🌟 Santa Monica Weekly with Councilmember Lana Negrete

📅 April 27, 2026

Santa Monica friends,

This week, I went to Sacramento with one of my colleagues and came home to news I had been waiting on for a long time. The trip was about local control: making sure decisions that shape Santa Monica get made by people who live here. The homecoming was about progress: the Coastal Commission unlocked four major projects, our police department launched a real-time intelligence center, and the first wave of housing under our new affordability tool is finally moving toward construction.

I also have a personal note to share at the end of this too. If you have been following along on Instagram, you may already know. If not, scroll down. I want you to hear it directly from me.

A lot to cover this week. Here we go.

🚓 Public Safety

🔹 Our SMART Center is live, and it's a big one. On April 21, the Santa Monica Police Department officially opened the Santa Monica Analytical Real-Time Center, or SMART Center: a centralized hub that pulls together our camera network, Live 911 data, drone-as-first-responder operations, and video analytics into one operational platform. The center was funded through a $6.125 million state grant under the Organized Retail Theft Prevention Grant Program.

→ 🎯 My take: This is exactly the kind of intelligence-led, technology-driven policing I have been backing since I got on Council. Real-time response. Pattern recognition for organized retail theft. Better coordination during fast-moving incidents. The Los Angeles County District Attorney called this center the gold standard in policing nationwide. I will take that for Santa Monica all day.

→ ⚡ Why this matters to you: Faster response times, more precise officer deployments, and a real shot at disrupting the organized theft rings that have been hammering our retail corridors for years.

👉 Read the SMART Center launch announcement

🔹 Public Safety Snapshot, April 12 through 18.

→ 📊 What you are seeing: Sustained staffing, proactive deployments, and a downtown posture that does not let up. A 74.4% year-over-year jump in arrests is not a seasonal blip. It is what consistent investment in public safety produces.

🔹 Notable incidents this week:

• Assault with a knife on Main Street. A suspect attempted to stab a business owner inside a café on the 2200 block. Officers located him nearby and arrested him for assault with a deadly weapon. No injuries to the victim.
• Robbery on Santa Monica Boulevard. A suspect armed with a metal pole struck the victim and stole his phone on the 1600 block. Coordinated containment, supported by SMART Center resources, led to his arrest and recovery of the phone.
• Elder abuse arrest near 4th and Broadway. Officers arrested a suspect seen violently striking and dragging an elderly victim. SMART Center resources confirmed the incident in real time and a probation hold was granted.
• Organized retail theft from Lululemon. A suspect fled by vehicle, collided with other cars, then fled on foot. Perimeter containment, SMART Center support, and coordinated units led to a felony arrest.

→ 🎯 My take: That last one is exactly why we built the SMART Center. Coordinated tools. Coordinated response. Real outcomes.

🔹 Traffic enforcement. Officers held a "No Left Turn" operation at 21st and Dewey after community complaints, issuing 20 citations. Two grant-funded distracted driving operations resulted in 44 stops and 35 citations. A scooter rider was struck by a vehicle near 15th and California and transported with injuries. The driver was referred for a DMV re-evaluation.

🔹 Homelessness response. Two long-term unhoused individuals, both previously placed into Samoshel through HLP referrals, transitioned into permanent housing this week after years of homelessness and repeated SMPD contacts. A chronic subject camped under the Lincoln Boulevard / I-10 overpass accepted a Samoshel placement after sustained outreach. Officers also arrested subjects with active warrants in Palisades Park and at the Ocean Park Branch Library, with services connections following each contact.

→ 💡 What this means: Outreach plus accountability is the model. Compassion and stabilization, with real consequences for ignoring services. That is the only version of this work that actually moves people inside.

🔹 Fire Department weekly snapshot.

