Santa Monica Mirror 10.21.22

Georgian Hotel Set for

Mayor Sue Himmelrich Greets President Biden at Santa Monica Airport

President’s two-day trip included Brentwood fundraiser and speech at VA

By Sam Catanzaro

President Joe Biden was in the area last week, landing at Santa Monica Airport where he was greeted by Mayor Sue Himmelrich, kickstarting a two-day trip that included a Brentwood fundraiser and a speech at the West Los Angeles VA.

The President landed at LAX on Air Force One Wednesday and then took Marine One to Santa Monica Airport.

On Thursday, Biden began the day at the West Los Angeles VA where touched on a range of infrastructure-related topics, including the Metro Purple Line Extension project currently underway.

“Under Mayor Garcetti’s leadership, you finally got going on extending the Purple Line. You got a big boost in funding from the Infrastructure Law to finish the job,” Biden said.

“The extension of the Purple Line is going to add seven new stations, build a reliable highspeed connection between Downtown and the Westside. A trip from Koreatown to the VA campus, which now takes over an hour on a bus — sometimes longer than that — it’s going to shrink to 25 minutes on rail.”

Biden then attended a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser Thursday evening in Brentwood. As reported by Deadline, tickets for the event–which featured an appearance by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi–cost between $5,000-$50,000. The latter price included a photo and reception. With just over a month weeks until the midterm elections, a number of Democratic candidates have come to Los Angeles to raise money. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, “showbiz sources” had contributed nearly $50 million to federal candidates and committees as of September 22, with 87 percent going towards Democrats, Deadline reported.

Biden’s trip to Southern California is his first visit to the area since June. Ahead of his trip this week he waded into local politics by calling

on LA City Council President Nury Martinez and Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo to resign after a leaked recording of racist remarks made by the three was released.

The recording was first reported by the Los Angeles Times on Sunday. As of Thursday afternoon, Martinez is the only one of the three to have resigned.

Local Grocery Store Workers’ Unions Oppose Proposed Kroger-Albertsons Merger

Kroger looking to purchase Albertsons for $20 billion

By Dolores Quintana

UFCW Locals 7, 324, 367, 770 and 3000, union representatives for essential grocery workers in the Southern California area, issued a statement opposing the proposed merger of grocery store chains Kroger and Albertsons.

Last Friday it was reported that Kroger had bid to purchase Albertsons for $20 billion or $34.10 a share. The merger is contingent on approval from the federal government’s regulatory agencies.

The union locals cautioned that the merger could “cause significant harm to local grocery store industries, workers and customers in the Western United States from the Canadian border to Southern California and east to Colorado by giving the combined companies a monopoly.

Kroger owns Ralph’s and Food 4 Less and is the largest grocery operator in the United States, Albertsons owns Albertsons, Safeway, Vons and Pavilions.

Kathy Finn, UFCW 770 Acting President said, via emailed statement,“The proposed merger of

these two grocery giants is devastating for workers and customers alike and must be stopped. Just as our UFCW workers stood together to negotiate landmark new contracts with both Kroger and Albertsons/Safeway last year across the western US, we will stand united to fight for access to nutritious food, safe shopping experiences, and investments in good jobs in our communities.

Essential UFCW grocery store workers emerged stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic, winning improved protections against the virus, store violence and other threats. Standing together, we know our voices are stronger than the corporations’ anti-worker rhetoric,”

Kroger did not respond to a request for a statement, but a Ralph’s representative responded by referencing already released statement on the merger on their website. In it, Rodney McMullen, Kroger Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, “We are bringing together two purpose-driven organizations to deliver superior value to customers, associates, communities and shareholders. Albertsons Cos. brings a complementary footprint and operates in several parts of the country with very few or no Kroger stores. This merger advances our commitment

to build a more equitable and sustainable food system by expanding our footprint into new geographies to serve more of America with fresh and affordable food and accelerates our position as a more compelling alternative to larger and nonunion competitors.”

In that same statement, Chan Galbato, CoChair of the Albertsons Cos. Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Cerberus

Operations said, Today’s announcement marks the successful outcome of the Board-led review of strategic alternatives Albertsons Cos. announced in February. This transaction with Kroger provides substantial value to shareholders and exciting opportunities for associates to be part of a combined organization with the ability to better support the lives and health of millions of Americans.”

