Will the city council ban sleeping bags on the streets?

The first meeting of the city council in September looks a lot like the last meeting in August, with a number of important items postponed. However, we will have to wait and see if the council can deal with the agenda this week.

The council has a habit of holding long meetings, often fueled by extended closed session discussions of legal matters. The August 10th will also feature several updates on ongoing business (including some long-running and controversial issues), but with only three closed session items on the agenda starting on September 6th, there may be time to have other discussions.

In its regular work, the council will focus on matters arising from a number of court rulings, such as rules for homeless camps and the ban on gifts to council members that look like bribes, but are certainly not.

Homelessness

Following a recent ruling that expanded local authority to regulate homeless encampments, council members asked staff for options to adapt Santa Monica’s rules to the new precedent.

Staff presented three options: take no action, roll back a series of changes made in 2022 to meet the then-statutory standard, or ask staff to revisit the rule at a later date after reviewing actions taken by other cities. The local rule changes were made in 2022 under the Ninth Circuit Court’s Grants Pass ruling. That ruling limited municipalities’ ability to clear homeless camps, and to comply, the city was forced to remove sleeping bags and bed rolls from the list of items that constitute prohibited camping. The Supreme Court invalidated the Grants Pass rule this year, and the Council now has the opportunity to put sleeping bags and bed rolls back on the list of prohibited items.

Tips

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling said that, absent a clear prohibition on “tipping” by a local jurisdiction, such payments to an elected official would be permissible. Tips differ from bribes because they are given after, rather than before, an official act.

“The decision in Snyder v. United States held that providing state and local officials

with a token of appreciation for their official action, for example gift vouchers, meals, events

tickets, or cash payments, do not subject those officials to federal prosecution.

At the same time, the Court reiterated that the decision does not affect the competence of the State and

“Local governments should regulate tipping,” the report said.

The council will discuss a proposed ordinance that would prohibit any city official from accepting or soliciting, directly or indirectly, anything of value from a person to whom the official has conferred a public benefit within the past twelve months, intended as a reward or token of

appreciation for or because of an official act performed by the civil servant.

According to staff, violations can be punished as a misdemeanor or an administrative fine of up to $500 per violation.

New Business

In September 2019, the City Council passed the Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance (HWPO) on the recommendation of the Commission on the Status of Women. The ordinance is designed to protect hotel workers from sexual assault and exploitation by requiring panic buttons and limiting excessive caseloads. Initially, enforcement options were considered, including litigation and collaboration with the Los Angeles County Department of Business and Consumer Affairs (DCBA), but the DCBA was under-resourced at the time. Over the years, the city received complaints about caseload violations and consulted informally with the DCBA. With improved staffing, the DCBA now supports collaborative enforcement. Proposed changes would authorize enforcement of civil summonses, clarify record-keeping requirements, and require collaboration with city investigators.

Building regulations

In 2022, Santa Monica adopted an all-electric requirement for new construction, which dramatically reduced carbon emissions. However, a 2023 federal court ruling blocked a similar policy from Berkeley, impacting the enforcement of such codes across California. In response, Santa Monica paused its Zero Emissions Code in January 2024 and is now considering the Energy Performance Approach, which would amend the 2022 California Energy Code to meet emissions reduction goals.

The proposed Reach Code Ordinance, called the Energy Performance Approach, introduces new requirements for buildings to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions by applying an increased source energy margin to both electric and mixed fuel designs. While less effective at reducing emissions than the previous all-electric Zero Emission Building Code, it offers the most viable option for advancing city council climate action goals. This approach has already been adopted by several California cities, including San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Palo Alto, Encinitas and Brisbane.

If adopted, the proposed Energy Performance Approach would replace Santa Monica’s Zero Emission Building Code to help drive new low-emission buildings while complying with updated regulatory frameworks. This approach supports the City’s climate action goals, which focus on carbon-neutral construction in new residential, commercial and multifamily properties.

Discussion Items

Councilmember Gleam Davis is requesting an amendment to the Council’s rules that would require all future discussions to be approved by the city attorney and city manager for legality and feasibility. Although not explicitly stated, the item is a response to a discussion at the last meeting, where a majority of the Council voted to pass an item to ban needle distribution in local parks after being told that the Council had no legal authority to pass the item and that it would be impossible to implement.

Davis is also asking for $7,000 to support LGBTQ+ History Month in October.