By Jonathan Friedman
Lookout Staff

July 12, 2010 -- The City Council on Tuesday will vote on finalizing two measures for the Nov. 2 General Election. The sales tax and tenant protection measures already were approved in concept by a council majority at previous meetings.

The tenant protection items were recommended by a Rent Control Board majority. The measure proposes a warning period before tenants can be removed from rent-controlled units for “minor violations.” Also, it calls for exemption from owner occupancy eviction for certain seniors, disabled and terminally ill tenants. These items require voter approval because they involve amending the City Charter. Other tenant protection items recommended by the rent board and approved in concept by the council that do not require voter approval will be presented to the council for formal adoption at a later time.

Rosario Perry, the attorney for the landlord group Action Apartment Association, told The Lookout News last month that he will challenge the measure if it receives council approval to prevent it from appearing on the ballot. Perry said it is a violation of the City Charter for City officials, rather than rent board officials, to finalize the ballot language. The City Attorney’s Office said this is not a correct interpretation of the charter.

The half-cent sales tax measure would generate an estimated $13 million for the City, which officials say has a structural deficit and is in danger of losing money to the State while Sacramento tries to solve its own budget issues. Nearly the entire council supported the measure last week. Mayor Bobby Shriver rejected it, saying the City should focus on reducing expenditures.

Staff has also recommended a non-binding ballot question asking voters if they support designating 50 percent of the money generated from the sales tax toward the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD). This concept was proposed last week by education activists as an alternative to the cash-strapped SMMUSD placing a tax measure of its own on the ballot. Several council members said they supported this idea.

The SMMUSD Board of Education agenda for its meeting on Wednesday includes hearing a recommendation from a committee that has been meeting about placing a parcel tax measure on the agenda. Details of the recommendation are not included on the agenda.

A $198-per-parcel measure was narrowly defeated in May when it failed to garner the required two-thirds support (it would have won by a slim margin if the election were only held in Santa Monica). A City sales tax would require approval from one more than 50 percent of the voters. Education activists who spoke at last week’s council meeting said they feared placing both tax proposals on the agenda could mean neither would pass.

The SMMUSD is conducting a fundraising campaign to collect as much money as possible to bring back some of the staff recently laid off due to budget cuts. Money must be raised by Aug. 15 to bring staff members back for the fall. An item has been placed on the council agenda for the City to put $25,000 toward this campaign as a matching challenge.

Other items on the agenda include:

- Issues concerning City development projects related to the Expo light rail line

- Proposed changes to the development agreement for the Civic Center Village, including extension of the period for the developer to obtain financing

- Appointments to fill existing or upcoming vacancies on various City commissions, including one on the Planning Commission