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Developer Leaves Legal Options Open

By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

June 1 -- A developer stopped in his tracks by a new local law from building more than 1,000 studio units deemed affordable is still considering suing the City.

The attorney for Neil Shehkter, president and CEO of NMS properties, said Wednesday that his client is still readying for a court battle if Santa Monica holds up the proposed projects.

"Litigation remains an option we are pursuing vigorously, but we have not filed anything yet," said Derek Jones, on of Shehkter's attorneys from Jeffer, Mangols, Butler and Marmaro LLP.

Still, Jones signaled Shehkter would be willing to talk with the City to resolve the dispute.

"We are continuing to explore our options, both political and legal," he said.

Renting for more than $1,000 a month, the units -- 623 of which are in a proposed complex in Santa Monica’s industrial zone -- could be pushed into the City’s notoriously slow permitting process as a result of the new law.

Approved in April, the emergency ordinance came two weeks after City Council members learned that 1,057 studios of no more than 400 square feet and renting for more than $1,000 each had entered the planning pipeline under an ordinance that allowed large affordable housing projects in non-residential zones to be quickly approved administratively.

The new emergency ordinance ensures that any project of more than 50 units anywhere in the city, including those that are affordable, must go before the Planning Commission, whose decision could be appealed to the council.

The City already has a similar law on the books, but it is reserved largely for residential areas.

Shehkter and his legal team argue that they are creating critically needed housing and playing by City rules when the emergency ordinance was passed.

"They are pursuing fully affordable housing projects," said Jones.

 

"Litigation remains an option we are pursuing vigorously." Derek Jones

 

 

 

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