Council takes up LAPD camera pilot; adopts nitrous oxide sales ban

Items whose public hearings were already held in committee were approved together without discussion. Items 2 and 3 revise earlier council actions on the Wilmington-Harbor City and Harbor Gateway community plan updates (CF 25-0774, 25-0775), including ordinance language letting City Planning prepare technical corrections for one year and environmental-protection standards for sites near the border-zone property dataset and for construction hauling. Item 4 tells City Planning to bring the Missing Middle Ordinance with an option capping an attached ADU at 50 percent of the existing home and 1,200 square feet, and to report within 60 days on SB 9 and SB 1211 and on the breezeway loophole (agenda). Item 7 asks for an ordinance allowing refunds of up to $35,000 of the Affordable Housing Linkage Fee for single-family projects started but never finished, retroactive to permits expired in the last 3 years, with the fee collected again if the property is later built (agenda). Item 8 asks for an ordinance reconciling equine-keeping and housing rules. Item 9 adopts on first consideration an ordinance allowing rapid micro-trenching with the same street damage restoration fee as regular micro-trenching. Item 10 tells the Department of Cannabis Regulation to renew licenses for businesses that would have been eligible for the 2027 cannabis tax amnesty program, regardless of tax delinquency, and asks for an ordinance removing the tax requirement in LAMC 104.12(c)(1) for the September-November 2026 renewal period (agenda). Item 10 drew many public comments from social equity cannabis operators. 00:49:02

• Adopt items 2 through 4 and 7 through 10 in a single roll call. Result: passed, 12-0. 00:49:13

A second block approved without discussion. Item 5 adopts on first consideration an ordinance letting the Board of Harbor Commissioners use alternative project delivery and competitive sealed proposals for the Pier 500 Marine Container Terminal Project (agenda). Item 6 amends the Administrative Code on paid time off and holidays for intermittent employees. Item 11 moves $1,462 to light City Hall for World End Polio Day on October 24. Item 12 tells city analysts to negotiate a long-term contract with SAG-AFTRA Actor Awards LLC, with police services reimbursed and other city service costs waived, for up to five years. Item 13 moves $24,500 and $31,284 from Council District 1 funds to repair the Cypress Park Veteran Memorial. Items 16 to 19 approve four final tract and parcel maps (agenda figures). 02:05:51

• Adopt items 5, 6, 11 through 13 and 16 through 19 in a single roll call, with item 20 pulled for a separate vote at a councilmember's request. Result: passed, 14-0. 02:06:14

A public convenience or necessity finding that a Shell service station with food mart at 10974 Ventura Boulevard in Council District 4 can sell alcohol for off-site consumption. The amending motion (1A, by Nithya Raman (Councilmember, Fourth District) and Bob Blumenfield (Councilmember, Third District; President Pro Tempore)) finds the license serves public convenience and won't create a law enforcement problem, grants the application, and sends the finding to the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (journal). 02:06:14

• Adopt item 1 as amended by Amending Motion 1A (Nithya Raman (Councilmember, Fourth District) and Bob Blumenfield (Councilmember, Third District; President Pro Tempore)), granting the application. Result: passed, 14-0. 02:06:41

• A councilmember said an amendment to the item was being circulated 00:48:27

Asks the City Attorney to draft an ordinance creating a Sixth Street Viaduct Maintenance Trust Fund, run by the City Clerk, to take gifts and donations for trash and bulky-item pickup, graffiti removal and other upkeep on the bridge. The CAO reports it would help the General Fund to the extent donations offset maintenance costs (agenda). 02:06:48

• Adopt item 14. Result: passed, 14-0. 02:08:42

• A speaker described the fund as a dedicated place to take contributions for the bridge's trash pickup, dumped furniture and graffiti removal 02:06:53
• A speaker said the city still has a responsibility to care for public spaces and that she will keep pushing for resources 02:06:53
• A speaker said the district's clean team from the LA Conservation Corps is only able to clean the bridge once every two weeks 02:07:56

Extends the RV Parks Interim Control Ordinance (Ordinance No. 188753) to October 30, 2027, keeping a citywide ban on permits for RV parks approved as public benefit projects under LAMC 14.00(A)(7). The resolution calls it the second and last one-year extension while the city works on permanent rules (agenda). Supporters described existing RV parks in Wilmington as unsafe and inaccessible to emergency vehicles; the one no vote objected to how long City Planning is taking. 02:08:42

• Adopt item 15, the committee report and resolution (Monica Rodriguez (Councilmember, Seventh District) and Bob Blumenfield (Councilmember, Third District; President Pro Tempore)) extending the RV park interim control ordinance to October 30, 2027. Result: passed, 13-1. No: Nithya Raman (Councilmember, Fourth District). 02:15:19

• A councilmember said this is a second year-long extension for what seems a fairly straightforward reconciliation of state and city rules 02:08:50
• A councilmember said she was voting no only out of frustration with the planning department's timeline 02:08:50
• A speaker disputed that the issue is straightforward and argued for the two-year moratorium process other California cities use 02:09:29
• A speaker said RV parks should require a conditional use permit that protects the people living in them 02:09:29
• A speaker described two RV parks permitted in Wilmington as places where residents live in squalor, inaccessible to police, fire and paramedics 02:10:35
• Monica Rodriguez (Councilmember, Seventh District) called the use of the public benefit code an exploitation to the detriment of residents 02:12:02
• Monica Rodriguez (Councilmember, Seventh District) agreed RV parks should require a conditional use permit 02:13:03
• A councilmember said she does not disagree on the issues and is fine with a conditional use permit, but wants the work to move faster 02:13:44
• A speaker argued a two-year moratorium is authorized by state law and is serving its purpose 02:14:28

