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CONDO SALES
WEEKEND EDITION
07.29.17 - 07.30.17 Volume 16 Issue 222
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California gas storage facility deemed safe after blowout BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press
A California judge denied a motion to halt the reopening of a massive natural gas storage facility in Los Angeles County that has been offline since a major blowout. Lawyers for the county had asked Superior Court Judge John Wiley to stop Southern California Gas Co. from restarting operations at Aliso Canyon because of earthquake risks. The judge tentatively ruled against the county on Friday, according to court filings made public before a hearing. He made
the ruling final during the hearing. Last week state regulators gave approval to pump gas into underground storage wells after an overhaul and extensive testing. Wiley cited two state laws that prevented his interference. While acknowledging that it was a vitally important issue, he said the Legislature had taken authority away from Superior Court judges to interfere with orders by the California Public Utilities Commission. “So what’s my power?” Wiley said in explaining his decision in SEE FACILITY PAGE 7
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WHAT’S UP WESTSIDE ..................PAGE 2 EDUCATOR SPOTLIGHT ................PAGE 4 NEW WEST SYMPHONY ................PAGE 5 CRIME WATCH ..................................PAGE 8 MYSTERY PHOTO ............................PAGE 9
Santa Monica Daily Press
smdp.com
Council approves new loan source for affordable housing MATTHEW HALL Daily Press Editor
Setting aside money to fund affordable housing was an easy decision for City Council at their July 25 meeting, but deciding who gets to spend it was harder. Council approved revisions to the city’s housing trust fund guidelines on Tuesday that included establishing a new dedicated fund of about $15 million a year to build and/or retain existing affordable housing units. The money would be available
SMPD
to nonprofit housing organizations but the council split over giving staff the authority to release the money without Council approval. Santa Monica used to have a cap on the amount of money the city would loan to housing builders but the monetary limit was removed about 10 years ago. Since then, there have been limits in place on the amount that would be lent per unit ($600,000) and a cap on the maximum number of units the council would support per project (50). However, with the recommen-
dation to create a new fund, staff multiplied the per unit limit by the maximum units supported and felt the resulting $30 million loan was too large to be approved without council consideration. Therefore, debate occurred at the Housing Commission level that resulted in a proposal to limit staff authority to $15 million per loan or about one year’s worth of revenue. Councilmember Kevin McKeown said the $15 million limit was far SEE HOUSING PAGE 7
Photos by Marina Andalon
The Santa Monica Police Department responded to a fight on Main St. at about 9:30 a.m. on Friday, July 28. One individual was transported to a local hospital in fair condition and a suspect was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. Anyone with information about the case should call the Santa Monica Police Department at (310) 458-8451.
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