Written Comments — Santa Monica City Council, September 30, 2025

1 David Yakobson
From: Paul Scott <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2025 6:02 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Ellis Raskin
Subject: California’s Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act

EXTERNAL
I support Santa Monica Councilmembers to vote yes on the resolution supporting the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684 / AB 1243). As Los Angeles recovers from deadly wildfires and our city struggles from budget shortfalls, we need to hold fossil fuel corporations financially accountable for the climate destruction they knowingly caused and profited from.

California’s Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act will hold polluters accountable while also investing in keeping Santa Monicans safe. It will fund projects that combat climate change, strengthen resilience, and support disaster response for Santa Monica and other cities.

SB 684 / AB 1243 needs to pass its first house by January 31st, 2026. It’s vital that Santa Monica takes leadership and joins a large coalition of cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego, who have already passed such resolutions to support this policy. Our state government must fight so us citizens don’t bear all the costs of climate disasters and adaptations. If polluters don’t pay, Santa Monica and its people will.

Paul Scott
Santa Monica
[email protected]
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1 David Yakobson
From: Gail Gordon <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2025 8:08 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Lana Negrete; Barry Snell; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Ellis Raskin; Natalya Zernitskaya; Caroline Torosis
Subject: WHERE WILL I LIVE WHEN ALL THIS DESTRUCTION BEGINS TWO BLOCKS FROM MY HOME?
Importance: High

EXTERNAL
Dear Council,
As I resident of the 90405 neighborhood, we are the next poorest and unprotected from over development. We are being taken advantage of because we are typically older and lived in our neighborhood for upwards of 40 years. We do not have the financial disposition or physical capabilities to protect ourselves.

We have one major street that brings us in and out to our homes, Ocean Park Blvd. The buildings that Council proposes will not only create horrible traffic, dehumanize our living environment, but also create an environment ripe for Particulate Cancer upon demolition. We all live within blocks of these potential demolition sites.

Not only will this end our Warranty of Habitability, it will set us up for a cancerous environment. I have metastatic ovarian cancer. This idea of what Council is voting to do will create an unhealthy environment where we won’t be safe to breathe, walk or sleep with our windows open, the continuous noise for upwards of two years, will cause untoward illnesses that Council has not even considered.

Please rethink buildings these unnecessary overly large building under the guise of SB 79 - which claims these tall buildings must be within .5 miles of the Train station.. These buildings are more than 1 mile from the closet station, thus making it not legally viable for these density bonuses of 7-8 stories. Parents and their children will have to worry about people peering into their bedroom windows.

Please rethink these mixed use buildings that will create an unsafe environment, cancerous particulates will be created upon demolition and traffic that was not planned for our streets. Finally, this does not help nor address Low-income housing. There is absolutely no point to ruining our neighborhoods. Would you do this to your parents neighborhoods?
Thank you for your time,
Gail Gordon
A Resident of 90405
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1 David Yakobson
From: Annelisa Moe <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2025 4:31 PM
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Ellis Raskin
Subject: Support for Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684 / AB 1243) Attachments: 2025-09-29_HTBtoSMCityCouncil_SB 684-AB 1243_SUPPORT.pdf

EXTERNAL
Hello,
Attached please find a letter from Heal the Bay supporting the resolution to endorse California’s Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684 / AB 1243). Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments, and please reach out with any questions or comments concerning the letter.

To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.

Heal the Bay ANNELISA EHRET MOE
Associate Director, Science & Policy (Water Quality)
She/Her/Hers (What does this mean?)
Heal the Bay
1444 9th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
T: 310.451.1500 x 115 |Â M: 707.540.4303
Confidentiality Note: The information contained in this e-mail and any attachments to it may be legally privileged and include confidential information. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately of that fact by return e-mail and permanently delete the e-mail and any attachments.

Thank you.

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1444 9th Street ph. 310-451-1500 [email protected]
Santa Monica, CA 90401 fax 310-4961902 www.healthebay.org

1 September 29, 2025
Santa Monica City Council
1685 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Sent via email to: [email protected]
RE: Support for Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684 / AB 1243) To Mayor Negrete and Members of the Santa Moncia City Council:

Heal the Bay is a non-profit environmental organization based in Santa Monica with 40 years of experience dedicated to making the coastal waters and watersheds of Greater Los Angeles safe, healthy and clean. We would like to recognize that we are on unceded Indigenous land. The scope of our work takes place across the lands of coastal Indigenous Peoples and Native Nations of the Tongva, Chumash, Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, and Kizh Nation tribes. We pay our respects to elders past, present, and emerging, as they continue their stewardship of these lands and waters.

We write to strongly support the resolution before you to endorse California’s Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684 / AB 1243). This landmark legislation will hold the largest fossil fuel corporations financially accountable for the climate damages they knowingly caused and profited from, while taxpayers and communities are left to shoulder the devastating costs of climate change.

