CITY OF CULVER CITY DRAFT DENSITY BONUS ORDINANCE UPDATE

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Culver City has the opportunity to enhance its affordable housing incentives through strategic updates to the City’s density bonus ordinance, which encourages developers to provide more affordable housing through incentives. This allows for more affordable units, so more persons and families can live in a quality environment close to their workplace.

Under current law, developers are entitled to a density bonus corresponding to specified percentages of units set aside for very low income, low-income, or moderate-income households. Additionally, qualifying projects can receive relief from some required development standards through incentives, concessions, and waivers, such as increased height limits or reduced parking requirements, when those standards prevent the applicant from achieving the amount of market rate and affordable units allowed under state law.

Additionally, Culver City has a “Community Benefits” incentive system where additional density is permitted in exchange for developers reserving units for work-force housing, which targets municipal employees, police, fire fighters, nurses, and teachers with income levels too low to afford market-rate housing in the City but too high to be considered low-income.

The City and its consultant are looking into additional community benefits and other incentives beyond what is currently permitted to further incentivize the production of affordable housing. The additional incentives would be based on existing market conditions with the goal of making it easier to construct projects with a mixture of market rate and affordable units. The team is looking at current density bonus incentives and community benefits to develop appropriate mechanisms to implement incentives for affordable housing City-wide and amend the Zoning Code to implement said incentives in a concise and reader-friendly manner.

Changes to Community Benefits and Density and Other Bonus Incentives will be based on feedback from the community and key stakeholders. Possible additional incentives may include but are not limited to:

  • Incentives for building rental units for large families (3+ bedrooms)

  • Incentives for fully accessible projects incorporating Universal Design principles

  • Incentives for building housing with unit set-asides for foster youth, disabled vets, or individuals experiencing homelessness

  • Additional density bonuses, allowing more market rate units

  • Additional concessions

  • Other incentives to be determined through the outreach process

Upcoming Outreach

The project team is in the midst of an outreach program to obtain community input on the Density Bonus Ordinance update. The past events are summarized below. Upcoming outreach events include:

  • Planning Commission workshop (date TBD) – early 2024

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the project team via email at planning@culvercity.org or by phone at 310.253.5710.

The project team will be involved in two open houses and one virtual meeting to obtain community input on the Density Bonus Ordinance update in Fall 2023. Please check this project website for upcoming outreach events and times. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the project team via email at planning@culvercity.org or by phone at 310.253.5710.

Past Events and Activities

Virtual Open House (Via Zoom) – Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 6 pm to 8 pm

The project team conducted a virtual outreach open house via Zoom on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, from 6 pm to 8 pm, in conjunction with the General Plan Update (GPU) team. Following the same format as the in-person open houses, the event began with a presentation from the project team to inform the public on the City’s existing affordable housing incentives and options to update these incentives. After the presentation, a Q-and-A session was held. Attendees inquired about how new State laws might impact density bonuses in Culver City, details about income levels for affordable housing eligibility, and other questions related to the General Plan update. Information was provided regarding current affordable housing incentives in Culver City, what income levels are eligible for affordable housing, and potential options that could help foster additional housing. Attendees were also encouraged to take the Affordable Housing Survey.

Veterans Memorial Building, Rotunda Room – Monday, November 7, 2023, 6 pm to 8 pm

The project team conducted a second community outreach open house at the Veterans Memorial Building Rotunda Room on Monday, November 7 from 6pm to 8pm, in conjunction with the General Plan Update (GPU) team. Approximately 30 people attended the event. Following the same format as the open house at El Rincon Elementary School, the event began with a presentation from the project team and GPU team to inform the public on the City’s existing affordable housing incentives and options to update these incentives. This event was also livestreamed on WebEx. After the presentation, a Q-and-A session was held, followed by one-on-one discussions, where attendees sought more information about affordable housing incentives. Information was provided regarding current affordable housing incentives in Culver City, what income levels are eligible for affordable housing, and potential options that could help foster additional housing. Attendees were also encouraged to take the Affordable Housing Survey.

El Rincon Elementary School – Thursday, October 19, 2023, 7 pm to 9 pm

The project team participated in a community outreach open house at El Rincon Elementary School on Thursday, October 19 from 7pm to 9pm. Approximately 20 people attended the event. The event began with a presentation from the project team to inform the public on the City’s existing affordable housing incentives and options to update these incentives. The open house was held in conjunction with the General Plan Update team, who also presented. This event was livestreamed on WebEx.

After the presentation, a Q-and-A session was held, followed by one-on-one discussions, where attendees sought more information about affordable housing incentives. Information was provided regarding current affordable housing incentives in Culver City, what income levels are eligible for affordable housing, and potential options that could help foster additional housing. Attendees were also encouraged to take the Affordable Housing Survey.

Fiesta La Ballona Pop-Up

Project team at the Fiesta La Ballona

The project team was at the Fiesta La Ballona on Saturday, August 26th and Sunday, August 27th to provide information regarding the Density Bonus Ordinance update to the Culver City community and to take input and field questions on this and other efforts being conducted by the Planning Division. The project team met with over 100 people and 106 people took the housing affordability survey on the initial weekend.  The project team discussed what the City is doing to encourage more housing with the community and took note of what affordable means to them.  Information was provided regarding current affordable housing incentives in Culver City, income limits as they relate to rental and home sale prices for the area, and potential options that could help foster additional housing. This discussion resonated with several long-time residents that did not know this information.