Santa Monica Considers Eight-Story Builder’s Remedy Project on 20th Street
The Proposed Project Will Feature 50 Residential Units, Including 10 Affordable Units, Alongside a 40Room Hotel and Ground-Floor
Retail Space
An eight-story mixed-use building at 1420 20th Street is under review by the Santa Monica Architectural Review Board as part of a Builder’s Remedy project, which allows for streamlined approvals of certain developments that include affordable housing.
According to a staff report presented to the board, the proposed project by DIICO Properties of Beverly Hills will feature 50 residential units, including 10 deedrestricted affordable units, alongside a 40-room hotel and 1,163 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Additionally,
the design includes a rooftop amenity space and 62 subterranean parking spaces.
Ottinger Architects, tasked with the design, have planned a U-shaped structure with a façade incorporating metal screens and projecting balconies.
The Builder’s Remedy provision is part of California’s Housing Accountability Act and applies when a city’s housing element is not in compliance with state law. This provision prevents cities from denying projects that reserve at least 20% of units for lower-income households unless strict criteria are met. Santa Monica fell into this category in 2022, prompting a surge of applications for Builder’s Remedy projects.
“This project aligns with state law requirements by including affordable housing units while also introducing a mixed-use component with retail and hospitality elements,” the staff report states.
Renderings revealed during the board presentation showcase a design that balances the modern height of the building with its surrounding context. “The building is organized around a ground floor courtyard with a southern orientation toward existing two-story residential development,” the staff report details. “The
grid and others fully screened, creating a varied volumetric reading.”
development replaces an existing 10unit, one-story apartment complex built in
Microgrants Launched for Cannabis Equity Discussions
The Microgrants Can Be Used to Cover Expenses
Such as Childcare, Food, Interpretation Services, or Hiring a Notetaker
Santa Monica is now accepting applications for $500 microgrants designed to support community-led discussions on shaping the city’s cannabis social equity program.
The initiative aims to address barriers to participation in the legal cannabis industry, particularly for communities disproportionately impacted by past cannabis criminalization.
The microgrants can be used to cover expenses such as childcare, food, interpretation services, or hiring a notetaker, ensuring inclusive and accessible participation in these discussions. Insights from these gatherings, alongside responses to a recent digital survey, will help inform the social equity component of Santa Monica’s adult-use cannabis policy.
The city’s cannabis social equity program seeks to provide opportunities for marginalized communities, especially those affected by past cannabis prohibition, to benefit from legalization. This includes access to business opportunities, employment, and economic growth within the cannabis sector.
Applications for the microgrants are open through December 31 and will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested applicants can find more information and apply at santamonica.gov/ cannabis-social-equity.
20th Street façade features a variety of projecting balconies, some held within a
The
1949. The site, which spans 15,000 square feet in the R2 zoning district, is exempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reviews under Section 15061(b) (3), as determined by the city staff.
Let Time Stand Still During New Resort’s Festive Dinner and Stay Offerings
Regent Santa Monica Beach Resort
Announces Holiday Celebrations
A new luxury resort overlooking the Pacific Ocean is inviting you to discover new holiday traditions and experience unforgettable memories this season.
Regent Santa Monica Beach Resort, a subsidiary of InterContinental Hotels Group, is hosting a number of new holiday traditions beside the Pacific edge, including culinary flair and delicious twists for Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.
This December, reserve your holiday stay with Regent’s exclusive offers and packages including the holiday experience, introductory invitations, and an overnight stay that awakens you into the new year.
For the upcoming holidays and celebrations, Regent invites you let time stand still for a while with your loved ones against the backdrop of Santa Monica Beach and enjoy the resort’s new Mediterranean restaurant Orla, featuring a menu crafted by Michelin Star Chef
Michael Mina.
In the coming weeks, guests are invited to gather family-style to enjoy Brunch with Santa along with a special keepsake, craft snowflake or paint an ornament during Regent’s Festive Days by the Coast and cozy up from dawn until dusk with your hot cocoa or evening delight.