A motion by Hugo Soto-Martínez (Councilmember, Thirteenth District) and Marqueece Harris-Dawson (Councilmember, Eighth District; President, City Council) (agenda) to assert council jurisdiction under Charter Section 245 over the Board of Police Commissioners' September 22 approval of a memorandum of understanding with Axon Enterprise for the Lightpost Test Pilot Program, and send it to committee. LAPD staff described the MOU as a three-month pilot of automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. Taking jurisdiction puts the commission's approval under council review; the deadline to act was October 7 (agenda). Supporters wanted written data-sharing, access and audit policies in place before cameras go up; opponents said the delay holds up cameras communities have asked and paid for. 02:15:24

▶ Hear it Who audits outside agencies using LAPD's camera data? · 0:59

• Assert jurisdiction under Charter Section 245 over the Police Commission's September 22 approval of the Axon Lightpost MOU and refer it to committee (motion of Hugo Soto-Martínez (Councilmember, Thirteenth District) and Marqueece Harris-Dawson (Councilmember, Eighth District; President, City Council)). Result: passed, 10-4. No: Bob Blumenfield (Councilmember, Third District; President Pro Tempore), John Lee (Councilmember, Twelfth District; Assistant President Pro Tempore), Traci Park (Councilmember, Eleventh District), Monica Rodriguez (Councilmember, Seventh District). 02:53:07
• Send item 20 forthwith. Result: passed. 02:59:54

• A councilmember asked to pull the item for a separate vote and to bring LAPD up for questions 02:06:04
• Bob Blumenfield (Councilmember, Third District; President Pro Tempore) said his motion over a year ago, with funding the council approved, was meant to get cameras up in his district 02:15:29
• Bob Blumenfield (Councilmember, Third District; President Pro Tempore) stressed that what is before the council is a three-month MOU to test the cameras, not the privacy policy 02:16:35
• Bob Blumenfield (Councilmember, Third District; President Pro Tempore) offered to support a separate motion to examine the policy in committee instead of slowing the pilot 02:16:35
• Bob Blumenfield (Councilmember, Third District; President Pro Tempore) said the commission did what the council asked by dropping the Flock contract over privacy concerns 02:17:41
• City staff said the plate readers capture vehicle images and plate data but no facial recognition, biometrics or audio 02:18:38
• City staff described the three-month pilot as a test of whether the technology meets the department's and communities' needs 02:19:39
• City staff said the MOU sets minimum standards any vendor would have to meet to do business with the city 02:20:42
• A councilmember argued the MOU and the department's policy go hand in hand and can't be separated 02:22:19
• City staff said only a limited, trained pool of officers has access, and the proposed policy would limit searches to ninety days, up to twelve months with command approval 02:23:01
• A councilmember noted the Inspector General recommended this summer that LAPD suspend new ALPR cameras and contracts pending public input 02:24:46
• City staff said the policy changes would be put in place during the pilot and presented to the commission for final approval at its end 02:25:46
• A speaker said the vendor is reworking its back end so LAPD can run inspections and audits, which requires the pilot to proceed 02:27:53
• A councilmember argued the policy should come first and the vendor should then be told what to do 02:28:40
• City staff said the Inspector General recently completed a full audit and that the last internal audit was roughly a year and a half to two years ago 02:29:03
• City staff said LAPD shares with about 15 agencies and proposes limiting access to adjacent counties within a set radius 02:29:33
• A speaker read a list of outside agencies with access, including Torrance, Huntington Park, Hayward, Signal Hill and Madera County 02:31:42
• A speaker said LAPD runs monthly inspections of system use and analyzed 23,000 data points for September 02:32:22
• A councilmember said LAPD staffing has fallen to about 8,500 officers and the chief has asked for technology to make up for it 02:33:43
• A councilmember said the city has spent millions, including $15 million in state funding, on license plate readers 02:34:46
• A councilmember argued any 245 action should have come in July and noted Axon has been a city vendor since 2016 02:35:46
• Eunisses Hernandez (Councilmember, First District) cited more than 200 documented cases of officers and deputies using plate-reader data to stalk people 02:37:17
• Eunisses Hernandez (Councilmember, First District) warned that LAPD pilots have become permanent programs without returning to council, citing the robot dog 02:38:28
• A councilmember objected that the MOU moves forward without new internal safeguards or an independent third-party audit 02:41:28
• A councilmember asked colleagues to bring the issue to the Public Safety Committee for a fuller public discussion 02:41:28
• Bob Blumenfield (Councilmember, Third District; President Pro Tempore) said LAPD spent a year and a half and produced a 98-page report with strict limits 02:42:48
• Bob Blumenfield (Councilmember, Third District; President Pro Tempore) argued the policy debate would take at least three months anyway, so the pilot should run in the meantime 02:43:50
• City staff said agencies outside the local counties would lose access entirely under the new policy 02:44:38
• Eunisses Hernandez (Councilmember, First District) called it irresponsible to start the pilot before there is a policy on auditing outside agencies 02:44:58
• The presiding councilmember said cameras on part of Figueroa helped rescue 125 trafficking victims this year but admitted he doesn't know what else the cameras do 02:45:44
• The presiding councilmember committed to bring the matter back to council by October 23 if the 245 passed, and said he would support it 02:47:48
• Bob Blumenfield (Councilmember, Third District; President Pro Tempore) said the Figueroa cameras were probably taken down as Flock cameras and can't go back up until the MOU passes 02:48:29
• Eunisses Hernandez (Councilmember, First District) pointed to the speed-camera program, where strong data protections were set first, as the model 02:48:49
• Monica Rodriguez (Councilmember, Seventh District) called for a universal citywide data and privacy policy for all departments' technology instead of singling out LAPD 02:49:33
• A councilmember said she was conflicted, noted her own motion that day on data sharing and street furniture, and challenged the Rules Committee to lead on a citywide approach 02:51:22

