January 23, 2018 -- On average, Santa Monica police took more than half an hour to respond to calls for assistance in the 2016-2017 fiscal year, twice the average time reported by comparable Southern California cities, a new outside audit of municipal services has found.

Preliminary findings by the auditors for Moss Adams reported the average response time for Santa Monica police was 33.2 minutes last fiscal year, a finding the Police Department disputes.

The average among the peer cities scrutinized was 16.8 minutes, auditors said.

And, although Santa Monica is not known for major crime, the rate of serious crime per resident was 58 percent higher than the average among peers, auditors said.

In Santa Monica, 363 residents (per 100,000) were victims of serious crime in 2016-2017, compared to the average of 230 residents among cities included in the comparison.

Read More:   https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2018/January-2018/01_23_2018_Santa_Monica_Police_Twice_as_Slow_to_Arrive_than_in_Comparable_Southern_California_Cities_Audit_Finds.html

Registration is open for eligible homeowners to receive grants of up to $3,000 for seismic retrofits of their older homes, making them more resistant to earthquake damage. Homeowners have until February 23, 2018, to apply for a grant from the Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) program. 

EBB is expanding eligibility this year to 17 additional California cities in high hazard areas, bringing the total to 51. The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has provided $6 million in funding for the grants this year, enough to support an additional 2,000 or more code-compliant seismic retrofits. 

HOW TO APPLY FOR EBB GRANTS Through February 23, eligible homeowners can apply for retrofit funding at EarthquakeBraceBolt.com, where they can also find detailed program information, select a licensed FEMA-trained contractor and view the full list of eligible ZIP Codes. [Santa Monica ZIP codes: 90401, 90402, 90403, 90404, 90405]

Read More on page 3: http://backissues.smdp.com/012318.pdf

AND at: https://www.earthquakebracebolt.com/

AND: http://www.californiaresidentialmitigationprogram.com/

The Rent Control Board Thursday will attempt to tackle an unintended consequence of Proposition 13 and Santa Monica’s booming real estate market: skyrocketing surcharges passed along to tenants when the worth of their building (and thus tax bill) is reassessed after a sale or construction. Board members say they want to hear from stakeholders before deciding whether to cap the surcharges or find other ways to give already rent-burdened tenants some relief.

“This is madness and it needs to stop and we need to address it as soon as possible,” Boardmember Nicole Phillis said at the Jan. 11 RCB meeting, calling the surcharges a “crisis.” Phillis is suggesting a sunset clause on the pass throughs that would not allow new property owners to pass specific surcharges to tenants. It could also spare new tenants from paying pass-throughs.

Read More: http://smdp.com/board-may-put-an-end-to-passing-tax-increases-to-rent-controlled-tenants/164035

New proposed legislation, introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener and co-authored by Sen. Nancy Skinner, that would require California cities to allow denser, taller housing developments near transit hubs and bus lines, has ignited controversy in Berkeley and nationally.

With some limitations, SB 827 would eliminate restrictions on the number of houses that can be built within a half-mile of BART and within a quarter-mile of major bus routes, including Muni and AC Transit. It would also block cities from mandating parking requirements.

Read More: http://www.berkeleyside.com/2018/01/22/berkeley-mayor-wiener-skinner-housing-bill-declaration-war-neighborhoods/

January 22, 2018 -- The Santa Monica City Council will consider on Tuesday imposing temporary limits on the size and heights of proposed “monster mansions” as it searches for a way to permanently protect what is left of the city's quaint single-family neighborhoods.

Under consideration is a temporary ordinance which would cut the footprint of new outsize homes by 20 percent and require the height limit to be cut from the current 28 feet to 25 feet in neighborhoods zoned as R1, or for single-family homes, a report to the council said.

Read More:   https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2018/January-2018/01_22_2018_Santa_Monica_City_Council_to_Decide_Temporary_Fate_of_Monster_Mansions.html

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 

Thursday, January 25, 2018 

A public hearing on the following topics will be conducted at the regular Santa Monica Rent Control Board meeting on Thursday, January 25, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber, 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401:

 Consideration of whether to eliminate the pass-through to tenants of surcharges for landlords’ local tax liabilities in the following situations: 

1) An initial rent for a new tenancy was established on or after September 1, 2017; or 

2) The parcel was reassessed as the result of a transfer of ownership occurring on or after February 1, 2018; or 

3) An improvement on the parcel was reassessed pursuant to elective owner improvements on or after Feb. 1, 2018.

Copies of the staff report will be available prior to the hearing from the Board’s office in Room 202 of Santa Monica City Hall, 1685 Main Street, and on the Board’s website at: www.smgov.net/rentcontrol

Read Notice on pg. 4: http://backissues.smdp.com/012218.pdf

The Legislature’s long-delayed response to California’s housing crisis narrowly passed in September in a flurry of last-minute nail-biting and arm-twisting. Judging by the reception that has greeted one of the new year’s first housing bills, that was nothing.

The legislation, by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would overrule local zoning in favor of high-density residential development near mass transit. Sounds wonky enough, but fans of the idea have already declared that it would “change the shape of California housing” and, indeed, solve the housing crisis. Detractors, meanwhile, called it a “declaration of war on every urban community in California,” comparing it to the law that enabled Andrew Jackson’s Trail of Tears; and even posited that transit officials have been running empty buses up and down Berkeley’s Ashby Avenue just so developers can have their way with the surrounding neighborhoods once the bill becomes law.

In reality, of course, SB827 is probably not a conspiracy or a cure-all. 

Read More: https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Editorial-California-s-housing-wars-just-12511603.php

Oppose the Proposed Preschool at 2953 Delaware Ave.

“We had to destroy the village in order to save it,” an American major proclaimed during the Vietnam War. Sadly, albeit without napalm or B-52 strikes, that same twisted logic underlies a proposed preschool at 2953 Delaware Ave., which sits in the middle of a small R1-zoned residential community in the Gandara (formerly Stewart) Park neighborhood, part of the larger Pico District. On September 6, 2017, the Santa Monica Planning Commission rubber-stamped the proposed preschool with next-to-no consideration of the negative impacts this commercial operation will bring to our neighborhood in terms of traffic, safety, parking, noise, and environmental concerns. The residents of Gandara Park have appealed this approval to City Council, which will adjudicate the matter at the January 23rd council meeting. We urge all Santa Monicans concerned with commercial incursions into residential neighborhoods to join our opposition to the proposed preschool.

Read More: http://smdp.com/your-column-here-preserve-our-residential-neighborhoods/163992

Tuesday’s City Council discussion will have lasting repercussions for Santa Monica homeowners, as the Council decides whether to limit the size of new houses and the fate of the first preschool aiming to open in a neighborhood zoned for single family homes. The two separate issues have a broad impact on the character of local neighborhoods amid skyrocketing property values and an economic boom.

Read More: http://smdp.com/tuesday-council-meeting-will-shape-santa-monica-neighborhoods/164012

SMMUSD board member Craig Foster called for the retirement of fellow board member Maria Leon-Vasquez during a review of findings concerning a conflict of interest case at this week’s board meeting.

Leon-Vazquez has been accused of voting on contracts with companies that employed her husband, Santa Monica councilman Tony Vazquez. The couple have denied they were intentionally trying to circumvent ethics rules and Tony has stated the votes were the result of his wife failing to fully read dense agendas.

Read More: http://smdp.com/smmusd-boardmember-calls-for-fellow-boardmembers-retirement/164010