Santa Monica x Los Angeles: Collaboration to Solve Homelessness, Community Safety & more

In this powerful episode, Evan Meyer sits down with Santa Monica Mayor Lana Negrete and Los Angeles Councilmember Traci Park to explore how two neighboring cities are breaking down silos to address homelessness, emergency response, and community safety. From invisible borders on the beach to upcoming global events like the Olympics, this conversation unpacks what effective local collaboration really looks like.

📍 Topics Include:
Joint operations on homelessness
Regional planning for tourism & transportation
Communication breakdowns across agencies
Why political differences shouldn’t stop progress
Building tools for cross-jurisdictional problem-solving

💡 This episode is a must-watch for anyone interested in local government, regional planning, and public innovation.

Time | Section Title | Summary
00:00 | Opening: Meet Lana & Traci | Intro to both guests and the purpose of their collaboration
01:00 | Shared Challenges: Homelessness at the Beach | Transit-driven inflows and cross-jurisdiction coordination
03:00 | Joint Policing & Outreach Efforts | Examples of Santa Monica & LA joint operations
04:00 | Future Goals: Olympics, World Cup, and Tourism | Preparing for global events through regional partnerships
05:00 | Origins of Collaboration | How Lana & Traci connected personally and professionally
06:30 | Breaking the “Invisible Line” on Beaches | Using outreach teams like West Coast Cares across borders
07:30 | Post-Fire Response & Mutual Aid | How disaster response accelerated regional unity
08:30 | Why Two Voices Are Louder Than One in Sacramento | The power of joint advocacy at the state level
10:00 | Big Ask: What Should Higher Governments Fix? | Calls for a shared dashboard, streamlined communication
13:30 | County-Level Homelessness Shakeup | LASA changes and the push for local control
15:30 | Vision for a Regional Dashboard Tool | Transparent, real-time issue tracking for agencies and public
18:00 | Navigating Political Differences | Governing across ideological lines and building

Transcript

Evan Meyer: 0:40

Hi everyone. Today I am joined by Mayor Lana Negreti of Santa Monica, and council member Traci Park of Los Angeles. dive into how cross-jurisdictional partnerships can tackle our most pressing local challenges, particularly homelessness. So we're gonna jump right into it. How are Santa Monica and Los Angeles currently coordinating on homelessness strategies? And where do you see the biggest opportunities for deeper alignment? Why don't we start with council Member Park?

Councilmember Traci Park: 1:08

Well, thank you for that and thank you for the question and for having us here today. It has been just a, a great pleasure to get to know and work with my colleagues in the city of Santa Monica, you know, on the west side of Los Angeles. Our. Neighborhoods and communities share a lifestyle, a coastline, an economy. A common set of challenges and values, and so working together to address issues in our neighboring communities has been something that I have been keenly focused on since I took office. That is not historically how things have always been been done between the city of Los Angeles and City of Santa Monica. We've done some incredible joint operations together over the last couple of years, and frankly, I think all of our communities have been benefited from that collaboration.

Evan Meyer: 2:09

Has there been any examples that you would consider successful in the past?

Councilmember Traci Park: 2:13

So there's a Sure. A few specific things. You know, one of the shared issues and challenges that we deal with, of course, is homelessness and you know, the west side is, I. The literal end of the line Santa Monica Russells with the challenge of, you know, an inflow through metro. Certainly in city of Los Angeles, we th see that as well through our transportation systems as well as LAX. And our other end of the, the line public transit routes. You know, for a long, long time we've had challenges with non destination riders and oftentimes, you know, those are folks that would. You know, get off trains and, and, and end up being absorbed into Santa Monica or wandering into Venice. And a lot of times these are folks who end up sleeping on the beach in our parks and our business alcoves. And so over the last couple of years, I've worked very closely with City of Santa Monica and Metro. To address our strategies around transit our police departments have collaborated on cross jurisdictional issues with respect to our homeless interventions and other law enforcement operations and some of our border areas where we have seen repeated challenges. We have teamed up with our intervention and outreach resources so that when we're working together, we overall have better outcomes.