During announcements, a councilmember described a citywide financial-literacy campaign with the Youth Development Department and Suma Wealth for people ages 18 to 25, and announced 5,000 free one-year premium memberships to the Suma Wealth app. The figures are from the transcript only. 02:53:20

• Monica Rodriguez (Councilmember, Seventh District) cited a new state law requiring a personal finance course for high school graduation for the class of 2031 02:53:38
• Monica Rodriguez (Councilmember, Seventh District) reported more than 15,600 lessons completed and over 1,300 bank accounts connected for coaching 02:54:39
• Monica Rodriguez (Councilmember, Seventh District) announced 5,000 free one-year premium memberships 02:55:40

A speaker described a motion asking for a public accounting of which county-funded mental health, public health, health and social services programs serve city residents, how the county responds to city requests, and how county staff work with city interim housing sites, as the county moves homelessness funding from LAHSA to its own new department. 02:57:16

• A speaker said the county has moved homelessness funding away from LAHSA to its new Department of Homelessness Services and Housing 02:57:16
• A speaker said the motion asks how often county staff interact with city interim housing sites 02:58:16

• About 30 people spoke, roughly 23 in person and 7 by phone.
• About seven speakers, mostly in person, opposed the LAPD-Axon license plate reader pilot (item 20). They urged the council to reject it and end all plate readers, citing data sharing with federal immigration authorities, the Inspector General's listening session where they said residents opposed the readers, and contract language preserving LAPD's right to share data. Two callers spoke more favorably of camera surveillance.
• Six in-person speakers, most identifying as social equity cannabis operators, backed item 10's license renewals during general comment. Several asked the council to amend it to add a definition of social equity cannabis businesses to the city tax code, and cited high tax burdens and competition from illegal shops. Item 10 was not open for comment because comment was already taken in committee. One caller also asked for lower cannabis taxes and fees.
• Several speakers made personal attacks or profane remarks aimed at councilmembers. The chair had one speaker removed from the chamber after repeated profane outbursts during comment on item 14.
• Individual speakers raised: a Hope Lodge cancer patient lodging facility in Southern California; illegal dumping in the Antelope Valley by a waste hauler with city contracts; water access at fire stations and heat-relief vouchers; Animal Services conditions and alleged corruption; Scientology street permits; reckless driving; RV parks and the polio motion; union and economic development efforts; and several comments unrelated to city business.

• Item 20 (Axon Lightpost pilot) goes to committee after the council asserted jurisdiction; it was sent forthwith. The presiding member told John Lee (Councilmember, Twelfth District; Assistant President Pro Tempore), addressed as Public Safety chair, that it must be back before the council by October 23.
• Item 4: City Planning to report back within 60 days on SB 9 and SB 1211 impacts on attached ADUs (agenda).
• Item 7: City Planning and Building and Safety, with the CAO and City Attorney, to prepare an ordinance for linkage-fee refunds; CAO to report on how many projects qualify and the revenue impact (agenda).
• Item 10: City Attorney to prepare an ordinance removing LAMC 104.12(c)(1) for the September-November 2026 renewal period (agenda).
• Item 14: City Attorney to prepare the ordinance creating the Sixth Street Viaduct Maintenance Trust Fund (agenda).
• Item 15: RV park interim control ordinance now runs to October 30, 2027, described in the resolution as the second and last extension; permanent rules still pending from City Planning.
• Items 5, 6 and 9 were ordinances on first consideration, each adopted unanimously by the members present.
• A speaker's motion on county health and homelessness services is to be heard in the council's homelessness and health committee.

A neighborhood group, Concerned Citizens of Stanley Hills Drive, appealed the environmental (CEQA) clearance for a new two-story single-family home of about 2,338 square feet, with an attached two-car garage, pool, spa, rooftop deck, and two retaining walls up to 10 feet tall, at 2166 North Stanley Hills Drive and 2172 Stanley Hills Drive in Council District 4 (agenda). The Planning and Land Use Management Committee recommended granting the appeal. That overturns the clearance and sends the project back to the Central Los Angeles Area Planning Commission, with the Department of City Planning told to get a study of whether the project complies with state and local fire regulations, which the commission then weighs in reviewing the clearance again. The council approved it with no discussion, in a group vote on items 1 through 5. In public comment the applicant asked the council to deny the appeal. He argued that a 75-day deadline ran out on September 14 without his consent, so the council no longer had jurisdiction, and said the Fire Department had since approved the plan. The appellants' representative and several residents thanked the council. They cited narrow canyon streets, how hard it is to evacuate, and roughly 1,500 residents who could be trapped in a fire. 00:48:09

• Adopt the committee recommendation to grant the appeal, overturn the CEQA clearance, and remand to the Central Los Angeles Area Planning Commission with a fire-regulation compliance study (voted as a group with items 1, 2, 4, and 5). Result: passed, 10 ayes. 00:48:09

Four items that had already had public hearings in committee passed in one roll call with item 3 and no discussion (agenda). Item 1 asks Recreation and Parks to report on creating a citywide running club. Item 2 tells the Bureau of Sanitation to write into its procedures that CARE/CARE+ cleanups in an area can be adjusted, postponed, or suspended when a local emergency is declared there, at each council office's discretion, to set a protocol for posting cancellation notices, and to report back within 60 days. Item 4 approves a Port of Los Angeles amendment to its real estate legal services contract with Nossaman LLP, adding $1,342,047 for a maximum of $3,430,672 and extending it two years to December 5, 2030. Item 5 tells LADOT to study moving or adding speed safety cameras to Paseo Del Mar between Gaffey Street and Barbara Street in San Pedro, and to report on other traffic-calming options. 00:48:09

