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Volume 8 Issue 126
Santa Monica Daily Jest
VEGANS GONE WILD SEE PAGE 6
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THE APRIL FOOL’S DAY ISSUE
Officials mandate 10 percent rent decrease BY MARION JONES Daily Jest Staff Writer
CITY HALL Hoping to lure tenants as the apartment vacancy rate in Santa Monica continues to grow, city officials on Monday voted to mandate a 10 percent rent decrease on all available units. The Rent Control Board in a 4-1 vote — landlord Robert Kronoventer the lone voice in opposition — decided that instead of raising rents as it typically does according to the Consumer Price Index, it should decrease fees in order to stimulate leasing. “We’re called Soviet Monica for a reason and we have to live up to that reputation,” said Rent Control Board Chairman Joe Coray. The downturn in the economy has hit nearly every sector in Santa Monica, claiming the rental market as its most recent victim. Landlords report that tenants are not only leaving, but units are remaining vacant for extended periods of time. Landlord advocacy group, the Activists Apartment Association, criticized the board’s decision, arguing there are better ways of attracting renters to the city, such as abolishing rent control. “This is a backwards decision by a backwards group of commies,” Karl Limbert, the president of the association, said. “This could force a lot of landlords to sell their properties.” Kronoventer, who owns several properties in the city, said he voted against the rent decrease because of the burden it would put on landlords. “Robert Kronoventer believes the city has no business in getting involved with reducing rent,” he said. “Robert Kronoventer is sleepy.” Santa Monicans’ for Rent Control, the leading political party in the city, applauded the board’s decision, but said that officials should’ve gone further to mandate that 10 percent of units in an apartment be completely rent free. “Everyone is facing tough times in the economy and we should do what we can to make sure more people don’t end up on the streets,” Tricia Hoffmeister, the chairwoman of SMRC, said. SEE RENT PAGE 12
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THE NEW RULES OF PARKING: Jim DeLeon feeds a quarter into a parking meter on Main Street on Tuesday afternoon.
City Hall slashes parking meter times BY PETE ROSE Daily Jest Staff Writer
DOWNTOWN In an effort to coax drivers out of their cars and onto mass transit, city officials have decided to slash parking meter times to a 5 minute maximum. Instead of dropping a number of coins to remain parked for hours, drivers will experience a new streamlined process that would require just one quarter, Mayor Ken Menser said. He added that the decision was a tough one, but in the end, those on the City Council believe that the goal of becoming a completely sustainable city starts with transportation. “We know that this decision is not going to be very popular among drivers, but we
Gary Limjap
feel that making driving and parking as difficult as possible is the first step toward achieving our goal or being green,” City Councilmember Robby Striver said. “If we could ban cars all together, we would.” Parking has been a major issue in Santa Monica for years, with hundreds of thousands swarming to the charming beach community each day for work, play or school. The daily population of the city is estimated to be nearly three million, which in turn creates a parking nightmare that seems to get worse and worse, but never seems to improve regardless of how many parking structures are built. “We realize that people depend on cars to get around, but feet were also created to make people mobile,” City Councilmember
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Devin McEwing said. “Making parking on surface streets more restrictive is a sure way to encourage people to think twice before driving into town.” Many in the business community crammed into recent City Council meetings to protest what some are calling a daft idea. “How are my patrons going to park when they come to my store,” asked Grover Standish, owner of the Standish and Deliver mail carrier uniform shop, during last week’s council meeting. “If I have to depend on people who live within walking distance of my store to survive. I’m sure to close up shop.”
SAMUEL B. MOSES, CPA
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