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R115801 City Council Meeting: April 9, 2024 Santa Monica, California RESOLUTION NUMBER 11580 (CCS) (City Council Series) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA OBJECTING TO THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES’ IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CLEAN NEEDLE DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM IN THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA WHEREAS, at the March 19, 2024, meeting, Council directed the City Manager and City Attorney to prepare and return for Council approval within 30 days a resolution expressing the City’s disapproval of Los Angeles County’s implementation of the “Harm Reduction Services” program, or clean needle distribution program, in the City of Santa Monica; and WHEREAS, the Council supports harm reduction services as an option to connect individuals who are not readily accessing healthcare, behavioral health, and substance abuse services; and WHEREAS, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration harm reduction services can: •Connect individuals to overdose education, counseling, and referral to treatment for infectious diseases and substance use disorders. •Distribute opioid overdose reversal medications (e.g., naloxone) to individuals at risk of overdose, or to those who are likely to respond to an overdose. •Lessen harms associated with drug use and related behaviors that increase the risk of infectious diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis, and bacterial and fungal infections. DocuSign Envelope ID: CBFDCB74-1DCC-4867-995A-3D212E5E473D 2 •Reduce infectious disease transmission among people who use drugs (including those who inject drugs) by equipping them with sterile supplies, accurate information and facilitating referrals to resources. •Reduce overdose deaths, promote linkages to care, facilitate co-location of services as part of a comprehensive, integrated approach. •Reduce stigma associated with substance use and co -occurring disorders. •Promote a philosophy of hope and healing ― by employing people with living and lived experience in leadership and in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of services. People with lived experience can also model for their peers what meaningful chang e can look like in their lives. •Build community and increase protective factors ― for people who use drugs and their families. WHEREAS, the Council understands that under the auspices of Los Angeles County, the Venice Family Clinic provides a range of harm reduction services in Santa Monica; and WHEREAS, the Council desires for Los Angeles County in implementing hard reduction services in Santa Monica to consider the impacts of providing these services in City parks and near schools and implement alternative approaches; and WHEREAS, California Health and Safety Code Section 121349.2, states “[l]ocal government, local health officials, and law enforcement shall be given the opportunity to comment on clean needle and exchange programs on a biennial basis. The public shall DocuSign Envelope ID: CBFDCB74-1DCC-4867-995A-3D212E5E473D 3 be given the opportunity to provide input to local leaders to ensure that any potential adverse impacts on the public welfare of clean needle and exchange programs are addressed and mitigated” (emphasis added); and WHEREAS, in Grant Park Neighborhood Association v. Department of Public Health et al., the California State Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District issued an opinion holding that the Department of Public Health (DPH) failed to follow statutory procedures to allow local officials and communities to provide input before the DPH issued a permit to operate a privately run Clean Needle Program in Santa Cruz County. The essence of the holding is that local communities must be consulted prior to implementation of the program. However, that consultation is meaningless if the Department then ignores the input from local officials and the community ; and WHEREAS, the Council finds it necessary to clarify that it does not object to the County providing harm reduction services in Santa Monica, but rather the Council objects to one aspect of harm reduction services that is the provision of clean syringes in or near City parks and schools; and WHEREAS, the Council is affirming its request that the provision of clean syringes must be indoors at more suitable locations; and WHEREAS, the record should reflect that the City Council, not the City Manager, City Attorney, nor any other City officials or staff determines official City policy on matters such as this. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The City of Santa Monica supports harm reduction as an important tool to connect individuals to healthcare, behavioral health, and substance abuse DocuSign Envelope ID: CBFDCB74-1DCC-4867-995A-3D212E5E473D 4 resources but objects to the County of Los Angeles Substance Abuse Prevention and Control Bureau’s (County) distribution of clean needles and other drug paraphernalia in parks or near schools. SECTION 2. The City strongly demands that the County relocate the distribution of clean needles and other drug paraphernalia indoors, away from City parks and schools and that the program should require a one for one exchange of clean for used needles. SECTION 3. This resolution shall be transmitted to County officials. SECTION 4. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect. APPROVED AS TO FORM: _________________________ Doug Sloan, City Attorney DocuSign Envelope ID: CBFDCB74-1DCC-4867-995A-3D212E5E473D Adopted and approved this 9th day of April, 2024. __________________________ Phil Brock, Mayor I, Nikima S. Newsome, Interim City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that Resolution No. 11580 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of the Santa Monica City Council held on the 9th day of April, 2024, by the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers Parra, de la Torre Mayor Pro Tem Negrete, Mayor Brock NOES: Councilmembers Zwick, Davis, Torosis ABSENT: None ATTEST: _____________________________________ Nikima S. Newsome, Interim City Clerk DocuSign Envelope ID: CBFDCB74-1DCC-4867-995A-3D212E5E473D