Council seeds $3.5 million restorative‑justice fund, approves formation of commission

The Santa Monica City Council voted unanimously to create a restorative‑justice fund, seed it with $3.5 million from a recently negotiated agreement, and direct staff to form a council‑appointed restorative justice commission and hire an independent program administrator to design and run the program.

City Manager Oliver Chi framed the proposal as a substantive next step after work by the land‑back and reparations task force and the Ebony Beach Club settlement. "This program is intended to address multiple categories of historically rooted harms and to embed meaningful resources behind that work," Chi said. The council asked staff to use one‑time funds without affecting the operating budget and to report back with program terms, claims criteria and administration details.

Council discussion emphasized co‑governance and community input. Councilmembers also requested that the task force’s harms report be integrated into the commission’s work and that staff pursue philanthropic and supplemental funding sources; council approved seeding the fund with $3.5 million now and holding a later $2.0 million tranche in reserve pending program design.

Next steps: staff will return in spring with a proposed commission structure, procurement plan for an independent administrator, and recommended program criteria; the council will appoint commission members and then receive the administrator’s program design for approval.