Prioritize Housing for People of All Incomes

The number of unhoused and housing insecure people in Culver City and the surrounding region has reached a crisis point. The 2023 Culver City Homeless Count found at least 261 unhoused individuals living in Culver City, and we have enough experience to know that pushing neighbors from one street corner to the next isn’t helping. In fact, sweeps often set our unhoused neighbors back to square one, especially those struggling with mental illness and addiction.

That being said, you don’t need to be unhoused to understand that the cost of housing is quickly slipping out of reach for everyone but the wealthy few. Maybe you know families forced to leave due to skyrocketing rents, or parents separated from their grown children who can no longer afford to live nearby. You may even know young people confronted with the daunting choice between starting a family and remaining in the city they love. 

If we want Culver City to remain a vibrant and inclusive community, where individuals of all ages, races, and backgrounds can thrive, we must prioritize the creation of affordable housing, provide permanent supportive housing for our unhoused residents, and protect tenants from becoming unhoused in the first place.

Expedite affordable housing development & increase housing capacity

To curb displacement and rising housing costs, we must take urgent action to create more housing capacity and accelerate affordable housing development. Like many cities in the region, the rising cost of housing does not just contribute to homelessness. It also exacerbates our climate and traffic crises by forcing Culver City workers to commute long distances because they are unable to find affordable housing in our community, despite contributing to its success.

Culver City is mandated by state law to construct 3,341 additional housing units by 2029, a substantial increase compared to previous allocations. To meet this critical goal, we must accelerate the creation of abundant, affordable housing for individuals across all income levels. 

  • Work with colleagues and city staff to earn Culver City the Prohousing Designation by California’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) by the end of my first term. This designation will unlock millions of dollars in funding and give Culver City priority when it comes to applying for housing and transportation grants.

  • Create a Culver City version of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ successful Executive Directive 1 (ED 1), to fast-track affordable housing projects in Culver City with provisions that preserve or increase the number of affordable units and prevent displacement. ED 1 has increased affordable housing approvals in LA significantly since 2022.

  • Legalize selling and purchasing ADUs as separate units by leveraging AB 1033, unlocking homeownership opportunities for more families.

  • Develop and support policies to prevent the corporate takeover of urban housing stock by speculative investment firms.

  • Explore and encourage affordable, non-market housing solutions including social housing, cooperative housing, and land trusts. 

  • Allow more housing capacity adjacent to our most job-rich and business-rich neighborhoods, and on major corridors with high quality transit, amenities, and jobs.

  • Create a workforce housing task force to develop a plan for affordable housing that would enable more city and school district employees to live in Culver City.

  • Prioritize city-owned land (i.e. the former gun store property acquired by the city in 2023, and city-owned parking lots) for affordable housing development.

  • Create a transparent and publicly accessible application process for eligible renters of affordable housing units to ensure equitable placement into deed-restricted units.

Broaden permanent housing options & wraparound services

While long-term solutions to our housing crisis are within reach, people living on Culver City’s streets suffering from homelessness need care and shelter immediately. It is critical that we broaden our range of permanent housing options while bolstering wraparound services to support those in need. While the city has made strides in creating housing for those experiencing homelessness, systemic issues within our housing supply and the escalating cost of rent continue to exacerbate this crisis. While those issues are addressed in tandem, we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of our unhoused neighbors in the short term.

  • Invest resources in proven solutions that address the root causes of homelessness. Sweeping individuals from block to block creates barriers to housing due to the frequent destruction of property needed to obtain housing or employment. Sweeps also increase the likelihood of death due to loss of medication, shelter, and warm weather clothing. In a recent sweep conducted at the border of Culver City and Los Angeles, data shows that 52 unsheltered individuals wanted shelter, but only two people got it.

  • Embrace the proven ‘housing first’ approach, fund new permanent supportive housing projects, and reduce barriers that prevent individuals from recieving housing and care.

  • Create a homelessness advisory board composed of members who have current or past lived experience with homelessness to guide policymaking and collaborate with mutual aid groups to engage unhoused residents impacted by homelessness policies and programs.

  • Create a master leasing program for unhoused individuals, using public funding to secure apartments on the private rental market. Lease these units directly to people experiencing homelessness.with wraparound services, as the City of LA has done.

  • Develop a safe parking program for unhoused individuals.

  • Enhance services offered at permanent housing and shelter sites like meals, auto and bicycle repair services, hygiene/laundry access, security, parking ticket assistance, storage, and opportunities to work with mental health, medical, and addiction professionals, job placement, skill training, education, and other supportive services.

  • Set up a transparent and publicly accessible waitlist for permanent supportive and transitional housing and services.

  • Provide water, safe disposal, and hygiene facilities for unhoused neighbors until housing is secured.

  • Provide on site mediators and crisis counselors at interim shelters and permanent supportive housing sites.

Strengthen tenant protections while maintaining a healthy rental market

To effectively meet our homelessness crisis, we must do what we can to stop individuals from falling into homelessness in the first place. Tenant protections play a crucial role in preventing homelessness. Recent studies highlight that the primary predictor of homelessness is the cost of rent relative to income—a challenge exacerbated in Culver City's housing crisis, where rents outpace our neighboring City of Los Angeles by over 20%. As someone who has been a renter for my entire adult life, I understand firsthand the uncertainty and disruption caused by unpredictable rent hikes. To fortify our community against housing instability, enhancing tenant protections is essential. Here's how Culver City can enhance its suite of tenant protections while fostering a healthier housing market:

  • Guarantee a right to an attorney for Culver City renters facing eviction and provide eviction defense services.

  • Develop a program to proactively contact tenants who have been served eviction notices and connect them with resources to keep them housed.

  • Explore a guaranteed income pilot to keep vulnerable tenants from becoming homeless.

  • Institute a minimum threshold for evictable rent debt, ensuring that tenants who owe less than one month of rent cannot be evicted.

  • Prioritize eligible unhoused, evicted, and displaced individuals to receive placement for deed-restricted housing and/or permanent supportive housing units.

  • Provide tenants resources to find new housing when they are constructively evicted by a large rent increase

  • Enact “Ellis Act” eviction protections, to protect against fraudulent evictions and ensure tenants have the time they need to find new housing. 

  • Prohibit “housing status discrimination,” including refusing to rent to someone on the basis of currently or formerly experiencing homelessness or lacking rental history.

  • Stop “source of income” discrimination, such as refusal to rent to Section 8 tenants, and ensure equal access for low-income tenants using vouchers.