A new video circulating online has drawn attention to the early-morning scene at Santa Monica’s famous beach, where dozens of people could be seen sleeping in bags spread across the sand at sunrise.
The footage was shared by city council candidate Derrick Townsend and appeared to show parts of the coastline occupied by people sleeping as daylight broke over the beach.
“I’m going to start calling this ‘Sleeping Bag Beach.’ Another Saturday sunrise in Santa Monica,” Townsend wrote in a social media post accompanying the video.
Santa Monica has long been recognized around the world for its scenic coastline, thriving tourism industry and some of Southern California’s most expensive real estate.
Home prices reflect that reputation: the city’s average listing price is about $3.1 million, while median sale prices generally fall between roughly $1.7 million and $1.8 million.
For critics, however, the video underscores what they see as a widening gap between Santa Monica’s polished image as a premier coastal destination and the highly visible social challenges facing the city.
Some residents and business owners have pointed to years of liberal political leadership, arguing that local policies have emphasized homelessness services while not doing enough to respond to concerns about public safety, the downtown area’s decline and overall quality of life.
Others look back to 1981, when Santa Monica Renters’ Rights, a progressive political coalition, won a majority on the city council, as a turning point in the city’s modern political direction and its approach to housing and homelessness issues.
Led by figures including future mayor Ruth Yannatta Goldway, the group helped shape a political direction that critics describe as a more permissive approach to enforcement.
More than four decades later, homelessness remains one of the city’s most debated issues.
Santa Monica has a density of roughly 97 unhoused individuals per square mile, a concentration critics say has contributed to ongoing tensions around the beach, downtown, and tourist areas.
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Safety concerns have fueled that frustration.
The city faced another high-profile incident on May 24, when a 49-year-old man identified as Nay Min Tar of Illinois was arrested by Santa Monica police after an alleged targeted assault involving a dog attack on a Jewish couple.
During Labor Day weekend 2025, an employee at Pier Pizza Subs and Salad near the Santa Monica Pier was stabbed multiple times from behind while eating lunch.
In August 2025, the Santa Monica Police Department arrested a homeless man following an unprovoked multi-stabbing assault near the pedestrian staircase connecting Ocean Front Walk to Appian Way.
The following month, in June 2024, a homeless man was charged with attempted murder after allegedly grabbing an elderly woman and dragging her into the ocean surf in an attempt to drown her.
In May 2024, a homeless person was accused of brutally assaulting a female jogger and dragging her into a beach restroom.
In July 2023, former City Councilman Phil Brock was confronted, cursed at, and physically shoved by a homeless man on the Third Street Promenade. The individual was reportedly on his third felony arrest in a two-week period.
The controversy has also affected Santa Monica’s business community.
The Third Street Promenade continues to struggle with a retail vacancy rate estimated between 25% and 30%, with numerous storefronts displaying “For Lease” signs.
The Santa Monica Fire Department’s Community Response Unit, launched in late 2021, has become another point of discussion.
The program cost $523,000 during its initial two-year pilot period and continues at an estimated annual cost of $300,000.
It operates with a two-firefighter team, a low-acuity ambulance, and specialized de-escalation equipment.
