ACTION Apartment Association

A Clean(er) Energy Future in SM

02/02/2019 1:58 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

by SM.a.r.t.

Where do we get our electricity? Until now, from Southern California Edison. But beginning next month, Santa Monica residents will have a second option: The Clean Power Alliance, a collaborative organization of public agencies in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. With this new alternative, we will be able to choose whether to buy electricity from Southern California Edison, or from the Clean Power Alliance.

if residents do not make a choice in advance, they will be automatically assigned to the Clean Power Alliance’s most-renewable tier, which is also the most expensive.

Planning Commission Revisits Hot-Button Pico Project

02/01/2019 9:45 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City Planning Commission Wednesday night will vote on a proposed 19-unit condominium development that has been a flash point in the battle to stop gentrification in the Pico Neighborhood.

The two proposed two-story townhouse buildings one block from Virginia Avenue Park would replace nine one-story buildings that contain 15 rent control units, according to Planning Department staff.

New Resources Address Local Businesses’ Questions About Homelessness

02/01/2019 9:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City of Santa Monica is pleased to offer two new resources to our business community that answer frequently asked questions about addressing homelessness. These resources, a toolkit and informational poster, as well as a future video series for staff training, build on our practical toolkit about homelessness.

Homeless Shelter at West L.A. Armory?

02/01/2019 9:25 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl pushes for third Westside bridge housing center.

Bridge housing facilities differ from winter shelters not only in that they are open all year. Whereas winter shelters often provide essentially a cot and a roof in the colder months, bridge housing is intended to provide more all-encompassing services—providing dormitory style-housing and encouraging the temporary residents to stay onsite 24/7 while working towards finding permanent housing.

Regulating Medium-Term Rentals

01/31/2019 9:14 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

by Avi Sinai, principal of HM Capital

Last month Santa Monica City Council announced that it is considering stricter regulations against ‘medium-term rentals.’ This is just one decision in a long list of problematic solutions that don’t address the root of the city’s severe housing shortage.

Medium-term rentals (also known as ‘corporate housing’) are residential term leases that are longer than 30 days but shorter than 1 year. These lease structures become increasingly popular due to the popularity of platforms like Airbnb and millennials’ desire to stay flexible. So if landlords are happy with the higher rents, and renters are happy to pay for flexibility, why is Santa Monica city council taking action? City officials and renter rights advocates argue that corporate housing is taking the place of long term housing units in a city that is already in a deep shortage of affordable housing.

Serious crime in Santa Monica rises 8.8 percent

01/31/2019 9:13 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Serious crimes have risen 29 percent in Santa Monica between 2015 and 2018 and law enforcement has maintained that legislation that has decriminalized certain offenses has allowed repeat criminals to return to the streets shortly after being sentenced. The Santa Monica Police Department told the Daily Press last year that it arrests the same people frequently.

Property crimes and thefts drove much of Santa Monica’s crime increase last year, as they did in 2017 and 2016. There were 373 more thefts in 2018 than 2017 and 450 more serious crimes total.

Aggravated assaults and robbery made up 56.7 percent and 34.9 percent of violent crimes, respectively. 7.5 percent of violent crimes were rapes and .9 percent were murders. SMPD made arrests in 51 percent of the 273 robberies reported.

It's already hard to get a Section 8 voucher.

01/30/2019 12:12 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A Housing and Urban Development Department-funded study released last year showed just how difficult it can be for a voucher holder. Researchers combed through rental ads looking for units that met the requirements for vouchers, and then inquired about those units. But some 76% of the landlords contacted in Los Angeles County refused to accept vouchers. The denial rate was higher in more affluent communities, where 82% of landlords wouldn’t take vouchers.

Landlords argue that the current, high denial rate isn’t driven by discrimination, but by the excessive paperwork, inspections and restrictions that come with rental subsidy programs. For example, it’s hard to raise the rent, even modestly, on voucher tenants.

L.A. approves $120 million to encourage building faster, cheaper homeless housing

01/30/2019 11:57 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Wanted: Fresh ideas to speed up the construction and lower the cost of housing for homeless people — without cutting quality.

The Los Angeles City Council made that pitch formal on Tuesday, voting 14-0 to set aside $120 million, a substantial slice of the Proposition HHH homeless housing bond, for a pilot program that will ask developers for strategies to change the way publicly subsidized housing is built.

FOOL ME ONCE…

01/30/2019 8:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Charles Andrews

OF COURSE I DIDN’T GO

To the “City Council Retreat” last weekend.

It’s not that I’m shirking civic responsibility. And I don’t judge anyone who did go. But I’ve been before and I couldn’t imagine this was going to be any different. From accounts I heard and read, it wasn’t. An orchestrated PR sham.

Strong showing for Santa Monicans at Democratic Party election

01/30/2019 8:36 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

14 locals formed a slate to run for delegate positions in the state party and 11 were elected Jan. 27 to represent Assembly District 50, which stretches from Malibu to Hollywood. The Progressive Slate included 10 Santa Monicans, including City Councilmember Sue Himmelrich, Rent Control Board members Caroline Torosis and Anastasia Foster and Santa Monica Democratic Club President Jon Katz.