Culver City Makes California Housing History!
Hi friends—
In case you haven’t heard, Culver City just made housing history!
Last week, we became the first in California to legalize single stair residential buildings up to six floors.
Our city follows in the footsteps of the state of Texas and cities like Honolulu, Seattle, and New York City since 1938! Studies have repeatedly shown that single stair buildings are just as safe as double stair buildings, if not safer.
This reform allows for the construction of more homes that are brighter, better ventilating, and most importantly, less expensive (estimates say by 6-13%).
I’m so grateful for the advocacy of housing groups like Liveable Communities Initiative, Housing Action Coalition, YIMBY Action, and Abundant Housing LA who helped get this over the finish line.
This victory is also a testament to the hard work of our city’s incredible planning department, led by Mark Muenzer.
Finally, I want to give a shout out to Councilmember McMorrin who worked on this with me in our housing and homelessness subcommittee and Councilmember Vera who agendized the discussion.
Single stair reform passed unanimously and will pave the way for more affordable, sustainable homes across the city.
More news from the last Council meeting!
🏡 Council began work on a $50,000 rental assistance program for ICE-impacted families.
🏅 Fundraising goal and spending cap approved to host Team New Zealand for 2028 Games
✍️ City lobbyist registry referred to Governance committee to begin design process.
Council Meeting Tonight at 7 PM!
Here are a few important items on tonight’s agenda.
A-1: Proposing an Entertainment Zone to allow outdoor alcohol consumption and roaming within specified geographic boundaries during approved Downtown Culver City events
A-2: Considering regulations of single-use plastic beverage bottles, plastic bags, balloons, outdoor smoking, and astroturf.
A-3: Prohibiting the sale and use of glue traps
As always, you can watch in person at Council Chambers (9770 Culver Blvd) or remotely on Zoom or Youtube.
You can sign up to speak at the button below and send in your comment by emailing city.council@culvercity.org or on through the city’s e-comment portal.
Around Town!
Supporting Union Workers Fighting for Liveable Wages and Benefits
I was proud to join our UNITE HERE Local 11 hospitality workers on the picket line as they fight for a living wage and better healthcare benefits for them and their families. Our workers are the backbone of our city, and they deserve a fair contract.
Re-Elect Senator Smallwood-Cuevas!
This weekend, we held a fundraiser to support our indefatigable fighter Senator Lola-Smallwood Cuevas for re-election!
Senator Smallwood-Cuevas continues to be a champion for working people in the CA Senate. In her first term, she’s been an invaluable voice for criminal justice reform, workers rights, environmental justice, universal healthcare and childcare, investing in public transit, and so much more.
We see you, Senator! Thank you for fighting for all of us.
Get your Prop 50 ballots in!
Prop 50 ballots are out, and we are voting YES to protect our democracy.
Trump, Greg Abbott, and their MAGA allies are working overtime to rig the system and lock in Republican control of Congress for generations—undermining voting rights, fair representation, and the values we hold dear.
Prop 50 is our chance to level the playing field and stop this dangerous scheme to hijack our democracy.
Join me in voting YES on Prop 50—and make sure your friends and neighbors do too. Every single vote matters.
SB79 Becomes Law, Paving the Way for More Housing near Transit!
History was made last week when Governor Newsom signed historic housing bill, SB 79 (Wiener) into law. This law legalizes the construction of thousands of homes near major transit stops, tackling our housing shortage head-on and giving a much-needed boost to our multi-billion dollar transit investments.
I was proud to bring forth a motion to support this bill back in May and I’m so grateful to my colleagues, Councilmember McMorrin and Vice Mayor Puza, for their support.
We believe in a California where people of all backgrounds and incomes can thrive. And I’m grateful that Culver City stood alongside advocates across the state to support this meaningful reform.
Thanks for catching up with me.
Please do join us for tonight’s meeting either in person or on Zoom if you are able.
And have a great start to the week!
- Bubba