Meeting: January 27, 2026
16 ITEM BY MAYOR CAROLINE TOROSIS, COUNCILMEMBER DAN HALL, AND
COUNCILMEMBER ELLIS RASKIN
Request of Mayor Torosis and Councilmembers Hall and Raskin to direct the City Manager and City Attorney to evaluate and advance targeted affordability strategies addressing food costs, early-childhood expenses, worker wage protection, consumer pricing fairness, and tenant displacement, using proven local and national models.
Over the past several years, the cost of everyday life in Santa Monica has risen sharply. Even as headline inflation has cooled, residents continue to feel real pressure at the grocery store, when welcoming a new child, in their housing costs, and in the prices they pay as consumers and workers. Affordability is no longer a challenge facing only the lowest-income households; it affects renters and homeowners, families with young children, seniors on fixed incomes, working professionals, small business employees, and longtime residents alike.
While the federal government abandons many Obama- and Biden-era affordability policies, cities across the country are increasingly focusing on affordability strategies that reduce costs directly at the source. These approaches lower prices, improve transparency, protect earned wages, and prevent displacement caused by consolidation, speculation, and opaque pricing practices. They are designed to benefit middle- and working-class households while providing the greatest relief to those with the least financial margin.
Santa Monica is well positioned to lead locally by piloting and scaling policies that are legally viable at the municipal level, supported by resident sentiment, and grounded in documented outcomes elsewhere. A city cannot claim economic recovery and renaissance if residents and workers cannot afford to live, raise families, or remain housed here. If Realignment is about restoring confidence in City Hall and revitalizing our Downtown, this affordability agenda is about ensuring that Santa Monica remains livable for the people who power its economy and civic life.
Food and Household Essentials
From 2020-2024, grocery prices nationally increased by 23%,1 outpacing wage growth for many households. Research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Federal Reserve shows that food costs take up a disproportionate share of income for lower-income households, and that grocery consolidation has reduced competition in many regions. In response, several cities and states have explored public or municipally supported grocery models to stabilize prices and ensure access. Examples include:
1 https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/chart-detail?chartId=58350
16 ITEM BY MAYOR TOROSIS AND COUNCILMEMBERS HALL AND RASKIN Exploring Affordability and Tenant Protection Initiatives ● Leon, Kansas and St. Paul, Kansas, where a school district and municipal government stepped in to operate grocery stores after private operators exited.2 ● The Illinois Grocery Initiative, which provides public support to sustain grocery access in underserved areas.3
● Policy research from the Economic Security Project documents that public grocery stores can use publicly owned land, pooled purchasing, and mission-driven pricing to reduce consumer costs and stabilize local food access.4 Santa Monica is not immune to food desertification. When the 99 Cents Only Store on Pico Blvd. and Stewart St. closed in 2024, many low-income families in the Pico neighborhood and across all of Santa Monica were deeply concerned that our city lost its only low cost grocer. Dollar Tree eventually leased the store and continues operations today, but it no longer offers refrigerated foods, and it now offers far fewer low-cost food products. Furthermore, if the company were to cease operations at the site, the neighborhood would be without a low cost grocer. A public grocery would ensure continuity of low cost nutrition for all Santa Monica families.
Early-Childhood Costs and Baby Basket Programs
The birth of a child is one of the most financially vulnerable moments for families.
Diapers, wipes, and postpartum supplies can cost more than $1,000 annually, and many of these items are not covered by federal assistance programs such as SNAP or WIC. Finland has offered a Baby Box program to new families since the 1930s, and New York City piloted a Baby Box program under Mayor Adams, set to be expanded under Mayor Mamdani, which provides no-cost ‘starter kits’ for new parents. A federal pilot program under the Biden Administration found that:
● Two-thirds of parents reported reduced stress with the receipt of baby supplies. ● Over three-quarters of low-income recipients reported meaningful financial relief.5 These programs are typically distributed through hospitals or clinics at birth and paired with information on public benefits and maternal health resources.
