What is the future of Santa Monica?
By Adrienne Papp
Santa Monica is just the perfect town. It is quiet enough for its residents to enjoy its wondrous nature alongside the ocean, yet it isn’t a sleepy little town. Quite the opposite! Despite of being part of the greater Los Angeles area with its smog and traffic gridlock, Santa Monica somehow struck a balance. It is not annoyingly hectic like most other towns that surround us in greater LA. Instead it lends a feeling of serenity and has an atmosphere of pleasant calmness about it. It feels like home in Santa Monica. Famous around the world for its breathtaking sunsets, it also attracts many visitors, but has not become an overcrowded vacation town.
“Santa Monica is great,” said one of its residents, “but people in the position to decide what this town can and cannot do, screw it up.”
Well, there is something to say about that. Avoiding politics as much as possible, as politics is not my forte, after having lived here for 10 years I have grown to love Santa Monica. After living in New York City, this ocean front apartment feels like paradise. The problem is that hardly any day goes by when the residents here do not hear the sounds of new construction that are intolerable to listen to all day long. The city keeps on adding and expanding existing buildings. If only someone from the City would come and sit on my balcony for an hour after 6 pm, they would feel the tremendous difference. Why is it so “charming” to them to disrupt something that is perfect and keep on doing and doing and doing until Santa Monica will become, well, “industrial?”
Somehow the traditional joys of nature, the ocean, the tranquility, and the friendly mix of population that makes a town as gorgeous and pleasant as Santa Monica seems to have flown out the window. More construction, more noise, more traffic, more of those “industrial” elements that do not belong to this city at all by its very nature. And, if it keeps on going into this very industrialized direction this quiet and wonderfully pleasant town will lose its charm and become overcrowded with too much concrete and not enough serenity!
We will then have to look for a quieter place and move. What happened to grass, the trees, greens everywhere; in short, what happened to nature? Going in the direction it is now, it won’t take long for Santa Monica to become just another smog-stricken, overpopulated and over regulated town just like any other.
Where are those people who understand that less is more, that it is not a necessity to overdo something that is perfect as is? Doing more and more to this town destroys its very charm. Once something is fully built, can’t we just leave it alone and nurture nature instead? Enjoy the fresh air, the sound of the ocean, the priceless ocean breeze, bicycling, jogging and appreciating this God given beauty? Aren’t those the things that make this town so enjoyable?
This upcoming election has serious implications to the future of the City of Santa Monica.
Residents are outspoken in their opposition to the unbridled growth currently occurring in the City, without the benefit of environmental impact and traffic studies. The City is so eager to approve building permits, that requirements for parking, let alone adequate parking, are waived!
Regardless of residents’ opposition, the City continues on their current path. Due to their current out-of-control spending, they now want your approval to increase fees and add new taxes.
The City wants your approval to assess the highest real estate transfer tax in California. Voting “NO”to # 237 MEASURE H would probably be a good idea.
The Santa Monica Rent Control Board wants your approval to more than double their monthly fees. Voting “NO” to # 232 MEASURE FS would probably prevent this.
To add insult to injury, only buildings built before 1979 have to pay rent control fees! All new construction is exempt! (Did I just hear this right, or am I hallucinating?)
The oldest buildings in Santa Monica, are forced to pay thousands of dollars a year to fund City bureaucrats, buildings built after 1979 pay $ 0.00! Is that fair?
The story goes on as if I was living in the middle of a nightmare where nothing makes sense at all.
Their sales pitch for your vote is to allege that the property owners will pay the bill. The Rent Board needs this 61% increase to fund 25 employees earning between $ 100,000.00 – $ 276, 155.00 per year. The property owners need to provide them with raises, retirement benefits, Cadillac health insurance, etc.…To put this in perspective; the Los Angeles Rent Board fee is $ 24.51 per unit per year. The Santa Monica Rent Board wants your vote to charge $ 288.00 per unit per year! And, all this comes down on the residents in the end of course.
