City Manager's Update

By John Nachbar

City Manager

Community Development Department

• Morsco/Morrison Supply – Building plans were approved on November 11 for a 2,716 square foot build out of a Kohler signature store, and design center at 3250 Helms Avenue.

• Apple, Inc. – Building plans were submitted on November 24 for a 73,431 square foot tenant improvement of office space at 8550 Higuera Street.

• Daiso California LLC – Building plans were submitted on November 18 for a 10,601 square foot tenant improvement for a new retail store at 11000 Jefferson Boulevard.

• NantWorks – Building plans were submitted on November 18th for a 2,500 square foot tenant improvement, to repurpose existing space for conference rooms and offices, at 9920 Jefferson Boulevard.

• Art Gallery – Building plans were submitted on November 16 for a 2,294 square foot tenant improvement for a new art gallery at 8810 Washington Boulevard #102 (The PLATFORM).

• Squeak E Clean – A final building inspection was completed by the Building Safety Division on November 24 for an 8,360 square foot tenant improvement of office and edit rooms at 8533 Washington Boulevard.

• Yoga Salt – A final building inspection was completed by the Building Safety Division on October 5 for a new yoga studio at 11957 Washington Boulevard.

• Spring – Building plans were submitted on November 16 for a 746 square foot build out of existing tenant space for a new retail store at 8840 Washington Boulevard #104 (The PLATFORM).

• Parabellum – Building plans were submitted on November 16 for a 454 square foot build out of existing tenant space for a new retail store at 8840 Washington Boulevard #107A (The PLATFORM).

• Flower Shop – Building plans were submitted on November 16th for a 521 square foot build out of existing tenant space for a new retail flower shop, at 8830 Washington Boulevard #101 (The PLATFORM).

• Event Space – Building plans were submitted on November 16th for a 6,526 square foot build out of an existing suite, at 8820 Washington Boulevard #301 (The PLATFORM).

• ICW Group Culver City LLC – Building plans were submitted on November 17 for site and building shell improvements to change the space from automotive repair to office and retail at 11461 Washington Boulevard.

• Cold & Thirsty – Building plans were submitted on November 18th for a 700 square foot build out of an existing retail space at 12460 Washington Boulevard.

• Business Improvement District – On November 9th, the City Council approved the Downtown Business Improvement District 2016 Annual Report, including a proposed work program and budget and adopted a resolution of intent to levy assessments. A Public Hearing has been scheduled for December 14. An official public notification was published in the Culver City News on November 26.

• Department of Finance Long Range Property Management Plan – The City is working on transferring all remaining eligible former-Agency properties to the City pursuant to the Successor Agency’s Long Range Property Management Plan. The properties include The Kirk Douglas Theater, The Jazz Bakery, all remaining surface parking lots, and the Media Park and Ivy Substation leases with the City of Los Angeles.

• Washington-Centinela – A community meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 15 at the Culver West Alexander Park Community Room to discuss the project with the neighborhood. A preliminary project design will be available for the public to view. A public notice was mailed on November 30 and December 1 to all Culver City residents and property owners within 500 feet of the project site. The City will begin working on a Disposition and Development Agreement with the Developer Regency Centers.

• Hayden Tract Spur – The Project design is being completed by the City’s engineering firm. Lighting and landscaping elements are being finalized.

• CDBG – The City hosted a planning meeting with CDBG administration staff on October 21 to discuss and program the City’s CDBG funds allocations for fiscal year 2016/2017. The CDBG Advisory Committee convened a meeting on November 12 at City Hall to consider potential uses for CDBG funds for fiscal year 2016/2017. The City published an official public notice of the meeting in the Culver City News on October 29, posted public notices, and distributed a notice through the City’s email notification system. This item is scheduled for a Public Hearing before the City Council on Monday, December 14.

• Baldwin Site / Axis-Mundi – On November 4 the City and the Developer hosted a public meeting to solicit public comment on the Developer’s proposed Community Benefit pursuant to the City’s Mixed Use Development Standards. The Developer proposes to construct and maintain 21 ground level metered parking spaces in exchange for City Council’s authorization to increase the project’s density from 35 dwelling units per acre to 50 dwelling units per acre. The Developer’s proposed Community Benefit is scheduled for consideration at the December 14 City Council meeting. The City is exploring options for the inclusion of an affordable housing component in the Project.

