Volume 13  No.1  

AUTUMN 2005
 
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          A Publication of the City of Santa Monica

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BALANCED BUDGET ADOPTED
BY COUNCIL
 

The City Council in June adopted a $383.1 million municipal budget for the 2005-06 fiscal year that began July 1.

The budget includes $207.5 million in operating funds for police, fire, parks, library and all other basic city services and $175.6 million in restricted funds (for transportation, housing, Redevelopment Agency projects and other designated uses). $11.9 million was budgeted for phase one of the Charnock well field drinking water restoration project. Strategic budget enhancements to address community priorities for 2005-06 include funding new staff positions to address homeless issues. Also funded were positions to coordinate youth and neighborhood programs at Virginia Avenue Park when it reopens this fall, an additional trades intern, a graffiti removal technician and streetscape and lighting improvements in the Pico neighbor-hood—all part of the city’s commitment to gang violence prevention. A cultural arts master plan and new ongoing funds for landscape maintenance are among other community-requested priorities funded this year.

For more information on the budget, please visit the Finance section of the city’s website at www.smgov.net.

LONG-RANGE COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS
 

MAJOR MATTERS EXPECTED TO COME
BEFORE CITY COUNCIL IN JULY AND AUGUST:
 
  • Appeal of quarter mile radius requirement for off-site affordable housing at 507 Wilshire Blvd.
  • Annual transportation demand management ordinance
  • Actions to implement living wage contractor model
  • Introduction and first reading of ordinance to implement Promenade Uses
  • Task Force recommendation
  • SMC access to its new Bundy campus
  • Landmarks appeal at 921 19th Street
  • Development agreement for 1333-37 Ocean Avenue
  • Appeal of designation of 125 Pacific as a city landmark
  • Ordinance establishing a new race route
  • Landmarks Ordinance revision
  • Ordinance allowing administrative approval of number and type of driveways required for parking structures with over 40 spaces
  • Ordinance adopting 2005 Edition of the California Energy Code and local code amendments
  • Preliminary design approval for the 2nd and 4th Streets Pedestrian and Streetscape Improvements Project
  • Discussion of housing issues, including state requirements, affordable and market rate local housing, development incentives, inconsistencies between state and local regulations
  • Public hearing on 2005 Storm water Parcel Report
  • Auto Dealer Interim Ordinance
  • Issuance of Wastewater Revenue Bonds (Hyperion Project)
  • Regulations and fees for inspection of alcohol-serving establishments
  • Resolution establishing Santa Monica fire stations as locations for “safe surrender” of babies
The long-range nature of this list means that some items may not be heard in the month originally scheduled, as new matters emerge and agendas are re-worked. No item will come to Council before the date originally published. Also available on-line at www.smgov.net.
 

Even Doonesbury’s Mr. Butts Can’t Smoke on the beach in Santa Monica!
Mr. Butts "No Smoking on Santa Monica Beaches" graphic
 
Designed especially for the city by Doonesbury creator and Pulitzer Prize winner Garry Trudeau, a sticker featuring the character “Mr. Butts” is the centerpiece of a public awareness campaign kicking off this summer to make sure people know there is no smoking on Santa Monica beaches. The design, generously donated to the city by Trudeau, will be seen on 700 beach trash cans and will be included in media outreach intended to reach potential beach goers.
 
“We simply asked Trudeau if he’d be willing to lend Mr. Butts’ persona to this education effort,” said Barbara Stinchfield, director of Community & Cultural Services, “and he said yes. We are grateful and know that the attention our campaign receives because of the Doonesbury connection will really get the ‘no smoking on the beach’ message out.”
 
Cigarette butts are the single most prevalent form of litter found on our beaches. Because of their slow-to-degrade composition, they persist in the environment for years, impacting public health, sealife and the Santa Monica Bay. The Santa Monica City Council enacted the ordinance prohibiting smoking on the beach (SMMC 4.44) shortly after passing a similar prohibition for its parks in 2004. Santa Monica was one of the first cities in the state to do so, and cities up and down the coast have followed suit, with smoking now prohibited on beaches from San Clemente to Malibu, including Los Angeles county beaches.
 
The Doonesbury comic strip was launched in 1970 and now appears in more than 1,400 newspapers in the United States and abroad.
 

BEING PREPARED IS KEY TO WEATHERING ANY STORM
 
While the recent earthquakes and tsunami alerts are unsettling reminders of our state’s potential for natural disasters, they also are an effective means to convince most of us of the need for emergency preparedness at home and work. Even as public safety officials continue to develop and refine procedures that will enable them to quickly respond to life-threatening events, citizens must also be prepared to cope on their own for at least 72 hours, since a major disaster could overwhelm both local resources and emergency responders’ ability to answer every call for assistance.
 

TSUNAMI SENSE
We know that people are particularly concerned about tsunamis as a result of last December’s tragic losses in Southeast Asia and the recent warning issued for the California coast. Santa Monica residents should be reassured that much of the city is protected from the potentially devastating effects of tsunamis by the Palisades bluffs along the Pacific Coast Highway. They provide protection for most of the populated area located north of the Santa Monica Pier, since scientific research indicates the largest possible tsunami inundation is 30 feet, well below the bluffs’ height. Residents located between the bluffs and the ocean, and those south of the Pier, are advised to move 1/4 mile (four blocks) inland in the event of either a tsunami evacuation or strong earthquake lasting 20 seconds or more.

If you feel a strong earthquake, drop, cover and hold until the shaking stops. Depending on the location of its epicenter, the ‘quake may be the only warning of an approaching tsunami so it is important to react quickly, not waiting for an official warning:

  • Turn off any active heating or cooking appliance in your home, but DON’T take the time to turn off gas or electric service.
     

  • If you can, WALK rather than drive out of harm’s way. This will reduce the likelihood of traffic congestion. Following are safe refuges and evacuation centers:

    - Santa Monica High School – 601 Pico Blvd.
    - Olympic High School – 721 Ocean Park Blvd.
    - Roosevelt Elementary School – 801 Montana Ave.
    - Santa Monica College – 1900 Pico Blvd
     

  • L.A. County lifeguards will notify the public in beach areas of the need to move 1/4 mile inland to higher ground, while city emergency personnel will use all available resources, including the city’s website and City Hall on Call (458-8999), to reach the public in other parts of the city. Local media will, of course, be an important source of emergency notification and information.
     

  • Use common sense. Do not go to the coast to see a tsunami if an alert or warning has been issued. If you are on the beach following an earthquake, and you see the water receding in a manner that is not normal, quickly make your way to higher ground.
     
  • Stay away from coastal areas until the all clear is given by designated safety officials.

The City of Santa Monica’s Office of Emergency Services has an extensive disaster preparedness website, with emergency planning and supplies checklists, as well as links to numerous other agencies and organizations that offer information and assistance in dealing with disasters. Please visit santamonicafire.org/disaster/ or call 458-8686 to obtain the information you’ll need to be well-prepared in the event of an emergency. City Hall on Call (458-8999) also provides information via recorded messages and fax documents (enter Option 1, #504 to begin) and is available anytime of the day or night.

We’re committed to ensuring the safety and welfare of all those who live in, work in or visit this community. We’ll do our part—but we need you to do your part, too, so take the time now to prepare for that unexpected emergency.