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Councilmember Dan O'Brien Newsletter — March 22, 2026
📬 Councilmember Dan O'Brien | Culver City | March 23, 2026
Hello Culver City,
There is a moment in every long project where the conversation stops being theoretical and the work becomes physical. This was that week. A church parking lot on Sepulveda turned into a construction site for 95 affordable apartments. A financing structure the Council has been studying for months got its unanimous green light. And a quote on a City Hall wall came down because the values we claim to hold demanded it.
Some weeks are about debating what comes next. This one was about doing it. Let me walk you through what happened, what it means, and what's ahead.
🏛️ March 16 Council Recap: Five Decisions That Shape What Comes Next
🔹 World Cup community screenings are officially a go. The Council unanimously approved a series of city-sponsored watch party activations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Expect public screenings with soccer-themed activities for families and neighbors to enjoy together. I requested that staff look into including Main Street in the street closures during these events, because our downtown deserves to be at the center of the celebration.
→ 🎯 My take: This is a once-in-a-generation moment for Culver City. Hosting communal screenings is one of the simplest, most effective ways to bring people together and give local businesses a boost at the same time. I'm glad the full Council agreed.
🔹 The Civic Assembly remit question was approved unanimously. This sets the framework for what our future assembly members will be asked to deliberate on. It is an important structural step in expanding how residents participate in city governance.
🔹 The Council authorized the City Manager to pursue a Joint Powers Authority (JPA). A JPA is a separate legal entity that can issue bonds, enter contracts, and hold property. For Culver City, this could unlock financing for infrastructure projects: street and sidewalk repair, park improvements, and affordable housing. The professional services agreements to get it set up passed unanimously.
→ 💡 What this means: Since California dissolved redevelopment agencies in 2011, cities like ours have had to get creative about funding infrastructure. A JPA is one of the most practical tools available. I supported this because our streets, parks, and public buildings need investment now, not ten years from now.
🔹 SB-79, the state transit-oriented housing density bill, got its first full Council discussion. This legislation would mandate increased housing density near transit stops, and almost all of the Hayden Tract falls within its boundaries. The Council discussed four approaches to implementation.
→ 🎯 My take: I believe single-family neighborhoods should be retained while we increase density along our arterial thoroughfares. There is a path to meet the state's requirements while protecting the residential character of our neighborhoods. I argued for that direction, and I will keep pushing for it.
🔹 Hayden Tract Specific Plan received updated discussion and Council direction. This plan looks at ways to make the Hayden Tract more inviting for housing, commercial activity, and public amenities like parks, safe pedestrian routes, and cycling infrastructure. Staff received direction on next steps.
🔹 On C-8, the Pro-housing Incentive Program grant application, I voted no. The grant would bring $750,000 toward housing initiatives. I support that goal. But the Housing and Homelessness Subcommittee directed the majority of those funds toward "right-to-counsel" programs, which provide legal assistance to tenants facing eviction. Research shows the most effective way to help financially stressed renters is direct rental assistance: temporarily subsidizing their rent until their situation stabilizes or they find a more affordable option. I argued those dollars should go there instead. The item passed 3-2, with Councilmember Vera and me in opposition.
👉 View full meeting details and agendas
👉 How to watch or attend meetings virtually
🏗️ Housing: Jubilo Village Breaks Ground
🔹 On March 13, construction officially began on Jubilo Village, Culver City's first 100% affordable housing development in over a decade. The 95-unit project at 4464 Sepulveda Boulevard, on land owned by Culver-Palms United Methodist Church, will be developed by Community Corporation of Santa Monica and is expected to be completed in 2028. The six-story, fully electric building will include one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments for households earning between 30% and 80% of area median income.
→ 📊 By the numbers: 51 units for households at 50–80% AMI, 42 units for households at 30–50% AMI and residents with special needs. A subterranean garage with 56 parking spaces (15 EV-ready), 44 bicycle stalls, plus a children's play area, community garden, and shared gathering spaces. Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove announced $850,000 in federal funding at the ceremony.
