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MONDAY
03.13.17 Volume 16 Issue 103
@smdailypress
@smdailypress
WHAT’S UP WESTSIDE ..................PAGE 2 SOCIAL SECURITY Q&A ................PAGE 4 COMMUNITY BRIEFS ......................PAGE 5 CRIME WATCH ..................................PAGE 7 MYSTERY PHOTO ............................PAGE 9
Santa Monica Daily Press
smdp.com
Cancer fighting company misses mark on traffic BY KATE CAGLE Daily Press Staff Writer
To the City Council, it’s pretty frustrating that a business just a five minute walk away from an Expo stop struggles to meet its mark for car-free commuters.
The walk from the 26th Street/Bergamot Station stop to Agensys, Inc is precisely .3 miles, but that doesn’t mean the Expo line is necessary convenient for the medical company’s scientists and engineers who commute to work in Santa Monica from all corners
of Los Angeles. Still, nearly 25 percent of the company’s 225 employees have agreed to give up their parking space in exchange for a $200 monthly stipend. To the City, it’s still not enough: the company has fallen short for three years in a row
on their average vehicle ridership (AVR) requirement dictated by a development agreement with the City. In order to meet their escalating AVR mark, 13 more employees need to give up their cars by this summer, according to estimates from the City.
When City staff members recently audited 32 development agreements in Santa Monica, Agensys was the only company falling short of the promises they made in order to build. Last SEE CANCER PAGE 7
Vacant buildings subject to new scrutiny and fines
File photo
VACANT: Buildings like this one at 3004 Broadway may soon get slapped with fines if the owners don't resume construction.
BY KATE CAGLE Daily Press Staff Writer
PERFORMANCE
Courtesy Photo
The Santa Monica College Theatre Arts Department will present "Arcadia” this week. See Page 3 for more information.
Gary Limjap (310) 586-0339 In today’s real estate climate ...
Experience counts! garylimjap@gmail.com www.garylimjap.com
City code enforcement officers are about to get some new tools to go after vacant buildings in Santa Monica. On Tuesday, the City Council approved new measures that would force buildings owners to either get to work or tear down a building or pay a fine. The ordinance also allows code enforcement to go after deteriorat-
ing properties, hazardous trees and overgrown vegetation. A November report found 29 vacant properties in the 8-squaremile city. Half of them are single family homes, ten are apartment buildings and three are commercial properties. Only ten of those structures have no active project in the works or no Ellis withdrawal in process. “I want to let you know how much I appreciate this report because I think there was a lot of
resistance to doing anything about this because there was a feeling there weren’t very many such buildings,” Councilmember Sue Himmelrich told code enforcement staff. “So I’m happy that you have been sensitive to people’s complaints and the general concern about it.” The Council unanimously passed the ordinance with an eye SEE BUILDINGS PAGE 6
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