(a) Department Responsibilities. In addition to the responsibilities set forth in Article IX of the City Charter and Section 22.801 of this Code, the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (Department) shall:
(1) Assist all groups and stakeholders seeking certification so they will have an equal opportunity to form and develop Neighborhood Councils by:
(A) Providing assistance to areas of the City with traditionally low rates of participation in government;
(B) Helping communities understand the processes and procedures for establishing a Neighborhood Council;
(C) Assisting with completion of certification documentation; and
(D) Mitigating barriers to participation, such as the need for translation and child care services.
(2) Assist neighborhoods and Neighborhood Councils with public and civic education, outreach and training with an emphasis given to areas that have traditionally low rates of participation in government.
(3) Assist applicants and neighborhoods to prepare all petitions and forms referenced in the Plan, to identify suitable Neighborhood Council boundaries, and organize Neighborhood Councils in accordance with the Plan.
(4) Assist Neighborhood Councils with the selection of their governing body and conduct the City’s portion of the outreach effort necessary to mobilize stakeholders to vote in Neighborhood Council elections.
(5) Help coordinate meetings and facilitate communication among Neighborhood Councils that request assistance.
(6) Help coordinate, arrange, and convene the biannual Congress of Neighborhood Councils meetings.
(7) Promote and facilitate open communication among City agencies and Neighborhood Councils, and provide education, guidance and assistance in developing strategies for providing comments and feedback to the City Council and its committees and City boards and commissions.
(8) Provide operational support and facilitate the sharing of resources among Neighborhood Councils, including, but not limited to, meeting and office space, office equipment, and mail and communications in order to communicate among constituents, Neighborhood Councils, and government officials.
(9) Create and maintain a database of information about Neighborhood Councils, including, among other information, names and contact information that will be available for public use.
(10) Act as an information clearinghouse and resource to Neighborhood Councils.
(11) Coordinate efforts to establish and ensure continued operation of the Early Notification System as prescribed in the Plan.
(12) Arrange training for Neighborhood Councils’ officers and staff.
(13) Review and evaluate the Neighborhood Council System on an annual basis. As part of its annual report, the Department shall provide information on the size, geographic scope, and economic and demographic conditions of areas in which Neighborhood Councils have and have not been certified.
(14) Report quarterly, commencing from the adoption date of the Plan, to the appropriate Council Committee on the Department’s certification efforts, and on strategies and recommendations for certifying areas with traditionally low rates of civic participation in government to ensure participation by all the City’s neighborhoods in the certification process.
(15) Provide adequate levels of staffing, with consideration to resource availability, for each Neighborhood Council.
(b) Certification of Neighborhood Councils.
(1) Department Responsibilities. The Department shall have the following responsibilities:
(A) Announce and inform the public of the Neighborhood Council certification process Citywide.
(B) Actively promote the formation of Neighborhood Councils Citywide, giving emphasis to those areas and community stakeholder groups with traditionally low rates of civic participation in government.
(C) Facilitate and encourage collaboration and discussion among neighboring and overlapping applicant groups.
(D) Provide technical assistance on how to proceed with a unified certification application.
(E) Provide dispute resolution services to applicants where more than one application is submitted for a Neighborhood Council boundary area to gain consensus on a unified certification application.
(2) Qualification and Criteria for Neighborhood Council Certification. Any group of persons in a community may seek certification as a Neighborhood Council by presenting an application to the Department that includes the following information:
(A) A boundary proposal that sets forth the rationale for the boundary choice, and shows how the boundaries comply with the following Boundary Goal Criteria:
(i) The proposed area has a minimum of 20,000 residents. However, areas that have fewer than 20,000 residents may be considered for certification providing they meet the following criteria and otherwise meet all other requirements of the Plan:
(1) The proposed area is separated from adjacent communities by significant geographic or other features; or
(2) The proposed area is identified by name within any of the adopted community plans within the City of Los Angeles; or
(3) The proposed area represents an historic, identifiable neighborhood or community and includes local City service providers, such as a public library, park or recreation center, fire or police station or a public school.
(ii) The proposed area, to the maximum extent feasible, follows historic and contemporary community and neighborhood borders, utilizes natural boundaries or street lines and is geographically compact and contiguous.
