1 David Yakobson
From: paula achter <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2025 1:15 PM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Waymo Disrupts my Sleep Every Night -Data 10.23.25 - ITEM 5D, Council Meeting
10.28.2025
EXTERNAL
Dear Council,
I live on the alley of 12 court where Waymo has a charging station at the end of the block at 1222 Broadway. All the vehicles that enter that station whiz past my alley window all day and every day for the last 8 months or so.
I have attempted to mitigate the problem in every way possible. I have sound curtains, earplugs, headphones and I play white noise into my headphones.
Below is a typical night (Oct 23, 2025) where I recorded my night's sleep history with my watch and phone.
I go to sleep before 7:30 due to exhaustion, then I wake up around midnight and can't fall asleep again due to the whining outside my window at least once every minute. The volume of cars increases after midnight.
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2 As the phone report above states. Adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep and even though I am in bed for 12 hours I come up short with only 5 hours with 45% sleep efficiency. I blame my inability to fall back asleep on the close proximity of the waymo cars to my bedroom window, the high pitched squeal that they make, and the high frequency of their passing in the middle of the night.
I've written to Waymo, I've begged their workers and I've sent complaints to the city. Why must they use the narrow alley rather than the street? They could have a curb cut on the street side or they could use the street for access only at night when there wouldn't be traffic pile-ups. Taking away mine and my neighbors' sleep is not the answer.
Why are they in a residential area making my life hell for their profit? How is this fair when it is illegal for a fleet to operate there? Please HELP!
Best,
Paula Achter
--
Paula Achter
Resident
1534 Euclid St.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
On Tue, Sep 9, 2025, 10:40 AM paula achter <[email protected]> wrote:
Dear Council,
~Two months ago, I sent the complaint below to Waymo (& SM City) asking Waymo to reroute their vehicles through the streets and not the alleys. They did for a short while, but soon they returned to going through our alley.
Since then, I've learned that ALL the impacted neighbors prefer Waymo using the street access despite occasional traffic pile ups. Our alley was never designed for this heavy usage. Waymos pass every 20 seconds 24/7.
I've tried brown noise, white noise, noise curtains and many other devices to kill the noise, but if i wake up at night, i can't go back to sleep. As a senior, my health & sanity are greatly affected by the resulting lack of sleep and peace that i have carefully documented.
There is growing organized resentment and a belief that this project is illegal and was fraudulently approved. The City must support its citizens to end our suffering as Waymo will not voluntarily do so. "I live on the 12th court alleyway in Santa Monica where there are two charging stations servicing >54 Waymo cars. They are routing the approach down my alley... instead of using the streets. All night & day there are wining electric cars ripping past my office and bedroom windows.
There are no setbacks in the alley as in the street. This is unfair to turn my residential neighborhood into an industrial hell for your profit.
Please reroute your cars to use the streets instead of the alleys. Your stations are located at the end of the block and this modification is totally doable. Sincerely, Tired & Pissed Off" Sincerely,
Paula
Paula Achter
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3 resident
1534 Euclid St.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
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1 David Yakobson
From: John Alle <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2025 12:00 PM
To: The Santa Monica Coalition
Subject: Today at 2 PM JOHN KOBYLT SHOW ON KFI 640 AM
EXTERNAL
https://x.com/john__alle/status/1983190254132834766?s=46 .
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1 David Yakobson
From: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2025 1:45 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Waymo issue in closed session
EXTERNAL
The Waymo Depo people, and other interests, should have chosen suitable land far enough away from residences to avoid keeping neighbors awake late at night through very early morning, let alone 100 feet as our law requires. As a long time Santa Monican himself, Chris Harding and team should have looked in mostly industrial areas, not on a residential block. Nothing here? Go to LA.
Michael Tarbet
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1 David Yakobson
From: Caitlin Lili <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2025 9:41 PM
To: councilmtgitems; [email protected]; Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya Subject: Adopt the Parks & Rec Moratorium AND Phase Out All City-Owned Turf
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete and City Council Members,
My name is Caitlin, and I am a life-long (born and raised!) Santa Monica resident, parent, and park user. I am writing to urge you to adopt the Parks & Recreation Commission's recommendation for a moratorium on new artificial turf, and to go further. I ask you to pass a binding city-wide ordinance that phases out all existing plastic turf fields and transitions all city-owned land back to safe, natural grass.
The city's own expert commissions have spoken with a clear and unified voice: plastic turf is the wrong choice for Santa Monica. It violates our Sustainability Rights Ordinance by leaching microplastics and toxic PFAS chemicals into our soil, and it creates a massive, unfunded liability for future generations.
Instead of spending millions to replace old plastic with new plastic, I urge you to invest in a regenerative, organic field maintenance program. This is the more fiscally responsible and environmentally sound solution that will enable this transition and provide durable, playable, and truly safe natural grass fields for our children.
Please listen to your commissions and your community. Vote to make a plastic-free Santa Monica our binding city policy.
Thank you,
Caitlin Lili, Sunset Park
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1 David Yakobson
From: Dave Briggs <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2025 5:07 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Barry Snell; Ellis Raskin; Dan Hall; Natalya Zernitskaya; Jesse Zwick
Subject: City Council 10/14 item 11-D - OPPOSE Covenant and Ordinance Changing the Zoning of 2644 30th St.
