ACTION Apartment Association

Rent Board Recommends Ballot Measures

06/30/2026 4:29 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica voters in November could be asked to increase the amount of rent a tenant must owe before being evicted for non-payment and allow them to move a family member into their units.

Those provisions are part of a slate of five pro-tenant ballot measures the Santa Monica Rent Control Board last Thursday recommended the City Council place on the November 3 ballot.

SM.a.r.t Column: The Dual Process, Part Three: The Line the Sea Is Moving Toward

06/30/2026 4:28 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Here is where the rewritten bill returns. AB 1740 no longer exempts anything at the bluff. Instead, it does something subtler: it puts Santa Monica on a deadline to finish its coastal plan by 2029, and the Commission on a deadline to certify it. More subtle is a hint that the state budget’s vote next week includes ‘trailer bill’ wording setting that until the LCP is certified, all housing projects are allowed.

Former Mayor Seeks Rent Board Seat

06/30/2026 4:28 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Former Mayor Sue Himmelrich -- a longtime champion of tenants rights who has helped spearhead two local tax measures for affordable housing -- is seeking a seat on Santa Monica's Rent Control Board.

Controversial coastal development bill washes ashore with radically reduced scope and impact

06/16/2026 12:35 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Assembly Bill 1740, authored by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-51st District), now requires Santa Monica to submit a complete proposed LCP to the commission by Jan. 1, 2029. Under the amended version of the bill, the commission must act on that submission within six months of receipt, provide the city a written list of any identified issues within 45 days, and — if it fails to act on the complete proposal within six months — submit quarterly written updates to the Legislature explaining the delay.

SM.a.r.t Column: Santa Monica Built the Delay It Now Wants a Law to Erase

06/12/2026 1:46 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The slow coastal permitting the city blames on Sacramento is a wound of its own making — and AB 1740 is the wrong way to close it.

Single Councilmember Can Keep Placing Items on Agenda

06/11/2026 9:03 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A proposal to bar an individual City Councilmember from placing an item on the agenda without a co-sponsor was quickly dismissed Tuesday night.

The item was viewed by residents -- who sent more than 60 emails opposing the rule change -- as a way of silencing Councilmember Lana Negrete, who is the lone dissenting voice on a dais dominated by Santa Monica's liberal establishment.

Council wants to preempt homelessness with new program

06/09/2026 10:19 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Housing and Human Services Director Aileen Reynolds is recommending council authorize an $800,000 contract with the Los Angeles County Homeless Services and Housing Department to launch a Predictive Prevention Pilot aimed at keeping at-risk Santa Monica residents housed before a crisis occurs.

Council wants to preempt homelessness with new program

06/09/2026 10:19 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Housing and Human Services Director Aileen Reynolds is recommending council authorize an $800,000 contract with the Los Angeles County Homeless Services and Housing Department to launch a Predictive Prevention Pilot aimed at keeping at-risk Santa Monica residents housed before a crisis occurs.

Proposed Rule Change Could Silence Residents

06/09/2026 10:13 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City Council on Tuesday will consider a rule change that bars a single Councilmember from placing a discussion item on the agenda.

Instead, at least two, and no more than three, Councilmembers would need to co-sponsor a discussion item "to require collaboration (that) shows increased support for an item to be considered," according to the staff report to the Council.

Taxpayer Dollars Down the Drain

06/08/2026 10:47 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Consider this jaw-dropping example: One nonprofit, the Community Corporation of Santa Monica (CCSM), received $37.5 million in taxpayer-funded loans from the City's Housing Trust Fund (money the city does not expect to be repaid) to rehabilitate a single 40-unit rent-controlled apartment building on Virginia Avenue (2033-2101 Virginia Ave.). That's $937,500 per apartment.