Monthly NOMA Meeting
Monthly Meeting:
May TBA
7:00 p.m. via Zoom
View Past Agendas >

​
City of Santa Monica Meetings
City Council 
April 13, 2021
​Agenda >
Online Video & Audio Services >
Planning Commission 
April 21, 2021
​Agenda >
Online Video & Audio Services >

City Launches 311 Program to Improve Customer Service

Santa Monica 311, available in English and Spanish, is an integrated program accessible via phone, email, and web.  The City also launched a new mobile app that replaces the Santa Monica Works/Go system to make it easier to contact the City and submit requests. ​The new 311 program will allow residents to access information they need about City services quickly, in multiple languages, via phone, email, web, and mobile device. Read More >

Take the Santa Monica Sustainable Works Survey

In order to better serve our community and help build a more sustainable tomorrow, we want to get to know you better. Your feedback on this survey will help us craft programs to meet your sustainability and climate action goals. This survey should take you no more than 5 minutes to complete and all responses are anonymous.

Message from SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati re Plan to Fully Reopen Schools in April & Return Plan Form for Parents 

We know that many families are very excited to have their students return to school five days a week following spring break, while some families are still hesitant. With the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health distancing guidance reduced to three feet in classrooms announced on Monday, this opens up tremendous opportunities for fully reopening for those students who are ready for return. Read more >

Community Surveys & Zoom in on Your NRO

City Manager - Community Input Survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SantaMonicaCM
Ralph Andersen & Associates is beginning the recruitment process for the new City Manager, and the City Council seeks your input. Your input will be considered by the Council when selecting candidates to interview and during the selection process. This survey is confidential. Only Ralph Andersen & Associates’ staff will review your responses. All of the responses will be analyzed and summarized to protect the confidentiality of individuals.
Please respond by April 12, 2021, 5 PM.

Community survey on draft concepts to plan for housing in Santa Monica, 2021-2029
https://www.santamonica.gov/housing-element-update-draft-concepts?mc_cid=ecee0d7201&mc_eid=a33a80fc1c
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), on behalf of our state government, has assigned Santa Monica to plan for nearly 9,000 new housing units by 2029, with 70% required to be affordable. There’s no state funding for this, and it would increase our city’s population by about 20%. Please click on the link above to take the survey to let your voices be heard.

Zoom In On Your NRO - Beat 4
Every Tuesday at  1:00 PM
Below is the zoom link information for the Beat 4 weekly “Zoom In with the NRO”. This is an open forum with the opportunity to ask your NRO your questions. This is an online version of "Coffee with a Cop". 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/96255367218?pwd=ZUZFb3pNMUlldStPVEsvcGdFeWplZz09
 
Dial by your location
        +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

Meeting ID: 962 5536 7218
Passcode: 786123
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/adyNoX52aG

Sidewalk Repair Project Will Begin on March 22, 2021

Picture
 The City has hired Excel Paving to work on sidewalk repairs throughout our neighborhood (area 10N shown here). The work includes the repairing, removing, and reconstructing of damaged or displaced sidewalks, walkways, curbs, driveway approaches, cross gutters, and curb ramps throughout the neighborhood. 

The contractor will maintain vehicular, pedestrian, and multimodal transportation services throughout the project work areas as much as possible. Please be advised that daytime work may include temporary parking restrictions during construction hours and generate noise. 

Construction Period: 
The construction is scheduled to start on Monday, March 22, 2021 and continue for approximately 2 months on weekdays, between the hours of 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM. Please note that the start and completion dates of construction may be revised due to unforeseen conditions and weather. However, night work is not anticipated for this project at this time. 

Restricted Access: 
During construction phase of the project, there will be times when portions of the sidewalk will be closed to pedestrian traffic during construction hours throughout the project work areas. Residents whose driveway approach is impacted by the construction activity will be notified prior to commencement of work on said driveway approach. 

​Parking: 
Parking around the work area will not be permitted when “No Parking” signs are posted.

NEIGHBORHOOD ALERT
​ACTION NEEDED

Two bills currently being heard in Sacramento will force cities to allow multi-unit housing in current single-family-home neighborhoods like ours.
 