• Adopt items 1, 2, 4, and 5 (voted as a group with item 3). Result: passed, 10 ayes. 00:48:09

After public comment the council passed items 7 through 19 and item 21 in one roll call with no discussion (agenda). They include $585,728 in sworn overtime and $158,053 in related costs from a California Department of Justice tobacco grant (item 7). Item 9 asks departments to report within 30 days on street racing and intersection takeover sites, with an updated top-50 list. Item 10 asks the City Attorney to draft a drone ordinance protecting critical infrastructure. Item 12 gives $75,000 to the West Adams Dia de los Muertos Festival. Item 13 reactivates an old council file on a City Charter amendment to create a Community Borough System. Item 16 approves up to $20,000,000 in revenue bonds for a 61-unit rental housing project at 1800 East 92nd Street. Item 17 concerned a Board of Police Commissioners contract extension with SA Recycling for auto dismantling services. Items 18, 19, and 21 set city positions on a County reward, a National Infrastructure Bank bill, and wildfire recovery. 02:01:33

• Adopt items 7 through 19 and 21. Result: passed, 14 ayes. 02:01:50

The ordinance adds Section 56.34 to the Municipal Code and bars tobacco and cannabis retailers from selling or distributing nitrous oxide. It was up for first consideration and is subject to the Mayor's approval (agenda). Tim McOsker (Councilmember, Fifteenth District) called the item special for Imelda Padilla (Councilmember, Sixth District), and an amending motion, 6A (Imelda Padilla (Councilmember, Sixth District)–Tim McOsker (Councilmember, Fifteenth District)), asks the City Attorney to prepare a further ordinance covering all retailers that sell or distribute nitrous oxide without a legitimate use, using new state authority. About ten in-person speakers, most of them high school students, urged the council to pass it. Several described finding discarded tanks near schools. 02:01:54

▶ Hear it Why must students ask the city to keep poison from schools? · 0:49

• Present and adopt the ordinance adding LAMC Section 56.34, barring nitrous oxide sales and distribution by tobacco and cannabis retailers. Result: passed. 02:07:08
• Amending motion 6A (Imelda Padilla (Councilmember, Sixth District)–Tim McOsker (Councilmember, Fifteenth District)) asking the City Attorney to prepare an additional ordinance extending the prohibition to all retailers selling or distributing nitrous oxide without a legitimate use. Result: passed. 02:07:08

• A councilmember said she had spent two years working with community partners, students, and the City Attorney to move the policy through council 02:02:04
• A councilmember said a new state law bars smoke shops, tobacco retailers, and convenience stores from selling nitrous oxide altogether 02:02:04
• A councilmember said the new state laws also let cities adopt stronger local restrictions 02:03:05
• A councilmember explained that her amendment asks the City Attorney to widen the ordinance to all retailers selling nitrous oxide without a legitimate use 02:03:05
• A councilmember told smoke shops selling the product to stop and warned that violators would be held accountable 02:04:07
• A councilmember asked residents who see the tanks for sale to report them to the City Attorney's office 02:04:07
• A speaker thanked the lead councilmember and the student advocates and urged a yes vote 02:05:18
• The chair said it was a shame that children must ask government to keep poison away from their schools 02:05:42
• The chair called that situation an indictment of society and the economic system 02:05:42

The resolution puts in the city's 2026-27 State Legislative Program its support for the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board moving ahead with emergency and permanent rules to ban the fabrication and installation of artificial stone with more than 1 percent crystalline silica. Workers who cut these countertop materials have been getting silicosis (agenda). The resolution is subject to the Mayor's concurrence. Eunisses Hernandez (Councilmember, First District) called it special for comment. One public speaker from a worker organization supported it. 02:07:08

• Adopt the resolution supporting state emergency and permanent regulatory action to ban artificial stone with more than 1 percent crystalline silica. Result: passed. 02:09:35

• A councilmember said 98 percent of California workers diagnosed with silicosis are Latino men in their twenties to forties 02:07:21
• A councilmember said Los Angeles County accounts for 60 of the 83 countertop silicosis cases the state has identified 02:07:21
• A councilmember said Cal/OSHA's silica enforcement program has issued more than 900 citations 02:07:21
• A councilmember argued that the citations show workplace safety rules alone cannot make the product safe 02:08:24
• A councilmember said workplace controls are interim protection and only an outright ban will save lives 02:08:24

The resolution puts in the city's 2026-27 legislative agenda a call for Los Angeles County to honor the LA Alliance MOU. That agreement requires the County to help people with severe mental illness move from city-funded interim housing into County-run systems of care, including bed placements (agenda). The resolution is subject to the Mayor's concurrence. Monica Rodriguez (Councilmember, Seventh District) called it special for comment. 02:09:41

• Adopt the resolution calling on Los Angeles County to adhere to the LA Alliance MOU on serving people with severe mental illness. Result: passed, 14 ayes. 02:11:44

• A speaker said the settlement directs the County to identify people at city-funded sites who need higher levels of care 02:09:41
• A speaker pointed out that the city has no public health or mental health department and relies on the County for those services 02:09:41
• A speaker said the judge in the case helped secure 3,000 beds the County is supposed to make available, and that they have not materialized 02:10:42
• A speaker said she sent the court a letter, now posted publicly, asking the judge to help hold the County accountable 02:10:42
• A speaker argued the city cannot keep duplicating services the County is funded to provide 02:11:44

