Culver Crest Single-Family Neighborhood Hillside Development Standards
Location
Culver City, California
Client
City of Culver City
Completed
2018
In anticipation of the expiration of a building permit moratorium in the Lower and Upper Culver Crest hillside neighborhood, the City of Culver City asked JKA, leading a consultant team comprised of PlaceWorks and RMA GeoScience, to review the history of landslides, the geotechnical building safety review process, and recent development and design concerns related to mansionization and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in the Culver Crest hillside neighborhood.
JKA, working with PlaceWorks and RMA GeoScience, identified several key findings: the existing slope instabilities cause surficial slope failures, comparative hillside cities have adopted more restrictive grading standards in addition to existing state and county regulations, and existing setback requirements and height limitations are less restrictive than comparable hillside cities. JKA also designed and implemented an outreach program to listen to community concerns, identify community supported ideas and directions, and finally to confirm recommendations with the community before presenting
to the City Council. Geotechnical and development standards recommendations were developed with community input from three outreach meetings, consultant review, and an urban design framework based on best practices and innovative design thinking.
The final recommendations report has been reviewed by the community, City Staff, and the City Council with approval reached in early 2018 for City Staff to proceed with both building code and zoning text amendments.