ACTION Apartment Association

California’s population growth is the slowest in recorded history

05/02/2019 7:58 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

California’s 2018 population growth was the slowest in state history, new demographic data show — underscoring shifting immigration patterns, declining birthrates and economic strains that are making it harder for some to afford living here.

The state added 186,807 residents last year, bringing the estimated total population to 39,927,315 as of Jan. 1, according to estimates released by the state Department of Finance on Wednesday. The overall growth rate slipped to 0.47% last year from 0.78% in 2017, the slowest since data collection started in 1900, department spokesman H.D. Palmer said.

The Squeeze On LA Renters Is Worse Than You Thought: USC Study

05/02/2019 7:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Trying to survive in Los Angeles as a renter is even harder than previously understood. A news study by researchers at USC, uses a new methodology to break down the disparity between rent and wages, finding that Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., have the nation's widest disparity between income and rental housing affordability.

It's a reality that workers and renters intuitively know, but a new statistical model puts it into stark perspective.

Planning Commission Set to Recommend Outright Ban on 'Micro Units'

05/01/2019 8:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Planning Commission on Wednesday is expected to recommend an all-out ban on market rate "micro units" planning officials say threaten to undermine Santa Monica's housing policies.

The Commission will discuss recommending that the City Council amend the Zoning Ordinance to restrict Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) housing citywide unless it is 100 percent affordable or specialized housing.

City Asks Appeals Court To Expedite Voting Rights Ruling

05/01/2019 8:35 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City of Santa Monica on Monday asked the California Court of Appeal to expedite its ruling in the voting rights lawsuit to assure a Council election is held in November 2020 as scheduled.

The City requested that the Court grant "calendar preference" for the case and "set an expedited briefing and argument schedule that would result in a decision by July 10, 2020," City officials said in a statement.

AND: https://smmirror.com/2019/04/city-asks-appeals-court-to-expedite-crva-decision/

AND: https://www.smdp.com/city-hall-is-asking-a-state-court-to-rule-on-its-appeal-of-the-voting-rights-case-it-has-been-fighting-for-almost-two-years-by-july-2020/175145

Will California Senate Bill SB 50 Wipe out your neighborhood?

05/01/2019 8:07 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Written by legislator Scott Wiener, SB 50 rewards developers to buy and demolish single-family housing and apartments near rail, train, ferry or busy bus stops AND near jobs and good schools. SB 50 kills local planning rules, letting buildings tower over homes. The towers can include NO parking, NO space for trees, NO setbacks, and NO design standards. All that developers must do is include a few "affordable" rental units.

City Files Motion to Facilitate November 2020 Council Election

04/30/2019 9:03 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Today, the City of Santa Monica filed a motion requesting that the California Court of Appeal grant calendar preference to the City’s appeal from the trial court’s order in Pico Neighborhood Association, et al. v. City of Santa Monica. The City requested that the Court set an expedited briefing and argument schedule that would result in a decision by July 10, 2020.

Staff Recommends Planning Commission Nix Proposed Market Rate SROs

04/30/2019 9:01 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Planning Commission on Wednesday is expected to deny six Downtown projects totaling 361 units that fail to comply with recent interim ordinances barring market-rate “micro units” in Santa Monica.

The Single Room Occupancy (SRO) units, which range from 220 to 373 square feet, are clustered on 5th, 6th and 7th streets between Colorado and Arizona avenues, according to the staff report.

Garcetti Unveils Green New Deal For Los Angeles

04/30/2019 8:35 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Mayor Eric Garcetti Monday unveiled a Green New Deal for Los Angeles, setting aggressive new environmental goals in a range of areas, including electric autos, air quality, trees and public transit.

The plan includes a reiteration of some previous commitments, but also sets some new benchmarks, including:

-- LADWP will supply 55% renewable energy by 2025, 80% by 2036, and 100% by 2045, along with big increases in solar energy;

-- sourcing 70% of L.A.'s water locally by 2035;

-- recycling 100% of all wastewater for beneficial reuse by 2035;

-- all new buildings will be net zero carbon by 2030, and 100% of buildings will be net zero carbon by 2050;

Apartment building to replace party store Aahs on Wilshire

04/29/2019 10:07 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A four-story building will replace a popular gift store on Wilshire Boulevard, near Santa Monica’s border with Los Angeles.

The building at 3223 Wilshire Blvd. will add 53 apartments, four of which will be affordable to households earning 30 percent of the area median income, and about 5,400 square feet of commercial space to Northeast Santa Monica. It will include 111 parking spaces in an underground garage. Because of the building’s proposed height of almost 50 feet and relatively high density, the Planning Commission will vote whether to grant the project a development review permit at its Wednesday meeting.

Housing Bill Problem: It Looks Like One Size Fits All

04/29/2019 9:34 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

As they consider Senate Bill 50, many who are aware of the latest attempt by San Francisco’s Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener to solve California’s housing shortage believe the plan treats this state as if it were monochromatic.

Wiener offers the same basic solution for everyplace in this vast state of 58 counties and 482 cities, many of which are quite unique. Will the same tactics create significant amounts of new housing in Corona and Chico, Torrance and Trinity County?