Both the Culver City Planning Commission and the Culver City Council will be discussing housing this month, with the Planning Commission scheduled to meet virtually on this Thursday, January 6, 2022. The Council will take up the matter at the second meeting of the month on Jan. 24, 2022. Setting the standards for the coming decade, the Housing Element encompasses both goals and policies, and must meet state requirments.
From the City – Housing Element Update: In compliance with Government Code Section 65580 et. seq., the City is updating its Housing Element for the planning period of 2021-2029. California Government Code Section 65302(c) mandates that each local agency within California includes a Housing Element in its General Plan. The 2021-2029 Housing Element provides a framework for meeting the housing needs of existing and future resident populations within the city based on the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) of 3,341 units.
The Housing Element includes the City’s goals, policies, quantified objectives, and scheduled programs to preserve, improve, and develop housing. To accommodate the RHNA, the 2021-2029 Housing Element identifies four strategies: applying two approaches to consolidate Low Density Two Family, Three Family, and Multiple Family designations into a new Incremental Infill designation; identifying sites for conversions/additions and redevelopment; identifying opportunity sites for future residential housing, intensifying existing multi-family neighborhoods, and integrating residential uses in commercial and industrial areas. (2021-2029 General Plan Housing Element, P2021-0241-GPE).
The purpose of the Public Hearings is for the Planning Commission and City Council to review and discuss changes to and consider adopting the 2021-2029 Housing Element and IS/ND. All members of the public are welcome to attend and participate in the public hearings.
CEQA: Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines, an Initial Study (IS) prepared for the project determined that the project will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment and that a Negative Declaration (ND) finding is appropriate. The Initial Study and Negative Declaration, and other documents concerning the environmental determination, was circulated for public review from Thursday, October 7, 2021, through Monday, November 8, 2021.
Planning Commission: Thursday, January 6, 2022, at 6 PM
City Council: Monday, January 24, 2022, at 7 PM
To register to attend, please go to https://www.culvercity.org/City-Hall/Meetings-Agendas
This photo is a great example of the substandard constructions that are being slapped up as cheaply and quickly as some greedy developers can. Are the rents of these new buildings affordable? I think we all know they’re not, unless the giant corporations moving in are subsidizing their workers’ housing costs. Will they pancake in an earthquake? Burn quickly in a fire? YES, most likely. Culver City, we must look at the housing issue through a comprehensive and justice-based lens. More and closer is not necessarily better, just as space is not necessarily friendly or fair. Density is not in itself negative, but if combined with poverty and inequality, or “urban pathology,” it can contribute to higher levels of aggression and other social ills (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2636191/). Offering only dense, cheap structures at unreasonably high rents does not seem like a scenario for community wellbeing and peaceful living. IMO as a long-time student of human behavior, I believe we need more George Bailey and less Potter (and also, BTW, more Andy and less Barney). Food for thought. Let’s keep talking.