Wages and Labor Protections
App-based delivery workers depend heavily on customer tips, yet persistent concerns remain about how third-party delivery platforms calculate pay. Under California law, gratuities are the sole property of the worker and may not be counted toward an employer’s wage obligations. However, opaque pay formulas used by delivery apps 5 https://www.hhs.gov/blog/2024/10/28/supporting-families-moments-that-matter.html 4 https://economicsecurityproject.org/resource/opening-the-door-to-public-grocery-stores/ 3 https://dceo.illinois.gov/illinois-grocery-initiative.html 2 https://www.ruralgrocery.org/learn/publications/case-studies/
16 ITEM BY MAYOR TOROSIS AND COUNCILMEMBERS HALL AND RASKIN Exploring Affordability and Tenant Protection Initiatives often make it difficult for workers and customers to determine whether tips truly supplement earnings or are used to offset base pay.
Prior enforcement actions and public settlements involving major platforms highlight the need for clearer rules and transparency. When tips fail to increase total compensation, workers lose income and consumers are misled. Ensuring that tips are paid fully on top of guaranteed wages aligns delivery platforms with established labor standards and protects both workers and customers.
Consumer Pricing Transparency
Advances in data analytics have enabled companies to experiment with personalized or surveillance-based pricing, in which prices are adjusted based on consumer data such as location, browsing history, or purchasing behavior. The Federal Trade Commission has documented6 active development of these tools in retail, grocery, and airline industries.
Academic and journalistic investigations7 have shown that such practices can result in different consumers paying different prices for identical goods, often correlating with income, geography, or demographic proxies. In response:
● California and Massachusetts legislators have introduced bills to restrict or ban surveillance pricing, particularly in groceries.
● Consumer advocacy groups have called for “one person, one price” rules to preserve transparency and fairness.
● San Diego banned digital-only coupons to ensure seniors and persons without cell phones could access deals.
Municipal action in this space focuses on access to non-digital coupons, consumer protection, and deceptive practices, areas where cities traditionally exercise authority.
Wage Recovery and Family Protections for Residents and Workers Detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Santa Monica is home to many immigrant residents and workers whose labor contributes directly to the local economy. Under California and federal law, workers are entitled to be paid for all wages earned regardless of immigration status. This includes final paychecks, accrued wages, and other compensation owed at the time of job separation, detention, or deportation.
7 https://www.consumerreports.org/money/questionable-business-practices/instacart-ai-pricing- experiment-inflating-grocery-bills-a1142182490/
6 https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/sp6b-issue-spotlight.pdf
16 ITEM BY MAYOR TOROSIS AND COUNCILMEMBERS HALL AND RASKIN Exploring Affordability and Tenant Protection Initiatives When a worker is detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), families and dependents often face immediate financial crisis. In many cases, earned wages go unpaid or unclaimed because:
● the worker is unable to retrieve their final paycheck, ● employers do not proactively release wages to authorized family members, ● or dependents lack information or documentation to assert wage claims on the worker’s behalf.
California law permits authorized representatives, including family members with proper documentation (such as power of attorney), to recover unpaid wages through the Labor Commissioner’s Office. Worker advocacy organizations, including the Asian Law Caucus and the California Labor Commissioner, have documented that wage recovery is legally possible but procedurally difficult without legal assistance.8 Local governments cannot regulate immigration enforcement, but they can ensure access to wage recovery, provide information, and coordinate with legal service providers so that families are not unlawfully deprived of earned income at moments of crisis.
Ensuring that detained workers’ final, prorated wages reach their dependents is both a worker-protection measure and an anti-poverty intervention, preventing sudden income loss from cascading into eviction, food insecurity, or homelessness.
Housing Stability and Anti-Displacement
Santa Monica’s housing stock is predominantly renter-occupied, and displacement often occurs through eviction caused by building sales, followed by rent increases or redevelopment.
The Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) model, first adopted in Washington, D.C.,9 provides tenants the right of first refusal when their building is offered for sale. Under TOPA:
● Property owners still receive fair market value.
● Tenants may assign their purchase right to a nonprofit affordable housing provider.
