City of Santa Monica

To fund essential city services such as 911 emergency response, public safety, and addressing homelessness, shall the measure modernizing the City of Santa Monica’s 1990 business license tax ordinance to improve tax equity and fairness, exempting small businesses from the tax, decreasing tax rates for most retailers and restaurants, raising the corporate headquarters rate to 0.25%, removing auto dealer tax exemptions, and restoring a business license processing fee, generating approximately $3,000,000 annually, until ended by voters, be adopted?

To enhance public safety, create safe routes to school to protect children, lower the risk of fatal traffic accidents, and maintain other essential city services, shall the measure increasing the City of Santa Monica Parking Facility Tax by 8% for users including visitors and tourists, causing no additional cost in City-owned lots and structures (including downtown and the beach) because of a partial City exemption, generating approximately $6,700,000 annually until ended by voters, be adopted?

(ADVISORY) If Measure K is enacted, should at least half of the additional revenue raised be used to protect public safety in Santa Monica, including attracting and retaining well- trained police officers and firefighters, improving crime and homelessness prevention services, and increasing police patrols and enhancing emergency medical response in neighborhoods and public areas, including downtown, the pier, and the beach?

To address homelessness, improve 911 emergency response times and neighborhood police protection, make public areas safer and cleaner, including streets, sidewalks, parks, and the beach, and provide other vital City services, shall the City of Santa Monica increase the transient occupancy tax – which is paid entirely overnight visitors – by 1% for hotels and motels, and by 3% for homeshares, providing approximately $4.1 million annually, until ended by voters, with all funds benefitting Santa Monica?

Shall the measure to enhance the City of Santa Monica’s general governmental services by increasing the one-time tax on real property sales over $8 million, and establishing an additional incremental tax of $25.00 per $1000 of the value in excess of $8 million, excepting transfers: per State law, involving tax-exempt charitable organizations, and certain ground leases; providing an estimated $12-25 million annually through February 28, 2033, subject to a five-year extension by Council supermajority vote, be adopted?

(ADVISORY) If the “Comprehensive Real Property Transfer Tax Measure” is enacted, should at least 30% of its additional revenue be used for housing assistance to protect seniors and low-income families from housing displacement, with the remainder of the additional revenue to be used for homelessness services; behavioral health services; public safety and emergency response teams for City streets and parks; reopening public libraries; after-school programs; and crossing guards near public schools?

Shall the City Charter be amended to allow the Rent Control Board to disallow or modify annual general rent adjustments for rent controlled units during a declared state of emergency by the President of the United States, the Governor, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Officer, or the City Council or Director of Emergency Services while maintaining the landlord’s ability to petition for a rent adjustment per Section 1805 of the City Charter?

Shall the measure adding Santa Monica Municipal Code Chapter 4.90 to establish designated funds for schools, homelessness prevention, and affordable housing, and an eleven-member resident oversight committee, and amending Chapter 6.96 to provide a third tier transfer tax rate of $56.000 per $1,000 of value for property transfers of $8,000,000 or more, providing an estimated $50,000,000 annually for homelessness prevention, affordable housing, and schools, until repealed, be adopted?

Shall the measure to establish a business tax on every licensed cannabis business (including adult-use nonmedicinal cannabis retailers, distribution, manufacturing, cultivation, laboratory testing, or any other licensed cannabis business) and retailers of products containing psychoactive cannabinoids including derived from industrial hemp, up to 10% of gross receipts on cannabis and/or hemp-derived psychoactive products sold in the City, which all together could generate an estimated $3-5 million annually until repealed be adopted?

Shall the City Charter be amended to: (a) expand eligibility requirements for service on the City’s Personnel Board to include, in addition to City of Santa Monica (“City”) residents, residents of Los Angeles County that are employed full-time within the City, or own real property in the City, or have been issued a business license by the City; and (b) reduce the term of service for Personnel Board members from five to four years?

Shall the City Charter be amended to require intended owner occupancy of rent-controlled units for two years before tenant eviction; require owner occupancy within 60 days of vacancy; reduce the maximum Annual General Adjustment from 6% to 0.8% from 2/1/23 through 8/31/23, or average not to exceed 3%, with a 3% maximum Annual General Adjustment thereafter; and require elections only if the number of qualified candidates exceeds the number of open Board positions?