(iii) Neighborhood Council boundaries may not overlap with other Neighborhood Council boundaries unless the area proposed for inclusion into each Neighborhood Council is designated for a public use, such as a park, school, library, police or fire station or major thoroughfare or contains a landmark or facility with historical significance.
The application proposal for overlapping boundaries with another Neighborhood Council must include a detailed rationale for incorporating the proposed area.
(B) A detailed description of the outreach process used to identify community stakeholders within the proposed Neighborhood Council boundary as well as the following:
(i) Proof of the collection of no less than 200 and no more than 500 signatures from community stakeholders within the proposed Neighborhood Council boundaries.
(ii) Signatures shall, to the maximum extent feasible, reflect the broadest array of community stakeholders who will be active participants in the Neighborhood Council.
(C) A copy of the Neighborhood Council’s approved by-laws which shall include the following:
(i) The Neighborhood Council name.
(ii) A statement that the Neighborhood Council membership is open to all community stakeholders.
(iii) A list of the offices of its governing body and its method for regularly electing or selecting its officers who shall serve as the governing body subject to the following:
(1) The governing body must, to the extent possible, reflect the diversity of the neighborhood council’s stakeholders. All stakeholders must be eligible to vote and run for at least one board seat. Neighborhood councils may allocate their board seats to specific stakeholder categories and establish stakeholder eligibility requirements in voting for the board seats. If a neighborhood council allocates its board seats to specific stakeholder categories, then the neighborhood council must include at least one seat for which every stakeholder is eligible to vote and run. Neighborhood councils may not allocate a majority of their board seats to a single stakeholder group, unless approved by the Department upon a showing of extenuating circumstances. The election procedures created by the Department or City Clerk pursuant to Section 20.36 shall require, in a situation where a neighborhood council requires that a stakeholders to provide proof of eligibility, that proof of stakeholder status for community interest stakeholders must be consistent with and substantially equivalent to the evidentiary proof required of stakeholders who live, work or own property.
(2) Terms of members of the governing body shall be for two or four years, to be decided upon by individual Neighborhood Councils. Neighborhood Councils may limit the total number of terms that a member of the governing body may serve, if the term limitations are set forth in the Neighborhood Council’s bylaws after the effective date of this ordinance.
(3) The governing body shall include an officer named “Treasurer”, whose duties shall include, but not be limited to, maintaining the Neighborhood Council's book of accounts and submitting account statements to the Department no less than once but not more than three times during the fiscal year, as prescribed by the Department.
(iv) A description of its meeting procedures which shall include provisions that each Neighborhood Council shall do the following:
(1) Meet at least once per calendar quarter.
(2) Obey any or all applicable sections of the state’s Ralph M. Brown Act.
(3) Establish procedures for communicating with all Neighborhood Council community stakeholders on a regular basis in a manner that ensures that information is disseminated throughout and in a timely manner.
(4) Adopt procedures for running meetings, including provisions that identify: the number of governing body members that constitute a majority and a quorum; the number of votes by which a governing body may take an action on a matter before it; the manner in which an action by the governing body can be reconsidered, if at all.
(v) The method it will use to address grievances and resolve disputes by which an individual community stakeholder or group of community stakeholders of a Neighborhood Council may express concerns to their Neighborhood Council about its actions.
(D) A description of its system of financial accountability that meets the requirements set forth in Article III, Section 2(d) of the Plan.
(E) An acknowledgment and agreement that the Neighborhood Council will abide by any applicable provisions of the City’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance, as set forth in Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 49.5.1 et seq., and an acknowledgment and agreement that it will abide by all applicable laws of the federal, state and local government.
(F) The names of no fewer than three and no more than five individuals who shall act as official contacts between the applicants and the Department until the Neighborhood Council is certified.
(c) Certification Process.
(1) Certification. The Department will review and make an evaluation of the certification application to determine whether the application meets all of the criteria set out in Article III, Section 2 of the Plan.
(2) Department Responsibilities. Once a certification application is submitted to the Department, the Department shall evaluate the application to determine whether it is complete. After determining that an application is complete and that it describes a specific set of boundaries for a proposed Neighborhood Council, the Department shall forward the application, any accompanying information, and its recommendation to the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (Commission) for consideration and notify the Neighborhood Council in writing that the application has been forwarded to the Commission for its consideration. The Department shall evaluate the certification application and make a recommendation to the Commission pursuant to the procedures set forth in Article IV of the Plan.
