Assisted Living
Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens
851 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90403 · Map
Licensed for 128 residents · BLC GARDENS-SANTA MONICA LH LLC
Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens is a state-licensed assisted living community in Santa Monica, California. It is licensed for 128 residents. Lilisity publishes no score or ranking for this community; the details below come from the state licensing record.
Prices
Starting prices the community publishes, with the date we checked each one and a link to where it is published. Care charges are usually added after an assessment.
| Care | Starting at | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted Living | $6,195 /mo | Oct 12, 2026 |
Area costs
Care and services
From the community’s website
What Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens says about itself, quoted from its own site. We have not checked these claims against licensing records. Ask about each one on a tour.
Lilisity’s independent report
What the public record shows
Gathered by Lilisity from state and federal sources. Communities can’t edit this part of the page.
License
Active, 128 residents
RESIDENTIAL CARE ELDERLY 197606682, licensed since Jun 26, 2006. Licensee BLC GARDENS-SANTA MONICA LH LLC.
Nearest emergency room
1.2 miles
Santa Monica - Ucla Med Ctr & Orthopaedic Hospital, rated 5 of 5 stars by CMS.
Side by side with nearby communities
The 4 nearest communities that offer assisted living, by straight-line distance. Prices are starting prices each community publishes; we never show estimates.
| Community | Distance | Licensed capacity | Published starting price | License | Inspection citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens this community | 128 | $6,195/mo | Active | 0 Type A, 7 Type B | |
| Bentley Suites | 0.2 mi | 44 | Not published | Active | 9 Type A, 15 Type B |
| Santa Monica Home & Care 3 | 0.6 mi | 6 | Not published | Active | 0 Type A, 0 Type B |
| Santa Monica Home & Care 4 | 0.6 mi | 4 | Not published | Active | 2 Type A, 1 Type B |
| Santa Monica Home & Care 1 | 0.6 mi | 6 | Not published | Active | 1 Type A, 0 Type B |
State inspection record0 Type A, 7 Type B
- Last state visit
- August 19, 2026
- State visits since March 21, 2022
- 16 (including 5 inspections, 11 complaints investigated)
- Type A citations
- 0 immediate risk
- Type B citations
- 7 potential risk if not corrected
- Complaint allegations investigated
- 25: 5 substantiated, 20 not substantiated
- No citations at the last 3 inspections (June 2024 to July 2026)
- License active since 2006
Citations (7), newest first
- 87303(i)(1) (plan of correction due May 30, 2024): Maintenance and Operation. Rules for keeping the building clean, safe and in good repair, including room temperature, lighting, water, waste, laundry, emergency lighting and call signal systems.
- 1569.312(e) (plan of correction due May 30, 2024): Basic Services. The basic services every community must provide, including care and supervision, help with daily tasks and planned activities.
- 87219(a) (plan of correction due February 2, 2024): Planned Activities. Rules for offering a variety of planned activities, with staff, space and supplies to support them.
- 87468.2(a)(4) (plan of correction due August 29, 2023): Additional Personal Rights of Residents in Privately Operated Facilities. Additional rights for residents of privately operated communities, such as privacy, confidential records and help exercising their rights.
- 87219(a) (plan of correction due August 11, 2023): Planned Activities. Rules for offering a variety of planned activities, with staff, space and supplies to support them.
- 87468.2(a)(7) (plan of correction due July 25, 2023): Additional Personal Rights of Residents in Privately Operated Facilities. Additional rights for residents of privately operated communities, such as privacy, confidential records and help exercising their rights.
- 87412(d) (plan of correction due July 3, 2023): Personnel Records. The community must keep proof that its administrator is certified or recertified.
Plain meanings are our short reading of the rule cited, from the state’s regulation text. The state’s report says what happened.