● Cities preserve naturally affordable housing without new construction. 9 https://ota.dc.gov/page/tenant-opportunity-purchase-act-topa 8 https://www.asianlawcaucus.org/news-resources/guides-reports/how-to-receive-your-paycheck-if-youve- been-detained-or-deported
16 ITEM BY MAYOR TOROSIS AND COUNCILMEMBERS HALL AND RASKIN Exploring Affordability and Tenant Protection Initiatives TOPA-style policies have been studied by housing researchers and are currently under consideration or pilot in some California jurisdictions as an anti-displacement strategy consistent with state housing law. Santa Monica can learn from other jurisdictions’ opportunities and challenges to craft a local program meeting our needs.
Additionally, other jurisdictions have enacted strict protections to ensure that existing tenants are not pushed out or priced out when family members, such as aging parents or other relatives, are forced to move in. Last month, the City of Los Angeles banned rent increases when family members join the household.10 Enacting similar renter protections in Santa Monica will help promote neighborhood stability and keep long-term renters in their homes.
Tenant Unionization and Collective Tenant Rights
Across California, tenants increasingly rely on collective organization to address habitability issues, unlawful rent practices, harassment, and displacement pressure.
Tenant unions provide a structured way for renters to communicate with property owners, assert existing legal rights, and prevent retaliation when raising concerns.
California law already protects tenants’ right to organize (California Civil Code § 1942.5). Under state anti-retaliation statutes, landlords may not threaten eviction, raise rent, reduce services, or otherwise retaliate against tenants for organizing, participating in tenant associations, or exercising rights under housing law. Courts and enforcement agencies have recognized tenant organizing as a protected activity when tenants act collectively to improve housing conditions or enforce lease terms.
Despite these protections, tenant unions often face practical barriers, including:
● inability to communicate with or meet other tenants easily, ● lack of clear recognition by landlords,
● uncertainty around meeting access in common areas,
● fear of retaliation,
● and fragmented complaint processes that require tenants to act individually rather than collectively.
Several cities, such as San Francisco, have responded by clarifying, facilitating, and reinforcing tenant organizing rights at the local level.11 These measures do not create new rent regulations; instead, they strengthen enforcement of existing rights, provide clear standards for landlords, and create structured communication channels between tenant associations and city departments.
11 https://www.sf.gov/news--new-legislation-tenant-organizing-and-tenant-associations 10 https://mayor.lacity.gov/news/making-la-more-affordable-mayor-bass-enacts-new-tenant-protections- caps-rent-apartment-units
16 ITEM BY MAYOR TOROSIS AND COUNCILMEMBERS HALL AND RASKIN Exploring Affordability and Tenant Protection Initiatives Santa Monica, with its long-standing rent control and tenant protection framework, is well positioned to formalize and strengthen support for tenant unions as a cost-containment and displacement-prevention tool, particularly in large multifamily buildings where collective action can prevent minor issues from escalating into housing loss.
In order to further advance a Renaissance Agenda for the City of Santa Monica and build upon the City’s Realignment Plan passed in October 2025, WE THEREFORE MOVE THAT THE COUNCIL:
1. Direct the City Manager to return to Council within 180 days with an evaluation of public grocery store models, including:
1.1. Legal authority and operational structures available to Santa Monica,
1.2. Potential use of publicly owned land or partnerships,
1.3. Case studies from other municipalities,
1.4. Estimated startup and operating costs and governance options.
2. Direct the City Manager, in coordination with local community based organizations and municipal partners, to explore and return to council within 180 days with an evaluation and recommendations for a Santa Monica Baby Basket program, including:
2.1. Possibility for coordination with local hospitals, birthing centers, and/or libraries,
2.2. Cost estimates per newborn and potential funding sources,
2.3. Potential non-profit partners,
2.4. Alignment with existing childcare and family support programs,
2.5. Any proposed limitations or eligibility criteria.
3. Direct the City Manager, in coordination with the City Attorney, to evaluate options to prohibit third-party delivery platforms from using customer tips to offset or substitute for base wages, and return to council within 90 days with a recommendation, including:
3.1. Assessing the City’s authority to require clear pay transparency from delivery platforms, including disclosure of:
3.1.1. guaranteed base pay,
3.1.2. customer tips paid to workers,
3.1.3. and confirmation that tips are paid entirely in addition to, and not in lieu of, wages.
3.2. Evaluating enforcement models adopted or under consideration by other California jurisdictions, including consumer-protection and labor-standards approaches addressing app-based delivery services.