The evidence is clear: climate change is intensifying catastrophic wildfires in Southern California. UCLA research shows that climate change increased extreme drying of vegetation by 25%, fueling devastating fires in our region. The costs are staggering—insurance, emergency response, healthcare, and higher taxes—all borne by the public. Meanwhile, Exxon alone makes over $57 million per day, without paying a dime toward the destruction their industry has caused. The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act would change this by requiring major fossil fuel companies to pay into a fund that supports disaster recovery, community resilience, and climate adaptation projects. The legislation is modeled after proven programs like the federal Superfund Act and California’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act. Cities across California—including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego—have already passed resolutions in support, and now it is Santa Monica’s turn to lead.

Santa Monica residents should not be left to pay the price for climate disasters while polluters profit.

Supporting this resolution will send a clear message: it is time for the corporations that created this crisis to take financial responsibility for its consequences. We urge you to vote yes on the resolution supporting SB 684 / AB 1243. Santa Monica can and should join the growing statewide movement to hold polluters accountable and build a safer, more resilient future for all Californians.

Sincerely,
Annelisa Ehret Moe
Associate Director, Science & Policy
Heal the Bay
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1444 9th Street ph. 310-451-1500 [email protected]
Santa Monica, CA 90401 fax 310-4961902 www.healthebay.org

2 cc by email: Mayor Lana Negrete ([email protected]) Mayor Pro Tem Caroline Torosis ([email protected]) Councilmember Dan Hall ([email protected])
Councilmember Jesse Zwick ([email protected]) Councilmember Barry Snell ([email protected]) Councilmember Natalya Zernitskaya ([email protected]) Councilmember Ellis Raskin ([email protected]) Item 1
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1 David Yakobson
From: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2025 1:45 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Ellis Raskin
Subject: Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684 / AB 1243) Importance: High

EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica City Council Members,
I support Santa Monica Councilmembers to vote yes on the resolution supporting the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684 / AB 1243). As Los Angeles recovers from deadly wildfires and our city struggles from budget shortfalls, we need to hold fossil fuel corporations financially accountable for the climate destruction they knowingly caused and profited from.

Thank you.

Stephen Tarzynski MD
Santa Monica resident since 1975
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1 David Yakobson
From: John Alle <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2025 8:11 AM
To: The Santa Monica Coalition
Subject: FAMILY REUNIFICATION

EXTERNAL
UPDATE: We’re happy to report the young woman whose family saw our family reunification hotline on the news last month is enjoying her time at home with her family where she has been attending church and helping around the house with her baby sister.

We’re sharing their link in our bio with her family’s GoFundMe if you're able to offer any assistance, prayers or words of encouragement. We’d be grateful to you helping them get her back on her feet.

Thank you for being part of our Community.

Insta
https://www.instagram.com/p/DPB-zQ_EVRq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Item 1
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1 David Yakobson
From: Katherine Reuter <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2025 3:25 PM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: 2025 Parks and Recreation Vision Plan - Memorial Park

EXTERNAL
Dear Council Members,
Maintaining, improving and expanding Santa Monica's parks is something everyone who lives here can support. A new vision plan for parks is going to be presented to the Council for approval on October 28th. It is strongly recommended that the Council specifically address Memorial Park and take action to immediately to assure the initiation of its redevelopment. [The history of Memorial Park and the factual information below was reported in the Santa Monica Daily Mirror and City Council reports.]
In October 2019, City Council directed staff to seek proposals for the design and construction services for Memorial Park in phases one and two of ballpark redevelopment and expansion, and authorized staff to negotiate joint use agreements with Santa Monica College and Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. At that time, bond funding for the project included the $20 million from SMC bonds plus a goal of an additional $5 million from the SMMUSD’s Measure SMS bond and another $5 million from the city’s capital improvement budget, making up a $30 million phase one budget. But that was then.

Forward progress went out the window with COVID-19 shutdowns. By February 2022, the bond money left for the park was only the $20 million of SMC bond monies. (Please note that the community voted and passed the SMC bond measure in 2016.) Now it appears that plans for Memorial Park are proceeding, and a public statement was made that construction would begin in July 2026 - just over 10 years since the SMC Bond was passed.

Santa Monica does not need a "vision" for Memorial Park, it needs action. If the "vision plan" process causes delays again to moving forward on Memorial Park, that should be a red flag.

Parks are a "kitchen table" issue for Santa Monica families. Please take some concrete and visible action on Memorial Park, now.

Sincerely,
Katherine Reuter
1210 Grant Street
90405
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2 Member of the Citizens' Bond Oversight Committees for both Santa Monica College (SMC) and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD).

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1 David Yakobson
From: Zan Dubin Scott <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2025 3:48 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Ellis Raskin
Subject: Polluters Pay

EXTERNAL
Dear Council,
I support Santa Monica Councilmembers to vote yes on the resolution supporting the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684 / AB 1243). As Los Angeles recovers from deadly wildfires and our city struggles from budget shortfalls, we need to hold fossil fuel corporations financially accountable for the climate destruction they knowingly caused and profited from.

Thank you for keeping us safe and healthy.

Zan Dubin, Sunset Park
(310) 383-0956
zdscommunications.com
Co-Founder, National Drive Electric Month
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2 David Yakobson
From: suzie roth <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2025 11:46 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Ellis Raskin
Subject: Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684 / AB 1243)

EXTERNAL
Dear Santa Monica councilmembers and Mayor Negrete,
Please vote YES on the resolution supporting the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684 / AB 1243).