• 311 calls for service last week, 5,323 year-to-date, 45 calls in the most recent 24-hour reporting period
• Recruit Academy Week 15 focused on EMS, Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS), and Incident Command System training
• A new electronic patient-care reporting (ePCR) system is rolling out department-wide, which means faster, cleaner documentation and better data for decision-making in the field
• SMFD was at Healthy Kids Day at the Santa Monica Family YMCA on April 18 (more than 500 attendees got hands-on fire and life safety engagement), plus a Career Exploration workshop at Olympic High and a Mid-City neighborhood meeting on April 21

→ 🚒 Mark the calendar: Fire Service Day is Saturday, May 9 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bring the kids.

🔹 Code Enforcement Q1 report just dropped. The Code Enforcement Quarterly Update covering January through March 2026 is now out, capturing the work our team does day in and day out on noise, occupancy, vacant properties, and the everyday quality-of-life concerns that hit residents directly. If you've ever filed a complaint and wondered what happens after, this is the paper trail.

🏛️ From Sacramento: Two State Bills Worth Watching

🔹 Why I went to Sacramento this week. This week, I traveled to the California League of Cities (Cal Cities) conference with Councilmember Natalya Zernitskaya. Councilmember Dan Hall joined the trip as well. The conference is one of the most important venues local elected officials have to engage directly with state legislators on bills that will shape life in our cities. Natalya and I had the honor of being introduced on the Assembly floor alongside Vice Mayor Mary Wells of Beverly Hills. I came home with thoughts on two bills you should know about.

🔹 AB 218: standing with victims, asking for guardrails. This bill expanded the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual assault, giving victims more time to bring civil cases. We absolutely stand with survivors. That is not in question. But cities like Santa Monica are now seeing serious financial exposure from cases that are extremely difficult to verify, and in some instances appear to be fraudulent. The hit lands on our general fund. That means our operations, our services, and ultimately our residents.

→ 🎯 My take: Supporting survivors and protecting the stability of our cities must go hand in hand. We need guardrails. I told committee members that directly.

🔹 AB 1740: where I disagree with my own city. I want to be straight with you on this one. AB 1740, authored by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, would give Santa Monica more local control over coastal permitting for things like outdoor dining, temporary events, bike and bus lanes, and certain housing projects, without each one going through the Coastal Commission. Our city has officially signed on as a co-sponsor.

I agree with parts of this. I have watched the Coastal Commission hold up business openings for so long that operators give up entirely. Raising Cane's was held for many months. Other businesses have walked away. In a moment of economic recovery, that kind of friction is doing real damage. We need a local coastal plan, and we need faster turnaround on outdoor dining and temporary activations on our beach.

→ 🎯 Where I part ways: It is the housing piece. My fear is that this bill will be used to push 20-story luxury developments along our coastline that will not deliver affordability or workforce housing, and that will permanently change the look, feel, and accessibility of the coast we all share. A friend of mine who serves on the Coastal Commission once said that decisions about a coast that belongs to everyone should not come down to four votes on a Tuesday. That logic cuts both ways.

→ 💡 My respect for the author: I want to acknowledge Assemblymember Zbur for his vocal opposition to SB 79, his no vote on it, and his willingness to fight for some local control for Santa Monica. That matters. It is the housing carveout in AB 1740, specifically, that I cannot support as written.

👉 Read the full text of AB 1740

🔹 One more thing worth flagging from Cal Cities. A lot of the conference focused on how cities are using new tools to operate smarter. One I am genuinely excited about: AI that can read a neighborhood at scale, surface vacant properties, and catch code violations as they happen. Faster response. Smarter use of city resources. A real shot at getting ahead of the maintenance issues that drag down corridors. Watching this one carefully.

💼 Economic Development

🔹 Coastal Commission unlocks four major Santa Monica projects. On April 15, the California Coastal Commission approved four projects central to our economic comeback: three digital signage agreements at 301 Arizona Avenue, 1202 Third Street Promenade, and 395 Santa Monica Place, plus the Michelob ULTRA Pitchside Club on the Santa Monica Pier for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, running June 11 through 25.

