1 David Yakobson
From: Beth Edelstein <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, July 26, 2026 10:05 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Middle Income Housing
EXTERNAL
**Re: Planning Commission recommendations on missing middle housing (City Council, July 14, 2026)**
Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council,
I am a Santa Monica resident, I urge you to adopt the Planning Commission's recommendations on missing middle housing.
Santa Monica has no reliable path to house the workforce that keeps the city running. Teachers, firefighters, nurses, and others earning roughly 120 to 200 percent of Area Median Income make too much to qualify for subsidized housing and too little to buy a home here. The Commission's recommendations would begin to close that gap with small-scale homes that fit into existing neighborhoods.
I ask the Council to:
- Define missing middle housing for Santa Monica, addressing both the building form and the workforce income band (roughly 120 to 200 percent of Area Median Income, refined against Santa Monica's actual wages).
- Direct staff to study the cottage-court program in Exhibit A, and related options, as the starting point for an implementable program, scoped to align with the 7th-cycle Housing Element. - As part of that study, include the supporting pieces the program needs to work: the feasibility and nexus studies, fee adjustments, pre-approved plans, accelerated ministerial review, a revolving capital fund, and lot-consolidation allowances.
- Refine Santa Monica's existing programs that encourage local congregations to build housing on their land, including an alternative-compliance pathway for the Community Assembly program (SMMC § 9.31.196), so those programs finally produce homes. - Support AB 1070, now pending in the State Senate, which would study moving small residential buildings of 3 to 10 units to the simpler California Residential Code, a change that would lower the cost of building these homes.
Most of all, Santa Monica needs real incentives to build the homes that people who live and work here can afford. I ask the Council to put those incentives in place so this housing gets built locally, for the residents and workers.
Given the abundance of vacant commercial
Real estate in SM, policies and streamlining tactics for utilizing/converting existing space into housing is worth exploring.
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
2 Not to mention the Olympics around the corner. We need to get some short and long term solutions enacted swiftly.
Please take this up as a policy matter and direct staff to begin the study. Thank you for your work on behalf of the city.
Respectfully,
Beth Edelstein
Beverley Ave, Santa Monica
[email protected]
BETH EDELSTEIN
LANDSCAPE DESIGN
Certified Sustainable Landscape Designer/Installer City of Santa Monica Endorsed by Buy Local Santa Monica
Check out my projects on: Instagram, my Website and Houzz Venmo @Beth-Edelstein-1
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Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
3 David Yakobson
From: Brianna Shepard <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, July 26, 2026 8:00 PM
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: J. Shawn Landres; [email protected]; Kellen Quinn; Rabbi Hannah Jensen; Tony Gittelson; Anita Siegman
Subject: Middle Income Housing in Santa Monica
EXTERNAL
**Re: Planning Commission recommendations on missing middle housing (13-A, City Council, July 28, 2026)**
Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council,
I am a Santa Monica resident and I urge you to adopt the Planning Commission's recommendations on missing middle housing.
Santa Monica has no reliable path to house the workforce that keeps the city running. Teachers, firefighters, nurses, and others earning roughly 120 to 200 percent of Area Median Income make too much to qualify for subsidized housing and too little to buy a home here. The Commission's recommendations would begin to close that gap with small-scale homes that fit into existing neighborhoods.
I ask the Council to:
- Define missing middle housing for Santa Monica, addressing both the building form and the workforce income band (roughly 120 to 200 percent of Area Median Income, refined against Santa Monica's actual wages).
- Direct staff to study the cottage-court program in Exhibit A, and related options, as the starting point for an implementable program, scoped to align with the 7th-cycle Housing Element. - As part of that study, include the supporting pieces the program needs to work: the feasibility and nexus studies, fee adjustments, pre-approved plans, accelerated ministerial review, a revolving capital fund, and lot-consolidation allowances.
- Refine Santa Monica's existing programs that encourage local congregations to build housing on their land, including an alternative-compliance pathway for the Community Assembly program (SMMC §
9.31.196), so those programs finally produce homes.
- Support AB 1070, now pending in the State Senate, which would study moving small residential buildings of 3 to 10 units to the simpler California Residential Code, a change that would lower the cost of building these homes.