Photo: City of Santa Monica Santa Monica Mayor Sue Himmelrich and President Joe Biden.

Photo: Sam Catanzaro

Former Angels Communications Director Eric Kay Sentenced to 22 Years in Tyler Skaggs Overdose Case

October sentencing comes over three years after 2019 overdose in Southlake, Texas

By Sam Catanzaro

Former Los Angeles Angels employee Eric Kay was sentenced last week to 22 years in federal prison in connection with the 2019 overdose death of Angles pitcher Tyler Skaggs, a graduate of Santa Monica High School.

In February, a federal jury found former Angels Communications Director Eric Prescott Kay guilty of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. He was sentenced October 11 by Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means.

According to evidence presented at trial, Mr. Kay distributed the pills that killed Mr. Skaggs.

“The Skaggs family learned the hard way: One fentanyl pill can kill. That’s why our office is committed to holding to account anyone who deals in illicit opioids, whether

Governor

That

SB 1194 allows local governments to require that public restrooms be designed as all gender multi-stall restrooms

By Sam Catanzaro

Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law Senate Bill 1194. The bill–sponsored by the City of Santa Monica and authored by Senator Ben Allen–allows

Photo: Morgan Genser Tyler Skaggs pitching for the Santa Monica High School Vikings in 2009.

By Sam Catanzaro

Overdose case, see page 9

New Report Released on Deadly Santa Monica Plane Crash

National Transportation Safety Board releases report on September 8 crash

By Keemia Soltani-Zhang

A preliminary report released last week by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has revealed witness statements on the plane crash that killed flight instructor Christian West and student pilot Jackson Nazario at the Santa Monica Airport on September 8.

Bystanders describe the plane “making a hard landing” before erratically climbing noseup, according to ABC 7. The plane suddenly descended and crashed 100 feet onto the tarmac, bursting into flames. The Santa Monica Fire Department responded to the scene around 4:30pm.

The report states that “All the witnesses provided similar accounts of the airplane continuing to climb in a nose up attitude, before leveling off at the apex of the climb, then spinning to the left, descending, and colliding with the ground”. The instructor could reportedly be heard screaming “let go, let go……. let go, let go, let go” before the plane crashed.

The Piper Sport two-seat aircraft was operated by a local flight school, and engaged in forty-five minutes of ground instruction and approximately one hour of flight leading up to the accident.

West, a graduate of Santa Monica College, had worked as a flying instructor since 2018 and sought to become a commercial pilot. Loved ones have put together a gofundme to support the funeral expenses of Nazario, who aspired to work in audio producing.

“Anyone that knew Jackson will tell you, he’s an ultra light beam, his energy emanated outward unto all that were around. His love, curiosity, and wonder, guided him on his journey of travel and meeting new people. Everywhere he went, he made a friend, he was a friend,” reads the fundraiser page. “Jackson had a courageous way of being himself. His efforts to give were limitless, he gave with such an open and pure heart. Jackson was blessed with an acute insight that made him a truly special person.

As all can imagine, this has been the most trying time of our lives, to feel the physical sudden loss of a son, a brother, a soul mate, a friend... a legend! Our hearts are broken open. With your love and support, we will move through this with strength and resiliency. Donations will go directly to Jackson’s family

HOMELESSNESS IS A COMPLEX CRISIS AND A TOP COMMUNITY PRIORITY IN SANTA MONICA.

Santa Monica's goal in addressing the homelessness crisis is to create permanent housing solutions and the prevention of homelessness. Because this issue is complex, we’re also working to identify new resources to support behavioral health while responding to immediate public health and quality-of-life issues.

OUR COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO THE HOMELESS CRISIS:

OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT

We interacted 11,000 times with people experiencing homelessness through our city-funded outreach teams. $8 million in grants were provided to 19 local agencies and 35 programs through the Human Services Grants Program providing a range of services to vulnerable populations to prevent and address homelessness.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

$1 1 5 million in local and state funding secured for behavioral health services and programs. The Santa Monica Fire Department launched its Community Response Unit with the goal of improving the safety, health, and wellbeing of the city’s vulnerable populations.

Visit santamonica.gov/progress-

to help cover bills while they take the time to mourn and figure out how to move forward.”

