By Jorge Casuso

April 15, 2025 -- Only Santa Monica residents will qualify for City Council appointments to three major Boards under an ordinance the Council is expected to approve Tuesday.

The proposed ordinance would cover the governing boards of three nonprofit organizations that play a critical role in Santa Monica's economy -- Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. (DTSM), Santa Monica Travel and Tourism Inc. (SMTT) and the Santa Monica Pier Corporation, Inc. (SMPC).

The item was placed on the January 28 Council agenda by newly elected Councilmembers Barry Snell, a former chair of DTSM Board, and Dan Hall, who chaired the Pier Board.

"Without resident representation working in partnership with business leaders, industry experts, and property owners, the community loses a critical voice on the governance boards in setting the strategic
direction for these organizations," the agenda item read.

Of the 18 current members appointed to the three boards by the Council, five are not residents of the City.

Four of the five non residents were appointed to the DTSM Board by the previous Council, while one was appointed to the Pier Board ("Council Shakes Up Two Major Boards," July 11, 2024).

The Council's narrowly approved appointments to the DTSM Board were widely viewed as political and replaced long-time residents backed by Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR) with major business stakeholders in the Downtown.

"Right now, we need people who are intimately involved," former mayor Phil Brock said at the time. "A lot of the Board members were political appointees without a stake Downtown."

The current Council dominated by SMRR quickly directed staff to present the ordinance "so that the second reading and adoption can occur in advance of the annual boards and commissions appointments" that take effect on July 1.

The staff report for Tuesday's agenda item notes that "the Council cannot unilaterally remove and reappoint board members in Council appointed seats, with the exception of SMPC, of which the City is the sole member of the nonprofit."

"Therefore, this ordinance shall only apply to future appointments and reappointments," staff wrote.

Of the six members appointed to the 13-member DTSM Board, three of the terms expire on June 30, 2026 and three on June 30, 2028.

All five current Council appointees to the 11-member SMTT Board live in the city, while the term of the lone non-resident on the seven-member Pier Board expires on June 30, 2026.

Resident representation, staff wrote, "is an asset to the community, as residents provide oversight and feedback on programming, operations, and leadership for these critical organizations that help steer the local economy and promote the Santa Monica band (sic), history, and culture."