ATTACHMENT 10
Jesse Slansky, West Hollywood Community
(WHCHC), introduced members of the
background on the organization.
Planning Commission
September 24, 2025
Housing Corporation
team and provided
Anup Patel, WHCHC, provided a presentation on the design concept for Washington Palms; discussed activating the
corridor; maximizing housing opportunities while allowing for pop-up retail opportunities; artist space; modular uni ts; community terraces and balconies; creating a welcoming
gateway and vibrant space; people prioritized over cars at the street level; alcoves to showcase artist works;
landscaping; gated access; the community arts center; noted that 25% of the units are to be restricted to extremely low income households without the need for Project Based Vouchers (PBVs) or rental subsidies; discussed sources of income back to Culver City in exchange for the land; tax credits;
potential financing sources; total cost per unit; and free services provided to residents once construction is
completed.
Venice Communit y Housin g Corporation
Allison Riley, Venice Comm.unity Housing (VCHC), introduced members of the team; provided background on the organization and a presentation on Culver Commons; discussed providing senior housing; community cultural spaces; co-creating the community space through community engagement activities; space set aside for commercial activation; limited parking availability; challenges with availability of operating subsides; creating sustainable housing in the long run; ground leasing the property; the partnership with Culver City; Culver City ownership of the land; the proposed capital lease payment offered and pro-rata share of residual receipts over the long-term; the proposed time line; commitment to community engagement at all stages of the development
process; and, responding to inquiry, she indicated that the 9% l0w income housing tax credit would have a 62 year old minimum age requirement.
Decro
Armeen Neshat, Decro Corporation, provided background on the organization; introduced the team; and presented the vision for 11029 Washington Boulevard .
Planning Commission
September 24, 2025
tailored to ageing by the VCHC proposal; appreciation for the architectural design of Decro; confusion with the vertical park and the focus on low income seniors; those who would be using the stairs; services provided by WHCHC and VCHC without supplemental funding; the need for ongoing services and programming for the senior population; difference in cost per unit; competitiveness between the proposals; staff ratings; concern with community reaction to height of the WHCHC
proposal; and concerns that offset each other with the
different proposals.
Responding to inquiry, WHCHC representatives indicated that they would be looking at a pool of modular construction providers to get a competitive rate noting that there were several viable candidates that they had worked with in the past; clarified that prefabricated components had been used in the past, but a fully modular project had not been done; and discussed scale of previous projects.
Additional discussion ensued between staff and Commissioners regarding concern with prefabricated components for tall structures; lack of parking in all designs but one containing public parking for profit on the first floor; distance to the nearest grocery store; the need to consider local amenities for the residents; support for the WHCHC project; making the best use of the opportunity; and concern with using artist lofts to activate the streets
Further discussion ensued between staff and Commissioners regarding the staff scoring process; financial and
feasibility capacity numbers; affordability levels and
financial feasibility funding sources; cash flow; repayment of the residual receipt loan to Culver City; the ground lease; similarity of timelines; appreciation that five developers were pitching affordable housing projects to Culver City; concern with City funding required for the Eleos project; appreciation for the Decro design but the desire to have more units; support for accommodating the extremely low units and the number of housing units with the WHCHC proposal; a current artist space on Washington Boulevard; design of the artist space to encourage interaction; inclusion of services; cost per unit; concern with the name of the WHCHC project; palm trees; and the Urban Forest Master Plan.
Discussion ensued between staff and Commissioners regarding appreciation for the presentations; concern with the smaller
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September 24, 2025
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Recess Reconvene
Chair Menthe called a brief recess from 8:45 p.m. to 8:55 p.m.
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Public Hearings
Item PH-1
Consideration of a Conditional Use Permit to Allow a Vehicle Service Facility Within an Existing 42,333 square-foot
Industrial Building Located at 10150-10200 Jefferson
Boulevard in the Mixed-Use Corridor 2 (MU-2) Zone
Gabriel Barreras, Senior Planner, provided a summary of the material of record.