Complaints with substantiated allegations (date the finding was approved)
- July 19, 2024: 2 substantiated, 2 Type B citations
- February 23, 2024: 2 substantiated, 2 unsubstantiated, 2 Type B citations
- January 29, 2024: 1 substantiated, 1 unsubstantiated, 2 Type B citations
Complaints with no substantiated allegation (8)
- September 21, 2026: 2 unsubstantiated
- April 2, 2025: 3 unsubstantiated
- November 21, 2024: 4 unsubstantiated
- October 3, 2024: 3 unsubstantiated
- March 15, 2024: 2 unsubstantiated
Show all 8
- March 8, 2024: 1 unsubstantiated
- February 21, 2024: 1 unsubstantiated
- June 22, 2022: 1 unsubstantiated
Every state visit (20)
- August 19, 2026: Complaint visit
- July 23, 2026: Inspection
- May 1, 2025: Inspection
- March 5, 2025: Complaint visit
- September 11, 2024: Complaint visit
Show all 16
- June 26, 2024: Inspection
- June 6, 2024: Complaint visit
- May 16, 2024: Complaint visit
- February 2, 2024: Complaint visit (2)
- January 25, 2024: Complaint visit (2)
- January 24, 2024: Complaint visit
- August 2, 2023: Complaint visit (2)
- July 25, 2023: Complaint visit (2)
- June 19, 2023: Inspection
- July 8, 2022: Inspection
- March 21, 2022: Complaint visit
Read every report on the state’s site →
What these terms mean
Type A citations are for “the most serious type of violations in which there is an immediate risk to the health, safety or personal rights of those in care,” and are issued “even if the violation is corrected on the spot.”
Type B citations are for “a violation that, if not corrected, may [pose] an immediate risk to the health, safety or personal rights of clients,” such as faulty medical record keeping or staff training.
CCLD: “There is no difference between an inconclusive and an unsubstantiated complaint allegation. Both terms mean that there was no preponderance of evidence to prove that an alleged violation occurred.” Allegations CCLD finds unfounded are also not substantiated.
This community is licensed for 128 residents; larger communities are visited and complained about more often, so read counts with size in mind. Source: California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing, data as of September 28, 2026, covering the five years of records the state publishes. The state’s advice: “Never rely on this information alone to make a decision about a facility. Always visit facilities in person.”
License and ownershipActive license, licensee BLC GARDENS-SANTA MONICA LH LLC
- License type
- RESIDENTIAL CARE ELDERLY
- License number
- 197606682
- License status
- Active
- Licensed since
- 2006-06-26
- Licensed capacity
- 128
- Licensee
- BLC GARDENS-SANTA MONICA LH LLC
- County
- Los Angeles County
- Administrator
- Ralph Balbin
Source: California state licensing records (agency listing), retrieved 2026-09-09. Licensing status is a matter of public record; it is not a quality rating.
Administrator name from the California licensing record, as of Sep 9, 2026.
Paying with Medicaid and other programsHow Medicaid pays for care in California, and other programs
How Medicaid pays for care in California
- Assisted Living Waiver (ALW). Medi-Cal can pay for assisted living care services through the Assisted Living Waiver, but only in 15 counties, only for people who need nursing home level care, and there is a waitlist. The resident still pays room and board. (state page)
- Waitlist. The Assisted Living Waiver has a waitlist. DHCS reported 18,365 people on it in December 2025. (source)
Ask the community whether it accepts Medicaid.
Location and nearby careNearest hospital 1.2 mi, nursing home 0.3 mi, pharmacy 0.4 mi
- Nearest hospital with an emergency room
- Santa Monica - Ucla Med Ctr & Orthopaedic Hospital, Santa Monica. 1.2 miles away, straight line. CMS overall hospital rating: 5 of 5 stars.
- Nearest Medicare nursing home
- Fireside Health Care Center, Santa Monica. 0.3 miles away, straight line.
- Nearest home health agency office
- A Plus Care, LLC, Los Angeles. 2.6 miles away, straight line. Agencies travel to clients, so ask which ones serve this address.
- Nearest pharmacy
- Drugtown. 0.4 miles away, straight line. From OpenStreetMap, which does not list every pharmacy, so one may be closer.
- Area
- USDA classes ZIP code 90403 as metropolitan (metropolitan core).
- Dialysis within 15 miles
- Davita Santa Monica Dialysis, Santa Monica, 1.1 miles away, straight line (CMS rating 3 of 5 stars)
Davita Brentwood Home Training, Los Angeles, 3.0 miles away, straight line
Davita Century City Dialysis Center, Los Angeles, 4.8 miles away, straight line (CMS rating 2 of 5 stars) - Hospice
- 85 Medicare hospices tell CMS they serve ZIP code 90403.
Luxe Hospice, Inc, office in Pacific Palisades, 1.9 miles away, straight line
Roze Room Hospice, office in Culver City, 6.4 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 2 of 5 stars)
Complete Care Hospice Inc, office in Beverly Hills, 7.3 miles away, straight line - Nearest geriatric medicine practice
- The Regents Of The University Of California, Santa Monica. 1.0 mile away, straight line. 2 geriatric medicine doctors listed there.
