Culver City Observer -

The Culver City Council has passed a new law designed to make housing and developments cheaper, help mom ’n’ pop restaurants get started, and make the neighborhoods more walkable.

At its recent meeting, the Council voted 3-2 to eliminate minimum parking requirements citywide but the new ordinance “will not preclude the provision of parking.” The dissenting votes were cast by Vice Mayor Albert Vera and Councilman Goran Eriksson.

Typically, cities require every gym and office, every retail store, restaurant and donut shop, and every home and commercial developments to come with a certain number of parking spots. According to state building officials, the required parking garage adds $36,000, on average, to the cost of every unit in an average complex.

Under the new law, developers in Culver City will still have parking in new developments; they just won’t have to meet the legally required minimums.

“I cannot think of a single good reason to require all of society to pay for parking,” wrote Culver City Councilmember Alex Fisch. “There is robust evidence that mandatory parking prevents affordable housing from being built, causes people to drive, and increases the cost of literally everything.”

Mayor Dr. Daniel Lee stressed that “this is not an ordinance that eliminates parking, this is an ordinance that eliminates parking minimums.”

While dissenting, Vice Mayor Vera contended that the new law would have unintended consequences.

With its Council vote, Culver City joins other California cities such as Berkeley, San Diego and Sacramento that have abolished parking requirements. Recently, the State of California recently enacted AB 2097 which will prohibit cities from requiring parking near quality transit as of January 1, 2023.