16 ITEM BY MAYOR TOROSIS AND COUNCILMEMBERS HALL AND RASKIN Exploring Affordability and Tenant Protection Initiatives
3.3. Exploring ordinance or administrative options that would ensure tips function solely as gratuities, consistent with long-standing labor standards applicable to restaurant and hospitality workers.
4. Direct the City Attorney to analyze municipal authority to prohibit surveillance pricing, and return to Council within 90 days with recommendations, including:
4.1. Review of FTC findings and pending state legislation,
4.2. Options for defining surveillance pricing as a deceptive practice,
4.3. Exploring an ordinance to require non-digital coupons,
4.4. Enforcement mechanisms and penalties.
5. Direct the City Manager, in coordination with the City Attorney, to report back in 90 days with an ordinance to support wage recovery for residents and workers detained by ICE, including claims through the California Labor Commissioner, for workers who are detained, deported, or otherwise unable to retrieve final paychecks, that would require employers to provide a form to new and existing employees with which an employee can designate a bank account or individual to receive an employee’s paycheck in the event of the employee’s unavailability due to detention by federal immigration authorities.
6. Direct the City Manager to evaluate and return within 180 days with recommendations for community land trust and tenant opportunity to purchase policies, including:
6.1. Compatibility with Santa Monica City Charter Articles XVIII and XX and just cause ordinances,
6.2. Administrative models from other municipalities,
6.3. Financing and nonprofit partnership options,
6.4. Anti-speculation and anti-abuse guardrails.
7. Direct the City Manager and City Attorney to evaluate and return within 180 days with options to support tenant unionization and collective tenant rights, including:
7.1. Clarifying local recognition of tenant associations, including defining when a tenant organization is considered a representative body for purposes of communication with landlords and the City.
7.2. Reviewing best practices from other California cities that have adopted tenant-organizing support measures, such as:
7.2.1. anti-retaliation ordinance enhancements,
7.2.2. required landlord notice of tenant organizing rights,
7.2.3. and protocols for landlord–tenant association communication.
7.3. Evaluating access to common areas in multifamily properties for lawful tenant meetings, consistent with fire, safety, and building codes.
7.4. Assessing need for additional enforcement mechanisms to address retaliation against tenants for organizing, including:
7.4.1. civil penalties,
16 ITEM BY MAYOR TOROSIS AND COUNCILMEMBERS HALL AND RASKIN Exploring Affordability and Tenant Protection Initiatives
7.4.2. administrative remedies,
7.4.3. and referral pathways to the City Attorney or appropriate enforcement agencies.
7.5. Exploring creation of a tenant-union liaison or ombudsperson function, either within an existing department or via contracted legal services, to:
7.5.1. assist tenant associations in understanding their rights and facilitating organization,
7.5.2. coordinate habitability or code-enforcement complaints raised collectively,
7.5.3. and reduce duplicative, individual filings.
7.6. Ensure alignment with existing Santa Monica Rent Control, Just Cause, tenant-harassment protections, and State and Federal fair housing laws.
7.7. Return to City Council with options for ensuring that existing tenancies will not be terminated, and residents will not be subject to rent increases, when partners, parents, grandparents, children, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, or other close family members move into existing tenancies.
7.8. Return to Council with findings and recommendations, including legal constraints, staffing implications, and potential ordinances or administrative actions.
7.9. The City Manager and City Attorney shall carry out this direction in consultation with the Rent Control Agency, with the understanding that the Charter respects the separation of powers between the City Council and Rent Control Agency.
8. Direct the City Manager and City Attorney to evaluate additional tenant-stability and anti-displacement tools used in similarly situated jurisdictions, including but not limited to; anti-harassment standards, ownership-change protections including requirements to notify all tenants when buildings are put up for sale, additional relocation assistance triggers, data transparency, and procedural eviction safeguards, and report back in 180 days with legally viable options for Santa Monica.
9. Direct staff to engage stakeholders, including renters’ rights organizations, consumer advocates, grocers, healthcare providers, and affordable housing nonprofits, and report back with recommendations, funding opportunities, and potential implementation timelines.
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