12 acts. Each goes to the one official who has the power to do it, with the legal authority, the deadline, the cost, where the money comes from and how residents will know it happened.
Open a place for every person outside, 571 a night and never fewer than the 496 counted, enforce the laws already on the books, and publish the results every month.
To the Santa Monica City Council, City Attorney Heidi von Tongeln, City Manager Oliver Chi, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and the LA County Board of Supervisors, District Attorney Nathan Hochman, and our state legislators: Santa Monica police arrest more people than ever, yet the same people return to the same doorways. Cases are diverted and never filed, people are released at $0 bail, court is 12 miles and up to 120 days away, and there are too few beds of every kind. We ask you to restore bedrolls to the camping law and enforce it once a bed is offered; file repeat cases; bring court back to Santa Monica; open a place for every person outside, 571 a night and never fewer than the 496 counted, starting with 480 city shelter, safe sleeping, safe parking and interim beds by June 2028 and 75 county treatment and locked beds by December 2027; send people home only to a verified family member; and publish the results every month. Give every person a bed and enforce the law, so that living on the street in Santa Monica is no longer an option.
The current camping code no longer lists sleeping bags or bedrolls, and sleeping in public is legal. Put bedding back in, ban camping near schools, parks, transit, shelters and the Pier at all times, and enforce everywhere else once an officer logs an available bed offered and refused.
The act
Amend SMMC 4.08.095 to restore sleeping bags, bedrolls and bedding used as living accommodation to the definition of camp facility; ban camping at all times near schools, parks, transit stops, shelters and the Pier; elsewhere, enforce after a documented bed offer is refused; codify 48 hours' notice and 60-day property storage.
Authority
City police power. Grants Pass v. Johnson (2024) and Tobe v. Santa Ana (1995) uphold camping bans; a logged bed offer defeats an In re Eichorn necessity defense; storage satisfies Garcia v. Los Angeles; notice and storage track Executive Order N-1-24 and the 2025 state model ordinance, which AB 179 ties to HHAP Round 7 funds.
Alone or by vote
Council majority of 7, two readings.
Deadline
a councilmember discussion item (a ‘16-item’) on Dec 8, 2026; first reading by Jan 26, 2027; second reading by Feb 23, 2027.
Cost
Staff time. Property storage cost unknown.
Paid from
General Fund staff time.
Proof it happened
Ordinance in force by March 25, 2027; offers, acceptances and citations reported monthly from April 2027.
The night doorway rule applies only where a business has posted a sign, and living in a vehicle is legal. Drop the sign condition and adopt the drafted vehicle-habitation ordinance the day the first safe parking site opens.
The act
Amend SMMC 4.08.097 so the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. doorway rule covers every non-residential entrance in the listed corridors without a posted sign; adopt the drafted vehicle-habitation ordinance, precisely defined, effective when the first city safe parking site opens.
Authority
City police power. Desertrain v. Los Angeles (9th Cir. 2014) requires exact definitions for a vehicle rule. The City Attorney must clear SB 692 (2026), whose text was not reviewed.
Alone or by vote
Council majority, two readings.
Deadline
Doorway change by Feb 23, 2027; vehicle ordinance adopted by June 30, 2027.
Cost
Staff time.
Paid from
Safe parking spaces are funded under demand 5.
Proof it happened
Sign condition gone by March 2027; the 59 occupied vehicles counted in 2026 in safe parking or housing by the January 2028 count.
Nobody can see filings, dismissals, missed court dates or open beds today. Require a monthly public report, and write the bed targets into the next extension of the local homelessness emergency.
The act
Adopt a reporting ordinance requiring a monthly public report of nightly open beds by type, offers made and refused, citations, City Attorney filings, diversions, dismissals, bench warrants, reunifications with 30- and 90-day follow-up, and spending per placement; write the demand 5 bed targets into the extension of the local homelessness emergency that now runs through Dec 31, 2026.
Authority
Council legislative power. A reporting mandate is a legislative act and a lawful initiative subject.
Alone or by vote
Council majority.
Deadline
Bed targets in the December 2026 emergency extension; ordinance adopted by Feb 23, 2027.
Cost
Staff time; not quantified.
Paid from
Existing General Fund homeless data system.
Proof it happened
First report April 2027; twelve reports published by April 2028.
To Heidi von Tongeln, City Attorney, City of Santa Monica
Most cases go to diversion and are never filed if the person completes a plan. Keep diversion for a first offense, file the third arrest in a year, send Prop 36 cases to the DA, and publish the numbers.
