Santa Monica based Westside Rentals has been sold to the CoStar Group, operator of Apartments.com.

The sale was announced this week and the new owners said the local company will keep its Santa Monica headquarters. The company will decrease focus on its brokerage sales and leasing services to maximize its inventory of available rental properties.

Read More: http://smdp.com/apartments-com-buys-westside-rentals/159548

The at-risk list was released recently as the City Council decides on February 14 whether to follow the lead of Los Angeles and other municipalities by modifying existing law to make seismic retrofits mandatory.

If enacted, the law phases in retrofits for five types of buildings considered especially dangerous in an earthquake.

Soft-story buildings have up to six years to retrofit. Building with unreinforced masonry, found in the oldest structures, have two years. The list includes 174 such buildings.

Read More:  http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/February-2017/02_02_2017_Nearly_4600_Addresses_in_Santa_Monica_At_Risk_in_Quake.html

A public hearing on the following topic will be conducted at the regular Santa Monica Rent Control Board meeting on Thursday, February 9, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber, City Hall, 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Amendments to Regulations 13002, respecting registration of rent-controlled units, and 3035, respecting compliance and its effect on general adjustments.

Read Notice on page 6: http://backissues.smdp.com/020117.pdf

SANTA MONICA, Jan. 31, 2017 — In a major victory for tenants, a court on Monday upheld a Santa Monica ordinance that bans discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders.

The anti-discrimination ordinance was passed in May 2015 after the city received multiple complaints from prospective tenants that landlords were refusing to accept their housing vouchers. This ordinance is especially important to protect low-income tenants in Santa Monica, given the high cost of housing and the difficulty many low-income tenants and voucher holders have in finding affordable apartments.

Read More: http://smdp.com/ordinance-prohibiting-discrimination-against-voucher-holders-upheld/159538

The City is moving forward with plans to improve data and metrics across departments as part of a cutting-edge initiative to measure wellbeing and improve Santa Monicans’ daily lives.

The project started with a $1 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies and guidance from the RAND Corporation. In 2015, that work culminated with the Wellbeing Index, an analysis that used information from City departments and resident surveys to measure a variety of factors: health, satisfaction, economic stability and overall wellbeing.

The survey picked up some interesting data points. For example: only a third of 5-year-olds in Santa Monica were ready for kindergarten, only 25 percent of Santa Monicans eat enough fruit and vegetables, and nearly 30 percent feel disconnected from their local government.

Read More: http://smdp.com/city-strives-use-big-data-to-improve-services-and-lives-of-santa-monicans/159514

February 1, 2017 -- Water-logged by recent storms but still not drought-free, the City of Santa Monica announced Tuesday it is maintaining the big cuts in water use, and fines, it imposed in 2015 as California entered its fourth year of drought.

Read More:  http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/February-2017/02_01_2017_Santa_Monica_to_Maintain_Cuts_in_Water_Use_Despite_Recent_Storms.html

and: 

http://smdp.com/drought-conditions-stubbornly-persist-in-santa-monica-despite-rainfall/159519

February 1, 2017 -- Rent hikes in Santa Monica are starting the new year with a minus sign, although the cost of living in an apartment is still the second highest in metropolitan Los Angeles, outdone only by Westwood, a new study released Tuesday found.

The median price for a one-bedroom apartment in Santa Monica was $2,920 a month, a tiny decrease of 0.70 percent compared to December, according to a nationwide study by Apartment Rents of data received from those who use the popular service to find apartments and to list availability.

Read More: http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/February-2017/02_01_2017_Santa_Monica_Rent_Increases_Slow_But_Prices_Still_Among_Highest_in_Metro_L.A..html

January 31, 2017 -- With the March 7 special election nearing, a proposed measure to hike the sales taxes by a quarter cent countywide to help the homeless will get an airing Saturday in a community "conversation" hosted by the City of Santa Monica. ...Measure H

Read More: http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/January-2017/01_31_2017_Tax_to_Help_Homeless_Gets_Airing_in_Santa_Monica.html

At their Feb. 1 meeting, the commission will revisit rules for ancillary dwelling units, sometimes known as “granny units.”

Hearing: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2017, AT 6:30 P.M

Read More on page 1 & 5: http://backissues.smdp.com/013117.pdf

and on page 6: http://backissues.smdp.com/020117.pdf

The City of Santa Monica released its list of buildings that may require a seismic retrofit to ensure their safety in the event of an earthquake. This comes in advance of the Feb. 14 Santa Monica City Council meeting on the Seismic Retrofit Ordinance. The buildings on the list were identified through building permit records and/or visual identification. 

The list of buildings is available online at: http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Programs/Seismic-Retrofit/