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

The City Council has approved using $500,000 in federal community development block grants to help remodel about a dozen affordable housing apartments just one block south of Santa Monica’s border.

In exchange for the funding, Venice Community Housing (VCH) will set aside three of the 14 apartments for people on the Santa Monica Homeless Service Registry.

The apartments are part of the City’s multipronged approach to dealing with a booming homeless population.

Read More: http://smdp.com/council-approves-500000-to-rehab-homeless-housing-in-venice/163637

A couple months of declining prices aside, Los Angeles rents are high and likely to climb in coming years. But monthly payments vary quite a bit from neighborhood to neighborhood, as a new price map from Zumper illustrates.

Covering 50 different neighborhoods across central Los Angeles (apologies to residents of the San Fernando Valley and harbor area), the map displays the median price in each area over the final quarter of 2017.

Read More:   https://la.curbed.com/2017/12/18/16792996/los-angeles-rental-prices-map-2017

A majority of the West Hollywood City Council agreed last night to rewrite the city’s ban on Airbnb and other short-term rentals to permit such rentals in owner-occupied houses and apartments with no restriction on the number of rental days each year.

In its review of an ordinance brought forth by several City Hll departments, the Council also agreed that a tenant must obtain written permission from the building owner before renting his apartment. A condo owner would have to obtain permission from his homeowners association. And the tenant or property owner would have to pay the same room tax charged to hotels, which is 12.5%

Read More: http://www.wehoville.com/2017/12/19/weho-city-council-approves-owner-occupied-short-term-rentals/