What Happened
Council Members Curren D. Price Jr. and John Lee were absent for the entire meeting. Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson presided.
Council adopted a large bloc of routine items without individual debate, including 14 street lighting district and easement-dedication items (Items 1-14), the exemption of a Chief Investment Officer position at the LA City Employees' Retirement System (LACERS) from Civil Service (Item 15, CF 26-0949), the reappointment of Dash Stolarz to the Rent Adjustment Commission through May 2030 (Item 16, CF 26-1200-S36), Transportation Committee reports on the BlueLA EV Carsharing Program, the CicLAvia Open Streets agreement, and a private ambulance service rate increase ordinance on first consideration (Items 17-20), and several other Public Works and Trade/Travel/Tourism Committee items. Council also approved, without debate, a $30 million revenue bond authorization (Motion, McOsker-Blumenfield) to finance a 166-unit multifamily rental housing project at 252 West Imperial Highway in Council District 15 (Item 31), and a $55 million revenue bond authorization (Motion, Jurado-Blumenfield) for the 271-unit "Sky Castle II" housing project at 350 South Figueroa Street in Council District 14 (Item 39) — the latter drawing public comment from Western States Carpenters representatives alleging wage theft by the developer, Jamenson Properties, on other projects; Council Member Nazarian spoke after the vote to acknowledge the carpenters' concerns while noting he had supported the item. Council Member Hernandez's motions renewing roughly $2 million in Council District 1 funding for clean teams, food assistance, and eviction-prevention rental assistance (Items 29, 30, 33, 34) passed unanimously, as amended by a technical correction moving Item 30's expiration date from June 30, 2026 to June 30, 2027. In closed session, Council approved a $2.2 million settlement in the Bridget Picket case against the LAPD (Item 41, CF 26-0901); Council Member Yaroslavsky recommended approval, and Council President Harris-Dawson remarked that many such personnel lawsuits could be avoided with more basic supervisory training within the department.
Item 27 — LAPD Funding for Topanga Division (CF 26-1096)
Council adopted a motion (Lee-Blumenfield) allocating funding for additional police services within the LAPD's Topanga Division, serving Council District 12, by a vote of 11-2-2. Council Members Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez voted no; Price and Lee were absent. Hernandez called the item for a separate vote but no floor debate or stated rationale for the dissenting votes was recorded in the transcript.
Items 37 and 38 — Rescinding and Amending 41.18 Enforcement Zones in Council District 13 (CF 21-4118-S14, CF 21-4118-S1)
Council adopted two related motions from Council Member Hugo Soto-Martinez and Council President Harris-Dawson, both by a vote of 10-3-2: Item 37 rescinded the Council's November 16, 2021 action designating a set of Municipal Code 41.18 zones — which bar sitting, sleeping, or camping in designated areas — within Council District 13, and Item 38 amended a related November 3, 2021 designation of 41.18 zones in the same district. Council Members Imelda Padilla, Monica Rodriguez, and Traci Park voted no on both; Price and Lee were absent.
Council Member Soto-Martinez said his office and volunteers from Ground Game LA and the Democratic Socialists of America canvassed roughly 2,000 doors near the affected zones, and that 96% of residents contacted either supported removing the zones or had no opinion; he cited a 40% drop in street homelessness in Council District 13 since he took office and argued the zones' enforcement approach displaces unhoused residents without permanently housing them, citing a city analysis that found 94% of people in encampments targeted for removal wanted housing but only 18% received it. Council Member Blumenfield voted yes while stating he was not making a judgment on the merits of 41.18 generally, but deferring to Soto-Martinez's discretion over his own district, as he expects the same deference for his. Council Members Padilla and Rodriguez voted no. Padilla said she felt Soto-Martinez had not extended her the same deference on 41.18 designations in her own district, and that the zones protect families in her district from an "influx" of unhoused residents displaced from other neighborhoods. Rodriguez argued 41.18 was never intended as a homelessness solution but exists to protect specific public spaces such as parks and areas near childcare centers, and that the burden of encampment removals has fallen disproportionately on districts like hers. Council Member Traci Park, whose district includes Venice, also voted no, citing her office's use of 41.18 enforcement paired with outreach and shelter placement to address encampment conditions near Venice Beach, and argued that removing the zones absent a citywide policy would abandon public spaces families rely on. Council President Harris-Dawson, who voted yes, said he supports members' discretion over 41.18 in their own districts even though he has not designated any zones himself, and contrasted the current state of Echo Park Lake and Venice Beach with their conditions in 2021.
Public Comment
Public comment included extended discussion of Items 37 and 38, with several speakers supporting the repeal of 41.18 zones in Council District 13, describing the ordinance as disproportionately affecting unhoused, disabled, and immigrant residents, and citing a city report that found the zones had permanently housed very few people. Other speakers raised concerns unrelated to the day's contested votes, including allegations of labor violations and wage theft by Jamenson Properties (tied to Item 39), complaints about Scientology's use of permits near its Los Angeles properties, and requests for expanded remote public comment access at City Council committee meetings under SB 707.