Barry Snell wins approval for Vienna housing trip
The City Council signed off on Barry Snell September trip to Vienna, where he will study social housing using council travel funds and a prior credit.
Two hosts walk through the week’s edition in conversation — council travel funds, council opens special meeting on sb79, and what’s coming next. Generated by Aware, from this week’s verified summaries.
Barry Snell said the trip would cost about 7,000 overall, with an all-in cost of 1,500 after a city travel credit is applied.
A week in Vienna now has City Council approval. The City Council approved Barry Snell request to use council travel funds for a social housing field study program scheduled for September 13 through September 19. Barry Snell moved the item himself, and another councilmember seconded it. During the discussion, he said the overall trip cost was about 7,000. He said the “all-in” cost was 1,500, with a credit applied from prior travel allocation.
The exchange stayed focused on cost and purpose. Barry Snell described the credit as a city-provided “coupon/credit” tied to past travel funds. The program centers on social housing in Vienna, a city often studied for how it builds and manages housing. The council then approved the request.
The immediate next step is simple: Barry Snell will take the trip in mid-September. Beach at Santa Monica City Hall, councilmembers asked him to return with souvenirs and share what he learned. That means the item did not end with a travel authorization alone. It set up a future report back, with the expectation that the trip will produce ideas the council can discuss publicly after he returns.
Council opens special meeting on SB79 exclusion option
The special meeting turned on 89 parcels north of the freeway. The City Council opened a special meeting on SB79, took public comment, and heard concerns about exclusion options, homelessness facility siting, and mitigation planning before staff laid out three Expo/Bundy transit-oriented development exclusion choices.
Planning staff presented three options for how Santa Monica could use an SB79 exclusion near Expo/Bundy. The council chose option 1, which covers 89 R1 parcels north of the 10 freeway. That gave the meeting a clear outcome after public comment raised broader worries about what the state law could mean on the ground.
The next step is legislative, not conceptual. The City Council directed staff to draft ordinance amendments based on the selected option. Those amendments will bring the policy back in a form the council can review, debate, and vote on in a later public meeting.
Council clears consent calendar in blocks
The City Council approved consent calendar items in several blocks and recorded recusals on items 4E and 4F. Within that action, item E adopted an attached ordinance and item F approved a second-reading item that had been discussed earlier.
These votes enacted ordinances and other routine business in one batch, including items with member recusals.
Rent Control Board trims ballot package
The Rent Control Board chose to hear City Council feedback before making its recommendation on ballot measure language. It then unanimously recommended dropping two eviction-related provisions and advancing two others on single-unit cause protections and owner move-in rules.
The recommendation could change which tenant-protection measures reach voters and how eviction rules apply citywide.
Council reshuffles agenda and delays appointments
The City Council approved a revised agenda plan to manage a meeting expected to run late. The changes moved the City Manager report, the mayor’s highlights, and general public comment, paired items 16F and 11D, shifted item 13A, and postponed most appointments except the Planning Commission.
procedural
Council lets former member address meeting
The City Council suspended its rules so a former councilmember could speak for one minute during public comment. The motion passed after a point of order and gave the former official a brief chance to address the council.
Council suspended rules so a former council member could speak for one minute.
What we didn’t fit in this Sundays edition
SANTA MONICA had 2 more items this week. Here are sixfour — the rest are on Aware.
- GOVERNANCELavine Act recusal inquiry and confirmation of no recusals. The presiding official asked for any Lavine Act requests to speak and checked whether any council members needed to recuse themselves from items on the agenda pursuant to the Lavine Act. No recusals were indicated.
- GOVERNANCEGeneral public input (opening) — none received. The presiding official referenced general public input and indicated there was no general public input at that time.
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