→ 🎯 My take: Affordable housing in Culver City has been debated, planned, and negotiated for years. Watching shovels actually hit dirt on this project is the kind of progress that matters. Ninety-five families will have a stable, affordable place to live in a city that desperately needs more housing options. That is worth celebrating, and worth replicating.
🚦 Transportation: Sepulveda Connects Moves Forward
🔹 Sepulveda Connects Design Workshop #3 took place Wednesday, March 18 at the Senior Center. Three proposed design alternatives were on the table, each presenting a different way to achieve transit priority along the 2.8-mile corridor while balancing impacts to traffic and parking. Community members reviewed concept designs and traffic analysis results.
→ 🎯 My take: I have been consistent on this from the start. I will not support a design that strips parking or lane capacity in ways that cut off the 100-plus small businesses that depend on Sepulveda. If we can build a safer, more functional corridor without doing that, I'm all in. These workshops are where those tradeoffs get worked out, and I'm glad residents and business owners showed up to make their voices heard.
🔹 Two more chances to weigh in are coming up. The Sunkist Park Virtual Open House happened Saturday, March 21, with staff sharing feedback results. Next: Design Workshop #4 is Thursday, April 2 at 6 PM, Veterans Memorial Building, Garden Room, 4117 Overland Ave. If Sepulveda is part of your daily routine in any way, this is your opportunity to shape what comes next.
👉 Learn about Sepulveda Connects
🚨 Public Safety
🔹 CCPD arrested a suspect in a March 3 armed robbery on the 5700 block of Washington Boulevard. On March 12, investigative leads and automated license plate reader data led the Crime Impact Team to a 19-year-old suspect in the San Fernando Valley. Officers conducted a felony traffic stop and made the arrest without incident.
→ 🎯 My take: This is exactly the kind of focused, technology-assisted police work I want to see from our department. ALPR data, detective work, and a safe arrest. Nine days from crime to custody.
🔹 In a single overnight shift on March 15, one Culver City patrol team made three separate arrests involving narcotics possession and identity theft, a burglary warrant, and a DUI driver taken off the road. That is the kind of proactive policing that keeps our streets safer, one shift at a time.
👉 Culver City Police Department
🏙️ Community and City Government
🔹 Mayor Puza announced the covering of a César Chávez quote at City Hall's Quotations Courtyard. The decision came in response to serious allegations of sexual violence against the late labor leader, including the courageous testimony of Dolores Huerta. The City will evaluate further steps while the display is covered. The Mayor's statement was clear: the city believes survivors, stands with survivors, and will always center their voices and dignity.
→ 💡 What this means: This is part of a statewide reckoning. California lawmakers have already moved to rename the state holiday from César Chávez Day to Farmworkers Day, and cities across California are reviewing monuments and street names. Our city acted quickly and with respect for both the survivors and the broader labor movement that transformed workers' rights in this country. The farmworker movement was always bigger than one person, and honoring that legacy while confronting hard truths is the right thing to do.
🔹 The Draft Homelessness Plan Update had three community meetings this past week, on March 17, 18, and 19. These sessions gave residents a chance to review the updated strategies and share input before the plan is finalized and presented to the Council this spring. Community feedback is an important final step in shaping a responsive, actionable plan.
→ 🎯 My take: I have believed since my time on Culver City's very first Ad Hoc Committee on Homelessness that solutions work best when they start with a simple question: how can everyone's needs be met? The updated plan should reflect that approach, and I'll be watching closely as it comes to Council.
🔹 The handcrafted water wheel from our sister city Kaizuka, Japan, is now on display. After crossing the Pacific from Osaka and arriving at the Port of Los Angeles in February, the wheel has made its way to Culver City. Six decades of friendship between our two cities, and this gift is the latest, most tangible expression of what that relationship means.
