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There’s only one way to stop the 5th/Arizona 12 story hotel...Water.

Want to stop the planned 12 story hotel at 4th/5th/Arizona? Tonight (Monday July 10) is your last chance. The city council meets to finalize the Downtown Community Plan (DCP). If it doesn't include a large park, this 12 story, 280 room hotel will happen. The city council has to build as many hotels as possible. They are addicted to the developer money, the hotel union money, and the hotel taxes needed to pay the highest city salaries in the country. Even the beloved Bergamot art galleries were sacrificed get more hotel dollars despite massive opposition. The most recent version of the DCP does not include a major park. The city council does not care the everyone is begging for a large park. All their staff reports claim residents only want mini-parks. The only way to get the park is to get rid of the hotel plan. And the only way to get rid of the hotel plan is to focus on water. The city council just passed a "water neutrality" ordinance for new developement which allows developers to pay a fee instead of being water neutral. 280 hotel rooms will use a massive amount of water. The parking lots it will replace use no water. The city council can ignore residents and facts, but they can't ignore water. At tomorrow's (July 11) council meeting, they will approve $5,000,000 to drill 3 new water wells. The city's population hasn't grown in 30 years. The only need for new water capacity is for the developement of hotels. Over 500 new hotel rooms have been built in the past 3 years. Over 1,000 more new hotel rooms are under construction or already approved. The hotel developers aren't paying for the new water infrastructure. It's the residents who pay. Residential water rates have gone up 54% and are set to go up 10% every year. If the city had a real "water neutral" plan, this wouldn't be the case. At the Monday and Tuesday night meetings, insist that: 1. new hotels pay the $5,000,000 for the new water wells. 2. there should be no option to pay a fee in-lieu of water neutrality. Hotels will make millions of dollars every year, but won't pay for the water capacity they require. The Santa Monica city council will vote on the DCP at their meeting tonight, Monday July 10. Comments can be emailed to [email protected]. July 10 Meeting Agenda

#water

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Santa Monica’s new water ordinance is a huge giveaway to developers. Here’s how:

Can a 12 story, 280 room luxury hotel at 5th/Arizona use the same amount of water as a parking lot? Can 150 apartments use the same amount of water as Denny's? The Santa Monica city council wants you to think so. They'll be passing a "water neutrality" ordinance on July 11 and hailing it as a great achievment in water consveration. It calls for new developements to use less water than whatever they're replacing. Of course that's not possible, so they offer developers an enormous giveaway...a fee that is far below the city's cost to increase water capacity. Residential water rates will continue going up 10% every year so that new luxury hotels will have enough water for tourists.

What are the loopholes that benefit developers at the expense of residents?

1. Each development will look at the ESTIMATED new water usage compared to the last 5 years of water usage on the site. Sounds fair, except the developer gets to estimate the new water usage. The fee they pay is based on numbers they create. "Our hotel guests will only take 30 second showers every other day, they'll go to the bathroom several times before flushing. 280 rooms will barely use any water". The city council will not dispute their claims. There are no penalties for underestimating.

A true water conservation ordinance is based on actual water usage once the developement is occupied.

2. The "last 5 years of water usage" has a big and intentional loophole. If the site has no water records then they'll use an average of other site's water usage! This is specifically written for the 4th/5th/Arizona site. It's a parking lot. It has no water records because it uses no water. But the baseline water usage won't be zero, it'll be the average of other commercial water users!

Sites with no water records need a baseline of ZERO and must pay for the infrastructure required to increase the city's water capacity.

3. The "water offset in-lieu fee" is paid upfront. Every faucet, toilet, shower will be used for the next 100 years, but one extremely low fee will absolve all new water demand in perpetuity. With water rates going up an average of 10%/year, accepting a prepaid fee is nothing short of a giveaway.

Any in-lieu fee must be paid annually and adjusted based on actual water usage. Future owners, not just the developer, have to be on the hook.

4. What's the fee? Conveniently it's not part of the ordinance. The city council will set the fee at some point in the future, buried in a long agenda, when no one's looking. That means they want a very low fee that would get too much opposition if disclosed now.

The fee must be a part of the full ordinance and disclosed now. Residents will pay for water infrastructure improvements when the developer water fees are not enough.

The Santa Monica city council will vote on this developer backed water ordinance at their meeting Tuesday July 11. Comments can be emailed to [email protected]. Water Ordinance Full Text July 11 Full Meeting Agenda

#water

Lincoln Blvd is about to get even slower.

