Santa Monica’s 2026 election season has officially begun with the filing of two competing citizen-initiated ballot measures and a potential third up for discussion by City Council on Tuesday.
In recent weeks, proponents have filed initiatives that would establish parks and affordable housing at Santa Monica Airport and create permanent funding for local schools through a parcel tax. Meanwhile, the City Council is considering placing its own parcel tax measure on the November ballot to maintain city services and continue subsidizing the school district.
On Jan. 13, three proponents filed the “Great Park and Community Housing Initiative,” which would require 75% of the Santa Monica Airport land be devoted to parks and open space, with the remaining 25% designated for 3,000 units of permanently affordable housing once the airport closes.
The initiative was filed by Housing Authority Board member Hajar Muqtasid, UniteHere Local 11 member Christina Navarro and Santa Monica for Renters Rights Housing Committee member Ralph Mechur.
The measure would amend the city’s General Plan to establish voter-approved limits on development of the airport site. All housing would be permanently affordable to households earning no more than 120% of area median income, with at least half of units available to households at 80% of median income or below. The affordable housing would be subject to sustainability standards and community workforce agreements for projects with 40 or more units.
Development projects would be required to give preference to Santa Monica residents, local workers, people previously displaced by past government action, and their direct descendants. The measure states it is the intent of voters that all airport land remain in city ownership.
Early reactions to the measure have been mostly negative. The Great Parks Coalition, a grassroots group that has long advocated for the entire airport to be parkland, has said it opposes the measure.
Just days after the airport initiative was filed, on Jan. 20, three proponents submitted the “Excellent Santa Monica Public Schools Parcel Tax Measure,” which would establish a $495 annual parcel tax on real property within the city to provide permanent funding for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
The measure was filed by State Sen. Ben Allen, SMMUSD Board of Education President Alicia Mignano and Community for Excellent Public Schools Chair Ted Winterer.
The initiative would establish a flat-rate annual parcel tax adjusted yearly for inflation. All revenue would be transferred to SMMUSD or any successor district serving Santa Monica students and could not be redirected by any government entity.
In their notice of intent, the proponents noted that the City Council adopted a resolution declaring fiscal distress on Oct. 28, 2025. They warned that expiration of the Master Facilities Use Agreement between the city and school district on June 30, 2027, “would be devastating to SMMUSD, its students and teachers.”
The parcel tax would begin collection on July 1 of the year after voter approval and is intended to replace funding currently provided through the expiring facilities agreement.
Funds could be used for teacher retention, assistance for disadvantaged students, art and music education, early childhood programs, facility maintenance and after-hours community access to school facilities. The measure prohibits using the funds for administrator salaries, land acquisition or construction of new buildings.
Oversight could be provided by the SMMUSD Board of Education or its existing Financial Oversight Committee. If the district does not establish oversight, the city must create an oversight committee. The district would also be required to obtain independent annual performance audits.
The measure provides exemptions for seniors 65 and over, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, 100% affordable housing projects, and religious organizations or schools.
Separately, the City Council is exploring its own parcel tax measure for the November 2026 ballot that would generate approximately $12 million annually to offset the city’s current General Fund subsidy to SMMUSD while sustaining funding for essential city services.
A poll of 499 registered Santa Monica voters conducted Oct. 8-16, 2025, tested two versions of a city-sponsored parcel tax: a flat tax of $540 per parcel and a square footage-based tax of $0.08 per square foot.
The survey found initial support in the mid-40s based solely on the ballot summary, falling short of the two-thirds threshold required for passage of a government-initiated special tax. However, majority support in the mid-50s emerged for both versions after voters learned how funds would be used locally and not diverted to state or federal governments.
The flat tax version earned majority support from homeowners after additional information, while the square footage tax lagged by approximately 15 points.
The proposed ballot language reads: “To maintain funding for homelessness, firefighters, 911 emergency services, and libraries, while preserving city funding for Santa Monica’s public schools to retain quality teachers and improve education quality, shall the measure approving a tax of $540 per parcel, generating approximately $12,000,000 annually until repealed by voters, exempting seniors, with funds that cannot be taken by the state or federal governments and can only be used in Santa Monica, be adopted?”
The city’s measure would also include exemptions for seniors 65 and older, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, 100% affordable housing projects, and religious organizations or schools.
Both citizen-initiated measures require signatures from at least 10% of Santa Monica’s registered voters to qualify for the ballot. If qualified, both would need a simple majority to pass and would be amendable only by voter approval.
The city clerk’s office will now prepare ballot titles and summaries for each measure before signature gathering can begin.
If the City Council directs staff to proceed with adding its parcel tax to the November 2026 ballot, the estimated cost to place the measure ranges between $42,000 and $47,000. The city-sponsored special tax would require approval by two-thirds of voters, a higher threshold than the simple majority needed for the citizen-initiated measures.
Should both the City and citizen-initiative make it to the ballot, any conflict between the two would likely be resolved through the text of the specific proposals. The citizen-initiative already contains both a conflict clause stating it will prevail entirely over any competing measure receiving fewer votes and a coexistence clause expressing intent to work alongside similar tax measures at other government levels. Any measure stemming from the City Council would likely contain similar language allowing whichever measure received the most votes to supersede the other.
editor@smdp.com