Discussion ensued between staff and Commissioners regarding public comment received; parking provided; and accommodating ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) spaces.
MOVED BY COMMISSIONER JONES, SECONDED BY CHAIR MENTHE AND
UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED, THAT PLANNING COMMISSION OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING.
Chair Menthe invited public comment.
The following members of the public addressed the Commission:
Dan Broderick, Cadillac of Beverly Hills (applicant),
asserted that the project was in line with a number of needs for Culver City in pursuit of clean mobility goals; discussed myths of EV (electric vehicles); efforts to change propulsion systems to EV; creating infrastructure necessary to have EV; gaps in infrastructure; different requirements for servicing EV vehicles; increased demand with the exponential growth of EV sales; modern quiet, clean customer-facing facilities; sound and other issues that are no longer a legitimate
concern; the adaptive reuse consideration; mindfulness in use of the facility; consideration of neighbors in Raintree; traffic flow considerations and noise generating activities; placement of charging stalls; community availability; and impact on traffic.
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Darryl Cherness spoke on behalf of the Electric Vehicle Association of Culver City in support of approving the
proposed facility; discussed statements by the owner
indicating installation of 9 EV chargers available to the public at the location regardless of the make and model; benefits to Culver City; and proximity to Raintree that does not have chargers available to their owners.
Lauren Fishelman provided background on herself; discussed the livable community; appreciation to the Planning
Commission; serious concerns about the project; fire risks with lithium batteries; concern with appropriate land use by placing an auto service center that works with combustible materials next to the Oil Fields and 20 feet from where children play; concern with the assertion that the area is not environmentally sensitive; proximity to the maximum fire risk designation of the area by the Culver City Fire
Department (CCFD); concern with bringing pollution to one of the most densely populated areas in Culver City; traffic; lived experience with Jefferson Boulevard; increased
congestion; affects to livability of the area; CEQA
(California Environmental Quality Act) requirements; and she noted that her job as a mother is to protect her children, and the job of the Commission is to protect the community.
Lois Whitman, Raintree Townhomes, discussed her adjacency to the project; serious concerns about safety and pollution; the storage facility; multiple EV vehicles on the site; asked about mitigation measures; and she expressed concerns with adding car carriers parked in the center lane to the already increased traffic on Jefferson Boulevard.
Anne Garrett was called to speak but was not present in person or online.
Kate Hungerford, Raintree Community Board President, echoed previous comments; expressed disappointment in the lack of transparency on the application for the facility; discussed adjacency to active wells; constant reports about methane leaks from Sentinel; issues with the new lithium batteries ; number of EVs parked on the property; and she asked the Commission to consider resident concerns.
Vimal Duggal discussed the loud truck that would come at 2 a.m. to the textboo k compan y that used to inhabit the building; noise with the cars coming and going as well as
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from employees talking and yelling; quality of life for the neighbors of the facility; and a recent experience where a battery exploded and caused great damage.
Dan Broderick, Cadillac of Beverly Hills (applicant),
discussed studies about the relative fire risk of EVs vs. an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE); mitigation of risks with every safety feature possible; work done inside; utilization of the facility; pollution concerns; and differences between what is being done currently with the TUP (Temporary Use Permit) and what will be done.
Jim Suhr, Entitlements Consultant, discussed the limited range of uses allowed with a TUP and the broader range of services allowed with a CUP (Conditional Use Permit).
Discussion ensued between staff and Commissioners regarding approval of the TUP and CUP by the CCFD and enforcement of charging limits.
Commissioner Black reported meeting with Jim Suhr.
Dan Broderick, Cadillac of Beverly Hills (applicant),
reported that most of the vehicles flowing through the
facility would be from the factory and arrive in a transit mode with a 20% charge or less and, responding to inquiry, he discussed fire mitigation strategies.
Chair Menthe and Vice Chair Carter reported meeting with the applicant.
