The following letter is in response to our Newsletter about the massive building of low-income Apartment Complexes in Santa Monica, see [HERE].
Dear MBStrong,
Your recent newsletter about state laws being used by developers to circumvent local planning and zoning laws to build thousands of high-density, low-income apartments in Redondo Beach and Santa Monica was very timely.
MB residents would benefit from reading these types of articles that are circulating in the community and talking about the candidate’s positions before casting their votes for City Council if they want to preserve the charming character of our small beach community. I provide my opinions below.
But first, to briefly recap the housing issue in the LA Times article yesterday, the Santa Monica developer is using state law to bypass city zoning to build 4,500 apartments in 14 buildings along one street, including a 15-story high-rise with 2,000 apartments. This massive apartment complex would include 400 low-income units.
And state laws allow the developer to cash out immediately by selling 4,100 units as condos, and would leave the city with 400 low-income apartments that must remain for 55 years as a title restriction.
In Redondo Beach, the state may approve repurposing the power plant land zoned for parks for the developer to build 2,500 high-density apartments, including 250 low-income apartments, plus hotels and shopping because the city was tardy on filing their recently updated housing plan with the state. This would mean the state is going to override the will of the residents that have fought to make this land into a park for over 2 decades.
State laws mandate that cities add low-income housing even in cities already built-out like MB. If we want to stand up to the state, MB has a problem because a City Ordinance passed in 2013 makes it against our own laws to do so.
City Council passed Ordinance No. 13-0006 in 2013 that allows state law to supersede our local zoning laws and to my knowledge, not many people knew about this ordinance until it was mentioned on NextDoor by Mayor Napolitano in an exchange with candidate Mark Burton a couple of months ago.
David Lesser, the Mayor in 2013, led an effort to adopt 13-0006 along with candidates Amy Howorth and Mark Burton that relinquished control of our zoning laws over to the state. None of these 3 City Council candidates have brought this up in their campaigns (why would they shoot themselves in the foot?).
In addition, Ordinance 13-0006 amended our zoning laws to permit the construction of homeless shelters, and low-income apartments can be used to provide housing for the homeless through government subsidies.
So where do the other City Council candidates stand?
Incumbent, Suzanne Hadley's ad says "I will vote to fight high-density housing" but during 4 years in office, she did not bring up 13-006 and has never mentioned an idea on how she would propose to fight high-density housing. Although she voted '“NO” with one other Councilmember on the draft housing plan in March, in September she voted unanimously "YES" to adopt the latest housing plan. This plan would add a total of about 3,800 apartments throughout the city, including 774 low-income units.
To actually fight this housing mandate, it’s going to take leadership and initiative to devise a plan to fight this complicated problem facing our city. If voters want to elect the right representative to take action, then becoming informed about all the candidates for Council is crucial.
City Council candidate Stewart Fournier warns against opposing state housing laws by citing the consequences and stating it’s not worth the fight. He actually said it is “fiscally responsible” to submit. He’s obviously in the bag to capitulate, so I wouldn’t expect him to bring up 13-006 or initiate a plan.
Rita Crabtree-Kampe stated that MB needs more housing and the HighRose project did not include enough low-income apartments. With all due respect to Rita, this sounds more like a statement from Councilmember Hildy Stern.
The only candidate who has brought up 13-0006 is Frank Chiella. I saw it on his website and he states we need to rescind Ordinance No. 13-0006 which relinquished our rights in the first place and will take action in the effort. In looking at Frank’s record, I think he has shown remarkable leadership in his 35 years of public service.
It is important for MB to take control of its zoning laws right away because State mandates from our lawmakers will never end and their requirements and penalties will escalate at their discretion.
In fact, State Senator Nancy Shinner (D-Berkeley) who wrote some of the housing laws said "there should be consequences when cities don't plan for sufficient growth."
I am very disappointed that Council candidates David Lesser, Amy Howorth, and Mark Burton gave away our city’s rights to control its own zoning and planning. But I am hopeful that residents will vote for candidates who will take action to rescind the problematic ordinance and free our city to make its own housing decisions.
A Citizen Against State Control
MBStrong Voter Guide: Candidates at a Glance
To read our research and reasoning for our candidate ranking decisions, see the full Voter Guide HERE.
MBStrong is a network of many MB residents from a variety of professions who volunteer their time to write, research, and contribute to our Newsletter (1 MB couple is temporarily in RB, and 2 ppl live in HB with children in our schools and they contribute to our MBUSD articles). We all volunteer our time to research, write and contribute to our Newsletter to bring fact-based reporting on issues critical to our beach city. We keep all personal information about our writers and subscribers confidential unless instructed otherwise.
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Meet City Council Candidate: FRANK CHIELLA
TODAY - Weds. Oct. 26th. 6-8 PM
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MB has added voting centers:
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Tues. 11/8: 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM.
Joslyn Community Center Auditorium 1601 N. Valley Drive.
Manhattan Heights Community Center 1600 Manhattan Beach Blvd.
OTHER LOCATIONS:
Hermosa Kiwanis Club
2515 Valley Dr, Hermosa Beach
Hours: 10/29 - 11/7: 10 AM - 7 PM
11/8: 7 AM - 8 PM
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12505 Vista Del Mar, Playa Del Rey
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11/8: 7 AM - 8 PM
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