ACTION Apartment Association

LA County Approves Record Breaking Budget to Combat Homelessness

02/16/2023 10:41 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

According to the Board’s announcement, this budget will help fund a heightened focus on three key missions for the County in collaboration with cities and other local partners in these key areas:

Reducing encampments to bring unsheltered people indoors
Increasing interim and permanent housing placements
Ramping up mental health and substance use disorder services for people experiencing homelessness

Council Votes to Declare Homelessness Emergency

02/16/2023 9:52 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City Council Tuesday night unanimously voted to declare a Local Emergency on Homelessness that will boost funding and speed up hiring to address a worsening crisis.

The move will make it easier to receive help -- including funding -- from County, State and Federal governments and "remove barriers to building affordable housing," City officials said.

No Reliable Data to Support Key Housing Number

02/15/2023 10:27 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

How many of Santa Monica's nearly 27,500 rent control households pay more than 50 percent of their income in rent, making them "severely rent-burdened"?

Although the number is used to approve City policies, establish financial support programs and pass tax measures, the answer ranges wildly:

From less than 500 (the number who qualify for rent relief under a new City program) to more than 6,000 (the number used to support former mayor Sue Himmelrich's transfer tax hike) to more than 10,000 (the number the City uses to approve policies).

Council Caught in a Tight Spot on Development

02/14/2023 8:05 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City Council on Tuesday will face a volatile political dilemma -- change the unique nature of Santa Monica's four Neighborhood Commercial (NC) districts or open the floodgates to virtually unchecked State-sanctioned development.

Neighborhood residents, businesses and the Planning Commission are urging the Council to remove "upzoning" the NC districts from the 2021-29 Housing Element when it takes up the issue at a study session.

Plans to densify Main St., Montana, Pico and Ocean Park alarm planners

02/13/2023 10:44 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Planning Commission previously debated the issue and asked Council to request an amendment to the Housing Element to preserve existing limitations on development along Neighborhood Commercial (NC) zones that include portions of Montana, Main Street, Ocean Park Blvd. and Pico Blvd.

As currently written the housing element allows denser projects in those areas that would create housing above ground floor retail and the Commission said such action would jeopardize the city’s economic recovery.

Santa Monica Set to Declare Homelessness Emergency

02/10/2023 9:15 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The move comes amid a rising number of Police and Fire department calls for service, encampments, public deaths, arson and vandalism tied to the homeless, according to City staff's report to the Council.

The state of emergency would make it easier to work with other government agencies, seek grants and "take expedited actions to address imminent health and safety impacts" caused by homelessness, staff said.

Homelessness is the top priority for city officials

02/09/2023 10:56 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica residents should expect the city to focus on homelessness and safety in the coming year but other projects big and small may be put on the back burner due to potential budget constraints according to this year’s State of the City.

City Manager David White and Mayor Gleam Davis gave recorded speeches this week and while both touched on positive notes regarding economic recovery, they also alluded to pending budget issues that will limit the scope of city services in the near future.

California expands mortgage relief

02/08/2023 12:20 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Under the expansion of California’s mortgage relief program being unveiled today at a Sacramento nonprofit:

Eligible homeowners who have already used the program and are in need of additional assistance can reapply, for as much as $80,000 in total grants.
Homeowners can use the program to pay off second home loans, or loan deferrals, that they negotiated in the midst of the pandemic.
The program will also be available to homeowners who have properties of up to four units, as long as those small landlords live on those properties.
While the program was previously only available for people who had missed at least two mortgage payments and at least one property tax payment before last summer, it will now be available to those homeowners until March 1.
Read More: https://smdp.com/2023/02/08/mortgage/

County Approves Record Budget to Fight Homelessness

02/08/2023 12:10 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

One month after declaring a state of emergency on homelessness, the LA County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a record $609.7 million budget to tackle the growing crisis.

Metro Working on Plan to Provide Shelter for Homeless Passengers When Trains Are Emptied

02/07/2023 11:29 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Metro Los Angeles is considering a plan where service hubs would be opened near the termini of the train lines in the Metro rail system. It is well-known that trains and buses in the Los Angeles Metro system are frequently used as places of shelter by homeless people and Metro allows these unhoused people to ride for free on buses and trains until they are taken out of service for the night.