S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
December 17 – December 23, 2021 Volume CXVIII, Issue 123
inSiDe SanTa MOniCa SCHOOl BOaRD aPPROVeS faReleSS SySTeM fOR STuDenT MeTRO RiDeS PAGE 6
City Council approves Shore Hotel Restaurant, Spa and Micro Hotel Contentious five hours of debate results in 4-3 vote last week By Dolores Quintana anD saM CatanZaro Santa Monica City Council recently approved the Shore Hotel’s proposal to open a new restaurant, create a ‘micro-hotel’ and add a massage spa, among other services. Council’s action last Tuesday is in response to the Shore Hotel (1515 Ocean Ave) appeal of a Santa Monica Planning Commission recommendation to deny exceptions to zoning rules the Shore Hotel requested to allow for the new additions and amenities. In a surprising four to three decision, Council voted to grant all but one of the uses that the Shore Hotel’s owners requested. It took five hours of debate and some passionate arguments for Council to come to the decision to give the Shore Hotel what it requested in the appeal. The hotel was awarded permission to add a micro hotel composed of 14 rooms, a restaurant permitted to serve alcoholic beverages and host live entertainment that seats 80 people and permission to open up a personal care service that provides massages
to customers. The decision required a text amendment be issued to allow the Shore Hotel to proceed despite zoning restrictions in the area. In addition, the decision went against the interest of the hotel workers union, Unite HERE Local 11, who has been engaged in a unionizing battle with the Shore Hotel for years. In particular, Councilmember Lana Negrete’s vote was of note because she was appointed earlier this year to replace Councilmember (and two time former Mayor) Kevin McKeown, who was a strong supporter of the union. “It would be easy to make friends, so to speak, and just fall in line with how the community at large, seemingly, or special interests feel about this issue. I’m not speaking or doing anything that’s appeasing the large groups that call in, and I know that’s not the popular thing,” Negrete said. Negrete noted she was surprised that there was “so much tension around the issue.” “Why do we not want this hotel to be successful?” Negrete asked. “I was quite surprised at how many people spent so much time, money and effort against this hotel project.” The hotel worker’s union, Unite HERE Local 11, has opposed the Shore Hotel and its current expansion because the Shore Hotel does not have a contract with the union for the
Photo: Facebook (@ShoreHotel)
hotel’s employees. Councilmember Phil Brock, however, defended the hotel during the council meeting. “I would love all the hotels in Santa Monica to be union. In actuality, they [the Shore] are paying higher…They are owned by locals and committed to local hiring,” Brock said “They have three hotels in Santa Monica. The hotels are better than before they got there. They
are embedded and wed to the Santa Monica community.” Unite HERE has accused the Shore Hotel of union busting and firing workers who attempt to organize. They along with local community groups like The Sierra Club and The Surfrider Foundation and Santa Monica representatives like Assemblymember Richard Bloom and
Shore Hotel, see page 4
la County, City Seek Dismissal of Homelessness lawsuits Attorneys file dismissal motions in relation to LA Alliance for Human Rights case By saM CatanZaro
Los Angeles city and county are pursuing a dismissal of a homelessness lawsuit that requires local governments to provide shelter for thousands of individuals living on the streets. Last week, county and city attorneys filed dismissal motions in federal court concerning a 2020 lawsuit by the LA Alliance for Human Rights. The organization, a coalition of businesses, residents, landlords and homeless individuals claim that inaction by the city and county has created a hazardous environment. The group filed an amended complaint last month after an appeals court knocked down a
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
court order that would have demanded the city and county offer shelter to all homeless people living in the Skid Row area within six months. Skip Miller, a lawyer for LA County, argued the lawsuit was well-legally flawed. “LA County understands and shares the urgency of addressing the humanitarian crisis of homelessness in our communities. Unfortunately, this lawsuit has never been the
right vehicle to get us there — not when it was originally filed and not now in its amended form,” Miller said in a statement Friday. Daniel Conway, a policy adviser for LA Alliance for Human Rights, noted in a statement public officials should be concentrating funds on getting people off the streets as possible instead of pursuing legal action. “This would have the benefits of saving lives,
providing treatment and services, reducing crime and violence in our neighborhoods, and reclaiming public spaces for the entire community. Instead, the city and the county of Los Angeles spend taxpayer dollars grasping at every legal escape hatch,” Conway said. A hearing has been set for January 24, 2022, before U.S. District Judge David O. Carter to discuss the dismissal motions.