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Two LANC Coalition Resolutions for your consideration:
1) Required financial reporting by NC board members (Form 52 or 53)
2) Need for Planning Reports on Infrastructure / Population
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LOS ANGELES NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL COALITION
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Coalition Meeting - Resolutions
by Len Shaffer
Chair, LANCC
September 7, 2008
LANCC REPORT
At the LANCC meeting on September 6, 2008 the delegates present heard presentations and reports on a number of current subjects and passed three significant motions.
The first of these dealt with the LANCC elections.
The delegates determined that the LANCC elections would be held at our December meeting. Adrienne O'Niel will form a committee comprised of delegates who are not candidates. That committee will be responsible for accepting nominations, setting the agenda for the elections and promulgating rules by which the election will be conducted.
Once the list of committee members is finalized I will send the names out to the LANCC delegates.
The City Ethics Committee met on Friday, September 5, 2008. One of the agenda items dealt with financial reporting by neighborhood council board members.
As you might recall, when the NCRC recommendation that NCs be allowed to generate Council Files was before the City Council, a motion by Councilmember Smith was passed that required financial disclosure by NCs participating in a CF. The motion was to require the Form 700 from which NCs have been exempted.
In order to help solve the problem and not do away with the exemption, the Ethics Commission came out with a special form for the financial reporting requirement (Form 52 or 53). As we reported earlier, what was supposed to be a requirement limited to NCs participating in CFs has now evolved into a request for annual financial reporting. The City Councils Education and Neighborhoods Committee is to hear the matter next Tuesday, September 9, 2008.
Since the time period for all of this was very short, a resolution was passed by the delegates present at the meeting urging the chair of the Education and Neighborhoods Committee to postpone the matter for a period of 90 days to allow NCs time to bring it before their boards and present recommendations to the Committee. That resolution will be transmitted to the committee members.
A copy of the resolution is attached. Please, let your NC board members know about it so they may take whatever action they deem appropriate.
We heard from Lucille Saunders regarding the lawsuit filed against the city asking for an order that the city conduct the infrastructure and population surveys required by the General Plan before going forward with any more zoning or related matters. It seems the city has not bothered to conduct the mandated surveys since the mid-1990s even though a great deal of construction and population growth has taken place.
The lawsuit asks the simple question, how can the city plan for future growth and infrastructure if it does not know what has occurred during the past 10 or more years? As a result, the delegates present at the LANCC passed a resolution calling on the City Council to begin an action that will facilitate the mandated surveys.
Again, a copy of the resolution is attached. If you wish, a similar resolution could be presented to and passed by your NC.
A report on the upcoming Congress of Neighborhoods (October 11, 2008) was given by Heinrich Keifer and Cindy Cleghorn. Neighborhood Council coalitions from across the city will take part in the Congress. We will be outlining our histories, accomplishments and missions. We discussed how best to present the LANCC to the stakeholders attending the Congress. We will solidify our participation at October LANCC meeting preceding the Congress. Cindy reported that NCs are being asked to contribute $500.00 to the Congress. This apparently can be accomplished by a transfer of funds from one city department (NCs) to another (DONE). I will get more information on that from Cindy.
So, those were the high points of the September LANCC meeting. We do apologize to those who were unable to make it because of the late notice regarding the meeting place. I intend to get an answer from DWP earlier in the month than normal so we can make other arrangements if their rooms are unavailable again next month.
We hope to see you at our next meeting which is scheduled for October 4, 2008.
Len Shaffer
Leonard J. Shaffer
LANC Coalition Chair
info@lanccoalition.org
www.lanccoalition.org
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LANCC RESOLUTION
September 6, 2008
FINANCIAL REPORTING
ETHICS COMMISSION FORMS 52 AND 53
At its meeting on September 6, 2008, the LANCC delegates in attendance passed the following resolution:
Whereas neighborhood councils have the right to be informed in a timely manner as to matter that would affect them, and to provide their recommendations regarding such matters;
Whereas the Los Angeles Ethics Commission, in response to a request from the City Council Education and Neighborhoods Committee has recommended forms to be used for financial reporting by neighborhood council board members, their spouses and registered domestic partners;
Whereas the Education and Neighborhoods Committee, at its meeting scheduled for September 9, 2008, is considering recommending to the City Council that one of the forms be used for annual financial reporting by neighborhood council board members, their spouses and registered domestic partners;
Whereas neighborhood councils generally meet once each month and it generally takes two meetings for matters such as this to be fully vetted and voted upon;
Now Therefore, the LANCC requests the chair of the Education and Neighborhoods Committee to postpone consideration of the forms and recommendations of the Ethics Commission for a period of ninety days in order to allow neighborhood councils the opportunity to review the matter and to make recommendations to the Education and Neighborhoods Committee regarding the forms and possible reporting requirements.
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Resolution re: Form 52
(MS Word document)
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LANCC RESOLUTION
September 6, 2008
ANNUAL GROWTH AND INFRASTRUCTURE REVIEW
At its meeting on September 6, 2008, the LANCC delegates in attendance passed the following resolution:
Whereas, the City's General Plan is supposed to “annually document what has actually happened to the City's population levels, housing construction, employment levels and the availability of public infrastructure and public services” and that the report will be “..used to facilitate.. environmental revive for subsequent programs and projects in accordance with CEQA”; [Growth Monitoring section of the General Plan originally adopted on December 11, 1996 and re-adopted on August 8, 2001 (CPC 94-0354 GPF CF 95-2259 01-1162); and
Whereas, the annual report provides that “if growth has occurred faster than projected, a revised environmental analysis well be prepared and appropriate changes to the Community Plan and zoning will be recommend. These Plan and zoning changes, and any related moratoria or interim control ordinances, shall be submitted to the City Planning Commission, the Mayor and the City Council, as specified in the Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC).:; and
Whereas, the City has not updated its Annual Growth and Infrastructure Review Report since 1998, even though the City has experienced a great deal of growth and new constructions since 1998; and
Whereas, a lawsuit has been field seeking an order from the Superior Court to compel the City to obey its General Plan and require preparation of an annual report;
Now Therefore, be it resolved that the neighborhood council delegates present at the LANCC meeting of September 6, 2008 hereby request that the City Council create a Council File relating to the preparation of an annual infrastructure analysis and plan in conformance with the General Plan requirement, and seek a moratorium on zone changes, conditional use permits, specific plan changes, etc. until the analyses are completed.; and
Furthermore, the delegates request that neighborhood councils be consulted in the preparation of the update for their local areas.
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Resolution re: Infrastructure
(MS Word document)
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Leonard J. Shaffer
LANC Coalition Chair
email: info@lanccoalition.org
website: www.lanccoalition.org |