The Culver City Council will vote on the Fox Hills Specific Plan on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. The item, Public Hearing Four, creates a plan for the Fox Hills area, and includes a Hotel Incentive Zone in the residential district of Fox Hills. This has garnered attention from many of those in the area, and at least one neighborhood organization is actively opposing it. “We need to act now and tell the Council to reject this hotel incentive!” An email from the Fox Hills Neighborhood Association went out to members to remind them of the vote tonight.
A 1990 voter approved ordinance, on the ballot as Measure One, limits the height of buildings in Culver City to 56 feet; this is at the core of the controversy. Other hotels in Fox Hills, built prior to the passage of the standard, never faced the challenge.
The proposed area, with a legal height limit of 120 feet, would be immediately adjacent to Fox Hills Park and across from three-story family dwellings, creating a building out-of proportion to everything around it in the neighborhood.
While not the only controversial part of the Fox Hills Specific Plan, the hotel zone stands out, as it was already voted down by the Planning Commission as part of their approval of the plan.
Planning Commissioner Jeanne Black, speaking as an individual, noted that putting it in the midst of the residential zone was inconsistent with the vision for Fox Hills. “More appropriate locations for tall hotels would be near the Westfield Culver City mall and surrounding commercial corridors along Sepulveda, Slauson, and Centinela, adjacent to the 405 and 90 freeways – where existing hotels are located.”
The Planning Commission voted 4-0 to recommend approval of the Fox Hills Specific Plan at their May 13, 2026 meeting, without the hotel height incentive.
“We should not let a 36 year old restriction limit our planning for future generations,” Black concluded, “A narrowly tailored November ballot measure could allow taller hotels in appropriate Fox Hills commercial areas while protecting residential neighborhoods.”
More hotels would boost the Transit Occupancy Tax, which is a vital source of income for the city.
The City Council will meet on May 26, a Tuesday, rather than the usual Monday because of the Memorial Day holiday.
Judith Martin-Straw