→ 📊 By the numbers: Each digital sign represents a $500,000 one-time contribution to the City plus ongoing revenue of at least $500,000 per sign per year. The Pitchside Club will create a free fan experience zone on the Pier deck during the World Cup's opening weeks, with live match viewing, soccer experiences, cultural programming, and athlete and celebrity appearances.

→ 🎯 My take: These approvals are the end of a long, frustrating regulatory road. They also set us up for the bigger wave coming: the Goldenvoice festival this fall, ESPN fan engagement in early 2027, and the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Santa Monica's renaissance is not a slogan. It is on the calendar.

🔹 Three new housing projects on Wilshire moving toward permits. The first three applicants under our new Off-Site Affordable Housing Pilot Incentive Program (approved by Council last August) are now moving forward at 1902 Wilshire, 2025-2037 Wilshire, and 2501 Wilshire. Together they will deliver close to 600 new homes, with 46 deed-restricted affordable units consolidated off-site at 1415 Wilshire Boulevard, all built and operated by a nonprofit affordable housing provider.

→ 💡 Why this matters: The old rule made off-site affordable units finish first, which in this financing environment was killing projects at the permit stage. The pilot lets developers build market-rate and affordable in parallel, in exchange for stricter protections: 75-year deed restrictions instead of 55, and a clear 48-month build commitment.

→ 🎯 My take: This is what unlocking housing actually looks like. Not a press release. Permits issued and shovels in the ground.

🔹 HUD just approved our Housing Authority's FY 2026-27 plan. Building on Council's April 14 endorsement, HUD has formally approved the Santa Monica Housing Authority's FY 2026-27 PHA Plan, which takes effect July 1. The plan governs how we administer rental assistance for the more than 1,300 households who rely on Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8) to stay housed in our community.

→ 🎯 My take: Section 8 is one of the most direct lifelines we have for seniors, neighbors with disabilities, families on tight incomes, and people exiting homelessness. A clean federal approval in this political climate is not nothing. Real credit to our Housing and Human Services team for getting it across the finish line.

🔹 Big Blue Bus is going to the World Cup. Through a new partnership with Metro, BBB will run dedicated, direct service to all eight World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium, including the USMNT opener against Paraguay on June 12 and a quarterfinal on July 10. Service runs from 4th Street south of Wilshire (in front of Parking Structure 1) starting roughly four hours before each match, with return service running until about 90 minutes after the final whistle. Fares: $1.75 each way.

→ ⚡ Why this matters to you: Parking at SoFi is going to be limited and expensive. This is the smart way to get to the matches. It also doubles as a real-world test of how we run regional transit at Olympic scale in 2028.

👉 Plan your World Cup ride with Metro and BBB

🔹 A wave of new businesses choosing Santa Monica. The list keeps getting longer. Bower Santa Monica, a 6,500-square-foot all-day restaurant and community hub from the team behind Bondi Harvest, opens this summer at Colorado Center.

Now open or back in action: EverBank on Montana, Redwood Outdoors at 1030 Montana, Joe and the Juice at 2121 Cloverfield, plus Laya Swim returning and Ghisallo expanding.

Coming soon: Bacio di Latte at 1510 Montana, DOL Coffee House at 1231 Wilshire, La Diperie at 2441 Main (their first West Coast location), Sonia's Café at 15th and Arizona, Dragon Alley Coffee Shop at 312 Santa Monica Boulevard, Veggie Thai at 3020 Wilshire, and a FIFA World Cup 2026 retail store on the 1400 block.

One more sign of life: Baywatch is filming in Santa Monica, which means crew jobs and on-the-ground activity in our corridors.

→ 💡 What this signals: Owners and operators do their own diligence. They study foot traffic, incident reports, and where the recovery is real. Right now, they are choosing Santa Monica.

