Former Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock and a coalition of architects and civic leaders are urging the City Council to reject the city's plan to lease the Palm Motel at 2020 14th Street as transitional housing, proposing three alternative uses for the 36-room site days before a Tuesday, July 28 council meeting where the city's homelessness strategy is expected to advance.

Brock, writing on behalf of Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow (SM.a.r.t), published the group's proposals Friday, July 24 in the Santa Monica Mirror. The coalition includes former Planning Commissioners Mario Fonda-Bonardi and Sam Tolkin, former Building & Fire-Life Safety Commissioner Dan Jansenson, Landmarks Commission architect Jack Hillbrand, and Human Services Commissioner Bruce Leddy, among others.

Three alternatives for the Palm Motel

The group proposes converting the site into one of three uses instead of low-barrier transitional housing:

  • A high-barrier supportive housing facility modeled on the Salvation Army or Union Rescue Mission, with no drugs, alcohol, or weapons permitted; a 30-day no-exit policy; intensive counseling; and guaranteed permanent housing placement outside Santa Monica within six months.
  • Reduced-cost housing for Santa Monica College students, including free textbooks.
  • Revival of a foster youth program formerly run on Bay Street through the YMCA, providing young women aging out of foster care with two years of free housing, tuition, mental health counseling, and job training.

What the city has planned

The city intends to lease the Palm Motel and operate it as transitional housing after Los Angeles County ends its funding for services at the site. Brock's column places that timeline in August, though the County has not publicly confirmed the date. The plan is part of a broader strategy that includes closing Samoshel, the city's 32-year-old congregate emergency shelter at 5th and Olympic, by the end of 2026. Samoshel's approximately 60 beds would be relocated into residential neighborhoods, with Pico and Sunset Park identified as the primary areas.

City Council minutes from Tuesday, February 10 show the city was already in closed-session real estate negotiations over the Palm Motel property, with City Manager Oliver Chi as the city's negotiator and property owner Thea Cappiccile as the counterparty.

Chi told residents at a July 16 town hall at Santa Monica College that the city's approach is "Housing Focused," not "Housing First," and that residents would be screened before placement. "Nobody gets into the facility unless we direct them there," Chi said at the forum, as reported by the Santa Monica Mirror on July 21.

Allyson Crosby, a manager in Santa Monica's Homelessness Prevention and Intervention Division, said at the same forum that clinicians and psychiatrists would be on-site daily to assess residents and monitor progress.

Neighborhood pushback

On Thursday, July 16, the Pico Neighborhood Association and Friends of Sunset Park held a joint forum at Santa Monica College that drew 176 residents, according to the SM.a.r.t column. Attendees were emphatic in their opposition to further supportive housing in their neighborhoods.

Maria Loya, co-chair of the Pico Neighborhood Association, told the Westside Current on July 17 that the city "continues its pattern of placing toxic facilities and hard uses in the south side of Santa Monica."

Brock wrote that he personally presented keys to the original Palm Motel residents when the County program launched, calling it "a moving experience," but said the County gradually abandoned its screening process, allowing residents to come and go without checks for alcohol, drugs, or weapons. He also noted that elementary and middle schools sit within blocks of the site.

What's next

The Santa Monica City Council meets Tuesday, July 28, at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall Council Chambers, 1685 Main Street. The Palm Motel lease has not been confirmed as a specific agenda item; the full agenda packet was not publicly available as of Friday, July 24. No council member has publicly stated a position on the SM.a.r.t alternatives. Residents can attend the meeting or submit public comment through the city's online portal.