ACTION Apartment Association

Affordable housing developer buys Pico apartment building

02/06/2020 7:59 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A local affordable housing developer beat out several potential buyers to purchase an apartment building that went up for sale in a rapidly gentrifying Santa Monica neighborhood.

A 40-unit apartment building at 2033-2101 Virginia Ave. was sold last month to Community Corporation of Santa Monica for $13.7 million, real estate company CBRE announced Wednesday. The building stands in the heart of the Pico neighborhood, which has for half a century been home to a working-class Latino community that is now facing rising rents and evictions as the neighborhood gentrifies.

Plumbing Contractor Sentenced for Defrauding Elderly Santa Monica Homeowner

02/06/2020 7:56 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A Los Angeles plumbing business was convicted last month for collecting $92,000 from an 82-year old Santa Monica homeowner for what began as routine repair and installation work, City officials announced Wednesday.

Jet Speed Plumbing Inc., dba Ritz Plumbing, was sentenced by a Superior Court judge to three years probation and a disciplinary bond in the amount of $45,000 for illegally overcharging the senior, according to the City Attorneys Office.

What you should know about voting in Santa Monica

02/05/2020 7:56 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica voters will have the opportunity to vote on local and state initiatives and the Los Angeles County District Attorney race on the same ballot as the March 3 presidential primary. The Santa Monica Daily Press has put together a guide of what you can expect to see on your ballot and how to cast your vote.

There are nine vote centers in Santa Monica and all are open Feb. 22 to March 2 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and March 3 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

L.A. leaders weigh a new idea to halt rent hikes: Force landlords to sell their buildings

02/05/2020 7:51 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Los Angeles leaders have relied on different strategies for slowing the growth in housing prices — limits on rent hikes in older buildings, new restrictions on Airbnb and incentives for developers who build affordable housing.

Now, City Councilman Gil Cedillo has another idea for keeping rents low in his district: Force a landlord in Chinatown to sell its building to the city.

On Friday, Cedillo announced plans for having the Board of Public Works — the agency that oversees sidewalk repairs, street repaving and the construction of bridges — use its power of eminent domain to acquire a 124-unit apartment building from landlord Thomas Botz.

Drug offenders accept substance abuse treatment under new program

02/04/2020 9:01 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

For the past five weeks, individuals arrested in Santa Monica on nonviolent drug charges have had the option to enter substance abuse treatment before facing a judge.

The Joint Outreach and Linkage to Treatment, or JOLT program, allows individuals in Santa Monica Police Department custody to immediately start a month-long course of treatment at a local addiction center before appearing in court. The city of Santa Monica is funding the program in the hopes that meaningful treatment will divert low-level drug offenders away from the criminal justice system.

SMa.r.t. Column: I Can See Clearly Now!

02/03/2020 9:48 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

It is a new year, and as most people have already made and broken their 2020 resolutions, more straight talk about Santa Monica is in order. Yes, our eyes are wide open about the city we love.

~ Our City Council has spent between $10 Million and $20 Million challenging a superior court ruling that district elections are necessary. A law firm sent many cities an identical letter a few years ago, alleging that our “at-large” election system violated the California Voting Rights Act.

Micro-unit project heading to ARB on Monday

02/01/2020 10:14 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

One of six new developments featuring tiny apartments will head to the Architectural Review Board in February.

Under a settlement negotiated between the city and developer WS Communities, the ARB retains its authority over design elements of six proposed projects but the City is requires to issue an ARB decision on an expedited timeline with additional time restrictions on appeals.

The project to be discussed on Feb. 3 is located at 1338 5th Street.

City Council approves water rate hike

01/31/2020 10:01 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Santa Monica City Council approved a water self-sufficiency plan Tuesday that will double the price of water and wastewater removal by 2024.

The rate increases will finance about $42 million in infrastructure projects that will allow Santa Monica to stop importing water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California by 2023. Officials said relying on local groundwater and recycled water will shield residents from the impacts of climate change, such as higher rate hikes and water rationing, that Metropolitan Water District customers may bear throughout the next decade and beyond.

Serious crime falls 16% in Santa Monica

01/31/2020 10:00 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Serious crime was down 16% last year in Santa Monica, local officials said this week.

After reaching a historically low level in 2014, the rate of Part 1 crimes, which include murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, theft, grand theft auto and arson, rose 29% between 2015 and 2018. But in 2019, 16% fewer Part 1 crimes were reported than in 2018.

Three people were murdered in 2019, a decrease from seven people in 2018. The number of rapes fell from 47 to 35.

After failure, California leaders vow to pass housing bill

01/31/2020 9:59 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Desperate for more housing in the nation’s most populous state, the leader of the California Senate committed Thursday to passing a law this year to boost production in a state facing a shortage of 3.5 million homes.

Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins’ comments came moments after the Senate failed to pass the most ambitious housing bill in memory: One that would have forced local governments to let developers build small apartment buildings in some neighborhoods reserved for single family homes.