🌸 Women's History Month Continues
🔹 Women's History Month is rolling strong through its final week. The Chamber's 10th Annual Women in Business Leadership Awards Luncheon earlier this month honored five exceptional leaders: Dr. Michelle Catanzarite, Sharon Angel, Wendy Hamill, Leilani Terris, and Denise Ambrosi. The Greater Los Angeles Association of Realtors was there too, celebrating the women shaping our business community. And this Sunday's Book Festival at the Wende Museum will feature a "Poetry River" in the courtyard, with twelve women writers from Los Angeles and beyond reading in celebration of Women's History Month.
→ 🎯 My take: The luncheon, the Council proclamation, the poetry this weekend: these aren't separate events. They're part of a thread that runs through everything Culver City does when it's at its best, which is lifting up the people who build this community every single day.
📅 Dates and What's Ahead
🔹 Compost Hub at Syd Kronenthal Park, Wednesday, March 25, 10 AM to noon. Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday, in partnership with LA Compost. Bring your food scraps. Ten minutes, real impact.
🔹 Family Jazz Hour, Friday, March 27, 7 to 8 PM at the Wende Museum. Free. A jazz quintet from the Symphonic Jazz Orchestra plays a concert designed for students and families. Great music, great setting, no charge.
🔹 Spring Egg Hunt Adventure, Saturday, March 28, 8 AM to 1 PM. Hunt for virtual eggs across Culver City parks using the Goosechase App, then head to Veterans Memorial Park for live music, food trucks, activities, and photos with Mr. Bunny (9 AM to 2 PM). Free for all ages.
🔹 Drive-Through E-Waste and Household Hazardous Waste Collection, Saturday, March 28, 9 AM to 3 PM. Dock 52 Parking Lot, Fiji Way, Marina del Rey. Electronics, batteries, household chemicals. Secure items in your trunk before arrival.
🔹 4th Annual Culver City Book Festival, Sunday, March 29, 10 AM to 5 PM at the Wende Museum. Free. Local authors, small presses, literary nonprofits, panel discussions, family activities, live music, and the Women's History Month Poetry River. A partnership between Culver City Arts Foundation, Village Well Books & Coffee, El Martillo Press, Beyond Baroque, the Wende Museum, and the City.
🔹 Sepulveda Connects Design Workshop #4, Thursday, April 2, 6 PM. Veterans Memorial Building, Garden Room, 4117 Overland Ave. Your voice matters.
🔹 Next City Council Meeting: Monday, April 13 at 7 PM. Agendas post the Wednesday or Thursday before.
🔹 CCFD Girls Camp, April 18 to 19. Registration is open. A weekend with our fire department for young women.
🔹 Earth Day Elenda Street Activation, Wednesday, April 22. The Council approved this open-streets event along Elenda and Farragut for students to walk and ride to school on a car-free route. More details to come.
🔹 Every Tuesday, 2-7 PM. Downtown Farmers Market. Main Street. Grab produce, support local growers, and say hello to neighbors.
👉 Visit the Farmers Market page
🔹 How to watch and participate in meetings. Agendas post Wednesdays before Monday meetings. You can attend in person or virtually.
🙏 Closing Thought
Shovels went into the ground on Sepulveda for 95 families who need affordable housing. The same week, the Council greenlit a financing tool that could fund the next round of parks, streets, and infrastructure projects. That is not a coincidence. That is what happens when a city stops talking about priorities and starts funding them.
What's ahead is just as full. The Book Festival on Sunday is one of my favorite community events all year, and between the Jazz Hour, the Egg Hunt, and Workshop #4, the next two weeks are packed with reasons to get out there and stay engaged.
If you have something on your mind, a question, a concern, an idea for the neighborhood, hit reply. That is genuinely one of the best ways I stay connected to what is happening on the ground.
Together, we can build a stronger, more connected Culver City. Thank you for being part of our community.
