ACTION Apartment Association

Rent control goes before Santa Rosa voters next week

05/07/2017 10:37 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Rosans begin voting next week to determine whether the city should

implement rent control in a special election that is shaping up to be the most

divisive and expensive in the city’s history.

A sharply split City Council passed the controversial policy last fall, seeking to

address soaring rents and a spike in evictions. In response, local landlords and the

statewide organizations that support them funded a petition drive that suspended the law and

forced a referendum on the issue.

Now voters will decide the fate of Measure C in a citywide special election that is

shattering all spending records and putting Santa Rosa on the front lines of a

statewide debate over how cities can best address the housing crisis.

If approved, rent increases would be capped at 3 percent annually for about 11,100

apartments built in Santa Rosa before Feb. 1, 1995. Measure C would also require

landlords to give a reason for evicting tenants, and in some cases require them to

pay relocation expenses.

Voting by mail begins Monday, and residents go to the polls on June 6.

pageId=1837908

Santa Monica Legislator’s Affordable Housing Bill Passes Assembly

05/05/2017 2:44 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

May 5, 2017 -- A bill co-authored by Santa Monica Democratic Assemblyman Richard Bloom that would allow local governments to require developments include affordable units was approved by the State Assembly on Thursday.

The new bill will have no impact on Santa Monica, which has a requirement approved by voters in 1990 that no less than 30 pecent of new multifamily housing constructed every year be affordable.

Population of Santa Monica Rises as State Total Nears 40 Million

05/05/2017 2:43 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

May 5, 2017 -- The estimated population of Santa Monica increased from 93,282 to 93,834 from January 2016 to January 2017 for a change of .59 percent, according to information released this week by the California Department of Finance.

Total housing units was also included in the information released this week. There are 52,410 residential units in Santa Monica, up from 52,082 in 2016.

The breakdown of the residential units is 9,735 houses (increase of 15 from 2016), 40,645 multi-family units (increase of 312), 1,826 single units attached to houses (increase of one) and 204 mobile homes (unchanged from 2016).

Santa Monica Landlord Harassment Case Highlights Strong Tenant Protections

05/05/2017 8:42 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

May 4, 2107 -- The case of Nina Edwards, a tenant who successfully held on to the rent-controlled condominium on Ocean Avenue she has occupied for more than three decades, serves as a cautionary tale for those buying condo units in Santa Monica, according to local rent control experts.

Edwards -- who rented the condo unit in the upscale oceanfront neighborhood near Montana Avenue for $850 month -- will stay in the unit after the City Attorney's office won a $30,000 settlement from the condo's new owner, Sean Gharib.

Large projects move forward on Lincoln Boulevard

05/05/2017 8:41 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Plans for two new apartment complexes on Lincoln Boulevard between Colorado Avenue and Interstate 10 are moving forward, bringing an additional 166 units to the stretch of road. Combined with four neighboring projects currently underway, a total of 623 units are slated for development along the stretch of busy roadway.

A five-story, 66-unit building with 5,324 square feet of retail will replace the Aaron Brothers Art and Framing store at 1641 Lincoln Boulevard. The Architectural Review Board signed off on the plans Monday.

Low-income requirements for Los Angeles updated for 2017

05/05/2017 8:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The median income in Los Angeles County is now $64,300, according to a new estimate released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development last month.

That’s important because the agency’s income limits for rental assistance and affordable housing eligibility are based on area median income. Thus, a single person making 80 percent of that number ($50,500) would qualify for housing set aside for low-income tenants.

Santa Monica Downtown Community Plan – A Plan for Developers, or Residents?

05/05/2017 8:30 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The most glaring problem I see with the proposed Downtown Community Plan (DCP) is that it has retained several locations referred to as opportunity sites. These sites represent increases in uses that we already have in sufficiency i.e. office, hotel, high end retail and unaffordable housing. More of these can only succeed in exacerbating our traffic problems and the strain on our infrastructure. They simply provide more benefit to developers and not the residents.

Hertzberg bill kills incentive for smart water management

05/04/2017 1:15 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

By JON COUPAL, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

State Sen. Bob Hertzberg attempted to justify the latest plan to take more of your money in a column appearing in the Los Angeles Daily News. But his plan would result in precisely the opposite of what he claims and would simply be another fleecing of California homeowners.

Sen. Hertzberg states the obvious when he says that California needs to increase its water supply. But for decades, instead of working to meet California’s need for more water, the majority party in Sacramento has done nothing but saddle California taxpayers with bond debt. Voters were told these bonds would expand water supply. Only with the last several years of drought did we find out that no new water sources or water storage facilities were ever built. Consequently, the shortage got so bad that last year we were forced to ration water.

True to form, Hertzberg’s Senate Bill 231 does nothing to increase California’s water supply. In fact, it does the exact opposite. It ensures that a potential source of new water will be wasted.

City considers Parks Bond for November 2018 Ballot

05/04/2017 7:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City is moving forward with plans to potentially place a parks bond on the 2018 ballot to pay for park expansions and upgrades to existing parks. The City has hired a strategic research company to conduct a survey to gauge support for a bond.

Santa Monica voters overwhelmingly supported Measure A last November, a countywide parcel tax that will fund park improvements starting July 2018. It is estimated Santa Monica will receive $10 million over the following ten years from the measure. However, the City’s director of community and cultural services, Karen Ginsberg, says that is not enough money to fund the City’s ambitious parks agenda.

Next Week: Learn More About Your City Clerk’s Office

05/04/2017 7:27 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Monday, May 8 kicks off City Clerks Week in Santa Monica and across the country. City Clerk Denise Anderson-Warren and her team will offer special programming aimed at educating the public about the role of City Clerks and sharing Santa Monica history through the lens of historical documents.

Through the portal, the public may research past City Council items outside business hours and skip the Public Records Request process. Denise Anderson-Warren explains, “The advantage of the Public Portal over the website is that the portal offers final and often executed documents.”

and

https://www.smgov.net/departments/clerk/