Around the Halls: September 22 - 25

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — It’s Monday, September 22, and it’s a slow start to the week for Council proceedings. The docket holds a River Report, a Little Tokyo MOU, a Broadway vacation and a couple of bicycle items.

MONDAY: Three council committees are meeting, but there’s little of direct relevance to Downtown. For the city as a whole, the most interesting item is a joint meeting between the Public Safety committee and the Audits and Governmental Efficiency committee, which features a slate of items taking a look at discipline practices at LAFD.

TUESDAY: Council’s in session. Item 26 is CF 07-1342, a report that recently went through the Ad Hoc River Committee. Council is noting and filing reports, but also instructing CRA to place a Draft River Revitalization Corporation Report on its website for public review, and to report back on comments in October. A scan of the documents section of the CRA’s site indicates that the report has not yet been posted.

Item 54 is CF 08-0196, the MOU with Little Tokyo Service Center regarding a parking facility and gym next to the Little Tokyo Library on Los Angeles street. The motion authorizes the MOU and instructs DOT to conduct a feasibility study to see if the parking facility is needed.

Item 72 is CF 08-2488, a proposed vacation of Broadway Place, the little spur that runs diagonally from Main to Olympic. Previous vacation proceedings were initiated in 2002, and conditionally approved, but that approval was revoked when the conditions were not met. L&R Auto Parks (owner of Joe’s parking lots) is applying for the vacation. An aerial view would suggest that the operator might have already been acting as if the stretch was closed. This motion initiates the vacation proceedings, but does not itself approve the vacation.

WEDNESDAY: Council gets a day off, but Transportation committee is meeting anyway. Item 1 regards lessons learned from the recent Metrolink accident.

Items 3 and 4 are bicycle-related. Item 3 is CF 08-0475, a reorganization of the city’s Bicycle Advisory Committee. The changes are supported by local bicycle advocates and center on staffing the committee meetings to increase their effectiveness. Item 4 is CF 08-2053, a Garcetti / Greuel motion that would instruct DOT to look at the feasibility of creating a bicycle sharing program in Los Angeles.