The murky timeline over a now aborted project to house mentally ill individuals along Ocean Ave continues to develop with an email released through public records request suggesting at least one member of the City Council was far more involved than has been previously admitted.
Councilwoman Torosis is named in an April 7 email between an attorney representing the property owner and city staff as someone actively supporting the housing project.
The email was sent to Community Development Director Jing Yeo and Director of Housing and Human Services Heather Averick by attorney Elisa Paster who said she was representing the property owners.
The substance of the email centers on zoning for the property and seeks clarification on allowable uses for the buildings. However, later in the email, Paster describes working with staff and Councilwoman Torosis on the projects.
“We have been working with Heather Averick, along with Councilmember Torosis and Elaine Polachek on the funding and concept,” Paster wrote.
Polachek was Interim City Manager at the time.
Torosis said she hadn’t seen the email and she had not been working with the project.
“I don’t know what to tell you - people can say whatever they want,” she said.
Torosis previously defended herself against allegations she had early knowledge of the project. During the Oct. 14 Council meeting, speakers said any possible collaboration between the council and the developer was a “betrayal” of the public trust and Torosis was accused of collusion dating back to 2024.
"I just want to refute that statement that was just made. It is not true that I've known about this project since then,” she said at that meeting. She said she did not want to say more given a pending threat of litigation over the subject.
The email is one of many sought by residents trying to piece together the history of the project.
As proposed, two buildings along Ocean Ave. would have housed about 50 individuals under the care of the St. Joseph Center. The facility would have been funded through a grant administered by the County but was first paused, then cancelled, when residents organized in opposition.
County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath made the call to end the project saying it was ill-conceived but a similar project could still come to fruition somewhere in the city.
Despite moving away from Ocean Ave., neighbors have said they still want more information about the origins of the idea and why they were left out of the loop for so long. Mayor Lana Negrete was the first to make the project public in an email to constituents in late September.
The St. Joseph Center said it was approached by the property owner as early as November 2024. The organization said it received state/county money for the project in February of 2025, notified staff about the project in April, and briefed some councilmembers in June/July.
City officials have previously said that staff were first made aware of the project in April and as yet, no one has provided a clear timeline on which councilmembers were involved in the early briefings.
Resident Ashley Oelsen has been working with neighbors to understand the process and said the new email highlighted the disrespect for citizens shown by the clandestine negotiations to bring it forward.
“We now know Councilmember Torosis wasn’t just aware of these projects; she helped shape them while concealing that involvement from the very residents she represents. The bridge housing projects on Ocean Ave. would have directly affected the safety of our children and the economic health of our city, yet the community was kept in the dark until the eleventh hour,” she said. “As she prepares to assume the role of mayor, she owes the public a clear answer: whose interests come first: Los Angeles County’s or Santa Monica’s? Her silence and concealment have already revealed where her loyalties lie, and it’s not with the residents of this community.”
Torosis was part of a unanimous council vote last month for new transparency standards for supportive and transitional housing projects, responding to the community backlash over a proposed behavioral health facility.
Mayor Negrete's measure directs staff to develop coordination protocols with Los Angeles County and developers to ensure community engagement before projects advance. The vote came one day after the county canceled the controversial Ocean Avenue facility proposal for severely mentally ill individuals following resident opposition.
The framework requires written council briefings when projects are first discussed, comprehensive community engagement, clarification of zoning requirements, and creation of a communications system including a webpage and hotline.