City Council Meeting Summary, March 16, 2026

Published on April 01, 2026

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City Council Approves 2026 World Cup Community Activations, Authorizes Forming a Joint Powers Authority, Directs Staff to Create Standards of for SB 79

Approves 2026 World Cup Community Activations

The City Council unanimously approved a series of community screening events and activations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19, 2026, and jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The tournament will feature matches in 11 cities in the United States, including eight matches in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium. The free community screening activations occur with the following dates, locations, and times:

  • June 12th - 6 PM at Veterans’ Memorial Park (USA vs. Paraguay)
  • June 24th - 6 PM at Tellefson Park (Mexico vs. TBD)
  • June 25th - 7 PM at Ivy Station (USA vs. TBD)
  • June 26th - 8 PM at Ivy Station (NZ/Belgium)
  • July 11th - 2 PM - Semi-Finals Veterans’ Memorial Park- Family Field Day
  • July 19th - 6 PM - Finals - Town Plaza in Downtown Culver City

The games will be screened on the City’s high-definition LED screen to ensure premium viewing and visibility during both day and evening matches. The City Council also agreed to direct staff to issue a Request for Proposals to invite local businesses to apply to operate a beer and wine garden at Veteran’s Memorial Park. The City will also help facilitate a regional screen of a documentary that highlights Paraguay’s national team and the players’ journey on June 12, 2026.

City Council also directed staff to gather input from the community on marketing tags for the event:

  • Soccer Action Starts Here
  • Camera. Goal.
  • Kick it with Culver City

It is anticipated that the proposed screenings/activations will cost approximately $28,000.

Approves Prompt, Dates for Civic Assembly

The City Council unanimously approved the remit question and dates for the Civic Assembly Session, which will be conducted by Center for New Democratic Processes (CNDP).

The CNDP aims to convene a civic assembly consisting of 30 participants for 45 hours of study and deliberation. Participants will be paid for their time. To launch the project, CNDP will mail thousands of flyers to Culver City residents describing the Civic Assembly process and asking recipients to indicate their interest and availability to participate in the assembly and identify their personal demographic information. The 30-person assembly will be designed to mirror the demographic criteria established by the City Council on January 12, 2026 and the members will ultimately be selected via a sortition or lottery process from among the residents who expressed interest in participating. Assembly participants are asked to provide recommendations in response to a defined prompt or “remit” question. As part of the assembly process, participants are provided background information and are able to request supplemental information to help inform their deliberations and the recommendations they develop.

The final remit question posed to the assembly will be: How might the City of Culver City increase public participation in the budget process?

CNDP will convene the civic assembly over two, three-day periods in May 2026. Dates for the civic assembly are Thursday, May 14, 2026 - Saturday, May 16, 2026 and Thursday, May 28, 2026 - Saturday, May 30, 2026.

Authorizes Forming a Joint Powers Authority

The City Council unanimously approved authorizing the City Manager to pursue the formation of a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) to finance existing City obligations and future special projects.

At the Special Strategic Planning Meeting and Financial Summit in February, this financial instrument was introduced for Council consideration as a mechanism to repay the General Fund and the Housing Authority for their past and future contributions to the Jubilo Village Project and create a separate fund to pay for other projects as identified by the City Council and approved by the JPA. The amount of the annual debt service to be paid from the City’s General Fund would ultimately depend on the amount of lease revenue bonds sold.

With the authorization, City Council approved a professional services agreement with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP for the establishment of the JPA and bond counsel services, a professional services agreement with PFM Financial Advisors LLC for financial advisory services related to lease revenue bonds, and a professional services agreement with Ernst & Young U.S. LLP for financial analysis.

Municipal Bonds are a common tool for local governments to raise revenues for planned projects. Lease revenue bonds are a type of municipal bond used to finance the construction of facilities using lease payments as the financial guarantee for investors who purchased the bonds used to finance the construction of the facility. In this proposal, the Bonds would be issued by the JPA as lease revenue bonds. The leased asset would likely be one or more of the parking structures owned by the Parking Authority or the City. Although the Bonds would be issued by the JPA, the City would be responsible for paying the debt service on the Bonds.

Directs Staff to Create Standards for SB 79

The City Council unanimously approved directing staff to create minimum standards on Senate Bill (SB) 79, as well as exploring a transit-oriented development alternative plan – Options 2 and 4, respectively.

