September 22, 2025
Mayor Dan O’Brien
Vice Mayor Freddy Puza
Members of the Culver City Council
9770 Culver Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
Re: Entertainment Zone Proposal
Dear Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Members of the City Council,
In February 2025, the CCDBA Board of Directors held a Strategic Planning Session focusing on the next three years, including the World Cup (2026) and the LA Olympics (2028). The Board enthusiastically supported the creation of an Entertainment Zone in Downtown Culver City.
The Entertainment Zone concept was pioneered in San Francisco and as of January 1, 2025, is now permissible in any city statewide. A number of other cities have authorized entertainment zones, including notably Long Beach and Santa Monica. On March 5, 2023, I asked Council to agendize this item and Council agreed to do so.
The purpose of the proposed Entertainment Zone is to help increase business activity in Downtown Culver City and make the area competitive with other places, such as West Hollywood and Santa Monica, that have enacted Entertainment Zones. An Entertainment Zone can be deployed to improve the impact to the community of the special events that take place in Downtown Culver City, including: World Cup watch parties, the Pride Ride, the Third Wednesday Events, the Culver City Car Show, the Sledtacular Holiday Tree Lighting, and other large events that take place in Downtown Culver City. At present, we envision this Entertainment Zone being activated only during permitted special events at this time. Although we are open to discussing a broader application of the Entertainment Zone in the future, such as happens in Santa Monica, we do not propose making such a rule at this time. We want to understand completely how well this works first.
Based on the experiences of other cities that support Entertainment Zones now, we know that they are safe, well-received by the public, and they help boost business revenue, which ultimately means more revenue for the City. Throughout much of the world, it is considered normal to be allowed to have an alcoholic drink in hand during fairs and events. I am optimistic the same will be true here, and that this will improve the viability of DTCC as a destination.
I do want to sound a note of caution about the possibility of charging fees. Although this proposal currently concerns special events, it would be a mistake to turn this Entertainment Zone into an additional burden on special event producers and small businesses. To make this Entertainment Zone work best, the City should consider allocating existing police resources to the Downtown during special events whenever possible, or budgeting a small amount for additional overtime as needed. The City only actually incurs out-of-pocket costs for public safety when it schedules additional shifts or overtime hours for public safety officers or life safety officers outside of the regular duty.
Sincerely,
Darrel Menthe
Darrel Menthe,
Executive Director, Culver City Downtown Business Association Dear Members of the Culver City City Council,
On behalf of The Culver Hotel, I am writing to express our strong support for the proposed establishment of an “Entertainment Zone” in Downtown Culver City, as presented by the Culver City Downtown Business Association (CCDBA). We believe this initiative has the potential to significantly enhance the vibrancy, economic activity, and overall experience of special events in our downtown area. Allowing alcohol consumption in designated public places offers a safe and controlled means of creating a more dynamic and attractive environment for residents and visitors alike.
As a tourist destination and a Culver City Landmark, we are always looking for ways to stay relevant.
Bringing more opportunities for people to gather and socialize will allow us to be more competitive amongst other tourist destinations like Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, and bring more revenue into the city.
We thank you for your consideration of this program and your continued efforts to support the growth and vitality of Downtown Culver City. The Culver Hotel stands ready to assist in ensuring the success of this endeavor and would welcome any opportunity to further discuss or support its implementation.
Sincerely,
Danielle Goller
General Manager
Culver Hotel
Dear Members of the Culver City City Council,
On behalf of Jameson’s Pub, I am writing to express our strong support for the proposed establishment of an “Entertainment Zone” in Downtown Culver City, as presented by the Culver City Downtown Business Association (CCDBA). We believe this initiative has the potential to significantly enhance the vibrancy, economic activity, and overall experience of special events in our downtown area. Allowing alcohol consumption in designated public places offers a safe and controlled means of creating a more dynamic and attractive environment for residents and visitors alike.
As a point of reference, we also operate a location on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, where a similar approach has been implemented. Based on our experience there, we’ve seen substantial benefits including increased tourism, higher sales, and the creation of new jobs. Importantly, we have not encountered any negative effects related to public safety or business operations.
We thank you for your consideration of this program and your continued efforts to support the growth and vitality of Downtown Culver City. Jameson’s Pub stands ready to assist in ensuring the success of this endeavor and would welcome any opportunity to further discuss or support its implementation.
Sincerely,
Michael Bezerra
Owner/Manager
Jameson’s Pub