The Santa Monica City Council introduced an ordinance Tuesday that would strengthen the city's public nuisance laws and give code enforcement officials additional tools to address problem properties.
The ordinance amends two sections of the municipal code, expanding the definition of public nuisances and creating new incentives for violators to correct violations.
Code Enforcement Manager Daniel Mick presented the changes, which he described as giving staff "more tools to better address public nuisances that are created and maintained in the city."
Key changes include expanding the definition of "responsible party" to include not just those who commit violations but also those who support or maintain them, such as business owners and property managers. The ordinance also defines additional violations that constitute public nuisances.
Among the new provisions, property owners who commit five or more violations within a 12-month period of tenant protection codes, housing anti-discrimination codes, or building regulations would be subject to enhanced penalties. Other additions include making illegal subdivisions of dwelling units and failing to comply with the city's mandatory seismic retrofit program public nuisances.
The ordinance would establish a "correctable citation" program, allowing fine amounts to be reduced by 50% if the violation is corrected by the date indicated on the citation and the reduced fine is paid within 30 days of providing proof of correction.
"It encourages and provides financial incentives for violators to correct the violation to achieve greater compliance, which ultimately reduces the need for further enforcement resources to be spent on the same violator or activity," Mick told the council.
Council members expressed concerns about the city's ability to enforce the new rules with existing resources. When asked by Mayor Pro Tem Caroline Torosis if code enforcement could enforce the new ordinance with current staffing, Mick acknowledged resource constraints but emphasized the department could only use a tool if they had it at their disposal saying it would be worse to have need of a resource and not have access to it.
Councilmember Jesse Zwick questioned how the city would ensure proper tracking of repeat violators.
"How can we ensure that we're properly cataloging persistent problems and that we're creating sort of strict standards for escalating them?" Zwick asked.
Mick said his department had been working to streamline processes and identify repeat violators through more regular reporting. "Now that we have, hopefully, this tool coming into effect, now we can work with the city attorney very closely," he said.
Several council members also raised concerns about enforcement of vacant property regulations. Mick said his department had recently sent approximately 170 letters to vacant property owners in the city, giving them until the end of the month to bring their properties into compliance with vacant property standards.
Mayor Lana Negrete questioned why some notorious problem properties, such as the former Pavilions motel, had taken years to address. "It seems fairly obvious that there's constant calls for service from PD, and they seem to be violating lots of things," Negrete said.
Staff acknowledged past enforcement challenges but emphasized a different approach under current leadership saying they have reset their expectations for targeting problems.
Mick also announced plans for a "vacant properties task force" that would bring together various city departments including building, code enforcement, police, fire, planning, housing, and rent control to address vacant property issues collectively.
Council members expressed concern about the city's ability to collect fines, with data showing only 32% of citation dollars are collected and only 37% of citations are partially or fully paid. Four categories — short-term rentals, vending, shared mobility devices, and tenant relocation — account for 73% of uncollected dollars.
City Attorney's Office representatives indicated they are exploring options such as property liens for outstanding penalties.
The council unanimously approved the introduction of the ordinance with amendments clarified by the city attorney. The ordinance will return for a second reading before becoming law.
