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CC - ACTION ITEM: (1) Authorization to Prepare and Issue a Request for Proposals to Conduct an Historical Context Study of the City of Culver City; (2) FOUR-FIFTHS VOTE REQUIREMENT: Approval of a Budget Amendment Appropriating $150,000 from the General Fund’s Unassigned Fund Balance for the Historical Context Study and to Hire a Specialized Consultant as Project Manager; and (3) Direction to the City Manager as Deemed Appropriate.
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Meeting Date: September 12, 2022
Contact Person/Dept: Onyx Jones/City Manager’s Office
Phone Number: (310) 253-6023
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Attachments: Yes [X] No []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X]
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (09/07/2022);
Department Approval: John M. Nachbar, City Manager (09/07/2022)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council (1) authorize the preparation and issuance of a Request for Proposals (RFP) to conduct an historical context study of the City of Culver City; (2) approve a budget amendment appropriating $150,000 from the General Fund’s Unassigned Fund Balance for the historical context study and to hire a specialized consultant to serve as project leader (requires a four-fifths vote); and (3) provide direction to the City Manager as deemed appropriate.
BACKGROUND
On June 14th, 2021, City Council expressed a commitment to making Culver City a welcoming and inclusive community by voting to adopt Resolution No. 2021-R066 acknowledging the racial history of Culver City (Attachment 1). The Resolution’s recitals contain the following statement:
“Whereas, the City commits to developing and enforcing policies and practices to make amends for the past, including creating a system of reparations designed to narrow the racial and income housing gap in the City, through:
1. Creating a fund which sets aside a specific percentage of tax revenue received from cannabis businesses operating in the City to be used to correct racial disparities in the unequal enforcement of marijuana laws; and
2. Providing financial assistance for housing to low-income residents and prospective residents, including people of color, the unhoused, people employed in Culver City and within the Culver City Unified School District, veterans, seniors, and the disabled; and
3. Developing affordable housing sufficient for all those among the City’s workforce, including the employees of the Culver City unified School District, who wish to live in Culver City; and
4. Enlisting the help of local historians and other volunteers to find people of color and those of non-Christian religious faiths, or their descendants, who have been prevented from either buying or renting, or were forced out of housing, in Culver City since its founding, with the intent of identifying programs that offer direct housing assistance, equitable access to City employment, or other reparations.”
In the Resolution, the City Council resolved as follows:
A. The City acknowledges, apologizes for, and condemns all racially motivated, discriminatory, or exclusionary aspects of the City's history, and deeply regrets the pain, hurt, and suffering such policies have caused;
B. City Council and staff will continue to engage in individual and collective work to understand bias;
C. The City will continue to examine the historical role that racism has played in Culver City by committing resources to draft a Racial Equity Action Plan and will review and revise its policies, procedures, ordinances, values; goals, and missions through an anti-racism lens to foster an unbiased and inclusive environment that is free of discrimination and harassment toward any person or group;
D. The City will continue to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in its access to City services, programs, and facilities, and will stand up to bigotry, hatred, intolerance, racism, and violence; and
E. The City equivocality rejects racism in all its forms and is committed to working towards building an antiracist Culver City where people of all races and cultural backgrounds are welcome to live and prosper
Based on direction given by the City Council Ad Hoc Equity Subcommittee (“Subcommitee”) (Mayor Lee and Council Member McMorrin), staff researched four cities (City of Evanston (Illinois), City of San Luis Obispo, City of West Hollywood and the City of Santa Monica) to get more details and information regarding reparation programs that were either developed or are being developed in their agencies.
