ACTION Apartment Association

City Revs Up for Annual Homeless Count

01/13/2020 10:48 AM | Angelica Jue (Administrator)

Next Wednesday night, some 300 volunteers are expected to comb every Santa Monica street, alley and park as they attempt to count every homeless person living in the city.

The annual Homeless Census -- for which the City is seeking volunteers -- will provide a snapshot of who is living on the streets of the 8.3 square-mile city.

The count -- which takes place January 22 between 10:30 p.m. and 3 a.m. -- "wouldn’t be possible without the community coming together for one night for this point-in-time observation count," City officials said.

Santa Monica to Consider EV Charging Fees

01/13/2020 9:57 AM | Angelica Jue (Administrator)

With electric vehicles eating into parking revenues and boosting charging station costs, Santa Monica is rethinking its policies encouraging their use.

The City Council on Tuesday will consider imposing a fee to use City owned charging stations, which are currently free, as well as charging a $1 per minute "overstay fee" for those who exceed the posted time limit.

The Council also will consider revisiting a program that allows EVs displaying the proper decals to park for free at City parking meters that are losing potential revenues.

Largest Private Lot in Santa Monica On Sale for $20,000,000

01/12/2020 10:46 AM | Angelica Jue (Administrator)

Largest Private Lot in Santa Monica On Sale for $20,000,000. 1.223 acre home could be yours!

808 Woodacres Road is a five-bedroom, three-bathroom, 4,726-square-foot er, cottage.

It's not exactly affordable housing. If you want the two story 5,000 square foot home on like, 50K square feet of land; it'll only cost you about as much as an F-135 Raptor.

Controversial Housing Bill SB 50 is Back

01/08/2020 9:53 AM | Angelica Jue (Administrator)

A state bill that would override local zoning laws to allow mid-rise apartments to be constructed, including in some single-family neighborhoods, is up for consideration again by California lawmakers.

Senate Bill 50 (SB 50), authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) would, if passed, permit the development of four and five-story apartment buildings within half a mile of major transit corridors and job hubs, overriding any local laws that may prohibit such development from occurring in these areas.

Plaintiffs File Response in Voting Rights Appeal

01/06/2020 9:07 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Emphasizing that only one Latino candidate has ever been elected to serve on the Santa Monica City Council, plaintiffs in the voting rights lawsuit urged an appeals court to uphold a ruling that Santa Monica's election system should be replaced.

The responding brief filed by the plaintiffs on October 27 argues that the California Appeals Court should not reweigh the evidence that led to a Superior Court ruling that the City's at-large election system discriminates against Latinos.

City releases Workers’ Compensation Annual Report

01/03/2020 6:19 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

As it has every year since 2009, the city’s Workers’ Compensation Program once again saw an increase to its total program liabilities, according to a report recently presented to City Council.

The city’s Risk Management Division compiles its Workers’ Compensation Annual Report every year in an effort to provide local stakeholders with information and statistics related to the city’s medical and indemnity payments, claim settlements as well as general claim and cost trends.

“In summary, in FY 2018-19, medical and indemnity payments increased 23% from the prior year, claim settlements were up 53% over the prior year and total program liabilities...

Is Our City Riding a Trojan Horse – Part 2

01/03/2020 6:15 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

As discussed in Part 1 of our article two weeks ago (https://smmirror.com/2019/12/is-our-city-council-riding-a-trojan-horse), Santa Monica will be required by state law to add 9,000 units, including 6,900 affordable within 8 years – increasing our current population 20%! But our city’s track record to date is not stellar – doubling the goal of market-rate housing while requiring 30% affordable units, but only realizing 10%.

Top-10 Santa Monica Stories of 2019

01/02/2020 8:00 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

From a lengthy court battle over the future of elections in Santa Monica to city officials grappling with a growing homelessness crisis, 2019 was a busy year in the Santa Monica news cycle. Here is a look back on the 10 biggest stories of 2019 in Santa Monica as the year comes to a close.

Changes to local laws

01/02/2020 7:57 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Several new las take effect on January 1 in Santa Monica including maximizing the minimum wage, limiting work hours for some hotel employees and universal application of rules banning plastic food containers.

Who Says Santa Monica has to build 9,000 Housing Units?

12/30/2019 9:32 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

An Unelected Group With No Real Power, That's Who

But perhaps a more fundamental question than how Santa Monica is going to see the construction of an additional nine-thousand-plus housing units is why we should have to do so. Who and what is the Southern California Association of Governments, and why do they have the power to command the building of housing units?