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Residents urge action on Waymo depots and demand ethics review over Ocean Avenue placements
Summary
Public commenters and phone callers pressed the council to pursue enforcement against Waymo’s local operations and asked the council to open an ethics review into alleged undisclosed plans to move people into Ocean Avenue properties; city staff described swift enforcement actions at the Ocean Avenue site and a closed‑session potential litigation item names Waymo.
Santa Monica — A sizable portion of public comment at the Dec. 9 City Council meeting focused on two sharply different community concerns: resident complaints about Waymo’s local vehicle charging/parking operations and phone callers alleging undisclosed placements of severely mentally ill individuals into Ocean Avenue properties and requesting a formal ethics review.
Residents from Mid City Neighbors and the Euclid neighborhood described what they said were unpermitted Waymo depots and new routing that has pushed vehicle activity onto small residential streets. "In the first 24 hours of counting, we saw 389 Waymos," resident Dylan Moore told the council, citing a camera count and arguing the company’s routing is creating excessive local traffic. Another resident asked the council to consider litigation to enforce local land‑use rules.
Separately, two phone callers urged formal action on alleged nondisclosure. One caller introduced through the public‑call line said: "Our new mayor had advanced knowledge of the plan to place severely mentally ill individuals into Ocean Avenue properties... her denial is false." Another caller requested a formal ethics review of Council Member Carolyn Turosis for failing to disclose material information.
City staff responded during the meeting with a factual account of enforcement at 413 Ocean Avenue. Staff said they were notified the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving, mobilized building and safety, code enforcement and fire personnel and the city attorney's office, issued a notice to vacate and administrative citations, and invoked habitability relocation benefits; staff reported the operator complied by the following Sunday.
The meeting agenda listed multiple closed‑session items including potential litigation naming Waymo LLC (item 5d). Council did not take an immediate investigatory vote on the phone callers' ethics allegation during the public‑comment period; speakers urged the council to put that matter on an agenda for formal consideration.
Why it matters: Residents’ enforcement requests and ethics allegations could prompt litigation or formal investigations. The council’s decision to move potential Waymo litigation into closed session and to direct staff on sober‑living transparency suggests follow‑up work in coming weeks.
