SANTA MONICA—On Monday, March 23, the Santa Monica City Council will consider a comprehensive update to the City’s Realignment Plan at its meeting on Tuesday, March 24.
The update reports on significant progress achieved since the plan was adopted in October 2025 and recommends a series of new investments and policy actions designed to transition the city from organizational stabilization toward economic revitalization.
Since the Realignment Plan was adopted six months ago, Santa has delivered measurable results across its five strategic priorities.
-Part I crime has declined 12.5 percent.
-The Santa Monica Police Department has achieved full sworn staffing for the first time in over 20 years.
-The City Attorney’s Criminal Unit is now filing on approximately 88 percent of all legally fileable cases, up from 65-70 percent previously.
-Building plan check turnaround has improved to 92.5 percent on-time for first-round reviews—an improvement of more than 40 percentage points in just four months.
-And all public library branches are open for the first time since 2020.
The City’s General Fund is now projected to achieve a structurally balanced budget by the end of FY 2026-27—a full year ahead of the original plan—driven by approximately $28.8 million in new programmatic revenues secured over the past several months.
“The Realignment Plan is working. Crime is down, libraries are open, and for the first time in years Santa Monica’s finances are on solid ground,” said Mayor Caroline Torosis. “Now we’re going further—welcoming new businesses by making it as easy as possible to open and operate here and building a real path out of homelessness that the city controls end to end. This is Santa Monica’s Renaissance. And we’re just getting started.”
The Realignment Plan Update includes 22 recommended actions organized around four themes.
1. Organizational Adjustments to embed enhanced service levels as the City’s permanent operating standard. Key efforts on this front include:
-A comprehensive Public Works Department reorganization that expands enhanced maintenance (including pressure washing, sidewalk cleaning, and landscaping) to commercial corridors citywide, including Montana Avenue, Main Street, Pico Boulevard, and Ocean Park Boulevard.
-Additional investments include Police Department operational enhancements, staffing to launch the rent registry program, and positions to support Citywide training and employee engagement.
2. New Economic Development Strategies to catalyze private sector reinvestment. Key initiatives being recommended include:
-Establishment of a $3 million Economic Development Fund.
-Waiver of wastewater fees for new restaurants and restaurant expansions.
-A new Retail to Restaurant Activation Program.
-Elimination of fees for simple tables-and-chairs sidewalk dining.
-Expansion of the Entertainment Zone to the full Downtown core, the Pier, Main Street, and Montana Avenue.
-Modernization of the City’s Transportation Demand Management program.
-Modified Downtown parking rates with new validation programs for fitness businesses and schools.
-A temporary waiver of film permit fees.
Major event programming investments tied to the FIFA World Cup, the Goldenvoice music festival, and the 2028 Olympics.
3. New Public Safety Policies to enhance public safety. Key programs to be discussed include:
-Authorization for a Memorandum of Understanding with Metro to enable SMPD enforcement on train platforms within the city.
-An overview and update on vehicle habitation and vanlording regulations.
4. New Housing and Homeless Response Strategies to study for implementation locally. Key elements of these program areas include:
-Launch of community outreach for a proposed housing-first system of care that would transition the city from managing homelessness impacts to managing housing outcomes.
-Direction to study the creation of a city-aligned nonprofit housing development entity to expand affordable and mixed-income housing production.
All recommended investments are fully funded within the city’s updated fiscal framework, which is projected to maintain a structurally balanced General Fund through FY 2029-30.
The Santa Monica City Council meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall and can also be viewed live on YouTube.
By Danny Jones