(A) If the Department receives two or more certification applications that identify the same, similar, or overlapping Neighborhood Council boundaries, the Department shall immediately notify in writing all contacts, as required to be identified in Paragraph (F) of Subdivision (2) of Subsection (b) of this section and Article III, Section 2(f) of the Plan, for all affected applicant groups in an effort to work with applicants to produce a unified application. The procedures set forth in Article IV Section 2(b) of the Plan should then be followed to the maximum extent feasible.
(B) If at any time during the process as described in Article IV of the Plan, the Department determines that an application is not complete, it shall return the application to the applicants along with a written description of the missing components required for the certification application. Applicants may thereafter at any time re-submit the application after amending it to meet all the necessary criteria.
(C) If the Department fails to evaluate or make a recommendation on the application as set forth in Article IV, Section 2 of the Plan, the Department shall forward the application to the Commission for its consideration without the Department’s recommendation.
(3) Before the Commission acts on a proposed certification, the matter shall be set for a public hearing. The Department shall post public notices, as set forth in Article IV, Section 3 of the Plan, setting forth the time, place and purpose of the hearing, which shall be posted within the boundaries of the proposed Neighborhood Council for 15 days. The notices shall be translated in accordance with the provisions set forth in Article IV, Section 3 of the Plan.
Notice of the time, place and purpose of the hearing shall also be mailed to the applicant and to the contacts identified in the application as required in Paragraph (F) of Subdivision (2) of Subsection (b) of this section, within the time frames set forth in Article IV, Section 3 of the Plan. The Commission shall act on the certification within ten days after the expiration of the 15 day posting period, unless the Commission’s regularly scheduled meeting does not fall within this ten day period or unless the Commission and the Neighborhood Council applicants agree to an extension of time.
The Commission meeting should be conducted within the boundaries of the proposed Neighborhood Council, if feasible. In a case where two or more certification applications have identified the same, similar, or overlapping Neighborhood Council boundaries, the Commission shall make a final determination on how the final boundaries of each Neighborhood Council shall be drawn, giving consideration to the criteria set forth in Article III, Section 2(a) of the Plan and any other applicable provisions of the Plan. The Commission shall either approve or disapprove the certification application based upon the criteria set forth above in Subdivision (2) of Subsection (b) of this section and the criteria set forth in the Plan.
(4) Appeals. If the Commission approves the application, the proposed Neighborhood Council shall be recognized and certified as a Neighborhood Council. If the Commission disapproves the application, the applicants may appeal to the City Council within the time as set forth in Article IV, Section 9 of the Plan. The City Council may, by ten votes, sustain, reverse or modify the Commission's decision to disapprove a certification application.
(d) Boundary Adjustment.
(1) Adjustment of Boundaries. A Neighborhood Council may file a petition with the Commission to adjust its boundaries. All petitions must meet the criteria set forth in this section and in Article III, Section 2 of the Plan. Reasons for boundary adjustments may include, but are not limited to:
(A) Incorporating an uncertified adjacent community into the Neighborhood Council;
(B) Reconfiguring the size of the Neighborhood Council based on a decrease or increase in population; or
(C) Increasing or reducing the size of the Neighborhood Council to increase effectiveness and efficiency.
(2) Boundary Adjustment Other Than Incorporation.
(A) Department Responsibilities. The Department shall review a petition within 15 days of its receipt and make a recommendation to the Commission. Before the Commission acts on a proposed boundary adjustment, the matter shall be set for a public hearing. Fifteen days prior to the hearing, the Department shall post public notices within the boundaries of the Neighborhood Council, stating the time, place and purpose of the hearing, as set forth in Article VI, Section 2(d) of the Plan. The notices shall be translated in accordance with the provisions set forth in Article VI, Section 2(d)(ii) of the Plan.
Notice of the time, place and purpose of the hearing shall also be mailed to the applicant pursuant to the time frames set forth in Article VI, Section 2(d) of the Plan. The Commission meeting should be conducted within the boundaries of the proposed Neighborhood Council, if feasible. The Commission shall act on the boundary adjustment within ten days after the expiration of the 15-day posting period, unless the Commission’s regularly scheduled meeting does not fall within this ten day period or unless the Commission and the Neighborhood Council applicants agree to an extension of time.
