Thursday, August 10, 2017 

Public hearings on the following topics will be conducted at the regular Santa Monica Rent Control Board meeting on Thursday, August 10, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber, 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401:

1) Proposed Revisions to Regulation 4038 respecting the restoration of rents when rent-decrease conditions have been remedied; and 

2) Amendments to Rent Control Board Regulation 4400 respecting construction-related rent decreases.

Read More on pg. 11: http://backissues.smdp.com/080417.pdf

The multi-year quest to physical expand City Hall will be before Council on August 8 with potential approval of about $70 million in bonds to finance the new construction.

Staff have said the new building is necessary to reduce long-term spending on rent and consolidate city services.

Read More: http://smdp.com/city-hall-expansion-back-on-the-agenda/161991

August 3, 2017 -- The Ford Motors Company’s “Model T” was replacing horses and buggies and open spaces were still plentiful in Santa Monica back in 1910, when a Craftsman-style home at 1035 21st Street in a new tract called Green Acres was built.

More than a century later, the modest brown-shingled family home is the oldest left in 10-block Green Acres, in northeast Santa Monica.

But not for much longer.

The single-story house, partially shaded by a towering Yucca tree just as old, will become a two-story condominium complex with three units, following approval of the project by the City’s Planning Commission in February.

Read More:  https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/August-2017/08_03_2017_Oldest_Home_in_Santa_Monicas_Century_Old_Green_Acres_Set_to_Become_Condos.html

August 2, 2017 -- Three landmarked courtyard apartment buildings in one of Santa Monica’s most sough-after neighborhoods are expected to receive a final formal approval Wednesday as the site of a 12-unit condominium project that preserves a portion of the original 1936 construction.

The project on 423-429 Ocean Avenue is on the City Planning Commission’s agenda as under consideration for a statement of official action.

Read More:  https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/August-2017/08_02_2017_Santa_Monica_Landmark_Courtyard_Apartment_Buildings_Set_for_Formal_Approval_in_Condo_Project.html

August 2, 2017 -- Spearheaded by Santa Monica resident Sheila Kuehl, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday adopted a rule mandating heat-fighting “cool roofs” for all new construction, building additions and major roof replacements in unincorporated areas.

Supervisor Kuehl, whose Third District extends to beach communities including Santa Monica, said the law will require new roofs be made of sun-reflecting materials, which absorb up to 65 percent less heat than conventional roofs, cooling interior and ambient temperatures.

Read More:  https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/August-2017/08_02_2017_Santa_Monica_Supervisor_Sponsors_Rule_Requiring_Cool_Roofs.html

Beset by the highest rents in Los Angeles County, Santa Monica officials are adopting a new affordable housing standard they say will create more residential units for lower-income households, although critics say it will only serve to depress housing production.

Under the city's new policy adopted last week, developers who want to build in downtown Santa Monica must price as much as 30 percent of the units below market-rate. The taller and denser the building, the more affordable housing units there have to be.

Read More: https://www.scpr.org/news/2017/07/31/74251/developers-in-santa-monica-face-experiment-in-prov/

Rents in Los Angeles continue to steadily climb higher, with median prices increasing for the sixth month in a row, according to a report from rental website Apartment List.

In the city of LA, rents ticked up half a percent in July, compared with June. The median price for a one-bedroom apartment is now $1,340. A two-bedroom unit will cost you $1,730.

Read More: https://la.curbed.com/2017/8/1/16075952/los-angeles-rent-prices-rise-highest-lowest-increase

At their Wednesday meeting, Planning Commission will begin preliminary discussions on policy issues that have arisen since adoption the Zoning Ordinance in 2015. About 17 policy issues are up for discussion during this round of debate.

Affordability levels of deed restricted units for Tier 2 projects should be dictated by objective housing needs.

Eliminate the requirement for Administrative Approval review for multi-unit residential development in the Ocean Park zoning districts.

Read More: http://smdp.com/zoning-revisions-continue-at-planning-commission/161936

Setting aside money to fund affordable housing was an easy decision for City Council at their July 25 meeting, but deciding who gets to spend it was harder.

Council approved revisions to the city’s housing trust fund guidelines on Tuesday that included establishing a new dedicated fund of about $15 million a year to build and/or retain existing affordable housing units. The money would be available to nonprofit housing organizations but the council split over giving staff the authority to release the money without Council approval.

Read More: http://smdp.com/council-approves-new-loan-source-for-affordable-housing/161908

Residents in Santa Monica are collecting their food scraps and saving them to create a natural soil.

Recently Global Green, Santa Monica based non-profit has educated over 650 households on the benefits of composting food scraps and provided valuable training and resources. This action has led to nearly 85,000 pounds of organic waste being composted.

 In a multifamily property, those who generate the trash do not have to pay for its removal nor are responsible for its removal. Instead it’s a 3rd party, the property manager, who is responsible. That gap between generation and responsibility is one of the challenges in a successful program.

Read More: http://smdp.com/multi-family-units-are-composting/161923