A full investigation report is expected to be released by the NTSB in the following

Photo: Go Fund Me Jackson Nazario.

Photo

Santa Monica’s Iconic The Georgian Hotel Set for Re-Launch

Project to be complete in January 2023

Developers have released plans for the relaunch of Santa Monica’s iconic hotel, The Georgian, unveiling in January 2023.

BLVD Hospitality, in partnership with ESI Ventures revealed their plans earlier this month for the redevelopment.Located on Ocean Avenue perched above the Santa Monica waterfront, The Georgian has been a fixture of the Southern California coastline since it first opened in 1933. Seeing several iterations over the years, regular guests to the hotel and world-renowned restaurant, the Red Griffin, ranged from Hollywood stars Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe to First Mother Rose Kennedy.

BLVD acquired the landmark hotel in August 2020 with the intent to restore one of Los Angeles’ most recognizable and photogenic hotels to its former glory.

“The refreshed concept will embrace much of the hotel’s retained original detailing, while thoughtful materials and an elaborate art program combine to create a series of spaces which brings a new chapter to The Georgian for generations to come. Touches including fully custom Art Deco furniture, ornate lighting, rare imported Italian marble, and the Sunset Bar’s Havana Deco-inspired

floor pattern set an architecturally striking stage for a very modern set of operations and service standards,” reads a press release announcing the relaunch.

The project includes a restoration of the 84 guest rooms and 28 suites, alongside new and refreshed offerings including the famous ocean-view Sunset Terrace, Dining Room, and Sunset Bar. In addition to The Library and gymnasium, The Georgian will also be home to two private meeting and dining spaces, The Gallery and The Writer’s Room. The Gallery will showcase an evolving curation of work by international artists on a quarterly basis. Additional details around the food and beverage program are expected over the coming months.

“I had passed by The Georgian many times before stepping foot inside the architecturally stunning property for the first time 13 years ago. I could see The Georgian had such a striking presence and charm, she just needed to be brought back to her full potential. We are so thankful to have such a wonderful group of passionate and inspired visionaries and partners working to give The Georgian what she has deserved for decades,” said Jonathan Blanchard, Founder and CEO at BLVD.

Known as Santa Monica’s First Lady due Iconic hotel, see page 11

THE ORIGINAL BIKE SHOPS IN LA

Santa Monica, CA 90405 across from URTH cafe 310.581.8014 sales@bikeshopsantamonica.com bikeshopsantamonica.com

Overdose Case,

they operate in back alleyways or world class stadiums,” U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham said following today’s hearing. “Mr. Skaggs did not deserve to die this way. No one does. We hope this sentence will bring some comfort to his grieving family.”

The investigation began on July 1, 2019, when the Southlake Police Department received a 911 call stating that Mr. Skaggs, then just 27 years old, had been found dead in his hotel room at the Southlake Town Square Hilton. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office later determined that Mr. Skaggs had a mixture of ethanol, fentanyl, and oxycodone in his system at the time of his death..

Inside Mr. Skaggs’s hotel room, investigators discovered a number of pills, including a single blue pill with the markings M/30. An analysis of the pill – which closely resembled a 30-milligram oxycodone tablet – revealed it had been laced with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opiate.

In an initial interview with law enforcement, Mr. Kay denied knowing whether Mr. Skaggs was a drug user. He claimed the last time he’d seen Mr. Skaggs was at hotel check-in on June 30. However, a search of Mr. Skaggs’s phone revealed text messages from June 30 suggesting that he had asked Mr. Kay to stop by his room with pills late that evening.

Investigators later learned that, contrary to what he’d told law enforcement the day Mr. Skaggs’s body was discovered, Mr. Kay had admitted to a colleague that he had, in fact, visited Mr. Skaggs’s room the night of his death.

In the course of their investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration determined that Mr. Kay allegedly regularly dealt the blue

Restrooms, from page 2

local governments to require that public restrooms be designed as all-gender multistall restrooms.

“I authored SB 1194 to give local governments the option to enact commonsense ordinances that ensure accessibility and inclusivity as new buildings are constructed,” Allen said. “All people deserve safe, equitable access to public restrooms regardless of age, gender identity, or health condition.”

The new state law authorizes a city or county to require, by ordinance or resolution, that public restrooms constructed within its jurisdiction comply with specified requirements rather than the state plumbing standards.