Seven massive development projects are about to start on Lincoln Blvd between Santa Monica Blvd and Olympic Blvd. These 7 projects will add 564,000 square feet, 709 units, and 1,438 parking spaces in just 3 city blocks. List of projects (from south to north):

1650 Lincoln Blvd - Replacing a car wash.

Square Feet: 69,896 (6,569 sq ft commercial) Stories: 5 Market rate units: 92 Low Income units: 8 (8% of total) Parking Spaces: 145 Status: Pending Developer: NMS Properties http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Projects/1650-Lincoln-Blvd-DR/

1641 Lincoln Blvd - Replacing Aaron Brothers Store

Square Feet: 47,030 (5,324 sq ft commercial) Stories: 5 Market rate units: 54 Low Income units: 12 (18% of total) Parking Spaces: 131 Status: Approved Current use: Aaron Brothers art store http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Projects/1641-1645-Lincoln-Blvd/

1613 Lincoln Blvd

Square Feet: 155,190 (11,498 sq ft commercial) Stories: 5 Market rate units: 178 Low Income units: 15 (8% of total) Parking Spaces: 393 Status: Pending Developer: Century West Current use: Empty lot between Norm's and Aaron Brothers. http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Projects/1613-1637-Lincoln-Blvd--DR/

1601 Lincoln Blvd - Replacing Norm's Restaurant

Square Feet: 77,758 (10,617 sq ft commercial) Stories: 5 Market rate units: 71 Low Income units: 19 (21% of total) Parking Spaces: 168 Status: Approved Previous use: Norm's Restaurant closed after 49 years. https://www.smgov.net/departments/pcd/projects/1601-lincoln-blvd/

1560 Lincoln Blvd - Replacing Denny's

Square Feet: 102,500 (13,800 sq ft commercial) Stories: 5 Market rate units: 80 Low Income units: 20 (20% of total) Parking Spaces: 232 Status: Approved Developer: NMS Properties Current use: Denny's Restaurant http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Projects/1560-Lincoln-Blvd-Mixed-Use-Building/

1441 Lincoln Blvd

Square Feet: 41,248 (2,614 sq ft commercial) Stories: 6 Market rate units: 51 Low Income units: 9 (15% of total) Parking Spaces: 120 Status: Pending Developer: NMS Properties Current use: 1 story massage parlor next to "Hi De Ho Comics" http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Projects/1441-Lincoln-Blvd----LUXE/

1430 Lincoln Blvd

Square Feet: 67,237 (5,910 sq ft commercial) Stories: 5 Market rate units: 89 Low Income units: 11 (11% of total) Parking Spaces: 255 Status: Approved Developer: NMS Properties Previous use: Carpet store http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Projects/1430-Lincoln-Blvd--DA/ There are over 100 other development projects totaling 4 million square feet currently under construction or seeking approval. Check the City of Santa Monica's list of 100+ approved and pending projects.

279 hotel rooms being built on 5th & Colorado

If you pass by 5th and Colorado you will see 2 huge construction sites that will soon be 279 hotel rooms. They are twin buildings by the same developer. One is a 136 room Courtyard by Marriott. The other is a 143 room Hampton Inn. Each one is 80,000 square feet and 6 stories tall. No housing is being built on this site. It will only be hotel rooms, commercial, and retail. In spite of the increased number of new car trips and traffic congestion generated by the 2 hotels, each will only have 78 parking spaces. The municipal code requires 1 parking space per hotel room. The city council gave the developer many concessions including cutting the parking requirement in half. Employees and tourists getting to the hotel by walking, biking, and public transportation is an important part of this development's sustainability. This is just one of many massive 100% commercial (0% housing) developments under construction or in the pipeline: Check the City of Santa Monica's list of 100+ approved and pending projects. More info about this project: http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Projects/1554-5th-Street/ http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Projects/501-Colorado-Ave/ www.smobserved.com

Do you know all the Santa Monica taxes you pay?

Santa Monica residents pay a lot of different city taxes. How many of them do you know about?

10% Utility Tax

You pay a 10% city tax on all your utilities including cell phone service, landlines, cable, TV, electricity, gas, and water. [1]

9.5% Sales Tax

You pay sales tax on everything you buy, even from Amazon. That includes big ticket items like cars, furniture, electronics. It also applies to car lease payments, restaurants, prepared foods, and alcohol. Car sales tax is determined by the vehicle registration address. If you buy a car somewhere else, you can't avoid paying Santa Monica sales tax. The California state sales tax rate is 6.25%. The rest, 3.25%, goes to local government. [2]

10% Parking Tax

10% tax on parking fees. You also pay the city to park at meters, for parking permits, and for parking tickets. [3]

Property Taxes

Your property tax is collected by the county. The money is then split between the state, county, and city. If you rent, you don't pay the tax directly, but part of your rent goes to paying property taxes.

