ACTION Apartment Association

$5 million collected last year to offset new development

11/14/2022 8:21 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The fees are gathered in line with a 1987 state law that outlines how such fees can be collected.

On Tuesday, Santa Monica City Council will receive a report on the latest fees gathered for development in fiscal year 2021-22.

SMa.r.t. Column: Santa Monica Housing Development – Poison Pills, Bad Data and the Blame Game

11/14/2022 8:13 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Prior councils have made long term decisions that have locked the city into an extraordinarily fixed path, the consequences of which are only now becoming apparent to all stakeholders. In business, a loosely analogous strategy is called a “Poison Pill.” Poison Pills are generally used to prevent changes.

Friday Vote Tally Changes Little in Local Races

11/14/2022 8:08 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

In the race for three open City Council seats, Rent Board Commissioner Caroline Torosis was still in first place more than 1,100 votes ahead of Jesse Zwick, while Zwick led Councilmember Lana Negrete by more than 2,300 votes.

Negrete added 19 votes to her margin Thursday, putting her 582 votes ahead of Natalya Zernitskaya, who remained in fourth place ahead of Armen Melkonians and Ellis Raskin.

Candidates, Ballot Measures Hold on to Leads as More Ballots Counted

11/11/2022 9:29 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The frontrunners in Santa Monica races held on to -- and in some cases padded -- their leads after the LA County Registrar unexpectedly released a new batch of votes Thursday afternoon.

AND: https://smdp.com/2022/11/11/torosis-zwick-negrete-maintain-council-lead-as-votes-trickle-in/

Next wave of election results expected Friday

11/10/2022 8:37 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

As of the last update, published online in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, Torosis had taken the top spot in the crowded field of city council candidates, collecting 8,327 votes. Behind her was Jesse Zwick with 7,321 votes, followed by incumbent Lana Negrete at 5,494 votes. But only about 550 votes separated Negrete, Ellis Raskin (5,002), Armen Melkonians (4,994) and Natalya Zernitskaya (4,943).

Feinstein is wrong

11/08/2022 8:35 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Mike Feinstein ignores too many details in his article about the “Lincoln Center” project — the one proposed for the Gelson’s site at the intersection of Ocean Park and Lincoln. The current situation is not residents’ or the Santa Monica City Council’s fault. It is the direct result of overreach by the State, which is imposing a mandate on municipalities that the State Constitution does not sanction — a mandate that ignores the characteristics that make certain communities desirable and that could result in converting Santa Monica into either Miami or Manhattan-by-the-Sea.

Brock Drops Support for Voting Rights Settlement

11/08/2022 8:25 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Efforts to settle a landmark voting rights lawsuit against the City have hit a major roadblock no matter who wins Tuesday's race for three open City Council seats, The Lookout has learned.

Councilmember Phil Brock said Sunday that he will not vote to settle the six-year-old California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) lawsuit before the California Supreme Court, likely eliminating the fourth vote needed to implement district-based elections.

Legal Battle in the Future for Santa Monica Following ‘Builder’s Remedy’ Debacle?

11/07/2022 9:28 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The issue of the 16 ‘Builder’s Remedy’ applications that were filed during the time period when Santa Monica’s Housing Element was rejected by the State of California may turn into a legal battle as reported by The Real Deal.com.

Doug Sloan, the Santa Monica city attorney, said, as quoted by The Real Deal.com “We did engage outside counsel. It’s important to realize that, when looking at this builder’s remedy issue and the Housing Element law, the rules were not always very clear, and it was somewhat of a moving target from the state.” during a Santa Monica City Council meeting.

Santa Monica Real Estate Report – November 7th, 2022

11/07/2022 9:00 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

See Video: https://smmirror.com/2022/11/a-mix-use-building-on-santa-monica-and-3rd-street-set-to-be-sold-at-auction-santa-monica-real-estate-report-november-7th-2022/

Council Race May Be More About Power Than Issues

11/07/2022 8:58 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

According to the only professional poll conducted for the Council race, Negrete, the lone incumbent in the race, held a comfortable lead six weeks ago, followed by Melkonians, who along with Negrete is backed by Santa Monicans for Change and the City's police are firefighters unions.