OPA April 14 Monthly Meeting Next Monday: This month’s meeting will be at the Ocean Park Library (@ 2601 Main St.) starting with food and mingling at 6:00pm. We will also be hybrid on Zoom. Here’s the schedule:
- 6:00 – 6:30pm: Food, refreshments and mingling
- 6:30 – 6:45pm: SMPD
- 6:45 – 7:00: Elaine Polachek (Interim City Manager)
- 7:00 – 7:15: Tony Lopez (Parks & Recreation Master Plan 2025)
- 7:15 – 7:30: Carla Rosin (Main St. Farmers Market)
- 7:30 – 8:30: Board business, including housing matters and upcoming calendar of events
Sounding the Alarm for Main Street & Ocean Park: Ocean Park resident Rob Maschio wrote this opinion piece about the City’s possible plans to replace the city owned parking lots behind Main St. with 7-8 story tall buildings to meet its affordable housing requirements. We will be discussing this issue and possible action items at the April 14 OPA meeting.
Save Fairview Library Rally at City Hall (Tuesday 4:30pm): From Friends of Sunset Park: “There is no Library agenda item on April 8th, but we know that department budgets are being discussed and finalized, leading up to the Council meeting in May. The plan is to rally outside at 4:30 and then speak during general Public Comment at the beginning of the Council meeting at 5:30, before the Council goes into Closed Session. If you would like to share this with your friends, neighbors, and members of your organizations, that would be very helpful.” More details here.
City Council to Take Positions on 2 Key Housing Bills: Councilmember Jesse Zwick is has proposed the City Council support State legislation that makes it faster and easier to develop multi-family housing near transit stops and in single-family neighborhoods. More details here.
Council Member Dan Hall First Quarter Newsletter: This post summarizes Council activity and priorities, including budget matters, progress towards their three key strategic priorities (Economic Opportunity and Growth, Clean Streets and Safe Neighborhoods, and Affordable, Liveable, and Secure Housing for All) and some of his personal priorities.
April 6-12 is National Library Week: This is a celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives. Millions of people across the country visit their libraries every week. What’s the draw? Everything. From young families stopping in for play and storytime, to seniors seeking tech help and everyone in between, libraries help us connect the dots from one part of our journey to the next. Chart your next literary adventure by browsing the stacks, joining a book group, or spreading the word. Whatever draws you in, the library has something for everyone. Celebrate National Library Week, April 6 – 12!
Race Off! Weekend/Holiday Races on the Beach Path Are Likely No More: This SaMoNext post details why we should expect to see less races this Spring and Summer. The TLDR is that the organizers were doing them without permits and got in trouble for that.
Senior Affordable Housing Unwrapped at 711 Colorado Ave.: The project is a seven-story building featuring 57 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments above approximately 1,848 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Save for a single manager’s unit, all of the apartments are to be serve as income-restricted housing for seniors. More details here along with images and renderings.
The Street Seen: E.C. Japs/Crossland Residence (2511 Beverley Ave.): A residence is constructed in 1911 for E.C. Japs – newly arrived from Minneapolis. In 1915, the house is sold to movie studio musician Firth and his wife, Tudor Crossland, who live there until the early 1960s. More details here.
The Blue Notebook – A Weekly SMPD Recap March 16 – 22: Here is last week’s recap of police activity.
Things To Do This Week:
Blue Plate Oysterette Community Dinner Series (Monday 4 – 6pm): Join us for a gourmet dinner at sunset for $29. Enjoy a chef-curated meal, mingle with your Santa Monica neighbors, and soak in the sunset from our communal table. This dinner will feature shrimp radiatore pasta with seasonal salad. @ 1355 Ocean Ave. More details here.
Social Service Assistance provided by Providence St. John’s Community Health Program (Tuesday 9:30am – 5pm): @ Virginia Avenue Park, 2200 Virginia Ave.
Live Talks – An Evening with Maria Shriver (Thursday 8pm): The award-winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author and former First Lady of California shares a powerful collection of reflections and original poems that emanate from her hard-earned wisdom, showing readers there is strength and love on the other side of our hardest days. @ New Roads School 3131 Olympic Blvd. https://livetalksla.org/events/maria-shriver/
Financial Freedom Fair (Saturday 10am – 3pm): Advance your financial journey with free workshops in English and Spanish, expert-led sessions, and free tax prep by Haven Neighborhood Services. Enjoy lunch, a resource fair, and remarks from Santa Monica Mayor Lana Negrete. @ Virginia Avenue Park, 2200 Virginia Ave. More details here.
OPA & City Meetings:
Architectural Review Board Meeting (Monday 7pm): More details here.
City Council Meeting (Tuesday 5:30 pm): Meetings are hybrid and can be viewed on this YouTube channel. Click here for agenda.
OPA Connects Meeting (Wednesday 12pm): Here is the Zoom link.
Human Services Commission (Wednesday 3pm): Their goal is to advise City Council on priorities and strategies involving the well-being, equity, and needs of vulnerable, low income, and at-risk residents including youth and families, seniors, and people experiencing homelessness. More details here.
Disabilities Commission Meeting (Wednesday 6:30pm): More details & agenda here.
Library Board Meeting (Thursday 6pm): More details & agenda here.
Rent Control Board Meeting (Thursday 6pm): More details & agenda here
