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REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
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April 26 – May 2, 2019 Volume XXI, Issue 41
Council Approves Oceanfront Developments Mixed-use apartments coming to Ocean Front Walk, Ocean Avenue By Cailley Chella Two hotly debated Santa Monica developments got the go-ahead on Tuesday. City Council denied appeals by South Ocean Avenue Residents (SOAR) and UNITE HERE Local 11 to further restrict or make changes to plans of previously approved multi-story, mixeduse buildings at 1828 Ocean Ave. and 1921 Ocean Front Walk. Both SOAR and UNITE HERE Local 11 expressed multiple concerns about the buildings, including the option of the housing being used as an extension of the hotels next door, Hotel Casa Del Mar and Shutters on the Beach. Francis Engler of Unite Here Local 11 said the problem is one they’ve seen many times before. “We are seeing projects get approved as housing all over the region and then finding that they’re not being used for homes,” Engler said, “They’re being used for short term rentals. They’re being used for home sharing. They’re being used for hotel uses.” Housing in Santa Monica has been an issue for years. In 2017 Ordinance 2535 was amended to restrict most short-term rentals, with the exception
Photo: City of Santa Monica.
of licensed home-shares, in order to help combat the city’s lack of affordable housing. Councilmember Greg Morena says he understands the concerns and questioned the developers on how they planned to enforce that the units be used for long-term residents and not for short term rentals. “We don’t want to be anywhere near Prop S,” Morena cautioned. Prop S was a ballot measure from 1990 that prohibits building new hotels and large restaurants in the coastal zone near the beach. The Ocean Front Walk Project initially included plans for two 2,000 square foot restaurants, but fearing a Prop S violation, Council added an amendment to remove one of the two 2,000 square foot restaurants from the building, to be replaced by another form of commercial use.
“The people who drafted Prop. S never imagined putting two 2,000 square foot restaurants in one building,” said Councilmember Kevin McKeown. Prop. S prohibits a restaurant on the coastal zone from being over 2,000 square feet. In the developer’s response to Morena, they suggested that they would be open to submitting an annual report to the housing director that would show their compliance with only renting to those who would initially sign a 1-year lease. Councilmember Ted Winterer then introduced a motion that would do just that. The motion also requires that they state the criminal and civil penalties for violating the city’s corporate and short-term housing ordinances in the project description and the building’s leases.
Sally Reinman spoke on behalf of the group SOAR, saying “We want neighbors. We want housing. However, we are asking for some reasonable modifications.” Reinman proposed that the project’s current proposed setback distance and height would block air and light from the neighborhood. But Councilmember Winterer said the Council’s hands are “pretty much tied on that point,” saying that the California Housing Accountability Act prevents Council from reducing the height and mass of the project and increase its setbacks from the street as Reinman had asked. The law limits the Council’s ability to restrict new development. The law actually became more strict back in 2017 because of the housing crisis. “We can’t deny the project,” Winterer said. But not everyone spoke out against the projects. Leslie Lambert, Vice-chairperson of the Planning Commission, asked the Council to deny the appeals made by SOAR and UNITE HERE Local 11, asking that they “Let this much needed 83 units of housing, including 16 very low income units, move forward to completion.” Matt Stauffer, Executive Vice President of External Affairs for the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce also spoke in favor of the developments. "Santa Monica needs housing at all income levels and these projects will provide both market rate and affordable units in a sustainable, walkable and transit oriented fashion,” Stauffer said.
Santa Monica Luxury High Rise Catches Fire Fire breaks out on top story of Pacific Plaza. By Sam Catanzaro Wednesday night, residents of a high-rise apartment building in Downtown Santa Monica got a scare when a fire broke out on the top story. According to the Santa Monica Fire Department (SMFD) the fire, which was designated as a 2nd-alarm fire, was reported to the SMFD at 8:19 p.m. on the top story of the Pacific Plaza at 1431 Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. According to SMFD Public Information Officer Patrick Nulty, it took firefighters three min-
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utes to respond to the scene and upon arrival saw a “large volume” of visible fire on the roof of the 15-story residential high rise building. “Firefighters were required to ascend up the stairwells to access the fire, carrying tools and special hose packs which were used in the fire fight. Fire Engines pumped water into the buildings “Stand Pipe” system, a required fire protection feature within all high-rise structures that allows Firefighters to connect their hoses to on upper floors,” Nulty said. It took firefighters 28 minutes to knock down the blaze and all SMFD resources were committed to the incident. “The ‘2 Alarm’ incident brought all 35 on duty Santa Monica Firefighters to the scene, which
took 28 minutes to contain. The fire was confined to the roof of the building, which burned approximately 50 percent of the roof. Minor water damage occurred to three apartment units below the fire. The building was occupied at the time the fire broke out, however a functioning fire alarm system began alerting residents to evacuate prior to the Firefighters arrival,” Nulty said. According to Nulty, Fire Investigators are working on determining what may have caused the fire, however, no determination has yet been made. There were no reported injuries to civilians or first responders. Assistance was provided by Santa Monica Police, and the Los Angeles Fire Department covered multiple 9-1-1 responses in Santa Monica during this incident.
Photo: Mark Jeffrey (Facebook).
On Wednesday night, Pacific Plaza on Ocean Avenue caught fire on its roof, bringing all 35 active duty Santa Monica Firefighters to the scene.
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Samuel Moses, CPA
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