City Council approves Downtown Entertainment Zone
The Zone will allow for patrons to buy and consume alcoholic beverages in the public right-of-way within its borders during certain city-sponsored events
Culver City’s Entertainment Zone has officially been established.
The Culver City City Council voted to establish a pilot program that creates an Entertainment Zone in the Downtown area that can be activated during special events. When activated, patrons in the Zone will be allowed to carry alcoholic beverages out of bars within its boundaries. These boundaries mirror those of the Downtown Business Improvement District — which encompasses Culver Boulevard between Madison Avenue and Venice Boulevard and Washington Boulevard between Hughes Avenue and Culver Boulevard — and includes side streets like Main Street, Cardiff Avenue, and Watseka Avenue.
This type of activation is enabled by 2024’s California Senate Bill 969, and several cities have already taken the initiative to establish these Entertainment Zones to draw visitors into and allow residents to enjoy the city’s public spaces in a new way at specified city-sponsored events like the Culver City Car Show and Summer Concert Series.
Plans for a significant volume of activities in the Downtown Area during the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games have already been planned, and this Entertainment Zone is expected to be ready for activation at these events.
Christian May-Suzuki
Culver City’s management plan draws from two Southern California examples: Santa Monica and Long Beach. Each has established Entertainment Zones in large public spaces, with Santa Monica’s running at the 3rd Street Promenade on weekends and Long Beach’s serving as a complementary feature for events held on The Promenade North between Broadway and 3rd Street.
As he did when the idea was first presented to the council last September, Vice Mayor Bubba Fish shared worries about safety. Having originally proposed an open street model for activating the Entertainment Zone, Fish expressed concerns about potential interactions or accidents involving an increased number of intoxicated pedestrians and drivers on Downtown Culver City streets.
Councilmember Yasmine-Imani McMorrin noted that, unlike Culver City’s current plan, Santa Monica’s Entertainment Zone — used as a comparison for Culver City due to its similar size — happens in a space mostly blocked off to vehicle traffic.
Laws related to public intoxication and street crossings still apply in the Zone, Economic Development Project Manager Luis Gonzalez explained, and there would be several enforcement officers working to maintain orderly travel and conduct throughout the Entertainment Zone.
Event enforcement will include two Culver City police officers and six private security guards, the latter of which will be paid for by the Culver City Downtown Business Association (DBA). For events with street closures, these numbers will increase to four officers and 12 security guards along with two parking enforcement officers.
As part of the management agreement approved Monday night, the DBA will cover the extra security along with cups, wristbands, and signage at the Zone’s entrances and exits.
The cups will be decorated with Downtown Culver City branding and will be the only allowable serving containers for alcohol in the Zone, helping enforcement officers prevent people in the Zone from bringing outside alcoholic drinks. Wristbands will be handed out by bars and restaurants after an ID check to ensure underage drinkers are not served.
DBA Executive Director Darrel Menthe spoke at the meeting, emphasizing the importance of communication and collaboration between the city and the Downtown Business Association as the two navigated the implementation of this pilot program.
“I expect we will be learning as we go, and this will be a dynamic process as we figure out exactly how to best implement things in order to make this Zone work,” Menthe said.
For Councilmember Dan O’Brien, moving between different areas of a Zone will help minimize overconsumption more than if people remained at a single bar and kept ordering drinks. He pointed to his recent experience watching the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship at Jameson’s Pub and to the copious drinking there as a comparison.
“I think they will drink more sitting in one place in a bar,” O’Brien argued. “I think those people are arguably in greater danger than someone who grabs a drink and walks to the Steps…and hangs out there for a while.”
The motion to approve the establishment of the Entertainment Zone, which also included updates to the Culver City Municipal Code to allow consumption of alcoholic beverages in public within the Zone, passed unanimously. The first event this Entertainment Zone is expected to host is the Downtown Business Association’s Third Wednesday summer event series, which is set to kick off on Wednesday, June 17.
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