ACTION Apartment Association

SM.a.r.t Column: Part 1: Why Santa Monica Wanted Out of the Regional Water System, And What Happened

08/14/2026 4:18 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

For over a decade, the City poured money into infrastructure meant to do one thing: kill its dependence on imported water, the expensive, unreliable, and undependable supply that still covers 30% of what the city drinks. That plan is now broken. City documents show new state housing mandates will swell the population well past what local supplies can handle, a fact buried inside the very Water Plan the Council approved last month without a single word of discussion.

In addition, nobody asked whether the Metropolitan Water District could actually cover the shortfall in a five-year drought.

Affordable Housing Airport Measure Fails to Meet Deadline

08/14/2026 4:16 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Sponsors of a ballot initiative to build 3,000 units of affordable housing on Airport land did not submit signed petitions by Wednesday's deadline and will have to start again if they want to place the measure on the 2028 ballot.

Unfair Parcel Tax Ballot Language Misleads Voters by Tricia Crane

08/14/2026 4:14 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The inaccuracies begin with the ballot question that makes no mention that the proceeds from the parcel tax on Santa Monica property owners would also go to schools in Malibu.

Ballot takes shape with contested races in all local elections

08/13/2026 12:24 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

According to city candidate filing records dated Aug. 12, 2026, multiple hopefuls pulled nomination papers in the weeks leading up to the deadline, though not all who took out papers ultimately filed, and some who filed later withdrew.

City Seeks Property Owners to Rent to Homeless

08/13/2026 12:04 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City will accept applications through August 31 for initial consideration in the Master Leasing Program, part of the newly introduced Housing Focused System of Care that creates "a structured pathway to housing for individuals, with City oversight at each stage of the process."

Radically Opposing Views on Parcel Tax

08/12/2026 9:35 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Supporters of a $495 parcel tax on the November ballot say the money is needed to “protect educational excellence,” but opponents counter it is in effect a City tax that won't increase school funding, according to ballot arguments submitted to the City Clerk last week.

SMRR Endorses Torosis, Ivanov for Council

08/11/2026 10:31 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMMR) endorsed Mayor Caroline Tororis and Rent Control Board member Danny Ivanov at the group's annual convention Sunday, but failed to make a third endorsement in the race for three open City Council seats.

The powerful tenants group's steering committee will now decide whether to endorse one of the three candidates who made it to the third and final round of voting but failed to win the 55 percent of the vote needed.

The $35 Million Cost of Rehabbing a Rent Control Building

08/10/2026 12:12 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The report the Council will take up Tuesday outlines how the City's investment in helping Community Corporation of Santa Monica (CCSM) embark on the project ballooned from a nearly $15.2 million acquisition and pre-development loan in 2020 into a $35.65 million loan to rehabilitate the property at 2033-2101 Virginia Avenue in the Pico Neighborhood.

Santa Monica Council advances 'cottage court' plan to house city's workforce

08/06/2026 11:12 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The proposal, called the Missing Middle Housing Realignment Plan, centers on the cottage court — a cluster of six or seven detached homes of about 850 square feet arranged around a shared courtyard. Planning Commissioner Shawn Landres, who presented the plan on the commission's behalf, said the form itself, if built at the right size and density, can deliver homes at prices working households can reach without subsidizing every unit.

Some Community Corp Rent Control Units Could See Rent Hikes

08/04/2026 8:44 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A letter sent to Community Corporation tenants dated July 27 states that the rent hike will affect those who are currently paying below the Maximum Allowable Rent (MAR) for their unit set by Santa Monica's Rent Control Charter.