Council abolishes parking minimums, but masks remain

The Action Items at Monday evenings City Council meeting saw the Council vote 3-2 in favor of abolishing parking minimums, while also voting in favor of sticking with masking requirements at the meetings. Item A3 called for a, “Review and discussion of update, informational materials and survey regarding comprehensive revisions to zoning code requirements and standards relating to required off-street parking citywide.” The survey in question was recently conducted as a means to assess the parking requirements of Culver City residents. Mayor Daniel Lee and Council Members Alex Fisch and Yasmine-Imani McMorrin were happy to reference the survey while favoring abolishing parking minimums. Council Member Göran Eriksson said there wasn’t enough data on the survey to make a decision. Some public speakers agreed with him, saying that Culver residents weren’t going to be abandoning their cars in favor of public transit anytime soon. Eriksson pointed out that Los Angeles’ public transport system wasn’t good enough yet. Lawyer Ronald Ostrin wrote to the City Council to say that, “the survey shows that your constituents want more parking in many places throughout the city — not less.” Staff pointed out that, despite the vote, the parking won’t be abolished until the zoning code is amended later in the year. Action Item A5 saw the council narrowly vote in favor of keeping masking requirements at City Council meetings for now. Council Member McMorrin said it’s “a small thing to do to keep everyone safe,” though Council Member Eriksson said that Culver City is one of the few city councils retaining the requirement. Council Member Fisch said that he’s “nearly there,” with Eriksson, but not quite.