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete and City Councilmembers,
My family has lived at 2646 29th St since 2011, which is directly across the street from 2644 30th St.
Upzoning this building would be devastating to my quality of life and home value, all but requiring me to sell the house my kids and I love and move elsewhere.
Additionally, today is the first I've heard of this upzoning. This is NOT acceptable.
I urge you to
a) reject the 10-year deed restriction limiting only housing development at 2644 30th Street, b) oppose the ordinance upzoning of 2644 30th Street from residential to commercial, and c) instruct Staff to return with rescission of the LUCE amendment.
The property, which is NOT located on a boulevard, currently has a 2-story office building dating from the 1950s and a surface parking lot. It is zoned R1 (residential). The owner(s) want the property rezoned to Neighborhood Commercial (NC), which would allow it eventually to be redeveloped to 85 feet in height, with the current 55-foot height limit on Ocean Park Blvd. plus state density bonuses. This would be directly across 29th and 30th Streets from 1- and 2-story homes.
The proposed 10-year restriction on developing housing projects is merely a short-term reprieve from a tower shading the low-rise residential neighborhood, and it offers no protection against commercial activity, which our General Plan specifically limits to the boulevards.
Procedural flaws with this spot upzoning include the following:
City Staff continue to state that the parcel R1 (residential) zoning was an “inadvertent error” in the 2010 LUCE, but this appears to be untrue. The LUCE update involved a lengthy process intended to protect residential neighborhoods from commercial activity, which was limited to the boulevards.
The City Staff and City Attorney have spent a year helping the property owner upzone the parcel without disclosing this relationship to the public.
City Staff allowed the owner to both skip the application process for a zoning change and avoid paying $34,000 in application fees.
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2 The retail center on Ocean Park Blvd. between 29th and 30th, currently zoned Neighborhood Commercial, already extends further into the residential neighborhood than the NC zones on the adjacent blocks. Upzoning even a portion of the 2644 30th parcel creates a “peninsula” of commercial use in a residential neighborhood, and it is spot-zoning.
Upzoning to Neighborhood Commercial would also create additional density, traffic, parking shortages, noise, and infrastructure strain. Staff has provided no legitimate justification for this upzoning.
Proceeding virtually guarantees costly litigation against the city. It also sets a dangerous precedent, opening floodgates for upzoning throughout all residential neighborhoods. Other developers are waiting to follow suit, which will erode residents’ trust in local government and further exacerbate our already strained city resources.
Again, I urge you to a) reject the 10-year deed restriction limiting only housing development at 2644 30th Street, b) oppose the ordinance upzoning of 2644 30th Street, and c) instruct Staff to return with rescission of the LUCE amendment.
Sincerely,
Dave Briggs
2646 29th St, SM 90405
610.212.1932
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1 David Yakobson
From: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2025 4:07 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Santa Monica City Manager's Office; Lana Negrete Subject: More POLICE Needed; Transparency re Samoshel Move?? Save SM Landmarks!
EXTERNAL
Dear SM Council, Mayor and Manager Chi:
Please consider the importance that
We the taxpayers and residents also need to Provide our input… Before Decisions are made regarding the following:
1. Re: Samoshel Moving?? and Where is this “Location”???
2. Ocean Ave Mental Facility Cancellation- Projected replacement locations??
3. Re: POLICE #’s: POLICE are our #1 priority and we need more-What SMPD Chief recommended 290- 300
To Ensure Safety @ Promenade and Increase Tourism and Revenue
4. Re: Civic Center: Encourage RPG to move forward on Bid for Music Venue@and encourage them to complete pro forma…
Their 1M investment affords them a courtesy and this Excellent plan generates Revenue for SM while preserving this
Our Remarkable Landmark!!
5. Housing is Not a Priority!!! We already too have Many projects in Effect and We need to keep Santa Monica's Character and Charm that Attracts and Generates REVENUE… For the City…Especially with Budget concerns..
“There is not a Housing Emergency"
6. Please Keep Our Ice Skating Rink… or Find another Location for It.. **This is a Cherished Activity for All Residents and Tourists!
7. SAVE Bergamot - An Artistic Treasure.
8. Delay Airport Closure— And No Housing @ Airport Location… Parks and Entertainment..
9. Address Nightly influx of homeless @ Metro Station-3rd street and Tongva and Palisades Parks.(not SM residents)
Thanks for your consideration,
30 Year Resident and SM Homeowner
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1 David Yakobson
From: Arthur Jeon <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2025 3:51 PM
To: Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Jesse Zwick; Oliver Chi; councilmtgitems
Cc: Phil Brock; City of Santa Monica; Clerk Mailbox; Jeanette Gant; Micah Akerson; Erika Aklufi; Danielle Noble; Ramon Batista; [email protected]; Roberto Lucio; Thomas McLaughlin; Jose Rodriguez; Annette Farmer; Maryanne LaGuardia; Albin Gielicz; Alisha Brady; [email protected]; Arati Desai Wagabaza; Lori Brown; John Smith; John E.
