Council to Weigh Holding Meetings Throughout L.A. : City Hall: Chick and Feuer propose the change as a way to make government accessible to residents.

In an attempt to bring City Hall to the people, two Los Angeles City Council members proposed Tuesday holding regular City Council meetings in neighborhoods throughout the city beginning in October.

The proposal by council members Laura Chick and Mike Feuer calls for city officials to arrange an initial meeting at Pierce College in Woodland Hills with an agenda of Valley-related issues.

“The purpose is to let the San Fernando Valley know that it is part of the city,” said Chick, whose West Valley district includes parts of Woodland Hills.

Chick said she has considered the idea for many months, but found that after the Northridge earthquake there were few, if any, buildings in the Valley that could accommodate such a meeting.

A second motion by Feuer, the newly elected member representing parts of the Westside and the Valley, instructs city officials to study the costs and feasibility of scheduling regular council meetings in other parts of the city and at night when more residents can attend. A council committee headed by Feuer will consider the motion today.

Chick and Feuer described the idea as long overdue and necessary to combat the long-held perception that City Hall is inaccessible and out of touch with residents.

“I’d like to see us meet at every region of the city and become more accessible,” Feuer said.

The idea is neither novel nor without problems. When former Councilman Michael Woo ran for mayor in 1993, he proposed holding one of the council’s three weekly meetings in the Valley, which represents about 35% of the city’s population. He called for night meetings and a way to allow residents to testify by phone.

Woo was defeated by Richard Riordan, and his idea has not been pursued until now.

According to city officials, the full council has met outside of City Hall only four times. Three meetings were in the Valley; one was in the Harbor area.

The last time the full council met outside City Hall was in 1990 when the 15-member panel held a special meeting in North Hollywood to discuss the impact of defense cutbacks on the Valley.

Before that, the council met in 1989 in the Sunland-Tujunga Municipal Building for a two-hour session that attracted about 200 residents to discuss various community issues, such as expansion of a nearby landfill.

But city officials who have arranged such trips say those meetings have been replete with logistic headaches and light on substance.

The most arduous task is selecting a site that can accommodate the 15 council members, city staff members, police security and seats for 200 to 300 residents, said Pat Healy of the city clerk’s office.

The City Hall council chambers seat 380 people and are wired with microphones and speakers so that all testimony can be heard and recorded. Television cameras are mounted on walls to broadcast the meetings on cable.

Electronic panels on the horseshoe-shaped dais also record votes and keep track of the amount of time each council member is allowed to speak.

Healy said that if meetings are held outside City Hall, city workers must ensure that such electronic gadgets can be installed and operated at the new site.

“There are some logistical issues in terms of setting it up,” she said.

Another drawback may be cost. If meetings are held at night, city workers may have to be paid overtime, Healy said.