“These standards have, until now, been a barrier to municipalities converting gendered restrooms to gender universal. All gender restrooms are more inclusive facilities that benefit all, including gender diverse and transgender individuals, those individuals that require the assistance of a caregiver of a different gender, and for parents with children of different genders,” the City of Santa Monica said in a press

M/30 pills – dubbed “blue boys” – to Mr. Skaggs and to others, dolling out the pills at the stadium where they worked.

Several former Angels players, including Matt Harvey, C.J. Cron, Mike Morin, and Cameron Bedrosian testified at trial that Eric Kay distributed blue 30 milligram oxycodone pills to them as well. They further testified that he was the only source of these pills and would conduct transactions in the Angels Stadium.

At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors introduced into evidence jailhouse calls and emails demonstrating the nature of Mr. Kay’s crime and his lack of remorse.

Mr. Kay repeatedly insulted Tyler Skaggs, his deceased victim:

“I hope people realize what a piece of sh*t he is,” he told his mother in a recorded jailhouse call. “Well, he’s dead, so f*ck ‘em.”

He also mocked the Skaggs family, calling them “dumb” and “white trash” and suggesting his mother plant negative stories about them in the media.

“All they see are dollar signs,” he said of the Skaggs family. “They may get more money with him dead than he was playing because he sucked.”

He even demeaned the jurors that convicted him, calling them “fat, sloppy, toothless, and unemployed.”

“Today’s sentencing of Eric Kay will not ease the suffering that the Skaggs’ family have experienced since 2019,” said Eduardo A. Chavez, Special Agent in Charge of DEA Dallas. “What the guilty verdict and sentencing proves is even if you sell only a small number of pills and one of those pills causes the death of an individual, you will be held responsible and sentenced to the fullest extent allowed by our judicial system.”

release announcing the bill’s signing.

The bill was signed into law by Newsom on September 29, after passing through the state Senate and Assembly unopposed.

If a municipality decides to enact a law requiring public restrooms to be designed as all-gender, multi-stall bathrooms’ toilets would have to be located either in toilet rooms or grouped in an immediately adjacent common-use area accessible to all users.

According to the City of Santa Monica, City staff will bring forward an ordinance for City Council consideration in 2023. If a local ordinance is adopted, the City says it will also have the authority to convert existing public restrooms and to construct new facilities that are gender universal.

“We are thrilled to have this bill signed into law so that we can deliver on more inclusive public facilities that serve people of all genders and gender identities, while supporting families and those who need the help of a caregiver,” said Mayor Sue Himmelrich. “Santa Monica was proud to join West Hollywood and Senator Allen in advancing this meaningful step forward for equity and inclusion.”

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must make

4500+ Units Permitted!

In the last month your City was forced by the State of California to approve the construction of about 16 projects totaling over 4,562 new units (941 are affordable). These are a wide variety of projects: apparently the smallest is 34 units (6 stories) and the largest is 2,000 units (15 stories). These projects all have in common that 20% of their units must be affordable and that they are entirely exempt from all local zoning codes for height, density, floor area ratios, etc. They are given this carte blanche because of a 30-year-old law (SB 2011) that says that any 20% affordable project of any size gets automatic approval if it is applied for during a time window that a city does not have a compliant Housing Element on file with the State.

What is a Housing Element

For a little back history, Housing Elements are a way that the State forces local cities and counties to build more housing. These Housing Element documents have to be updated every eight years and require a city to show how their zoning and other incentives, will allow that City, over the next eight years, to permit the building of sufficient units to meet the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) numbers. The RHNA

target number between 2021 and 2029 for our city is about 9,000 units and about 6,000 of them have to be affordable. This requirement for each City to upzone its zoning codes to meet the RHNA numbers has been going on for 40 years. Every eight years the State assigns a City its RHNA target and the City shows, by submitting a revised Housing Element, how it can meet that target. The State then reviews the Housing Element and, if it finds it sufficient, approves it giving that City the so-called “compliant housing element” blessing.