Alle; Evan Meyer; [email protected]; Luke Cain; Peter Bosen; [email protected]; Elaine Golden-Gealer; Eric Sedman; Michele Aronson; Aisling Winders; Julia Ladd; Peter TRINH; Anuj Gupta; [email protected]; dominic gomez; Jenna Grigsby; Attorney Mailbox; Shawn R. Kehoe; Andrew Thomas (Downtown Santa Monica); SMDP Editor; Susan Cline; Third District; Michele A Wittig; [email protected]; Attorney Mailbox; Joe; Jenny Rush; Stan Epstein; Gary Tsai; [email protected]; Zina Josephs; Leah; Lauren Howland; [email protected]; Matthew Hall; Richard Drapkin; [email protected]; Planning Commission Comments; Dawn Fairchild; [email protected]; councilmtgitems; MK; Dan Charn.; [email protected]; Gerardo Leyva; Carlos Jaen; Brandon Capiro; Kelly Simon; Mario Fonda-Bonardi; Jing Yeo; [email protected]; Scott McGee; Gerardo Leyva; Ryan Gradle; Roy Brown; Frank Marnell; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Kim Pieper; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Robert Coleman; [email protected]; [email protected]; Alyssa G; [email protected]; Lewis Gilmour
Subject: “Go sell crazy somewhere else; we’re all stocked up."
EXTERNAL
Hi everyone,
A month ago, I took a long walk through the city with our new Manager Oliver Chi, who, to his credit, who heard me out regarding the revulsion I had about the loss of chief Batista, as well as the challenges the city faces. We spoke candidly off the record and believe me, I didn’t hold back.
While it was off-the-record, I can report we saw two naked people on our walk, including one in Tongva whose pants were off as a group of middle-school girls jogged by. It was a satire snapshot of what’s wrong with Santa Monica. The other was in front of Samoshel, getting ready to defecate, as a dozen people collapsed or doing drugs didn’t look twice. Welcome to Santa Monica! The rest of the downtown was flooded with disorder, mentally ill homeless, and drug addicts. The promenade was empty. I’m naturally a positive person, but it depressed me, the state of our city. It seemed sad and downmarket, compared to when I would take people on tours of what was, 10 years ago, the apple of Southern California.
Oliver seems energetic, talented, and able to understand our challenges, as stated in this interview. He is directionally correct in his plan, as much as I’ve had time to review it (rushing it through in a council meeting before people can absorb it seems shortsighted). Still, he’s identified the main driver preventing Item 1
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2 our recovery after being mercilessly looted, and allowing years of neglect change our brand from sterling to unsafe bummer (it’s hilarious how our situation is always described as "recovering from Covid,” most recently in an LA Times piece, while every other mall in Southern California seems to have easily recovered). Oliver seems to understand we are 5 years past peak covid, and still drowning, with our brand severely tarnished by the unmentioned riots that seared a new image of Santa Monica worldwide, and an ongoing reputation as unsafe and dirty. How quickly and effectively Oliver moves on the following will determine his success, and how much credibility he will have in 6 months:
Close or move Samoshell: It’s a magnet for the most disturbed people and the downtown won’t revive without it. Oliver seems to understand that the disorder and lack of safety and cleanliness is killing our economic engine, investment, and tourism. This is priority one. I personally don’t care where it goes, out of the city entirely with vans to take people to it is fine by me. But we can’t be a vibrant place international and regional tourists want to visit until we remove the dangerous and depressing march of need through our downtown. You can argue it shouldn’t be so, but it is impossible to recover without doing this. After being attacked twice, robbed of expensive e-bikes from our locked garage, removing feces from the condo’s carport, and hassled too many times to mention, to say we have compassion fatigue is an understatement. Although we live downtown and get the worst of it, the entire city has had it.
Downtown is rundown: The sidewalks are cracked and old, the streets are perpetually grubby, and the vibe is tired. Oliver is correct that we must invest in all public infrastructure West of Lincoln (and then the rest of the city). I don’t know the details, but if we still have money in the rainy day fund, then we should invest it wisely because it’s raining! This is beyond mere cosmetics, it means creating an image of vibrancy instead of one of neglected despondency. Start with the dirty cracked sidewalks. Restore the fountains on the Promenade. Spit polish everything and then don’t allow transient addicts to use it as a toilet. Relatedly: Create a new catchphrase and make "Santa Monica–NOT the ‘Home of the homeless’": Enough is enough. We should aim to be like Southern Beach cities (Redondo, Manhattan, La Jolla) in terms of vibrancy, cleanliness, and safety. We are like a well-meaning swimmer rushing out to save a drowning person, and then drowning in the process. We cannot solve the problems of the world. You can call it nativism, or heartless, but the strategy to deal with the tsunami of need coming into the city has failed. The “care in place” philosophy is a failure.
Supplying needles in our parks is a failure. Shelters without sobriety is a failure. “Housing first” is a failure. Right now, our focus has to be on saving our city from a doom loop. This and ONLY this.
So our motto should be, as Jack Nicholson said in As Good As It Gets, “Go sell crazy somewhere else; we’re all stocked up.”
So, immediately do what it takes to shut down the planned shelters on Ocean Ave: I watched the entire NOMA meeting on this, in which Oliver made a presentation and answered questions.
And then the County health officials came in to try and justify what was done in the dark. People were rightly furious at the lack of transparency in putting two shelters in the middle of a neighborhood, with ocean views on the only park in the city that isn’t inundated by naked transient addicts. A park I walk to almost every day because my local park Reed is unsafe to have a picnic in. Lots of talk about “security” from the county (protecting the shelter’s inhabitants) and very little about the fact that the “residents” (severely addicted and mentally ill people with no sobriety mandate) can come and go as they please. Again, the message has to be “Go sell crazy somewhere else; we’re full up here.” So, I don’t care who knew what and when. I care whether the city will use any excuse to SHUT IT DOWN ANY WAY YOU NEED TO. Show me you can think outside the box on this.