Measure R Parcel Tax

Measure R is a parcel tax approved by voters in 2008. It started out at $346/year per parcel. It increases ~2%/year. This year it's $386. It does not expire. Parcel taxes are regressive because they are not based on the size or value of the property. A 500 sq ft condo pays $386/year. An entire hotel or office building pays $386/year. [4]

School District and College Bonds

Voters have approved bonds for the K-12 school district and SMC in several previous elections. The interest and principal on the bonds is paid off by property owners. The K-12 school district bond taxes are currently $70 per $100,000 of value per year. The SMC bond taxes is currently $60 per $100,000 of value per year. So a $1 million home pays $1,300/year in bond taxes.

Property Transfer Taxes

LA County has a property transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000 of the sale price. Santa Monica has an additional $3 per $1,000.[5] If you sell a $1 Million home, you'll pay $4,100 in transfer tax. The Santa Monica city council tried to triple the transfer tax in the last election (Measure H), but it was defeated by a large majority of voters.

54% Water Rate Hike

Because the city is the water utility, increases in water rates are equivalent to a tax increase. Last year, the city council approved a 54% water rate increase over 5 years. [6]

Business Taxes

If you do any business or are self-employed, Santa Monica has a business gross receipts tax of $1.50 to $5 per $1,000 of sales. Because it's a gross receipts tax and not an income tax, a business can make very little or no profit and still owe a large amount of Santa Monica business tax.

14% Hotel Tax

The hotel tax is mostly paid by tourists, but there are many occasions where friends and family come to visit you and 14% of the room rate goes to the city.

$500 Million Annual Budget

All these taxes add up and give the city an annual budget of around $500 million. Most of the budget goes to city employee salaries, benefits, and pensions. 105 Santa Monica city employees make over $300,000/year. 500 city employees make over $200,000/year. [7] $40 million/year goes to fund city employee pensions. That doesn't even include salaries. [8]

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New massive 200,000 sq ft office building on Colorado & Stewart

If you drive down Colorado or Stewart you will see a huge construction site that will soon be a massive 200,000 square foot office building occupying an entire city block. It is 100% commercial space. No new housing is being built in spite of 1,000 workers coming to this location. An underground parking garage with 640 spaces is being built to accomodate all the new daily car trips and traffic congestion generated by this office building. Employees getting to work by walking, biking, and public transportation is an important part of this development's traffic plan. The 1,000 people expected to work in these new offices will add to the already huge demand for housing. Rents and housing costs are expected to increase signficantly due to a lack of new nearby housing. This is just one of many massive 100% commercial (0% housing) developments in the pipeline: Check the City of Santa Monica's list of 100+ approved and pending projects. More info about this project: http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Projects/2834-Colorado-Ave/ http://santamonicagateway.com/

#offices

Massive 15 story hotel planned for Ocean & Colorado Ave

The owners of the Wyndham hotel (formerly Holiday Inn) have proposed this 15 story, 170,000 square foot, 211 room luxury high rise hotel to replace the current structure on Ocean and Colorado. It's adjacent to both the Santa Monica Pier and Santa Monica Mall. At 195 feet high, it will be one of the tallest buildings in Santa Monica and dramatically alter the skyline, views, and sunshine. A parking garage with 180 spaces is proposed to accomodate the increased number of car trips and traffic congestion this hotel will generate. Santa Monica's municipal code calls for 1 parking space per hotel room. However the developers, FelCor (a publicly traded company), funded a study that finds parking demand is only half a spot per room. They anticipate a very low impact on traffic. An important part of this development’s traffic plan is employees and tourists getting to the hotel by walking, biking, and public transportation. In addition to the 211 hotel rooms, there will be 23,000 square feet of commercial space (restaurants, retail, etc) and 25 ultra luxury ocean view condos in the $5 million price range. In addition to proximity to the mall, promenade, and pier, this site also benefits tremendously from being next to beautiful Tongva Park, which the city's taxpayers just spent $43 million constructing. This is just one of many massive developments in the pipeline: 22 story hotel on Ocean & Santa Monica Blvd 21 story hotel on Ocean & California Ave Check the City of Santa Monica's list of 100+ approved and pending projects. More info about this project: http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Projects/120-Colorado-Ave/ http://www.projectbythepier.com/faqs Development Application (Large PDF)