Evan Meyer: 3:48

Awesome. And, and where do you see some of that going in the future? What what would you like to see in terms of the partnerships with Santa Monica or what can be done in that regard? Do you feel now in the future?

Councilmember Traci Park: 4:00

Well, I think that continued partnership around homelessness is really important. This isn't a city of Santa Monica issue or a City of Los Angeles issue, or a Culver City issue. This is an all of Los Angeles and beyond issue. And so as we look at our resources. That continued collaboration and cooperation ultimately is how we're going to continue to see reductions in homelessness on the streets, but thinking even beyond that, some of the big things that are on the horizon for us, the Olympics are coming to Los Angeles in 2028. We have the World Cup. That's next year already. And so, you know, with our tourism economy, that is something that Santa Monica and certainly Venice and Westchester, through LAX being the entry point for tens of millions of visitors to our region is a shared interest, ensuring that we remain marquee destinations for visitors from around the world investing in the tourism infrastructure. That's necessary to support that. And the big events that we'll certainly feel the impacts from in our communities really making sure that our transportation assets are available and, and functioning, and that we are planning together as a region how we are all going to economically benefit from those big events.

Mayor Lana Negrete: 5:32

Well, coming on council you know, I met Tracy early on. Actually. I was appointed, so I was gearing up for my 22 election and we were introduced by a dear friend Greg Morena and. That began the discussion of partnerships. Our beaches connect, our cities connect, and I in fact grew up on Fourth and Ashland, which is like one block away from Venice. So, I've always felt very close to Venice and I felt it was important that we know each other and we work together because we are sharing a lot of the same problems, yet we don't share the same police department or fire department. So it was crucial for us to work together and find ways to make sure that. Specifically when it came to our beaches and homelessness, there was a, a real issue that was at the forefront at that time. We had this invisible line in the sand, and if our police officers were addressing encampment issues, they would just move over to Tracy's side and if there, if LAPD was addressing it, they would just move over to Santa Monica. So. Cross coordination, making sure people are communicating. That was something we both agreed was key and I, didn't closely follow before, if I'm, being honest, but I don't remember anyone really working like that together. And I think being able to be friends with someone where you can just pick up the phone and call them directly and work on issues doesn't only expedite them, but we have the ability to share ideas. So Tracy might be working with an organization or doing something and be able to give me insight as to what's working for her or what's not, and I can do the same. And so I think that's been the biggest advantage. We've addressed a lot of those encampment, invisible line issues on the sand. We both utilize West Coast Cares, Ron Hooks. And his ability to, to go across from Santa Monica into Tracy's area on the beach that's beneficial to all of us. These folks don't know boundaries in cities when we're dealing with our unhoused population. So being able to communicate on on that front has been really great. And going forward, we, you know, since the fires we've been able to address huge issues as it relates to PCH mitigating traffic concerns. We have her residents now in our city, we wanna make sure that we're serving them the best we can, that we're hosting. Resource centers. We did that all through the fires. We continue to make sure that we are a good partner city to help those folks that have been impacted by the fires and going forward as we rebuild our business community and our economy, as we look to better ways to really stretch our dollar and address homelessness in a real way that. Something people can see that's tangible on the streets. I think it's gonna take collaboration. It's gonna take elected leaders getting together and teaming up. When we, when we went to Sacramento, we were a force, the two of us together. If I were to go singularly or Tracy, were, you know, that's important. But the two of us together, it makes a statement. It says, we're working together. We need you to work with us. So I think the more that local elected officials can, who are really in touch with the constituents who are boots on the ground can take those issues and bubble them to the top, to our state and federal leaders, that's how we're gonna get things done quickly. That's how we're gonna apply more common sense approaches to things because we'll be able to take exactly what the constituents dealing with straight to those state and federal leaders. So that's what I'm looking forward to doing more of with Tracy's being a good trouble starter and. Troublemaker. In a good way. Problem solver.

