Gender-neutral bathrooms hearing passed by Council

At the City Council meeting on the evening of Monday, May 13, Public Hearing 1 (PH-1) called for the, “Introduction of an ordinance amending chapter 15.02 of the culver city municipal code chapter 15.02 (land usage, buildings, structures, and equipment) by adding subchapter 15.02.400 ‘gender neutral public restroom facilities in new construction’.”

Senate Bill 1194, signed into law by the governor, rules that “public restroom facilities within its jurisdiction to be designed and constructed with single-user toilet compartments and identified for use by all genders instead of the design standards for separate facilities for male and female found in the applicable provisions in Chapter 4 of the California Plumbing Code.”

While a couple of the members of the council, including Vice Mayor Dan O’Brien and Council Member Albert Vera, had questions about privacy, everyone was in full support of the change. There were no public speakers, which was perhaps surprising, and item PH-1 passed unanimously and without debate.

The only other item on the agenda was Action Item 1 (A-1), which called for an increase to parking meter rates. The Council unanimously agreed to punt this for three months, while more outreach is conducted.