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10.16.17 Volume 16 Issue 289
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Threat of the “big one” looms over Rent Control Board discussions KATE CAGLE Daily Press Staff Writer
With the images of Mexico City’s devastating earthquake still fresh in everyone’s minds, the Rent Control Board stressed urgency during last week’s discussion of mandatory earthquake retrofit costs. The Board is considering whether owners should be allowed to pass through the costs of retrofitting their building to rent controlled tenants. “I think we are up against the clock when facing the big one and it’s scary because we are behind,” board member Nicole Phillis said.
“There are 1,300 buildings that are vulnerable and I’m concerned with creating an incentive system that would get retrofits sooner.” The overwhelming majority of seismically vulnerable buildings in the RCB’s jurisdiction are “soft story” apartment buildings, with one or more unit sitting over a carport. About 550 buildings owners will have received notices to inspect their buildings by the end of October, however, some buildings will not receive notices until August 2018, according to the City’s SEE BOARD PAGE 6
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Santa Monica Daily Press
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Unprecedented City Services Building clears Coastal Commission KATE CAGLE Daily Press Staff Writer
Santa Monica will move forward with plans for an ambitious $77 million City Services Building, promising to break ground with one of the greenest structures in the United States, after the Coastal Commission approved the project Thursday. The public facility will strive to meet the Living Building Challenge, a rigorous environmental standard for construction that few buildings in the world have achieved.
The approval came after extensive public testimony from Santa Monica leaders and activists in Chula Vista. While the City and architect championed the building’s environmental strides, emotional opponents derided the process, expense, and potential impact the Commission’s approval could have on further projects in the pipeline, specifically a nearby athletic field that the City Council has also approved. The Commission’s mandate is to protect access to the beach, so the debate Thursday centered on
parking. The new building will consolidate City offices within the coastal zone, increasing demand on nearby lots and structures. The Commission also approved plans for an Early Childhood Learning Lab that will replace 230 parking spaces just blocks away. Plans for the Civic Center Field, which was approved by the City Council this summer, have not yet come before the Commission. “The claims from opponents of inadequate Civic Center parking SEE COMMISSION PAGE 7
FUNDRAISER
Courtesy Photos
Local environmental group NatureBridge held a fundraiser at the Annenberg Beach House last week. The event raised $65,000 (including ticket sales and donations) that will be used to fund scholarships. Pictured are long-time NatureBridge board member Susan Nissman who worked for Zev Yaroslavsky and Sheila Kuehl; State Senator Henry Stern, and NatureBridge’s 2016 Student of the year, Selma Ruiz, who attends One Spark Academy. Also pictured are Senator Stern with this year’s student speakers and their teachers from Animo Pat Brown, a 100% free and reduced lunch eligible school, who are able to attend NatureBridge programs because of scholarship support.
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