ACTION Apartment Association

SMa.r.t. Column: Going Bare

03/20/2023 8:57 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A year of Exposure
That means that our latest AHMP expired in 2022, and for the last year we have been going bare, being effectively uninsured. Paradoxically not having a federally approved AHMP is analogous to, but is the exact opposite of not having a California Housing and Community Development approved housing element. When you don’t have a State approved housing element, developers can build anything anywhere (the so-called Builder’s Remedy) with no local recourse. While when you don’t have a federally approved AHMP, a disaster can destroy any building or infrastructure anywhere in your City and you have no repair recourse.

City of Santa Monica is Aware of LA County's Needle Exchange Program

03/17/2023 3:04 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

"We are in in almost constant discussions with the County about their needle exchange program, and how to get the help we need from the County."

Brock said that the City of Santa Monica would like to convince LA County to move its needle exchange program indoors, to a clinic or other building. LA County and staff from the Venice Family Clinic who run the program, however, believe it's best to reach the addicted homeless population in Santa Monica's parks.

After 7 Years, Voting Rights Lawsuit Could Be Decided Soon

03/15/2023 10:36 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

In a letter Thursday, the Clerk and Executive Officer of the Court advised attorneys for the two parties that oral arguments will be heard "within the next few months."

"Once the court files an order setting this case for oral argument, that date will not be changed absent exceptional cause, such as a medical emergency," wrote Jorge E. Navarrete.

Council Creates Department to Focus on Housing and Homelessness

03/14/2023 11:45 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

After once again declaring homelessness its top priority, the City Council on Saturday unanimously directed staff to create a new department and allocate new tax dollars to tackle the persistent problem.

Raising rent 10% is too much, says lawmaker proposing California bill to prevent more homelessness

03/13/2023 9:49 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Sen. Durazo's SB 567 would boost safeguards for renters under the Tenant Protection Act of 2019

City Council Adopts Priorities and Provides Direction for 2023-2025

03/13/2023 9:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica City Council held a special session to set council priorities for the next two years to guide the development of the 2023-2025 biennial budget. In a unanimous vote, the City Council adopted the following as the most important areas of focus:

Addressing Homelessness: Prevent housed Santa Monicans from becoming homeless and increase the supply of affordable housing, address the behavioral health needs of vulnerable individuals and advocate for regional capacity to address homelessness.
Clean & Safe Santa Monica: Create an atmosphere marked by clean and safe public spaces and neighborhoods, including parks for recreation and leisure activities.

SMa.r.t. Column: The Urgency to Retrofit

03/11/2023 8:53 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

In 2017 the city passed laws that required buildings on the list of potentially earthquake-vulnerable buildings to have their structures reviewed, analyzed, and if necessary repaired, by certain deadlines (the list: https://tinyurl.com/mr2fhbz9). Today it seems that many building owners may have failed to comply with interim deadlines in the law, and staff shortages may make it difficult for the city to fully enforce those earthquake-retrofit ordinances.

SB 9 Ended R-1 Zoning, but It’s Not Meeting Goals

03/11/2023 8:51 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

But enthusiasm for the kind of density SB 9 intended to create has not come close to matching the homeowner and developer interest in building ADUs. A report early this year from UC Berkeley’s consistently pro-density Terner Center for Housing Innovation described the law’s impact so far as “limited or nonexistent.”

Santa Monica 'Beneficiary' of Clandestine County Program to Give Free Needles to Addicts in City Parks

03/10/2023 10:33 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

by John Alle

Police chief is reportedly unable to get notification of day or time of planned distributions

The City has acknowledged that without the knowledge of its Police Department, residents and businesses, it has funded and allowed over a year for the County and the Venice Family Clinic to administer a clandestine needle and synthetic drug distribution program in one of the City's largest parks (Reed Park), adjacent to the Children's Playground, basketball courts, and Joslyn Senior Center, and incredibly, 50 yards across the street from one of the largest K-12 schools and Catholic churches in the state, St. Monica's.

California sues Huntington Beach over affordable housing

03/10/2023 10:30 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Huntington Beach, a city of about 200,000 people along the Southern California coast where the median home sales price is $1.1 million — or more than $300,000 higher than the state average. Bonta is asking a judge to order Huntington Beach City Council to comply with state housing laws and to punish councilmembers by making them pay a fine.