(B) Commission Action. The Commission shall consider the recommendation of the Department, review the petition and determine whether the petition meets the criteria of this ordinance and Article VI, Section 2 of the Plan at a public hearing, noticed as set forth in Paragraph (2)(A) above, and make its determination within ten days of receipt of the Department’s recommendation, unless the Commission’s regularly scheduled meeting does not fall within this ten day period or unless the Commission and the Neighborhood Council applicants agree to an extension of time.
(C) Appeals. If the Commission approves the petition, the Neighborhood Council boundary shall be determined to be changed in accordance with the petition. If the Commission disapproves the petition, the Neighborhood Council may appeal to the City Council within the time set forth in Article VI, Section 2(b) of the Plan. The City Council may, by ten votes, sustain, reverse or modify the Commission’s decision to disapprove a boundary adjustment petition.
(3) Incorporation Into Adjoining Neighborhood Councils. The Commission shall have the authority to expand a Neighborhood Council’s boundary in order to incorporate an area of the City that has not formed a Neighborhood Council into the boundary of another, adjoining Neighborhood Council provided that:
(A) The proposed area to be incorporated into a Neighborhood Council’s boundary lies between two or more Neighborhood Councils;
(B) The proposed area to be incorporated does not qualify for certification under the provisions of this Plan; and
(C) Community stakeholders of the proposed area to be incorporated and of the affected Neighborhood Council agree to the proposed incorporation.
(4) Incorporation Initiated by an Entity Other than the Commission. An incorporation petition may be submitted by an entity other than the Commission, if community stakeholders of the area to be incorporated and of the affected certified Neighborhood Council have agreed to the proposed incorporation.
(A) Department Responsibilities. After determining that an incorporation petition initiated by community stakeholders or an entity other than the Commission is complete, the Department shall forward the petition, any accompanying information and its recommendation to the Commission for consideration. The Department shall notify the Neighborhood Council in writing that the petition has been forwarded to the Commission for its consideration. The Department shall evaluate the petition and make a recommendation to the Commission pursuant to the procedures set forth in Article VI of the Plan.
(i) If at any time during the process as described in Article VI of the Plan, the Department determines that a petition is not complete, it shall return the petition to the applicants along with a written description of the missing components required for the petition. Applicants may thereafter at any time re-submit the application after amending it to meet all the necessary criteria.
(ii) If the Department fails to evaluate or make a recommendation on the petition as set forth in Article VI, Section 2(d) of the Plan, the Department shall forward the application to the Commission for its consideration without the Department’s recommendation.
(B) Commission Action. Before the Commission acts on the petition, the matter shall be set for a public hearing. The Department shall post public notices, as set forth in Article VI, Section 2(d) of the Plan, stating the time, place and purpose of the hearing, which shall be posted within the boundaries of the proposed Neighborhood Council for 15 days. The notices shall be translated in accordance with the provisions set forth in Article VI, Section 2(d)(ii) of the Plan.
Notice of the time, place and purpose of the hearing shall also be mailed to the applicant pursuant to the time frames set forth in Article VI, Section 2(d) of the Plan. The Commission meeting should be conducted within the boundaries of the proposed Neighborhood Council, if feasible. The Commission shall act on the incorporation petition within ten days after the expiration of the 15-day posting period, unless the Commission’s regularly scheduled meeting does not fall within this ten day period or unless the Commission and the Neighborhood Council applicants agree to an extension of time.
(C) Appeals. If the Commission approves the petition, the proposed area shall be incorporated into the Neighborhood Council named in the Incorporation Petition. If the Commission disapproves the petition, the applicants may appeal that decision to the City Council within the time frames set forth in Article VI, Section 2(d)(vii) of the Plan. The City Council may, by ten votes, sustain, reverse or modify the Commission’s decision to disapprove the petition.
(e) Decertification of a Neighborhood Council/ Declaration of a Board Vacancy by the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners.
