About neighborhood councils...

Neighborhood Councils are locally-elected advisory bodies to the City of Los Angeles. They were formed for the purpose of making city government more responsive to its citizens, and to encourage the cohesiveness of neighborhoods. These advisory councils were first proposed by city council member Joel Wachs in 1996 and were incorporated in the Charter Reform of 1999. Read about the City’s Plan for a Citywide System of Neighborhood Councils,

Neighborhood Councils are official governmental bodies and so must abide by the Brown Act that strictly governs the meetings of public deliberative assemblies. Read about ethics for neighborhood councils prepared by the City’s Ethics Commission.

More than 90 neighborhood councils have been certified. The South or Harbor Area of the city was at the forefront of this movement, representing four of the first six councils certified. Central San Pedro was certified on February 12, 2002, representing approximately 32,000 residents. For more information on Neighborhood Councils visit the DONE (Department of Neighborhood Empowerment) website.

City Charter Section 912 provided for a review of the neighborhood council system within 7 years of its inception. For this purpose, the “912 Commission” was formed.