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3 Save the Civic Center: The core of good leadership is vision, a bias for action, and the ability take big swings. We’ve lost this, getting caught up in small ball details while missing the big picture. An unforgivable miss? Settling for “watch parties” during the Olympics rather than the hundreds of millions of dollars of rebranding that having drones lifting off from the sand of Beach Volleyball would provide us. Santa Monica INVENTED beach volleyball, but we traded a smaller vision because it was going to cost us some money upfront in the ultimate pennywise, pound foolish decision. Another miss in the making? Not doing everything it takes to bring the Civic Center back to life—this will show me we have lost the ability to take big swings. It’s one thing to sell off parking lots (not garages) to balance the books, but don't you DARE allow our Civic Center heritage to be sold to developers. Find the public/private partnership that can restore the Center.
We will reap millions a year from the income it will throw off in terms of restaurants, hotels, and general vibe. Show the residents you can be bold on their behalf because the majority of us want the Civic Center restored so it can be a living metaphor of a restored Santa Monica. Please show me you understand the symbolism of this.
Restore the moral of our city: This is an intangible that comes from taking big swings and succeeding at them. The Olympics, the Civic Center, the restoration of our city streets for the 99% of actual residents that want to walk safe streets, and see a movie on the promenade without being accosted by need, neglect, and needles. This means we must get out of survival mode. It will mean development, but not a wholesale destruction of what makes people want to come here. It means that we need bigger swings than allowing booze in the “entertainment zone,” which hasn’t seemed to move the needle. Restore downtown and then relentlessly promote a “we are back” message. Find other ways to return Santa Monica to a place everybody loved to live, rather than a place that people now look at me with pity before saying: “It used to be so nice, what happened?"
Play hardball regarding the train: The County is NOT our friend. We seem to be the victim of every social experiment the county wants to run, from needles in the park, to letting the train unload, to shoving shelters into residential neighborhood, to, with the state, green lighting an unprecedented level of development. If they won’t cooperate with stopping fare jumping, with dealing with the offloading of a nightly march of the addicted and/or deranged, then shut it down in a case of "city civil disobedience." Then call every newspaper in the country to document it. Put the county on the spot, and with before and after videos (and pictures) of the Promenade back then, versus the hollow shell of what it is now. Seriously, this state and county has made disastrous decisions regarding addiction and transient homelessness, spending tens of billions of dollars with no KPI (key performance indicators) to show for it. At some point the county we will realize we need to build institutions for people who can’t care for themselves, not embed the on our streets and call that “compassion."
I could go on, but we’ve all got lives—however, I’d like to end by saying I’m rooting for Oliver. I want the council to succeed and the new deployment plan of policing downtown to work. (I hope the police are given the mandate of waking up every addict sleeping it off in a public place and searching them for drugs and warrants). Santa Monica must gain the reputation of zero tolerance and a tough place to land for transient addicts, the dealers that supply them, and the disorder that accompanies them. Enough is enough.
Because truly, we’re stocked up on crazy here.
Best,
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4 Arthur Jeon
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From: Santa Monica City Manager's Office
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2025 2:59 PM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: FW: Opposition to JetSuiteX lease application
Thanks,
Amy Larkin
Administrative Staff Assistant- City Council
City Manager’s Ofiice
From: Laura M. Gallant <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2025 8:00 AM
To: Santa Monica City Manager's Office <[email protected]>; Lana Negrete <[email protected]>; Ellis Raskin <[email protected]>; Dan Hall <[email protected]>; Jesse Zwick <[email protected]>; Natalya Zernitskaya <[email protected]>; Barry Snell <[email protected]>; Caroline Torosis <[email protected]>
Subject: Opposition to JetSuiteX lease application
EXTERNAL
Dear City Manager Chi, Mayor Negrete, and City Council members, JetSuiteX has applied to the City for a lease at Santa Monica Airport (SMO) in order to fly large commercial 30-passenger turboprop aircraft that weigh about 40,000 lbs. (ATR 42-600) in and out of our airport 6 times per day, beginning in November 2025.
This is by far the largest aircraft to use SMO's shortened runway. According to the JetSuiteX aircraft’s manufacturer, the 3,500-foot SMO runway is too short. In addition, there are homes located within the runway’s safety buffer zones in both Santa Monica and West LA.
In addition, in order to access SMO, JetSuiteX is using a loophole that will allow it to eliminate TSA security and ignore federal safety requirements.
There has been no public process.
We urge the City to begin a public process and do the following before considering approval of the lease application:
1) Hold a public hearing.
Residents don't understand how JetSuiteX can legally start what will essentially be "commercial" service at a "general aviation" airport.
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2 2) Demand a Safety Review by the FAA.
All safety and security risks should be examined to ensure compliance with FAA regulations. 3) Complete an Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
Noise and air pollution impacts should be thoroughly studied, documented, and mitigated.
Our children practice soccer regularly at Airport Park. There have been multiple instances in the past few years when I've personally experienced the overwhelming impact of the lingering jet fumes that surrounds the park after a jet flight takeoff or landing. Do not subject our kids to unnecessary air pollution for the short term financial gain offered by a prospective arrangement with this company.
