...the rent controlled tenants at 122 Strand Street quietly took buy-outs and moved out over the last few years. The new owners of the parcel are now moving forward with plans to demolish the four apartments and replace them with three condominiums that will likely sell for millions of dollars. “It is something that should be a red flag across the city,” Commissioner Richard McKinnon said before the Planning Commission approved plans for the project Wednesday night

Along with McKinnon, Commissioners Jennifer Kennedy and Amy Anderson urged City staff to look into potential policy decisions that could curb the conversion of rent controlled buildings to condominiums.

Read More: http://smdp.com/commissioner-condo-project-canary-in-the-coal-mine-for-rent-control/159855

February 17, 2017 -- After hearing from numerous public speakers who said they lived in fear under the Donald Trump presidency, the Santa Monica City Council passed a measure calling for staff to draft an ordinance that would prohibit employers and landlords, among others, from collecting information on people’s immigration status, religion and sexual identity.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/February-2017/02_17_2017_Santa_Monica_Council_Moves_Forward_on_Immigration_Religious_Identity_Ordinance.html

The City Council moved forward with a massive seismic retrofit ordinance this week that could impact as many as 2,000 buildings in the eight-square-mile city.

City leaders spent hours hammering away at the ordinance with the City’s top building official, Ron Takiguchi, during Tuesday night’s meeting. The potential flood of construction brings a wide array of concerns spanning from scammers taking advantage of condominium owners to lengthy delays caused by the sheer amount of paperwork.

The ordinance could come back before the Council for a second reading as soon at Feb. 28. Once it is passed, the ordinance will go into law in thirty days. Takiguchi plans to begin issuing notices to the owners of approximately 200 brick buildings on May first. The rest of the notices will go out in waves.

By July, owners of “soft story” apartment buildings, where one or more units sit over open parking, will get their notices.

The last 900 buildings, which consist entirely of “soft story” apartment buildings will get their notices to begin inspections in 2018.

Read More: http://smdp.com/santa-monica-refines-plan-to-roll-out-seismic-retrofit-ordinance/159837

At the recent State of the City hosted by the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer unveiled the City of Santa Monica’s Annual Report for fiscal year 2015-2016.

Read More: http://smmirror.com/2017/02/annual-report-findings/

Read the Annual Report: http://annualreport.smgov.net/

Pico neighborhood

The 18th Street Arts Center is advancing their mission to provoke dialogue through contemporary art by inviting longstanding and new residents and commuters in the local community to engage with one another through temporary art projects in public spaces.

Publicly assisted housing is concentrated there, with 39% of residents living on $30,000 or less (according to the 2010 census). Due to restrictive housing covenants in the mid-20th century, known as redlining, this neighborhood was originally home to mostly African-American and Latino families. More recent waves of Latino immigrants have settled in the area, creating a demographic shift in the neighborhood.

Read More: http://smdp.com/18th-street-arts-center-explores-the-ghosts-of-gentrification/159829

ACTION represents the owners and managers of thousands of units in Santa Monica. We read with interest your letter to the Editor of Santa Monica Daily Press printed on February 15th.

We welcome the opportunity to dialog about RUBS with the hope that a mutually satisfactory outcome may result from our conversations.

Initially, we note that you mention “newer buildings” that “have the infrastructure ready to take on sub-meters.” We do not understand the term “newer buildings” in this context. All buildings constructed since 1990 have been built with sub-meters. So “newer buildings” with sub-meter ready infrastructure must be buildings that are over 27 years old. Do you agree? If not, what exactly do you mean by “newer buildings?”

Read More: http://smdp.com/open-letter-to-commissioner-todd-flora/159952

Our [Rent Control Board] annual seminar specifically tailored to owners of rent-controlled property in Santa Monica will be held on Tuesday, March 7^th.

For details and registration, see:  http://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/Rent_Control/Home/Seminar%20-%20March%207,%202017.pdf

At its regular meeting on February 9, 2017, the Santa Monica Rent Control Board adopted amendments to Regulations 13002 and 3035. The new regulations require landlords to provide information about the rent control law as mandated by Charter Section 1803(g) and specifying that landlords who fail to comply with registration requirements cannot impose annual general adjustments until they have complied with the requirement. The amendments will become effective on July 31, 2017. Copies of the amended regulations will be made available at the Rent Control Agency in Room 202 at City Hall and at www.smgov.net/rentcontrol. Anyone interested in further information about the new regulations should contact the Rent Control Board at 310-458-8751 or visit our offices.

Read More on page 4: http://backissues.smdp.com/021617.pdf

and for full report:

http://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/Rent_Control/About_the_Rent_Control_Board/Staff_Reports/2017/Item%2011A%20-%20Amending%20Regulations%2013002,%203035.pdf

February 15, 2017

Dear Editor,

At last Thursday’s Rent Control Board meeting, I proposed to my colleagues that we as a body encourage the City Council to consider whether RUBS water billing in multi-family apartments helps Santa Monica achieve the water conservation targets we’ve set.

Read More: http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2017/02_15_2017_LETTERS_Rent_Board_Did_Not_Recommend_Requiring_Landlords_to_Install_Submeters.html

Multiple tenants say the last year of construction has been careless at best and a risk to their health at worse.

Meanwhile, Santa Monica is moving forward to keeping situations like the one at the Tenth Street Promenade from happening again. Staff has recommended adding new tenant protections regarding construction, anticipating a whirlwind of permits because of the City’s new seismic retrofit ordinance.

Read More: http://smdp.com/tenants-get-rent-reduction-hearing-after-asbestos-year-of-construction/159791