Meeting Summary
What Happened
The meeting's central business was Item 12, a continued Planning and Land Use Management Committee report directing staff to draft an ordinance exempting Olympic and Paralympic venues, training facilities, security perimeters, broadcast and media centers, transit infrastructure, and fan zones from standard City Planning approvals, zoning regulations, Conditional Use Permits, Site Plan Review, height and setback requirements, and Specific Plan limitations. The council also adopted, without recorded opposition, Item 2 as amended, passing 12-0.
Contested Votes
Item 12 was amended through a series of five separate amendment votes before final adoption, with Council Member Padilla casting the lone no vote on all six related roll calls (each passing 11-1):
Amendment 12E (Blumenfield, seconded by Hernandez), narrowing amendment 12B's exclusion to "large scale permanent" cable-guided transportation projects and associated infrastructure rather than all such projects.
Amendment 12D (Blumenfield, seconded by Park), a verbal amendment to 12A restoring instruction to draft the exemption ordinance while adding that the ordinance "will not be considered until the [Planning Department] reports are prepared and considered" — intended to keep the process moving while ensuring the council reviews department findings before final adoption.
Amendment 12C (Soto-Martinez, seconded by Blumenfield), requesting the Planning Department report back with clearer definitions of what qualifies as a temporary versus permanent Olympics project, given that LA28's own materials state no new permanent venues will be built for the Games, and Soto-Martinez's concern that constituents deserve clarity on construction scope, design, and labor standards for any permanent structures built in their districts.
Amendment 12B (Hernandez, seconded by Soto-Martinez), excluding large-scale permanent cable-guided transportation projects and associated infrastructure from the zoning exemption, as amended by 12E.
Amendment 12A (Park, seconded by Lee), the underlying committee recommendation directing the ordinance's drafting, as amended.
Final adoption of Item 12 as amended by 12A through 12E.
Padilla said she was disappointed the council continued to take a long time on the item, arguing that council members who visited Olympic facility sites to educate themselves on the distinction between permanent and temporary structures should trust the Planning Department's existing work, and expressed concern the city risked losing the benefits of hosting the Olympics by continuing to raise additional questions and amendments.
Public Comment
Public comment on Item 12 was limited, with most speakers using their time to address unrelated topics, including immigration enforcement and the removal of former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, rather than substantively engaging with the Olympic venue zoning-exemption ordinance.
Contested Votes
Tallies and member votes are the official record (LA City Clerk CVVS). Descriptions are drawn from the meeting transcript.
Item 12 — CF 15-0989-S47 (vote 1 of 6) (Adopted): Amendment 12E (Blumenfield) narrowing the LA28 zoning-exemption ordinance's transportation-project exclusion to "large scale permanent" cable-guided transportation projects.
| Vote | Members |
|---|---|
| Yes (11) | Adrin Nazarian, Bob Blumenfield, Curren D. Price, Eunisses Hernandez, Heather Hutt, Hugo Soto-Martinez, John Lee, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Tim Mcosker, Traci Park, Ysabel Jurado |
| No (1) | Imelda Padilla |
| Absent (3) | Katy Yaroslavsky, Monica Rodriguez, Nithya Raman |
Item 12 — CF 15-0989-S47 (vote 2 of 6) (Adopted): Amendment 12D (Blumenfield) restoring the instruction to draft the LA28 zoning-exemption ordinance, conditioned on the ordinance not being considered until Planning Department reports are prepared.
| Vote | Members |
|---|---|
| Yes (11) | Adrin Nazarian, Bob Blumenfield, Curren D. Price, Eunisses Hernandez, Heather Hutt, Hugo Soto-Martinez, John Lee, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Tim Mcosker, Traci Park, Ysabel Jurado |
| No (1) | Imelda Padilla |
| Absent (3) | Katy Yaroslavsky, Monica Rodriguez, Nithya Raman |
Item 12 — CF 15-0989-S47 (vote 3 of 6) (Adopted): Amendment 12C (Soto-Martinez) requesting Planning Department reports clarifying the definitions of temporary versus permanent Olympics construction projects.
| Vote | Members |
|---|---|
| Yes (11) | Adrin Nazarian, Bob Blumenfield, Curren D. Price, Eunisses Hernandez, Heather Hutt, Hugo Soto-Martinez, John Lee, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Tim Mcosker, Traci Park, Ysabel Jurado |
| No (1) | Imelda Padilla |
| Absent (3) | Katy Yaroslavsky, Monica Rodriguez, Nithya Raman |
Item 12 — CF 15-0989-S47 (vote 4 of 6) (Adopted): Amendment 12B (Hernandez) excluding large-scale permanent cable-guided transportation projects and associated infrastructure from the LA28 zoning-exemption ordinance.
| Vote | Members |
|---|---|
| Yes (11) | Adrin Nazarian, Bob Blumenfield, Curren D. Price, Eunisses Hernandez, Heather Hutt, Hugo Soto-Martinez, John Lee, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Tim Mcosker, Traci Park, Ysabel Jurado |
| No (1) | Imelda Padilla |
| Absent (3) | Katy Yaroslavsky, Monica Rodriguez, Nithya Raman |
Item 12 — CF 15-0989-S47 (vote 5 of 6) (Adopted): Amendment 12A (Park), the underlying Planning and Land Use Management Committee recommendation directing staff to draft the LA28 venue zoning-exemption ordinance.
| Vote | Members |
|---|---|
| Yes (11) | Adrin Nazarian, Bob Blumenfield, Curren D. Price, Eunisses Hernandez, Heather Hutt, Hugo Soto-Martinez, John Lee, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Tim Mcosker, Traci Park, Ysabel Jurado |
| No (1) | Imelda Padilla |
| Absent (3) | Katy Yaroslavsky, Monica Rodriguez, Nithya Raman |
Item 12 — CF 15-0989-S47 (vote 6 of 6) (Adopted): Final adoption of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic venue zoning-exemption ordinance report, as amended by 12A through 12E.
| Vote | Members |
|---|---|
| Yes (11) | Adrin Nazarian, Bob Blumenfield, Curren D. Price, Eunisses Hernandez, Heather Hutt, Hugo Soto-Martinez, John Lee, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Tim Mcosker, Traci Park, Ysabel Jurado |
| No (1) | Imelda Padilla |
| Absent (3) | Katy Yaroslavsky, Monica Rodriguez, Nithya Raman |