The process sounds simple enough but in reality, is based completely on flawed assumptions. First, it involves wild guesses. Who really knows how many units a city really needs and equally importantly can build in the next 8 years? How can a City estimate how development will unfold during for example a forthcoming recession, or ongoing drought, or the next earthquake or the impact of a pandemic (about 250 Santa Monicans have died to date of Covid)? In a City whose population has flatlined at 90,000-93,000 for the last 10 years, how can we say that 8,895 new units (about 18,000 new residents) are suddenly needed when natural growth projections say we will only need about 1,100 new units in the next 8 years. On a larger scale, the State which has a RHNA allocation of 2,500,000 units and is literally running out of water and power, actually lost about 300,000 residents in the last 2 years (2020 & 2021). In Southern California, the entire inconsistent RHNA edifice was built on the unsupported assumptions that the region’s resident

count was going to grow by 3.3 million (17%) in the next 26 years but that Santa Monica had to provide housing for an over 20% population increase in the next 8 years. Santa Monica has not seen that kind of population growth since the 1940s.

A Cloudy Crystal Ball

Second on a local scale, we have been very poor at guessing which properties will actually be developed for new housing. In their Housing Elements cities must specify exactly which actual properties are suitable for development. In Santa Monica’s last 8-year cycle, only about a third of the properties identified as suitable by the 2013 Housing Element were subsequently developed. The poster child for this inability to predict which projects will be developed, is the muchmaligned Gelson’s project (500+ units at Ocean Park and Lincoln Blvd.) which was not even on the City’s list of suitable sites for the currently proposed housing element. Making Cities guess which specific properties will develop to meet an imaginary RHNA number is one of those idiotic “make work” futile planning exercises that sucks up a lot of staff time and means that they have to actually up zone for 13,000 units instead of 8,895 to cover the error range of their crystal ball.

Finally, the State only specifies the number of units and percent affordable. It makes no provisions for the kind or quality of units or of options for ownership. So, for example in our city, the scarcity of 2–3-bedroom units is totally

depopulating our school district. The relentless emphasis of developers on new profitable studios and one-bedroom units (Gelson’s has no 2 or 3-bedroom units proposed), means this depopulation will continue far into the future. The lack of 2–3-bedroom units also means students can’t live with roommates (making their higher education more expensive) families wanting to have children must move out of Santa Monica and likewise multigenerational families are equally unwanted in our City. The actual problem of increasing ownership is even more acute in our 71% renter City. Affordable ownership housing, say through land trusts, limited equity cooperatives, and other low-cost ownership alternatives, would be very beneficial for a city permanently banishing its low and mid-priced residents who want to own.

A simple Scam

When your City is given wildly inflated RHNA numbers, you know there is a scam at work. The scam is quite simple. In the last approximately five years the development industry, with massive contributions from Silicon Valley captured the State legislature. Using the myth that local controls prevented housing from being built, those captive legislators wrote (and are still writing) dozens of coercive State bills to gut local planning authority and give the development community free rein to develop massive projects anywhere in the state. The governor, also captive to the development industry contributions, happily signed those bills essentially neutering all local zoning control. But the coercion had already started in 1990 with the passage of SB 2011. That poorly written law said that any developer had free rein to build anything, as long as it contained 20% affordable units, when a city had failed to get their Housing Element approved (e.g. made compliant) in a timely manner. This law, often called a ‘builder’s remedy”, was a sleeper land mine waiting to go off.

During the last 30 years there was a massive statewide failure to meet the RHNA numbers by other cities: Santa Monica on the other hand was generally in compliance. At that time RNHA was suggestive, that is not mandatory, because it had no enforcement provisions. But also at that time it was not very hard to show compliance when getting a Housing Element approved. During that period application of “builder’s remedy” was so rare that most people forgot its dangers.

But the entire environment changed when Santa Monica’s RHNA units ballooned from 1,674 units 8 years ago in the prior (5th) cycle to 8,895 units in the current (6th) cycle just because we have, allegedly, lots of bus stops. Of the total number of new RHNA units in Santa Monica, roughly 7,900 (87%) were justified on the basis of these bus stops. And what is LA Metro’s strategic plan best case scenario for all that bus travel? A bus trip is to be no more than 2.5X slower than driving. It’s already worse than that now.

An Impossible assignment

Santa Monica’s planning had to pivot onto a plan that was 5.5x the size of anything that had come before. That kind of increase requires upzoning the entire city with the attendant public debates, workshops, Environmental Impact

Reports etc.. This urban redesign takes time and most cities struggled to make it on time, particularly since this coincided with the Covid crisis which gummed up everyone’s planning work.

