ACTION Apartment Association

RUBS Resolution: Open Letter to Commissioner Todd Flora

02/21/2017 7:41 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

by Elaine Golden-Gealer

ACTION REPRESENTS THE OWNERS and managers of thousands of units in Santa Monica. We read with interest your letter to the Editor of Santa Monica Daily Press printed on Feb. 15. We welcome the opportunity to dialog about RUBS with the hope that a mutually satisfactory outcome may result from our conversations.

Initially, we note that you mention “newer buildings” that “have the infrastructure ready to take on sub-meters.” We do not understand the term “newer buildings” in this context. All buildings constructed since 1990 have been built with sub-meters. So “newer buildings” with sub-meter ready infrastructure must be buildings that are over 27 years old. Do you agree? If not, what exactly do you mean by “newer buildings?”

Next, we are unfamiliar with the term “sub-meter-ready buildings.”

Read More on page 5: http://backissues.smdp.com/022117.pdf

Overlooked in 88 square feet, Santa Monica senior barely hangs on to home

02/21/2017 7:30 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

To Linnett, who is 64 years old and on disability, his meager home has provided shelter and stability. For $500 a month, the space was supposed to be only temporary. For years, 1441 Lincoln served as transitional housing for the homeless lucky enough to get to the top of the list for Santa Monica’s highly desired affordable housing supply. However, a paperwork error meant Linnett got off the streets but never into a permanent place.

City outlines probe of contracts with NMS Properties, Inc

02/21/2017 7:30 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

City staff has drafted an outline regarding internal scrutiny of contracts with NMS Properties, after the company’s CEO, Neil Shekhter, was found to have forged documents in a Los Angeles Superior Court Case. The contract review will focus on affordable housing requirements, development agreements, settlement agreements and future deals with Santa Monica’s biggest developer, according to an outline of the review obtained by the Daily Press. It’s estimated Shekhter controls as many as 2,000 apartments on the west side of Los Angeles.

Does Santa Monica Have the Shakes?

02/20/2017 4:33 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

By Steven Stajich

As this column wrote in late November, the City of Santa Monica is now pursuing earthquake retrofitting of buildings and homes with renewed vigor. Vigor that no doubt stems from something of an oversight in which a list of the buildings requiring the work seems to have somehow disappeared in the early 2000s with the departure of some key city staff members. By 2013, the city could not find that list.

That list has been recreated and Santa Monica is now taking the lead by being the first city in California to publicly post such a list...

Commissioner: condo project “canary in the coal mine” for rent control

02/20/2017 8:03 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

...the rent controlled tenants at 122 Strand Street quietly took buy-outs and moved out over the last few years. The new owners of the parcel are now moving forward with plans to demolish the four apartments and replace them with three condominiums that will likely sell for millions of dollars. “It is something that should be a red flag across the city,” Commissioner Richard McKinnon said before the Planning Commission approved plans for the project Wednesday night

Along with McKinnon, Commissioners Jennifer Kennedy and Amy Anderson urged City staff to look into potential policy decisions that could curb the conversion of rent controlled buildings to condominiums.

Santa Monica Council Moves Forward on Immigration, Religious Identity Ordinance

02/17/2017 1:04 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

February 17, 2017 -- After hearing from numerous public speakers who said they lived in fear under the Donald Trump presidency, the Santa Monica City Council passed a measure calling for staff to draft an ordinance that would prohibit employers and landlords, among others, from collecting information on people’s immigration status, religion and sexual identity.

Santa Monica refines plan to roll out Seismic Retrofit Ordinance

02/17/2017 9:09 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City Council moved forward with a massive seismic retrofit ordinance this week that could impact as many as 2,000 buildings in the eight-square-mile city.

City leaders spent hours hammering away at the ordinance with the City’s top building official, Ron Takiguchi, during Tuesday night’s meeting. The potential flood of construction brings a wide array of concerns spanning from scammers taking advantage of condominium owners to lengthy delays caused by the sheer amount of paperwork.

The ordinance could come back before the Council for a second reading as soon at Feb. 28. Once it is passed, the ordinance will go into law in thirty days. Takiguchi plans to begin issuing notices to the owners of approximately 200 brick buildings on May first. The rest of the notices will go out in waves.

By July, owners of “soft story” apartment buildings, where one or more units sit over open parking, will get their notices.

The last 900 buildings, which consist entirely of “soft story” apartment buildings will get their notices to begin inspections in 2018.

Annual Report Findings

02/17/2017 9:01 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

At the recent State of the City hosted by the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer unveiled the City of Santa Monica’s Annual Report for fiscal year 2015-2016.

Read the Annual Report: http://annualreport.smgov.net/

18TH Street Arts Center Explores The Ghosts Of Gentrification

02/17/2017 9:00 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Pico neighborhood

The 18th Street Arts Center is advancing their mission to provoke dialogue through contemporary art by inviting longstanding and new residents and commuters in the local community to engage with one another through temporary art projects in public spaces.

Publicly assisted housing is concentrated there, with 39% of residents living on $30,000 or less (according to the 2010 census). Due to restrictive housing covenants in the mid-20th century, known as redlining, this neighborhood was originally home to mostly African-American and Latino families. More recent waves of Latino immigrants have settled in the area, creating a demographic shift in the neighborhood.

Open Letter to Commissioner Todd Flora

02/17/2017 8:18 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

ACTION represents the owners and managers of thousands of units in Santa Monica. We read with interest your letter to the Editor of Santa Monica Daily Press printed on February 15th.

We welcome the opportunity to dialog about RUBS with the hope that a mutually satisfactory outcome may result from our conversations.

Initially, we note that you mention “newer buildings” that “have the infrastructure ready to take on sub-meters.” We do not understand the term “newer buildings” in this context. All buildings constructed since 1990 have been built with sub-meters. So “newer buildings” with sub-meter ready infrastructure must be buildings that are over 27 years old. Do you agree? If not, what exactly do you mean by “newer buildings?”