Santa Monica city officials approved a multimillion-dollar apartment complex for the homeless last week, days after California released an audit that found it did not account for the $24 billion it spent on the state’s burgeoning homelessness crisis. .
The 122-unit building for the homeless will include a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, as well as ground floor retail and residential and commercial parking spaces.
Mayor Phil Bullock said: “Advancing our efforts to bring affordable and permanent supportive housing on city-owned land is an important step in our strategy to meet the requirements of the housing element.” “We look forward to taking the next step and ultimately watching families move into these new homes and thrive.”
The measure was approved just days after the release of an audit showing the state spent about $24 billion from 2018 to 2023 to combat homelessness, but the large sums of public money have little to do to actually improve the problem. Whether it had an effect was not consistently tracked.
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Sunrise view of the neon-lit Santa Monica Pier and Ferris wheel at dawn in California. (Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH), which coordinates agencies and allocates resources to anti-homelessness programs, blames local governments for the problem and calls for them to take more responsibility. He said he had to bear it.
Fox News Digital reached out to Santa Monica city officials to ask how the city will ensure funds are used efficiently in light of the audit findings.
Homeless camps line the streets of Oakland, California, on Friday, March 15, 2024. Homelessness continues to plague the city as neighborhood businesses close due to safety concerns. (DWS for Fox News Digital)
A city spokesperson said the state, like many other regions, is “facing a housing and homelessness crisis, and all cities in the state need to implement housing components, including affordable housing.” “There is,” he said.
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“The City of Santa Monica is dedicating several city-owned lots to affordable projects. “This is an important strategy to meet the current demand,” the spokesperson said. “The city is following this strategy, and the council recently approved an agreement to proceed with development on three city-owned properties along Euclid Avenue.”
