Santa Monica Plaza negotiations called off
Dec. 16, 2020 at 5:00 pm
Five months after restarting talks with developers of the Santa Monica Plaza project the Santa Monica City Council has once again ceased all negotiations relating to the project.
In late July, after months of debating if the controversial downtown development project violates state laws governing surplus government property, council agreed to resume negotiations on the project located at 4th and 5th Streets near Arizona Avenue.
The action did not constitute final approval, but the Plaza and its proposed ground floor retail space, hotel and office spaces was expected to be heard by the Planning Commission and approved by City Council sometime in 2022, city spokesperson Constance Farrell said in the summer.
Sue Himmelrich selected to serve two year term as Mayor
Dec. 10, 2020 at 6:00 am
Councilmember Sue Himmelrich was selected by a 5 – 2 vote margin to serve as Mayor for two years in a Dec. 8 City Council meeting, breaking with the previous precedent of year long terms.
The Council went through four rounds of voting to arrive at a majority, during which Himmelrich declined a one year nomination four times. Himmelrich told the Daily Press she would only accept a two year term as she believes the job requires continuity in leadership and because she needs a longer term to justify cutting back from her important work at the Western Center on Law and Poverty.