The Santa Monica City Council will consider a sweeping restructuring of the city's boards and commissions Tuesday, including the creation of a new Restorative Justice Commission funded in part by a multimillion-dollar deal with the RAND Corporation.
The proposal, scheduled for first reading at the council's May 12 meeting, would consolidate several commissions, shrink membership rosters and formalize a task force as a standing commission — changes city staff say will make the volunteer advisory program more efficient and impactful beginning July 1.
The centerpiece of the overhaul is the establishment of a seven-member Restorative Justice Commission charged with developing program criteria, eligibility standards and oversight mechanisms for a broader city restorative justice initiative. Appointees must be Santa Monica residents with subject matter expertise in restorative justice or lived experience representing communities affected by historical inequities.
The commission stems from a January 27 council direction tied to the Ebony Beach Club matter, in which the city approved allocating $3.5 million in one-time funds from a deal with the RAND Corporation toward the Restorative Justice Program. An additional $2 million from the same deal is reserved for future program support.
The new commission would replace the former staff-developed Landback + Reparations Task Force. Any recommendations it develops would return to the full council for public review and formal adoption before taking effect.
Other changes moving forward under the proposal include consolidating the Housing Commission and Human Services Commission into a single Housing and Human Services Commission with seven members, two of whom must be affordable housing participants — one aged 62 or older and one who is unhoused or formerly unhoused.
The Public Safety Reform and Oversight Commission would shrink from 11 members to seven in phases, with two seats dissolved after June 30, 2026 and two more after June 30, 2027. The age range for two designated younger commissioners would expand from 18-22 to 18-25.
The Arts Commission would similarly be reduced from nine members to seven. The ordinance would also remove an outdated requirement that commissioners belong to the Santa Monica Arts Foundation and update the list of artistic disciplines recognized for membership.
The Urban Forest Task Force, currently an informal city body, would be converted into a standing commission under the plan, with current members reappointed to new staggered terms.
Staff is also recommending the Disabilities Commission — kept as a standalone body after the council rejected merging it into the new housing and human services panel — be reduced from 11 members to seven on a phased timeline similar to other bodies.
On the Airport Commission, staff reported that past state Fair Political Practices Commission rulings in 2014 and 2016 found that airport commissioners are not "public officials" under conflict-of-interest laws, addressing concerns raised at a January study session. Any change to the commission's composition would require a City Charter amendment and a public vote. Such a measure could cost approximately $77,225 if placed on the November 2026 ballot.