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1 David Yakobson
From: Houman Hemmati <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2024 9:24 PM
To: Phil Brock
Cc: Lana Negrete; Christine Parra; Oscar de la Torre; Gleam Davis; Caroline M. Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Douglas Sloan; David White; Clerk Mailbox; councilmtgitems; Ellen Goldstein; Ben Allen; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]
Subject: Urgent Call for Fiscal Responsibility Regarding Homeless Housing Initiative
EXTERNAL
Dear Members of the Santa Monica City Council,
I am compelled to address the recent decision to spend an exorbitant $1 million per person (on construcƟon costs alone, something very likely to increase substanƟally with Ɵme) for homeless housing near Third Street Promenade. While the project is purportedly supported by federal and state grants, this does not absolve the council of its responsibility to steward taxpayer resources wisely. These funds, whether sourced locally, from the state, or federally, are sƟll derived from the hard-earned money of American ciƟzens.
It is deeply concerning that the jusƟficaƟon for this project hinges on the availability of grant money, especially given the financial crises facing both our state and federal governments. California is currently grappling with a $73 billion debt, and the federal government is similarly overextended in a major financial crisis. To proceed with such an extravagant project under these circumstances is not just irresponsible—it is an affront to every taxpayer burdened by these economic challenges.
The allocaƟon of approximately $120 million of prime city-owned land, formerly a revenue-generaƟng parking structure, for this purpose further compounds the fiscal imprudence. The project’s total cost of at least $2 million per homeless individual, not including ongoing maintenance and service costs, is an unsustainable and outrageous use of any public funds, irrespecƟve of their source. It lacks any common sense and has made a mockery of our city, naƟonally and globally.
This iniƟaƟve not only impacts Santa Monica’s economic resilience by removing vital parking infrastructure but also threatens the viability of local businesses, many of which are already struggling or have shuƩered. As you know, the economic engine of our city has been largely destroyed, in major parts due to the presence of drug addicted, criminal, and violent homeless individuals in the downtown Santa Monica area. Rather than doing the obvious, namely, removing them from the area and relocaƟng them as far away as possible, you are welcoming them with open arms, offering them the greatest giŌ ever offered any homeless people on the planet. This is not an exaggeraƟon. Giving them a brand new luxury home, steps from the beach, on some of the most expensive and desirable land on earth, at a Ɵme when many people, including people who have lived here, worked hard, paid taxes, and respected the law, have trouble affording their uƟlity bills, food, and housing.
The project lacks criƟcal components such as mandatory drug rehabilitaƟon or mental health services, essenƟal for true rehabilitaƟon and integraƟon of homeless individuals into the community. Maneuver, in no way do you consider the inevitable destrucƟon of the facility individuals who have no capacity to take care of themselves or be good stewards of a giŌ that has been so generously provided to them. Do you know, as well as I do that this facility, to put it plainly, will be destroyed within weeks or months of it being occupied, forcing taxpayers to spend tens or hundreds of millions of dollars more to rebuild it, all while puƫng its occupants in expensive hotels.
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2 I urge you to reconsider the scope and funding of this project. Our city needs soluƟons that are economically sensible and sustainable over the long term, not luxury accommodaƟons that set a troubling precedent for the misuse of public funds. Any person with an IQ of over 12 can easily predict that this Ludacris plan of yours will result intense of thousands, if not more, homeless people from around the naƟon, if not the world, descending on Santa Monica with a promise of also receiving a $2 million condominium by the beach. For life. We already have 1000 homeless people, and at this rate, you would commit to spending $2 billion of our money, while also stripping our city of vital taxpayer owned infrastructure. Even if we had $2 billion to spend on this, what will you do when 10,000 homeless people show up? 100,000 homeless people show up? Just simply surrender our enƟre city to them? Leadership requires making tough choices that might not be the easiest or most popular but are in the best interest of the community’s future.
The conƟnuaƟon of this plan risks significant poliƟcal and public backlash. As you have probably already seen on X or TwiƩer, regarding this situaƟon has gone viral, with tens of thousands of use and comments within the first couple of hours. This is expected to grow into a major naƟonal news story, which is going to produce even greater embarrassment to our city, risking not only our economic vitality, but also your poliƟcal futures. please think about it for one moment:
you really want to be associated with this plan? Have you given any thought the outside world will respond to this? If not, I just told you about.
The people of Santa Monica and broader taxpayers are watching closely and will hold accountable those who choose fiscal recklessness over prudent governance. Accountability will come in many forms, including at the ballot box, in the courtrooms, as well as in the form of protests, media and social media aƩenƟon, as well as many other measures that are legally available to us.
Please act with the foresight and responsibility that your consƟtuents deserve and reevaluate this iniƟaƟve with a focus on cost-effecƟve, pracƟcal soluƟons that address the needs of all ciƟzens.
I look forward to your prompt reconsideraƟon of this maƩer and am prepared to mobilize community support for more responsible leadership if necessary. In fact, given the outrageous magnitude of your acƟons, I am mobilizing community support, and you will soon be hearing about it. It is not too late to do the right thing. I promise you that this is going to blow up in your faces, figuraƟvely speaking.
Sincerely,
Houman David HemmaƟ MD PhD
PS minutes aŌer I posted my tweet regarding this issue, my security camera captured a clearly deranged, homeless woman coming to my doorstep and stealing a package from our front door. Thankfully, in addiƟon to paying obscene amounts of taxes, we pay thousands of dollars a year for private armed security. The security officer responded within seconds, found an apprehended the homeless individual, and got us back our package. we are becoming the wild West out here. People are geƫng injured, killed, and having all of their possessions stolen from them. The people will not accept your inviƟng the world enƟre homeless populaƟon to our city. Enough is enough.
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