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CC - ACTION ITEM: (1) Consideration of Public Input on the Future Use of the City-owned Property at 11029 Washington Boulevard, and (2) Discussion and Direction to the City Manager, as Desired.
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Meeting Date: April 14, 2025
Contact Person/Dept.: Jesse Mays, Assistant City Manager
Phone Number: (310) 253-6000
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [X] No []
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (04/10/2025)
Department Approval: John Nachbar, City Manager (04/08/2025) _____________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council consider the public’s input on the future use of the City-owned property at 11029 Washington Boulevard and (2) discuss and provide the City Manager direction on next steps.
BACKGROUND
On September 9, 2023, the City Council approved purchase of the property located at 11029 Washington Boulevard for $6.5 million. The property is a 0.2777-acre parcel containing a 4,660 square foot, one-story building with a former retail and office use built in 1953.The site is a corner lot with 20 parking spaces. The site is currently zoned Mixed-Use Corridor 1 - 35 dwelling units per acre.
Between 1953 and 2023, the property was used as the Martin B. Retting gun shop. Escrow closed on October 18, 2023, and Martin B. Retting closed and vacated the site by January 2024. The City has repainted the exterior of the site and installed a fence to secure the parking lot. The City’s Artist Laureate Katy Kranz has installed a temporary mural project and a temporary mosaic project, created in conjunction with the community, on the exterior of the building. Maps (Attachment 1) and photos (Attachment 2) of the property are included with this report.
At the May 28, 2024 City Council meeting, the City Council discussed how to determine the future use of the property. The City Council directed staff to return to City Council with a proposal for a robust public input process to determine the future use of the property, for its consideration. Staff presented a public input proposal at the September 10, 2024 City Council meeting, which was approved by City Council.
The following is a timeline of the City’s actions to date to collect public input on the future use of the property:
September 2024
• Webpage for public input went live on the City’s website at www.culvercity.org/11029washington <http://www.culvercity.org/11029washington> on 9/10/2024
• Online input form went live on 9/10/2024. See Attachment 3 for paper version of the form. The form was also available in Spanish, digitally and on paper. The form asks details such as potential uses, costs and benefits, and sources of ongoing funding.
• GovDelivery email blast sent to 14,727 recipients on 9/11/2024, as well as news agencies. The email was opened by 4,176 unique people, and 231 people clicked on the links in the email.
• Notice of the online input tool with a QR code was sent to all CCUSD parents in every school’s weekly email.
• Postings in English and Spanish were posted on bulletin boards at the Senior Center and parks on 9/30/2024
• Social media posts were made on Facebook and Twitter (9/13/2024) seeking public input. The Facebook post garnered 121 comments, 26 reactions, and 9 shares. The Twitter post garnered 498 views, 1 comment, 4 reactions, and 1 share.
October 2024
• Promotion of public input tool continued in the City’s monthly e-newsletter on 10/12/2024, on Instagram on 10/23/2024. The newsletter was sent to 18,991 recipients and was opened by 5,070 people, and 425 people clicked on links in the email. The Instagram post garnered 271 likes and 3 comments.
• Online public input tool continued.
• Open house was held at 11029 Washington Boulevard with pizza on Saturday, October 26 from 10 AM to 2 PM
o Ideas collected online to date were presented and attendees gave feedback on the ideas they liked.
o Attendees could also submit new ideas.
o Artist Laureate Katy Krantz led a public art activity.
November 2024
• Promotion of public input tool continued in the City’s monthly e-newsletter on 11/15/2024 sent to 19,075 recipients. The email was opened by 5,012 unique individuals, and 596 individuals clicked on links in the email.
• Online input tool remains open.
December 2024
• Online input tool closed.
• Staff analyzed proposals and ideas submitted.
April 2025
• Regular City Council Meeting agenda item: Review Public Input and give direction.
New Ceramic Tile Mural
As part of its direction on September 10, 2024, the City Council approved a second temporary art project by Artist Laureate Katy Krantz at the property. The art project is a ceramic tile mural installed in the five trapezoidal frames on the building wall at pedestrian-level. Public participation in the creation of the mural, led by Ms. Krantz, was incorporated into the October input-gathering community event at the building, to draw people to the event and encourage community participation. With the assistance of Public Works staff, Ms. Krantz installed the mural in December 2024.
DISCUSSION
The City received 255 responses to the online visioning form, which exceeded the goal of 250 responses set at the September City Council meeting. At the community meeting, eight new ideas that hadn’t already been submitted using the online form were submitted. Staff also received seven emails with ideas, and some of the 125 social media comments also had ideas.
In all, the public submitted 103 unique ideas for what the City could do with the property. Attachment 4 has a complete list of all the unique ideas submitted using the online form, at the community meeting, and via email and social media. The category of ideas which were submitted most often are (with the number of individuals submitting the idea in parentheses): Affordable Housing (58), Community/Recreation Center (45), Commercial Development (restaurant, store, business) (36), Arts Center (performing and/or visual arts) (34), Park/Open Space (including gardens, community gardens, sport courts, pools) (22), Social Services (including homelessness, childcare, mental health) (18), Market Rate Housing (10), Sell/Give Away the property (10), Museum (7), and Business Incubator (3). It is important to note that this is not a scientific survey, but a snapshot of the various ideas in the community as contributed by people who chose to fill out the form.
Approximately 60 people attended the October community meeting at the property, and of those 43 people completed an evaluation form of the 83 ideas that had been submitted at the time. They were asked to check a box next to ideas that they liked. They could check multiple boxes. Staff counted the number of likes garnered by each idea, and then ranked them from most popular to least popular (see Attachment 5). The ideas that generated the most likes (with the number of likes noted in parentheses) were: Art Studio/School (18), Community Garden (16), Affordable Housing (15), Garden (15), and Makerspace (14). It’s important to note that this is not a scientific community survey, but rather an indication of the uses that would be most appealing to people attending a weekend morning art event, who chose to complete the form.
Of the 255 responses, people self-categorized themselves as follows (number of people indicated in parentheses): Live in Culver City (206), Live Near Culver City (14), Work in Culver City (12), Live and Own a Business in Culver City (5), Former Resident (4), Live and Work in Culver City (3).
FISCAL ANALYSIS
The fiscal impact will depend on the City Council’s direction.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2025-04-14 ATT Maps 11029 Washington
2. 2025-04-14 ATT Interior Exterior Photos 11029 Washington
3. 2025-04-14 ATT Paper Version of Visioning Form
4. 2025-04-14 ATT Unique Ideas Submitted by the Public
5. 2025-04-14 ATT Ideas Ranked at Community Meeting
MOTION(S)
That the City Council:
Provide direction to the City Manager related to the future use of the City-owned property at 11029 Washington Boulevard.