Culver City Neighbors United Endorses Dan O'Brien and Denice Renteria for Culver City Council
Culver City Neighbors United Endorses Dan O’Brien and Denice Renteria for Culver City Council
Culver City Neighbors United, a grass-roots neighbor-to-neighbor group that advocates for government accountability, sensible leadership, and community-based solutions, endorses Dan O’Brien and Denice Renteria for City Council. Voting Ends November 8th.
Dan O’Brien and Denice Renteria will bring accountable and accessible leadership to the City Council. Both creative artists with deep roots in Culver City, they are natural collaborators who will restore the public’s trust in our local government. Through their civic involvement, volunteerism, and actions, Dan O’Brien and Denice Renteria have demonstrated an authentic commitment to engaging stakeholders in our community and not just the people they agree with. Their dedication to respectfully bringing people together to find solutions to our problems is one of the reasons why Dan O’Brien and Denice Renteria are the leaders that we need in City Hall NOW. We trust Dan and Denice to make smart decisions regarding:
Dan has lived in Culver City for over 22 years, and his children attended CCUSD schools from K-12. Dan served as a member of the city’s first Committee on Homelessness, founded the non-profit Culver City Great Parks Association, was a trustee of the Culver City Education Foundation, scoutmaster of BSA Troop 108, and co-founder of FeedCulver. Dan was awarded the BSA’s highest regional volunteer honor, the Silver Beaver Award, and the Culver City PTA’s highest volunteer honor, the Golden Oak Honorary Service Award. Dan is a commercial and film editor and director.
Denice Renteria is a true “hometown” candidate. A Culver City native whose family has lived in our community for over 60 years, Denice is a first-generation American and will be the first Mexican-American Latina to serve on Council. CCNU is especially impressed with Denice’s “back to basics” approach to leadership; as a city council member she is committed to immediately implementing initiatives that will help our unhoused population obtain safe housing; promoting sensible solutions for creating needed affordable housing without making drastic changes to what makes our neighborhoods unique; enhancing the safety and security of all our residents, workers, and people who visit Culver City; championing safe and convenient transportation downtown and throughout Culver City; and advocating for environmental sustainability by finding innovative solutions for the city, businesses, and individual households.
Denice attended Culver City schools from Kindergarten through Culver City High School. A lifelong volunteer, Denice began attending City Council meetings while in high school and started a film festival at West LA College so that students could express their creativity through the art of film. For the past ten years, Denice has volunteered at the Culver City Historical Society first as the Chair of the Costume Committee and now the Vice President of Development. In City Hall, she serves as an appointed member of the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC). Denice is a professional artist and prop maker at a popular theme park.
Vote for Dan O’Brien and Denice Renteria before Nov. 8th and support new leadership on our City Council!
Culver City Neighbors United, a grass-roots neighbor-to-neighbor group that advocates for government accountability, sensible leadership, and community-based solutions, endorses Dan O’Brien and Denice Renteria for City Council. Voting Ends November 8th.
Dan O’Brien and Denice Renteria will bring accountable and accessible leadership to the City Council. Both creative artists with deep roots in Culver City, they are natural collaborators who will restore the public’s trust in our local government. Through their civic involvement, volunteerism, and actions, Dan O’Brien and Denice Renteria have demonstrated an authentic commitment to engaging stakeholders in our community and not just the people they agree with. Their dedication to respectfully bringing people together to find solutions to our problems is one of the reasons why Dan O’Brien and Denice Renteria are the leaders that we need in City Hall NOW. We trust Dan and Denice to make smart decisions regarding:
- Smart, sustainable, and sensible development
- Upholding California's laws that protect our unique neighborhoods
- Affordable housing where it is possible and where we need it the most
- Safety for everyone in Culver City
- Effective, practical, and earth-friendly transportation solutions
- Compassionate and collaborative solutions for the homelessness crisis
- Diversity, equity, inclusion, and access for all who live, play, visit, and work in Culver City
- Accountable and accessible leadership in City Hall
Dan has lived in Culver City for over 22 years, and his children attended CCUSD schools from K-12. Dan served as a member of the city’s first Committee on Homelessness, founded the non-profit Culver City Great Parks Association, was a trustee of the Culver City Education Foundation, scoutmaster of BSA Troop 108, and co-founder of FeedCulver. Dan was awarded the BSA’s highest regional volunteer honor, the Silver Beaver Award, and the Culver City PTA’s highest volunteer honor, the Golden Oak Honorary Service Award. Dan is a commercial and film editor and director.
