The Culver City Council meeting on May 11, 2026, addressed the options for positioning the new electronic kiosks. “The challenge we have here is the implementation based on the timing,” City Manger Odis Jones. “We are relying on this resource.”
With the city budget set to be voted on July 1, 2026, this was a moment to move.
The initial proposal to place kiosks in the public right of way was approved in October of 2024, and the final approval of the project passed the council in July of 2025. That approval, which required an amendment to the zoning code, changed the municipal policy to allow for the kiosks to be installed.
Planned as a display of both advertising and local art, the city also has the option of using the kiosks for gathering data with survey options.
There was a community meeting held on October 15, 2025 that offered the public a chance to make comments.
Travis Morgan of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee spoke from the podium, saying that the site plan had not been shared with the committee, as had been required. Staff noted that the plan was available online, and that Council had not directed Development attendance at the meeting.
Vice Mayor Bubba Fish noted that “This is a 20 year decision, so we could give it back to the BPAC (Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee,) and them bring it back for approval.”
Economic Development Director Elaine Warner noted that, because of the timing for the committee meetings and the upcoming holiday weekend, there would not be enough time to take it back to the committee and still get it in on time for the budget approval.
Mayor Freddy Puza Noted that this was important to the budget, “and we are very pleased with the budget and if we start to change this, we are going to have to change a lot of other things.”
With the installation approved and the funds allocated in the proposed budget, these sites are scheduled as “phase one,” noting that there may or may not be additional kiosks at a later date.
Fifteen kiosks will be placed around the city, with none planned for City Hall or for the Helms Bakery District. One is recommended near the library. Full implementation will take between six and ten months.
The vote, which passed with two only ayes, Mayor Puza and Council member Albert Vera, Jr., also saw both Fish and Council member Yasmine Imani McMorrin abstain. Council member Dan O’Brien recused himself, noting that it would be a conflict of interest with his professional position with the Culver City Chamber of Commerce.
Judith Martin-Straw