During the August 8, 2022 City Council meeting, staff provided a presentation on the process these cities followed to create their systems of reparations designed to narrow the racial income and housing gap in their cities. City Council also received a presentation from Kamilah Moore, the California Reparations Task Force Chair. During the presentation, Ms. Moore, discussed the goals of the California Reparations Task Force including:
• Reparations on a State and Federal level;
• Length of the process;
• AB 3121;
• Public hearings held on this topic;
• The Interim Report released by the California Reparations Task Force;
• The Emancipation Proclamation;
• The 13th Amendment;
• The Badges and Incidents of Slavery;
• The role of California in perpetuating slavery;
• The wealth gap;
• The California Homestead Act;
• Police brutality and anti-Black hate crimes;
• Culver City-specific facts;
• Sundown Towns;
• Federal data on reparations and eligibility; and
• Proposition 209 and its legal considerations.
DISCUSSION
During the City Council meeting, Council Members were unanimously in favor of conducting a historical context study of the City. The report generated from the historical context study will provide direction to staff to look into the historical context of racial segregation and discriminatory policies in the City. The study would be one of the key pieces of data in creating a system of reparations designed to narrow the racial income gap in Culver City. The study will need to be highly detailed on past practices of the City and surrounding areas and cover multiple types of information and analysis. It is known throughout the historical development of the metropolitan Los Angeles region, many parts of Los Angeles County had policies and laws in place that were designed to create and uphold discriminatory practices, to segregate Black people and other people of color, and to reinforce racial, cultural, and class bias in home ownership. These policies have had generational impacts on population makeup, home ownership rates, and modern-day policies and zoning restrictions.
Due to the level of research and analysis required, the City will need to hire a professional services firm to complete the study, similar to other studies conducted by neighboring cities such as the City of Santa Monica and the City of West Hollywood. This staff report seeks authorization for the issuance of an RFP to develop a historical context study to research and analyze the historical context of racial segregation and discriminatory policies of this geographic area prior to cityhood. The consultant will provide a historical narrative of the area and will serve a lead role in information-gathering, and historical and archival research. The study will seek to identify the history of Indigenous populations, demographic shifts of inhabitants, and research history and policies that may have contributed to racial and cultural discrimination in past decades.
Specifically, the scope of work will include:
• Archival and historical research;
• History of Indigenous peoples, demographic shifts of inhabitants, and research of history and policies that may have contributed to racial and cultural discrimination in past decades; and
• Historical narrative of the geographical area in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The draft RFP will be reviewed by the Subcommittee, prior to release on PlanetBids. All interested, eligible and qualified parties will be encouraged to submit a proposal. The findings of the study will inform the Subcommittee, Community Stakeholders and City Council on possible next steps in establishing racial equity initiatives. It is also recommended that a specialized consultant be hired as a project manager to oversee and assist with the study, review of the study’s findings, developing any racial equity initiatives and the possible creation/ implementation of any reparation programs.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
The costs for a historical context study could range between $70,000 and $100,000, depending on the scope of services, extent of legal issues, type of consulting firm, and level of community outreach involved. Since the study will be one of the key pieces of data regarding a potential reparations program in the City, it will need to be highly detailed and cover multiple types of information and analysis. The approximate cost to hire a specialized project manager is between $25,000 and $50,000.
Staff is requesting a budget amendment to appropriate $150,000 from the General Fund’s Unassigned Fund Balance for costs associated with the historical context study (estimated $70,000 to $100,000) and to hire a professional project leader (between $25,000 and $50,000). Both contracts will be paid from the General Fund account number 101.22100.610400 (four-fifths vote required).
Once the study is complete, if City Council desires, a reparations program will be created. The fiscal impact of such a program is unknown at this time and the annual amount of the program will vary depending on the extent of the program and the number of eligible participants.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2022_09_12_Attachment 1 RESO 2021-R066 - Acknowledging Racial History of Culver City
MOTION
That the City Council:
1. Authorize staff to prepare and issue a Request for Proposals to conduct a historical context study of the City of Culver City;
2. Approve a budget amendment appropriating $150,000 from the General Fund’s Unassigned Fund Balance for the historical context study and to hire a specialized consultant to serve as project leader (requires a four-fifths vote) and;
3. Direction to the City Manager as deemed appropriate.