If passed, SB 9 and SB 10, would:

  • Allow developers to build six (or possibly more) market rate units on ANY residential lot where a single-family home now stands. 
  • Effectively eliminate R1 single-family home districts like ours. 
  • Override local zoning so cities would be unable to stop high-density multi-unit housing from being placed in any residential neighborhood.​ 

This is NOT about affordable housing.  Neither bill addresses that issue.  
 
These bills are gifts to developers, allowing them to radically increase the density of our neighborhoods.
 
Please tell our state representatives how you feel about this issue.
 
State Senator Ben Allen: https://sd26.senate.ca.gov/contact/message
 
Assemblyman Richard Bloom:  https://lcmspubcontact.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/ContactPopup.php?district=AD50
 
For more information: Livable California: https://livablecalifornia.org/
 
Join - Stay informed - your neighborhood organization: http://www.smnoma.org
From Livable California: SB 9 FACT SHEET/ACTION SHEET:
​IT’S NOT A DUPLEX BILL FOLKS!
 
FACTS: SB 9 allows 6 units without public input where 1 single-family home now stands. It ends single-family zoning statewide, overriding city powers.
 
SB 9, a return of the divisive SB 1120 which died in Sacramento in 2020, is soon heading to hearings before the legislature. 
 
SB 9 is not, as misreported by media outlets, a “duplex” bill. It is a radical density experiment, unheard of in the U.S. Oregon is about to launch its experiment with duplexes on single-family lots. SB 9 allows three times that level of density on your streets.
 
In 2020, even the respected League of Cities misunderstood SB 1120, not realizing the fine print allows 6-unit density without hearings. Now some legislators are waking up to its copycat, SB 9.
SB 9 lets developers choose from 3 upzoning scenarios, without public hearing or public review: 
  • 4 stand-alone houses or 2 duplexes where 1 home stands now; 
  • 6 units, a mix of houses, duplexes and granny flats, where 1 home stands now;
  • 8 units, a mix of houses, duplexes and granny flats unless a city rejects that plan 

How can this possibly fit on a lot? 
  • SB 9 works hand-in-hand with existing ADU law, or Accessory Dwelling Unit law, to quickly multiply upward from a simple “duplex” to 6 units, and even 8 units;
  • No garage required, just 1 parking “space” per unit, to squeeze in extreme density;
  • No parking required within ½ mile of major transit, or in a designated historic district, or when the Accessory Dwelling Unit is part of another building; 
  • No yard required, just 4-foot setbacks, crowding up against neighbors;
  • SB 9 allows speculators to create this density on lots as small as 1,200 sq. feet;
Whether poor, working-class or well-off, from South L.A. to Santa Barbara to Oakland, homeowners would lose all say over the zoning of the street they put their savings into.
 
Top scholars agree that such state-ordered upzoning will drive land costs very high, and in turn housing costs will spiral upward, not down.
 
Please see below if you wish to understand the complex “Three Scenarios” mechanisms of SB 9, missed even by the League of Cities, and missed by California’s largest media outlets* in 2020 when this bill was titled SB 1120 — and died on the Assembly floor. 
________________________________________________________
SB 9’s Three Scenarios
Analysis by Livable California Volunteer Attorneys and Urban Planners Lead author: Retired attorney Nick Waranoff - December 2020
 
SB 9 would allow 8 units where there is now one lot (one parcel). A city, however, would not be required to approve more than 6 units. Here is how this would happen:
 
1. SB 9 would add Govt Code section 65852.21(allowing 2 units on a single parcel in a single-family residential zone [the so-called “duplex” provision, but in reality a “two residential units” provision]) and Govt Code 66411.7 (the lot-split provision). 
 
a.)  The two residential units on one parcel provision authorizes two residential units on a single lot in a single-family residential zone.
 
b.)  The lot-split provision authorizes a single lot to be split into two lots of equal size.
 
c.)  An application to do either or both of these is processed ministerially, by right.
 
d.)  There is no requirement for affordable housing and no CEQA review.
 
