Los Angeles Municipal Code § 22.801 Duties of the Department

The Department shall:

(a) implement and oversee compliance with City ordinances and regulations relating to a system of neighborhood councils;

(b) prepare a Neighborhood Council Plan (Plan) for the creation of a system of neighborhood councils to ensure that every part of
the City is within the boundary of a neighborhood council and that each neighborhood has an opportunity to form a neighbor- hood
council, in accordance with Section 22.809;

(c) determine methods for certification of neighborhood councils;

(d) assist neighborhoods in preparing petitions for recognition or certification, identifying boundaries that minimize the division of
communities and organizing themselves in accordance with the Plan;

(e) help neighborhood councils to meet together on a citywide basis and facilitate these meetings if and when requested to do so by
recognized neighborhood councils;

(f) Assist neighborhood councils with the selection of their governing body and conduct the City’s portion of the outreach effort
necessary to mobilize stakeholders to vote in neighborhood council elections.

(g) assist neighborhood councils to share resources, including offices, equipment and other forms of support and to communicate
with constituents, other neighborhood councils and with government officials;

(h) arrange training for department staff and neighborhood councils’ officers, board and committee members, such as training in
leadership, cultural awareness, dispute mediation, civics, communications, equipment utilization, and any other training necessary to
achieve the goals set forth in Section 22.809; and implement and administer all mandatory training for neighborhood council boards
and committees. To implement and administer training, the Department shall have the authority to:

(1) Promulgate rules and regulations, establish policies and procedures, and issue directives and moratoria necessary to
implement all training requirements, enforce compliance, and resolve challenges raised by neighborhood council board
members and committee members regarding any required training.

(2) Amend neighborhood council bylaws to reflect all mandatory training requirements and modify any language in the
bylaws inconsistent with the Department’s rules, regulations, policies, procedures, directives, or moratoria.

(i) arrange community empowerment education for top level City officials, including elected officials and commissioners;

(j) with the assistance of the Information Technology Agency, create and maintain an internal and external information and
communication network available for public use to:

(1) Provide access to all current rules, regulations, and election/selection/voting and any other procedures adopted by the
Department of Neighborhood Empowerment;

(2) Provide access to all historic rules, regulations, and election/selection/voting and any other procedures adopted by the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment that are no longer in force;

(3) Provide access to all current non- confidential legal opinions by the City Attorney on matters relating to the Department
of Neighborhood Empowerment, Board of Neighborhood Commissioners, Department rules or regulations, and Department
procedures for elections/selections/voting and any other matter;

(4) Provide access to all historical non-confidential legal opinions by the City Attorney on matters relating to the
Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, Board of Neighborhood Commissioners, Department rules or regulations, and
Department procedures for elections/selections/voting and any other matter that are no longer in force; and

(5) Provide a Citywide database of existing neighborhood organizations and similar information, sortable by areas and individual Neighborhood Councils.

(k) help coordinate the relationships between existing and newly created advisory committees and neighborhood councils;

(l) perform other duties as provided by ordinance;

(m) ensure that notification required in Section 22.809(f) is provided to the neighborhood councils along with sufficient committee or staff reports on the matters of interest to facilitate meaningful participation; and

(n) facilitate citywide meetings to be held, on at least a semi-annual basis, of representatives of all neighborhood councils.

(o) ensure that neighborhood councils have adequate office and meeting space to conduct their business by facilitating the shared utilization of City owned or leased space, coordinating the acceptance and use of donated space by private donors, as well as securing suitable office and meeting space on behalf of certified neighborhood councils. The City Clerk shall have the authority to execute standard short-term rental and lease agreements with a duration of one year or less for the purpose of fulfilling its obligations under this subsection, pursuant to guidelines established by the City Clerk.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 172,728, Eff. 8-30-99. Amended by: Ord. No. 175,937, Eff. 6-1-04; Subsec. (f), Ord. No. 179,680, Eff. 4-15-08; Subsec. (p) added, Ord. No. 180,155, Eff. 9-26-08; Subsec. (j), Ord. No. 183,488, Eff. 5-3-15; Subsec. (o) amended and Subsec. (p) deleted, Ord. No. 184,835, Eff. 5-1-17; Subsec. (h), Ord. No. 187,803, Eff. 5-8-23.

(a) Stakeholder. For the purposes of this chapter, a certified neighborhood council “stakeholder” or “community stakeholder” shall be defined as:

(1) Any individual who lives, works, or owns real property within the boundaries of the neighborhood council; or

(2) Any individual who is a Community Interest Stakeholder, as defined in Subsection (b) of this section, within the boundaries of

the neighborhood council.

(b) Community Interest Stakeholder. A “Community Interest Stakeholder” is an individual who is a member of or participates in a

Community Organization, as defined in Subsection (c) of this section.

(c) Community Organization. For the purposes of this section, a “Community Organization” is an entity that has continuously

maintained a physical street address within the boundaries of the neighborhood council for not less than one year, and that performs ongoing and verifiable activities and operations that confer some benefit on the community within the boundaries of the neighborhood council.

(1) A for-profit entity shall not qualify as a Community Organization.

(2) Examples of a Community Organization may include chambers of commerce, houses of worship or other faith-based
organizations, educational institutions, or non-profit organizations.

(d) Retroactivity. This section shall not be applied retroactively. Any seated neighborhood council board member whose eligibility to serve may be affected by enactment of this section may serve the remainder of their term.

(e) Rules and Regulations. The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and the Office of the City Clerk, within their respective

roles, are authorized to promulgate rules and regulations and establish policies to implement and administer this section.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 186,760, Eff. 10-16-20.

Editor's note: Former Sec. 22.801.1 (Acceptance of Donations and Gifts by the Department), added by Ord. No. 179,545, Eff. 3-16-08, expired by its own terms on 3-16-11.

SECTION HISTORY

Added by Ord. No. 182,128, Eff. 6-18-12. Deleted by Ord. No. 182,723, Eff. 10-28-13.

ARTICLE 2

CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT

Section 22.802 General Manager. 22.803 Appointment and Removal of the General Manager. 22.804 Powers and Duties of the General Manager. 22.805 Board of Neighborhood Commissioners. 22.806 Powers and Duties of the Board. 22.807 Conflict of Interest. 22.808 Organization and Meetings of the Board. 22.809 Development of the Neighborhood Council Plan. 22.810 Implementation of the Plan. 22.810.1 Regulations Implementing the Plan for a Citywide System of Neighborhood Councils (Plan). 22.811 Certification of Neighborhood Councils. 22.812 Annual City Budget Priorities. 22.813 Monitoring of City Services.