The act
Publish a filing policy: a first quality-of-life offense keeps the SaMo Bridge or STEP Court offer; a third arrest for camping, park-after-dark, trespass or drug use within 12 months is filed, with diversion only as a plea condition; refer every case qualifying under Health and Safety Code 11395 to the DA; seek place-specific stay-away conditions for repeat camping under SMMC 4.08.093; publish filings, diversions, dismissals and convictions monthly.
Authority
The City Attorney files misdemeanors and sets diversion policy. SMMC 4.08.093 authorizes stay-away orders; People v. Moran (2016) permits crime-tied conditions; In re White (1979) forbids whole-area banishment.
Alone or by vote
Acts alone.
Deadline
Policy published by Jan 15, 2027.
Cost
Existing Criminal Prosecution Unit budget; added workload unknown because no filing data is published.
Paid from
City Attorney budget.
Proof it happened
Monthly filing data from February 2027; every third-arrest case filed from that date.
5 Open a place for every person outside: 571 a night, never fewer than 496
To Oliver Chi, City Manager, City of Santa Monica
Enforcement only holds where there is somewhere to go. The ask is places for 571 people a night, the RAND-weighted count, and never fewer than the 496 counted outside. The 480 city places here and the 75 county beds in demand 8 make 555, which covers the official count; 200 permanent housing subsidies for exits carry the rest.
The act
Bring council a capacity plan for 571 people a night, never fewer than the 496 counted, plus 200 permanent housing subsidies for exits: 60 safe parking spaces and 150 managed safe-sleeping spaces by June 30, 2027; 120 congregate beds and 75 non-congregate beds by Dec 31, 2027; 75 more non-congregate beds by June 30, 2028; sited inside and outside the city; SaMoShel's 60 beds kept until replacements open.
Authority
The City Manager sites, contracts under threshold and directs staff alone; appropriations need council.
Alone or by vote
Council majority for the appropriation at the Feb-Mar 2027 mid-year update and the June 2027 biennial budget.
Deadline
Plan to council by Feb 23, 2027.
Cost
The 555 places: $12.9M to $17.9M a year of new city money if the county pays nothing, $4.3M to $6.4M if the county funds the 150 non-congregate beds, and about $4M to $5M one time. The 200 housing subsidies add about $8.8M a year gross. Budget moves the council could choose would lower the new money; they are options, not part of this demand. Inference, low to moderate confidence.
Paid from
County Measure A interim beds (demand 9), Measure A Local Solutions Fund, Measure CS, state Encampment Resolution Fund, General Fund.
Proof it happened
210 spaces by June 30, 2027; 405 by Dec 31, 2027; 480 city plus 75 county by June 30, 2028, and the rest of the 571 through permanent housing exits. Target: RAND-adjusted unsheltered count under 285 in January 2028 and under 100 in January 2029 (low confidence).
6 Staff the Homeless Liaison Program and serve the warrants
To Darrick Jacob, Chief of Police, Santa Monica Police Department
City pages disagree on whether the team has 6 or 9 officers, and warrants from missed court dates pile up. Publish the headcount, run two shifts seven days a week, log a bed offer at every contact, and serve warrants within 30 days.
The act
Publish the HLP headcount; staff HLP seven days a week on two shifts; log a bed offer from the nightly list at every enforcement contact; serve camping, park and trespass bench warrants within 30 days of issue.
Authority
The chief deploys officers under the City Manager.
Alone or by vote
Acts alone on deployment; council vote for new positions.
Deadline
Headcount and offer logs by Jan 1, 2027; two shifts by July 1, 2027.
7 Send people home only to a verified receiver, and report every trip
To Aileen Reynolds, Director, Housing and Human Services, City of Santa Monica
Project Homecoming has reunited more than 3,200 people since 2006. Put it on written rules: a named receiver confirmed by phone, no return bans, follow-up at 30 and 90 days, and a public monthly report.
The act
Adopt written rules for Project Homecoming: travel only to a named receiving person confirmed by phone before departure; no return bans; follow-up at 30 and 90 days; monthly public report of trips, destinations, confirmed arrivals and returns; coordinate with the private Santa Monica Coalition program.
Authority
Department program authority under the City Manager. The verified-receiver rule is the standard Nevada accepted when it paid San Francisco $400,000 in 2015 to settle a patient-busing suit.
Alone or by vote
Acts alone.
Deadline
Written rules by Jan 31, 2027.
Cost
About $98,000 a year for 200 trips at San Francisco's $492 average; staff cost unknown.
Paid from
General Fund or Measure A Local Solutions Fund.
Proof it happened
200 verified reunifications in FY 2027-28, up from 107 in FY 2025-26, with the return rate published.
SB 43 lets the county hold people with severe addiction for treatment, but the county said it had no locked beds for them. Move a motion for 25 locked beds for Westside referrals, 50 reserved treatment slots, and a CARE Court referral path for Santa Monica responders.