(1) Department Action. On its own initiative, or after a recommendation by Regional Grievance Panel, the Department may seek the involuntary decertification of a Neighborhood Council or may seek a declaration of vacancy for one or more Neighborhood Council board seats. Immediately upon the issuance of the Department’s petition for decertification of a Neighborhood Council Board or declaration of vacancy in one or more board seats, the Department immediately shall freeze and suspend the access to and use of any City funds previously available to the Neighborhood Council or board members named in the petition.
(2) Opportunity to Cure/Exhaustive Efforts. Prior to initiating the process to decertify a Neighborhood Council or to vacate one of more Neighborhood Council board seats, the Department first shall provide notice to the Neighborhood Council of the applicable law, rule or regulation upon which the decertification or vacancy declaration will be founded. After giving notice to the Neighborhood Council Board, the Department may give the Neighborhood Council Board an opportunity to come into compliance with the applicable law, rule or regulation. The Department also may exercise “exhaustive efforts” by taking over all powers vested in the Neighborhood Council Board in an effort to bring the Neighborhood Council, Neighborhood Council Board or Board members into compliance with the law, rule or regulation. If, despite the opportunity to cure and/or the Department's exhaustive efforts, compliance is not achieved, then the Department may initiate the process described in Subdivision (e)(3) below.
(3) Involuntary Decertification/Vacation of Board Seats. The Department may petition the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (Commission) to involuntary decertify or declare one or more board seats vacant in accordance with Article VI, Section 5 of the Plan.
(A) Commission Hearing. To the extent feasible, the Commission hearing on a petition for decertification or vacation of one or more board seats, shall be conducted within the boundaries of the Neighborhood Council at issue.
(B) Notice. At least 15 days before the Commission acts on a petition for decertification or vacation of one or more board seats, the Department shall post at least five public notices of the hearing. The notices shall be posted within the boundaries of the proposed Neighborhood Council, stating the time, place and purpose of the hearing, as set forth in Article VI, Section 5(b)(iii) of the Plan. The Department shall provide email notification to the Neighborhood Council Board of the hearing. The public notices shall be translated in accordance with the provisions set forth in Article VI, Section 5(b)(iii) of the Plan.
(C) Commission Determination Regarding Decertification. The Commission may decertify a Neighborhood Council based upon evidence that the Neighborhood Council failed to demonstrate the willingness or ability to comply with any rule, regulation or law applicable to Neighborhood Council. If a Neighborhood Council is decertified, the Neighborhood Council no longer shall be a certified Neighborhood Council in the City of Los Angeles. Within 48 hours, a decertified Neighborhood Council immediately shall vacate any City owned, leased or controlled property and shall surrender to the City all City-owned property, including personal and intellectual property.
(D) Commission Determination Regarding Vacating One or More Board Seats. As an alternative to decertifying the Neighborhood Council, the Commission may vacate one or more board seats based on evidence that one or more board member has failed to demonstrate a willingness to comply with any rule, regulation or law applicable to the Neighborhood Council Board or board member.
(E) Appeals. If the Commission decertifies a Neighborhood Council or declares one or more board seats vacant, the Neighborhood Council or an individual whose seat was declared vacant may file an appeal pursuant to the provisions of Article VI, Section 5(f) of the Plan. The City Council may by ten votes, sustain, reverse or modify the Commission’s decision.
(4) Voluntary De-Certification.
(A) A Neighborhood Council may file a petition with the Commission for de-certification. A de-certification application must be signed by at least 3/4 of the governing body of the Neighborhood Council seeking de-certification and must also include the following:
(i) Evidence of the processes used for outreach to stakeholders and the involvement of stakeholders in the decision to de-certify;
(ii) Evidence that stakeholders in the Neighborhood Council area have been surveyed on the de-certification application;
(iii) Evidence that the Neighborhood Council’s governing body has widely publicized within the Neighborhood Council area the fact that there is an application for de-certification pending before the Commission in its Neighborhood Council area; and
(iv) Evidence that the Neighborhood Council took its formal action on the de-certification after giving a 15-day public notice.
(B) Department Responsibilities. Fifteen days prior to the hearing, the Department shall post public notices within the boundaries of the proposed Neighborhood Council, stating the time, place and purpose of the hearing, as set forth in Article VI, Section 6(b) of the Plan. The notices shall be translated in accordance with the provisions set forth in Article VI, Section 6(b)(iii) of the Plan. At the same time that notices are posted pursuant to Article VI, Section 6(b) of the Plan, notice of the time, place and purpose of the hearing shall also be mailed to the Neighborhood Council.
