Meeting Summary
What Happened
The council met on May 20, 2025, with 13-14 members present. Most of the meeting's 43 items passed without debate, including several items amended on the floor, such as a Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Eunisses Hernandez amendment to Item 4. Council Member Curren Price recused himself from Items 14, 36, and 38 due to a potential conflict through his wife's employer. Council Member Hugo Soto-Martinez's motion in support of the Violet Tower housing project (Item 29) drew supportive public comment from the Western States Carpenters union, which cited a project labor agreement with developer Hines and an apprenticeship program.
Contested Votes
The council adopted, 11-3-1, an amended Professional Services Agreement between LAPD and six contractors for as-needed security services (Item 27, CF 22-1014-S1). Council Members Eunisses Hernandez, Ysabel Jurado, and Hugo Soto-Martinez voted no without floor comment.
The council adopted, 12-1-2, as amended, the Homelessness Emergency Account 26th Status Report and related funding recommendations (Item 36, CF 22-1545-S29). Council Member Nithya Raman's amendment, developed with Council Member Bob Blumenfield, ensured that roughly six months of interim-housing funding being moved into the city's unappropriated balance under the revised budget could still be spent as the council directs, rather than being committed upfront without a full council policy discussion; Raman said the change also addressed recurring payment delays for service providers whose invoices get stuck at LAHSA. Council Member Monica Rodriguez, who cast the lone no vote, pressed Raman on what authority the amendment would create over how individual council districts access homelessness resources, and reiterated her long-standing call — via a motion introduced roughly a year and a half earlier that has not been scheduled for a policy vote — to centralize homelessness services in a dedicated city department so that district-level access to services is not determined unilaterally.
The council adopted, 11-1-3, a determination on the need for outside counsel in ongoing litigation in the LA Alliance for Human Rights case (Item 43, CF 20-0263-S3), considered in closed session. Council Member Monica Rodriguez cast the lone no vote.
Public Comment
Several cannabis social-equity operators urged the council to reject a Department of Cannabis Regulation fee-increase proposal, alleging the department improperly charges social-equity applicants more than general applicants for routine filings and urging an independent audit before any fee study is adopted. Multiple tenants, including members of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, described facing large rent increases and landlord abuses and urged Council Member Nithya Raman and other members to adopt a Rent Stabilization Ordinance reform capping increases between 0% and 3%. A DSA Los Angeles and SEIU 721 member urged the council to fund a public bank feasibility study in the budget and to cap rent increases to prevent further homelessness.
Contested Votes
Tallies and member votes are the official record (LA City Clerk CVVS). Descriptions are drawn from the meeting transcript.
Item 27 — CF 22-1014-S1 (Adopted): An amended Professional Services Agreement between LAPD and six contractors to provide as-needed security services.
| Vote | Members |
|---|---|
| Yes (11) | Bob Blumenfield, Curren D. Price, Heather Hutt, Imelda Padilla, John Lee, Katy Yaroslavsky, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Monica Rodriguez, Nithya Raman, Tim Mcosker, Traci Park |
| No (3) | Eunisses Hernandez, Hugo Soto-Martinez, Ysabel Jurado |
| Absent (1) | Adrin Nazarian |
Item 36 — CF 22-1545-S29 (Adopted): The Homelessness Emergency Account 26th Status Report and funding recommendations, as amended to preserve council control over interim-housing funds moved into the unappropriated balance.
| Vote | Members |
|---|---|
| Yes (12) | Bob Blumenfield, Eunisses Hernandez, Heather Hutt, Hugo Soto-Martinez, Imelda Padilla, John Lee, Katy Yaroslavsky, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Nithya Raman, Tim Mcosker, Traci Park, Ysabel Jurado |
| No (1) | Monica Rodriguez |
| Absent (2) | Adrin Nazarian, Curren D. Price |
Item 43 — CF 20-0263-S3 (Adopted): A determination on the need for outside counsel in the LA Alliance for Human Rights litigation.
| Vote | Members |
|---|---|
| Yes (11) | Bob Blumenfield, Curren D. Price, Eunisses Hernandez, Heather Hutt, Hugo Soto-Martinez, John Lee, Katy Yaroslavsky, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Tim Mcosker, Traci Park, Ysabel Jurado |
| No (1) | Monica Rodriguez |
| Absent (3) | Adrin Nazarian, Imelda Padilla, Nithya Raman |