Additional discussion ensued between the applicants, staff, and Commissioners regarding the business plan in the
Transportation Report; potential to service the full-sized SUVs ( Sport Utility Vehicles) corning from LAX (Los Angeles International Airport); retention of the Beverly Hills
service facility; clarification that almost no car carriers would be corning through the facility; wait times to get in for service; the inability for the facilities to keep up; training; air filtering; use of an AQMD (Air Quality
Management District) compliant air filtration system for ICE vehicle maintenance; estimated revenue; taxable portion of revenue generated and parts sold; facts that were not
presented as part of the staff report and that are not
required to discuss the findings; the task to look at land use impacts of the proposed entitlement; jurisdiction; and
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clarification that the Planning Commission is the decision making body unless the item is appealed to the City Council.
MOVED BY VICE CHAIR CARTER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BLACK
AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED, THAT PLANNING COMMISSION CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING.
Moved by Chair Menthe and seconded by Commissioner Black that the Planning Commission approve the staff recommendation.
Discussion ensued between staff and Commissioners regarding efforts by the applicant to address community comments; unacceptable fire risk; clearing legal loopholes; concern with the proximity of the proposed development to
residential; issues with the nearby intersection; current traffic conditions; tinder behind the oil wells; toxic
emissions; the dirty business that no one wants in the
neighborhood; the feeling that the only people getting an advantage are those on the business end; rarity of needing service for EVs; driving to a non-residential community to get EVs serviced; the CUP process; concern that providing chargers does not overcome the downsides of the project; whether the project meets the findings; the feeling that it is not responsible to insist that all repair facilities be in other communities; living next to commercial activity; the area that is zoned for mixed-use, not commercial; automotive services as an allowable use under the zoning; the permissible use with a CUP; and the ability to stipulate conditions on the project to allow the use.
MOVED BY COMMISSIONER VAN GAALEN AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BLACK THAT PLANNING COMMISSION:
1. ADOPT A CLASS 1 CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION FOR THIS PROJECT, PURSUANT TO CEQA SECTION 15301- EXISTING FACILITIES, FINDING
THERE ARE NO POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT; AND,
2. APPROVE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, P2025-0174-CUP, SUBJECT TO
THE CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL AS STATED IN PROPOSED RESOLUTION NO. 25-P0ll; AND,
3. EXTEND TEMPORARY USE PERMIT, P2025-0141-TUP, FOR THE
CONTINUATION OF TEMPORARY USES AND ALL CONDITIONS THEREIN UNTIL THE APPLICANT IS ISSUED FINAL BUILDING PERMITS.
THE MOTION CARRIED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES:
NOES:
BLACK, MENTHE, VAN GAALEN
CARTER, JONES
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Planning Commission
September 24, 2025
Public Comment - Items NOT on the Agenda (Continued)
Chair Menthe invited public comment.
Ruth Martin del Campo, Current Planning Secretary, reported that no requests to speak had been received.
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Items from Planning Commissioners/Staff
Mark Muenzer, Planning and Development Director, discussed the Hayden Tract Specific Plan Open House at Syd Kronenthal Park on September 25 and he noted there had been an update to the virtual Open House.
Chair Menthe indicated that he would have to recuse himself from the item, but received clarification that he could attend as a member of the public.
Emily Stadnicki, Current Planning Manager, discussed upcoming agenda items and meeting schedule noting that the October 8 meeting would likely be cancelled.
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Planning Commission
September 24, 2025
Adjournment
There being no further business, at 9:59 p.m., the Culver City Planning Commission adjourned to a regular meeting to be held on October 22, 2025.
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SECRETARY of the CULVER CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
APPROVED Nay t, 2»7f
DARREL MENT
CHAIR of the
Culver City, California
PLANNING COMMISSION
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that, on the date below written, these minutes were filed in the Office of the City Clerk, Culver City, California and constitute the Official Minutes of said meeting .
44.4A. Jeremy Bocchino
CITY CLERK
N o 2), 2025
Date