Santa Monica will now decide who gets placed in local shelters and housing, after the City Council on Wednesday, Aug. 5, formally approved a Housing Focused System of Care that pulls homelessness services away from the Los Angeles County-run coordination system.

The vote gives the city direct control over every step from street outreach through permanent housing. It caps months of planning that included 14 community meetings between April and July.

"Rather than relying on others to coordinate our homeless response activities, Santa Monica is choosing instead to build a system we control," Mayor Caroline Torosis said at the meeting, according to the Santa Monica Mirror.

The plan has three main pieces:

Palm Motel takeover. The city will manage the 34-room motel at 2020 14th St. and reserve it for people who meet "Santa Monica Program Participant" criteria: individuals who became homeless in the city, have been homeless here three or more years, or are frequent users of city services.

Salvation Army beds. The city will fund 35 currently unfunded beds at the Salvation Army's Bell Shelter, giving outreach workers and first responders a place to send people who don't meet local criteria.

SaMoShel replacement. Staff will search for non-congregate, scattered-site interim housing to replace SaMoShel, the city's 32-year-old congregate shelter scheduled to close by the end of 2026. As we reported July 29, the council's earlier vote kept SaMoShel open until a replacement plan is locked in.

Housing and Human Services Director Aileen Reynolds said every site will operate with clear outcome goals, on-site services and security, calling the framework one of accountability to both the people served and the surrounding neighborhoods.

The approval lands days after the 2026 Point-in-Time Count showed Santa Monica's homeless population fell 11.6% to 718 people, down from 812 in 2025. Unsheltered homelessness dropped 18.7%, to 389 people living outdoors, even as the broader LA County Continuum of Care saw a slight 1.2% increase.

Not everyone is satisfied. At a July 21 town hall at Santa Monica College, Maria Loya, co-chair of the Pico Neighborhood Association, said the neighborhood already bears a disproportionate share of services and accused the city of using Pico "as a dumping ground." Separately, Zina Josephs, secretary of Friends of Sunset Park, said in a July statement that the city's proposed "Good Neighbor policies" fall short and that residents need binding agreements with real enforcement.

City Manager Oliver Chi, speaking at the same July 21 town hall, said no one enters a facility without screening and assessment. He distinguished the approach from a "Housing First" model, saying the city controls different types of housing infrastructure and directs every placement.

The system's four stated priorities are: prioritizing people with a Santa Monica connection, robust on-site services, city-directed security and good-neighbor agreements. The specific vote tally was not immediately available.

SaMoShel is scheduled to close by the end of 2026, and no date for the Palm Motel management transfer has been announced. Residents can submit public comments at regular City Council meetings or through the city's eComment portal at smgov.net.