The business items of Tuesday’s City Council meeting are short in number but long in substance as a discussion of local efforts to combat homelessness will dominate the agenda.
The only action item on the agenda is for Council to receive the Homelessness Strategic Plan and Renters' Protections Program, approve the Human Services Division Reorganization Plan and adopt a Classification and Salary Resolution.
Santa Monica recently completed a five-year Homelessness Strategic Plan spanning 2025-2030, building upon recommendations from a 2023 study by Moss Adams LLP to address the city's ongoing homeless crisis.
The plan establishes a framework based on the city's "Four Pillars" approach to homelessness, with a strong emphasis on prevention efforts. A key component includes a new Renters' Protection Program designed to prevent homelessness by helping residents maintain stable housing.
Following City Council direction in August 2023, officials contracted Fetterman Dunn Consulting to evaluate renter protection options. Their recommendations will expand the existing Right to Counsel Program and create a new Flexible Financial Assistance Program to help Santa Monica renters facing eviction due to legal issues or inability to pay rent.
To implement these initiatives, officials propose creating a dedicated Homeless Prevention and Intervention Division within the Housing and Human Services Department, adding three new staff positions funded by Measure GS revenue without impacting the General Fund.
The report notes that Santa Monica faces unique challenges due to its location, with 40% of Los Angeles County's homeless population residing in the surrounding area. Many people experiencing homelessness in Santa Monica did not become homeless in the city but arrive via public transportation from nearby areas.
Staff are requesting the Council extend the Local Emergency on Homelessness proclamation to December 31, 2026, and are considering an ordinance that would ensure all Santa Monica tenants have access to legal services when facing eviction by 2030, with financial assistance available to those earning below 80% of the area median income.
The five-year implementation timeline will allow officials to assess ongoing funding needs and evaluate program performance.
Ranked Choice Voting
Other items on the agenda come from various Councilmembers asking for future discussions.
Procedural changes are among the requested items: one addressing electronic presentations during public comment and another updating the ranked choice voting process for commission appointments.
Under the proposed rule change for public comment, residents who choose to use electronic presentations during Council meetings would do so at their own risk, with no guarantees about technology functioning properly. If a presentation fails to work after one minute, commenters could either continue their attempt or restart their timer and address the Council directly.
Currently, the public must submit electronic presentations by noon on meeting days. The City displays these on its equipment but prohibits residents from connecting personal laptops to the system for cybersecurity reasons.
The second proposed change involves the ranked choice voting process for board and commission appointments. After Council approved this approach in January, the City Clerk selected rankedchoices.com for implementation. However, this platform uses the Weighted Inclusive Gregory Method (WIGM), which differs from the voting process Council initially adopted.
The WIGM calculates votes by adding the number of councilmembers who selected a nominee as their first choice to those who chose them as second, third, or subsequent choices, with each lower ranking given approximately two-thirds the weight of the previous ranking. The amendment would formally incorporate this voting method into Council rules.
Landmarks and social justice
Three councilmembers are requesting staff develop options to implement additional recommendations from a landmark preservation report focused on social justice considerations.
Councilmembers Dan Hall, Jesse Zwick, and Mayor Pro Tempore Torosis have submitted an item for the March 11 meeting asking council to direct the Interim City Manager to return within one year with implementation options and costs for two specific recommendations from "A Place for Everyone in Santa Monica's History."
The initiative stems from a June 2022 case where council reversed the landmark designation of a property owned by a leading proponent of racist real estate practices. That decision prompted a two-year collaboration between the Landmarks Commission, staff, the Committee for Racial Justice, and community stakeholders to develop an expanded framework for evaluating historic landmarks.
While council approved implementation of three recommendations in February that required no additional resources, this new motion focuses on two more substantive changes: ensuring landmark nominations investigate owners and occupants more thoroughly, and creating city guidelines for interpreting landmark criteria with special guidance on uncovering previously underrecognized groups.
The councilmembers emphasized their intent is to encourage neutral examination of historic sites through a broader social justice lens inclusive of race, gender, orientation, veteran status, and other protected classes, providing equal opportunity for both landmark designations and appeals.
Ban on Algorithmic Rental Price-Fixing Software
Three councilmembers are proposing an ordinance to ban algorithmic rental price-fixing software following reports of rent gouging in the aftermath of January's devastating firestorms.
Mayor Pro Tempore Torosis, Councilmember Raskin and Councilmember Hall have requested the City Attorney draft legislation within 60 days prohibiting software like YieldStar and RealPage, which allow landlords to share non-public information about rental rates and occupancy to coordinate pricing.
The proposal comes as the region faces a housing crisis exacerbated by the destruction of over 10,000 residential structures in Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles Tenants Union has identified more than 500 property listings where rents suddenly increased, some doubling despite state emergency rules capping increases at 10%.
In August 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice and several state attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit against RealPage and participating landlords, alleging the pricing algorithm enables illegal coordination of rents. The Federal Trade Commission and DOJ also issued a legal brief in March 2024 stating that price-fixing through algorithms violates antitrust laws.
The councilmembers' proposal would include enforceable penalties for landlords who continue using such software, reinforcing Santa Monica's 45-year commitment to rent stabilization and tenant protections.
Double parking problems
Councilmembers Zwick and Snell are asking the City Council to direct the City Manager and City Attorney to advance curbside management measures that would reduce congestion, enhance safety, and mitigate double parking. These measures should include drafting an ordinance for City Council consideration that would establish a legal framework and fee schedule for a smart loading zone pilot program, exploring a public-private partnership for curb management incorporating available technology, and presenting options and tradeoffs to Council for consideration.
Council meets at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall, 1685 Main Street. Meetings are also available on the City’s YouTube channel.
