Proposal for Local Councils Approved

Vowing to give residents greater influence over government decisions, the Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to build and nurture a network of community councils throughout the city.

The plan, which still must be approved by Mayor Richard Riordan, calls for setting up 10 to 20 of the neighborhood groups over the next year and possibly up to 100 within the next five years.

The council still must decide, however, how much funding to allocate to the groups.

Although the neighborhood councils will have no formal authority over planning or zoning in their areas, they are expected to serve as powerful advisors to the City Council and the mayor.

“What the councils are going to do is provide a vehicle by which community members can have a more effective voice at City Hall,” said Councilwoman Laura Chick.

City officials began studying the possibility of setting up the neighborhood groups during the city’s charter reform process several years ago. Although the groups were not Riordan’s primary objective, he embraced the idea and helped sell it to voters, who overwhelmingly backed the new charter.

In December, the city’s Department of Neighborhood Empowerment released its blueprint for setting up the councils. The city lawmakers then went to work holding public hearings and adding more details to the plan, such as imposing term limits on group participants.

Other provisions--outlined in a 21-page document--require the groups to adhere to strict membership guidelines, meet at least four times a year and post their agendas in public places or on the Internet. The council plan includes measures to provide staffing and direct funding to the councils, with extra funding for councils in poorer areas.

Although Riordan was initially supportive, some members of his office believe the council version includes too much red tape. Riordan is expected to decide within a few weeks whether to support or veto the council’s version.

On Tuesday a number of people voiced their concerns to the council.

“Instead of common sense, it’s full of nonsense,” Jack Allen, president of Neighborhood L.A., a group of community activists, said of the plan. “It was drafted by bureaucrats for bureaucrats, not the people who have to work in the trenches.”

But Chick told her colleagues that it was time to “bite the bullet.”

“We can continue to work on this and perfect it over time,” she said. “It’s as good as it’s going to get as a start. It moves us in the right direction.”

City officials are asking those who want to set up a council to apply for certification, starting in October. Officials intend to establish the groups across the city. Each will represent at least 20,000 people.