1 David Yakobson
From: Nikki Kolhoff <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 11:58 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: [email protected]; Jesse Zwick; Lana Negrete; Dan Hall; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Oliver Chi; Heidi von Tongeln Subject: 1/27/26 City Council - Items 5G, 5H, 5I, 5J - OPPOSE & Brown Act Violation
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor and City Council,
I am writing to oppose Items 5G, 5H, 5I, 5J as Brown Act violations. The Brown Act allows for narrow exceptions of price and terms of real estate transactions to be discussed in closed session. However, how we use our public funds and public land, to what goals and policies, and with which counterparties, should all be discussed publicly BEFORE working out a deal.
There is a lot of controversy surrounding pier leases and we need to know what you are doing with this unique asset.
Furthermore, regarding the other 3 properties, residents have raised myriad issues relating to programs and services being offered in Santa Monica, many by the county and with insufficient city and resident transparency and engagement. You have recently unanimously approved several 16 items requiring more transparency. Yet we have at least 3 more items on today's closed session that appear to fall in this category and have no public outreach component.
In addition, Item 5G appears to be contemplating a sale of city property and that should NEVER be done. Once you sell OUR LAND, we can never get it back. Selling public land is a short term solution lacking vision and leadership. You also shouldn't be saddling us with a lease of OUR LAND that we didn't have the opportunity to review and comment on.
Please stop working on these items until we have a transparent public discussion, making use of all the information required by recent 16 items, regarding the use of our public land and the services being provided in our city.
Regards,
Nikki Kolhoff
Santa Monica Resident and Voter
Item 5-I
January 27, 2026
Item 5-I
January 27, 2026
1 David Yakobson
From: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2026 11:33 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Caroline Torosis; Dan Hall; Lana Negrete; Ellis Raskin; Barry Snell; Natalya Zernitskaya; Jesse Zwick; Oliver Chi
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: 1/27/26 items 5-I and 5-J-- Is the city planning to run both The Manor and the Palm Motel?
EXTERNAL
I. Conference with real estate negotiator - Gov. Code § 54956.8; property: 2019 and 1905 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, California; City negotiator: Oliver Chi, City Manager; owner of record: Dennis Wylder; persons to be negotiated with: Dennis Wylder; under negotiation: price and terms of payment of lease
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Item 5-I
January 27, 2026
Item 5-I
January 27, 2026
6 1905 Pico Blvd. and 2019 Pico Blvd. are both "The Manor" -- licensed by by the State of California to California Care Centers. https://themanoronline.com/ -- They're both on the north side of Pico Blvd. and have been there for many years. It is described as a residential facility for mentally ill and developmentally disabled adults (board & care).
We discussed it at the last Neighborhood Council meeting. A Wilmont Board member said that it was a wonderful facility for his relative, but a PNA Board member said that PNA gets lots of complaints. If you Google "the Manor Santa Monica + reviews" the reviews run the gamut.
The Pico Neighborhood is only four blocks wide and 1.4 miles long, yet it is apparently home to 22 low-income and/or assisted living projects.
According to AI: The Manor is a licensed residential care facility in West Los Angeles/Santa Monica serving adults with mental illness and developmental disabilities, offering services such as, but not limited to, 24-hour care, meals, and assistance with daily living, as reported on the website. It has faced challenges related to the financial strain on the broader Board and Care system in L.A. County.
In driving by, you can see that the outside of the buildings are deteriorating. If you drive up the alley north of Pico between 19th and 20th, you can see Manor residents hanging out in the alley.
Fatal stabbing in 2010: https://www.smdp.com/stabbing-called-random-attack/
Former resident with knife in 2021: https://www.smdp.com/smpd-arrest-man-with-knife-on-pico-blvd/
Dennis Wilder is the Executive Director of The Manor: https://themanoronline.com/contact_us.html
"Dennis Wylder" is listed in the Closed Session item.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-05-19-mn-9230-story.html -- This article from 1985 explains the finances and the differences in government funding and programs for mentally ill vs. developmentally disabled. Dennis Wilder is quoted.
https://homeless.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/FY-2022-23-Measure-H-Contractor-Directory.pdf -- Funding from L.A. County Measure H -- See pages 12, 21, 29, 33, 34, 38, 58, and 59 for various organizations in Santa Monica that received funding. The Manor (California Care Centers) is listed on p. 33. ********************************************************************************* Item 5-I
January 27, 2026
Item 5-I
January 27, 2026
7 From retired SMC Professor William Selby, who lives near the Palm Motel:
November 11, 2025
Hello City and County Officials:
Please find the attached letter that summarizes experiences from our neighbors (around SMC and 14th and Pico) who have become worried about the future of our community. This letter has evolved during the last year, reflecting accumulated comments from local homeowners, businesses, and numerous frightened tenants living in surrounding apartment buildings, some who fear retaliation from officials for speaking out.
We appreciate that you have been struggling to solve these problems and we hope you don’t see this letter or us as a problem, since we wish to support your efforts to find solutions to these growing challenges. But we were once an eclectic neighborhood with a diverse population of hardworking people from many different backgrounds and income levels who helped form the backbone of Santa Monica.
Now, our neighborhood is gradually and too often becoming known for human feces left in our streets, lifeless people passed out on our sidewalks, flailing mentally ill screaming obscenities and intimidating residents, and as a dangerous place to take kids or walk at night.
I’m sure you agree that this is not the future we want for our neighborhood or our city. So, we issue this letter as support for you and as a wakeup call for those who continue to champion failed policies that may be destroying our neighborhood and victimizing its residents.
I have lived and worked in Santa Monica since 1981 and in this neighborhood since 2001 and have contributed and volunteered to help improve the quality of our communities and our city. I am sending this on to you because it would be irresponsible for me to stand by in silence any longer while my worried neighbors continue to share their fears and frustrations ... and their feelings of helplessness.
Respectfully,
William Selby
310 463-8636
wselby9msn.com
1402 Bay Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Item 5-I
January 27, 2026
Item 5-I
January 27, 2026