#hotel

Massive 275 room hotel being built on 7th & Wilshire

If you drive near Wilshire and 7th you will see a huge construction site that will soon be a massive 275 room luxury hotel. This 165,000 square foot development will tower over Lincoln Park and adjacent low-rise residential areas. It will open in 2018. No housing is being built on this site. It will only be hotel rooms, commercial, and retail. An underground parking garage with 325 spaces is planned to accomodate the increased number of new car trips and traffic congestion generated by the hotel. Employees and tourists getting to the hotel by walking, biking, and public transportation, is an important part of this development's sustainability. This is just one of many massive developments in the pipeline: 22 story hotel on Ocean & Santa Monica Blvd 21 story hotel on Ocean & California Ave 15 story hotel on Ocean & Colorado Ave Check the City of Santa Monica's list of 100+ approved and pending projects. More info about this project: http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Projects/710-Wilshire-Hotel/ http://la.curbed.com/2016/10/14/13289518/proper-hotel-santa-monica-opening

#hotel

Massive 22 story hotel planned for Ocean & SM Blvd

A large developer has proposed this 22 story, 340,000 square foot, 125 room luxury high rise hotel to replace several 2 story buildings and a parking lot on the block of Ocean and Santa Monica Blvd. At 244 feet high, it would be one of the tallest buildings in Santa Monica and dramatically alter the Ocean Ave skyline, views, and sunshine. A parking garage with 460 spaces is proposed to accomodate the increased number of new car trips and traffic congestion this hotel will generate. Curbed.com reports that tenants in 19 rent controlled units will be evicted to make room for this luxury hotel. This is just one of many massive developments in the pipeline: 21 story hotel on Ocean & California Ave 15 story hotel on Ocean & Colorado Ave Check the City of Santa Monica's list of 100+ approved and pending projects. An official community meeting regarding this project resulted in significant negative feedback from city residents. Read the community meeting feedback. More info about this project: http://www.smgov.net/Departments/PCD/Projects/101-Santa-Monica-Blvd-DA/ http://la.curbed.com/2013/2/28/10268680/frank-gehry-designing-hotel-tower-and-art-museum-for-samo

SMRR Does NOT Oppose LV

Santa Monicans For Renters' Rights (SMRR) had their convention on July 31, 2016 and announced their endorsements of candidates and ballot measures. SMRR Convention Results The membership could not reach a consensus on LV. Therefore, SMRR took no position on LV. They neither oppose it nor support it. Voters who rely on SMRR for guidance will have to make their own decision knowing that there are many SMRR members on both sides of the issue. Large developers are spending $1 million to defeat LV and have made many incorrect ads and claims that SMRR opposes LV. This is not true. SMRR does not oppose LV. SMRR is neutral on LV. SMDP article about the SMRR convention SM Mirror article about the SMRR convention

#smrr

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Enemies of Rent Control Spending $64,000 Against Measure LV

Two large organizations advocating for the end of rent control are spending $64,000 to defeat Santa Monica's Measure LV on the Nov 8 ballot. The California Association of Realtors (CAR) has contributed $49,000 to the Santa Monica Forward "No on LV" campaign. CAR is the trade group for real estate agents who make more money when apartment buildings are sold to developers and oppose any type of real estate regulations. "Santa Monica Forward" is a pro-development group co-chaired by Judy Abdo. She is a former SMRR co-chair who was ousted from the SMRR steering committee for being too pro-development. In order to mislead voters about an affiliation with SMRR, their campaign mailers refer to Judy Abdo as a "former co-chair of SMRR" instead of the current co-chair of a pro-development group backed by billionaire developers, real estate financiers, and opponents of rent control. The California Apartment Association (CAA) has contributed $15,000 to No on LV campaigns. They are the trade group for landlords and housing developers. Read more about the CAA and their opposition to rent control and Measure LV in this article. Both of these groups have fought to end or weaken rent control where it exists and to weaken renters' rights and eviction protections statewide. Neither group has ever spent money on nor taken a political position that benefited renters at the expense of landlords and developers. Read more about CAR's opposition to rent control: CAR Rent Control web page CAR Rent Control Fighting Handbook How to respond to those in favore of rent control.

#lv #rent control

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