CITY OF LOS ANGELES INTER-DEPARTMENTAL CORRESPONDENCE
Date: November 29, 2018
To: Board of Neighborhood Commissioners
From: Grayce Liu, General Manager Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
Subject: Bel-Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council Boundary Correction
Background In preparation for the 2019 Neighborhood Council Elections, the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (Department) conducted a boundary description/boundary map audit of all Neighborhood Council bylaws. In doing so, the Department discovered that the Bel-Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council (BABCNC) had a discrepancy between the written boundary descriptions of its bylaws and the Bureau of Engineering produced map of the Neighborhood Council. The map showed that the western boundary of the BABCNC was Sepulveda Boulevard, but the text stated the western boundary to be the I-405.
At the July meeting of the BABCNC, the Department informed the Board of the discrepancy and asked for clarification. The Board agreed that they had always been operating under the assumption that the I-405 was the western boundary. Because the certification application of the BABCNC state Sepulveda Blvd. as the western boundary, the Department asked the Board for any documentation reflecting a change from Sepulveda to the I-405. The Board could not produce any such evidence. The Department also conducted a thorough search through old Commission records, both paper and digital, and could find no evidence of such a change. As a result, the boundary description and map were reverted to what was in the certification papers, with Sepulveda being the western boundary.
The Board maintains that the western boundary should be the I-405 for the following reasons: 1. The western boundary identifies itself to be a part of the Brentwood Community Council instead of the Bel-Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council. 2. The Bel-Air Beverly Crest Community Plan shows the BABCNC western boundary at the I-405 to be part of Bel-Air Beverly Crest. 3. The I-405 Freeway creates a natural boundary. 4. The Board has always operated under the assumption that the I-405 is its western boundary, and has held multiple elections with the I-405 as its boundary. 5. Changing the western boundary from the I-405 to Sepulveda excludes commercial stakeholders and businesses that are part of the BABCNC community; BABCNC values all of its stakeholders but is largely residential and is therefore especially protective of its already-scarce business stakeholders.
The Department recognizes the BABCNC’s concerns and wishes to correct the western boundary to the I-405, not Sepulveda Blvd., between Mulholland Drive and Sunset Blvd. While
BABCBC Boundary Report November 29, 2018 the Department understands that the request appears to ‘decrease’ BABCNC, the request is a reasonable one and that conforms to the Plan under Article VI, Section 2 (a) (iii) increasing or reducing a Certified Neighborhood Council's size to increase effectiveness and efficiency. Further, this change could have already happened at the Commission level in the past. The Department’s records are not exact because of a server loss in 2011 when many of the Commission decision were lost. Given the many years that the BABCNC has operated with these boundaries and the upcoming 2019 Neighborhood Council elections, the Department is requesting the Commission to do an administrative correction to the boundaries as highlighted below and in the attached maps: Current Language: Proposed Language: ARTICLE III BOUNDARIES ARTICLE III BOUNDARIES
Section 1: Boundaries – The area Section 1: Boundaries – The area included in the BABCNC is defined by the included in the BABCNC is defined by the following boundaries: following boundaries:
A. on the west by Sepulveda Blvd. between A. on the west by I-405 between Mulholland Drive and Sunset Boulevard Mulholland Drive and Sunset Boulevard
B. on the north by Mulholland Drive B. on the north by Mulholland Drive between Sepulveda Boulevard and Laurel between I-405 and Laurel Canyon Canyon Boulevard Boulevard
C. on the south by Sunset Boulevard C. on the south by Sunset Boulevard between Sepulveda Boulevard and Laurel between I-405 and Laurel Canyon Canyon Boulevard within the boundaries of Boulevard within the boundaries of the City the City of Los Angeles of Los Angeles
D. on the east by Laurel Canyon D. on the east by Laurel Canyon Boulevard between Mulholland Drive and Boulevard between Mulholland Drive and Sunset Boulevard. Sunset Boulevard.
Recommendation Therefore, the Department recommends that the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners:
FIND the Bel-Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council's request to change its western boundary from Sepulveda Boulevard to the I-405 between Mulholland Drive and Sunset Boulevard consistent with the principles governing a Certified Neighborhood Council's purpose and operations per Article VI, Section 2a (iii) of the Plan for a Citywide System of Neighborhood Councils; and
APPROVE the changes to the Bel-Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council's bylaws by accepting the boundary adjustment. If the Commission approves the change of bylaws, the Amended Bylaw Language shall be deemed approved effective immediately. If the Commission rejects the change of bylaws, the Original Bylaw Language shall remain.
Attachments: 1. Current Bel Air Beverly Crest Map (Sepulveda).pdf 2. Proposed Bel Air - Beverly Crest Map (I-405)