(C) Commission Action. The Commission meeting should be conducted within the boundaries of the Neighborhood Council, if feasible. The Commission shall act on the de-certification within ten days after the expiration of the 15-day notice period, unless the Commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting does not fall within this ten day period or unless the Commission and the Neighborhood Council agree to an extension of time. The Commission may de-certify a Neighborhood Council based upon a finding that the evidence set forth in Paragraph (A), above, has been shown and a finding that 3/4 of the governing body of the Neighborhood Council has consented to the de-certification.
If the Commission approves the petition, the Neighborhood Council shall be de-certified and will no longer be officially recognized as a certified Neighborhood Council in the City of Los Angeles and shall return all City-owned resources, including unexpended City- appropriated funds, to the City within five days after the City has made its final decision to decertify the Neighborhood Council.
(D) Appeals. If the Commission disapproves the petition, the Neighborhood Council may file an appeal pursuant to the provisions of Article VI, Section 6(f) of the Plan. The City Council may, by ten votes, sustain, reverse or modify the Commission’s decision to deny decertification of the Neighborhood Council.
(f) Early Notification System (ENS).
(1) ENS Website. The Department may assist the Information Technology Agency in coordinating the development of an ENS website through which information may be made available to certified Neighborhood Councils by the City Council, its committees, and City boards and commissions.
(2) Procedures for Sharing City Information with and Receiving Comment from Neighborhood Councils.
(A) Information from the City should be sent to certified Neighborhood Councils as soon as practical so that certified Neighborhood Councils are afforded as much opportunity as is practical to provide comment before decisions are made.
(B) Certified Neighborhood Councils may provide comment and feedback to the City Council, its committees, and to City boards and commissions by using the ENS.
(C) The Neighborhood Council may communicate its views either by way of mailed letter, fax, electronic mail (e-mail), or by a representative appearing in person to make a presentation on an item before the City’s decision-makers. Should each certified Neighborhood Council be provided with an e-mail address, pursuant to Article VIII of the Plan, the use of this e-mail address shall be strictly limited to official Neighborhood Council business, such as communicating with Neighborhood Council members about meeting times and places and communicating with the City regarding matters of importance to Neighborhood Councils.
(g) Funding.
(1) Money appropriated in the budget each year for certified Neighborhood Councils for the costs related to the functions, operations and duties of a certified Neighborhood Council shall be placed in the Neighborhood Council Fund. The functions, operations and duties of a certified Neighborhood Council include, but are not limited to, meeting and office space, office equipment, computers, supplies and communications, such as the costs associated with newsletters, postage or printing written materials. At the discretion of each Neighborhood Council, and as approved by the City Clerk, all or part of the money so appropriated may be used for neighborhood improvement projects. The City Clerk is authorized to promulgate all procedures, rules and regulations, as well as to issue any directives necessary for the administration of Neighborhood Council expenditures, including neighborhood improvement projects and Neighborhood Purpose Grants.
(2) Any money which the Mayor and Council appropriate as grant funds each fiscal year for certified Neighborhood Councils shall be available for various neighborhood improvement projects. In order to be eligible for grant money, a certified Neighborhood Council shall submit an application to the City Clerk and may be awarded grants, pursuant to the provisions as set forth in Article IX Section 2 of the Plan. The City Clerk is authorized to promulgate all procedures, rules and regulations, as well as to issue any directives necessary for the administration of the grant process discussed in this subdivision.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 176,704, Eff. 7-17-05.
Amended by: Subsecs. (a)(4), (b)(2)(C)(iii)(2), and (e)(1), Ord. No. 179,680, Eff. 4-15-08; Subsec. (b)(2)(C)(iii)(2), Ord. No. 181,132, Eff. 4-30-10; Subsec. (b)(2)(C)(iii)(1), Ord. No. 182,830, Eff. 1-26-14; Subsec. (e), Ord. No. 183,487, Eff. 5-13-15; Subsecs. (g)(1) and (g)(2), Ord. No. 184,835, Eff. 5-1-17.