Distances are straight lines from the community, not driving distance. Hospitals, home health, dialysis, hospice and doctors come from CMS provider data (CMS, hospital list updated Jul 22, 2026). Star ratings are CMS’s own.
Emergency and natural hazard riskFEMA overall risk relatively high; outside FEMA's high-risk flood areas
Public hazard maps for this location. Ask the community about its emergency plan, its generator and where residents would go in an evacuation.
- Flood zone
- Outside the high and moderate risk flood areas on FEMA's flood map (Zone X, minimal flood hazard, or not studied). (FEMA flood map)
- FEMA National Risk Index
- Overall: relatively high. By hazard: inland flooding relatively high, coastal flooding very low, tornado very low, heat wave relatively low, earthquake very high. These are FEMA’s ratings for the census tract, compared with tracts nationwide. (FEMA, December 2025)
A flood zone describes the map at this point, not the building's elevation. In an emergency, follow the local emergency management agency.
Questions to ask on a tour10 questions picked for this community from its record
Picked for this community from its record. Ask them in person and write down the answers.
- Your published starting price is a base rate. What would the total monthly cost be for my parent's needs?
- How much have prices gone up in each of the last three years?
- How many caregivers are on duty during the day and at night?
- What happens if care needs increase? When would someone need to move?
- What fees are charged at move-in?
- How do you tell families about falls, illness or changes?
- How long have the executive director and the head of care been here?
- Who gives medications, and what training do they have?
- For what reasons can a resident be asked to leave?
- Is the apartment held during a hospital stay, and at what cost?
What we checked14 public sources we searched, with dates
Every public source we searched for this community. “Nothing on record” means we found no record that matched it. A record can be missed when a name or address differs.
| Source | Data as of | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing inspection records | Sep 28, 2026 | See above |
| California Medicaid provider list | Mar 3, 2026 | Not on the state list we checked. These lists are often incomplete. |
| U.S. Department of Labor wage and hour cases | Oct 15, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| OSHA workplace safety inspections since 2016 | Oct 15, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health kitchen inspections | Oct 15, 2026 | No kitchen matched |
| FEMA flood map | See above | |
| USDA wildfire risk | Apr 15, 2026 | Not shown: no FEMA wildfire rating of moderate or higher here |
| FEMA National Risk Index | See above | |
| CMS hospitals, home health, dialysis, hospice and doctors; OpenStreetMap pharmacies | See above | |
| HUD Multifamily Properties - Assisted | Jul 6, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| State Veterans Homes (NASVH directory) | Sep 20, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| CMS Hospice - General Information | Aug 19, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| CMS Home Health Care Agencies | May 27, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| The community’s own website | See above |
Common questionsAnswers to 4 questions families ask
What type of care does Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens provide?
Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens is licensed by the state of California for assisted living in Santa Monica, California. Its licensed capacity is 128 residents.
Does Lilisity rate Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens?
No. We publish state licensing details for Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens but no score, rating, or ranking. Only communities on the Top Communities list or with a Senior Living Alliance Excellence Award, both based on phone-verified resident and family interviews, are ranked.
How much does Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens cost?
Assisted Living in Los Angeles County typically starts at $3,750 to $7,300 a month. Based on 42 communities that publish prices. These are area figures, not this community's price. The starting prices it publishes are in the Prices section on this page.
How do I contact Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens?
Use Brookdale Santa Monica Gardens's website, brookdale.com/en/communities/brookdale-santa-monica-gardens.html, or visit at 851 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90403.
How Lilisity works. The only scores or rankings Lilisity publishes are the Top Communities list and the Excellence Awards, both built from phone-verified resident and family interviews. Communities can pay Lilisity a flat monthly fee to manage their own listing: photos, prices, contact details, and receiving the inquiries families choose to send them. The fee is the same no matter how many families contact them or move in. Senior Living Alliance, which runs Lilisity, offers the same listing to its member communities as part of their membership; members pay SLA for its resident and family interview program. No community pays Lilisity per inquiry, per referral or per move-in. Payment never changes a testimonial, a rating, or the order of search results. The "Nearby Senior Living Alliance communities" box shows member communities only. How we verify testimonials · How we are paid