Brief

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, seconded by Bob Blumenfield, introduced a motion on May 1, 2026 to replace the Neighborhood Appeals Commission with an Area Planning Commission as part of charter reform efforts. The motion was referred to the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, which scheduled and then continued the item on May 5, 2026 without a set date for reconsideration. The file remains pending in committee.

Full summary

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez introduced a motion to act on a Charter Reform Commission recommendation to dissolve the city's five Area Planning Commissions and replace them with a single, seven-member Neighborhood Appeals Commission (NAC). The motion, seconded by Bob Blumenfield, directs the City Attorney to prepare the documents needed to place a Charter amendment on the November 2026 ballot. The central policy mechanism in the motion is a geographic representation requirement: each of the seven seats on the new NAC would be filled by an appointee from one of the city's current planning areas — North Valley, South Valley, West Los Angeles, Central Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, and Harbor Area. Rodriguez's motion frames this seat-by-seat geographic mapping as a safeguard to ensure that consolidating five commissions into one body does not dilute neighborhood-level representation in planning appeals. The motion was referred to the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee on May 1, 2026. The committee scheduled a hearing for May 5, 2026 but continued the item without setting a new date, leaving the proposal in an early stage of committee review. If the process advances and the Charter amendment reaches the November 2026 ballot, voters would decide whether to formalize this structural change to the city's planning appeals process. The file remains open and does not expire until May 5, 2028.

Activity (3)

• 2026-05-05 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee continued item to date to be determined.
• 2026-05-04 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on May 5, 2026.
• 2026-05-01 Motion referred to Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

Documents (2)

• 2026-05-05 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-05-01 Motion · motion