Here is a list of Regent’s current holidays and celebrations:
BRUNCH WITH SANTA
Reservations are open for a festive brunch with Santa at Orla, where unmatched ocean views set the stage for an unforgettable holiday experience for the whole family.
Indulge in a Champagne cocktail arrival, and a two-course brunch featuring familystyle starters and a delightful a la carte selection from the main course. Caviar and shellfish upgrades are available. Enjoy takeaway photos with Santa and the thrill of learning a routine from the dazzling Rockettes, complete with festive reindeer antlers for the kids.
Brunch with Santa can be reserved on Dec. 8, 15, and 22.
CHRISTMAS DAY DINNER AT ORLA
Experience an unforgettable holiday at Orla, where panoramic ocean views set the stage for a celebratory prix fixe dinner.
Crafted by Chef Michael Mina, this indulgent menu features a Mediterranean twist, blending seasonal flavors with coastal elegance for an exceptional dining experience.
Dinner reservations can be made 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Christmas Day.
NEW YEAR’S EVE CELEBRATION
Celebrate New Year’s Eve in unforgettable style at Regent Santa Monica Beach. Indulge in a spectacular Mediterranean tasting menu at Orla by Chef Michael Mina, perfectly paired with exquisite beverages and elevated by live performances from the glamorous Satin Dollz.
Toast to the New Year with a glass of bubbles and festive party favors with compliments, as you embrace an evening of elegance, indulgence, and celebration. Reserve your seats now for this festive, New Year’s Eve dinner and celebration starting at 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.
FESTIVE DAYS BY THE COAST
Gather for daily events and activities featuring ornament painting, delicate snowflake crafting, antler making, a charming Christmas card station, and pinecone bird feeder crafts at Regent starting on Dec. 20 until Dec. 28.
Cozy up for daily holiday movie screening, adding a touch of cinematic
magic to your festive seaside retreat. Revel in the spirit of the season with activities designed to create unforgettable holiday memories by the sea. To make reservations, visit SantaMonica. RegentHotels.com/experience/holidays.
Castanea Sicilian Cafe: Bringing the Sweetness of Sicily to Venice Beach
THE CAFE
Welcome to Castanea Sicilian Cafe: “Il dolce far niente – the sweetness of doing nothing” arrived at Venice Beach! Our cafe invites you to step away from the rush of daily life, whether it’s through a sip of our freshly brewed Italian coffee or a bite of our pastries, savory & gelato. The concept was founded by Nando & Rose, a couple with Sicilian roots, and it was designed to be a testament to the rich flavors and culinary traditions of the Italian island Sicily. Step into our inviting space and discover a slice of paradise or just order it to your home with our delivery & catering services.
OUR STORY
If you create something the world has never seen before, there’s probably a pretty interesting story behind it. This is ours.
We are Nando & Rose, a married couple & the founders of Castanea Sicilian Cafe. Both of us have Sicilian roots & we were lucky to have spent every summer on this beautiful Island.
A typical Sicilian lightheartedness, delicious traditional food & the Italian coffee culture is what we grew up with & what we both cherish a lot.
The idea of a cafe emerged from the
desire to preserve our precious heritage by sharing it. We want to make it accessible to all those who need a little break from everyday life & want to immerse themselves in the world of Sicilian enjoyment & the ideal of “il dolce far niente - the sweetness of doing nothing.”
With a lot of love & dedication we blended our affinity for coffee, food & Sicilian culture into an ambiance of warmth & hospitality.
Castanea means chestnut in Latin. Our name goes back to the oldest chestnut
tree in the world, “Il castagno dei cento cavalli”. It is located on the volcano Etna in Sicily and its size and shape have been a place of rest and shelter for centuries from visitors to the island to a legend of a princess and her 100 horsemen who needed protection from a sudden storm, which is the legend where the tree got its name.
Today, we proudly present our unique cafe to Venice Beach. Now our dream has become reality & we are catering to fulfill yours!