🔹 Architectural Review Board, April 20. The ARB acted on three projects worth tracking. 1655 26th Street: an 8-story mixed-use development with 401 residential units plus ground-floor commercial, approved with conditions. 1514 7th Street: a proposed 23-story, 257-foot residential condominium with 124 units (119 market-rate and 5 affordable), continued for additional design work. 123 Ocean Park Boulevard: a two-story-plus-roof-deck addition to a Structure of Merit, approved with conditions.

→ 💡 Worth watching: 1514 7th Street is the big one. The Board sent it back for more design development before final action. That is the right call when a tower of that scale is in front of you.

📚 In the Community

🔹 Summer registration is live, and demand is loud. Summer 2026 registration for our Recreation and Arts Department opened on Wednesday, April 22, with more than 1,600 sign-ups on the first day alone and another 200-plus residents already on waitlists. Cooking Creations, Lotus Party Camp, SMSA Flag Football, the Sharks Swim Team, and Learn to Swim are filling fast.

→ 📊 Worth knowing: Resident registration is open now. Non-resident registration begins Wednesday, April 29 at 6 a.m. Financial assistance is available for qualifying families through Community Recreation. As a parent, I will say it plainly: do not sleep on this. The good ones go quick.

👉 Browse summer programs and register

🔹 Council meets Tuesday, April 28. A heavy agenda. Notable items include an implementation framework for SB 79 (the state's transit-oriented development law that arrives July 1), a public hearing on the 2026-27 CDBG / HOME Annual Action Plan for federal housing and community development funds, a public hearing on the proposed renaming of a portion of Vicente Terrace as Silas White Street, and proclamations for AANHPI Heritage Month and Historic Preservation Month.

→ 🎯 Why I will be paying close attention to SB 79: This is the law that allows upzoning of qualifying housing projects within a half-mile of major transit stops. All three of our Expo Light Rail stations qualify. The framework Council reviews tomorrow is how we shape the implementation, and that is where the real work is.

👉 View the April 28 Council agenda

🔹 A quiet city win worth celebrating. Our own Amber Richane, Principal Design and Planning Manager, has been named a 2026 Living Future Hero by the International Living Future Institute, a global recognition that places her among a small group of leaders worldwide reshaping how buildings and communities are designed. Amber led City Hall East, one of the few Living Certified buildings on the planet, and is now spearheading the 192-acre Santa Monica Airport Conversion Project. Quiet relentlessness gets noticed eventually. Congratulations, Amber.

🔹 April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This is not abstract for us. Every program we run, every facility we operate, and every contract we sign with a vendor serving young people carries a responsibility to keep kids safe. Our Abuse Prevention Administrative Instruction was updated on April 13, with sharper requirements for vendors, defined instructor-to-participant ratios, a streamlined registration and review process for new youth programs, and clear obligations for lessees who run youth programming on City property. Good. Keep going.

🔹 Three BBB mechanics just earned a trip to the international stage. Transit Mechanics Todd Edwards, Steven Ngo, and Ricky Aban placed third at the Southern California Regional Bus Roadeo, finishing behind only LA Metro and Foothill Transit, two agencies that run dramatically larger maintenance operations. That third-place finish earned them an invite to the APTA International Bus Roadeo in Salt Lake City next month, going up against the top transit maintenance teams in the U.S. and Canada. Motor Coach Operator Azim Said also represented Santa Monica in the Driver Roadeo.

→ 🎯 Why I love this: The Roadeo is technical work under a tight clock. It is the same craft that keeps our buses safe and on time every single day for the millions of riders BBB serves. Massive cheers to Todd, Steven, Ricky, and Azim. Go represent us.

🔹 Big Blue Bus and Santa Monica College, 18 years and counting. BBB just renewed its student transit partnership with Santa Monica College through FY 2027-28. Eligible students, faculty, and staff who pay the College's Student Benefits fee get unlimited rides on BBB. Through Metro's GoPass, the same group also gets unlimited access to 20 regional transit agencies, including Metro bus and rail.