The act
Move a Board motion directing the Department of Mental Health to contract 25 locked subacute beds for Westside referrals by Dec 31, 2027; directing Substance Abuse Prevention and Control to reserve 50 residential slots for Santa Monica referrals at the CLARE|MATRIX Pico campus as its 75 new beds open; and setting a CARE Court referral path for Santa Monica Fire's Community Response Unit and SMPD.
Authority
The Board directs county departments. SB 43 has applied in LA County since Jan 1, 2026.
Alone or by vote
Board vote, 3 of 5 supervisors.
Deadline
Motion by Jan 31, 2027.
Cost
Locked-bed cost unverified.
Paid from
County Prop 1 Behavioral Health Services Act funds, Medi-Cal; capital already awarded ($51.1M to CLARE|MATRIX).
Proof it happened
25 locked beds and 50 slots in use by Dec 31, 2027, reported quarterly.
9 Put Westside interim beds back in the county's Measure A plan
To Sarah Mahin, Director, LA County Department of Homeless Services and Housing · public comment
The county cut $92M of new encampment funding and $105M of other services this year, and the Palm Motel lost county money. Fund 150 interim beds for Santa Monica referrals, restore Pathway Home in the city, and share HHAP Round 7.
The act
In the FY 2027-28 Measure A spending plan, fund 150 non-congregate interim beds for Santa Monica referrals, restore Pathway Home encampment resolution in Santa Monica, and pass a share of HHAP Round 7 to the city.
Authority
HSH drafts the Measure A plan; the Board of Supervisors adopts it.
Alone or by vote
Board of Supervisors, 3 of 5, at adoption (about February 2027).
Deadline
Public comment expected to close about Nov 20, 2026, as it did in 2025 [inference].
Cost
$8.55M to $11.46M a year.
Paid from
Measure A interim housing line ($277.5M in FY 2026-27) and HHAP Round 7.
Proof it happened
Line item in the adopted FY 2027-28 plan; beds open by Dec 31, 2027.
10 File Prop 36 treatment felonies on every eligible case
To Nathan Hochman, District Attorney, Los Angeles County
Prop 36 makes a third hard-drug possession a felony that is dismissed if the person completes treatment. File it on every eligible Santa Monica case and publish Santa Monica's numbers.
The act
File Health and Safety Code 11395 treatment-mandated felonies on every eligible Santa Monica case; ask for treatment as the release condition; seek warrants on failures to appear; publish Santa Monica filing and treatment numbers quarterly.
Authority
The DA files felonies arising in Santa Monica. Memo GOM 25-002 applies Prop 36 with no washout period for priors.
Alone or by vote
Acts alone.
Deadline
Written confirmation by Jan 1, 2027.
Cost
DA budget.
Paid from
Treatment slots from demand 8.
Proof it happened
Quarterly reports from April 2027; treatment entry above the countywide 22% by the end of 2027.
To Presiding Judge Sergio C. Tapia II, and his successor from Jan 1, 2027, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Santa Monica cases go to a courthouse 12 miles away with dates as far as 120 days out, and bench warrants rose. Hold STEP Court weekly in Santa Monica, set dates within 21 days, and stop citing out people with repeated missed dates.
The act
Hold STEP Court in Santa Monica weekly instead of monthly; set citation court dates no more than 21 days out; book for magistrate review a person with two or more failures to appear in 12 months instead of citing them out.
Authority
The court sets its calendars and its pre-arraignment release protocol.
Alone or by vote
Court administration; no outside vote.
Deadline
July 1, 2027.
Cost
Court budget.
Paid from
STEP Court is grant-funded (DOJ, State Bar, HOME-ARP).
Proof it happened
Camping, park and trespass bench warrants down by half by the end of 2027.
12 Fund the treatment beds the state already mandated
To Rick Chavez Zbur, Assemblymember, Assembly District 51
SB 43 came with no new money, and Prop 36 treatment got $110M when supporters say $400M a year is needed. Carry the budget request and ask for a state audit of how LA County is carrying out both laws.
The act
Carry a 2027 budget request for SB 43 locked substance-use beds and Prop 36 treatment; file a Joint Legislative Audit Committee request to audit SB 43 and Prop 36 implementation in LA County; ask the Senate District 24 winner to co-author.
Authority
Legislators author budget requests; only a legislator can request a JLAC audit.
Alone or by vote
Legislature majority for the budget; JLAC vote for the audit.
Deadline
Audit request by March 31, 2027; budget request before the May 2027 revision.
Cost
Supporters' claimed gap: $290M a year (inference: $400M minus $110M).
Paid from
State General Fund.
Proof it happened
Line in the June 2027 state budget; audit approved in 2027.
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