Councilmember Traci Park: 8:54

be your force multiplier, Lana, and you know, it's just really been an absolute pleasure getting to know and work with someone. Who genuinely cares about her community and the region and what we can all do as public servants to improve the lives of the people who live and work and visit our region. And you know, I just gotta say, you know, you are always such a good sport. I, I can call you at any time and say, Hey, let's go on a mission. I gotta take you on an adventure with me, and you're always down to let me come pick you up and take you on some. Wild adventure to see with our own eyes what a problem in any part of, you know, our little neck of the woods looks like. And really truly, I think the two of us together marina Gritty put it exactly right, we're, we're a force.

Mayor Lana Negrete: 9:45

Yes. And I've enjoyed that. That's been that's been really great. I mean, she actually has helped facilitate, like we had a lot of issues with Caltran signage and, you know, I utilized all our efforts, including our county supervisor, but it helps when multiple people are asking for the same thing. Things tend to get done quicker. So, it's been, it's been a joy to have that relationship. I don't feel like I'm on an island. I feel like Tracy's got the bullhorn right behind me to emphasize whatever I'm asking for for Santa Monica.

Evan Meyer: 10:15

You mentioned the resources from county state governments and working, collaborating with them. If there was one thing that you could change a request from either county, state, or federal government make collaboration easier what would it be?

Councilmember Traci Park: 10:31

Where do we start?

Mayor Lana Negrete: 10:33

That's a loaded question.

Evan Meyer: 10:33

I know.

Mayor Lana Negrete: 10:35

You wanna start?

Councilmember Traci Park: 10:37

You know, I'll just jump in with an initial thought on this. You know, I, I, I think over the last 92 days especially, we have been challenged greatly by multitude of government agencies and partners on the ground trying to address regional impacts that stretch from Malibu. All the way down to the Venice area, frankly. And at times there can be challenges in making sure that information is flowing to all necessary parties, that all the correct stakeholders are at the table in the decision making process about things. And, you know, we may be dealing with, for example. of lane closures on PCH. That's not just an LA issue, it is a Santa Monica issue. It's a Topanga issue. It's a Malibu issue. It's an everybody that needs to get to or commute through the area issue. And so, I think one of the things that we just. Probably need to do a better job on, and this is, you know, because it's what's been on display as part of the disaster recovery that the mayor and I are both so heavily involved in our better communication and decision making platforms. The reality is no one entity or agency can solve any of this alone. Whether it is disaster recovery, whether it is transportation, regional transportation, investments. Whether it is environmental concerns because we share a Santa Monica be together I, I, I just think that that that strategic coordination between various agencies needs to be better. And I know that that is something that, you know, the mayor and I have worked really closely together to make sure that, you know, we're in the right places, that we're invited to the right meetings, and that our constituents who we are the voice for are being heard. Well, you know, since we're talking about it, you know, I think on the issue of homelessness too, we are all part of the county of Los Angeles and I think there are some challenges ahead for all of us. You know, the county has now. Retained control of all of the Measure A Homeless Services funding. They are substantially withdrawing their funding out of lasa, which has served the entire county, and the county is pulling human capital. I. Out of lasa. And I think that leaves many other jurisdictions, including the city of Los Angeles, and I won't speak for the mayor of Santa Monica, but all of the cities in Los Angeles County in a position of having to think about what does our new infrastructure. For addressing homelessness in the region. Look like I, I mean, this is a shakeup in our status quo that is happening in real time. It's frankly something I'm excited about. I, I think we have been overdue to rightsize these programs and return local control over how the funding is being spent and, and the transparency associated with that. Back to the people who are closest to the issues on the ground, and that is people like the mayor and people like me who literally deal in the weeds of this stuff every single day.

