The report said recent court rulings have prompted the proposed discussion to see if provisions of the City’s laws can be strengthened. “Staff is therefore proposing some minor amendments to clarify some terms and requirements related to the creation of a home-sharing registry and the publishing of that registry,” said the report.

Read More on page 1 and 10: http://backissues.smdp.com/010717.pdf

January 6, 2017 -- Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole was on the defensive earlier this week about the hot topic of City employee compensation during a meeting of the Wilshire Montana Neighborhood Coalition (Wilmont).

Cole, who spoke at the meeting with City Councilmember Sue Himmelrich, faced a somewhat hostile crowd that complained of what one person called an "exorbitant compensation rate" for Santa Monica employees.

Read More:  http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/January-2017/01_06_2017_Serious_Community_Discussion_Needed_on_Santa_Monica_Employee_Compensation_City_Manager_Says.html

January 6, 2017 -- A new report from the website Apartment Guide that shows Santa Monica is the most expensive place to rent an apartment in the nation has received some media attention.

But the reliability of that information could be a little off.

Read More:  http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/January-2017/01_06_2017_Is_Santa_Monica_the_Nations_Most_Expensive_City_for_Renting_an_Apartment.html

National Multifamily Housing Council

That rent control is an ineffective and often counterproductive housing policy is no longer open to serious question. The profound economic and social consequences of government intervention in the nation's housing markets have been documented in study after study, over the past twenty-five years. In response to this hard-earned experience, states and local jurisdictions from Massachusetts to California have banned or greatly constrained rent control. Nevertheless, a number of communities around the country continue to impose rent controls, usually with the stated goal of preserving affordable housing for low- and middle-income families. Rent control does not advance this important goal. To the contrary, in many communities rent control has actually reduced both the quality and quantity of available housing.

Read More: http://www.nmhc.org/News/The-High-Cost-of-Rent-Control/#.WG3Wg2Rf1lk.email

January 4, 2017 -- A leading slow-growth group is questioning a published claim by Santa Monica’s city manager that a consensus finally has been built over a highly divisive plan that will guide development downtown.

In a December 30 post on his “The Long View” blog highlighting key, and mostly uncontroversial, events that took place in Santa Monica in 2016, City Manager Rick Cole called the Downtown Community Plan (DCP) a “tremendous success."

Read More:  http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/01_04_2017_Slow_Growth_Activists_Question_City_Managers_Claim_of_Consensus_on_Santa_Monica_Downtown_Plan.html

January 3, 2017 -- The City of Santa Monica’s costs for workers’ compensation rose sharply last fiscal year, prompting a warning by the City's finance director that a 53 percent increase in funding likely will be needed soon.

The City’s Workers’ Compensation Self-Insurance Fund for the 2017-2018 year will need to be increased by $7.1 million, or from $13.4 million to $20.5 million -- or 53 percent -- to “maintain an adequate confidence level,” the report said.

Read More:  http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/01_03_2017_Top_Finance_Official_Warns_of_Sharp_Rise_in_Santa_Monica_Workers_Compensation_Costs.html

Originally published May 6, 2016

By Jennifer Eden

A small contingent of grassroots resident activists gathered on the steps of Santa Monica City Hall this morning to submit to the City two stacks of boxes filled with signed Land Use Voter Empowerment (LUVE) initiative petitions.

Read More: http://smmirror.com/2016/12/story-of-the-year-the-power-of-luve-initiative-garners-10000-signatures/

Most of this years top stories had something to do with the extraordinary increase in the price of Westside real estate.

Read More:  http://www.smobserved.com/story/2016/12/29/news/observer-picks-top-ten-santa-monica-news-stories-of-2016/2430.html

City Hall began work on a new zoning document to govern Santa Monica’s coast. 

Read the recap: http://smdp.com/year-in-review-government/159091

November 2016 was an election year. Voters approved several measures that would raise taxes to pay for affordable housing/education, fund construction at Santa Monica College and tighten the city’s anti-corruption rules. 

Read the recap: http://smdp.com/year-in-review-other/159089