The council met in closed session with its lawyers on a federal lawsuit (U.S. District Court Case No. CV14-01371-FMO) that challenges the constitutionality of the city's $63 late fee for unpaid parking citations (agenda). Back in open session, the City Attorney's office reported nothing to announce. 02:12:19

• Closed session conference with legal counsel. Result: no action. 03:04:48

The council adjourned in memory of the Los Angeles Lakers' longtime arena announcer. It also marked the third anniversary of the October 7 attack in Israel, and City Hall was to be lit in blue and white that night. 03:05:14

• The chair asked the council to adjourn in memory of the Lakers' longtime announcer 03:05:17
• The chair said the announcer had worked courtside since 1982 03:05:17
• A councilmember marked three years since the October 7 terror attack in Israel 03:07:19
• A councilmember said almost 1,200 people were killed by Hamas, which he called a terrorist organization 03:07:19
• A councilmember said City Hall would be lit in blue and white that night in remembrance 03:09:24

• About ten in-person speakers backed the item 6 nitrous oxide ordinance. Two were staff of a San Fernando Valley nonprofit, and about eight were students from a charter high school. Several described discarded tanks near their schools and homes, and one said students found at least 14 tanks near their school. One staffer said 73% of city schools are within 1,000 feet of a smoke shop.
• Phone callers were split on item 6. One praised the students but faulted the council's record. One mocked the item. One asked whether it would lead to criminalization. One asked why the issue had come back.
• On item 3 (Stanley Hills Drive), the applicant asked the council to deny the appeal. He argued that a 75-day deadline expired on September 14, so the council lacked jurisdiction, and said the Fire Department had approved the plan. The appellants' representative and about four residents thanked the council. They cited narrow canyon streets, a recent house fire that blocked the road, and about 1,500 residents with limited ways out. The representative said the Fire Department review covered only the city fire code, not the state's minimum fire-safe regulations.
• One speaker from a worker advocacy group supported item 20's artificial stone ban. She cited the incurable disease, a median patient age of 46, and Australia's ban.
• Three speakers, fellows of a women's policy institute, urged the council to adopt a resolution recognizing October 10 as a day for housing justice as a reproductive health issue.
• One speaker thanked the council president for pledging safety improvements on 60th Street, urged a recommitment to Vision Zero, and said volunteers would keep painting crosswalks.
• One speaker alleged illegal dumping by a waste hauler and objected to new franchise agreements with it.
• Callers also criticized the borough-system file (item 13) as undermining neighborhood councils (two callers), more grant money for LAPD and possible LAPD information-sharing with ICE (one), the legal fight over the $63 late fee in item 23 (one), and a councilmember's handling of federal fire aid (one, on item 21).
• One caller argued that remote public comment should match in-person comment, and one asked that call-in comment return at committee meetings.
• A number of in-person and phone speakers made off-topic, profane, or abusive remarks, including a racial slur from one caller. Staff and the chair warned at least one speaker, and one caller was told to get on topic several times.

• Item 6: the ordinance passed on first consideration and is subject to the Mayor's approval. Under amending motion 6A, the City Attorney is to prepare an additional ordinance extending the nitrous oxide ban to all retailers selling without a legitimate use.
• Item 3: the Stanley Hills Drive project returns to the Central Los Angeles Area Planning Commission after the Department of City Planning gets a study of compliance with state and local fire regulations. The applicant said in public comment that it preserves its jurisdictional objections.
• Item 2: the Bureau of Sanitation is to report back within 60 days with final procedure language and a posting protocol for CARE/CARE+ suspensions during declared emergencies (agenda).
• Item 9: departments are to report back within 30 days on street racing and takeover locations, capacity, costs, and funding (agenda).
• Item 10: the City Attorney is to draft a drone ordinance (agenda).
• Item 1: Recreation and Parks is to report on a citywide running club. Item 5: LADOT is to report on speed cameras and traffic calming for Paseo Del Mar (agenda).
• Items 19, 20, 21, and 22 are subject to the Mayor's concurrence. Items 7, 11, and 16 are subject to the Mayor's approval (agenda).
• Item 13: Council File 02-1011 on a Community Borough System Charter amendment is reactivated at its last legislative status (agenda).

Routine opening business: approval of the minutes of the October 7, 2026 meeting, then the commendatory resolutions. Monica Rodriguez (Councilmember, Seventh District) moved the minutes and Nithya Raman (Councilmember, Fourth District) seconded; Imelda Padilla (Councilmember, Sixth District) moved the commendatory resolutions and John Lee (Councilmember, Twelfth District; Assistant President Pro Tempore) seconded. No vote or result was announced for either. 00:38:29

Council file 22-0437-S1. An Economic Development and Jobs Committee report recommending the council note and file an Economic and Workforce Development Department report dated October 14, 2025 on expanding the Healthy Neighborhood Market Program in Council District 15. The item goes back to a 2023 motion by Tim McOsker (Councilmember, Fifteenth District) and Curren Price (Councilmember, Ninth District). Noting and filing receives the report and takes no further action. Adopted with items 2 through 4 in one roll call, without discussion. 00:39:04

• Adopt items 1 through 4, which had already had public hearings, in a single roll call. Result: passed, 10-0. 00:39:04

Council file 14-1174-S40. Under a motion by Hugo Soto-Martínez (Councilmember, Thirteenth District) and Eunisses Hernandez (Councilmember, First District), the council amends an Economic and Workforce Development Department report so that the Community Investment Department takes over monitoring of CRA/LA Excess Non-Housing Bond Proceeds for the Hollywood Walk of Fame Public Amenities Project. The agenda says neither the City Administrative Officer nor the Chief Legislative Analyst did a financial analysis. Adopted with items 1, 3 and 4 in one roll call, without discussion. 00:39:04

