By Lookout Staff
July 29, 2025 -- The City Council on Tuesday will renew its Local Emergency on Homelessness two and a half years after it was declared in February 2023.
Local California governments are required by law to renew a local emergency every 60 days until it is terminated, according to the staff report to the Council.
"The homelessness crisis in the region, which continues to grow, (is) leading to deplorable living conditions and illness and deaths of unhoused and unsheltered persons in the region," staff wrote.
The Council adopted its third Proclamation Declaring a Local Emergency on Homelessness on March 11, "because the conditions that existed at the time the (previous) Proclamation was adopted persist."
The latest Proclamation -- which extends the local emergency through December 31, 2026 unless terminated earlier -- "allows the City to expeditiously increase City services and programs to address and prevent homelessness," staff wrote.
"Specifically, the extension enables the City to, among other things, receive additional county, state, and federal resources to address the homelessness crisis (and) prevent rental price gouging."
It also enables the City to "streamline and expedite certain City processes" and "leverage City resources" to support those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless or "to address local impacts of homelessness."
The ongoing emergency is taking place as Santa Monica's homeless population increased amid a drop in both the number of individuals counted countywide, as well as on the Westside.
The point-in-time count conducted by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) on the night of February 20 counted 812 homeless individuals in Santa Monica, up from 774 counted in 2024 ("Santa Monica Sees Increase in Homeless Count," July 24, 2025).
It also comes as President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week that makes it easier for States and cities to remove homeless individuals from public spaces, especially those who need treatment for drug addiction and mental illness ("Santa Monica to Feel Impact of Trump's Homeless Order," July 25, 2025).
Homelessness has persisted in the Ciy, County and State despite billions of dollars spent to tackle the problem.
Santa Monica spends an estimated $42.5 million a year on homeless programs and services, according to a Homelessness Study by the accounting firm Moss Adams LLP ("City Spends More than $40 Million on Homelessness But Lacks Way to Gauge Progress," December 1, 2022).
The City, known as "the home of the homeless" -- has also shifted its policies over the past three decades -- from cracking down on the homeless to providing them with free housing to a carrot and stick approach that combines both ("It's Deja Vu for Santa Monica's Homeless Policies," April 25, 2022).
