ACTION Apartment Association

Is This What We Have Become?

02/27/2019 2:00 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

by Charles Andrews

SO, VOTE BY DISTRICTS

Big deal. About one quarter of all CA cities do, with 57 more switching this past election and many more coming. None have fallen into ruin. Some switch as soon as it’s proposed. Others do so without a fight, perhaps through clenched teeth, to avoid crushing legal costs. But not SM.

The lengthy court trial has so far cost us, the taxpayers, some $22M (estimated) and it will go higher by millions because the Council voted, unanimously, to appeal. They have been spouting baloney rationalizations but there is only one reason, really: the people in power want desperately to stay in power, they have worked for decades to put a machine in place that guarantees that, and they will fight to the bitter end because they can and because Santa Monica will pay for it,. They are doing it on our dime. No consequences.

Major Santa Monica Landlord Dealt Two Critical Rulings in Quest to Regain Properties

02/27/2019 1:47 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

February 26, 2019 -- A major Santa Monica apartment owner won't get back the properties he claimed had been fraudulently taken and sold by investors, two Superior Court judges ruled in separate cases on Friday.

The rulings could put an end to a five-year quest by Neil Shekhter and NMS Properties, Inc. to reclaim nine properties included in a portfolio that boasted some two dozen apartment buildings, most of them in Downtown Santa Monica.

30% of Angelenos with $100K salaries now rent—rather than own

02/27/2019 7:25 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The number of high-income renters has swelled 33 percent

In the Los Angeles metropolitan area, where home prices are close to an all-time high, even those making six-figure incomes may be struggling to enter the real estate market.

According to new report from Apartment List, one-quarter of high-income households rented in 2008. By 2017, that share had jumped to 30 percent, and the LA area had more than 450,000 high-income renters.

Letters to the Editor: Multi Million Dollar City At Large Voting Appeal

02/26/2019 9:36 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

by Robert Gomez

On February 21, 2019, the Santa Monica City council had an open hearing for residents to voice our opinions regarding district verses at large elections. The city of Santa Monica lost its fight to preserve the current election process and was ordered to hold district elections this July. After several residents spoke in opposition to an appeal the council retreated to closed doors to hold what appeared to be a predetermined position to use more tax payer monies to fight on appeal. The city council voted unanimously to continue this appeal.

Santa Monica Mayor Discusses City's Appeal in Voting Rights Suit

02/25/2019 9:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

February 25, 2019 -- The day after the City Council voted unanimously to appeal a Superior Court decision that the City of Santa Monica had violated the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA), Mayor Gleam Davis shared her views with The Lookout.

One of the key reasons the City appealed Judge Yvette M. Palazuelos' ruling ordering the City to switch to district-based elections, is that districts would divide a united city, the mayor said Friday.

"Santa Monica is a very small City, 8.3 square miles, but we are a united and strong community," Davis said.

Santa Monica City Attorney Lane Dilg's Report Recommending the City Council File an Appeal in Voting Rights Lawsuit

02/25/2019 9:34 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City contends that the trial court "left unresolved a number of significant legal issues and that its rulings on both the CVRA and Equal Protection claims cannot be supported by the facts," City Attorney Lane Dilg wrote.

Santa Monica City Attorney Lane Dilg Report Out on Pico Neighborhood Association et al. v. City of Santa Monica City Council Special Meeting February 21, 2019

Santa Monica Council Votes to Appeal Voting Rights Ruling

02/22/2019 9:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City Council on Thursday unanimously voted to appeal a Superior Court ruling last week that found Santa Monica's at large election system discriminates against Latino voters.

The vote comes eight days after Superior Court Judge Yvette M. Palazuelos ordered the City to hold a district-based election on July 2 for all seven Council seats.

She also prohibited Council members not elected under districts from serving after August 15 ("Judge Orders Special District Elections for Council in Final Ruling," February 16, 2019).

AND https://smmirror.com/2019/02/council-appeal-crva-ruling/

AND https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2019/02/22/santa-monica-city-council-votes-to-appeal-judgment-in-lawsuit-challenging-its-use-of-at-large-elections

Santa Monica City Council to Explore How to Shorten Meetings

02/22/2019 9:39 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Known for its lengthy meetings, the Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday is scheduled to vote on ways to streamline public testimony, including limiting a speakers' time under certain circumstances.

The key proposal would limit individual remarks to one minute -- instead of the usual two -- when 15 or more members of the public testify on a single item or if 40 or more "wish to speak on any combination of items," staff said in its report.

AND: https://www.smdp.com/council-moving-to-cut-meeting-times-with-shorter-comments/173034

Evictions, rent hikes push Oregon to statewide rent control

02/22/2019 9:39 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Faced with a housing shortage and skyrocketing rents, Oregon is poised to become the first state to impose mandatory rent controls, with a measure establishing tenant protections moving swiftly through the Legislature.

Many residents have testified in favor of the legislation, describing anxiety and hardship as they face higher rents. Some have gone up by as much as almost 100 percent — forcing people to move, stay with friends or even live in their vehicles.

Future City Council elections to be determined by 7 district map

02/21/2019 10:07 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Future City Council elections will be determined by a seven-district map drawn by the plaintiffs in the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) case because the City of Santa Monica did not propose its own map, the judge in the case wrote in her statement of decision.

The City argues that Judge Yvette Palazuelos’s final ruling in the case, which requires City Council members to be elected in seven districts determined by a map drawn by plaintiffs Maria Loya and the Pico Neighborhood Association, undermines the democratic process. The City’s lawyers say state elections code requires that voters deserve to have a say in how districts are drawn.