Senate Bill (SB) 79 was signed by Governor Newsom on October 10, 2025 and went into effect on July 1, 2026. The bill, called the Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, establishes new development standards for qualifying residential projects within a half mile of eligible transit stops. View the complete bill text on the California Legislature's website.
The City Council adopted the interim standards ordinance at their regular meeting on May 26, 2026. The ordinance, now in effect, sets multi-family standards for SB 79 projects in areas zoned R1 or R2 and defers effectuation for historically recognized properties.
Staff are now preparing an SB 79 Alternative Plan, which allows the potential housing units (density) created by the bill to be shifted around the half-mile stop radii.
SB 79 defines two tiers of “transit-oriented development stops.” Tier 1 includes heavy rail transit stations, which do not impact Culver City. Tier 2 includes light rail and other qualifying Major Transit Stops. The Southern California Association of Governments released their final map for 2026 on July 1, based on their mapping approach and methodology. Culver City has three Tier 2 zones - La Cienega/Jefferson and Culver City Metro E Line stations, and bus stops at the intersection of Venice and Overland Boulevards. View Culver City's SB 79 map.(PDF, 1MB)
(PDF, 1MB)
SB 79 does not change the underlying zoning, however it does allow new development standards for qualifying transit-oriented development projects, which are residential projects with at least 5 units and a minimum of 30 dwelling units per acre. The table below details the applicable development standards based on the distance from each stop. Note that local and state density bonuses do apply to densities in this table.
In addition to the interim standards ordinance, the City Council previously gave direction to pursue a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Alternative Plan. The Alternative Plan allows the City to redistribute the total density created by the legislation, as long as each individual site retains a minimum of 50% of the new density created by the bill or receives a maximum of 200% of the allowed density. The goal of Culver City's Alternative Plan is to concentrate density in areas that have the best possibility of redevelopment in order to provide as much transit-accessible housing as possible.
The Alternative Plan project kicked off in Summer 2026 and is anticipated to take approximately 10 months.
City staff have developed three draft alternatives and are seeking feedback from the community.
Option A, the Station Focused Plan, clusters the additional housing units closest to the Metro E Line stations.
Option B, the Corridors Plan, concentrates the additional housing units along the City's commercial corridors.
Option C, the Combined Plan, combines Options A and B. Spreading the additional housing units across a larger area may result in a lower building height needed to accommodate them.
Join the Advisory Committee on Housing and Homelessness for their regularly scheduled meeting on 10/20/2026 at 7pm in the Patio Room, third floor of City Hall. The Advance Planning team will provide an update on the SB 79 Alternative Plan and provide opportunities for public comment.
City staff attended Fiesta La Ballona with information on the SB79 alternative plan and the Hayden Tract Specific Plan.
City staff held an open house to present and seek feedback on the draft alternative options.
Advance Planning Division
advance.planning@culvercity.gov
(310) 253-5740