1 City Council Meeting: July 14, 2026 Santa Monica, California RESOLUTION NUMBER _______________ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA SUBMITTING TO THE VOTERS AN INITIATIVE MEASURE TO ADD CHAPTER 2.74
TO THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH A CITY COLLECTED SPECIAL PARCEL TAX OF $495 PER PARCEL OF TAXABLE REAL PROPERTY
LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA FOR FUNDING THE SANTA
MONICA-MALIBU UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
WHEREAS, on May 29, 2026, the City of Santa Monica (“City”) received a petition to submit to the voters an Initiative Measure Establishing a Parcel Tax Collected by the City of Santa Monica for funding for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District; and, WHEREAS, California Elections Code Section 9215 authorizes the governing body of a city to place proposed initiative ballot measures on the ballot; and WHEREAS, on May 29, 2026, the city transmitted the petition to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder for signature verification; and WHEREAS, on June 9, 2026, the City Council adopted Resolution Number 11763 (CCS) calling for and giving notice of a General Municipal Election on November 3, 2026; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to California Elections Code Section 10403, on June 9, 2026, the City Council adopted Resolution Number 11764 (CCS) requesting that the County of Los Angeles consent and agree to the consolidation of all aspects of a General Municipal Election with the Statewide General Election to be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, for the purpose of electing members of the Santa Monica City Council, the Santa Monica Rent Control Board, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of 2 Education, and the Santa Monica College Community College District Board of Trustees; and
WHEREAS, on June 25, 2026, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder completed the signature verification process and verified sufficient signatures were provided to require the measure attached as Exhibit 1 (the “Measure”) to be placed on the ballot; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Santa Monica wishes to place the following initiative Measure on the ballot at the General Municipal Election to be held on November 3, 2026.
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. A General Municipal Election has been called for November 3, 2026, for the purpose, among other things, of electing City Council members and submitting ballot measures to the voters.
SECTION 2. At the General Municipal Election called for November 3, 2026, the following Measure shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the City of Santa Monica:
MEASURE “ “: Shall a measure imposing a City of
Santa Monica collected parcel tax of $495 per taxable
parcel, adjusted annually for inflation, exempting
qualifying seniors, affordable housing, non-profits,
religious organizations, and schools, providing continual funding for Santa Monica’s public schools, including
retaining teachers, assisting disadvantaged students,
supporting art, music, science, math, and early childhood education, keeping school facilities clean and safe for student and community use, generating an estimated
$12,000,000 annually until repealed by voters, with
oversight requirements, be adopted?
Yes _____
No _____
3 SECTION 3. The City Clerk shall file a certified copy of this resolution with the Board of Supervisors and with the county election department of the County of Los Angeles.
SECTION 4. The City recognizes that additional costs may be incurred by the County by reason of the addition of this Measure to the ballot and agrees to reimburse the County for any additional costs.
SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall transmit to the City Attorney, in accordance with Elections Code Section 9280, a copy of this Measure. The City Attorney shall prepare an Impartial Analysis of the Measure, which shall not exceed 500 words in length. The Impartial Analysis shall be filed by the date set by the City Clerk for the filing of primary arguments. In accordance with Santa Monica Municipal Code section 11.04.190 and California Elections Code Section 9295, not less than 10 calendar days before the City Clerk submits the official election materials for printing, the City Clerk shall make a copy of all applicable election materials available for public examination in the City Clerk’s Office.
SECTION 6. The City Council authorizes its members, as follows, to file written arguments against the Measure described above and which is contained in Exhibit 1 to this Resolution, which Exhibit is incorporated by reference herein:
AGAINST: ______________________________________
All written Arguments filed by any person in favor of or against any Measure, including any Rebuttal Arguments, shall be accompanied by the names and signatures of the persons submitting the Arguments as required by applicable law, and any names, signatures, and Arguments may be filed until the time and date fixed by the City Clerk in 4 accordance with applicable law, after which no change may be submitted to the City Clerk unless permitted by law.
SECTION 7. The City Clerk shall cause the Text of the Measure, which is contained in Exhibit 1, together with the City Attorney’s Impartial Analysis, and any Arguments for or against the Measure, as well as any Rebuttal, to be mailed to all qualified voters with the Sample Ballot. In addition to other notices and publications required by law, the City Clerk, not less than forty (40) days and not more than sixty (60) days before the General Municipal Election, shall cause the Text of the Initiative Measure to be published once in the official newspaper and in each edition thereof during the day of publication. The City Clerk is authorized to give such notices and to fix such times and dates as are required by law or which are appropriate to conduct the election properly.
SECTION 8. The provisions of Resolution Numbers 11763 (CCS) and 11764 (CCS) are referred to for particulars concerning the General Municipal Election to be held on November 3, 2026, and in all respects the election shall be held and conducted as provided for by applicable law. The City Clerk is authorized and directed to procure and furnish any official ballots, notices, printed materials, and all supplies or equipment that may be necessary in order to properly and lawfully conduct the election.
SECTION 9. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this Resolution, and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
______________________
HEIDI VON TONGELN
City Attorney
5 EXHIBIT 1
TEXT OF INITIATIVE MEASURE
Please call Tiffany Olsen, Head, Data Entry and Signature Verification at (562) 462-2376 if you have any questions regarding the signature verification of this petition.
9,083
9,083
7,711
1,372
The results of the signature verification are as follows:
Number of signatures filed
Number of signatures verified
Number of signatures found sufficient
Number of signatures found not sufficient
Not sufficient because duplicate
Number of signature withdrawal requests
Number of signatures withdrawn
132
June 25, 2026
Denise Anderson-Warren, Interim City Clerk
City of Santa Monica
1685 Main Street
Santa Monica, California 90401
Dear Denise Anderson-Warren:
We have completed the signature verification submitted on May 29, 2026, for An Initiative Measure Establishing a Parcel Tax Collected By The City of Santa Monica for Funding for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. 2 2