Sincerely,
Laura Gallant
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From: Non <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2025 5:51 PM
Subject: santa monica government stealing from taxpayers Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Completed
EXTERNAL
unfortunately my children and i live in corrupt santa monica. for over 1 month, my family can’t go to the beach because the beach showers have been shut off. after my children go to the beach they need to wash off the sand from their body. this is called common sense.
i submit requests to the department of public works and 311 and they are closed out without a reason. this proves that the samo is corrupt as they are closing out requests without explanation. this must be visible to taxpayers.
santa monica is corrupt
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From: Jessica Burnett <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2025 8:04 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Big blue bus is chronically off schedule
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Completed
EXTERNAL
Good morning,
I hope this makes it to the city council members and if not , please feel free to forward it to them.
I have been taking the Big blue bus for decades and briefly took a break from the bus during COVID. I took the bus for recreational activities and for work ( lines 1, 2, 7) and they were always clean and on time.
However, I started taking the BBB in June and it ran quickly and on time. But the moment Fall hit and school started, the buses vanish, don't show up or show up 30min late. I now ride lines 1,2,14. And the 14 is the most incredibly inconsistent bus I have ever ridden. I have called multiple times , submitted late bus tickets and it seems to be getting worse. The buses, when they do arrive, are crowded and students are late for school and adults are late for work. I cannot understand why during the school year and during the 6:30am to 8:30am window these buses can't run on time and more frequent. This is not impossible because all of the buses including line 14 did just this before September.
I hope something will be done about this. And if there is someone else I need to contact please let me know.
Best,
Jessica 믱믮믯믲믳믴믵믰Burnett
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From: Ann Hoover <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2025 11:00 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Jesse Zwick; Natalya Zernitskaya; Barry Snell; Ellis Raskin; Oliver Chi
Cc: Heidi von Tongeln; Susan Cola; Susan Cline; Peter James; Jennifer Taylor; Nia Tang Subject: October 28, 2025 Council Meeting - Item 1. General Public Comment - Civic Center Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Completed
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Negrete, Mayor Pro Tem Torosis, Mr. Chi, and Councilmembers - Reference is made to the 4-member Council majority decision on October 14th to both end the ENA with RPG and also open up the whole Civic Center area to a staff analysis of "highest and best use" land valuation both encumbered and unencumbered.
To be crystal clear, one of the actions directed by the Council majority (Zwick, Hall, Zernitskaya, Torosis) is to determine land value with the area scraped, i.e., with the Auditorium, ECLS, Historic Belmar Park, and the EV Parking lot all destroyed and removed.
Here is the City's Planning Resources page - https://www.santamonica.gov/planningresources, which features links to many of the City's planning documents, all of which reflect the visioning and goals that guide and order our city's operations, priorities, and both present and future development.
These documents represent countless hours of staff time, legal review, public funds spent on outside consultants, community input, Council review, and ultimately Council approval.
Due to the investment in time and expense alone, the public has the right to rely on each one of them and they include everything from the Downtown Community Plan to the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE), to the Local Coastal Program, to the Civic Center Specific Plan.
Here is the Civic Center Specific Plan (CCSP) - please read it cover-to-cover if you haven't before.
http://santamonica.gov/media/Document%20Library/Topic%20Explainers/Planning%20 Resources/Civic%20Center%20Specific%20Plan%202018.05.22%20amended.pdf.
Since its approval by Council in 2005, the CCSP was re-vetted during the 2014-2016 Civic Working Group process, and then again as both the ECLS and sports field went first to Council for plans approval (as permanent not temporary improvements) and then on to the Coastal Commission for CDPs. The SWIP and EV parking lot are not reflected in the CCSP, Item 1
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3 which was last amended in 2018, as they were added by staff and Council without public outreach of note.
On October 14th, however, the CCSP was dismissed and ignored by Council. Because no City planning document is (or should be) considered more important or, conversely, less valid than any other plan, dismissing and ignoring any one of the plans undermines the credibility and validity of all of the plans.
And so, with this decision to ignore the multi-year and extensive public process that resulted in the CCSP, the Council majority (1) undermined the validity of every City planning document, (2) disrespected the CCSP specifically, (3) disrespected the public process generally, (4) failed to protect the norms of community engagement and good government, (5) ignored public input and the overwhelmingly expressed public preference to extend the ENA with RPG, and (6) effectively directed that the City function like a real estate development company.
Cities, however, are not real estate development companies. They are the opposite. They are not "for profit" entities, they are public institutions formed to, with financial integrity based upon available tax revenues, pool resources for the greater public good to provide services that benefit everyone like police and fire response, utilities, good roads, refuse collection, rules that help foster a healthy economic climate, and communal spaces like civic centers, town squares, and public parks. Civic Centers are public services. They are not real estate assets to be exploited or bulldozed and privatized so an area can "cash flow positively". They are to be invested in and nurtured and prioritized, celebrated and promoted and cherished.
So what happened on October 14th is deeply concerning because it was the same sort of norms-busting, dismissive, invalidating, undermining, potentially privatizing, and highly destructive behavior we're seeing from government at the national level.
Therefore I urge you to press pause, to reflect, and to please reconsider. Please respect the public process that resulted in the CCSP and resist letting the national zeitgeist any further infect and disfigure how we do the work of good government here in Santa Monica.
