Senate Bill 79 in Culver City
Senate Bill (SB) 79 was signed by Governor Newsom on October 10, 2025 and will become effective 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 Standing Housing and Homelessness Subcommittee (SHHS) met on February 17, 2026 to discuss the implications of SB 79. The 2/17/2026 Standing Housing and Homelessness Subcommittee (SHHS) Agenda and 2/17/2026 SHHS Meeting Video are available online.
The City Council received an update on the bill and provided direction at their regular meeting on March 16, 2026. The City Council staff report presented four options for implementation, including taking no action, adopting an ordinance to create minimum standards for lower-density zones, rezoning to defer the bill's effectuation for the City, and producing an alternative plan. View the staff presentation to Council.(PDF, 2MB) The City Council voted to pursue an alternative plan to shift the bill's density to the corridors where residents are more likely to walk to transit. However, because an alternative plan cannot be completed before the bill's July 1 effective date, the Council also directed staff to prepare a minimum standards ordinance for the interim. The ordinance will be taken to the Planning Commission on April 22, 2026.
Draft Map
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. Culver City has four potential Tier 2 locations, which are shown on the draft map below. The Southern California Association of Governments is responsible for preparing the final map by July 1, 2026. View the preliminary map(PDF, 921KB).
Development Standards
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.
| Distance |
Minimum Height Limit |
Minimum Residential Density Limit |
Minimum Achievable Floor Area Ratio |
| Within 200 feet of a Tier 2 stop |
85 feet |
140 dwelling units per acre |
4.0 |
| Within 1/4 mile of a Tier 2 stop |
65 feet |
100 dwelling units per acre |
3.0 |
| Within 1/2 mile of a Tier 2 stop |
55 feet |
80 dwelling units per acre |
2.5 |