The Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights organization is celebrating its silver anniversary Saturday evening. Congratulations are in order for a job well done.
SMRR began as a movement to protect renters displaced by a condo building boom, evictions and dramatic escalation in rents. But, over 25 years, that has given way to political arrogance and a series of missteps which has turned Santa Monica into an increasingly crowded, expensive and unpleasant place to live.
Since SMRR came into power, Santa Monica has been overrun with vagrants and transients. SMRRs on the City Council “rolled out the red carpet,” per-mitting food giveaways in parks and squandering millions of taxpayer dollars on ineffective homeless services annually.
Thanks to SMRR, there are about 1,500 criminals, mentally ill, alcoholics and drug abusers, parolees and other losers from out of town on our streets daily. Cheers to a leadership that intends to keep them here.
One of SMRR’s goals is to get us out of cars, on our feet, on bicycles or on the bus. The systematic reconfiguration of city streets to carry less traffic is deliberate. Traffic calmers such as islands, speed bumps, curb extensions, stop signs, roundabouts, uncoordinated signals and the downtown transit mall are in place to congest traffic — despite a nearly 50 percent increase since the late 1970s.
Kudos to City Hall SMRRs who think impeding and restricting motor vehicles is a good idea. Who cares if gridlock has made the city inhospitable to residents and visitors alike?
But why stop there? SMRR City Council members have approved parking restrictions for nearly 70 percent of our streets — contributing to a citywide parking crisis and making whole areas of town off limits to all but immediate residents.
Forget home ownership. Affordable rental housing is a key SMRR goal, so City Hall has amassed over $120 million for the acquisition of property for low-cost housing and created the nonprofit, Community Corporation of Santa Monica, to build only SMRR-voter based, rental housing.
SMRR has controlled our schools for most of the last 25 years. Hats are off to the expertise and leadership that’s led to a continuing series of financial shortfalls. The SMRR-dominated school board has little interest in controlling spending or prudently managing the school district. SMRR school boosters would rather “tax and spend.” The SMRR-controlled City Council would rather fund homeless service agencies than support our kids and education. Wonderful, huh?
SMRR leaders boast about how they’ve controlled development. However, the record shows the approval of millions of square feet of commercial, residential and office space over the last two decades by SMRR politicians. They’re quick to support any large scale development especially when developers are willing to “pay off” with low-cost apartments.
And, a big salute to SMRR leaders for approving more housing in key commercial and light manufacturing zones. They obviously don’t care if there’s more pressure on schools and city services while viable job and income generating businesses are removed from tax rolls — further impeding city income. In one of the most densely populated cities in the country, residents’ concern about over development is ignored because “agenda matters.”
SMRR really dropped the ball in the mid-1990s. They rolled over and played dead while statewide vacancy decontrol became law. With local rent control hobbled and tenants largely abandoned for greener pastures, power hungry SMRR leaders still use renters as bargaining chips to further their own political and financial interests.
In recent years, SMRR has cozied up to numerous labor unions and bargaining units. SMRR politicians sell out for campaign contributions and campaign workers. Remember the “living wage?” A union pay off. You gotta give ‘em credit. Nobody’s better at playing the system to keep themselves in power.
Finally, a toast to SMMR leaders who say they’re “progressive.” Too bad they repeatedly back “regressive,” single amount, school parcel taxes, bond proposals and even annual rent increases that favor larger property owners and the wealthy while lowest income residents pay the most. Here, progressive is SMRR-speak for smoke screen.
Sorry, I can’t make the party even though I’d enjoy seeing grown adults fool themselves into thinking we’re all better off now than we were a quarter century ago.
In reality, a good idea has become corrupted and sidetracked. Personal agendas have displaced common sense. We can’t afford another 25 years of this. Now, I’ll drink to that. (Bill Bauer is a longtime Santa Monica resident and a freelance writer).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 16, 2004. Read the original PDF.