The public repeatedly, over many years, has made it clear time and time again that it wants both the Civic Auditorium preserved and reopened and for Belmar Field to be located in the Civic Center because (A) it's right by the land-poor public high school, (B) the City itself is park-poor and field-space challenged, and (C) it's both logically and equitably placed in a centrally-accessible (by rail, bike, bus, scooter, foot, and car) part of town.
However, if a Council majority continues to insist that the Civic Center (notwithstanding the CCSP) needs yet another review, then that must start not with staff land valuation analysis but with yet another robust, time-consuming, and expensive public community engagement process to determine what the community wants now in 2025 - similar to the most recent Civic Center re-envisioning that the City commenced in 2014.
That process took over two years from start to finish, cost the City over $350,000, was run by HR&A, involved appointing a 9-member Civic Working Group for deliberations, implementation of multiple large-scale community engagement events and a detailed survey Item 1
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4 (all similar to what we've seen with the SMAC Project), production of an extensive written report, and the participation of over 1,700 community members.
But must we reinvent the wheel yet again when we already know the answers because they are right there in the CCSP? Please just save us all a lot of time and public money by simply respecting the CCSP. When the Auditorium reopens, the CCSP vision will be complete, except for "Civic Auditorium Park" which is supposed to surround the Auditorium and the sports field and extend over top of the SWIP where the EV parking lot is now.
While other leaders in our nation are going so low now, every single day, let's please go high here in Santa Monica.
Please be impeccable in your public service and deeply respectful of our well-vetted City planning documents, the public process, community engagement, public input, and the norms of good government.
We did not see good government in action on October 14th so I ask you please to exemplify good government in every way possible going forward as it concerns both our Civic Center and every other issue in town, starting now.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Bowman
Ann K. Bowman
Resident, 29 years
Co-Chair, Civic Center Task Force, 2015-present
Recreation and Parks Commissioner, 2023-2025
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5 David Yakobson
From: John Alle <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2025 8:15 AM
To: The Santa Monica Coalition
Subject: LETTER TO SANTA MONICA
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Completed
EXTERNAL
LETTER TO SANTA MONICA
Why I regret supporting Lana Negrete for City Council in 2022 I supported Lana Negrete’s 2022 City Council campaign and co-hosted a fundraiser, but I now regret this due to her actions as Mayor/Councilmember.
Here are my reasons why:
*Conflicts of Interest (Negrete's music store business):
Negrete’s music store benefits from Santa Monica/Malibu School Board contracts, creating a conflict of interest. Other music equipment stores in Santa Monica state they were not allowed the opportunity to fairly bid.
Negrete claimed Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) clearance, but records show she never responded to their request for more information. Instead, Negrete told the public, "The FPPC cleared me." FPPC later confirmed a conflict, barring her from voting on related School Board issues.
A pending FPPC complaint alleges her store received over $87,000 in School Board contracts over two years while she voted on related matters.
* District Elections Reversal:
Negrete initially supported district elections but abandoned this under pressure from SMRR (Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights) in exchange for support and an eventual mayoral position.
She had seven opportunities (Sep. 12, 2023–Sep. 10, 2024) to be the deciding vote to end the costly California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) lawsuit ($15M in taxpayer costs so far) and support district elections, but did not. ** This is in part the reason Santa Monica currently has a 1-party, SMRR-controlled City Council. * Campaign Finance Violations:
After the Oct. 2, 2022 fundraiser, I immediately notified Negrete of improper donations in amounts exceeding city, county, and state laws. Despite 7 requests, she refused to return the funds. * Ignoring the City's Law Terminating Grants to Nonprofits that are Engaged in Needle Handouts :
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6 In 2024 Negrete voted with the majority of the City Council to terminate City Grants to any nonprofit distributing needles or drug paraphernalia in parks and public spaces. Negrete has not even suggested enforcing the new law against The Venice Family Clinic and Clare Matrix, citing political ties to LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath. Both nonprofits admit to continued handouts and continue receiving city grant dollars. * Lying to the Public about Her Knowledge of the Proposed Ocean Avenue Mental Health Housing Project Negrete claimed she only recently learned during the last few weeks of a proposed housing facility for mentally ill, nonsober adults at 425 Ocean Avenue across from Palisades Park and walking distance to schools, but records and whistleblowers confirm she knew for seven months. She now admits she also knew about and did not disclose of similar new facilities in the Pico District.
* Final Straw:
Negete flew to Sacramento in Spring 2025 to lobby with Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur to exempt Santa Monica from Assembly Bill 1079 which requires cities to hold district elections in lieu of voting at large. This was confirmed by staff from the bill's sponsor.
Negrete informed the public only when her trip was disclosed by citizens and City Staff whistleblowers.
Negrete’s trip was paid for from the City's General Fund, not from her Councilmember Travel Account.
* Personal Retaliation:
In 2024, Negrete sought to lease space in one of my 3rd Street Promenade properties for her struggling music store, demanding I cover refurbishment and costs for studio build-outs within the space. We agreed on rent and I offered monthly rental concessions, but she also demanded I pay for all her interior improvements. I declined.
In retaliation, she co-sponsored a motion condemning me and a Santa Monica Coalition banner on my property, and also falsely claiming the space was vacant and overpriced.
