Thank You to the Culver City Community and First Responders!

New Date: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration in Culver City

After postponing the event in January, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration is rescheduled for Saturday, February 15th. Join us as we celebrate the legacy, message, and spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Culver City Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department, along with the Culver City Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration and Juneteenth Celebration Advisory Committee, invite you to this community event.

MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated by Congress as a National Day of Service. The holiday not only honors the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but also encourages all to volunteer to improve their communities.

The event will start at 2 PM at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, located at 4117 Overland Avenue.

4B Ban Proposal - Feedback Requested

The City of Culver City is exploring proposals to enhance current plastic restrictions and ban common trash pollutants found during Ballona Creek cleanups. In addition, the City is considering banning the usage of astroturf. The proposed bans include:

• Sale and Usage of Single-use Plastic Beverage Bottles
• Sale and Usage of Single-use Plastic Carry Out Bags
• Sale and Usage of Balloons
• Citywide Outdoor Smoking
• Usage of Astroturf

To ensure these proposed restrictions are fair and effective, the City is conducting targeted outreach to residents, businesses and commercial entities that may be affected by these bans. We aim to understand residential consumer behaviors and the potential financial implications and hardships these measures could cause to businesses and the City. We also want to gauge the community interest with the positive impacts to our community if these restrictions are enacted.

You can find the survey for residents or businesses on the City's website.

Conversation Event on Middle East Approved

The City Council approved a request by the Equity and Human Relations Advisory Committee (EHRAC) to hold its next Courageous Conversation Event, “Spark Healing through Conversation: How the Middle East Crisis Affects Me,” in February. This event is in response to feedback from the community about the war in Gaza. The purpose is to give community members the tools to have a productive interactive discussion. EHRAC is continuing to secure professional neutral facilitator services, conduct outreach to the community and finalize the program.

Mayor Dan O’Brien, Vice Mayor Freddy Puza, and Council Members Albert Vera Jr. and Bubba Fish voted in favor of the motion. Council Member Yasmine Imani-McMorrin abstained from the vote. The Committee was formed in 2020 to “recommend programs, policies, and activities that promote positive human relations and equitable outcomes and opportunities in all aspects of community life.”

The City will provide more details and invite the public to join once a location and facilitator are determined.

City Council Adopts New Fee Schedule

For the first time in more than 10 years, the City Council unanimously approved a resolution adopting new Citywide User Fees. In a study completed by NBS, a government data analytics firm, it reviewed various fees for City services. The study identified an estimated $24.6 million in eligible costs for recovery from fees for service compared to approximately $13.4 million the City is currently collecting each year from fees.

The intent of the proposed fee schedule is to improve the City’s recovery of costs incurred to provide individual services, as well as adjust fees to align with the average costs of service calculated in the study, where the fees charged exceed the average costs incurred.

NBS assisted with modeling the “recommended” or “target” level of cost recovery for each fee, established at either 100% or any amount less than the calculated full cost of service. Targets and recommendations reflect discretion on the part of the City based on a variety of factors, such as existing City policies and agency-wide or departmental revenue objectives, economic goals, community values, market conditions, level of demand, and others.

The fee changes can be found throughout departments and can be found on the City’s website. For example, a sign permit for businesses has a current fee of $202. It will now increase to $589, which is a 39% cost recovery. Some fees went down, like curb painting, which was $204, now lowered to $50 to reduce financial burden on residents and businesses.

These fee rates will begin in the new fiscal year starting July 1, 2025.

Organizations Selected for 2025 Performing Arts Grant Program

City Council awarded 21 organizations $202,223 for the 2025 Performing Arts Grant Program in music, theater and dance events. The Cultural Affairs Commission and staff have implemented Culver City’s Performing Arts Grant Program (Program) since its inception in 1994. A Peer Review Panel consisting of seven independent individuals with professional performing arts expertise and non-profit arts experience scored the applications.

The 2025 Culver City Performing Arts Grant Program Subcommittee recommended that 21 of the applications receive 90% of their requested funding as follows:

• Music: 13 total applications; 9 awards recommended, $82,580
• Dance: 10 total applications; 6 awards recommended, $64,800
• Theatre: 10 total applications; 6 awards recommended, $54,843

Sony Pictures Entertainment donated $30,000 designated in support of the 2025 Program.

Screenland 5K Returns to Downtown in March

Celebrate glitz, glamour, glory, and gold in the Screenland 5K on Oscar Sunday, March 2, featuring motion picture-inspired visual and performing arts and beloved screen characters. Enjoy the expanded Health and Fitness Expo, faster registration flow, and spacious starting corral. View the event schedule and activities for the entire family. Register on the Screenland 5K website, claim your spotlight before it sells out again.

Lace up, show up, and let your journey begin into glitz, glamour, glory, and gold! You're invited to train for the race on Sunday, January 19th and January 26th at 3 PM at the Culver City High School track.

Culver City Historical Society Invites Public to January Program

Pedestrian Safety: 4-Way Walk Introduced in Downtown

Downtown Culver City now features a new pedestrian signal timing operation at the intersection of Culver Blvd and Main St, designed to enhance safety and minimize conflicts between pedestrians and drivers. The innovative signal design stops all vehicular traffic and activates the “WALK” signal for all four crosswalks simultaneously, giving pedestrians exclusive right-of-way to cross any leg of the intersection while vehicles remain at a red light.

This improvement reflects Culver City’s ongoing commitment to creating safer streets for all modes of travel, and the City remains dedicated to enhancing mobility and accessibility for the entire community.

For more information, please email the Culver City Public Works Department.

Commission and Council Meeting Venue Changes for January & February

The Mike Balkman Council Chambers are getting an electronic upgrade. Therefore, all meetings of the City Council, Civil Services Commission, Cultural Affairs Commission, Planning Commission, and PRCS Commission during January and early February have been moved to new venues. 

If you are attending in person, view the venue changes on the City's website. Virtual attendance and requests to speak will be managed through the Culver City agenda webpage.

Polar Plunge This Weekend

Plunge into the new year by joining the Culver City Plunge in its third annual Polar Bear Plunge. Diving boards, innertube Water Polo and in-water obstacle course will be available.

Be sure to join us after your swim at the hot chocolate bar for some warm beverages. Bring your family and friends and join us as we welcome the new year.

Safe Cycling Workshop + Pizza Party

Join us for a free bike safety workshop to help keep commuters and recreational cyclists safe on Sunday, January 26th from 10 AM to 1 PM at the Culver-Palms YMCA.

Before you hop on your bike, learn the rules of the road, best practices for protecting your bike and how to prepare for any ride, no matter what type of bike you have.

This in-person workshop will help riders learn safety, emergency maneuver skills, rules of the road, and laws related to bicycling. Participants will have access to learning on-site before riding a route around the area as a group together.

There will be a pizza party provided by the City of Culver City Transportation Department, raffle prizes from Walk 'n Rollers, and free on-site bicycle registration from the Culver City Police Department.