• Washington West Business District – The District is offering four days of Holiday specials and promotions at select locations from December 10 to 13. A “Happy Holidays” postcard was designed and sent to 6,000 residents in the area. The District is also working with the Culver City Fire Department to help promote its “Spark of Love” Toy Drive and will be collecting toys at Sunny Blue and Humble Potato. For more information about the weekend of specials, please visit http://www.washingtonwestbusinessdistrict.com/.

Fire Department

• Spark of Love Toy Drive – The Culver City Fire Department is collecting toys at all three fire stations through December 24 in support of the Spark of Love Toy Drive. As part of the greater Southern California campaign the Culver City Fire Department is collecting new, unwrapped toys and sports equipment for under-served children and teens in and around Culver City. Feel free to donate toys and sports items at any of our three fire stations:

Station 1 – 9660 Culver Boulevard

Station 2 – 11252 Washington Boulevard

Station 3 – 6030 Bristol Parkway

For additional donation options, events, and donation item suggestions, please visit http://abc7.com/family/spark-of-love-toy-drive-2015/335666/.

Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Department

• LIFE STAGE Production at the Culver City Senior Center – The annual LIFE STAGES production will be held on Sunday, December 6 at 1 pm at the Culver City Senior Center. This is a live stage production featuring the life stories of four senior center members, created from interviews by Otis School of Art & Design students. This is one of the most creative and moving annual events held at the Senior Center. To view a video about the 2014 project visit YouTube - “Creative Action Class Life Stage” - by clicking on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK8g5tbcxBI

• Culver City Senior Citizens Association Membership Registration – Membership registration for the Culver City Senior Citizens Association will take place Monday, December 14 through Friday, December 18 from 9 am to 2 pm in the lobby. Annual dues are $13, a parking pass is $5, and there is a $12 fee if you would like to have the monthly newsletter mailed to you. Cash or checks only for payment and no bills over $20 please. Fitness room access is $125 per calendar year, and all fitness room membership renewals require an updated 2016 physician’s form.

• The Senior Center Holiday Talent Showcase – This year’s Senior Center Holiday Talent Showcase will be held on Tuesday, December 15 at 1 pm.

• Culver City Senior Center Volunteers – Some of the talented volunteers at the Culver City Senior Center are featured in a new video from the UPS “Wishes Delivered” holiday campaign. These knitters are part of the Friday knitting group, which meets every Friday at 9:00 am and is taught by dedicated volunteer Vivian Brown. One of the group’s long-time volunteer projects is making comfort scarves for “Handmade for You,” which delivers the scarves to women in need. In true “Heart of Screenland” fashion, the film crew was on-site for almost 5 hours for what ended up being about 10 seconds of footage! You can view the video on the UPS website under the “wishes delivered” link. https://wishesdelivered.ups.com/

• Veterans Memorial Complex Rental Operation – The following events in the Veterans Memorial Building are open to the public this month. Culver City Symphony Orchestra presents a program of Humperdinck, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky on December 5 – http://www.culvercitysymphony.org/concert-sat-dec-5-2015-800pm.html. Culver City Chamber Orchestra presents Santa’s Workshop featuring the Collenette School of Dancing on December 13 http://www.ccchamberorchestra.com.

Culver City Public Theatre presents It’s a Wonderful Life, a live radio play, on December 13 – http://ccpt.org. USA Dance (LA Chapter) holds a New Year’s Eve Ball on December 31 – http://usadancela.org

Police Department

• Police Recruit Graduates from Academy - On November 27 Police Recruit Daniel Gigliobianco graduated from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Academy after 22 weeks of intense training. Congratulations Daniel and welcome!

• Culver Crest Neighborhood Watch - On December 2nd, the Culver Crest Neighborhood Association met at El Rincon School to discuss the issue of coyotes in their neighborhood. Lt. Sam Agaiby, Sergeant William Jackson, Animal Service Officer Corolla Fleeger and representatives from State Wildlife attended the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to give the residents information and guidelines in dealing with this issue. Also in attendance were Council Members Meghan Sahli-Wells and Jim B. Clarke. (Photo: getstephen.blogspot.com)

• Santa Arrives in Culver City - On December 3rd, 2015 to the Culver City Police Officer’s Association, Santa Claus arrived at the annual tree lighting ceremony in downtown. Santa was greeted by many happy children and their parents.