The space hosts senior computer training and Braille classes. The City Attorney upheld the noncommercial banner as First Amendment-protected.
Negrete has since disparaged me to discredit my concerns.
Lana Negrete’s dishonesty, financial conflicts of interest and her focus on advancing her own political career at the expense of residents and businesses, make her unfit for any public office.
John Alle
THE SANTA MONICA COALITION/SAFE CITIES
** Council Meeting Agenda and Closed Session Agenda Items referred to in letter September 12, 2023 Closed Session Item 3C
November 13, 2023 Closed Session Item 3A
February 22, 2024 Special Meeting 4B
April 9, 2024 Closed Session Item and Item 4I on Council Agenda May 14, 2024 Closed Session Item 4D
May 28, 2024 Closed Session Item 4A
September 10, 2024 Closed Session Item 4A
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7 David Yakobson
From: Tricia Crane <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2025 8:31 AM
To: Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; councilmtgitems
Subject: NE Neighbors: The Civic Has Been Dead for Decades. Give RPG Six More Months to Prove They Can Bring It Back to Life
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Completed
EXTERNAL
Letter to the Editor:
The Civic Has Been Dead for Decades. Give RPG Six More Months to Prove They Can Bring It Back to Life
By Marc L. Verville, Former Audit Subcommittee Chair, Sunset Park, Santa Monica This note is to strongly urge you to select Staff Option #1, Approve a six-month extension (two consecutive 90-day periods). As staff notes, this option would continue negotiations with RPG, while preserving the City’s ability to terminate if no viable plan emerges as prudent. This aligns with RPG’s sole request at this time, which is a 180-day extension of the Exclusive Negotiation Item 1
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8 Agreement (ENA) in order to study and quantify the financial and other impacts before any deal is finalized.
There are several major economic positives in the RPG proposal that cannot be duplicated by any alternative use of the site.
1. First, in their presentation “The Santa Monica Civic Reimagined”, RPG repeatedly states that their proposal will require NO City money or bonds to realize this project. The RPG presentation is titled “The Santa Monica Civic Reimagined” and can be found at:
2. Second, they are including a new park on the site of the existing parking lot, adding green open space to the sector of the City which has the highest rate of densification.
3. Third, the elimination of parking will increase the capacity utilization of the City’s existing downtown parking facilities by venue visitors. These facilities generate General Fund revenues, which the Council has declared to be of the highest priority for the City, both in this Fiscal Emergency and for its long-term financial stability.
4. Fourth, the influx of visitors will form the nexus of economic revitalization and growth of all of Santa Monica’s unique revenue-generating destination assets that include the Pier, the Promenade, Santa Monica Place, and the city’s large hotel footprint. Increasing hotel occupancy rates will, through the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), generate one of the highest immediate positive revenue impacts to the General Fund, as it is one of the Fund’s highest revenue streams.
5. Fifth, and critically, RPG estimates that visitors to this venue will spend an average of $300 per day, excluding ticket prices. This represents an almost tenfold (10x) spend compared to the $33.47 total estimated 2024 daily spend for Daytrip Visitors that was noted in the HR&A analysis of the LA28 Olympic Volleyball proposal (see SMCC 2024-10-08 Item 7.A. – HR&A Advisors Full Report – Attach 17146)
The criticality to the City’s finances of the last two points cannot be overstated! The cratering of the City’s commercial economy, and therefore the City’s finances, is directly related to the precipitous declines in both visitors and their spending, as the following charts developed the Economic Impact Reports for the period 2017 to 2023, prepared by SM Travel & Tourism (SMTT):
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9 There is NO OTHER OPTION for the site that can deliver the scale of benefits to the City that the RPG proposal provides. In addition to the direct economic multiplier that the RPG proposal provides, the City can increase the economic benefits even more by using the revitalized Civic as the catalyst to change its entire approach to managing its destination assets. Specifically, the City can abandon its legacy siloed asset management policies and adopt a comprehensive and integrated destination asset portfolio asset management process. In this, the City can amplify economic benefits by coordinating the programming across all public destination assets and partnering with owners of the private assets to extend programming and synergistic activities.
That asset portfolio includes:
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10 Year-round Mediterranean weather
A live entertainment venue at the Civic Center
SM Place shopping
Promenade dining and entertainment
245 acres of world-class beach
A globally branded and historic pleasure pier
Comprehensive hotel options
The city’s unique destination asset portfolio cannot be duplicated by Westfield, Caruso, or any other single-venue destination.
If RPG is not granted a 180-day extension of the ENA in order to study and quantify the financial and other impacts before any deal is finalized, then it will be clear that the City has no interest in economic revitalization within an environment of no other comparable revenue-generating options and growth opportunities of this magnitude. Since housing is a net driver of increased General Fund costs, any option that includes that use will be economically counterproductive. And, the opportunity that the Civic represents will be lost forever.
It should also be noted that:
1. The staff report’s assertion that the City has not received any financial documentation or pro forma demonstrating the project’s financial feasibility appears to be a bit disingenuous since such data will be a deliverable of the conclusion of the requested ENA extension and
2. Staff’s attempt to independently develop a financial model by definition has significant economic omissions that only RPG can provide, given its hands-on experience in this field. As such, the City’s analysis by non-subject matter experts (SME) is heavily biased in the downside.