The bill, called the Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, establishes new development standards for “transit-oriented housing developments” (TOHDs) which are residential projects on land zoned for commercial, residential, and mixed uses within a half mile of qualifying transit stops. These standards will supersede otherwise applicable standards and will allow increased heights and densities to encourage residential and mixed-use development near transit stops. These new standards apply only to TOHDs with five or more units and a minimum 30 dwelling units per acre, while all other projects would be subject to existing zoning standards.

SB 79 identifies two tiers of transit stops. Culver City is affected only by Tier 2 stops (light rail and qualifying major transit stops).

Four potential Tier 2 locations in Culver City include:

  • La Cienega/Jefferson Station
  • Culver City Station
  • Venice/Overland Bus Stop
  • Planned Bus Rapid Transit stop at Venice/Lincoln

For qualifying residential projects (minimum 5 units and at least 30 units per acre), the following minimum standards apply:

  • Within 200 feet of a Tier 2 stop:
    • 85-foot minimum height
    • 140 dwelling units per acre
    • 0 FAR
  • Within ¼ mile:
    • 65-foot minimum height
    • 100 dwelling units per acre
    • 0 FAR
  • Within ½ mile:
    • 55-foot minimum height
    • 80 dwelling units per acre
    • 5 FAR

The Council’s selection of Option 2, which is the direction to create minimum standards, would allow the increased SB 79 height and density across affected properties. In addition, it would allow the City to add new supplemental development standards to address the permissible larger scale developments.

City Council directed staff to explore Option 4, which would require the overall SB 79 increased housing development capacity citywide but allows a city to manage the allocation across transit-oriented development areas and sites.

The Southern California Association of Governments will prepare the final regulatory map by July 1, 2026. View the SB 79 preliminary maps..

Discusses Hayden Tract Specific Plan & Recommendations  

The City Council reviewed the Hayden Tract Specific Plan and aligned with the Planning Commission’s recommendations.

  • Supported Height Alternative B, allowing increased building heights and residential density, with a tiered approach to transition to adjacent residential areas.
  • Supported exploring incentives for additional height and density, including provisions for affordable housing, publicly accessible open space, and hotel development in targeted areas.
  • Emphasized improvements to mobility and circulation, including enhanced pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, safer streets, and better connections to Metro stations and the Ballona Creek path.
  • Supported integrating open space and public amenities throughout the area.
  • Encouraged maintaining the area’s existing architectural character while allowing flexibility for new development.

Staff will return with the Hayden Tract Specific Plan with those directions at a future meeting.

Recognition for Live-Saving Efforts  

Four Culver City lifeguards and a local athletic trainer received recognition for their life-saving efforts in two separate incidents.

Jonathan Rivas was presented with the recognition for his swift, skilled, and heroic response during a track meet emergency involving a 14-year-old student. When a student collapsed and became unresponsive, Rivas promptly assessed the situation, identified cardiac arrest, and immediately initiated high-quality CPR. His decisive application of an automated external defibrillator (AED) and delivery of a life-saving shock restored a pulse prior to the arrival of emergency responders. His preparedness, professionalism, and commitment to the safety of others directly contributed to saving a young life and reflect great credit upon him and our community.

Culver City PRCS lifeguards Adrian Esqueda, Graciela Galvan, Kalen Lehmann, and Jesus Santiago were recognized for their efforts in saving a woman’s life at The Plunge pool. When a 73-year-old swimmer went into cardiac arrest, the lifeguards acted immediately, entering the water, removing the patient, initiating CPR, and delivering two AED shocks prior to the arrival of the Culver City Fire Department. Their swift, decisive actions and commitment to public safety saved a life. The City Council proudly commended their professionalism, teamwork, and dedication to the Culver City community.

Additional Council Decisions 

Additional items approved by the City Council include:

Additional Information

Additional information about each of the topics heard at the City Council meeting can be found in the staff reports and backup attachments for the items, which are posted along with the agenda to the City’s website. The video of the City Council meeting is available on the City’s website for viewing.

The next regular City Council meeting will take place on Monday, April 13, 2026. Childcare is available for the meeting for families wanting to attend in person by emailing PRCS at prcs.department@culvercity.gov.

 

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