ACTION Apartment Association

Affordable housing at the expense of existing tenants? L.A. council seeks new protections

05/02/2024 2:50 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Meanwhile, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez has begun pushing for new safeguards to ensure that projects submitted under the ED1 program do not result in the rapid demolition of rent-stabilized apartments in her Eastside district.

Monthly Poll Shows Overwhelming Opposition to Homeless Housing Project

05/02/2024 11:51 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A monthly poll of "civically engaged" Santa Monica residents found that more than 80 percent oppose the construction of a $1 million per unit apartment building for the homeless.

RENT CONTROL SEMINAR FOR PROPERTY OWNERS AND MANAGERS

05/01/2024 10:50 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

THURSDAY | MAY 2

Designed for owners and managers, this seminar will cover basics of the rent control law and your rights and responsibilities, how to use the CIVICS portal for online filing of registration forms, petitions and exemption applications and demonstrate filing a tenancy registration form. Begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Santa Monica Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd. To sign up, visit: https://forms.office.com/pages/ responsepage

Real solutions in DC? Or Vienna? by Charles Andrews

05/01/2024 7:59 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

If you took a true-life script across town to a Hollywood showrunner, about what goes on here, especially the politics, you’d have it thrown back in your lap with, give us something at least slightly believable.

Mayor Karen Bass and Mayor Phil Brock Converge on D.C. to Tackle Homelessness Crisis

05/01/2024 7:53 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) Task Force on Homelessness, alongside USCM President Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock, is spearheading a bipartisan coalition of nearly 50 mayors from 18 states to address the nationwide homelessness crisis. The delegation is representing over 17 million people in Washington, D.C., to advocate for national solutions.

Community Process to Chart Airport's Future Kicks Off Amid Concerns

05/01/2024 7:42 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City next month will take a major step in planning for the future of Santa Monica Airport amid lingering concerns that some of the land will be used for housing or that the airport will stay open.

Airport officials updated the City Council on Monday with an Information item outlining the steps necessary "to close the airport as of midnight on December 31, 2028."

L.A. Council looking to secure rent-controlled units via Interim Control Ordinance

04/30/2024 5:24 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Responding to concerns about how some rent- controlled units could be lost as a result of streamlining initiatives for affordable housing, the Los Angeles City Council took steps Tuesday to impose temporary regulations until appropriate land use controls are made.

Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez's motion applies only to a particular area within her First District, and aims to establish a discretionary review process allowing the "demolition, building, use of land, grading and any other applicable permits" of properties containing five or more rent-controlled units or units that have been vacated as a result of the Ellis Act within five years.

SM.a.r.t Column: SMCLC SPEAKS

04/30/2024 8:27 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

SMart (Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow) periodically invites guest columnists who have made a significant contribution to the public discourse to its weekly SM Mirror OP-Ed page. Today, we invite SMCLC (Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City), an organization of years of advocacy for the public benefit, to speak to two issues facing our community.

Santa Monica Rents Dip Amid Sluggish Market

04/30/2024 7:41 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

After a one-month rise, Santa Monica rents decreased again in April, bucking a nationwide trend that saw average rents inch up for the third straight month, according to the latest monthly report by Apartment List.

The overall median rent in Santa Monica now stands at $2,472, after falling -0.6 percent over the past month, according to data based on listings posted on the popular rental website. Rents had increased 1.5 percent in March after a four-month drop.

California court rules state laws cannot broadly override local government

04/30/2024 7:36 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A California court ruled state laws cannot broadly override local control over development and zoning, finding one of the state’s most significant new zoning laws is unconstitutional.

“This is not a case about whether or not our State Legislature may enact legislation to ensure access to affordable housing or whether it may act to address the different concern of a statewide housing shortage more generally,” wrote California Superior Court Judge Curtis A. Kin in his ruling. “However, because the provisions of SB 9 are not reasonably related and sufficiently narrowly tailored to the explicit stated purpose of that legislation — namely, to ensure access to affordable housing — SB 9 cannot stand.”