2. Under existing law, there is also a right to one Accessory Dwelling Unit and one Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit per parcel (Govt Code 65852.2).
 
a.)  An Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) can be attached, or detached from an existing home, or a conversion of an existing space such as a garage. A local agency is prohibited from establishing a maximum size of an ADU of less than 850 square feet, or 1,000 square feet if the ADU contains more than one bedroom. When ADUs are created through the conversion of a garage, carport or covered parking structure, replacement off-street parking spaces cannot be required by the local agency (Gov. Code 65852.2, subd. (a)(1)(D)(xi)).
 
b.)  A Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) can be created within the walls of a proposed or existing single-family residence or garage and shall contain no more than 500 square feet.
 
c.)  A local agency can limit the places within its jurisdiction where ADUs can be located, only based on the adequacy of water and sewer service, and the impacts on traffic flow and public safety, if the agency chooses to pass an ordinance.
 
d.)  “Although cities and counties are mandated to permit ADUs and JADUs, they are not required to adopt ADU and JADU ordinances. However, any city/county that does adopt an ADU ordinance, must submit the ordinance to HCD [California Dept. of Housing and Community Development] within 60 days.”
 
e.) There is no requirement that an ADU or a JADU be limited to affordable housing.
 
3. Under SB 9, three allowed densities, of 4 units to 8 units would be allowed on what is one lot today. The three scenarios are:
 
a.) Scenario One (4-unit density):  The “two residential units” provision of SB 9 (sometimes mistakenly called the “duplex” provision, but not limited to “duplexes”) is invoked but not the lot-split provision: The single lot can now have two free-standing houses, two townhouses, or a duplex. There is no requirement as to whether the two residential units be a “duplex,” or attached to each other, or free-standing. In addition, an ADU and a JADU are allowed as of right on the parcel. Total 4 units: “Two residential units” plus an ADU and a JADU on a single lot.
 
b.) Scenario Two (6-unit density):  The lot-split provision of SB 9 is invoked, but not the “two residential units” provision allowed on each of the two new lots. One lot becomes two lots. Each lot can have one free-standing house or townhouse, PLUS an ADU and a JADU. Total 6 units: “Two residential units” plus two ADUs and two JADUs, on a single lot that has been halved into two lots. 
 
c.) Scenario Three (8-unit density):  Both the lot-split provision and the “two residential units” provision are invoked. One lot becomes two lots. Each lot can have two free-standing houses or townhouses, PLUS each lot is entitled to an ADU and a JADU. Total 8 units: Four “residential units” plus two ADUs and two JADUs, on a single lot that has been halved into two lots.
 
Note regarding Scenario Three:
Under SB 9, a city is not required to approve an ADU or a JADU where both the lot-split provision and “two residential units” provision are invoked. So a city could limit the eight-unit scenario to four housing units on what was formerly one parcel (one lot). See proposed section 65852.21(e), part of the “two residential units” provision, that would provide, “Notwithstanding Section 65852.2 [the existing ADU law referenced above], a local agency shall not be required to permit an accessory dwelling unit on parcels that use both the authority contained within this section [the two residential units section] and the authority contained in Section 66411.7 [the lot-split section]” and proposed section 66411.7(h), part of the proposed split-lot section, that would provide, “Notwithstanding Section 65852.2 [the existing ADU law], a local agency shall not be required to permit an accessory dwelling unit on parcels that use both the authority contained within this section and the authority contained in Section 65852.21 [the two residential units section].
 
*The Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, San Diego Union-Tribune, Cal Matters, and  other media did not understand the fine print in SB 1120 before publishing “duplex” stories in 2020 that dramatically downplayed this radical experiment, underway nowhere in the U.S.

Santa Monica Recreation Programs Registration Now Open

Jump into spring with Santa Monica recreation programs! In addition to youth baseball and soccer classes, outdoor dance and karate classes will begin in April. Spring Camps are available March 29-April 9 (Monday-Friday), as well as on Memorial Day.  Programs may be subject to any LA County Department of Public Health changes. Online registration is required; walk-up registration is not available.

Santa Monica Housing Element Update

The Housing Element is an element of the General Plan and is the City’s strategic plan for providing new housing opportunities while preserving housing for existing residents. Every eight years, the State requires each local jurisdiction to plan for a certain allocation of housing units. The City’s Housing Element will serve as the City’s housing plan for 2021-2029, setting clear goals and objectives on meeting the housing needs of all segments of the population and preventing the displacement of existing residents. The Housing Element does not build new units, but rather provides a plan of action for producing housing of all types and income levels in the City.
​
State law requires the City of Santa Monica to update its Housing Element every eight years. With the previous eight year cycle Housing Element (2013 - 2021) coming to an end, the City must now plan for the next eight year cycle. Santa Monica’s 6th Cycle Housing Element must be adopted and certified by October 2021. Without certification, the City could be penalized and lose important State funding. 

