Are LA’s Neighborhood Councils too Big? New Plan would Ease Subdivision and Delight Dissidents

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS--Neighborhood councils in Los Angeles would have an easier time breaking up into smaller councils under a policy supported Friday by a city panel.

Some Los Angeles neighborhoods have expressed interest in branching off into their own councils, either because the existing boundaries are too broad or “local interests are not being met,” Councilman Jose Huizar said.

The proposed policy approved by the City Council’s Rules, Elections, Intergovernmental Relations and Neighborhoods Committee Friday would give neighborhoods more flexibility to subdivide, while also ensuring it would not result in an influx of new neighborhood councils, Huizar told the committee.

The city currently has 96 neighborhood councils, which receive about $37,000 a year for local needs.

The panels also advise the Los Angeles City Council and other city officials on local issues and the local impact of broader city policy.

The process for dividing into smaller councils requires existing councils to decertify before they go through the process of forming as separate councils.

Under the proposed subdivision policy, an election would be held to create the smaller council, and if approved, the boundaries would be changed without requiring the councils to re-certify.

The aim of the proposed policy is to provide the opportunity for new councils to be formed every few years or so at the most, Huizar said.

Among those supporting the policy today include Skid Row activist General Jeff, who said it will help efforts to create a Skid Row-focused neighborhood council that focuses on the interests of the area’s mostly homeless denizens. The 50-block area currently is part of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council.

Because the proposed policy may require hiring more staffing, the issue was also sent to the City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee for review.

Huizar also requested that funding for the policy be considered for inclusion in the upcoming year’s budget.

 

(Debbie L. Sklar writes for My News LA … where this piece was first posted.)

 

CityWatch

Vol 13 Issue 85

Pub: Oct 20, 2015

{module [1177]}