Marin landlords will now be required to enter into mediation with their tenants if they increase rents more than 5 percent within a 12-month period.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt an ordinance imposing the new requirement. The mediation requirement also will be triggered if a landlord reduces services to a tenant, if that service reduction is equivalent to more than a 5 percent rent hike. Landlords will be required to notify their tenants of the new ordinance by Feb. 12.

Read More: http://www.marinij.com/business/20171213/marin-landlords-to-enter-mediation-before-hiking-rents

If you own rental property in the City of Los Angeles, it may be subject to the city’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO). Find out if your property falls under this ordinance and what you need to know to be in compliance. 

Generally, the RSO applies to rental properties that were first built on or before October 1, 1978 as well as replacement units under LAMC Section 151.28 and is any of the following:

• Apartment
• Condominium
• Townhome
• Duplex
• Two or more single family dwelling units on the same parcel
• Rooms in a hotel, motel, rooming house or boarding house occupied by the same tenant for 30 or more consecutive days
• Residential unit(s) attached to a commercial building

It has been a year for the record books! While a Santa Monica Observer Intern goes to Washington and writes speeches for a Republican president, 3 of 7 members of the SMMUSD Board end up under investigation for conflict of interest.

In no particular order, here our our top ten stories of 2017:

1. DISTRICTING LAWSUIT - The City has spent several million $ already and plans to keep fighting a losing battle

2. SMRR supposed to mean Santa Monicans for Renters Rights but has morphed into a pro-developer party now more accurately described as SMRR - Santa Monicans for Ruling Residents

Read More: http://www.smobserved.com/story/2017/12/23/news/santa-monica-in-transition-top-ten-local-news-stories-of-2017/3262.html

Santa Monica school district's conflict of interest investigation expands to three board members.

Santa Monica school district’s conflict of interest investigation has grown to include three of the board’s seven members, a school district official confirmed Friday.

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s probe initially focused on Maria Leon-Vazquez, whose husband worked as a paid consultant to at least two district vendors.

Read More:  http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-monica-schools-outside-agency-20171222-story.html

A six-story apartment complex may be on the way to Pico Boulevard, just two blocks south of the Expo/Bundy light rail stop in Sawtelle.

Planned for 12300 West Pico Boulevard, the project would rise from the site of what’s now an adult bookstore, bringing 65 units of housing to the area.

Taking advantage of new incentives for projects close to transit lines, the developer plans to set aside 10 units in the building for tenants earning under half of the area’s median income. 

Read More:   https://la.curbed.com/2017/12/18/16790888/west-la-development-sawtelle-expo-line-apartments

AirBnb has shifted its strategy to overturn Santa Monica’s restrictive short-term rental ordinance, amending a legal complaint against the city to focus on the California Coastal Act in addition to Federal law. The legal maneuver came as the Coastal Commission overturned Laguna Beach’s outright ban on AirBnb rentals in residential neighborhoods. 

Lawyers for AirBnb say Santa Monica’s ordinance, which only allows home-sharing when the host is present, severely restricts the supply of lower-cost vacation rentals, making it harder for low and moderate-income Californians to access the coast.

Read More: http://backissues.smdp.com/122317.pdf

AND

http://smdp.com/short-term-rental-giant-amends-lawsuit-against-santa-monica/163667

Homelessness was on the rise, pedestrian deaths reached what is likely a record high and several high-profile crimes stoked new fears about public safety.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/December-2017/12_22_2017_Top_News_Stories_of_2017.html

A controversial hotel/mixed use project designed by Frank Gehry for downtown Santa Monica will be the first of three major projects to re-surface after a long battle over a development plan for the core of the beach city.

An updated "concept plan” for the two-acre project at Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue will be the subject of a January 11 community meeting, the City’s Department of Planning and Community Development announced Thursday.

Read More:   https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/December-2017/12_22_2017_Frank_Gehry_Mixed_Use_Hotel_for_Dowmtown_Santa_Monica_on_Front_Burner_Again.html

by Charles Andrews

Yes, I focused on some of the “evil and corruption” that are starting to see the light of day because of the deposing of all our City Council members in the course of the lawsuit to bring district voting to our City, as mandated by state law, to replace our current at-large voting that is being labeled discriminatory towards minorities. But there’s so much more. Think Malibu attorney Kevin Shenkman with the subpoena and deposition power, locally, of Robert Mueller in DC. Once you start asking those questions under oath, there’s no telling where the trails may lead. 

Read More on page 4: http://backissues.smdp.com/122017.pdf

In recent months there hasn’t been a day in which at least one Santa Monica resident expressed to me concerns about our homeless population, whether by email, a phone call or stopping me on the street to chat.

My colleagues on the City Council and I are paying close attention to this issue – we see and feel the impacts of a substantially larger street population every day, just like everyone else, and reducing homelessness has become our top priority at City Hall.

Read More: http://smdp.com/doubling-down-on-homelessness/163632