UN4LA News - November 2023
A monthly newsletter published by United Neighborhoods for Los Angeles.
UN4LA's mission is to bring communities together to plan for a sustainable future. Growth must be shaped by community engagement, not developer dollars.
"THIS IS NOT FINE": CONTROLLER SAYS CITY OF L.A.'S CLIMATE PLAN NEEDS REBOOT
The summer of 2023 was the hottest on record, and the City of LA's Controller says we need to turn things around. In early October, Controller Kenneth Mejia released a report calling for a reboot of LA's Climate Plan, AKA LA's Green New Deal. The report calls the original plan a promising start, but says that many of the proposed programs lack meaningful targets, and that some goals are too general to evaluate. Mejia wants to promote more accountability, setting meaningful metrics and then following up with real monitoring. He also emphasizes the need to protect LA's most vulnerable communities from the impacts of climate change.
This is Not Fine: Hottest Summer on Record Calls for a Reboot of LA's Climate Plan
HOW DO WE REFORM L.A. CITY HALL?
Everyone agrees that reform is needed at LA City Hall. The question is how to do it. There are a number of proposals on the table, one of the most important being the creation of a truly independent redistricting commission, free from political influence. Recently the City Council's Committee on Governance Reform approved recommendations outlined in a memo from the Chief Legislative Analyst.
Memo on Independent Redistricting Commission from Chief Legislative Analyst
While the CLA memo lays out the nuts and bolts, this story from LAist offers some necessary background.
Another possibility for reforming City Hall is expanding the size of the City Council. The LA Times asks around and finds varying opinions on how that might work.
If LA Adds City Council Seats, How Would It Work?
But how about ethics reform? Given the number of LA City Councilmembers charged with crimes in recent years, shouldn't we really be talking about how to stop corruption at City Hall? Unfortunately, this is one area where all we're getting is meaningless posturing. Four Councilmembers recently backed a motion to set up an "Office of Compliance" that would create more useless bureaucracy and do nothing to rein in corruption. Daniel Guss explains why this proposal is a complete waste of time.
"My Semi-Serious Plan to Save City Hall Millions"
A far better way to stop corruption is to shine a light on how business interests use money to influence our elected officials. Fortunately, the LA Ethics Commission has created a lobbying dashboard, which not only shows general trends but also allows users to drill down on details.
Did you know that the number of lobbyists registered with the City of LA has tripled over the last 20 years?
Did you also know that the dollar amount of client payments to lobbyists registered in the City of LA has quadrupled during the same period?
Take a look at the LA Ethics Lobbying Dashboard to learn more about who's shelling out all this money and where it's going.
F.T.A. SAYS INGLEWOOD TRANSIT CONNECTOR ELIGIBLE FOR FUNDING
The proposed Inglewood Transit Connector (ITC), which would connect Metro's K Line to SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome, got a boost this month when the Federal Transit Administration declared that the project was eligible for federal funding. While the City of Inglewood has raised a substantial amount of money for the ITC already, the cost has risen from an initial estimate of just over $1 billion to nearly $3 billion. City officials have not publicly discussed revenue estimates, nor have they outlined how they will pay for operating costs.
Inglewood Transit Project Gets Favorable Rating from Federal Government
THE GREENING OF SOUTH L.A.
Over the past few years, South LA communities without adequate green space have been working to working to address that deficiency. Using Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) grants from the State of California, groups like Watts Rising have already planted thousands of trees, and thousands more are on the way. In collaboration with community groups, Tree People is preparing to plant 4,000 more trees in parkways, parks and public facilities. The project will start in early 2024, and continue for approximately 36 months. Expanding the area's tree canopy will benefit communities by reducing temperatures and improving air quality, not to mention curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
A Vision for a Healthier Watts
L.A. CITY COUNCIL TRIES TO STRENGTHEN CODE ENFORCEMENT FOR RENTERS
The Systematic Code Enforcement Program (SCEP) was created by the City of LA to ensure that rental properties meet basic safety and habitability requirements. Unfortunately, enforcement has been lacking in recent years, and some tenants wait weeks or months for repairs to be made. In October, the LA City Council approved a motion instructing the LA Housing Department to report back with recommendations to make the program more effective and to increase accountability.
L.A. City Council Moves Forward to Strengthen Housing Inspection Program
L.A. CITY PLANNING TO UPDATE HARBOR COMMUNITY PLANS
LA City Planning is working on updates of the Harbor area community plans, which include Harbor Gateway and Wilmington-Harbor City. When completed, this document will provide a long-range planning framework for these communities. A Virtual Information Session and Public Hearing will be held on Thursday, November 9, from 4:00 to 7:00 pm.
To learn more about the community plan update, click on the link below.
Harbor LA Community Plans Update
And the following link provides information on how to attend the public hearing.
Information Session and Notice of Virtual Public Hearing