GMCLA Begins 46th Season with CandyThemed Wonderland
SugarPlum Fairies
Slated for MidDecember
By Susan Payne
Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles is bringing candy-coated goodness to its upcoming beloved holiday events in December, beginning its 46th season.
From choral holiday traditions to popular hits that celebrate joyful confections, SugarPlum Fairies is a combination of all things holiday, whimsical and traditional performed by GMCLA, a nonprofit performing arts organization that sings for a future free from homophobia and all other discrimination. Its chorus and dance troupe make up nearly 250 members that volunteer through song and dance and perform at events year round and regularly throughout its seasons.
“Not only does our chorus sing, but we also have a smaller troop of GMCLA members who dance. We have a fully realized production and costumes that align with our theme, weaving all the songs together and telling a story. Our shows are choir music meets theatre, meets dance, and even more than that,” said Lou
Spisto, GMCLA’s executive director and producer. “We’re a community of people wanting to celebrate with everyone who wants to take part in our audience.”
Comprising nearly 25 candy-themed songs, GMCLA’s SugarPlum Fairies will bring its audience members into a world of “Pure Imagination” as a special tribute to the music of the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the new Wonka. From classic melodies like “Dance of the SugarPlum Fairies” in The Nutcracker to popular hits like Dolly Parton’s “Hard Candy Christmas” and Sia’s “Candy Cane Lane,” a ticket to this event is sure to be golden.
“We have incredible songs planned from both the original Willy Wonka and the new Wonka film, pop songs like Candy Cane Lane by Sia, Lollipop by The Chordettes, some Madonna songs, and so much more,” Spisto said. “This show is going to be a candy-themed celebration of who are and a resounding commitment to staying true to our community.”
While GMCLA often sings and makes musical appearances year round, SugarPlum Fairies marks the beginning of its 2024-25 season, a total of three main stage concerts, including Rhinestone Cowboys in March and Dancing Queens in June.
“Rhinestone Cowboys is going to be an explosion of sequins, color and everything you never thought would be associated with cowboy. We know country music is incredibly popular today, and artists like Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton have been icons in, and there’s Beyoncé and Lil Nas X and the new generation that are part of our community, so whether it’s our community or the broader community, we are celebrating country with of course, camp,” Spisto said.
Recently, a chorus of GMCLA members were featured on an episode of ABC’s Golden Bachelorette singing a surprise rendition of “The Mansion Men” written by Kim Buike, a retired Navy captain and contestant on the show.
“GMCLA got to be a part of a program that reaches millions of people from across America, many of whom know us
and love us, many of whom don’t know us, and perhaps some who don’t love or like us at all, or maybe think differently about things than we do. The fact that we were present and accounted for, singing magnificently and looking incredible, it was wonderful to see that we’re important and we count. We’re visible and not going anywhere,” Spisto said.
Tickets for SugarPlum Fairies, slated for Dec. 15 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 16 at 3:30 p.m. at the Saban Theatre, are on sale now. For more information, visit www. GMCLA.org.
“You’re going to see and experience something beautiful here and equally important, you’re going to feel something and be a part of our community. The audience is as much part of our concerts as we are on stage. It’s a love fest. It is an outpouring of love,” Spisto said.
Climbing The Vertical Learning Curve
SMa.r.t.
Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow
The city is facing a financial crisis, the roots of which stretch back decades but have been made worse by the pandemic’s budgetary strains. Years of mismanagement, skyrocketing pension obligations, and over $220 million in settlements tied to the Police Activities League sex abuse scandals, along with a $70 million vanity addition to City Hall, have drained resources. As a result, the city is struggling to fund crucial capital projects, especially those involving infrastructure and maintenance.
A recent report by the consulting firm Moss Adams shared with the city’s Audit Subcommittee, detailed deep systemic issues in how the city manages these projects. The findings point to significant dysfunction: outdated technology, workflows that don’t account for financial limitations, overburdened staff, and archaic procedures that cause delays and make it hard to track or understand costs. Essentially, the city has been operating with tools and strategies more suited to the past century than the present day.