Denice Renteria is a true “hometown” candidate. A Culver City native whose family has lived in our community for over 60 years, Denice is a first-generation American and will be the first Mexican-American Latina to serve on Council. CCNU is especially impressed with Denice’s “back to basics” approach to leadership; as a city council member she is committed to immediately implementing initiatives that will help our unhoused population obtain safe housing; promoting sensible solutions for creating needed affordable housing without making drastic changes to what makes our neighborhoods unique; enhancing the safety and security of all our residents, workers, and people who visit Culver City; championing safe and convenient transportation downtown and throughout Culver City; and advocating for environmental sustainability by finding innovative solutions for the city, businesses, and individual households.
Denice attended Culver City schools from Kindergarten through Culver City High School. A lifelong volunteer, Denice began attending City Council meetings while in high school and started a film festival at West LA College so that students could express their creativity through the art of film. For the past ten years, Denice has volunteered at the Culver City Historical Society first as the Chair of the Costume Committee and now the Vice President of Development. In City Hall, she serves as an appointed member of the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC). Denice is a professional artist and prop maker at a popular theme park.
Vote for Dan O’Brien and Denice Renteria before Nov. 8th and support new leadership on our City Council!
City Council Voted to end R1 / Single-Family Zoning,removing important protections
written into law by state legislators.
- Read CCNU's full analysis and what you can do now.
- Read CCNU's president Jamie Wallace's letter below
- Read CCNU's Press Release below
VOTE BY NOVEMBER 8!
On October 10, 2022, the state’s Housing and Community Development Department certified Culver City’s Housing Element Update (“HEU”). The council majority finally won, or did they?
Why does this matter? The next council majority will be making future decisions about zoning, regulatory, and housing matters. If Alex Fisch and Freddy Puza are elected they will control the process along with Yasmine-Imani McMorrin.
What does the state want? The state wants more housing units but this council’s plans provide 223% over what the state calls for. The State’s requirements could be easily met without changing the zoning for residential neighborhoods, and more importantly not eliminating State protections against speculation, renter protections, and owner occupancy requirements.
Which homes are most likely to disappear? Older homes, properties that have not been recently developed, and affordable rental properties. Based on economics, no affordable housing units would be built on expensive residential land. It doesn’t pencil out for the builder. Say goodbye to the original houses, the quadplexes built for studio workers, the working class homes that sprouted in Culver’s neighborhoods. State Bill 9 (SB9) allows a duplex and up to two ADUs to replace all single family homes in Culver City, but it contains significant renter protections and speculator restrictions which would be wiped out by the Council elimination of R1/single family zoning.
In multi-family neighborhoods the quaint small duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes will be targeted by real estate speculators and developers who want to turn a quick profit.
What you can do: Vote by Nov. 8.
It’s time to vote for people who will reach out to the entire community, people who will make decisions based on facts not ideology, people whose concentration is on what Culver City and its residents need to live safely, provide active solutions to deal with our homelessness crisis, and make intelligent and informed decisions about housing rights and regulations.
Too much time has been wasted by the council majority on planning to change residential areas when they should have been laser focused on assisting construction where the inclusion of affordable housing actually makes sense.
VOTE FOR DAN O’BRIEN AND DENICE RENTERIA
Jamie Wallace
Resident and President of Culver City Neighbors United
Why does this matter? The next council majority will be making future decisions about zoning, regulatory, and housing matters. If Alex Fisch and Freddy Puza are elected they will control the process along with Yasmine-Imani McMorrin.
What does the state want? The state wants more housing units but this council’s plans provide 223% over what the state calls for. The State’s requirements could be easily met without changing the zoning for residential neighborhoods, and more importantly not eliminating State protections against speculation, renter protections, and owner occupancy requirements.
