S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
InSIDe
nYC-BASeD DeVeLOPeR FInALIZeS ACQUISITIOn OF MAJOR SAnTA MOnICA ReSIDenTIAL DeVeLOPMenT SITe
PAGE 4
January 14 – January 20, 2022 Volume CXXII, Issue 127
Council Delays Vote to Require Vaccine Passports at Santa Monica Businesses City Council instructs City Manager return “if necessary” with proof of vaccination ordinance By saM CatanZaro Amid people protesting outside the mayor’s house and a 10-hour City Council meeting, Santa Monica lawmakers this week delayed requiring vaccine passports to enter many Santa Monica businesses, including restaurants, nail salons and theaters. At nearly 3 in the morning Wednesday, Santa Monica City Council voted 7-0 to let City Manager David White return “if necessary” with an emergency ordinance that would require full proof of vaccination for patrons and employees of restaurants, theaters, personal care centers and government buildings in Santa Monica. If White deems such an ordinance necessary, Council would have to approve it with a two-thirds majority. The proposal is modeled after a City of Los Angeles ordinance that has been in effect since the fall. “When I talked to people here in Santa
Monica, they felt they weren’t feeling safe, and in some cases, were going elsewhere to eat. So I’m trying to help our community be safe,” said Councilmember Phil Brock during the meeting. Brock, along with Mayor Sue Himmelrich and Councilmember Christine Parra placed the item on the meeting agenda. “Now that we’re in this next surge, we need to do this to protect our constituents,” Himmelrich said. “What we’re worried about is that we could have another variant that is more lethal.” The agenda item included a 90-minute public hearing where all 18 speakers were opposed to the proposed mandate, as reported by the Santa Monica Lookout. Opposition wasn’t limited to the virtual meeting. A small group of around a dozen people gathered outside the home of Mayor Himmelrich in the evening while the meeting was taking place. The gathering later moved outside City Hall a little after 9 p.m. During the meeting, some Councilmembers expressed wariness to enact such legislation. “I feel that this is a big mistake,” said Councilmember Oscar de la Torre said. “We’re going down a path that is creating more division in our community. “I think we’re opening a can of worms,” said
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
Santa Monica City council recently tabled an ordinance that would have required vaccine passports to enter businesses like nail salons and restaurants.
Councilmember Lana Negrete said. “We’re just creating more strife and more stress.” Councilmembers Gleam Davis and Kristen McCowan meanwhile seemed hesitant to enact such laws in the wee hours of the morning. “It is 2:30 in the morning,” McCowan said.
“I would love to just have a little bit more time with this for council then to make a more final decision, but that’s just kind of where my head’s at, at 3 in the morning.” “I hate to make policy in the wee hours,” Davis said.
Santa Monica to Begin Accepting Applications for Families Displaced by Construction of Freeway and Civic Center Below Market Housing for Historically Displaced Households pilot application window to open January 18 By saM CatanZaro
Santa Monica will soon begin accepting applications for families displaced from the city in the 1950s and 1960s due to the construction of both 1-10 Freeway and Civic Center. Beginning January 18, 2022, the City of Santa Monica is opening applications for the Below Market Housing (BMH) pilot program for historically displaced households. “We created this program in the earnest hope that former Santa Monica residents take advantage of this new affordable housing opportunity,” said Mayor Sue Himmelrich. “If you know community members who were displaced in the 1950s and 1960s, we
ask for your assistance in sharing the pilot information so we can identify as many candidates as possible.” Beginning in the 1950s, the federal government provided funding for urban renewal across the country, resulting in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of families from their homes and neighborhoods. “Santa Monica was not immune to these national policies and practices. The local impact was particularly significant on two areas of the city: the Belmar Triangle (what is today the area that houses the Civic Auditorium) and the I-10 Highway/Pico Corridor,” reads a City of Santa Monica report on the displacement of families. The Belmar Triangle area was once populated with rows of shotgun houses. The neighborhood, made up mostly of Black residents and business owners, was targeted for urban renewal and in the 1950s, the City used eminent domain to purchase properties to make way for the construction of the Civic Auditorium under a national program called Build America Better.
Freeway, see page 11
The I-10 Freeway in Santa Monica.
Photo: Sam Catanzaro