Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce
Chamber Members:
On Tuesday the Santa Monica City Council took further steps to address homelessness. In a close vote, and a win for Safe and Clean (and our local businesses), Santa Monica City Council adjusted the city’s camping ordinance to allow for more sweeping and intentional rules to combat people camping on streets or public areas.
The City Council assured these new rules would be implemented humanely - with offers of giving people experiencing homelessness resources to find housing for the night and mental health services. The overall goal of the ordinance change is to give police more ability to deal with camps and unruly people.
Mayor Brock made sure to push the point of compassion, emphasizing that people experiencing homelessness are residents, and that we must treat residents humanely, which we, at the Chamber, support.
The Chamber has heard many of our member business leaders’ calls for help when it comes to policing homelessness and have often vocalized the issues to our City Council members and City Staff. The Chamber commends that the city has come through again in hearing member’s issues and acting accordingly.
Please see the link below for FAQs on the ordinance updates.
