ACTION Apartment Association

The truth about LUVE, money and housing

06/20/2016 6:30 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

By SMa.r.t. on June 18, 2016

The Land Use Voter Empowerment (LUVE) Initiative will stop oversized projects while protecting rent controlled and affordable housing in Santa Monica. Our current City Council believes dense, tall, and ill-designed projects are a worthwhile exchange for a handful of affordable units and other minimal “community benefits.”

SMa.r.t. Thinking

Santa Monica Council Orders Study of LUVE Initiative

06/16/2016 7:42 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

June 16, 2016 -- Faced with a November 8 ballot measure that places most new development in Santa Monica in the hands of voters, the City Council on Tuesday rejected calls to adopt the LUVE initiative and instead ordered a 28-day study of the measure.

and at:
http://smdp.com/city-council-asks-for-study-of-luve-initiative/155845

Santa Monica Rent Board Wants Study on Ellis Act Eviction “Predictors”

06/14/2016 7:28 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

June 14, 2016 -- Nicole Phillis, chair of Santa Monica’s Rent Control Board, said nobody knows for sure how measures such as the LUVE Initiative, likely going before voters in November, and the Downtown Community Plan, currently under review, will affect the future of the City’s rent-controlled units.

But she wants City officials to find out through a formal study.

Phillis’ colleagues on the rent board supported her proposal Thursday that the City Council be urged to conduct a study on whether conditions could be identified that cause landlords to evict tenants as a method to get out of the rental business

This method of eviction is allowed under the rules of the State’s Ellis Act.

Proposed Raises Push Many Santa Monica Employees Well into Six-Figure Salaries

06/14/2016 7:24 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

June 14, 2016 -- From the head of Santa Monica’s cemetery to its bike-share coordinator, librarians, civil engineers and lifeguards, many Santa Monica City employees could get raises that would make six-figure salaries the norm for many workers.

Santa Monica Rent Control Board Sets $25 Monthly Rent Increase

06/13/2016 7:02 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

June 13, 2016 -- Monthly residential rent charges in Santa Monica could increase as much as 1.3 percent or $25, whichever is smaller, beginning in September.

When it comes to sustainability, is Santa Monica in hot water?

06/11/2016 10:01 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The gravity of our situation recently motivated residents to gather more than 10,000 signatures to put the LUVE initiative put on the November ballot. If it passes, it will prohibit City officials from “rubber stamping” projects with special agreements that exceed our current codes.

City of Santa Monica Pay 20 Employees, More Than Calif. Governor Brown. Why?

06/10/2016 9:41 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

We received a press release saying that Santa Monica Public Works Director Martin Pastucha, has announced his retirement. His current salary is $270,924 annually.

This made me curious (and envious): The City just hired a City Clerk who earns $255,000 a year. The City Manager makes $330,000 a year.

How a state bill could bypass Santa Monica zoning rules

06/10/2016 7:41 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

In response to the state’s affordable housing crisis, California lawmakers are working on a potentially controversial plan proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown that would bypass local zoning restrictions.

Known as “by right” construction, the rules would supersede local zoning processes and guarantee developers the ability to build new housing projects if they meet basic affordability standards and are within existing zoning restrictions.

Santa Monica updating historic inventory

06/09/2016 7:21 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City of Santa Monica updates its Historical Resources Inventory every few years, and Lemlein said an update is overdue. Two consulting firms, Architectural Resources Group and Historic Resources Group, have been tasked with surveying structures built through 1977. The updated database is expected to be ready in 2017.

LUVE Initiative Heads to Santa Monica City Council

06/09/2016 7:12 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

June 9, 2016 -- The first vote on a proposal from the slow-growth activist group Residocracy that would place a significant number of Santa Monica development decisions in the hands of residents is expected to take place on Tuesday.

City Council members are scheduled to make one of three possible decisions on the measure known as the the Land Use Voter Empowerment (LUVE) initiative.