Mayor Lana Negrete: 14:03

So county, state, support. I think we need a dashboard. I think communication with the local leaders. I saw during the fires that there was opportunities. To better coordinate across. So, you know, I would ask my, contact for an assembly member, senator could do a town hall for example, and address a few few key issues. And I would get a multitude of responses over the course of three days, which was great. Fema, EPA, everybody's trying to dig in and help and they have reps that are servicing certain areas. And with all that back and forth and time that was spent to coordinate those responses for simply putting together a q and a town hall. And I just wanna point out that it was great. Hands, hands on. Everyone wanted to respond to what we were trying to do. I. Just that piece of it and coordinating it kind of gives you a sneak peek into all of it, right? Like the information could have been better disseminated across political leaders if there was a one stop shop and everybody had a PAL Palisades fire dashboard, but everybody had to click on different links to get to all the different agencies that were working on it. So, and that happens all the time. We don't really have one place, but I think government likes to say, but we Do have it on our website. You can click on this link and it'll take you here, and then you can dig around for information. It'll take you there as elected officials. You know, uh, be a little bit closer to the resource or get an answer quickly than maybe your average constituent, but we're just constituents too in these, in these positions that are just trying to get information. Digest it and spit it back out to the community in ways that's meaningful and that they understand it. So to me, if we could figure out a way to have a toolbox where all officials that's transparently can see what issues are going on by region, and you can see who's contacted what. For example, if there's a bill that's, worked on and that's actually happening, something that I'm working on post fires about rescuing animals. Other elected leaders can be notified of that by looking at a dashboard that says, you know, what's been going on with water testing quality, what's been going on with roadway work? By the way, here's bills that have been produced from this catastrophe and how you can support and get involved. And so one, one place where everyone can get informed, where everyone can communicate and be informed. And I think in turn. That could also be something that the community better informed as well. They could see that in real time, all that information being shared. So if there was one thing, I would say that communication is key. There's a lot of redundancy. Also a lot of lag time and getting things settled. I mean, Tracy and I went out over the weekend to point out. We're having around incorrect signage on the 10 freeway, the closure of the number one lane that's creating a bottleneck and traffic, and we're now on Wednesday and nobody has called me back about that. I have ran that up the flag pole three different ways. And I'm sure those people are working on it and they've got other things to work on, but it's frustrating because I have to answer. I'm really close to the constituents. I have to answer to the constituents, and I don't have a better way to communicate and show on a dashboard if someone's working on it. I have no idea if everyone's just forgotten about it and I need to bother them 10 more times. Or if their staff is actually actively communicating with the folks That be, and what'll happen is all of a sudden tomorrow morning, I'll find out, oh, we went ahead and changed the signage, but maybe they didn't take into account anything I suggested about notifying parents dropping off their kids in P. So I. It's communication, it's concise, clear communication, and it's a platform where it's all in one place. That would be really crucial in helping us understand where the gaps are, where things aren't getting done, and help us communicate to the community where we're at.'cause I'm sure Tracy can speak to this or, or did you know that people are banging down our doors about a multitude of issues? Some are not the most crucial at the moment. But they're crucial to them. And it's our job to get those answers and fix those things. And when we don't have people getting back to us and we don't understand ourselves who's working on it or, or who to go to to fix it, well then it makes us inefficient. And I don't wanna do that. I didn't run this time away from my family and my own business. to not Get anything done. I'm, doing this to get things done for my community and hopefully be able to look back and say, wow, I made a difference.

Evan Meyer: 18:37

How do you navigate political differences between jurisdictions maintaining a shared agenda?