Shall the City Charter be amended to repeal provisions setting rules for appointing candidates and promoting employees into the Civil Service, to enable the City Council to advance equity-based hiring within the appointment and promotional processes and strengthen the City's workforce?

To protect essential services including addressing homelessness, cleaning beaches/parks, public safety/ fire/ emergency response, protections for tenants and seniors, supporting libraries, small business recovery, food for the hungry, and after-school/ mental health services for youth, shall the City of Santa Monica increase the one-time real estate transfer tax paid on each sale of property for $5 million or more by $3.00 per $1,000 of sales price, exempting affordable housing projects, providing $3 million annually for local services?

Shall the City Charter be amended to change the eligibility requirement for service on the City’s Library Board, Personnel Board, and Airport Commission from that of “qualified elector” of the City to “resident” of the City and to ensure compliance with applicable laws related to compensation and reimbursement?

Shall City Charter Section 615 be amended to require, for a period of ten years, the votes of five Council members to amend (a) the Land Use and Circulation Element or (b) Downtown Community Plan, where that amendment would increase the maximum height limit or floor area ratio in any land use designation, with exceptions for 100% Affordable Housing Projects and property owned by Santa Monica-Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District?

Shall the Santa Monica City Charter be amended to prohibit any person from serving as a member of the City Council for more than three terms, whether consecutive or not, where a term includes any full term of four years as well as any partial term of more than two years?

(ADVISORY) If a local transactions and use tax is enacted in Santa Monica, should half its revenue be used to improve and maintain local public schools, including attracting and retaining high-quality teachers, expanding access to pre-schools, assisting at-risk students, and improving school technology, arts, music, math, and science instruction; and half to help preserve and ensure housing in Santa Monica that is affordable, protect residents from displacement by rising housing costs, and reduce homelessness?

To maintain and improve Santa Monica community services including support for preservation of affordable housing, reducing homelessness, school repair and improvement, education of Santa Monica children and students, and other general fund services, shall an ordinance be adopted to increase by one-half percent Santa Monica's transactions and use tax, subject to independent annual audits, all funds used locally, no money going to Sacramento, raising approximately $16 million annually, until ended by the voters?

Shall the City's General Plan and Municipal Code be amended to require: a new permit process for major development projects exceeding base sizes or heights of 32-36 feet, with exceptions such as single unit dwellings and some affordable housing projects; voter approval of major development projects and development agreements, excluding affordable housing and moderate income and senior housing projects, among others; and voter approval of changes to City land use and planning policy documents.

Shall Article XXII of the City Charter be amended to, among other things: expand the prohibition against kickbacks as rewards for certain official actions, create an exemption for volunteers serving certain City-funded non-profits, clarify the application of the Article's prohibitions, the City Attorney's authority and enforcement responsibilities, and the scope of available remedies?

Shall the Santa Monica City Charter be amended to require the City to continue to operate the Santa Monica Airport in a manner that supports its aviation uses unless the voters approve the Airport's closure or change in use, and until that voter approval occurs, the city shall be prohibited from imposing additional restrictions on aviation support services to tenants and airport users that inhibit fuel sales or the full use of aviation facilities?

Shall the City Charter be amended to establish a maximum annual registration fee of up to $288 per controlled rental unit and to limit the amount that landlords may pass through to tenants to 50% of the registration fee?

Shall an ordinance be adopted that amends the real estate transfer tax so that for commercial and non-commercial real estate sold for one million dollars or more, the tax rate would be $9 for each thousand dollars of sales price?

(ADVISORY) If the proposed transfer tax on commercial and non-commercial real estate sales is approved by voters, should the revenue be used to preserve, repair, renovate and construct affordable housing for low-income people who work or live in Santa Monica, including seniors, veterans, working families and persons with disabilities?

Shall the City Charter be amended to: (1) prohibit new development on Airport land, except for parks, public open spaces and public recreational facilities, until the voters approve limits on the uses and development that may occur on the land; and (2) affirm the City Council’s authority to manage the Airport and to close all or part of it?

Shall the City Charter be amended to allow the annual rent control general adjustment to be based on 75% of the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price Index, but limited to an adjustment between 0% and 6%; and to give the Rent Control Board discretion, after a public hearing, to impose a dollar limit, within the 0-6% range, calculated using the same formula employed when imposing a limit under the existing general adjustment formula?