January 6, 2017 -- A new report from the website Apartment Guide that shows Santa Monica is the most expensive place to rent an apartment in the nation has received some media attention.

But the reliability of that information could be a little off.

Read More:  http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/January-2017/01_06_2017_Is_Santa_Monica_the_Nations_Most_Expensive_City_for_Renting_an_Apartment.html

National Multifamily Housing Council

That rent control is an ineffective and often counterproductive housing policy is no longer open to serious question. The profound economic and social consequences of government intervention in the nation's housing markets have been documented in study after study, over the past twenty-five years. In response to this hard-earned experience, states and local jurisdictions from Massachusetts to California have banned or greatly constrained rent control. Nevertheless, a number of communities around the country continue to impose rent controls, usually with the stated goal of preserving affordable housing for low- and middle-income families. Rent control does not advance this important goal. To the contrary, in many communities rent control has actually reduced both the quality and quantity of available housing.

Read More: http://www.nmhc.org/News/The-High-Cost-of-Rent-Control/#.WG3Wg2Rf1lk.email

January 4, 2017 -- A leading slow-growth group is questioning a published claim by Santa Monica’s city manager that a consensus finally has been built over a highly divisive plan that will guide development downtown.

In a December 30 post on his “The Long View” blog highlighting key, and mostly uncontroversial, events that took place in Santa Monica in 2016, City Manager Rick Cole called the Downtown Community Plan (DCP) a “tremendous success."

Read More:  http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/01_04_2017_Slow_Growth_Activists_Question_City_Managers_Claim_of_Consensus_on_Santa_Monica_Downtown_Plan.html

January 3, 2017 -- The City of Santa Monica’s costs for workers’ compensation rose sharply last fiscal year, prompting a warning by the City's finance director that a 53 percent increase in funding likely will be needed soon.

The City’s Workers’ Compensation Self-Insurance Fund for the 2017-2018 year will need to be increased by $7.1 million, or from $13.4 million to $20.5 million -- or 53 percent -- to “maintain an adequate confidence level,” the report said.

Read More:  http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2017/01_03_2017_Top_Finance_Official_Warns_of_Sharp_Rise_in_Santa_Monica_Workers_Compensation_Costs.html

Originally published May 6, 2016

By Jennifer Eden

A small contingent of grassroots resident activists gathered on the steps of Santa Monica City Hall this morning to submit to the City two stacks of boxes filled with signed Land Use Voter Empowerment (LUVE) initiative petitions.

Read More: http://smmirror.com/2016/12/story-of-the-year-the-power-of-luve-initiative-garners-10000-signatures/

Most of this years top stories had something to do with the extraordinary increase in the price of Westside real estate.

Read More:  http://www.smobserved.com/story/2016/12/29/news/observer-picks-top-ten-santa-monica-news-stories-of-2016/2430.html

City Hall began work on a new zoning document to govern Santa Monica’s coast. 

Read the recap: http://smdp.com/year-in-review-government/159091

November 2016 was an election year. Voters approved several measures that would raise taxes to pay for affordable housing/education, fund construction at Santa Monica College and tighten the city’s anti-corruption rules. 

Read the recap: http://smdp.com/year-in-review-other/159089

We continually hear from those who propose more and more development that it is all about a shortage of affordable housing. Close to 3,000 units approved and in the pipeline has not produced affordable housing. It’s a myth, a con. The new housing units will rent very high, whatever the market will bear, which in fact will have the opposite effect, of raising rent ceilings in the adjacent neighborhoods.

Read More: http://smmirror.com/2016/12/the-mansionization-of-santa-monica/

Seven Santa Monica apartment buildings caught in the middle of a legal battle have been sold to a San Francisco real estate investment company. The sale involved a total of nine apartment complexes managed by Santa Monica’s largest apartment owner, NMS Properties.

Read More: http://smdp.com/tug-of-war-continues-over-local-apartment-buildings/159071