Most of all, Santa Monica needs real incentives to build the homes that people who live and work here can afford. I ask the Council to put those incentives in place so this housing gets built locally, for the residents and workers this city depends on.
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
4 I currently live in a rent-controlled apartment in Santa Monica, where I raised my son as a single mother, and where I've lived for many years. I also work in Santa Monica, and I cannot afford to leave this home because, on a school counselor's salary, I do not have the means to pay full freight for any other housing in my beloved city.
Please take this up as a policy matter and direct staff to begin the study. Thank you for your work on behalf of our city.
Respectfully,
Brianna Shepard
11th Street, Santa Monica
[email protected]
--
Brianna Shepard
[email protected]
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
5 David Yakobson
From: Anita Siegman <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, July 26, 2026 8:29 PM
To: Brianna Shepard
Cc: councilmtgitems; J. Shawn Landres; [email protected]; Kellen Quinn; Rabbi Hannah Jensen; Tony Gittelson
Subject: Re: Middle Income Housing in Santa Monica
EXTERNAL
Brianna,
This is a beautifully concise letter, a plea for middle housing support.
The need is undeniable. I am quite sure you speak for many residents young and old, in Santa Monica.
All the best to you,
Anita
On Sun, Jul 26, 2026 at 8:00 PM Brianna Shepard <[email protected]> wrote:
**Re: Planning Commission recommendations on missing middle housing (13-A, City Council, July 28, 2026)**
Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council,
I am a Santa Monica resident and I urge you to adopt the Planning Commission's recommendations on missing middle housing.
Santa Monica has no reliable path to house the workforce that keeps the city running. Teachers, firefighters, nurses, and others earning roughly 120 to 200 percent of Area Median Income make too much to qualify for subsidized housing and too little to buy a home here. The Commission's recommendations would begin to close that gap with small-scale homes that fit into existing neighborhoods.
I ask the Council to:
- Define missing middle housing for Santa Monica, addressing both the building form and the workforce income band (roughly 120 to 200 percent of Area Median Income, refined against Santa Monica's actual wages).
- Direct staff to study the cottage-court program in Exhibit A, and related options, as the starting point for an implementable program, scoped to align with the 7th-cycle Housing Element. - As part of that study, include the supporting pieces the program needs to work: the feasibility and nexus studies, fee adjustments, pre-approved plans, accelerated ministerial review, a revolving capital fund, and lot-consolidation allowances.
- Refine Santa Monica's existing programs that encourage local congregations to build housing on their land, including an alternative-compliance pathway for the Community Assembly program (SMMC §
9.31.196), so those programs finally produce homes.
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
6 - Support AB 1070, now pending in the State Senate, which would study moving small residential buildings of 3 to 10 units to the simpler California Residential Code, a change that would lower the cost of building these homes.
Most of all, Santa Monica needs real incentives to build the homes that people who live and work here can afford. I ask the Council to put those incentives in place so this housing gets built locally, for the residents and workers this city depends on.
I currently live in a rent-controlled apartment in Santa Monica, where I raised my son as a single mother, and where I've lived for many years. I also work in Santa Monica, and I cannot afford to leave this home because, on a school counselor's salary, I do not have the means to pay full freight for any other housing in my beloved city.
Please take this up as a policy matter and direct staff to begin the study. Thank you for your work on behalf of our city.
Respectfully,
Brianna Shepard
11th Street, Santa Monica
[email protected]
--
Brianna Shepard
[email protected]
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
1 David Yakobson
From: Ethan Goldstine <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2026 10:43 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Agenda Item 13-A
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor and members of the City Council:
I have lived in Santa Monica for over 36 years, now on 4th and Georgina.
I am writing to urge you to adopt the Planning Commission's recommendations for encouraging the development of "missing middle" housing in Santa Monica.
It is crucial for the city's long term health that workers who earn 120%-200% of AMI can afford to live here in Santa Monica. I am of course happy that the city has been helping to build housing for those earning under the AMI, but we also need the middle income workers that keep our city and our city's economy running.
I support the Commission's recommendation for encouraging the building of smaller homes in existing neighborhoods.
We need incentives for builders to create homes that people who live and work in Santa Monica can afford!
I hope you adopt the Commission's recommendations.
Thank you,
Ethan Goldstine
[email protected]
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026
Item 13-A
July 28, 2026