Santa Monica advances homelessness shelter realignment
The plan keeps Palm Motel interim housing, funds 35 beds at Salvation Army Bell Shelter, and pauses any SamoShel closure until a street-safe exit plan returns.
Two hosts walk through the week’s edition in conversation — council advances homelessness shelter realignment, council revises article 23 ballot measure, and what’s coming next. Generated by Aware, from this week’s verified summaries.
Council backed a housing-first reset, but drew one clear line: no one leaves SamoShel until staff shows where they can go besides the street.
The shelter system is being rearranged, not simply reduced. Santa Monica City Council approved a homelessness plan built around preserving Palm Motel interim housing, funding 35 beds at Salvation Army Bell Shelter, and seeking more interim housing capacity through an RFI/RFQ. The package shifts the city's focus toward housing placements while keeping existing options in play during the transition.
The most direct change from Council came on SamoShel. Council added direction not to close the site until staff returns with a concrete demobilization plan that does not send people back to the street. That condition turned a broad realignment into a more specific requirement: any shutdown has to come with a workable next step for the people now staying there.
What happens next is now in staff's hands. The city will move ahead with the approved actions, including the Bell Shelter beds and the search for more interim housing capacity, while developing a separate SamoShel demobilization plan for Council review. That means the broader shelter strategy can advance, but one piece of it cannot be finished until staff shows how residents would be moved into other placements without losing shelter altogether.
Council revises Article 23 ballot measure
Santa Monica City Council went back to its own ballot measure and rewrote it. After staff laid out legal, policy, and litigation concerns with parts of the earlier Article 23 charter amendment, Council rescinded the prior resolution and replaced it with a narrower version.
The revised measure focuses on bringing Article 23 into alignment with Article 18 on two points: single-unit dwellings and owner move-in rules. That is a smaller scope than the earlier proposal, which had included additional tenant-protection provisions that drew concern from staff.
Council then handled the election mechanics. It designated authors for the ballot argument supporting the replacement measure, setting up the city's case to voters for the fall campaign. The practical effect is that the broader version is off the table, and a more limited charter amendment now moves ahead instead.
Council opens Personnel Board vacancy
Santa Monica City Council accepted a resignation from the Personnel Board and authorized the City Clerk to publish the vacancy. That starts the process to fill the seat after a motion, second, and approval.
leadership change
Closed session ends with no action
The clerk and city attorney announced closed-session discussions on litigation, real estate negotiations, labor negotiations, and a City Clerk appointment. After the closed session ended, the city attorney reported no reportable action.
Residents can track whether private discussions on lawsuits, property, labor, and hiring produced any official decisions.
Council sends TOT update to ballot
Santa Monica City Council approved a ballot measure to update the transient occupancy tax ordinance while keeping current rates for hotels, motels, and home sharing. Council also designated a councilmember to write the ballot argument in favor.
Voters will decide hotel and short-term rental tax rules that affect city revenue and event-related pricing flexibility.
Missing Middle proposal moves to staff
A Planning Commission representative brought Council a unanimous Missing Middle Housing proposal aimed at workforce households between subsidized housing and the for-sale market. Council directed staff to fold the ideas into Housing Element work and return with a recommendation on whether to support AB 1070.
Council directed staff to study Missing Middle Housing ideas for the next Housing Element.
- Santa Monica City Council and Santa Monica Rent Control Board (Joint Special Meeting). Two residents spoke during agenda-limited public comment. One questioned how the meeting could proceed when proposed ballot argument language was not yet publicly available and was due the next day. Another opposed the caregiver/occupant-related changes, warning they would make it difficult to remove occupants and could create ongoing problems for landlords and other tenants.
- Santa Monica City Council. A resident raised concerns and questions about reports that 1,000 Ocean Wave Festival tickets would be set aside for residents and low-income residents, asking the City to confirm and administer access through social services.
What we didn’t fit in this Sundays edition
SANTA MONICA had 40 more items this week. Here are sixfour — the rest are on Aware.
- GOVERNANCEPublic comment on remaining agenda items (one-minute limit) — appointments, homelessness system of care, airport, SB79/SB79 exclusion, transit service, disability access, and other topics. In a later public comment period (one minute each), speakers addressed commission appointments, homelessness system-of-care proposals (including Palm Motel and SamoShel), airport housing and airport conversion process, SB79/SB79 exclusion and R1 upzoning, Big Blue Bus service to UCLA, disability access, and other concerns.
- GOVERNANCEContinue item 11A — Westside Cities Affordable Housing Trust membership. Council heard a presentation on forming a Westside Cities affordable housing trust and continued item 11A to September 8 to renegotiate Joint Powers Agreement terms and clarify cost allocation, quorum, and governance issues.
- GOVERNANCEWaive City fees and allocate discretionary funds for “Butterfly Brawl” event (August 22). Council approved waiving City fees up to 16,950 and allocating 12,500 in Council discretionary funds to support the “Butterfly Brawl” event on August 22, described as benefiting the American Cancer Society and featuring youth and female fighters.
- GOVERNANCEFestival access raised during manager report. Before the City Manager’s report, a resident asked about access to Ocean Wave Festival tickets for residents and low-income residents. The City Manager then highlighted recent and upcoming city events, including the Ocean Wave Festival, National Night Out, and other community activities.
- GOVERNANCECouncil fills commission and board seats. Council made appointments to the Planning Commission, Housing and Human Services Commission, and the new Restorative Justice Commission. The votes filled a mix of four-year and two-year terms, including designated affordable-housing participant seats.
- GOVERNANCEMayor’s highlights and recognition of Finance Department budget and procurement teams. The Mayor recognized the Finance Department’s budget and procurement teams for work during challenging budget periods, naming staff and presenting certificates; a procurement team member briefly thanked the team.
- GOVERNANCECouncil travel funds: Vienna social housing field study program (September 13–19). Council approved Council Member Snell’s request to use travel funds to participate in a Vienna social housing field study program from September 13 to September 19, with costs described as covered by travel funds and a credit applied.
- GOVERNANCECouncil approves consent calendar items. Council approved consent calendar items in blocks, including adoption of an attached ordinance and a second-reading item whose subjects were not stated in the transcript. Two members had recused from the related consent items earlier in the sequence.
- GOVERNANCEAdjournment. The joint special meeting of the City Council and Rent Control Board adjourned at approximately 5:30 p.m., with brief closing thanks from participants.
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