• Adopt items 1 through 4, which had already had public hearings, in a single roll call. Result: passed, 10-0. 00:39:04

Council file 18-0534-S1. A companion to item 2. It adds language from a motion by Hugo Soto-Martínez (Councilmember, Thirteenth District) and Monica Rodriguez (Councilmember, Seventh District) to the Government Operations Committee report the council approved on June 25, 2025, so that the record shows the Community Investment Department taking the CRA/LA Excess Non-Housing Bond Proceeds monitoring role for the Hollywood Walk of Fame Public Amenities Project. Adopted with items 1, 2 and 4 in one roll call, without discussion. 00:39:04

• Adopt items 1 through 4, which had already had public hearings, in a single roll call. Result: passed, 10-0. 00:39:04

Council file 26-1242. Under a motion by Bob Blumenfield (Councilmember, Third District; President Pro Tempore) and Monica Rodriguez (Councilmember, Seventh District), the council instructs the Department of Transportation to put up permanent ceremonial signs reading 'Canoga Park Arts Hub' at the Madrid Theatre (21622 Sherman Way), the Taxco Theatre (7242 Owensmouth Avenue) and the Canoga Park Youth Arts Center (7222 Remmet Avenue). The signs recognize the three venues' contributions to the cultural, educational, economic and civic life of Canoga Park and the West Valley. The agenda says no financial analysis was done. Adopted with items 1 through 3 in one roll call, without discussion. 00:39:04

• Adopt items 1 through 4, which had already had public hearings, in a single roll call. Result: passed, 10-0. 00:39:04

Before the presentations, a councilmember marked Hangul Day, held each October 9 to honor the Korean alphabet, and introduced the honorary head of the Foundation for Korean Language and Culture in USA, who spoke. A councilmember welcomed a visiting delegation from the Venice Chamber of Commerce. These were ceremonial announcements, and nothing was voted on. 00:39:35

• John Lee (Councilmember, Twelfth District; Assistant President Pro Tempore) said this year marks the 580th anniversary of the alphabet's proclamation and the 100th anniversary of Hangul Day 00:39:50
• John Lee (Councilmember, Twelfth District; Assistant President Pro Tempore) explained that the alphabet was designed so that ordinary people could easily learn to read and write 00:39:50
• A councilmember welcomed a delegation from the Venice Chamber of Commerce and called it a vital partner in Council District 11 00:43:02
• A councilmember said the chamber is working to make sure local small businesses benefit from upcoming major world events 00:43:02

During the opening announcements, a councilmember spoke about a large law enforcement operation in Skid Row the day before, October 8. She described dozens of officers in the neighborhood, residents kept from returning to their tents, and fears of an immigration raid. She said her office brought in county services and gave providers a safety protocol. She also tied the neighborhood's conditions to the city's 1976 'containment zone' policy and to years of city disinvestment. No action was taken. Several public commenters later spoke about the same operation. 00:44:43

• A councilmember said her constituents were still reeling from what happened in Skid Row the day before, even as others treated it as a victory lap 00:44:43
• A councilmember described dozens of officers knocking down doors and people being kept from going home, even when home was a tent 00:44:43
• A councilmember said a federal investigation set off renewed fears of an immigration raid nearby 00:44:43
• A councilmember said her office brought in county homelessness, housing, mental health and public health services and gave providers a safety protocol for their clients 00:45:43
• A councilmember said the city deliberately created Skid Row in 1976 by drawing a containment zone around poverty and homelessness downtown, then disinvested in it 00:45:43
• A councilmember said basic services take a fight, citing a push for 12 trash cans and a yearly fight for five public bathrooms 00:45:43
• A councilmember said Skid Row has the city's densest populations of seniors, disabled people and Black residents 00:46:44
• A councilmember argued that Skid Row is the whole city's responsibility, not just her district's 00:47:44

A councilmember led the council's yearly recognition of Indigenous Peoples' Day. Representatives of the Gabrieleño San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians gave a land acknowledgment. Speakers from the Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission, United American Indian Involvement (UAII) and the Indigenous women-led organization CIELO also spoke. The guests asked the city to include Native people in its decisions and to pay for language access. A councilmember formally recognized October 12, 2026 as Indigenous Peoples' Day and handed out certificates. 00:49:15

• A councilmember said the council marks the day every year so the body remembers the land's first caretakers and acts accordingly 00:49:31
• A speaker asked how the city can make sure Native peoples are included in the decisions that shape their communities, not just acknowledged at ceremonies 00:52:32
• A speaker asked the city to make Indigenous Peoples' Day more than a commemoration 00:53:35
• A councilmember said Los Angeles is home to more than 327,000 people who identify as Native American or California Indian 00:54:12
• A councilmember said the city is also home to 30 distinct Indigenous communities from Mexico and Central America 00:54:12
• A councilmember said the Native American Indian Commission was set up in 1976 and helped establish Indigenous Peoples' Day in Los Angeles 00:55:14
• A speaker said UAII has been fighting, on its own, the trafficking of Native people by fraudulent drug treatment programs, and asked councilmembers to stand with it 01:02:50
• A speaker asked the council to fund language access in the budget, calling it a matter of rights 01:06:03
• A speaker said 36 Indigenous languages are spoken in the city by displaced communities, many from Guatemala and Mexico 01:07:08
• A speaker hoped the recognition would not be a once-a-year event and that the city would work with these groups through its budget and its work 01:09:26
• A councilmember thanked the honorees for making a home in the city despite displacement and oppression 01:10:27
• Eunisses Hernandez (Councilmember, First District) formally recognized October 12, 2026 as Indigenous Peoples' Day and presented certificates 01:11:14
• Eunisses Hernandez (Councilmember, First District) said she wants the city to become more supportive through policy and the budget 01:11:53