Residents should decide the fate of the Santa Monica Airport, not City Council members, who have proven not to be looking out for our best interest. Voting “YES” to # 228 MEASURE D, and “NO” to #239 MEASURE HH; voting “NO” to # 242 MEASURE LC, would gain back at least some of the rights of the residents of Santa Monica.
It’s time that we, the people, stood up and told City government; enough is enough! No new taxes, no new fees, no new construction!
Here are a few suggestions that will help gearing the fate of this most precious town in the right direction:
VOTING “YES” – # 228 MEASURE D!
VOTING “NO” – # 232 MEASURE FS!
VOTING “NO” – # 237 MEASURE H!
VOTING “NO” – # 239 MEASURE HH!
VOTING “NO” – # 242 MEASURE LC!
About the Author of This Article: Dame Adrienne Papp is a recognized journalist, economist and feature writer who has written for many publications including Savoir; The Westside Today Publications ; such as Beverly Hills 90210; Malibu Beach; Santa Monica Sun; The Beverly Hills Times; Brentwood News; Bel-Air View ; Celebrity Society ; Celeb Staff ; It Magazine; Chic Today; LA2DAY; West Side Today among many others. She is the President and CEO of Los Angeles / New York-based publicity company, Atlantic Publicity and publishing house, Atlantic Publisher. Adrienne writes about world trends, Quantum Physics, entertainment and interviews celebrities, world leaders, inventors, philanthropists and entrepreneurs. She also owns Atlantic United Films that produces and finances true stories made for theatrical release or the silver screen. Spotlight News Magazine is owned by Atlantic United, Inc. Dame Adrienne Papp is a member of the International Press Academy.
The immeasurable beauty of Santa Monica:
Photo Credit: Adrienne Papp
About the Author of This Article: Adrienne Papp is a recognized journalist, economist and feature writer, who has written for many publications including Savoir; The Westside Today Publications ; such as Beverly Hills 90210; Malibu Beach; Santa Monica Sun; The Beverly Hills Times; Brentwood News; Bel-Air View ; Celebrity Society ; Celeb Staff ; It Magazine; Chic Today; LA2DAY; West Side Today among many others. She is the President and CEO of Los Angeles / New York-based publicity company, Atlantic Publicity and publishing house, Atlantic Publisher. Adrienne writes about world trends, Quantum Physics, entertainment and interviews celebrities, world leaders, inventors, philanthropists and entrepreneurs. She also owns Atlantic United Films that produces and finances true stories made for theatrical release or the silver screen. Spotlight News Magazine is owned by Atlantic Publicity that just opened a new extension to it : PublicityLosAngeles. Adrienne Papp is a member of the International Press Academy.She is the Founder, CEO and President of Youthful & Ageless ™, Bringing Information to Billions™, An Honorable Cause™ www.LatestAgeless.com. www.OurMediaVenuesAndCompanies.com, Atlantic Publicity Articles, Latest Ageless, Events Photo Collection, Linked In Profile, Movie Data Base Profile, Twitter, Instagram, Youthful and Ageless Google+, Atlantic Publicity Google+, Atlantic Publisher Google+, Adrienne Papp Google+, Adrienne Papp Personal Google+, Spotlight News Magazine, Atlantic Publicity Productions, Atlantic Altitude, Altitude Pacific, Atlantic Publicity Photography and Filming, About Adrienne Papp What Others Say AtlanticPublicitySEO, BrilliantMarketing365, An Honorable Cause, Academic Research, Knighthood Today, Youthful and Ageless™. She was knighted and became a Dame in 2010. Her official name is Lady Adrienne Papp and Dame Adrienne Papp. Voting Member of The International Press Academy and The Oscars: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is the Managing Editorial Director of The Beverly Hills Times Magazine, and Hollywood Weekly. She has a Master of Science in Economics majoring Logistics; an MBA Degree; An International Law, Trade and Finance Postgraduate: Marketing and Advertising Postgraduate from NYU and UCLA. Guest Professor at Oxford University; Director and Producer of TV and Airline On Camera Editorials; Adrienne Papp Enterprises