Which homes are most likely to disappear? Older homes, properties that have not been recently developed, and affordable rental properties. Based on economics, no affordable housing units would be built on expensive residential land. It doesn’t pencil out for the builder. Say goodbye to the original houses, the quadplexes built for studio workers, the working class homes that sprouted in Culver’s neighborhoods. State Bill 9 (SB9) allows a duplex and up to two ADUs to replace all single family homes in Culver City, but it contains significant renter protections and speculator restrictions which would be wiped out by the Council elimination of R1/single family zoning.
In multi-family neighborhoods the quaint small duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes will be targeted by real estate speculators and developers who want to turn a quick profit.
What you can do: Vote by Nov. 8.
It’s time to vote for people who will reach out to the entire community, people who will make decisions based on facts not ideology, people whose concentration is on what Culver City and its residents need to live safely, provide active solutions to deal with our homelessness crisis, and make intelligent and informed decisions about housing rights and regulations.
Too much time has been wasted by the council majority on planning to change residential areas when they should have been laser focused on assisting construction where the inclusion of affordable housing actually makes sense.
VOTE FOR DAN O’BRIEN AND DENICE RENTERIA
Jamie Wallace
Resident and President of Culver City Neighbors United
Are services that help people who are experiencing homelessness..."concentration camps?"
The Jewish Journal, and Jewish leaders from the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, Simon Wiesenthal Center, StandWithUs, and StopAntiSemites condemn Council member Alex Fisch's remarks comparing programs that help people who are experiencing homelessness to "concentration camps."
At the Culver City Democratic candidate forum on June, 29, 2022, candidates were asked the following question: “How will you address the housing and homelessness crisis?. Council member Alex Fisch, who is running for re-election made the following comment:
“Marching people off to concentration camps in Palmdale is not a solution. It’s not moral and it’s not the Democratic Party way of doing things.”
We along with others in our community finds this comment offensive, divisive, insensitive, and disparaging. Conflating any services related to helping people who are experiencing homelessness with the Nazi death marches to concentration camps where over 6 million Jews, and over 7 million others were systematically put into forced labor or selected for immediate execution is reprehensible, causes harm and must not go unchallenged.
Culver City Neighbors United
The Jewish Journal, and Jewish leaders from the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, Simon Wiesenthal Center, StandWithUs, and StopAntiSemites condemn Council member Alex Fisch's remarks comparing programs that help people who are experiencing homelessness to "concentration camps."
At the Culver City Democratic candidate forum on June, 29, 2022, candidates were asked the following question: “How will you address the housing and homelessness crisis?. Council member Alex Fisch, who is running for re-election made the following comment:
“Marching people off to concentration camps in Palmdale is not a solution. It’s not moral and it’s not the Democratic Party way of doing things.”
We along with others in our community finds this comment offensive, divisive, insensitive, and disparaging. Conflating any services related to helping people who are experiencing homelessness with the Nazi death marches to concentration camps where over 6 million Jews, and over 7 million others were systematically put into forced labor or selected for immediate execution is reprehensible, causes harm and must not go unchallenged.
- Watch the entire forum here, the comment is at 18:10
- Read The Jewish Journal here, which includes quotes from the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, Simon Wiesenthal Center, StandWithUs, and StopAntiSemites.
- Read Jamie Wallace's Letter to the Editor here.
- Watch the video and read the commentary on Common Sense Culver City.
Culver City Neighbors United
Save R1/Single-Family Zoning
Solving our affordable housing crisis requires thoughtful, effective, and community-building solutions.
We can preserve single-family homes and support paths to affordable and equitable housing for all.
We can preserve single-family homes and support paths to affordable and equitable housing for all.
We did the math. Tearing down homes in R1 zoning and building fourplexes doesn't pencil out. This will not be affordable housing.
Watch our video to see why.
Watch our video to see why.
REALITY CHECK:
Eliminating Single-Family Homes in Culver City WILL NOT LEAD TO Affordable New Housing.
Land prices are too high. Lots are too small. No builder wants to lose money!
Land prices are too high. Lots are too small. No builder wants to lose money!
Who We Are
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We're a brand new coalition of neighbors. We are a group of Culver City neighbors from all areas of the city. We are concerned about the affordable housing crisis. We believe that our city can meet the challenges of providing affordable and equitable housing for all who need it. We know that eliminating R1/single-family zoning will not solve the problem. In fact, it could make it worse. We advocate for government accountability, sensible leadership, and community-based solutions. Founded March, 2021
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