By Jorge Casuso

August 4, 2026 – In a confusing move that failed to add up the homeless people who would be displaced, the City Council last week delayed the closure of Samoshel, a key component of the Realignment Plan the Council approved last October.

Instead, the Council voted 6 to 0 on Tuesday to direct City staff to close the 60-bed shelter that opened Downtown more than 30 years ago only after it identifies additional "non-congregate interim housing locations in and around Santa Monica."

It also voted to take over a local motel to provide transitional housing for the homeless with long ties to Santa Monica and to rent beds in an inland city most Councilmembers don't believe the regional homeless would accept as an alternative to living near the beach.

A motion by Councilmember Lana Negrete to begin closing Samoshel immediately and search for “non-congregate” locations outside the city failed for lack of a second.

Councilmember Ellis Raskin was among the five Councilmembers -- with Dan Hall recusing himself because he lives near the shelter -- who declined to take up the motion, arguing the homeless who live in the city should stay in or near Santa Monica.

"There's a real equity lens here," Raskin said. "Yes, we're taking on a lot of regional services. I'm okay with that from my own policy perspective. I'm okay with our city stepping up and doing the right thing."

The multi-part item approved by the Council included authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with the owner of The Palm Motel to provide "stabalization housing" for 34 homeless individuals with verified, long-standing ties to Santa Monica.

Accordig to City staff, those individuals comprise 10 percent of those staying at Samoshel, or six individuals.

The Palm Motel site at the border of the Sunset Park and Pico Neighborhoods -- which will be operated by The People Concern, the non-profit that runs Samoshel -- has been used by the County for a year and a half as part in its Pathway Home program to provide temporary housing for the homeless during the coronavirus emergency.

"We are taking our own control back over the system," said Mayor Caroline Torosis. "Santa Monica is deciding who gets placed. Santa Monica sets the rules. Santa Monica directs the security. Santa Monica directs the services."

The City Manager also was directed to negotiate the "price and terms of payment" to lease 34 beds at the Salvation Army Shelter in Bell, a predominantly Latino city near East LA some 23 miles from the city limits.

The Bell Shelter would provide homeless individuals who come from outside Santa Monica, who are believed to comprise the vast majority of those living in the city, with a "supportive, safe, and nurturing environment for adults who are experiencing homelessness," according to the shelter's website.

Councilmembers were skeptical the homeless living in Samoshel or on the streets would want to move so far away.

"I have some concerns with the optics of that and using City funds to fund the capacity outside the city," said Councilmember Natalya Zernitskaya. "I do want to make sure we're not shipping people out of town."

According to City staff, "the City’s transition away from the congregate model will be sequenced so that shelter capacity is maintained throughout."

It is unclear how many of those staying at Samoshel, which will continue to operate at least until the end of the year, will occupy the two sites or how many beds would be available at alternate sites during the winter months.

"Yes, we are closing down Samoshel," Torosis said, calling the 30-year-old shelter "what it is," a tent. "They want to go to a place where they can lock their doors and feel safe."

But, she added, "we are not picking up shelter beds or transporting them to Sunset Park or the Pico Neighborhood. That is absolutely not what is happening here."

Raskin agreed. "We have the same number of beds at the Palms as we had before. The number of beds in Bell I don't count because they're not in Santa Monica. And there are sixty people who are going to end up living in the streets."

In addition, Councilmembers approved a discussion item on the agenda opposing shutting down Samoshel "without a further developed plan to replace its capacity."

Torosis and Councilmembers Raskin and Jesse Zwick, who placed the item on the agenda, said they opposed the immediate closure of Samoshel because it would relocate shelter beds to the Palm Motel that borders on the Pico Neighborhood, the city's poorest and most diverse area.

To add to the confusion, Torosis who as mayor is the last to vote, opposed the measure, joining Negrete as the dissenting votes on the Councilmember 16 Item she co-sponsored.

Torosis explained her vote, saying the main vote earlier was "more prescriptive than the 16 Item because the 16 Item said nothing different."

Negrete dissented, saying City staff had already said no one would be pushed to the street and that regional beds already exist. She also questioned the City reliance on The People Concern to run many of the City's programs.

Last Tuesday's vote to close Samoshel and lease replacement beds is expected to cost the City about $9.5 million and comes after the County restructured its homeless services and cut nearly $200 million from its budget to tackle homelessness.

It also comes after the Federal government announced in June it will no longer fund the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), which received $220 million during the fiscal year that ended on June 30.