The ordinance would require firearms in residences to by kept in a locked container or with a trigger lock
At a city council meeting on Monday, a motion was passed to introduce an ordinance that revamps the city’s residential firearms policy. Under this ordinance, firearms located in residences must be kept in a locked container or disabled with a trigger lock. This ordinance is geared not only towards the prevention of mass shootings, but for suicide prevention as well.
This ordinance will also require Culver City Firearm retailers to post signage about suicide prevention visibly in their stores.
This was a motion that was passed with relative ease, and the consensus among council members was that they were glad to get it done.
Plenty of other matters were also discussed and directed to move on at this council meeting, including a continuation of the discussion on affordable housing. Members of the public were sure to air their grievances about the rent issue and the rent freeze that was implemented by the city in response, but that particular ordinance wasn’t focused on.
Instead, the city council continued discussions on the idea of potentially introducing a linkage fee to new developers in order to combat the affordable housing crisis. This linkage fee would be added onto commercial developments, whose presence in the city would result in housing demand rising due to construction jobs or those working in whatever company occupies that development. This is especially pertinent in Culver City due to the increasing number of developments and tech companies coming into the city.
The city also discussed loosening regulations on requirements for accessory dwelling units (ADU). In response to talks of a statewide ordinance loosening several parts of ADU regulations—which include increasing the allowed size from 600 to 800 square feet among other things—councilmember Alex Fisch believed it would be easier for residents if Culver City simply enacted the policy sooner.
Continuing the focus on property development, the city council also discussed the idea of a Reach Building Code amendment. In practice, this code would ban the implementation of gas in the development of any new property. This particular code would be modeled after Berkeley Municipal Code Chapter 12.80, which was introduced in July and goes into effect in 2020.
While there were some minor concerns, such as providing exceptions for certain circumstances. In particular, the idea of restaurants and the use of gas-powered stoves were considered. Many chefs prefer using gas-powered flame stoves, as opposed to electric powered griddles, but councilmembers didn’t believe this would be enough to stop the progress of the ordinance as a whole.
This meeting also saw the official beginnings of the Culver Boulevard Realignment and Stormwater treatment project, with the city council granting a construction contract to Ortiz Enterprises, Inc. for an amount of $18,903,351. The project will widen Culver Boulevard while providing both an effective stormwater drains and an aesthetically pleasing fixture. The east and westbound lanes of Culver Boulevard will also be separated by a median.
For more information on these topics and other discussions at Culver City Council meetings, visit http://culver-city.legistar.com/