Mayor Lana Negrete: 18:47

I'll just say that I reach across the table. I'm not afraid to talk to somebody. I mean, look, we're supposed to be in local government. you know, nonpartisan. This is not Republican or democratic. We all know though, that that's often not the case. You know, you can be called names, if you will, if you don't say the right thing or coordinate with the right groups. But I think what's key, and I think hopefully we're moving to that, is that I could easily go and speak to an echo chamber about an issue where everybody agrees, but that's not gonna make impact or change. I'm just gonna get confirmation bias. I'd rather speak to a group of people or reach across the aisle to those that maybe disagree with me and find a solution somewhere in the middle that serves both of us and the communities within those groups as well.

Councilmember Traci Park: 19:34

she said. I mean, know. A bunch of council members and mayors and other elected leaders. You got a bunch of a type personalities who all come from different walks of life and backgrounds and experiences. It is 100%. Unreasonable to expect that many elected officials and mayors are are all gonna agree on any particular issue. I mean, look, we all come from different backgrounds and walks of lives. We all have different reasons for why we round for office and what we hope to accomplish while we're here. I think at the end of the day, most of us all want the same thing. At the end, the disputes really are in the weeds about how do we accomplish that particular thing, and if we all just remember that we're in it together and that our success overall is dependent upon each other, it makes having those difficult conversations a lot easier. And, and I think the mayor is just absolutely right about that. No reason not to reach across the table to resolve hard challenges. I don't think any of us signed up because we thought it would be easy.

Mayor Lana Negrete: 21:00

I agree.

Councilmember Traci Park: 21:02

I.

Evan Meyer: 21:04

Awesome. last words, thoughts for the people? Thoughts for our residents, thoughts for our communities?

Councilmember Traci Park: 21:12

Well, you know, what I would say is, you know, as we head into election season next year, you know, people should think very deeply and carefully about the choices they make in the ballots. Always really important to get to know candidates and what they stand for. I also think it's really important that we focus on steady responsible leadership. What we are dealing with in the west side of Los Angeles, all the way from Malibu to Santa Monica is gonna take a long-term commitment to each other and to our shared goals. And it's gonna take voters sticking together to see all of that through. And so, you know, I just would really encourage folks to take the time to make these decisions and get them right.

Mayor Lana Negrete: 22:08

couldn't agree more. And just to dovetail and add onto that, I think that everybody's hyper involved behind their keyboard often it's an easier place. To be, it's easy to sit back and critique and, and inquire from afar, but I encourage everyone to get involved in their local politics. It starts here. Oftentimes, your senators and your congressmen and women start it out as your local council members, school board members. So I encourage everyone to join a board or commission to show up to city council. Understand who your city council members are, how your city council operates. And where change can really happen and be made. And then that way, you know, the issues you bring up, you're really being more part of the solution as opposed to just, you know, sort of sitting back and complaining about. Things that you feel you have no ability to help in creating change. Because I will tell you between neighborhood groups all the way to, you know, organized political organizations, those are the folks that are running the elections, those are. the folks that are. Communicating to everybody in the community about who to vote for. So you wanna make sure that you're a part of that and you understand who these people are that you're electing into your local government, and that it's not just from reading a flyer or because your friend said, so, it's because you've done your due diligence and you've showed up to a coffee with the council person. You've watched a few council meetings from the luxury of your couch, or even shown up And spoke to one of your council members and seen how. How do they respond? Do they engage with the community? Are they responsive to you? These are things that are important and I think that's something I try to do with the community. And yesterday I had somebody who often. Makes not so nice comments. And he got to share 30 minutes with me. We had a little food and some coffee and we hugged before he left. He just never got to know me. So I think it's important to do that and I think it's important that everybody be a part of the change. You gotta be a part of it. There is a role for everyone in the community. So look up your. Boards and commissions and organizations in your community and see how you can get involved and if you have it in you, there's an election coming up in Santa Monica in 26, so I always tell people, you know, when they tell me I would do it this way or that way, I say, I look forward to seeing your name on the ballot in 26. I will support you.

Evan Meyer: 24:33

Awesome. Well this was great. Thank you so much for being here today. Very much admire and, and respect your involvement in all you do for your communities and looking forward to the future.