3. In addition, the Staff’s independently developed financial model omits hotel TOT uplift, sales tax uplifts, or Pier revenue uplifts noted, just to state a few omissions on the economic impact to the City. Such an analysis, executed without input from RPG (the SME here), should Item 1
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11 neither be attempted nor any such analysis output be used as the basis for any decision whatsoever.
I do not think it is hyperbole to state that denial of a 6-month ENA extension will represent active support of permanent city economic decline.
https://smmirror.com/2025/10/letter-to-the-editor-the-civic-has-been-dead-for-decades-give-rpg-six-moremonths-to-prove-they-can-bring-it-back-to-life/ Item 1
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12 David Yakobson
From: Elizabeth Lerer <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2025 11:43 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Lana Negrete; Barry Snell; Caroline Torosis; Natalya Zernitskaya; Jesse Zwick; Oliver Chi
Subject: Civic Auditorium
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Completed
EXTERNAL
Dear Councilmembers and City Manager,
Bulldoze the Civic Auditorium at your peril. If the community's overwhelming desire to revitalize the existing auditorium is disregarded you can anticipate vigorous and ongoing campaigning for your removal from the dais.
Please reverse the decision to end negotiations with RPG and extend negotiations for six months.
Thank you,
Elizabeth Lerer
Resident and Santa Monica voter
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13 David Yakobson
From: John Alle <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2025 8:52 AM
To: The Santa Monica Coalition
Subject: Accessing and Using the MTA and Buses
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Completed
EXTERNAL
A "no-car Games" approach is planned for the 2028 Olympics, prioritizing public transportation and restricting car access. But how about attending the Dodgers World Series? Saturday rides all day on the Metro buses showed open drinking inside, pissing on the platforms, no law enforcement, no police, and NO city mayors, city managers...and no MTA Directors. Mayhem inside.
Insta
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQRvblygkr8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== YouTube
https://youtu.be/GoS0r5aqE1M
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14 David Yakobson
From: Alena Lehrer <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2025 1:54 PM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Letter of Support for JSX at SMO
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Completed
EXTERNAL
Dear Council Councilperson,
Their proposal for a direct lease with the city represents a smart, community-first solution that benefits all of us.
Thank you.
Honorable Mayor Lana Negrete
Mayor Pro Tempore Caroline Torosis
Members of Santa Monica City Council
Members of Santa Monica Airport Commission
Mr. Oliver Chi, City Manager
Mr. Stelios Makrides, Airport Director
City of Santa Monica
1685 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Dear Mayor Negrete, Mayor Pro Tempore Torosis, City Council, Airport Commission, City Manager, and Airport Director:
As a proud resident of Santa Monica, I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for JSX’s proposed operations at Santa Monica Airport (SMO). JSX has committed to flying quiet, environmentally responsible and efficient Item 1
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15 aircraft during regular airport hours. Their proposal for a direct lease with the city represents a smart, communityfirst solution that benefits all of us.
JSX can help reduce traffic emissions by eliminating the need to drive to distant airports. More 2,200 Santa Monica residents, including myself, already drive further just to fly JSX from other airports. Not only will this improve the quality of life for residents, but this will also help support local businesses by attracting inbound tourists. With major global events like the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics on the horizon, this kind of accessible, environmentally responsible air travel will be more valuable than ever, and the revenue the city generates from JSX’s operations can be reinvested into vital community programs across Santa Monica.
As your constituent, I urge you to act in the best interest of our city and approve a direct lease for JSX to operate at SMO. Thank you for your leadership and commitment to our community.
Sincerely,
Alena Lehrer
270 Palisades Beach Rd Unit 203
Santa Monica, CA 90402
[email protected]
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16 David Yakobson
From: John Alle <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2025 10:43 AM
To: The Santa Monica Coalition
Subject: Monday 10/27/2025
EXTERNAL
Please state your preference - Is it more compassionate NOT to enforce our park RULES and posted HOURS, and allow transient addicts to get high and sleep on the 3rd Street Promenade? OR, direct these transient addicts to the front door steps of Santa Monica City Manager Oliver Chi, Council Members Jesse Zwick. Caroline Torosis and cityappointed DTSM Board Members Gleam Davis and Richard Bloom? Insta
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQUQeqXAo-Z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== YouTube
https://youtu.be/Bb92H4FIMh4
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17 David Yakobson
From: Bea Nemlaha <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2025 10:48 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Lana Negrete; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Jesse Zwick
Cc: Oliver Chi
Subject: 10/28/25 Council Agenda Item 1: General Public Input, Civic Auditorium
EXTERNAL
Dear Council Members and City Manager,
As stewards of our City, please read the article below if you haven’t already. Its perspective on our Civic Auditorium is invaluable and, I believe, essential to any deliberations regarding the Civic’s future.
Bea Nemlaha
Ocean Park
Opinion: “The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium – A Living Monument to Global Culture Innovation” -- Jack Hillbrand, AIA, Architect
(Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow)
10/23/25 – Santa Monica Mirror
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From: Karen Melick
To: councilmtgitems; Lana Negrete; Ellis Raskin; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Barry Snell; Jesse Zwick; Natalya Zernitskaya; Oliver Chi
Cc: Steven Johnson
Subject: Agenda item 1 General Public Input-Continue Negotiations with RPG Date: Monday, October 27, 2025 11:59:15 AM
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