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Council Proposes Panels to Oversee Major City Issues

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Times City-County Bureau Chief

With incumbents facing election campaign criticism over the quality of life in Los Angeles, and public opinion polls mirroring the discontent, the City Council is moving to strengthen its policy influence over housing, redevelopment, the environment and other major issues.

A vote is scheduled today to approve Council President John Ferraro’s proposal to create new committees to take on some of the hottest issues.

“I think it is a change of priorities,” said Councilwoman Joy Picus, who has encountered strong criticism over city development policy, and her own votes, in her reelection campaign in the West San Fernando Valley.

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‘Very Significant’

Picus, who is favored to win, said, “It indicates we want to put more emphasis on environmental and housing issues. I think it is very significant.”

One committee would take over supervision of environmental legislation, which has been split for years among several committees. The division has dismayed government critics seeking to pinpoint the responsibility for such environmental failures as decay of the city sewage system and pollution, caused in part by city sewage, of Santa Monica Bay.

Another new committee would take over two of the city’s most controversial policy questions, redevelopment and the lack of affordable housing, including the continued troubles of the agency that provides housing to some of the city’s poorest residents, the Housing Authority.

Committees’ Role

While the 15 council committees, unlike their counterparts in Congress and the Legislature, have no power to kill or approve legislation, ordinances are written during their deliberations. There, members and staff add the details that actually determine how the measures will work. While some changes are made on the council floor, the important detail work is done in committee.

The Ferraro action, part of a major committee reorganization, comes as Mayor Tom Bradley, strongly favored to win a fifth term April 11, has been attacked by critics for failure to take action on major issues, and appears to be a move by the council and Ferraro to chart a course more independent of Bradley.

Some of the criticism has come from Councilman Nate Holden, who is running against Bradley. But there have also been attacks from liberal, grass-roots political and community organizations in poor areas hard hit by housing shortages. And these areas are part of Bradley’s traditional political base.

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Under Ferraro’s plan, one of the major changes would be the creation of the Community Redevelopment and Housing Committee.

Ferraro said the new committee would be “very definitely” an attempt by the council to respond to complaints about the city Community Redevelopment Agency from council members and from community activists who have said the CRA is more interested in high-rise construction than in building low-cost housing.

The CRA has said the criticism is off base. And Bradley, who appoints the CRA governing board, has proposed using tax revenues from downtown redevelopment for a massive city housing program for low-income residents.

‘Logical Oversight Body’

But Ferraro said he is paying attention to the critics. “There is a concern by members of the council about the CRA,” he said in an interview. And in announcing his committee revamping proposal, Ferraro said, “Should the council wish to exercise more control over redevelopment in the future, this committee could be a logical oversight body to deal with the policy and operational responsibilities that such a change would require.”

Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores said the recent resignation of the executive director of the City Housing Authority, Leila Gonzalez-Correa, and articles telling of mismanagement and poor living conditions in the city housing projects, shows “the committee is badly needed.”

Flores said she has been pushing for creation of the committee “for a long time. Housing is one of the big issues in Los Angeles, but there are so many (council) committees (with jurisdiction over it) that no single committee was pushing for a policy and following through.

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Policy Now Split

“The city needs to have a policy on housing, on how many units should be dedicated to low-income housing,” she said.

The Environmental Quality and Waste Management Committee would supervise environmental policy, now split between several committees that take a narrow view of the subject. For example, the sewer system is under the Public Works Committee, which traditionally views the subject from an engineering, rather than an environmental, point of view.

In an unusual combination of subjects, Ferraro proposed putting parks, recreation and cultural affairs, and public health matters under the Arts, Health and Humanities Committee.

Increase Efforts

Councilman Joel Wachs said the committee could help increase the city’s efforts in social services, following a pattern he said was established by the mayor, who is using redevelopment funds to finance after-school programs for children.

“Frankly, I would like to be in charge of that, and I would look forward to the added responsibility,” said Wachs, who now heads the Recreation, Parks, Library and Cultural Affairs Committee.

Ferraro said he thought that the council will approve his plan. But it would not go into effect until July 1. That is the day the council chooses its president. Ferraro is running for the job again.

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