A revised plan to open a Target store in Downtown will have a new hearing before the Architectural Review aboard in August.

At the August 19 meeting, Commissioners will see a revised plan from the company after its initial plans were for using cheap looking materials and including too much store branding. 

As originally proposed, the project will occupy the former Fred Segal building at the corner of 5th and Broadway with a goal of opening in 2020.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/downtown-target-plans-return-to-arb-in-august/177929

Total taxable sales on the Third Street Promenade rose 4.2% last year while the city’s other shopping districts, Main Street and Montana Avenue, both saw a roughly 3% drop in sales.

The Promenade’s sales increased every year between 2010 and 2015 as the retail market recovered from the recession, but the growth of online shopping precipitated 5.5% and 2.9% drops in 2016 and 2017. Sales last year were the highest they’ve been since 2015, indicating that the district is adapting to consumers turning away from traditional retail.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/ups-and-downs-for-retail-sales/177950

SANTA MONICA’S ENFORCEMENT OF SECTION 8 HOUSING PROTECTION LAW

The Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office (CAO) has just resolved its eleventh complaint of housing discrimination using a new city law that protects Section 8 housing voucher holders. In each of the eleven cases, local landlords had told an applicant or existing tenant that they would NOT accept Section 8 tenants or vouchers.

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/blog/latest-updates-on-affordability-in-santa-monica

This is a follow up to our recent articles which discussed the effects of design on our environment, our culture, heritage and economy.  Santa Monica’s temperate beachfront environment attracts corporate and off-shore investment dollars that will continue to influence and dictate our future with the premium returns financing political campaigns! Why should we allow these external forces to shape our town and lifestyle? The resulting “mansionization” under current zoning is irrevocably changing the character of our neighborhoods and the soul of our city.

Our planning commission will be addressing some of these issues in the weeks immediately ahead and our small band of architects (SMa.r.t.) strongly encourages the following adoption of single family code requirements which we feel will allow more inspiring and diverse design while preserving our neighborhood character.

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2019/07/design-standards-an-urban-dance-and-who-chooses/

A cluster of 14 homes and apartments in Ocean Park dating back to the early 20th century will become Santa Monica’s fifth historic district.

The city council voted unanimously Tuesday to landmark the district at Ocean Park Boulevard and 4th Street, overturning last month’s tied Landmarks Commission vote that effectively denied the Santa Monica Conservancy’s application. The Conservancy, a historic preservation nonprofit, applied to designate the predominantly Craftsman and Mediterranean Revival buildings as a historic district after learning that the company XYZ, the owner of more than half the buildings, was using the Ellis Act to evict tenants.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/council-approves-citys-fifth-historic-district/177873

The Los Angeles City Council let a law that prohibited living in a vehicle in residential areas and near schools and parks expire earlier this month.

The city council passed a law in November 2016 that allows overnight vehicle dwelling only in non-residential areas and at least one block away from schools and parks. The ordinance, Los Angeles Municipal Code 85.02 (LAMC 85.02), was released with maps of Los Angeles County that delineate the “green streets” where overnight parking is permitted.

The ordinance launched with a fine schedule of $25 for a first violation, $50 for a second and $75 for all subsequent violations. It was originally in effect between January 2017 and July 2018 and the council has extended it twice since then.

But as of July 1, it is now legal to live in a vehicle overnight anywhere in Los Angeles because the council did not vote to extend the ordinance before it expired.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/van-living/177838

The burden of housing costs in Santa Monica isn’t just affecting low-income families. It is weighing down even middle-class community members with well-paying jobs. As we witness an increasing number of people forced onto the streets because of high housing costs, we are also seeing more middleclass families struggling to find affordable, safe and decent housing.

The City of Santa Monica has long been committed to providing affordable housing for everyone.

Read More: https://www.santamonica.gov/blog/santa-monica-s-commitment-to-affordable-housing

The 33 properties in Santa Monica with development agreements are all complying with their contracts, according to an annual review that the City Council will discuss Tuesday.

A real estate development agreement, or DA, allows developers to build beyond zoning restrictions if they include public benefits, such as public space or fees paid to community funds. The agreements contain different requirements because each agreement is individually negotiated. In Santa Monica, 23 completed and 10 uncompleted projects are subject to development agreements.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/all-development-agreements-in-compliance-according-to-annual-report/177742

City Council will settle two controversial landmark designations Tuesday.

The appellants are trying to overturn decisions the Landmarks Commission made last month about the personal home of one of Southern California’s most formative architects and a cluster of buildings in Ocean Park built in the early 20th century. The commission granted the home landmark status and tied on whether to define the buildings as a historic district, effectively denying the Santa Monica Conservancy’s application.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/historic-district-and-famed-architects-home-head-for-council-appeal/177745

Last week, San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland and Santa Cruz were joined by cities across the country in supporting Santa Monica’s Home Sharing Ordinance.

The amicus brief comes in response to a petition by Airbnb and HomeAway.com calling for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its March 13, 2019 ruling upholding the Home Sharing Ordinance against claims that it was preempted by the federal Communications Decency Act. On July 1, 2019, the City filed a response asking the court to deny the petition because the “panel correctly applied this Court’s precedent to hold that the City of Santa Monica’s ‘Home-Sharing Ordinance’ – an essential element of City efforts to preserve housing in the face of rising residential rents and unauthorized vacation rentals — is not preempted.”

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2019/07/san-francisco-and-11-other-cities-support-santa-monicas-defense-of-its-home-sharing-ordinance/

AND: https://www.smdp.com/historic-district-and-famed-architects-home-head-for-council-appeal/177745