With Santa Monica facing budget shortfalls, it’s time to make fossil fuel corporations—who knowingly caused and profited from climate destruction—pay their fair share.

This legislation will hold polluters accountable while investing in public safety. It will fund climate solutions, resilience measures, and disaster response for Santa Monica and other California communities.

SB 684 / AB 1243 must clear its first house by January 31, 2026. Santa Monica should lead by joining cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego in supporting this critical policy. Our state must ensure citizens don’t shoulder all the costs of climate disasters and adaptation. If polluters don’t pay, Santa Monica and its residents will.

Thank you!
Suzie Roth
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3 David Yakobson
From: Daniel Green <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2025 11:07 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Police cover up !

EXTERNAL
To the Mayor and council of Santa Monica, i was born in Santa Monica and still live here in my family home. For last two years I have been stalked and continually threatened with murder from a homeless man who wants to kill me and believes he can take my home after. He keeps me awake every night. The police refused to file any report against him and now refuse to investigate and enforce a restraining order i was recently granted by a judge. Its gotten worse now. I discovered why the police refuse to do anything to protect my life, Detective Thomas McLaughlin of the Santa Monica Police is this homeless man’s father . He and others on our force have promised the homeless man , no matter what they will never arrest him. I have continually documented all this and my family has all the info. You may not care if I'm murdered or not but the following lawsuit by my family if i’m harmed or murdered will most likely bankrupt this city to the sum of millions. I do hope you can correct this situation. I have already spoke with SMPD , filed reports and complaints and I'm being ignored. I have contacted the press , FBI, ACLU, attorneys and more so it will be easy to prove all this . Please let me know. Daniel Green 310-699-9011
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1 David Yakobson
From: John Alle <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2025 7:34 AM
To: John Alle
Cc: The Santa Monica Coalition
Subject: No Response From City Manager Oliver Chi -

EXTERNAL
John Alle <[email protected]>
to manager, bcc: me
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Dear City Manager Chi,
The Santa Monica Coalition writes to express our concerns regarding the effectiveness, transparency, and accountability of the City's homelessness services spending. We believe constructive dialogue on these critical issues will benefit our entire community.

Over the past several months, our Coalition has developed and funded a family reunification program that has achieved remarkable results. Using AI-driven solutions, we have successfully reunited over 25 individuals with their families at an average cost of under $500 per person—with a 100% success rate. Through minimal outreach efforts, we have identified over 500 additional homeless individuals seeking family reunification.

This success stands in stark contrast to the City's current approach, which allocates over $55 million annually across multiple organizations with limited measurable outcomes.

We have made repeated attempts to collaborate with the City and its contracted partners, including the Mayor, former Homeless Liaison Officer, St. Joseph's Center, The People Concern, and West Coast Care. We offered free access to our proven reunification system. Despite our efforts, West Coast Care canceled four scheduled meetings, and other partners have shown little interest in collaboration.

This response prompted us to examine the City's contract with West Coast Care, which has revealed significant concerns:

Financial Performance Issues
 Initial 2018 contract: $250,000 annually (capped at $1M per extension)  Current funding: $1.3 million (2025), despite assisting only 42 individuals year-to-date  Historical performance: 97 people assisted (2022) to 161 people (2024)  Cost per person assisted has increased dramatically while outcomes remain unclear Contract Compliance Deficiencies
West Coast Care has consistently failed to meet essential contract requirements:

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2  Scope Reduction: Services limited from "streets of Santa Monica" to only "Santa Monica Beach and Pier"
 Outreach Hours: Failed to provide required 25 hours weekly (1,300 hours annually)  Reporting: Missing mandatory mid-year and year-end program plans and budgets  Documentation: No monthly activity reports using the WCC Program Reporting Tracker  Case Management: Failed to provide required services for 250 clients annually  Financial Transparency: Missing detailed monthly invoices with salary breakdowns and expense documentation
 Meeting Attendance: Absent from required bi-weekly HLP Team meetings  Outcome Reporting: No breakdown of services provided or family connection results  Insurance: Repeated failures to submit timely proof of liability insurance Questions Requiring Immediate Attention
Given these findings, we respectfully request answers to the following questions:

1. Why does the City continue funding West Coast Care despite repeated contract violations and diminishing results?

2. What accountability measures does the City employ to ensure taxpayer funds are used effectively?

3. Why has the City declined our offer to collaborate on proven, cost-effective solutions?

4. What steps will the City take to improve transparency and outcomes in homelessness services? The Santa Monica Coalition remains committed to addressing our community's homelessness crisis effectively and humanely. We believe our proven model demonstrates that significant improvements are possible with proper focus and accountability.

We respectfully request a meeting to discuss these concerns and explore how our organizations can work together to better serve Santa Monica's homeless population. The urgency of this humanitarian crisis demands that we set aside organizational barriers and embrace solutions that demonstrably work.

Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to your prompt response and the opportunity to discuss these important matters in person.

Sincerely,
John Alle

THE SANTA MONICA COALITION/SAFE CITIES
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