Dear Mayor Negrete and City Councilmembers:
On behalf of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, we are writing to ask the City Council not to move forward with any blanket Labor Peace Agreement (LPA) requirement for businesses with new leases and renewals on City-owned or City-operated properties.
The Chamber and the City share a bold vision for a thriving community where both businesses and workers are equally supported. We strongly believe in a City that fosters job creation, encourages new business attraction and retention, and recognizes employers for creating good paying jobs.
Over the past month, the Chamber held a series of meetings with the business community and conducted hundreds of outreach phone calls and emails. Through this engagement, we have identified the following concerns if an LPA ordinance for leases on City-owned or City-operated properties is enacted.
1) Most businesses have not recovered from the economic downturn from Covid-19, recent wildfires, international instability, and a threatening recession.
2) Requiring an LPA involves significant legal costs, valuable time, and administrative burden to execute – excessive, prohibitive, and unreasonable for all small businesses.
3) Requiring an LPA on new leases will force most, if not all, outside dining to close, hurting the city’s vibrancy and tourism appeal.
4) Requiring an LPA would discourage new business investment and slow efforts to fill vacant commercial spaces. Already independent businesses state that they would be unwilling to open their businesses if an LPA is required.
5) Requiring an LPA on lease renewals will incentivize businesses to close or relocate from City-owned/operated properties, further impacting economic growth.
For these reasons, the Chamber requests that City Council NOT move forward on an ordinance requiring a Labor Peace Agreement for City-owned or City-operated new leases or lease renewals.
Respectfully Submitted,
Judy Kruger, President & CEO.
Paula Larmore, Chair of the Board.