A councilmember welcomed a group of Cal State Northridge students visiting City Hall and encouraged them to take part in local government. 01:12:26

• Imelda Padilla (Councilmember, Sixth District) welcomed CSUN students visiting City Hall 01:14:09
• Imelda Padilla (Councilmember, Sixth District) told the students City Hall is open to them and their voices matter 01:14:09
• Imelda Padilla (Councilmember, Sixth District) said she earned her master's degree at CSUN 01:15:15

A councilmember honored a Los Angeles-raised professional basketball player for his community work through the Why Not Foundation. That work includes a reading room at 75th Street Elementary, a court and tech lab at the Crenshaw YMCA, yearly Thanksgiving meals at Jesse Owens Park, a middle and high school he founded with the LA Promise Fund, and an investment in Evermont, a development at Vermont and Manchester. Certificates went to him, the school, the LA Promise Fund and the Crenshaw YMCA. Several councilmembers spoke in praise. No action was taken. 01:16:05

• A councilmember cited a reading room he built at the elementary school he attended as a child 01:18:11
• A councilmember said the foundation has served thousands of meals to families every year for more than a decade 01:19:13
• A councilmember said he founded a middle and high school with the LA Promise Fund in 2021, and that it now has a permanent campus in South Gate 01:19:13
• A councilmember said he is a community investor in Evermont, which brings 180 affordable homes for seniors and families, a school and local businesses 01:20:14
• A speaker praised him for continuing to show up for the communities that raised him 01:24:26
• A speaker thanked him for supporting a clean-technology effort the transcript renders as LACE, which DWP invested in years ago 01:25:31
• A speaker praised his commitment to youth and education 01:26:32
• A councilmember said the Vermont and Manchester site was the city's biggest fire in the 1992 unrest and then sat empty for 27 years 01:27:57
• A councilmember said Target pulled out of the Evermont project after the presidential election, but the developers and the honoree stayed with it 01:28:58
• A councilmember said the opening of a full-service grocery store at the site will be announced next year, in what he called a food desert 01:28:58
• A councilmember said the certificate was signed by all councilmembers and the mayor 01:34:16

A councilmember honored Union de Vecinos on its 30th anniversary. The group began in 1996 among families in the Pico Aliso public housing projects who were facing demolition, and it was a founding local of the Los Angeles Tenants Union. Its leaders used the time to criticize the demolition and privatization of public housing and to call affordable housing a sham. They also urged the city to protect immigrant communities from federal enforcement. Councilmembers responded, and a resolution signed by the council was presented. No action was taken. 01:36:52

• A councilmember said the group started among Pico Aliso public housing families facing demolition and displacement 01:38:12
• A councilmember cited the group's campaigns, including the Mariachi Building rent strike and Food Not Rent 01:39:13
• A speaker said the group was born in 1996, when the federal government decided to demolish public housing in Boyle Heights 01:41:39
• A speaker said more than 1,200 public housing units were demolished 01:41:39
• A speaker charged that more public housing is now being privatized, demolished and threatened by the city 01:42:48
• A speaker argued that affordable housing is a sham that the poorest people cannot afford 01:43:55
• A speaker said members are fighting a federal housing proposal to evict undocumented immigrants 01:48:09
• A speaker asked the city to use all its power to protect communities from federal immigration enforcement 01:52:06
• A councilmember said she recently reviewed a ten-year report on Clean Up Green Up, the environmental justice policy the group helped build 01:55:30
• A councilmember said the policy was recognized as good but was never adequately funded or supported 01:55:30
• A councilmember said a mayoral candidate who later became mayor copied the policy into a campaign platform, but nothing came of it 01:56:32
• A councilmember said she hopes to do what Boyle Heights did with the policy in the Pacoima and Sun Valley community plans, and to revisit and strengthen it 01:57:36
• Hugo Soto-Martínez (Councilmember, Thirteenth District) said it is new for tenant advocates to work in partnership with elected officials 01:59:03
• Hugo Soto-Martínez (Councilmember, Thirteenth District) urged organizers not to depend on the political system to save them 02:00:17

To close Latino Heritage Month, a councilmember honored the Panorama City Chamber of Commerce on its tenth anniversary. She said local business owners founded it in 2016 after a business improvement district in the area dissolved. Chamber leaders spoke, councilmembers added congratulations, and a certificate was presented. No action was taken. 02:03:23

• Imelda Padilla (Councilmember, Sixth District) said the chamber was founded in 2016 by local business owners, professionals and community members 02:05:21
• Imelda Padilla (Councilmember, Sixth District) said the chamber formed after the area's former business improvement district dissolved 02:06:23
• A speaker said the founders started a chamber because a neighborhood council, as a city entity, was too limited to do more 02:09:10
• Hugo Soto-Martínez (Councilmember, Thirteenth District) said parts of his district, including Little Armenia, Thai Town and Historic Filipinotown, have no chamber or business improvement district 02:18:24
• Hugo Soto-Martínez (Councilmember, Thirteenth District) encouraged businesses in those areas to form an organization of their own 02:18:24
• A speaker said elected officials value community activists who volunteer to get involved 02:19:59
• A speaker said Northeast San Fernando Valley communities are linked across council district lines 02:22:41
• A speaker called for more collaboration among the Pacoima and Panorama chambers and ICON CDC 02:22:41
• A councilmember said the Panorama mall and the old Montgomery Ward site are being redeveloped 02:24:27

