Meeting Summary
WHAT HAPPENED
The Los Angeles City Council's June 9, 2026 meeting drew more than an hour of public comment dominated by a proposed commercial tenant anti-harassment ordinance, a proposed rodeo ban that is not currently on any council agenda, and a residential voting rights measure for noncitizen Angelenos, alongside routine unanimous business including recycling-franchise reform groundwork. Eleven to fifteen members were present through the meeting.
COMMERCIAL TENANT ANTI-HARASSMENT ORDINANCE
The council adopted, 15-0, a motion by Council Members Ysabel Jurado, Eunisses Hernandez, and Heather Hutt directing a study into a Commercial Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance. Hutt, presenting the item, said small businesses in her district and citywide face landlords who cut off services, threaten eviction, or impose steep rent increases once a tenant has built up a customer base, with no legal protections comparable to those residential tenants have. Public commenters, including attorneys from Public Counsel and Bet Tzedek, a Teamsters Local 952 representative, and several small business owners, described specific disputes with commercial landlords, including one restaurant owner facing litigation over roughly $800,000 in disputed back fees, and urged the council to move quickly on a final ordinance.
RECYCLING FRANCHISE SYSTEM
The council adopted, 14-0, a Bureau of Sanitation report directing the City Attorney to draft ordinance language updating the city's recycLA commercial trash-hauling franchise system, including a shift from a franchise fee to a cost-based fee structure and expanded enforcement authority over recycling and organics bins. Council Member Imelda Padilla questioned department staff extensively about whether cost increases under the new cost-based model, estimated in briefing materials at roughly $20 to $30 more per account, would be passed on to consumers, and whether the city could simply renew existing contracts for five years if the new bidding process falls short. Assistant General Manager Alex Helou said sanitation officials remain barred from disclosing proposed rates until negotiations conclude, with final cost comparisons expected before the council around August or September 2026, and said today's action only prepares the municipal code infrastructure for whichever contracts the council eventually approves. Council Member Adrin Nazarian, the item's sponsor, said the vote does not commit the council to any specific rate increase.
OTHER UNANIMOUS ITEMS
The council also adopted annual planning reports for the Leimert Park Village/Crenshaw Corridor, Fashion District, and Hollywood Entertainment District business improvement districts; on-call real estate services contracts for the Economic and Workforce Development Department; oversize-vehicle parking restrictions in Council District 15; a report on Caltrans freeway maintenance; repeal of a special election ordinance for a since-withdrawn November ballot initiative; the year-end Fiscal Year 2025-26 financial status report; two Los Angeles County dispute-resolution program grant awards; a final subdivision map in Council District 4; funding for a Juneteenth event, LGBT Heritage Month recognition in Council District 11, and other district community events; a lease extension for a Hope the Mission tiny home village in Council District 13; funding for Madrid Theater renovations in Council District 3; settlement payments from Ross Stores and a notice-of-violation payment from Harvard Motor Inn; and funding for Northeast Graffiti Busters community services in Council District 7.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Dozens of speakers, including members of the California State Horsemen's Association and charro community organizers, urged the council not to revive a proposed rodeo ban, which is not currently on any council committee agenda, saying a prior version failed two years ago and organizers were never contacted afterward despite requesting a meeting with Council Member Bob Blumenfield's office. Animal-rights advocates from PETA and the Animal Legal Defense Fund countered that rodeo events cause documented animal injuries and urged the council to take up a ban. Council Member Monica Rodriguez said a mailer circulating in the northeast San Fernando Valley had attempted to link the rodeo debate to immigration enforcement concerns, calling the association "exploitive and frankly disrespectful."
Other speakers, including representatives of United Teachers Los Angeles and immigrant advocacy organizers, urged support for a separate, not-yet-agendized motion that would explore allowing noncitizen residents, including DACA recipients and green card holders, to vote in city and school board elections. Fast-food workers employed at Starbucks, Carl's Jr., and other chains again pressed for passage of a fair-work ordinance requiring predictable scheduling and mandatory know-your-rights training.
CLOSING
The council adjourned in memory of three community members: Sandra "Sandy" Clydesdale, a former Council District 12 district director who worked for Representative Bobby Fiedler and Council Members Hal Bernson and Greg Smith; Teresa Mascola, a lifelong San Pedro resident who died at 90; and Sarah Kaplan, a television producer who worked on "Lost," "Felicity," "Alias," and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" and was the mother of a Council District 4 staff member.