Public Works Department

• Culver City Community Meets Water Reduction Goal – Due to an unusually warm October the statewide water use reduction was 22%. In Culver City we reduced our water use by 17% as compared to the same month in 2013. The total reduction of 18% reflects the total reductions for the period of June 1 through November 29 compared to 2013 usage.

• City Hall Landscaping – In response to the drought, the City released an RFP last week to hire a landscape architect to prepare plans to replace City Hall’s landscaping with drought-tolerant species. The list of drought-tolerant plantings will become a template for use at other City facilities. Responses to the RFP are due on December 10, 2015.

• Water Efficient Fixtures – Additionally, this week the City released an RFP to plumbers and contractors to replace nearly 300 water fixtures with more efficient ones at 24 different City facilities. Responses to this RFP are due January 7, 2016.

• Parkway Tree Planting – The LA Conservation Corps has finished planting 300 trees in the City’s parkways. The Corps will prune and water the trees once weekly over the first year of life. This project was entirely funded by a $150,000 grant received by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’ 2012 Competitive Tree Planting. (Photo: http://www.lacorps.org)

• Fountain Repairs at Veterans Memorial Auditorium – Public Works crews performed minor repairs to the fountain in front of the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. The repairs included reinforcing existing skateboarding deterrents and installing new ones to replace the ones that are missing. The repairs also included treating areas of the base of the sculpture that had been rusted.

• Recycle Your Christmas Tree – Every year, more than one million used Christmas trees end up in California landfills, and an estimated 15 million used Christmas trees end up in landfills nationwide. The City urges you to recycle trees locally or turn them into mulch for water conservation and weed control in the garden. Reuse branches to make colorful holiday wreaths and separate the pine needles from tree branches to create tree-scented sachet bags. Or, consider an artificial tree or a “living” tree that can be replanted in the yard.

Multi-family residents should contact the property manager for more information on how best to dispose of trees after the holiday season at your multi-family complex. Culver City will provide drop-off services at in the Fox Hills Area. (Please call the number below for exact location.)

Remember, it is unlawful and a serious fire hazard to leave unwanted trees at the curb or in the alleys for an extended period of time. Please recycle your Christmas tree in the green waste bins.

For the Culver City Refuse and Recycling Customer Service Office, call (310) 253-6400 for more information.

For City of Los Angeles Christmas Tree Recycling, please go to http://www.lacitysan.org/tree-recycle.htm or for unincorporated communities, call 1 (888) CLEAN LA between 7am and 5 pm, Monday through Thursday.

• Construction Updates:

1. Golden State Water Company will continue the installation of pipe for water main replacement on Woolford Street, Orville Street, McDonald Street, and Janisann Avenue.

2. Golden State Water Company will be installing pipe for water main replacement on Wesley Street between Higuera Street and National Boulevard.

3. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will be replacing a water main on East Boulevard between Washington Boulevard and Park Avenue.

4. Centinela Avenue will be repaved from Green Valley Circle/City boundary to Bristol Parkway. Changeable message signs advising the public of traffic delays will be installed.

Thursday, December 3: Reconstruction began on a 350 foot long, 12 foot wide section of pavement from Bristol Parkway to the Hillside Memorial Cemetery driveway.

Monday, December 7th: Grinding from Bristol Parkway to Green Valley Circle

Tuesday, December 8th: 1” leveling course

Wednesday, December 9th: Paving operations

Thursday, December 10th: Paving operations

Transportation

• Line 4 Extends to Playa Vista! Saturday Service! Effective December 14 Culver CityBus announces the following service changes:

1. Line 4: Culver CityBus will be extending service from Westfield Culver City Transit Center into Playa Vista and adding Saturday service. Line 4 currently goes from the Westfield Culver City Transit Center to the Expo La Cienega Station and the West Los Angeles Transit Center.

The Line 4 extension will be celebrated on Monday, December 14 with a ceremony at 8:30 am at the southwest corner of Waterfront Drive and Artisans Way in Playa Vista. Invited guests include the City Council, Los Angeles Councilmember Mike Bonin, and Marc Huffman, Vice President of Brookfield Residential.

2. Line 2: Culver CityBus will add new stops at Slauson Avenue/Sepulveda Boulevard (near the Westfield Culver City Transit Center) and at Bristol Parkway/Centinela Avenue (in front of Courtyard Marriott); Line 2 will no longer go into the Westfield Culver City Transit Center.

3. Line 1, Line 6 local, and Rapid 6 have minor schedule adjustments.

Additional information, schedule times and maps available at http://www.culvercitybus.com.