Santa Monica will be left vulnerable should a quake of similar magnitude hit the southland. The newly redrawn Santa Monica fault line runs directly across a large portion of Santa Monica, and an earthquake has the potential to damage some of Southern California’s most expensive real estate, not to mention risk the lives of our residents. In March 2017, the Santa Monica City Council unanimously approved a comprehensive retrofit ordinance to bring Santa Monica’s most earthquake-vulnerable buildings up to today’s safety standards.

Read More on page 4: http://backissues.smdp.com/093017.pdf

Challenges abound for serving new wave of homeless individuals

09/29/2017 3:49 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City of Santa Monica has a robust set of services to help its homeless residents find services and while those programs were successful for many years a changing demographic among homeless individuals is challenging the established approach.

Officials including law enforcement officers, social service providers and civic leaders are now rethinking the City’s approach to homelessness and searching for ways to maintain successful programs while tackling problems associated with changing demographics in the homeless population.

At a recent meeting for DTSM merchants, Brian Hardgrave and Margaret Willis (both with Santa Monica’s Human Services Division) said the approach so far has been to funnel significant resources into the most at risk or troublesome individuals. The approach has successfully brought some chronically homeless individuals in from the streets but the programs can only serve a relatively small number of individuals at a time.

Santa Monica City Officials Brace for a Future of Hi-Tech Change

09/28/2017 3:36 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

September 28, 2017 -- Blessed by three decades of prosperity, the Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday asked for an assessment on surviving a hi-tech future likely to upend the popular beach city's economic success stories.

Successful venues that face new challenges are the Third Street Promenade, thriving office parks and even the city’s biggest attraction, the Pacific Ocean.

A fast-evolving world of new technology “has the potential to undermine past strategies” for a thriving economy, said Andy Agle, the City’s director of housing and economic development.

Santa Monica Slow-Growth Leader Vows Referendums on Major Downtown Projects

09/26/2017 2:32 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

September 26, 2017 -- Two of the largest projects in Santa Monica’s development pipeline will face referendums to stop them if the City Council ultimately approves versions approximating the nearly 1 million total square feet being proposed, a leader from the slow-growth movement said Monday.

“The Plaza at Santa Monica,” a nearly 360,000-square-foot hotel/mixed use development proposed on prime City-owned real estate, and the proposed expansion and renovation of the Miramar Hotel, which when last proposed totaled nearly 570,000 square feet, will spark a battle if approved by the council, said Armen Melkonians, the organizer of the slow-growth group Residocracy.

City Manager Rick Cole: How Santa Monica Can Do More for its Homeless Population

09/26/2017 8:05 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

We already do a lot in Santa Monica, but obviously the explosion in the regional homeless population (up 23% in one year in LA County) is hitting us with a 26% increase in our annual count here in Santa Monica.

No one pretends we can solve homelessness in 8.3 square miles, but Santa Monica is determined to do everything we can within our borders. As to what's new, we are doing several new things and are working on more:

· In July we completed a pilot joint effort between Police Patrol and Human Services to conduct weekly 3 am operations in Palisades Park. Overnight camping there is illegal. But rather than just issuing citations, Police used the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data used by local non-profit homeless service agencies during the interaction to connect homeless individuals to resources that correspond to their needs (housing, employment, mental health services etc.)

Pregnant Culver City Woman Who Alleged Housing Discrimination Reaches Agreement With Landlord

09/25/2017 2:39 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

CULVER CITY, CA – A settlement has been reached between a couple and their former landlord, an actress who they sued alleging that their lease in Culver City was wrongfully ended prior to Christmas 2015 because the woman was pregnant at the time. The couple alleged housing discrimination and both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Tackling social challenges together

09/22/2017 11:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

By Rick Cole, Santa Monica City Manager

Over the next several months, we will be convening a series of community conversations about crime, community policing, homelessness and the selection of our next Police Chief. We will be inviting both existing community organizations and neighborhoods to host these discussions, but also seeking volunteers who will open up their homes, condos and apartments to their neighbors and friends.

Read More at page 5: http://backissues.smdp.com/092217.pdf

A Look at Santa Monica Shows Possible Impact on WeHo of Change in Short-Term Rental Ordinance

09/22/2017 8:08 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica’s experience with short-term rentals suggests partial legalization and increased enforcement can change the mix and growth of rentals, but it may be harder to cut the number dramatically. That is according to a report by WeHo by the Numbers based on data from an independent website called Inside Airbnb and other sources.

West Hollywood currently prohibits short-term rentals of residential units for 30 days or less. The city is planning to legalize at least some hosted home-sharing, in which the resident stays with the guests. At the same time, the city is going to strengthen enforcement with the help of a specialized contractor, Host Compliance.

See the full report: http://wehobythenumbers.com/2017/09/18/what-do-santa-monicas-results-suggest-we-might-expect-from-partial-legalization-of-short-term-rentals/

Santa Monica Provides Lesson as Interest in Rent Control on the Rise

09/21/2017 2:39 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

By Niki Cervantes and Jorge Casuso

September 21, 2017 -- Almost 40 years after Santa Monica voters passed one of the nation’s most stringent rent control laws, the controversial legislative measure used to cap skyrocketing rents is piquing renewed interest across the state.

A new poll released this week shows six in ten voters across California -- and even more in metro L.A. –- would embrace such a law in their cities.

Santa Monica’s tale of housing woe offers some harsh reality for those interested in following its lead as one of the original rent control pioneers when local voters approved a law in 1979 that placed strict limits on rental increases.