L.A. County surprised Santa Monica with two homeless housing projects. Now they're paused

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For over a year, a pair of buildings with breathtaking ocean views that used to house seniors have sat vacant in Santa Monica next to multimillion dollar townhomes and condominiums.But in the last several months, neighbors have noticed workers moving on and off the respective properties in the 400 and 800 blocks of Ocean Avenue.They painted the buildings, installed security cameras and a PRIVATE PROPERTY sign to deter trespassers.Then, late on a Tuesday night earlier this month, the county of Los Angeles informed the city of Santa Monica new tenants would be moving in soon and who they were: 49 patients with behavioral health issues enrolled in the county’s transitional housing program.The backlash came fast, including from the mayor.“I live next to 3 within walking distance — we never got a heads up or a community meeting either,” Santa Monica Mayor Lara Negrete wrote on Facebook.

“The system is not working fairly and informing people and it’s above our heads often coming from state and county — yet we have to manage the chaos.”Now, the project is on hold as the county plans to host a town hall and offer public tours of the facilities.“We want to ensure that everyone is heard, properly informed, and has multiple opportunities to provide feedback and help shape how the project is implemented,” the Department of Mental Health said in a statement.That’s how the process should have rolled out in the first place, according to locals like Negrete.“What happened here revealed some real gaps in how the law divides responsibilities between the state, county and city when it comes to not only funding mental health facilities, but just the notification and community engagement,” Negrete told The Times.

“I think everybody deserves to know what is happening in their community and to be able to voice their concern, and shouldn’t be chastised or villainized for h...