ACTION Apartment Association

Letter from City Manager Chi to Neighborhood Groups

09/03/2025 7:45 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The following letter was sent over the weekend to Northeast Neighbors Board Member Tricia Crane in response to a request by five Santa Monica neighborhood groups that the City Council and City Manager reject the resignation of Police Chief Ramon Batista.

Read his letter at: https://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2025/09_03_2025_Letter_From_City_Manager_to_Neighborhood_Groups.html

L.A. cracks down on Hollywood party houses and illegal short-term rentals.

09/03/2025 7:15 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The city of Los Angeles is expected to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines after settling multiple lawsuits against the owners of illegal short-term rentals and party houses in the Hollywood area who were accused of wreaking havoc for neighboring residents.

LA County braces for potential federal funding cuts to housing and homelessness services

09/03/2025 7:12 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Los Angeles region is at risk of losing millions of dollars in federal funding for some homelessness services because of a Trump Administration order that aims to end support for Housing First policies, county authorities said.

Landscape Expo

09/02/2025 9:21 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Sept. 13 event will showcase a new demonstration garden located next to the Miles Memorial Playhouse at Christine Emerson Reed Park. The garden serves as a model for implementing low-water systems for pollinator-friendly plantings and edible crops.

Firing of Santa Monica Police Chief Batista

08/29/2025 9:08 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

by Arthur Jeon

It's obvious he was fired despite all the niceties mouthed.

Read the entire letter: https://www.smobserved.com/story/2025/08/26/opinion/firing-of-santa-monica-police-chief-batista/9238.html

Santa Monica Rents Remain Flat

08/29/2025 9:02 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Rents -- which dipped -0.2 percent nationwide and -0.1 percent locally this month -- are not expected to pick up again this year after the official arrival of the rental market's slow season, the site's researchers predict.

Council approves limited affordable housing pilot program allowing units to be built off-site

08/27/2025 9:04 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The pilot program offers three options for developers to meet affordable housing requirements: constructing units off-site with $150,000 per unit in gap financing, rehabilitating existing uninhabitable units, or paying in-lieu fees of $43.91 per square foot for apartments and $51.30 per square foot for condominiums.

War Over Transit-Oriented Housing Bill Heats Up

08/27/2025 8:57 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

On Tuesday, State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who authored SB 79, announced "a surge of major endorsements" for the bill, which allows new residential buildings of up to seven stories near major transit stops.

Endorsing the bill since Saturday were the California Democratic Party, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, climate investor Tom Steyer, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles Homelessness Service Providers.

Rally Against SB 79 Draws Crowds in Palisades

08/26/2025 9:29 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The bill, which advanced through Senate and Assembly committees, faces review by the Assembly Appropriations Committee this week, with a full vote possible by August 29

Crowds gathered in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, August 23, to rally against Senate Bill 79, a state housing measure critics say endangers communities with unchecked high-density development.

City Manager Names Acting Police Chief

08/26/2025 9:27 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

City officials on Monday formally announced the resignation of Police Chief Ramón Batista and the appointment of Deputy Chief Darrick Jacob as Acting Chief of Police.