For more information on the Housing Element, please check out our Housing Element Update website and email us at HousingUpdate@smgov.net if you have any questions on the Housing Element update.

Santa Monica Conronavirus Information

The City of Santa Monica places the highest value on the health and safety of our community. We are here to help you get through this unprecedented public health emergency. Here you’ll find the latest information on the local response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Please check back often and if you don’t find what you’re looking for, reach out to the COVID-19 hotline at 310-458-8400 or info@santamonica.gov. Stay calm, stay informed, and stay healthy.

CITY OF SANTA MONICA HOTLINE: 310-458-8400
Hotline hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday - Friday.

Click here for up-to-date COVID-19 information

FAQs about face coverings

Walk-Up COVID-19 Testing Site in Santa Monica 

Free tests now available at Santa Monica College’s Airport Arts Campus
The L.A. County Department of Health Services has opened a walk-up, by appointment only COVID-19 testing location at the Santa Monica College Airport Arts Campus, 2800 Airport Avenue. Testing is available to anyone for free. Read more >

Shopping During the Pandemic:

​Santa Monica Farmer's Markets Precautions & Protocols:
Click here for information about precautions and process when visiting the Farmer's Markets during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Special Senior Shopping Hours for Grocery Stores/Pharmacies:
Whole Foods - Fridays
7am - 8am; Seniors 60+

Costco - Monday - Friday
9am - 10am; Seniors 60+

Vons - Monday - Friday
6am - 7am; Seniors 65+

Pavilions - Daily
6am - 7am; Seniors 65+

Bob's Market - Daily
8am - 9am; Seniors 65+

Co-op - Monday thru Friday
7am - 8am; Seniors 65+
Trader Joe's - Wed. & Sunday
8am - 9am; Seniors 60+

Gelson's - 7 days a week
7am - 8am; Seniors 65+

Bristol Farms - 7 days a week
6am - 7am; Seniors 60+

CVS Pharmacy - Wednesday
9am -10am; Seniors 60+

Rite Aid - Monday - Friday
9am - 10am; Seniors 65+

Walgreens - Tuesdays
8am - 9am; Seniors 55+

Learn More About Coronavirus

This video was forwarded to NOMA board member Ann Greenspun, who is a nurse. The video is approximately 5 minutes in length and provides a simple, easy to understand explanation of the Coronavirus.

Click the links below for more information from the City of Santa Monica and the Los Angeles County Department of Health:
https://www.santamonicagov/coronavirus
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/

Assistance for Low Income Seniors in Santa Monica

Picture
The Preserving Our Diversity (POD) program provides cash-based assistance to low-income, long-term Santa Monica residents. The assistance is in the form of monthly payments that can be used to cover basic needs.
​

To be eligible for the POD program, you must meet the following criteria:
  • Be a senior aged 65 or older; and
  • Have occupied your current Santa Monica rent-controlled apartment since before January 1, 2000; and
  • Have an annual household income equal to or less than Very Low Income (50% Area Median Income) for Los Angeles County, as determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (see table)
Picture
Help for Caregivers
The Adult Day Services Center at WISE & Healthy Aging provides free emotional support, information, and referral to community resources for those caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, or stroke. These support groups are open to the community.  Learn More >

MODE On-Demand Service for Older Santa Monica Adults

Picture
Big Blue Bus and WISE & Healthy Aging have partnered with Lyft to introduce Mobility On Demand Every Day (MODE), the City of Santa Monica's shared-ride service for older adults and persons with disabilities. The MODE program provides members with greater options for freedom and mobility, by offering curb-to-curb, on-demand transportation, convenient payments, and much more. Learn more about the MODE program at bigbluebus.com/mode. 

Crime Mapping

Click here for a map of local police activity in Santa Monica. Use the Santa Monica Police Department's crime mapping system to obtain crime information and register for crime alerts.
Use the Transit App to Check Realtime Bus Arrival
Transit is the Big Blue Bus official app for trip planning and real-time bus arrival information! They've partnered with Swiftly to provide more accurate, consistent, and reliable arrival predictions in Transit, and every place their real-time information is available.
Picture

North of Montana Association: Working Together for a Better Santa Monica