So the City scrambled to prepare a Housing Element requiring massive up zoning for an imaginary population explosion simultaneously while its water and power reserves are crashing. They were trying to meet an unsatiable housing element law that was designed to a create a permanent pauperized renter class that can be squeezed by landlords forever because they can never get the benefits of ownership. And it was also designed to stick our head even deeper in the global warming noose since no requirements are made for renewable energy powering all these new high rise units and their electric cars.

Nonetheless your City persevered and submitted its housing element in a timely manner in midOctober 2021 but the State rejected it on February 8, 2022 on flimsy grounds. That made the City vulnerable to the “builder’s remedy” law because technically we did not have a compliant Housing Element since mid October 2021. Altogether 191 jurisdictions (out of 197 jurisdictions) in the our SCAG region were caught in the same trap.

The State’s gross rejection of so many submitted Housing Elements, while not addressing a 32-yearold loophole was the definition of bad faith negotiation in this first round of an unprecedented scaled-up RHNA process. The State’s rejection of all those Housing Elements was a cynical attempt to keep the door open for as long as possible to encourage as many oversized “builders remedy” projects as possible. This is precisely what happened and how we got a 15-story project in a 2 story neighborhood. This State wide massive element rejection also suggests collusion at the highest level. Your City has been vulnerable to this “builder remedy” law for an entire year, till it finally got its Housing Element approved last week.

Warnings Missed?

While there were distress signals along the way, those that were flying the plane never saw

the mountain they hit. First, the pre-2020 City Council happily accepted the fictitious 9,058-unit RHNA target. They failed to organize resistance with other cities facing similar impossible fake numbers. The newly elected 2020 City Council members tried to generate some resistance but were stymied by the others.

When the Housing Element was discussed in the October 12, 2021 City Council meeting, the risk on one of the possible dangers of not having a compliant housing element was described as:

“…the City may not be able to deny a housing project that provides at least 20% of units affordable to lower income households, even if the project exceeds the City’s height and FAR maximums in the LUCE or Zoning Ordinance”.

The PowerPoint that was presented at the meeting stated the risk as follows:

Possible Loss of Local Control (Housing Accountability Act) for Projects with at least 20% affordable units on site

With Adoption of Compliant Housing Element Projects on sites identified on SSI are allowed to proceed even if they exceed Zoning/LUCE

Maintaining Housing Element Compliance through Future Actions - Failure to implement Housing Element still allows housing projects with at least 20% affordable units to proceed even if they exceed Zoning/LUCE

The risk was neither described as a “Builder’s Remedy” nor was it phrased as absolute (notice the word “may” in the first quote and “possible” in the second quote). Moreover, in the 32 years since it’s been on the books, there has been no legal precedent on the use of the “Builder’s Remedy” provisions of the state code until now. Moreover, a UC Davis land use legal expert on California RHNA land use (Christopher S. Elmendorf) noted that the most probable reason why the “Builder’s Remedy” has not been used was that it “…is so poorly drafted and confusing that developers of ordinary prudence haven’t been willing to chance it.”

To add more confusion to this issue, Mr. Elmendorf has noted that the interaction of other state statutes which were “…enacted as a companion to the Housing Element Law, provides that a city shall not be required to zone any parcel in an urbanized, residential area for ‘densities that

exceed those on adjoining residential parcels by more than 100%.’ (Gov’t Code § 65913.1(b).) A court might construe this as an implied limitation on the density of a builder’s remedy project.”

So, while the city included the boilerplate language to the October 12, 2021 staff report and the PowerPoint deck, the tentative wording made a reasonable person to judge the risk to be minimal. Moreover, that risk had to be weighed against the objectives of achieving a balanced outcome for the city, which was very difficult based on what the prior council had done.

Path Forward?

The first thing that should happen is the City should notify the neighbors within say 300’ of the 16 properties that plans have been filed near to you, that exceed the current local code. People are entitled to know what is happening behind their backs. How would you like a 15-story, 2000 unit building to suddenly appear next door?

