Last night, Los Angeles voters soundly beat Measure S, a poorly-conceived and draconian attempt to control the city’s planning process at the ballot box. The defeat of Measure S comes only a few months after Santa Monica decisively rejected a…
The following piece first appeared on The Healthy City Local. I haven’t written here for a while. It’s easy for a little hiatus to become a long vacation, especially over the holidays, and especially, if you write a column about local…
The campaign that soundly defeated the no-growth Measure LV this past November has been given the “Honorable Mention” nod in the 2016 Streetsie Awards category of “Advocacy Organization of the Year.” The Streetsie Awards are meted out by Santa Monica…
What will it take to end the divisiveness surrounding development in Santa Monica? That was the ostensible question underpinning the discussion at the Santa Monica City Council meeting early Wednesday morning. Councilmembers Gleam Davis and Kevin McKeown together placed an…
The final vote counts for Santa Monica’s local elections are in, showing big wins for incumbents and an unambiguous rejection of the no-growth ballot initiative, Measure LV. The final tallies, which were officially certified by the office of the Los…
When does the city-wide voter approval requirement in Santa Monica’s Measure LV apply to an existing building? I’ve heard people say that LV would apply for everything from repair after an earthquake to replacing a toilet. First of all, it’s…
The reality of living in Southern California is that individuals, organizations, and the government always need to be prepared for earthquakes. But this November, Santa Monicans will be asked to vote on Measure LV, an extreme measure that would hinder…
Proponents of no-growth measures like Measure LV, or the Land Use Voter Empowerment (L.U.V.E.) as its backers have dubbed it, in Santa Monica often seek to expand political support by framing their measure as a necessary response to trends of…
