Residents Voice Concern Over Role in Local Councils

Although most people attending a public hearing Saturday liked the idea of neighborhood councils, some expressed concern that residents will have too much discretion in deciding how the panels will be created and what business will be conducted.

“They’re not telling us what the specific responsibilities are . . . [and] we need signposts. We need some type of feedback,” said Jason Price, president of the North Hollywood Junior Chamber of Commerce.

“They’re devolving power from a centralized government,” Price said, “and I’m sure they don’t want to give away the farm--because there are some things they shouldn’t give away.”

Price spoke at the first of 15 public hearings on the proposed plan to create the citywide neighborhood council system, established by city charter amendment last year to increase input to the Los Angeles City Council.

As currently proposed, almost anybody will be able to apply to form a neighborhood council, said Mary Louise Longoria, of the city’s new Board of Neighborhood Commissioners.

Some guidelines will exist, she said, but councils will set their own agendas, define their geographic boundaries, write their own bylaws and propose their budgets. They will decide how many representatives they will have and whether they will be elected or appointed.

The proposal for forming these neighborhood councils will be submitted for City Council approval in early December. The first neighborhood councils should be rolled out sometime after June.

Sun Valley resident Mike Zeke, 55, said he wants to make the new plan work, but he had a litany of concerns. He said he tried to bring Latino friends to Saturday’s meeting, but none of them thought it would be worthwhile.

“It seems there is an overall feeling of distrust of Los Angeles,” he said.

Zeke also was concerned about the open-ended direction the city was taking. Without clear goals and expectations, he said, neighborhood councils will be less able to hold city officials responsible when there are problems.

The result, he said, could be just “another level of bureaucracy.”

But commissioner Rob Glushon told the group of San Fernando Valley residents that he and others on the board prefer residents take the lead. “You either want a rigid operating manual,” he said, “or you will develop the manual yourself.”

After the meeting, William Weinberger, president of the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners, said giving residents as much choice as possible would be wise in the long run. It will allow each neighborhood to focus on what it believes is most important, he said, be it animal control or tree trimming.

Like many speakers, Sherman Oaks resident Evan Lincove said he saw some problems with the plan. But Lincove, a USC public policy graduate student who is studying the process, said the fact that residents will play such a big role in forming the councils may turn out to be their greatest strength.

“I think the self-determination provided is a good thing,” he said.

More skeptical was Marion Flatt of Sun Valley, who favors Valley secession. She said the city has failed to prove it can respond to residents.

City Councilman Alex Padilla agreed with some residents that more details are needed. But he also said the City Council, while lending a guiding hand, should stay out of the way.

For the council, he said, the question is, “How do we be involved in the process but not try to control [it]?”

Supporters of the 1999 city charter amendment that created the councils have said they will transform neighborhoods, bringing together diverse groups to work for common local goals, and allowing for more direct communication with City Hall.