Receives Update on Homelessness Efforts, Considers Future of Emergency Proclamation
The City Council received an update about the City’s efforts on homelessness. Housing and Human Services Director Tevis Barnes presented the latest numbers. Throughout the City’s continuum of care, 122 unhoused neighbors have shelter or housing either through the City’s Project Homekey (PHK), Wellness Village, or Motel Master Leasing Program. The permanent supportive housing at PHK is at 100% capacity with 37 residents, while the interim supportive housing next door is 91% occupied with 32 residents. Seventeen guests reside at the Wellness Village, and there have been 82 participants since the program began. Fifty of those participants have moved to Project Homekey or other housing resources. Currently 39 people are utilizing the Motel Master Leasing Program, which has helped 1,159 participants since January 2023.
Barnes highlighted the Mobile Crisis Team’s effort to provide rapid response to people in need. Since the team’s launch in April 2024, it has responded to 1,928 Crisis Hotline calls, providing 204 mental health assessments, and helped 70 unhoused people get placed into housing and shelter. The Mobile Crisis Team will expand in size and hours of operation in the coming months, while also including a healthcare component. Outreach efforts continue weekly as teams connect with unhoused neighbors of the community, asking if they are willing to accept housing and shelter options that are available.
In January 2023, the City declared a Local Emergency on Homelessness. The Emergency Proclamation has allowed Culver City to operate beyond its normal operational policies and procedures to better address the homelessness crisis, align the City with other regional jurisdictions, and open the door to potential new funding opportunities to address the crisis. This has helped the City create the numerous homeless services programs available today.
On Monday, June 23rd, the City Council directed staff to keep the emergency in place and revise the language of the proclamation, adding specificity to goals and metrics, and adding additional references to the need for more affordable housing. The camping in public places ordinance will also return for discussion. That ordinance prohibits setting up tents or other makeshift shelters, known as Camp Facilities, in certain public places, such as parks, streets, sidewalks, schools and government property. It also prevents storage of certain items, such as personal property, cots, beds, and hammocks, in those public places.
Approves Ordinance Adopting Updated Fire Hazard Severity Zones
The City Council introduced and approved an ordinance adopting Very High, High, and Moderate Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZs). In March, the Office of the State Fire Marshal sent recommendations of FHSZs for consideration. The Culver City Fire Department recommended maintaining the previous Very High FHSZ boundaries as doing so enables more stringent brush clearance and construction standards in those areas-measures that enhance public safety. Specifically, homes in the Very High FHSZ will continue to be required to maintain 100 feet of defensible space around structures, and new construction or renovations must comply with Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) building codes.
The new ordinance will place additional portions of the Blair Hills neighborhood and the Lower Culver Crest Neighborhood in Fire Hazard Severity Zones ranging the Moderate to the Very High designation, increasing both from the state-recommended levels. You can review the FHSZ map on the City’s website.
Receives Equal Employment Opportunity Plan Report
The City Council listened to a presentation from the Human Resources Department about the City’s Equal Employment Opportunity Plan. The plan aims to highlight employment trends to ensure fair and equitable employment practices for all employees and applicants. It prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, age, disability, veteran status, national origin, religion, political affiliation, or sexual orientation/identification. Some of the EEOP findings highlighted showed the number of applicants more than doubled from Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2023 to FY 2023-2024 tallying 4675 applicants. The latest data shows that the City’s workforce, self-identifies as: Hispanic (37%), White (28%), Black (26% ), Asian (8%), and American Indian or Alaska Native (1%).
The presentation also highlighted a significant shift in the average pay gap between genders. In FY 2022-2023, the average pay gap was $282 per year in favor of the average male salary. The following fiscal year, that pay gap was $844 in favor of the average female salary. The Human Resources Department continues to gather information to better recruit and train in positions to continue to diversify the City’s workforce in all departments.
Innovation and Performance Recognized
The Finance Advisory Committee recognized several City projects in the Fourth Annual Innovation and Performance Awards. Awards were presented to staff who worked on projects in the latest fiscal year that make life better in Culver City.