Major housing reforms pass and Vote16 back on the ballot in 2026!
Hi friends,
There’s a lot to catch you up on from the last two council meetings. Here’s what you need to know.
🗳️1️⃣6️⃣ After advocates from Culver City High School spoke up, the Council voted 3-2 to place a measure on the 2026 ballot that, if passed, would lower the voting age to 16 for Culver City elections, including city council and school board.
This measure missed passing in 2022 by just 16 votes... the smallest margin in the county that year.
At a time when nearly a third of eligible Americans still don’t vote, this is about strengthening civic participation and building lifelong habits of engagement.
Giving Vote16 another shot was a promise I made on the campaign trail, and I am proud to see our city’s youth so engaged.
For more on this impactful measure, check out the video below.
Major Housing Reforms Passed
That’s not all. We also made major progress on creating more housing options.
Watch or read below!
🏡 We voted to become the 5th city in California to legalize buying and selling backyard homes (ADUs) separately — creating new homeownership opportunities for first-time buyers, seniors, and small families.
🏗️ We created a fast-track for housing projects with at least 20% affordable homes, so more affordable housing can be approved automatically, avoiding years of delays.
🏙️ We approved 1,077 new homes in Fox Hills, including 78 homes for very low-income tenants and new neighborhood-serving commercial space.
🔑 We removed the owner occupancy requirement for junior ADUs, creating more accessible rentals for more people.
Expediting housing production, especially affordable housing, and unlocking new homeownership opportunities was a focus of my campaign, and I’m proud we are taking major steps in the right direction with these reforms.
2 open streets events, food truck program, and conflict of interest talks
🚲 Council passed my motion 4-0 to bring back Elenda Earth Day, an open-streets event that encourages families to get to school in different ways and approving another open streets day on Elenda for International Walk to School Day, October 8.
🍕 After a beloved pizza truck was shut down by code enforcement, Council unanimously voted to create a food truck permit program so neighborhood food trucks can operate legally and safely.
❗A discussion took place regarding a potential conflict of interest as a result of Councilmember O’Brien’s new role as CEO of the Culver City Chamber of Commerce. I am grateful to my colleague Councilmember McMorrin for bringing this important issue to the forefront. Given there was no wrongdoing alleged, I voted to keep the 2028 Olympics and World Cup committee as is for now.
I also expressed concerns about potential conflicts that could arise from the Councilmember’s service on other Council subcommittees such as the Minimum Wage Subcommittee. I suggested requesting an advice memo from the City Attorney while we await an official opinion from the FPPC which was submitted in December, and my colleagues agreed with that direction. We also moved to explore holding public meetings about the Games with all five Councilmembers after the World Cup has passed.
For a deeper dive into this issue, see this piece in the Culver Crescent.
That’s the biggest news from the last two Council meetings.
Around Town!
Last weekend, thanks to Abundant Housing and Livable Communities Initiative, we got to celebrate what’s possible.
You may remember that last year, Culver City became the first city in California to legalize single-stair residential buildings — a proven way to unlock more naturally affordable housing, especially on small lots.
I was recently able to congratulate the winners of the Single Stair Design Showcase which took place right here in Culver City. Their designs were beautiful, smart, and exactly the kind of homes our cities need.
Culver City is paving the way for more homes, and with talented architects and designers like these, our housing future is bright ✨
Thanks for taking the time to catch up with me.
If you are running in the Screenland 5K on Sunday, I hope to see you there!
- Bubba