ACTION Apartment Association

Auditors to Comb $90 Million in Santa Monica Tax Receipts

06/28/2016 7:45 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

June 28, 2016 -- The City of Santa Monica is expected Tuesday to hire outside auditors to comb through receipts for an estimated $90 million in taxes collected from hotels, businesses licenses and through public and private parking fees.

Santa Monica’s LUVE Initiative Not Unique Concept in California

06/27/2016 7:44 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

June 27, 2016 -- If voters approve Santa Monica’s LUVE initiative in November, it would radically change the local development process, but it would not be a unique moment in California history.

State budget provides development incentives

06/27/2016 7:42 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a new state budget that guarantees developers the ability to build housing projects if they meet preexisting zoning standards.

The budget contains a provision known as “by right” construction and is tied to new spending to incentive affordable housing. The new rules will allow developers to bypass discretionary approvals (like a public vote or a vote by the City Council) if a project meets conditions defined by a municipality’s Zoning Code.

Changes coming to Santa Monica’s ethics rules

06/23/2016 7:48 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

City Hall is moving forward with a ballot measure to amend the city’s anti-corruption laws.

Santa Monica Ranks Third in County for City Employee Compensation

06/23/2016 7:34 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

June 23, 2016 -- Pay and benefits for Santa Monica City employees were the third-highest in Los Angeles County last year, averaging $152,050 annually for the municipality’s full-time workforce, a new survey has found.

And at: http://smdp.com/overtime-pay-looms-large-on-santa-monica-books/155945

Santa Monica Ballot Could Feature Three Tax Measures

06/23/2016 7:30 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

June 23, 2016 -- Santa Monica voters will face a large number of decisions at the federal, State and local levels in November, including possibly three tax measures.

Potentially going on the ballot are a half-cent or quarter-cent sales tax from the City and a half-cent sales tax from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Also, Santa Monica College (SMC) has proposed a bond measure that would be funded through a property tax averaging about $8.65 per month for Santa Monica homeowners and $1.59 for renters.

Santa Monica Planning Commissioner Announces Council Bid

06/23/2016 7:28 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

June 23, 2016 -- Planning Commissioner Jennifer Kennedy, who made an unsuccessful bid for City Council two years ago, announced Tuesday that she would run again for a seat in November.

Kennedy was endorsed by the city's powerful tenants group Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights in 2014 and finished sixth among 14 candidates vying for three open seats.

And at: http://www.smmirror.com/articles/News/Jennifer-Kennedy-Announces-Run-for-Santa-Monica-City-Council/45702

Possible tax could benefit Santa Monica-Malibu schools

06/22/2016 6:42 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

“While the impetus for this measure is to generate additional local funds that can be used to support affordable housing,” the memo reads, “the City is also aware that the school district also has a number of needs for which there is no source of funding, since state funding is woefully inadequate when compared with much of the nation.”

Is Santa Monica’s LUVE initiative a threat to City Council?

06/20/2016 1:22 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The fall election is still five months off and already a number of issues are getting plenty of pre-election buzz.

The major issue is the Land Use Voter Empowerment (LUVE) initiative that will be before Santa Monica voters Nov. 8. In a nutshell, the citizen-backed measure (which might not appear on the ballot as “LUVE,” but under some other designation) promises to stop the new, oversized construction projects such as the kind we see sprouting up all over our fair city.

The truth about LUVE, money and housing

06/20/2016 6:30 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

By SMa.r.t. on June 18, 2016

The Land Use Voter Empowerment (LUVE) Initiative will stop oversized projects while protecting rent controlled and affordable housing in Santa Monica. Our current City Council believes dense, tall, and ill-designed projects are a worthwhile exchange for a handful of affordable units and other minimal “community benefits.”

SMa.r.t. Thinking