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The rights and powers granted by the Charter shall be subject to the restrictions set forth in this section or elsewhere in the Charter.
(a) Mortgaging of Property. The City shall have no power to mortgage its property for any purpose, but may buy property subject to mortgage.
(b) License Taxes. It shall require an ordinance adopted by a two-thirds vote of the Council to levy a license tax. No discrimination in the amount of license tax shall be made between persons engaged in the same business, other than by proportioning the tax to the amount of business done, except that the Council by ordinance may provide for license tax exemptions and decreases to promote City economic development under the following circumstances. Any incentives shall be limited to predefined areas of the City, such as redevelopment areas, enterprise zones, employment and economic incentive areas, or revitalization zones, where other federal, state, or local economic incentive areas have been established by the Council, by ordinance or by other method required by state or federal law. In addition, any business tax exemptions or reductions shall require the adoption of an ordinance by the Council specifying the amount of the exemption or reduction; the period of time for which the exemption or reduction will be allowed; the specific business tax classification, or classifications, which will be eligible for the exemption or reduction; and the geographical boundaries within which the exemption or reduction will be applicable.
(c) Sale of Public Utilities. No public utility owned by the City shall be sold, leased or otherwise transferred without the assent of two-thirds of the registered voters of the City voting on the proposition. However, with the authorization of the Council by ordinance, the Board of Water and Power Commissioners shall have the power and authority to sell, lease, transfer or dispose of the public utility water distribution facilities owned by the City of Los Angeles located in the communities of Big Pine, Lone Pine, Independence and Laws in Inyo County, California, together with sufficient water or water rights to supply the service areas of those communities, to public agencies or utilities in those communities, without a vote of the people.
(d) Use of Los Angeles River Bed. The bed of the Los Angeles River, or any part of it, as now or hereafter defined and located, shall not ever be sold, granted, leased, transferred or alienated in any way, but shall be kept at all times for municipal purposes, free and clear of all encumbrances and obstructions, except as follows:
(1) Franchises or rights may be granted by ordinance for crossings over or under the riverbed to railways, pipelines or other public utilities, plants or equipment, as long as they do not obstruct the flow of the Los Angeles River in times of flood, nor conflict with any longitudinal use of the riverbed by the City itself or other uses authorized in this section.
(2) Franchises may be granted for the construction and operation of railroad tracks longitudinally along the riverbed only when such construction and operation is required in connection with a grade crossing plan for the elimination of grade crossings and the unification of all public terminal rail facilities, other than street and interurban railways, after the grade crossing plan has been approved by two-thirds of the voters voting on the question at a general or special election.
(3) The City may grant permits for the removal of sand and gravel from the riverbed, so long as the removal of sand and gravel does not jeopardize or injure any structures authorized by this section.
(e) Floor Area Restriction. The total floor area contained in all the buildings on any one building site shall not exceed 13 times the buildable area of the site as such buildable area is defined by ordinance. The Council, by ordinance, may define and implement the provisions of this subsection and may further restrict and regulate the total floor area, height or bulk of buildings or structures.
(f) Municipal Newspaper. The City shall not appropriate any public money for the printing, publication, sale or distribution of a commercial municipal newspaper.
(g) Business Enterprises. The City shall not engage in any purely commercial or industrial enterprise, except upon a majority vote of the voters of the City voting on the question, unless the enterprise was engaged in by the City at the time the Charter becomes effective, or unless engaging in the enterprise is elsewhere specifically authorized in the Charter. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the City from engaging directly in retail concessions of food and merchandise, when those concessions are consistent with and support City operations and purposes.
(h) Rail Transit Assessments.
(1) In the exercise of any powers it may have under any state, federal or other law, the City shall not approve the boundaries or the method of assessment of, or otherwise approve, an assessment district proposed to assess properties for benefits from a rail transit system or stations if assessments are to be made on properties in residential use before April 9, 1985, or under construction before that date for residential use in that district or any zone thereof.
For purposes of this subsection, a “residential use” of property shall include use as a single-family residence, a multi-family residence, a retirement home, or other property improved with a structure designed and used for housing a person or family, including property improved with a residential building which is temporarily vacant as well as property with a residential building under construction, but shall not include use as a hotel, motel or similar transient housing facility. In the event a property is in both residential and non-residential use, assessment may be approved, but shall be calculated only on the non-residential portion.
(2) Neither the Council nor any City board, officer or employee in the exercise of any power or authority it may have shall authorize or approve any grant of funds for a rail transit project unless the district, agency or entity proposing to initiate or implement the project has first entered into a contract with the City which binds the district, agency or entity:
(A) to not levy any assessments on any property in residential use or under construction prior to April 9, 1985, as that term is defined in subsection (h)(1) of this section, to pay in whole or in part for the acquisition, construction, development, joint development, operation, maintenance or repair of the project or stations connected therewith; and
(B) to pay or fully refund to the payors thereof any assessments required by law to be levied thereon.
(i) Non-discrimination. In the employment of persons in the service of the City, there shall be no discrimination in selection or compensation on account of race, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, or marital status.
SECTION HISTORY
Amended by: Subsecs. (g) and (i), Charter Amendment II, approved November 5, 2024, effective January 8, 2025.
(a) Days. If this Charter requires an act to be performed within a specified number of days, it shall mean consecutive calendar days unless otherwise stated. When the last day to perform an act falls on a weekend or City holiday, the period shall extend to the next business day.
(b) Notice. Unless otherwise provided by this Charter or ordinance, if this Charter requires notice to be given to an individual, that notice shall be deemed given on the date of personal service, or upon deposit in the mail, certified or first class mail, to the last known address. Unless otherwise provided by this Charter or ordinance, if notice is mailed, the time by which the recipient must take any action required under the Charter shall commence five days after this notice is mailed.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Charter, or any amendment thereto, is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, that decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Charter. The people of the City of Los Angeles hereby declare that they would have ratified and adopted this Charter and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, and any amendment thereto, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases or amendment be declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid.
Except with respect to the provision establishing the size of the City Council, it is the intent of voters adopting this Charter that it not be amended at the same election at which it is adopted other than by a conflicting measure that receives more votes than those received for this Charter.
The Adoption Date of this Charter shall be that date upon which the adopted Charter is filed in accordance with state law. The Operative Date of this Charter shall be July 1, 2000, except that Article IX, Department of Neighborhood Empowerment shall be in effect and operative on the Adoption Date. In addition, the Council, Mayor, City officers and employees shall take those actions set forth in Section 118 after the Adoption Date of this Charter and prior to its Operative Date as prescribed in that section.
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