Dear Los Angeles City Council,

Neighborhood councils are special.  They are city entities whose place in the city's legislative system is still being defined.  They are not regular city departments, nor are they simply neighborhood or homeowner associations.
 
Reserving a place on City Council agendas for neighborhood council Community Impact Statements is one example of how their special status is recognized by City Hall. However, there is no mechanism by which neighborhood councils may make proactive recommendations for consideration by the Council.
 
Whenever the Mayor, a city department, agency or commission sends a communication to the City Council, the City Clerk will assign a Council File number and refer it to a City Council committee(s) for consideration.  The President of the City Council may ultimately determine where the communication is referred.  However, the City Clerk does not currently extend this policy to neighborhood councils.
 
To respect the neighborhood councils, and to assist them in meeting the goals of promoting public participation in government, advocating for the concerns of their stakeholders, and holding their elected officials accountable, the City Council should adopt, as a matter of policy, that the City Clerk refer to committee any official position that is received from a certified neighborhood council with an elected governing board which calls for the City Council to take citywide action, in the same manner that it refers communications from city departments and other city entities.
 
We THEREFORE MOVE that the City Council adopt, by resolution, that any official position that is received from a neighborhood council with an elected governing board which calls for the City Council to take action, such as approving an ordinance or adopting a policy, be referred by the City Clerk and the President of the City Council in the same manner that communications from city departments and other city entities and officers are referred.

Thank you. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at (818) 772-4842.

Sincerely,

Charlotte Laws, Ph.D.
Chair – Government Relations Committee
Greater Valley Glen Council
drlaws@adelphia.net  or (818) 781-5280