City Seeks Input from Santa Monica Workers on Housing and Transportation Needs for Housing Element Update
March 1, 2021 4:09 PM
This week, the City of Santa Monica launched a new online survey in English and Spanish seeking input from Santa Monica’s workforce related to their transportation and housing needs. Every eight years, information gathered from the Santa Monica Employee Transportation and Housing survey helps the City understand how workers travel and their housing preferences, and gathers race and income demographics of Santa Monica’s workforce in preparation of the Housing Element update, now underway.
“We are especially interested in hearing from our front-line and essential workers with jobs in industries like food services, hospitality, grocery stores, and health care,” said Jing Yeo, Planning Manager, who is leading the effort to update the City’s Housing Element. “Through the survey, we want to understand how much Santa Monica workers pay for housing, and what housing types they’d be interested in if they moved here.”
This survey is not scientific and is one of many inputs that will inform decisions about the transportation and housing needs of Santa Monica’s workforce. While the survey is not scientifically weighted, we are targeting and analyzing it to best ensure that it reflects the full diversity of the Santa Monica workforce.
All survey participants can opt into being selected to win one of 10 $50 Amazon gift cards. Information will be kept confidential, and reports will not identify the names of individuals or their travel patterns.
For more information and to complete the survey, visit santamonica.gov/housing-element-update. For assistance taking the survey in English, contact Trevor Thomas at (310) 458-2201 x5715. For help taking the survey in Spanish, contact Carlos Morales at (310) 458-2201 x2670.
The City’s ongoing Housing Element Update outreach efforts began in November 2020 with introductory webinars and study sessions with the Planning Commission, Housing Commission, Rent Control Board, and City Council. Two technical working groups (Housing Stability and Housing Production) were established in December 2020, engaging in a series of meetings totaling eight sessions over the last few months discussing a broad range of housing issues related to the preservation of the City’s existing housing stock and facilitating new housing production Extensive public input and feedback on the update has been provided through the webinars, during study sessions and technical working groups, and via email through the Housing Element Update webpage.
The City encourages the public to provide input during its upcoming updates to the Housing Element scheduled with the Planning Commission on March 16-17 and with City Council on March 23, 2021.
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Media Contact
Constance Farrell
Communications & Public Information Manager
Constance.Farrell@santamonica.gov