HOME: Santa Monica

11/09/2016

Well done

11/08/2016

"This perfectly reasonable desire for preservation has, unfortunately, given birth to movements like Measure LV in Santa Monica and the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative — local ballot measures that are effectively trying to freeze the region in a time capsule by hampering efforts to build new dense development.

The realities of population growth and a warming climate, however, mean that preventing change is not an option. Instead, we need to learn how to adapt and thrive in its midst."

What will Los Angeles look like in 2050?

11/08/2016

"In Santa Monica, Measure LV is a well-intentioned effort that goes too far in trying to constrain development. Vote NO on HH, F, RRR, LV if you live in any of the relevant cities."

It’s almost over. All I have left to cover are some local propositions.

11/08/2016

"A second complaint was filed with the City’s Attorney’s office and the FPPC over alleged collusion between Yes on LV and Melkonians by attorney George M. Yin on behalf of Santa Monica resident Babak Mozaffari on Oct. 27.

The complaint alleges coordinated activity by the two campaigns violates the campaign fundraising rules cited by the City Clerk and alleges campaigns might have rules regarding identification of political activity."

BY MATTHEW HALL Daily Press Editor As has become an election tradition in Santa Monica, complaints are flying regarding possible breaches of local election law. Two separate complaints have been filed so far. Terry O’Day is accused of taking campaign...

11/08/2016

"Santa Monica’s onerous Measure LV proposal could make it even harder to create affordable housing in that city. Alissa Walker and Jenna Chandler round up the types of buildings that would be more difficult to build if the measure is passed. McMansions, however, remain totes OK to construct. Los Angeles Times, Curbed"

Marina Abramovic materializes in a Hillary Clinton email leak and things quickly get ridiculous. Santa Monica prepares to shut down development (except that of McMansions). And the magic of Kendall Jenner’s Instagram — with a few addenda, proviso and quid pro quo. Here’s your very necessary pre-elec...

11/08/2016

"DnA wonders, would slowing growth in the future alleviate the congestion that currently annoys people so much? And what, in reality, would reduce traffic right now? Radical fixes might include:

— Close businesses, hospitals and schools so less people commute to work in Santa Monica each day (Around 90,000 people live in Santa Monica; an estimated 160,000 visitors and workers drive into the city each day; Santa Monica-UCLA Hospital, Santa Monica College, Saint John’s Hospital Medical Center and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District are in the top five employers in the city; the City itself is #1.)
— Ban tourists from driving into Santa Monica.
— Rip out newly installed bike lanes (OR, add many more bikes lanes.)
— Build housing in Santa Monica for all the folks who currently drive into the beach city so they don’t clog the streets.
— Tear down past “over-development.”
— Make all students walk to school so their parents don’t jam the streets driving them to and from school (have you noticed how empty the roads are on school holidays?).

Of course, LV is offering none of these strategies."

Election Tired of Traffic? Will an LV vote fix it? Election Nov 03, 2016 By Frances Anderton Share Tweet Email Copy Link More Measure LV supporters in Santa Monica. Photo courtesy KCAL 9.Measure LV in Santa Monica is a slow-growth ballot measure that would give voters the right to vote on most new d...

11/08/2016

""We can keep our community diverse, and still address traffic, overdevelopment and the environment, through comprehensive smart growth strategies that fit our community. Measure LV isn't the way to get there, and will cause more harm than good," adds Green County Councilmember Annie Goeke, a former Chair of the Santa Monica Commission on the Status of Women, a north of Wilshire resident, and the Executive Director of the Earth Rights Institute, an international NGO working on sustainable development in Africa."

The Green Party of Los Angeles County (GPLAC) opposes Measure LV in Santa Monica, and endorses Santa Monica ballot measures GS, GSH and SM. The GPLAC also endorses county measures A (parks) and M (public transit) on the Santa Monica ballot. losangeles.cagreens.org/voterguide/2016-november.

11/08/2016

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11/07/2016

11/07/2016

"A one-size-fits-all height limit citywide goes too far. The LV ballot is riddled with unforeseen consequences that greater income inequality would bring. If it passes we would be stuck with this decision for 20 years. I’d ask you to consider rejecting the Santa Monica Measure LV ballot."

In discussions of urban development in Santa Monica, one controversial issue has been the Land Use Voter Empowerment (LV) ballot requiring a cap and voter approval on new construction projects exceeding the height of two stories

11/07/2016

"As I’ve written before, LV won’t stop development, instead it will channel it into by-right, get-the-permit-at-the-planning-desk, office and retail projects that fit into the Tier 1 envelope. These projects will provide no community benefits and they will create more traffic than the larger residential projects that LV will prevent from being built."

This week the Yes on LV campaign has distributed a flyer that itemizes the “lies” that the Yes campaign claims the No on LV campaigns have been saying about LV. The headline is “Don’t be Fooled by …

11/07/2016

"There’s also a danger with LV that as single-family home prices continue to increase in Santa Monica, reflecting demand for home-ownership, and without the building of condominiums to absorb the demand, owners of rent-controlled apartment buildings will use the Ellis Act to tear them down and replace them with large, single-family homes, which can be built “by right” with no planning review. This is already happening in a few instances.

So, no, LV will not stop gentrification. Just the opposite."

Of all the strained rationales that otherwise progressive Santa Monicans resort to for supporting Measure LV the one most difficult to understand is that LV will stop gentrification. Measure LV is …