718
People counted as homeless in Santa Monica in 2026, down 11.6% from 812. Los Angeles County counted 73,040, up 1.2%, a change LAHSA says is not statistically significant. City of Santa Monica, July 24, 2026 LAHSA, 2026 homeless count
Santa Monica · Enforcement first
End street camping in Santa Monica.
Sensible Santa Monica wants the city to enforce its public-space rules in parks, on the beach, and at the Metro terminus. When someone is camping in a public place, the direction is shelter or move on.
We are a local advocacy group. We plan to endorse city council candidates in the election cycle after November 2026. We are not endorsing anyone in this election.
The problem, in four numbers
~77
Homeless people per 10,000 residents in Santa Monica, calculated from the 2026 count and the 2020 Census. Beverly Hills is about 10. Manhattan Beach is about 2.5. Both of those cities rose in 2026 from very small 2025 counts. City of Santa Monica, July 24, 2026 LAHSA tract file, 2026 LAHSA jurisdiction file, 2025 U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census
71.5%
Of Santa Monica police arrests in 2025 involved a person experiencing homelessness: 2,465 of 3,446, up from 1,622 in 2024. SMPD, 2025 annual crime report
59
Unhoused people, on average, exited the last E Line trains at Downtown Santa Monica each night in a 2023 Metro study. A March 2025 count found 63. Metro board file 2023-0214 Metro board file 2025-0219
Read the numbers straight. The 2026 count is down, and the county’s is not. The city is still far above Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach per resident, and those cities’ own counts rose from 17 to 32 and from 4 to 9. LAHSA tract file, 2026 LAHSA jurisdiction file, 2025 In March 2025 the council repealed the rule that treated a bedroll as evidence of camping. Its findings called that rule “an ineffective tool.” Current law bans camping in tents and temporary shelters in public places. Sleeping in public is not illegal. Ordinance 2804, March 11, 2025
What we are for
Five planks. Shelter is where people are directed when a rule is enforced. It is not the headline.
- 01 No sleeping or camping in parks or on the beach Enforce the camping ban and the park-closure hours, and pursue a beach overnight rule the Coastal Act allows.
- 02 Enforce fare evasion on the Metro E Line Sign the police agreement that is still unsigned, and accelerate the taller gates at Downtown Santa Monica.
- 03 Regional fairness at the end of the line The documented channels are the E Line terminus and county facility siting. Santa Monica should not absorb either without a say.
- 04 The Manhattan Beach and Beverly Hills standard Citywide camping bans, an offer of shelter, then enforcement. Their per-resident counts are a fraction of ours.
- 05 Measure the results Publish enforcement and the street count, and hold council members to their votes.