Latest Rent Control Agenda

REGULAR MEETING AGENDA

RENT CONTROL BOARD

Council Chambers, City Hall

1685 Main Street, Second Floor

Thursday, February 13, 2025

6:00 P.M.

 

Please note that Agenda Items may be reordered during the meeting at the discretion of the body. Streaming at https://www.smgov.net/content.aspx?id=4292

 

1. Call to Order

ROLL CALL

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

2. Recess to Closed Session at 6:00 P.M.

1. Labor Negotiations. (Government Code Section 54957.6)

2. Personnel. (Government Code Section 54957(b))

 

3. Reconvene to Open Session at 7:00 P.M.

 

4. Report of Closed Session: February 13, 2025

 

5. Approval of the Minutes: January 30, 2025

 

6. Special Agenda Items

(Announcements pertaining to the Rent Control Board)

 

7. Public Comment

(Requests from members of the public to speak to the Board on any issue of general interest to the community that is within the Board’s subject-matter jurisdiction and not on the current agenda. State law prohibits the Board from taking any action on items not listed on the agenda.)

 

10. Jurisdictional Items

a. Exemptions

1) OOEX-P2024-05887: 1827 17th Street; Applicants - Fernando E. Cornejo and Sergio A. Cornejo (Owners)

Applicant seeks an owner-occupancy exemption for a property with three or fewer units, under Charter Section 1801(c)(4).

Recommendation: Grant.

2) OOEX-P2024-05888: 1245 24th Street; Applicant - Fred Fereydoun Nemani (Owner)

Applicant seeks an owner-occupancy exemption for a property with three or fewer units, under Charter Section 1801(c)(4).

Recommendation: Grant.

3) OOEX-P2024-05965: 2825 Colorado Avenue; Applicants – Clara Sturak and Christopher Chandler (Owners)

Applicant seeks an owner-occupancy exemption for a property with three or fewer units, under Charter Section 1801(c)(4).

Recommendation: Grant.

4) NCEX-P2024-06164-65: 1217 9th Street, Units 11 and 12; Applicant – 9th Street Bungalow Homes, LLC (Owner)

Applicant seeks a new construction exemption for the new units under Charter Section 1801(c)(5).

Recommendation: Grant.

b. Appeals

1) TNOTOCC2023-00242: 1241 21st Street, Unit C; Appellant - Taylor Megdal (Owner)

Landlord appeals hearing officer’s decision denying landlord’s petition to find tenants not in occupancy of their unit under Regulation 3304.

 

14. Board Discussion Items

a. Ambriz Board Discussion Item: February 13, 2025

Request of Commissioner Ambriz that the Board consider making a recommendation to the City Council that it adopt an ordinance requiring landlords to inform prospective tenants if any amenity advertised or provided at the start of the lease term will be eliminated or significantly changed during the lease term due to planned construction or other activity initiated by the landlord.

 

16. Adjournment

Next Regular RCB Meeting – Thursday, March 13, 2025, 7:00 pm

City Hall, Council Chambers, 1685 Main Street

 

City of Santa Monica Statement of Accountability (Land Acknowledgement)

The City of Santa Monica is located on the land of Tovangaar. With great respect, the City acknowledges the Gabrieleño/Tongva as the First People of this ancestral and unceded territory of Kuruvungna, a village that we know as Santa Monica. We honor their elders, past and present, and the Gabrieleño descendants who are part of the Gabrieleño /Tongva tribes.

 

We recognize that these peoples are still here, and as settlers and kuyam (guests), we recognize our responsibility and obligation to care for their land in partnership with them. The City of Santa Monica commits to work in partnership with the Gabrieleño/Tongva people to uplift their voices and visibility on their ancestral land.

 

STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR THAT PROMOTE CIVILITY AT ALL PUBLIC MEETINGS:

• Treat everyone courteously

• Listen to others respectfully

• Give open-minded consideration to all viewpoints

• Focus on the issues and avoid personalizing debate

• Embrace respectful disagreement and dissent as democratic rights, inherent components of an inclusive public process, and tools for forging sound decisions

• Hate has no place in Santa Monica. The City opposes abusive or threatening hate speech, intolerance, or dehumanization, and supports basic civil respect and human decency

 

Any member of the public wishing to comment on items listed on the agenda may submit written comments prior to the meeting by mailing them to: Rent Control Board, 1685 Main Street, Room 202, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Comments may also be e-mailed to: rentcontrol@santamonica.gov. Mailed and emailed comments received by 4:30 p.m. on January 9th will be given to the Board in advance of the meeting.

 

All letters, emails and faxes regarding Rent Control agenda items (except Jurisdictional Items) will be available for public viewing online. These communications will be linked to the relevant item when the agenda is posted prior to each meeting and as they are received. Written comments will not be redacted, and all email addresses, physical addresses and telephone numbers will appear online as they are submitted. Please contact the Board Secretary at (310) 458-8751 with any questions and concerns.

 

This agenda is available in alternate formats upon request. The Council Chamber is wheelchair accessible. If you require any special disability related accommodations (i.e. sign language interpreting, access to an amplified sound system, etc.), please contact the Board Secretary at 310-458-8751 at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the scheduled meeting.

 

Transportation Information: City of Santa Monica Big Blue Bus Lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 18 and the Metro Expo Line serve City Hall. Parking is available on Main Street, Olympic Drive, and in the Civic Center Parking Structure.

CLOSED SESSION AGENDA

RENT CONTROL BOARD

Council Chambers, City Hall

1685 Main Street, Second Floor

Thursday, February 13, 2025

6:00 P.M.

 

Pursuant to Board Regulations, practice and procedure, and the Ralph M. Brown Act, the Board announces that the following items will be discussed at closed session on Thursday, January 13, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.

 

Those wishing to give public comment may make that request via email

to rentcontrol@santamonica.gov by 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. Mailed and emailed comments received by 6:00 p.m. on February 12th will be given to the Board in advance of the meeting.

 

1. Conference with Labor Negotiators – Personnel (Gov’t Code 54957.6)

 

City Negotiator:                      Jonathan Holub, Executive Director

 

Employee Organizations: Employees Action Committee, Hearing Officer Representational Organization, Society for Union Employment, Managers and Miscellaneous Non-Represented Employees

 

2. Public Employee Performance Evaluation – Personnel (Gov’t Code 54957(b))

 

Title:                                               Executive Director (Administrator)

 

No other business will be considered.

 

Next Regular RCB Meeting – March 13, 2025, 7:00 p.m.

City Hall, Council Chambers, 1685 Main Street