agenda-report Request of Mayor Brock, Vice Mayor Negrete, and Councilmember Davis that the City Council direct the City Attorney to prepare a resolution for Council consideration that recites that, while the City of Santa Monica is respectful of everyone’s First Amendment rights to free speech, in some instances harm can come from expression that is false and/or counter to the public interest. The resolution should reflect the Council’s disapproval of signs placed upon a building along the 3rd Street Promenade that falsely state that the City Manager approves of the County’s “free needle and meth pipe” program, as in fact the program is implemented by a contractor of Los Angeles County pursuant to state law, and the City Council and City Manager play no role in authorizing the program. Further, to the extent that there is City policy on the program, the City Council is the source of any such City policy on the subject, not the City Manager. Finally, the signs also may be counter-productive to the community’s stated goal of economic recovery as they may deter people from visiting and shopping in Santa Monica at a time when the City’s retail, travel, and entertainment businesses are still recovering from the pandemic. New Item Received. 8/6/2026
- Document
- agenda-report Request of Mayor Brock, Vice Mayor Negrete, and Councilmember Davis that the City Council direct the City Attorney to prepare a resolution for Council consideration that recites that, while the City of Santa Monica is respectful of everyone’s First Amendment rights to free speech, in some instances harm can come from expression that is false and/or counter to the public interest. The resolution should reflect the Council’s disapproval of signs placed upon a building along the 3rd Street Promenade that falsely state that the City Manager approves of the County’s “free needle and meth pipe” program, as in fact the program is implemented by a contractor of Los Angeles County pursuant to state law, and the City Council and City Manager play no role in authorizing the program. Further, to the extent that there is City policy on the program, the City Council is the source of any such City policy on the subject, not the City Manager. Finally, the signs also may be counter-productive to the community’s stated goal of economic recovery as they may deter people from visiting and shopping in Santa Monica at a time when the City’s retail, travel, and entertainment businesses are still recovering from the pandemic. New Item Received. 8/6/2026
- Meeting
- June 25, 2024
- Body
- Santa Monica City Council
- Original file
- 119 KB
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: June 25, 2024
Agenda Item: 16.B
1 of 1
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Nikima Newsome, Interim City Clerk, City Clerk 16 Items Subject: Request of Mayor Brock, Vice Mayor Negrete, and Councilmember Davis that the City Council direct the City Attorney to prepare a resolution for Council consideration that recites that, while the City of Santa Monica is respectful of everyone’s First Amendment rights to free speech, in some instances harm can come from expression that is false and/or counter to the public interest.
The resolution should reflect the Council’s disapproval of signs placed upon a building along the 3rd Street Promenade that falsely state that the City Manager approves of the County’s “free needle and meth pipe” program, as in fact the program is implemented by a contractor of Los Angeles County pursuant to state law, and the City Council and City Manager play no role in authorizing the program. Further, to the extent that there is City policy on the program, the City Council is the source of any such City policy on the subject, not the City Manager. Finally, the signs also may be counter-productive to the community’s stated goal of economic recovery as they may deter people from visiting and shopping in Santa Monica at a time when the City’s retail, travel, and entertainment businesses are still recovering from the pandemic.
Prepared By: Maria Dacanay, Acting Assistant City Clerk Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Written Comments