A program of restorative justice may finally be coming to Santa Monica.
On Tuesday evening, the city council discussed how to study historic harms to marginalized communities and provided their thoughts on how to move a reparations and landback initiative forward.
They will be explored further in an 18-month process beginning in March with the establishment of a seven-member Reparations & Landback Task Force of residents and subject matter experts from around the country.
The healing process began in 2022 with a historic “Black Apology” the city made to its African American population after consultation with the Committee for Racial Justice. At the beginning of last year, the city council followed up on that step by directing staff to research reparations efforts around the country and identify legal barriers to pursuing a reparations program in Santa Monica.
In addition, the city’s Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) team recently completed a yearlong engagement process with a diverse group of Santa Monicans meant to aid in the creation of the city’s first Equity Plan, which will be presented to the city council sometime this spring. According to the staff report, the theme they heard most from residents was a desire for a system of restorative justice.
The term “Landback” refers specifically to “the movement to return land taken through colonization to its original Indigenous inhabitants” according to the staff report. It further specifies, “While the most complete form involves transferring land back to Indigenous sovereignty, other approaches—such as co-managing land or restoring it to native plants with Indigenous stewardship practices—are also forms of Landback embraced by many Indigenous leaders.”
California is leading the nation in Landback efforts, with more than 1,250 acres returned to tribes since 2020. The state legislature established a reparations committee that released a 1,100-page report in 2023 on harms committed against Black Californians and a large list of policy recommendations to address them.
Three key legal challenges will confront Santa Monica or any California city when implementing a reparations program. One is that 1996’s Proposition 209 banned “race-conscious” programs in public education, employment, and granting public contracts. Two, federal and state housing laws prohibit racial discrimination. Three, equal protection laws require cities to treat “two or more similarly situated persons in an equal manner.”
However, the city is allowed to remedy harms dealt to specific groups or individuals for past discrimination disallowed by statute or the constitution. This can therefore include descendants of the former Belmar Triangle neighborhood who were forced out to make way for the construction of city hall, the Civic Auditorium, and the Santa Monica Courthouse. It can also include those displaced from the development of the 10 freeway, as well as Indigenous people whose land was taken to create the city itself.
Precedents exist for reparations programs, including in California. In November of last year, the City of Palm Springs agreed to a $5.9 million payout to families whose relatives had been displaced by the city in the ‘60s in a one-square-mile area to make room for a commercial development. At that time, it affected over 2,000 Black and Latino residents. Palm Springs is also committing $10 million to a first-time home buyer program and another $10 million to a community land trust.
According to the staff report, the timeline for Santa Monica’s task force will take place in the following phases and focus areas:
- Phase 1: Orientation & Planning – April-July 2025
- Key focus areas: introductions, adoption of roles and decision-making processes, civic empowerment and advocacy training, an overview of the Landback and reparations movements.
- Phase 2: Truth-Telling & Listening – August- October 2025
- Key focus areas: soliciting public input on the harms sustained and witnessed by members of Santa Monica’s marginalized communities, hosting a public truth-telling event, drafting and soliciting input on a community harms report, adoption of harms report by Council and community distribution
- Council involvement: attendance at public truth-telling event; review and adoption of harms report
- Phase 3: Repair – November 2025 –May 2026
- Key focus areas: Exploring both monetary and non-monetary forms of repair, exploring costs of monetary repairs along with potential funding streams, drafting and soliciting community feedback on recommendations report, adoption of recommendations by Council, adoption of a plan for ongoing community engagement
Several residents with Indigenous roots to the land spoke at the council meeting. One who said she is “in delegation” with various Indigenous groups, told the council, “The people who should be leading this – and it is seldom done – is the Indigenous people of the land.”
Another Native activist, Angie Barons, was not optimistic, saying “This is a dog and pony show. You just have us here so we can say our piece, but nothing’s going to happen.”
Black Santa Monicans and other Westsiders also shared their thoughts and challenged the council.
“Santa Monica has pretended to care about the devastating harm it perpetuated on its Black community,” said Hajar Muqtasid St. Claire. Referring to the Black Apology, she asked, “What specific measurable and relevant actions will you take to support these words?”
Financial compensation for what promises to be a hard-working task force of aggrieved members was first raised by Councilmember Natalya Zerntiskaya, who City Attorney Doug Sloan was quick to remind of the City Charter specifically disallowing pay for city commissioners and task force members. But raised again toward the end of the item, Sloan then said they could explore making members part-time city employees.
Councilmember Dan Hall, whose day job is as a DEI professional, assured meeting attendees that despite the efforts of the Trump administration, the spirit of DEI is alive and well, and encouraged city staff to be bold.
But he also brought up the fact that these are difficult times for the city financially. “We have deeply, deeply difficult decisions facing us this year when it comes to our budget.” But he added, “I encourage our residents who believe in this work and want to see this done in a meaningful way, to show up, to turn out, and support us in those very difficult decisions if we want to make this a reality with actual, meaningful repair.”
Mayor Pro Tem Caroline Tororis had concerns about how the task force itself would be funded and said that there needed to be “scaffolding” structured around how the city finances this important work. She pointed to the sale of city-owned land as one option.
Torosis said she wants to not only see financial compensation for those harmed but also real structural changes and longer-term repairs that could include affordable housing, workforce development, and a land trust.
“The timeline is incredibly, incredibly tight – within one year,” said a concerned Councilmember Barry Snell, the council’s only African American member. He feels that while it may mean quicker results, the task force be given the time it needs to work. He later added, “I am excited about this work, we need to start tomorrow.”