→ 💡 Why it matters: This is one of the quiet pieces of plumbing that keeps our college community connected to the rest of the region without needing a car. Real climate, congestion, and access wins, all at once.

📅 Looking Ahead

🔹 A big Saturday on May 9. Three things are happening on the same day:

• 📚 The Main Library turns 20. A community celebration at 601 Santa Monica Boulevard featuring a panel with the building's architects from Moore Ruble Yudell, a reception, and a chance to join the Friends of the Library.
• 🌱 The Main Street Community Garden turns 50. Where our citywide community gardens program started in 1976, with anniversary festivities from 9 to 11 a.m.
• 🚒 Fire Service Day at SMFD. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., open to the community.

→ 💡 Why these matter together: Three institutions that quietly hold this city up, all turning a milestone on the same day. If you have a Saturday morning to give, give it to one of these.

🔹 Police community engagement events:

• Thursday, April 30: Burgers with the Police at Pier Burger
• Monday, May 4: Cookies & Cops at Junior Cookies on Main Street
• Tuesday, May 12: Police and Fire Memorial at the Public Safety Facility

🔹 A coastal restoration story worth knowing. Three Killdeer nests were spotted last week in our restored beach dunes, two of them in the Phase 2 area just south of the Annenberg Community Beach House. Killdeer were classified as Near Threatened in 2024. Their return to nest in our restored shoreline is exactly the outcome the Dune Restoration Project was designed to make possible. Quiet wins matter.

🗣️ A Personal Note

If you have not seen it on Instagram yet, here it is from me: I am running for Santa Monica City Council in 2026.

I’m very excited to serve again, but the decision was not easy. I spent the back half of March wrestling with it: my family, my health, my business, and the resources it actually takes to do this job the way I want it done. This is technically a part-time role. For me, and honestly for anyone doing it well, it is full-time. Showing up for your community, sometimes as the only voice or the minority voice, is a heavier lift than people realize from the outside.

What changed my mind was you. The calls. The texts. The neighbors who came to my door, asked me to run, and said you were ready to engage, organize, and back the changes Santa Monica still needs. I started this work on public safety, homelessness, and economic recovery. We have moved real ground on all three. We are not finished.

I will share campaign updates as my paperwork and FPPC filings finalize. The website will be updated soon, and I will let you know when an electronic donation link is ready. For now, I wanted you to hear it from me first: I’m all in for you Santa Monica.

🔹 And one more thing on the political climate. I am also currently serving as president of the Blue Wave Democratic Club. We are results-over-rhetoric Democrats, focused on common sense and meeting in the middle in a moment when our party desperately needs that. I have been called a centrist, a moderate, and worse, by people in my own party. I think that is exactly backwards. We do not get good government by purging anyone who disagrees on the margins. We get it by working the problem together.

If you want to plug in, the door is open.

👉 Join the Blue Wave Democratic Club 

👉 Follow my campaign updates on Instagram

📱 Stay Connected

Got an issue to report? Want to make sure the city hears you?

👉 Report an Issue

If you haven't already, be sure to follow me on Instagram too for behind-the-scenes updates, event highlights, and my thoughts along the way as I continue to go on this journey with you.

🔹 Book time with me. Virtual, in-person at City Hall, or catch me at the farmers market on weekends.

👉 Book Office Hours with Councilmember Lana Negrete

🌟 A Closing Note On Civility

The last few weeks have made one thing clear to me. Transparency and civility are not soft skills. They are the load-bearing walls of how we build something that lasts. You can disagree with me on AB 1740. You can disagree with me on SB 79. You can disagree with me on the right balance between enforcement and outreach on homelessness. I would rather hear all of it, in our own city, in our own conversations, than have any of it decided for us at a distance.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for showing up. Catch me at the farmers market this weekend.

Together, we're building a Santa Monica that works for everyone — a city where families can thrive, businesses can grow, and community comes first.

With gratitude and determination,
Lana Negrete
Councilmember, City of Santa Monica