By Jorge Casuso

April 3, 2025 -- The City Council next week will explore establishing a night-time curfew for Santa Monica Beach and posting criminal prosecution data on a public dashboard.

The Council also will discuss taking steps to revise a policy in place since the coronavirus shutdown five years ago that allows City staff to work from home.

The proposed beach curfew was placed on the agenda "due to public safety concerns" after two homeless women were killed on the beach late at night over the past six months.

The item -- requested by Mayor Lana Negrete and Councilmembers Jesse Zwick and Natalya Zernitskaya -- asks staff to explore the City's ability to establish a night time curfew with California State Parks and the California Coastal Commission.

The City Manager and City Attorney would "report back to Council with options for closure," according to the item.

The proposed action comes two months after a homeless woman was found apparently beaten to death in a sleeping bag on Santa Monica Beach in the early morning of February 10 ("Homicide Victim Found on Beach," February 10, 2025).

Last October, a suspected DUI driver reportedly making circles on the beach at high speeds ran over and killed a homeless woman sleeping on the sand late at night ("Homeless Woman Run Over, Killed on Beach," October 18, 2024).

Another item focused on public safety asks staff to use funds from a parking tax approved last November to "aggregate and produce a dashboard on the City’s website for the public to view the City Attorneys Office (CAO) criminal prosecution data."

The CAO's Criminal Division prosecutes criminal misdemeanor offenses "that range from Penal Code violations, such as driving under the influence, assault, theft, and domestic violence, to infractions violating of local city ordinances," according to City officials.

"Most cases are referred by the Santa Monica Police Department, but cases also come from other City departments and other public agencies," officials said.

The dashboard would be funded by Measure K, which imposes a tax hike on private parking lots to enhance public safety and create safe routes to school, according to the item placed on the agenda by Negrete and Zwick.

The two Councilmembers also placed an item on agenda "to direct the City Manager and City Attorney to provide information to the Council concerning the City’s Hybrid Workplace Policy."

The requested information would include "what positions are permitted to do hybrid work, how many and to what extent employees utilize hybrid work, and how the city ensures its remote workforce remains collaborative, productive, and responsive to residents’ needs."

Staff also would provide information on "what the hybrid work policies are for comparable jurisdictions, and report back on changes the city has made to its policy based on this review."

The item comes after Negrete said at a Mach 8 budget workshop that it was time for City staff to return to the office after working remotely since the coronavirus shutdown in March 2020 ("Council Floats Bold Moves to Balance Budget," March 10, 2025).

"We have to buckle down. I see this as a business," said Negrete, who owns the Santa Monica Music Center. "We need to lead by example. That means coming to work within our own organization.

"I don't see how you build organizational culture without being face to face, which would allow staff to share the work and ideas," Negrete said.