The impact is clear. Maintenance that should have been completed years ago has been deferred, creating a growing backlog of repairs and upgrades. Many city projects remain unfunded or underfunded, and the costs of catching up are compounding at an estimated 7% annually. To put this into perspective, the city is now nearly $460 million behind in addressing both deferred maintenance and necessary new infrastructure.
So where does the city go from here? One proposal from the City Manager is to issue new municipal bonds to cover these costs. On the surface, bonds can seem like an easy solution—they bring in immediate funding for big-ticket items. But bonds are essentially loans, and by the time interest is added, the city could be looking at close to $1 billion in new debt. That’s a significant burden for a city already stretched thin to the point of snapping. Critics, including members of the Audit Subcommittee, argue that taking on more debt without fixing the underlying financial management issues is like putting a bandage on an open wound that’s still bleeding.
This financial juggling act is further complicated by the city’s decision to sell off income-generating assets, such as Main Street parking lots and the now-demolished Third Street parking structure. Parts of the airport could even be on the chopping block, according to a presentation by a city planner two years ago. These spaces are likely to be replaced with housing projects, which not only generate little revenue but add further strain to the city’s resources. Selling off revenue-generating properties for shortterm cash will leave the city with fewer
ways to support itself long-term.
The Moss Adams report didn’t just outline the problems; it also offered solutions. It called for better coordination across projects, greater transparency in costs, and a clear prioritization of what needs to be addressed first. These changes could help the City Council make more informed decisions and focus on the most pressing issues. But implementing such reforms requires leadership—and that’s another challenge the city faces.
The incoming City Council includes a majority of new members, many of whom will be learning the ropes of municipal governance. Imagine starting a new job with little to no training and being expected to make multimilliondollar decisions on day one. Terms like “bond ratings,” “municipal debt obligations,” and “compounding interest” can be daunting for anyone without a background in finance, and these new council members are expected to grapple with these concepts immediately.
At a recent Wilshire Montana Neighborhood Association meeting, some of these new Council members were asked about their plans to address the financial crisis. Their responses revealed more curiosity than strategy–—they expressed enthusiasm about learning what those problems actually are. One member stated that she was eager to “really dig into the numbers.” While enthusiasm is important, for these new Council members, the socalled “learning curve” might feel less like a curve and more like a sheer vertical climb up a greasy pole—an uphill struggle that could delay critical decisions at a time when the city can’t afford to waste a moment.
It’s important to understand that the city didn’t arrive at this crisis
overnight. The issues—declining tax revenues, rising employee benefit costs, aging infrastructure, and fiscal mismanagement—have been building for years. It’s like inheriting an old house where the original owner had been ignoring maintenance for decades. Now the roof is leaking, the foundation is cracking, and you’re scrambling to figure out which problem to address first.
The decisions the council makes now will shape the city’s future for decades. Should they raise taxes? Cut services? Sell more assets? Take on even more debt? File for bankruptcy? Each option has consequences that could severely affect the city’s financial health and the quality of life for its residents and businesses. These are not easy choices, especially for leaders who are still learning the intricacies of the city’s finances.
The next few years will be pivotal. Residents are watching closely, waiting to see if the new council majority can rise to the occasion and take decisive action. The stakes are high, and the city’s ability to navigate these challenges will determine not only its financial stability but also the well-being of its community for years to come.
Daniel Jansenson, Architect, Building & Fire-Life Safety Commission
Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow
Robert H. Taylor AIA, Architect; Dan Jansenson, Architect & Building and Fire-Life Safety Commission; Thane Roberts, Architect; Mario Fonda-Bonardi AIA, Architect; Samuel Tolkin Architect & Planning Commissioner; Michael Jolly, AIR-CRE; Marie Standing, Jack Hillbrand AIA, Architect & Landmarks Commissioner
at (310) 591-6454 (818) 535-7715
Varnish
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