How Success Changed Santa Monica

"Designer boutiques have eclipsed mom-and-pop stores on Montana Avenue, giving the street a haughty affluence...a gated community without a gate. Private patrol cars prowl a mushrooming array of newly minted monster mansions whose square footage is among the county's most valuable...Rent control...now defers to a state law...allowing landlords to raise the rents of vacant units to market rates. In a housing market where teardowns can cost over $1 million, a proposal to set up a new historic district has triggered fighting words. On one side are longtime homeowners who resent the new "monster mansions" that tower over older homes. On the other side are affluent newcomers who want to replace homes 40 or more years old and do not want the landmarks commission in the way."

Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan