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The Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners shall have the power:
(a) to control all recreation and park sites;
(b) to control, appropriate and expend all money in the Recreation and Parks Fund and authorize the City Treasurer to invest any surplus funds under its control in accordance with Section 303(b); and
(c) to organize the work of the department into divisions and to appoint an administrative officer for each division or for any group of divisions.
The chief administrative officer of the Department of Recreation and Parks shall be appointed and removed as provided in Section 508.
(a) For the financial support of the Department of Recreation and Parks, there shall be appropriated an annual sum of not less than 0.0325% of assessed value of all property as assessed for City taxes.
(b) Additional appropriations may be made from the General Fund.
(c) All money derived from (a) or (b), plus all other sums received by the department shall be placed to the credit of the Recreation and Parks Fund.
Except as provided in Section 342 with regard to funds appropriated from the General Fund to the Recreation and Parks Fund, money in the Recreation and Parks Fund shall be used only for the financial support of the Department of Recreation and Parks.
(a) Management and Control. The Department of Recreation and Parks shall operate, manage and control all property now or hereafter owned or controlled by the City for public recreation, including parks, and shall have power in the name of the City to acquire and take by purchase, lease, condemnation, gift, in trust or otherwise, any and all property necessary or convenient for recreation, including park purposes.
(b) Acquisition of Property. No real property shall be acquired by the City for recreation sites, including parks, unless first approved by the Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners.
(c) Restrictions on Transfer of Dedicated Parks. All lands heretofore or hereafter set apart or dedicated as a public park shall forever remain for the use of the public inviolate; but the board may authorize use of the lands for any park purpose, and for:
(1) Easements or rights-of-way for any work, improvement or structure necessary and convenient for giving service to the City or its inhabitants in connection with any public utility owned by the City. Under similar circumstances, similar permission may be given to any private public utility holding a franchise, and limited to the life of the franchise. These easements or rights-of-way shall be subject to regulation by ordinance.
(2) Leases to the County of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the State of California, or the United States for a period not to exceed 50 years, of a site in any public park for the erection and maintenance of public buildings consistent with public park purposes.
(3) Taking and disposal of molding sand, or other natural resources under terms as the board may prescribe and in a manner as to work no substantial impairment of public use and enjoyment of the premises.
(4) Opening, establishment and maintenance of streets or other public ways in and through the park lands controlled by the board.
(d) Transfer to Purposes other than Recreation and Park Purposes. No sites under the management and control of the department shall be devoted or transferred to any other purpose in whole or in part, except in compliance with all of the following:
(1) Procedure. Any transfer shall require a resolution of the board, approved by the Council by ordinance, incorporating the prescribed terms and conditions to be observed by the permittee. However, Council approval shall not be required for the granting of leases of property not immediately needed for the purposes of the department for a term not to exceed three years.
(2) Restrictions on Transfer. No transfer shall be permitted if it would violate the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, or in any case where the proposed use violates a specific trust or dedication upon which the property was acquired.
(3) Requirement of Equivalent Property or Funds. If property to be transferred to another use has been acquired from funds specifically provided for the Department of Recreation and Parks or its predecessors, the department shall be assigned the equivalent in property or funds as a condition of transfer of the property from its control, when required by the board.
(e) Remaining Land Unsuitable for Park Use. Where lands forming a portion of an existing public park have been removed from the jurisdiction of the board by reason of their dedication or use for public purposes incompatible with park use, the remaining lands, or any portion thereof, within the park shall not be subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section in the event that:
(1) the board and Council find and determine that the remaining lands, or specific portion thereof, are unsuitable for further use as a public park; and
(2) lands of an area at least equal to the lands found to be unsuitable for further use as a public park are acquired in the same portion of the City and set apart or dedicated as a public park.
SECTION HISTORY
Amended by: Subsec. (c), Charter Amendment II, approved November 5, 2024, effective January 8, 2025.
The Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners may lease for recreational purposes any municipal auditoriums, arenas, sports centers or related facilities subject to the following conditions:
(a) The term of the lease shall not exceed 35 years. Leases in excess of five years shall be approved by the Council by ordinance.
(b) The public must be entitled to use and enjoy the property or facility for the purposes for which it was acquired, constructed or completed and any lease shall require the lessee to operate the property or facility so as to furnish the public with that use and enjoyment.
(c) The board may enter into the lease without inviting bids and may prescribe other terms and conditions as it deems appropriate.
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 595, the Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners may lease, to the highest responsive and responsible bidder in accordance with Section 371, subsurface space under any public park or public grounds under its control subject to the following conditions:
(1) The use will not breach the conditions under which the land has been deeded to the City.
(2) The board finds that the works to be constructed will not result in material detriment to the purpose for which the land was dedicated or set aside by the City. The board’s finding will become final and conclusive upon Council approval by ordinance.
(3) The lease shall not exceed a term of 50 years.
(4) The lease is for the construction and operation of a public parking structure, subway or subway station. The operation of a public parking structure shall include related incidental facilities and functions. The retail sale of gasoline, oil and accessories and the provision of service to private vehicles shall be prohibited except at the Pershing Square subterranean parking structure. This prohibition shall apply to the department and its lessees, sub-lessees, partners and franchisees.
(5) The board shall prescribe the terms and conditions of the lease, and the proceeds shall be paid into the Recreation and Parks Fund.
(6) The lease shall be approved by the Council by ordinance.
(b) The board may design, construct and operate subsurface parking structures under lands within its control, subject to subsection (a)(1) and (2) of this section. The revenue derived from the operation of the parking structures shall be paid into the Recreation and Parks Fund.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Charter or ordinance, jurisdiction over that portion of Elysian Park described in Council File 70-5114 and supplements, containing approximately 21.464 acres which was used as of July 1, 1972, primarily as a police training facility, is transferred to the Department of Public Works for use as public buildings and grounds, including use as police training facilities and related purposes. Such portion shall, upon abandonment of the site as a police training facility, be transferred to the Department of Recreation and Parks and shall be dedicated as a public park.
(a) All real property that was controlled and operated previously by the Department of Recreation and Parks, that was dedicated as a public park, and that was set aside for use as a zoo, shall forever remain for the use of the public inviolate. Such property may be operated, managed, maintained, and controlled by a department other than the Department of Recreation and Parks, as may be designated by ordinance, and such department shall have the same powers and duties over such property as the Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners has over Department of Recreation and Parks’ property.
(b) All real property that was controlled and operated previously by the Department of Recreation and Parks, that was dedicated as a public park, and that comprises the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, shall forever remain for the use of the public inviolate. Such property may be operated, managed, maintained, and controlled by a department other than the Department of Recreation and Parks, as may be designated by ordinance, and such department shall have the same powers and duties over such property as the Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners has over Department of Recreation and Parks’ property.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Charter Amendment II, approved November 5, 2024, effective January 8, 2025.