Highlights
- Santa Monica coastal development trailer bill exemption effort stopped!
- Upcoming Ocean Way Festival activities and Resiliency Picnic!
- Action alert: Renewable Energy Ordinance public comments
- Upcoming Young Leaders meetup with Mayor Caroline Torosis
CASM in the Community
In August, CASM members set up tables at a few community events, including SAMOHI Freshman ‘Get Your Stuff Day’ and the Santa Monica Forward Block Party.
CASM had a booth at SAMOHI Freshman ‘Get Your Stuff Day,’ alongside the SMMUSD Sustainability Manager, Go SAMO TMO, and Santa Monica Spoke. The groups teamed up to share key resources with students and families for using sustainable modes of transportation. Participants were grateful for the free TAP cards and route planning assistance, and had fun playing “transportation trivia,” for Too Good to Go pastries and other prizes. The booth was bustling all day!
At the SM Forward Block Party, several community groups gathered on Washington Ave between 14th and 15th Street to give residents an opportunity to experience what the neighborhood can look like when a street is designed around people rather than cars. CASM and SM Forward joined groups like SM Spoke, SaMo Safe Streets Alliance, and the Great Park Coalition to bring sustainable transportation-themed games and prizes to tables at the block party. At the CASM table, we brought back our transportation trivia game made in collaboration with the SaMo TMO team, and gave out stickers as prizes!
CASM members also authored a public comment in August about the recent threats of federal takeover of California’s Coastal Management Program, a state-operated program that has protected California’s coast for over 50 years. Last month, the federal government initiated a review of California’s Coastal Management Program under the Coastal Zone Management Act. Typically, federal reviews of these programs happen every 5-10 years. However, according to the Surfrider Foundation, “NOAA evaluated California’s program in 2024, completed a draft report in June 2025 that found successful implementation and enforcement of the program, and never released a final version.” Our state’s Coastal Management Program has a strong track record and typically concurs with federal projects, while protecting our coastal ecosystems along the way. CASM’s letter of public comment to NOAA pointed out just that… see an excerpt from the letter below.
“As Santa Monica residents and Climate Action Santa Monica members, we rely on the health of our coastline daily for our own health and wellbeing. We surf in the water; we walk, run, and bike on the beachside path; we take our children to play in the sand; our businesses thrive with the help of tourists. The California Coastal Management Program has protected our coast and community for decades. This is not a program standing in the way of “national priorities.” It’s a program operating exactly as the Coastal Zone Management Act was intended, as found in the 2024 federal review of the program.”
Upcoming CASM Activities
September 26th – 27th: CASM Table at Ocean Way Festival
CASM will be attending the Ocean Way Festival on the Santa Monica Pier! Come visit the CASM table anytime between 11am – 4pm for information on City resources and programs focused on energy resilience!
October 11th: CASM + Climate Health Now Resiliency Picnic!
CASM is co-hosting a Resiliency Picnic with Climate Health Now on October 11th 4pm – 6pm at Hotchkiss Park. At this event, we will hold a community picnic and facilitated discussion about how we can build local resilience in response to increasing climate disasters. To learn more about this exciting upcoming event, visit this link. If you’d like, bring a dish to share that reminds you of resilience. Light refreshments will be provided.
Action Alerts
Comment on Renewable Energy Ordinance Restricting Energy Storage Projects
LA County has released a draft of the Renewable Energy Ordinance (REO) and the Notice of Preparation for an Environmental Impact Report and is accepting public comments until September 17th. If adopted as written, the draft renewable ordinance could foreclose much, if not the majority, of the unincorporated County from clean energy development – it’s highly restrictive of energy storage projects, which are a key component of the just energy transition. Several groups are raising awareness on this issue, check out this petition page from Puente Hills Community Preservation Association and the one-pager from Greenlight America below for more information on the impacts of the REO and how to submit a comment.
Climate News
Santa Monica coastal development exemption effort was stopped! The language that was added to the state budget trailer bill that would have allowed a streamlined development effort on Ocean Avenue did not survive the approval process, thanks to input from residents and state representatives. SMDP covers the story here, describing how opposition to the bill culminated in a letter to Gov. Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, signed by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur and roughly a dozen other Assembly members.
The City of Santa Monica is celebrating Sustainable September 2026! The City’s Chief Sustainability Officer shared this post on making September a month for sustainability, and we at CASM are all for that! Check out the list of events that we have gathered below and the events listed in the City’s post to get involved in both individual and city-wide sustainability efforts that we can use this month and into the future to build healthier habits.
Is Long Beach ready for a floating nuclear power plant? According to this recent story from the LA Times, the Port of Long Beach announced a partnership with a nuclear small modular reactor startup, Bluecore Energy, to power the port using small modular reactors installed on floating barges. Even with the partnership announcement, it will likely be years before a small modular reactor may be installed at Long Beach.
Upcoming in the Community
September 5: Apple Season Kick-Off at the Pico Farmer’s Market
September 12: Dune Builders: The Art of A Living Shoreline
September 13: Power Up Palisades Fair – A Community Solar Workshop
September 16: Installing EV Chargers at Multifamily Properties Webinar
September 17: Coastal Connections 2026 – The Bay Foundation Fundraiser
September 19: Soil Eco-Remediation Workshop
September 19: Young Leaders Meet with Mayor Caroline Torosis and Brett Morrow
September 19: Compost Giveaway at City Yards
September 19: Jewelry Workshop: Upcycled Ring Metalsmithing
September 24: How to Install EV Chargers at Your Commercial Property Webinar
September 26: 19th Street Garden Event
September 28: Keeping Climate in the Conversation Lecture
Want to keep your action going? Climate Action Santa Monica (CASM) is looking for volunteers with a variety of talents and interests. Check out our volunteer page to see how you can get involved!