> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Katz’s first order of business: Deal with the homeless - URL: https://www.smdp.com/katzs-first-order-of-business-deal-with-the-homeless/ - Published: 2004-11-30T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T05:44:03.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Community, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless, Homelessness *Councilman identifies top priorities in next term* (Editor’s note: This is the third article in a series examining the four residents elected Nov. 2 to serve on the City Council.) By John Wood Daily Press Staff Writer CITY HALL — Homelessness is the No. 1 problem facing Santa Monica, and ending it will require more shelters and better help from neighboring cities, City Councilman Herb Katz said Monday. Residents on Nov. 2 elected Katz to serve four more years on the council. He said reducing homelessness would be his top priority in office, followed by mapping out the long-term guidelines that govern local developments and improving the way City Hall interacts with residents. Also elected to the four-year terms on the seven-member Santa Monica City Council were incumbents Richard Bloom and Ken Genser, and challenger Bobby Shriver. They will be sworn in Dec. 7, joining council incumbents Bob Holbrook, Kevin McKeown and Pam O’Connor, whose terms expire in 2006. Reducing the number of homeless people on the streets will require more shelters, both in Santa Monica and elsewhere, Katz said. “The first step would be to get with the other cities,” said Katz, 73, an architect who lives with his wife, Brenda, in Sunset Park. “It’s in progress. Make sure that they take their share of the homelessness problem and provide shelter. At the same time, I believe we need to provide some shelters where we can … “And we have to move in a direction, in my opinion, to make homeless people in our community somewhat responsible for living here. And to qualify it, I think it’s imperative that... our citizens feel safe on the streets and safe in their own homes,” Katz added. While campaigning, Katz suggested a city parking lot be set aside for transients. He said Monday he had backed away from that idea because community members didn’t support it. Katz has previously recommended homeless residents be required to pick up trash or clean graffiti to stay in Santa Monica. Most important to any plan is that surrounding communities also help out, Katz said Monday. He applauded work being done by Bloom with a group called Bring LA Home, which aims to end homelessness in 10 years. But Katz said still more needs to be done to encourage neighboring cities to pull their own weight. 5C4,“They can’t just keep dumping on us, and that’s what they do,” Katz added. As to building new shelters, Katz said he had an eye out for open land in Santa Monica and in the meantime was following discussions to convert vacant buildings on the Veteran’s Administration land in West LA. The only problem with that proposal, Katz said, was getting homeless people to travel there. Katz named as his second priority overseeing an overhaul of the city’s master plan and development documents, which were drafted more than 20 years ago. Public input will be essential in that process, said Katz, who also offered opinions on height limits and building setbacks, among other issues. “This is huge. This is going to affect our lives for the next 50 years,” said Katz, who runs a mid-sized architecture firm in West LA. “A planning document is a living document and will be changed, and will vary over the years. But the basic principle of it and the basic goal of it will be affecting our city for 50 years or more.” Katz said the current regulations are too confusing and difficult to navigate. He said the new document must be easy to understand, but also lay out specifics. “Our zoning documents are so complex,” Katz said. “Being an architect and working with that thing, it’s a nightmare... The document must be clear, concise and as clean and simple as possible. I also thoroughly believe that we (need to) look to the needs of our city. We need parks and we need open space.” As to height limits, Katz said he would consider letting developers build higher than currently is allowed, but only on large lots and only with significant setbacks. Large commercial projects should include park space, added Katz, who said updating City Hall’s planning documents will take several years, at least. “It’s going to be a major project and once we get the concept were going to have to massage it,” Katz said. Katz’s third priority for his next term is improving customer service in City Hall. He said doing that would require a two-pronged approach. First, Katz said a top-down philosophy must be put into effect emphasizing the importance of problem solving with residents and merchants. “They need to work with the public — not say, ‘This is the rule, now go do it.’ They need to say, ‘This is the rule, how we can we solve your problem,’” said Katz, adding training sessions may be necessary. “I think it has to be a major philosophy coming from council to start with, saying, ‘You will do this’... 55C,“You call in planning and zoning, they’re always in a meeting,” Katz continued. “They spend a lot of time in meetings.” The second imperative to improving the way City Hall treats residents is shortening the length of council meetings, Katz said. Doing so would allow staffers to go home at a decent hour, meaning they would be at their desks in the morning. Katz, who has unsuccessfully sued City Hall to have meetings end at 11 p.m., said he planned to file a new class action lawsuit, with residents, against City Hall soon. “Meetings should end at 11 o’clock,” he said. “After that time I do not think clearly, and neither do most of the council members, unless they’re sleeping in late in the morning. And the public doesn’t sleep in late in the morning. They gotta go to work.” How many times a council member can comment on an item of business ought to be limited, said Katz, who said council agendas need to be lighter and weekly meetings likely will be needed. Shorter meetings also will make it easier for residents to comment on issues that affect them, he added. “That’s not staff’s fault, that’s our fault as council,” Katz said. “Some council members have a preamble every time they open their mouth.” Herb Katz *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 30, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/113004.pdf?ref=smdp.com)