Council file 24-1184-S1. A City Administrative Officer recommendation authorizing the Personnel Department to sign a Second Amended and Restated Professional Services Agreement (Contract No. C-139210) with PureEHS Buyer LLC, formerly UL Verification Services, Inc. The amendment adds $412,506 (agenda), bringing the not-to-exceed total to $1,344,734 (agenda). It extends the term by two years, to run September 30, 2021 through September 29, 2028, and updates the standard city contract provisions. The CAO says the money is in the Personnel Department's 2026-27 budget under the line item 'Occupational Health Management software,' with no additional General Fund impact. The Personnel and Hiring Committee waived consideration, so the item needed 10 votes to be considered, and the time limit for council action was November 3, 2026. No councilmember spoke on it. A few public commenters addressed it (see public comment). 02:57:37

• Approve the CAO recommendation to execute the second amended and restated agreement with PureEHS Buyer LLC. Result: passed, 12-0. 02:57:50

New motions from members were posted and referred to committee without objection. The transcript does not describe their content. 02:57:52

• Post and refer the motions submitted for posting and referral. Result: passed. 02:57:52

Members announced weekend events: San Pedro's Festa Italiana, announced by a councilmember on behalf of Tim McOsker (Councilmember, Fifteenth District), and a Council District 1 street festival on Figueroa. A councilmember praised the MacArthur Park work done by Eunisses Hernandez (Councilmember, First District)'s office. A councilmember reported that the Continuum of Care General Board meeting that morning was shut down before its planned vote on the county taking over from LAHSA, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, because too many people tried to join online. He said city offices had mobilized people to attend. 02:57:52

▶ Hear it A vote on the county taking over LAHSA gets shut down · 0:48

• John Lee (Councilmember, Twelfth District; Assistant President Pro Tempore) invited the public, on behalf of Tim McOsker (Councilmember, Fifteenth District), to the free Festa Italiana on Saturday, October 10 02:58:05
• John Lee (Councilmember, Twelfth District; Assistant President Pro Tempore) said the festival takes place in San Pedro's Little Italy district on 6th Street and runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. 02:58:05
• Eunisses Hernandez (Councilmember, First District) announced the district's fourth annual festival that Saturday, closing Figueroa between Avenues 55 and 58 02:59:29
• Imelda Padilla (Councilmember, Sixth District) said she drove by MacArthur Park the day before and found the change night and day 03:00:03
• A councilmember said the Continuum of Care General Board was set to vote that morning on the county taking over from LAHSA 03:00:21
• A councilmember said the board shut the meeting down because about 1,500 people tried to log on and capacity was 1,000 03:00:21
• A councilmember said city offices and the mayor's office mobilized people to attend, forcing the board to reschedule the decision 03:01:24

A councilmember adjourned the meeting in memory of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid, Spain. She said the woman had been evicted from the home she lived in for more than seventy years, after an investment firm bought the building and raised the rent beyond her pension, and that she died about two weeks later. A councilmember used the case to describe housing affordability as an international crisis. 03:01:40

• Eunisses Hernandez (Councilmember, First District) said the woman died this week at 87 in Madrid 03:01:53
• Eunisses Hernandez (Councilmember, First District) said an investment firm bought her building and raised the rent beyond what her pension could cover 03:01:53

• About nine people commented in person and about eight by phone. Only item 5 was open for agenda comment. Several commenters used profanity, went off topic, or were cut off.
• Several speakers, mostly callers, criticized the previous day's federal and LAPD operation in Skid Row. Some blamed the mayor and the police chief and one called for the chief to be fired. One caller attacked Ysabel Jurado (Councilmember, Fourteenth District) for saying she is proud to represent Skid Row.
• Item 5 drew three or four comments. One caller questioned whether the contract has a reasonable way out if things go wrong. One alleged the contractor has ties to Israel. One objected to extending contracts with LLCs and to the city's conflict-of-interest checks. One in-person comment was garbled.
• One advocate thanked the offices moving the indoor maximum temperature ordinance and urged quick report-backs. She cited what she called the longest October stretch of 100-degree days on record.
• A few speakers alleged corruption by city staff or prosecutors and called for investigations. Others made conspiracy-style allegations, and one caller raised allegations about Scientology and the Christmas parade.
• One speaker said the council favors pandering over policy. The same speaker thanked Heather Hutt (Councilmember, Tenth District) for what the speaker described as $50,000 toward repairing the Jackie Robinson track stadium, and asked Traci Park (Councilmember, Eleventh District) to hold hearings in her trade and tourism committee.
• The Venice Chamber of Commerce's board president invited members to a Día de los Muertos 5K on Olvera Street on October 31 and the Turkey Trot downtown on Thanksgiving, November 26.
• Representatives of a Yucatecan diaspora group asked the council to declare a day honoring the diaspora during the first Feria Yucatán in Los Angeles, on March 21, 2027, and handed over a letter.
• One caller asked for funding to fix the dark streetlights on Commerce Avenue in Tujunga and praised efforts to take back MacArthur Park from drug dealers.
• One speaker gave a short poetic statement calling for dialogue.

• Continuum of Care General Board: after this morning's meeting was shut down, the board must set a new date for its vote on the county taking over from LAHSA, per a councilmember.
• Indigenous Peoples' Day was recognized for October 12, 2026.
• Festa Italiana in San Pedro's Little Italy on Saturday, October 10, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and the Council District 1 festival on Figueroa (Avenues 55–58) that Saturday.
• A councilmember said she plans to revisit and strengthen the Clean Up Green Up policy and wants it in the Pacoima and Sun Valley community plans.
• A councilmember said the opening of a full-service grocery store at the Evermont development will be announced next year.
• A public commenter urged quick report-backs on the indoor maximum temperature threshold ordinance motion.
• Item 5 had a council-action deadline of November 3, 2026 (agenda). It was acted on at this meeting.
• Motions for posting and referral were sent to committee. Their content wasn't described.