ACTION Apartment Association

Dealing With an Uncertain Future – Part 1

07/12/2019 9:33 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Following residents’ longstanding concerns regarding mansionization and neighborhood character, the city is reviewing development standards in the R-1 single-family areas, which incidentally represents about one-half of our city’s total area. This led me to a rabbit hole of questions with woefully few answers. Following is the first of a two-part article exploring mansionization and related issues.

What controls our city?– not the environment, or quality of life, or even our appetite for cars.? It is our corporate economy and the developers they side with! And of course investors are primary over residents.

Rent Control Board asking for expanded tenant rights to fight citations

07/10/2019 8:52 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Rent Control Board is considering allowing tenants to challenge citations from code enforcement officers after a longtime renter was evicted for installing a trellis on her patio.

It’s a unique case, the board’s general counsel J. Stephen Lewis said, but vice chair Nicole Phillis wants to prevent it from happening again. In May, she asked the board to consider recommending that City Council prevent code violations from being used as a basis to evict rent-controlled tenants and grant tenants the ability to seek variances from the code. The board will vote Thursday whether to make such a recommendation.

Santa Monica and ‘Big One’ Preparedness

07/09/2019 3:10 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

All it took was 10-20 seconds for the 1994 Northridge earthquake to rattle Southern California in a way no earthquake had done before. Dozens of people lost their lives and thousands more were injured as the state reeled from a catastrophic event that cost billions in damages. As devastating as the Northridge earthquake was, seismologists warn that the hypothetical “Big One”- an earthquake magnitude of 8.0 or more- would be even more disastrous.

Twenty-five years after the Northridge earthquake, for many Californians, the likelihood of the “Big One” is imminent. While it’s impossible to predict exactly when or where a massive earthquake will strike, cities throughout Southern California, including Santa Monica, have made vast improvements towards earthquake preparedness.

Addressing Homelessness In Santa Monica

07/09/2019 3:05 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Homeless Count offers an insight into the scale and dynamics of Santa Monica’s homeless population. The 2019 Homeless Count numbers held steady overall with 987 people counted. The numbers decreased or remained stable in areas where there were targeted interventions.

Council approves contracts for beach trail construction

07/08/2019 11:31 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Construction on three miles of walking and biking paths along Santa Monica State Beach will begin later this summer.

Council approved a $12.3 million contract with two engineering firms last week for renovations to the Santa Monica Beach Trail and Ocean Front Walk that will make the paths safer for pedestrians and cyclists. The project has been in the works since 2016 and is meant to address frequent congestion on the heavily trafficked trails.

After construction is completed in about one year, cyclists and pedestrians on the beach trail will be able to use separate paths from Bay Street to northern city limits. A 16-feet wide, two-way bike path and 12-foot wide pedestrian path will stretch for two miles, separated by a concrete curb. The path is currently only 14 feet wide and shared by both cyclists and pedestrians.

Council approves $450,000 to improve Council Chambers

07/08/2019 7:53 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

City Council approved the improvements to the chambers’ audiovisual, agenda and meeting management systems last week at the urging of city staff, who said the existing equipment and software, which were installed in 2009, are becoming obsolete and unreliable.

“It is increasingly difficult to repair or find replacements for many of the system’s components since many of the models have been discontinued,” staff said.

The new audiovisual and meeting management systems will allow the public to request to speak electronically using a kiosk in the lobby. Councilmembers will vote electronically and the results will be automatically displayed on new high-resolution monitors with closed captioning.

Meeting minutes will be automatically generated and speakers will be able to plug in their tablets and laptops to give presentations.

City’s 2019-20 Budget Includes Parking Rate Increases, Reed Park Ambassador

07/03/2019 12:10 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

On Tuesday, June 25, the Santa Monica City Council adopted a balanced budget for fiscal year (FY) 2019-20, a Proposed Budget Plan for FY 2020-21 and a strategy for the future that focuses on “financial sustainability” and change in the way the City will manage success.

According to the City, fiscal policy over the next six years will focus on “fiscal sustainability and shifts emphasis to delivering outcomes by measuring and managing performance.”

The final budget is $712.9 million for FY 2019-20 and $756.4 million for FY 2020-21. Last year’s adopted budget was $802.1 million.

Rent control increases capped at $44

07/02/2019 7:45 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Rent increases for rent controlled units will be limited to 2% this year with a maximum monthly increase of $44.

Rent control increases are governed by formulas in the City Charter and while the Rent Control Board has no control over the percentage increase they do have a choice when setting the additional dollar cap. The board unanimously approved the increases at their June meeting and only one individual spoke about the decision.

LA mayor backs proposed federal Ending Homelessness Act

07/02/2019 7:45 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and a group of other city leaders from around California and the nation are backing the proposed Ending Homelessness Act.

The legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters would use more than $13 billion to the efforts of cities to deal with the homelessness crisis.

Market Rate SROs Get Go-ahead Under Settlement Agreement

07/02/2019 7:41 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Six market-rate single room occupancy (SRO) developments slated for Downtown Santa Monica have received the go-ahead under a settlement agreement between the City and WS Communities.

The agreement, approved by the City Council on Tuesday, paves the way for the proposed SRO developments totaling 361 "micro-units" and moves forward two of the developer's projects currently in the planning pipeline, said City Attorney Lane Dilg.