Santa Monica OKs 45-Day Ban on New Apartments

Seeking to maintain the city’s identity as a affordable beach community, the Santa Monica City Council has voted to place a 45-day freeze on the construction of apartment buildings and condominiums.

The council’s 5-2 decision Tuesday night came after a heated debate in which Santa Monica officials said the city needed breathing room to come up with a strategy to protect affordable housing in the face of soaring real estate prices.

But opponents called the decision a misguided attempt to thwart vacancy decontrol, a state law that went into effect in January allowing landlords to lift rents on voluntarily vacated, rent controlled apartments to whatever the market will bear.

In making the decision, the council limited the moratorium to the city’s multifamily zones, where most residents in the eight-square-mile city live.

They also granted a few exceptions.

Affordable housing projects, housing being constructed in commercial areas or second units being built behind homes in the city’s multifamily districts will be allowed. And projects already approved will not be affected.

City staffers said it may take longer than 45 days to determine the long-term impact of the city’s rising cost of real estate and the shortage of affordable housing.

According to Rent Control Board statistics, there has been a loss of 582 affordable apartments between Jan. 1 and March 31 as a result of vacancy decontrol. At this rate, 10% of the city’s affordable housing stock could be lost this year alone.