Officials are seeking authorization to negotiate agreements with the owner of the Palm Motel, The People Concern and The Salvation Army as part of the city’s transition away from the SaMoShel emergency shelter model.
By Sarah Lin
The Santa Monica City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a series of agreements that would expand the city’s housing-focused homelessness system, including converting the Palm Motel into interim stabilization housing and funding shelter beds at a regional facility in Bell.
According to a staff report on the July 28 City Council agenda, officials are seeking authorization to negotiate agreements with the owner of the Palm Motel, The People Concern and The Salvation Army as part of the city’s transition away from the SaMoShel emergency shelter model.
Under the proposal, the city would lease rooms at the Palm Motel for interim stabilization housing serving people who meet the city’s Santa Monica Program Participant criteria. The People Concern would operate the site and provide on-site supportive services.
The council is also being asked to approve funding for shelter beds and supportive services at The Salvation Army’s Bell Shelter, allowing Santa Monica to place residents there when local capacity is unavailable.
The recommendations are part of the city’s broader effort to replace SaMoShel, Santa Monica’s longtime congregate emergency shelter, with a network of non-congregate interim housing sites. Staff is recommending that the city continue seeking additional motel or apartment properties in and around Santa Monica through a Request for Expression of Interest process while phasing out SaMoShel.
According to the staff report, the goal is to create a housing-focused system that gives the city greater control over each stage of homelessness services, from emergency shelter to permanent housing.
The proposal comes about a week after city officials held a public meeting to discuss the transition, where residents raised concerns about the Palm Motel and the potential location of additional interim housing sites. Some Pico neighborhood residents said they feared concentrating more homelessness services near existing supportive housing would increase crime and drug activity, while city officials said future facilities would include on-site clinical staff, case management and security.
The council meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
