ACTION Apartment Association

Sign the Mayor Sue NO Confidence Petition

05/16/2022 9:52 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

See the petition at: https://www.change.org/p/vote-of-no-confidence-in-santa-monica-mayor-sue-himmelrich?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=d4764290-d0b9-11ec-8a77-1be5d59a89a0

Say NO to Mayor Sue's Transfer Tax Initiative

05/16/2022 9:49 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AODjoKYTOTQ

Rent Control Board Commissioner Nicole Phillis Resigns

05/14/2022 4:21 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Rent Control Board Commissioner Nicole Phillis announced Thursday evening that she was resigning her position on the Rent Control board. Apparently Phillis is moving away from Santa Monica, and that is a requirement for her to sit on the board.

A Single Morning Snapshot of Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade Shows City Leadership Dysfunction

05/14/2022 4:20 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

After watching a vagrant defecate in front of him, the tenant prospect stated he no longer would consider Santa Monica, 'that he didn't want to be in or part of a city whose leadership allows this.'

Rent Board Meeting

05/13/2022 1:22 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

As reported by Wes Wellman

Noteworthy Night at Santa Monica’s Rent Board

Announced that the 2022 annual general rent adjustment percentage will be 6%, subject to a $140 ceiling, to be considered at its June 9^th meeting, which would apply to all units with MARs of $2,325 and above.
Staff recommended that the Board, at its June 9^th meeting either:
- increase the registration fee to $228 with a pass through to tenants of $9.50 per month, which is a $1.25 increase from the current pass-through of $8.25, or
- increase the registration fee to $222 per unit with a pass-through to tenants of $9.25 per month
Commissioner Nicole Phillips resigned due to an apparent move to a new home in Los Angeles. She encouraged the Board not to nominate a successor prior to the November election to avoid favoring “inside baseball” players over more grass roots candidates. Put your money on “inside baseball” prevailing.
SMRR leaders gave public testimony encouraging the Board to formulate a plan for a ballot initiative to limit rent increases in crisis times. SMRR politburo members blamed inflation on the war in Ukraine and supply chain disruptions and further maintained that price increases were limited to items not required by apartment owners to maintain buildings such as increases in the cost of food. They did not address cost increases in insurance, utilities. building supplies, and service worker costs. They are unlikely to be awarded a Nobel Prize in Economics.
As directed, the Board voted to form a subcommittee to work with City Council staff to craft, for Council consideration, a November ballot initiative to allow the Board to depart from automatic rent increases now imposed by the Rent Control Charter.

Affordable Home Ownership in Santa Monica - Not Affordable Renting

05/13/2022 1:06 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The city currently plans to build these as affordable apartments to rent, which would be utterly disastrous, both for the occupants of the affordable housing, and existing city residents.

But if the homes were built as deed-restricted affordable condos for sale we would avoid the negative financial impacts on existing residents and the social/economic harm on the residents of the affordable housing themselves.

Santa Monica Homeless Count Shows More Homeless

05/13/2022 1:05 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

107 less homeless individuals found shelter in Santa Monica during the 2022 homeless count than in 2020

SM.a.r.t. Is Gelson’s Our Future? Bigger Is Not Better!

05/13/2022 8:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

I’ve been extremely worried in recent years to see the direction, the density, and the design of the project’s being approved and built in our community. How can one not feel sad about Santa Monica’s future with 5, 6, 8 & 10 story, block office and apartment buildings taking root throughout the city while hugging sidewalks and property lines.

And equally unbelievable is how our planning staff didn’t include the 4.67 acre “Gelson’s” site at the SE corner of Lincoln & Ocean Park as one of the “suitable sites” for state required housing when the proposed 521 units alone would account for 6% of the city’s required number of units.

Homeless to Be Given Priority for Low-Income Housing

05/13/2022 8:34 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City Council on Wednesday green-lighted a plan to move those with emergency housing vouchers (EHV), most of them homeless, to the top of the Santa Monica's waiting list for low-income housing.

The waiting list for the City's Below Market Housing (BMH) program currently prioritizes people who live or work in Santa Monica and meet the income requirements, City officials said.

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2022/05/12/santa-monica-city-council-takes-action-on-housing-vouchers-rental-assistance-and-future-investments-to-address-homelessness

Limiting Rent Increases

05/12/2022 11:41 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

On tonight's Rent Control Board Agenda:

14. BOARD DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Board discussion of the feasibility of an amendment to the Rent Control Charter to give the Board authority to freeze rents under certain circumstances.

See full agenda at: https://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/Rent_Control/About_the_Rent_Control_Board/Agendas_and_Minutes/2022/RcB051222.pdf