Second the City Council should initiate a legal study to answer such questions as do the penalties in SB 2011 (1990) apply in the current and radically changed RHNA legislative framework, during the period of time that good faith Housing Element negotiations with the State were continuing during a covid crisis that had provided some time frame extensions? This is a legal question that should be studied along with the issues raised by Mr. Elmendorf. In the context of the current election, unfortunately the larger political groups SMRR, Forward, etc. and their endorsees, who should know better, have swallowed the myth that the City should and can grow by 20% in the next eight years. So it is unlikely that they will, if elected, try to limit RHNA’s oversize damage to an essentially low rise seaside town.

Finally, and this is where you come in, my patient reader, vote for two candidates we believe will try to limit the damage of this draconian “builder’s remedy”: Armen Melkonians a long term smart growth advocate and Lana Negrete an independent incumbent who runs a beloved small business in your City.

By Mario Fonda-Bonardi AIA

S.M.a.r.t Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow

Iconic hotel, From page 8

to being one of the first high-rises built along Ocean Ave, the turquoise Period Revivalmeets-Art Deco monument offers a rare glimpse into Old Hollywood and golden-age California history. BLVD says its vision will “re-energize the hotel in a way that revives the iconicity that emanated from its doors in the 1930s and decades following.”

Developers noted the project is being approached as a historically-inspired restoration rather than a redesign. The project designer is London and Los Angelesbased boutique interior architecture and design firm, Fettle.

“The story of Santa Monica’s First Lady is one filled with magic, intrigue, sophistication, and quite certainly, a touch of debauchery. Our vision is that each one of those elements will coalesce with contemporary California culture to once again make The Georgian California’s crown jewel. And we’re honored to be a part of such an inspired and passionate community as Santa Monica,” said Nicolo Rusconi, CoFounder and President at BLVD.

The re-imagined property will once again be a bastion of culture and inspiration for global jet setters and local tastemakers alike. From legendary sunset views to her rich enigmatic history, it’s here inside The Georgian where Los Angeles’ best-kept secrets will continue to live and thrive.

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While supplies last UNIVERSAL TILE & MARBLE, INC. Tel 310-451-1900/ Fax: 310-394-1800

50 SQFT ITALIAN WHITE CARRARA MARBLE SLAB $999/SLAB www.utminc.us

1431 Colorado Avenue (corner 15th Street) Santa Monica, CA 90404

Stocking Distributor for Silestone and Dekton

For previous articles see www.santamonicaarch. wordpress.com/writing

FILE NUMBER: 2022225045 ORIGINAL FILING This statement was filed with the County Clerk of LOS ANGELES ON 10/17/22. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as 1. PEDIATRICS ON MONTANA. The full name of registrant(s) is/are: PEDIATRICS OF MONTANA, 901 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, Ca. 90403. This business is conducted by A General Partnership. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 10/2022. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime). Signed Jody Lappin. This Statement was filed with the County Clerk of LOS ANGELES County on October 17, 2022. NOTICE: IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (a) OF SECTION 17920, A FICTITIOUS NAME STATEMENT GENERALLY EXPIRES AT THE END OF FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE ON WHICH IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK, EXCEPT, AS PROVIDED IN SUBDIVISION (b) OF SECTION 17920, WHERE IT EXPIRES 40 DAYS AFTER ANY CHANGE IN THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 17913 OTHER THAN A CHANGE IN THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS OF A REGISTERED OWNER. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED BEFORE THE EXPIRATION. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT OF ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411 ET SEQ., BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE). SANTA MONICA MIRROR to publish 10/21/2022, 10/28/2022, 11/04/2022, and 11/11/2022

10%

DISCOUNT FOR SENIORS, MILITARY

The rst 4 hours of work is only $399 & 4 or more hours will receive 15% OFF

With our many years of home repair experience we will complete your projects properly, ef ciently and timely. Large job or small, we look forward to impressing you with our ability to simply get it done.

SANTA MONICA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Louise Jaffe, Chair; Barry Snell, Vice Chair; Dr. Susan Aminoff; Dr. Nancy Greenstein; Dr. Margaret Quiñones-Perez; Rob Rader;

Sion Roy; Catalina Fuentes Aguirre, Student Trustee; Kathryn E. Jeffery, Ph.D., Superintendent/President

Monica College

Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, CA

smc.edu

SANTA MONICA COLLEGE