Charter Reform Commission Meeting 2-18-26 @ 4PM

https://reformlacharter.lacity.gov/commission-meeting-schedule

AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING
of the
LOS ANGELES CITY CHARTER REFORM COMMISSION Wednesday, February 18th, 2026 - 4:00 PM
BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS SESSION ROOM, CITY HALL 200 NORTH SPRING STREET, LOS ANGELES, CA 90012
AGENDA MATERIAL: Materials for the Los Angeles City Charter Reform Commission can be found at: reformlacharter.lacity.gov.
LIVE AUDIO BROADCAST: The audio for this meeting will be broadcasted live and can be heard by calling telephone #: 1-669-254-5252, use Meeting ID No. 160 220 3155 Press #, and Press # again when prompted for participant ID. The Zoom link is: https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/IRKryIcIQKGJv50PF5wtwA PUBLIC COMMENT: The Commission will be taking both in-person and remote Dial-in public comment. Each will be allotted a maximum of 30 minutes, for a total of no more than one hour.
Members:
Diego Andrades
Mona Field
Carla Fuentes
Jason Levin
Robert Lewis
Andrea Mac
Chair, Raymond Meza
Second Vice Chair, Melinda Murray
Vice Chair, Christina Sanchez
Ted Stein
James M. Thomas
Michael Yap
Vacant
Roll call
Ex Parte Disclosures
Approval of Meeting Minutes February 5, 2026
Public Comment
Neighborhood Council Comment -- Community Impact Statements
Executive Director Report on Outreach and Other Matters
Items Noticed for Public Hearing
Item No. (1): Presentation on potential charter related recommendations from the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (BONC).
Item No. (2): Consideration and possible approval of a report from the Ad Hoc committee on potential planning & infrastructure related charter amendments recommending potential issues for Charter changes for further development and consideration by the Charter Reform Commission for final recommendations by the Commission to City Council, limited to the following issues:
● Empower Director of Public Works
● Codify Capital Infrastructure Planning (CIP)
● Replace APCs with a five member Board of Neighborhood Appeals
● Allow Area Planning Commission to consider issues de novo in appeals
● Amend Charter Section 245(e)
● Allow land owned by Recreation and Parks not being used to be sold
● Amend Section 104(e) Floor Area Ratio limit of 13:1
● Streamline Quasi-Judicial Decisionmaking Processes
Item No. (3): Consideration and possible approval of a report from the Ad Hoc committee on potential government structure related charter amendments recommending potential issues for Charter changes for further development and consideration by the Charter Reform Commission for final recommendations by the Commission to City Council, limited to the following items:
● Bifurcate City Attorney’s Roles
● Lower the voting age to 16 for City Municipal Elections
● Lower the voting age to 16 for LAUSD elections
● Expand voting in municipal elections to non citizens
● Expand voting in LAUSD election to non citizens
● Change how commissioners are appointed
● Change Ballot Access
Item No. (4): Motion (Fuentes) That all recommendations submitted by the Community Forest Advisory Committee be agendized and discussed as separate items, rather than grouped, to ensure complete public review and deliberation on each recommendation.
Item No. (5): (Thomas - Fuentes) That the Commission direct staff to research and produce a report, in partnership with relevant community organizations and City departments, on the feasibility, scope, legal authority, implementation considerations,
and potential Charter implications of establishing a local Freedmen’s Bureau-style framework in Los Angeles, including potential reparations and reparative justice
mechanisms.
Item No. (6): (Thomas - Fuentes) That the Commission dissolve the Ad Hoc Committee effective immediately, and that any unfinished work be referred to the full Commission.
Item No. (7): (Fuentes - Thomas) To amend Section 6, Subsection A, of the by laws to read as follows:
“An ex parte communication is a communication between any member of the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission staff and the Mayor, the Council President, or any member of the Mayor and Council President’s respective staff, regarding a matter pending before the Commission. An ex parte communication does not include any communication that is purely administrative in nature, including scheduling, outreach logistics, or arranging appearances at public meetings.”
A new Section 6 of the Charter Reform Commission’s bylaws is added to read as follows:
Section 6: Charter Reform Commission Staff - Ex Parte Communications
A. An ex parte communication is a communication between any member of the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission staff and any elected City officer, or member of any elected City Officer’s staff, regarding a matter pending before the Commission. An ex parte communication does not include any communication that takes place on the record during an official public meeting.
B. The requirements of this section do not apply to a communication between a member of Charter Reform Commission staff and a member of the City Attorney’s Office providing legal counsel.
C. The requirements of this section do not apply to a communication between a member of the Charter Reform Commission staff and elected City officers so long as they are limited to matters such as scheduling, outreach, and coordinating appearances for elected officials or their staff at public meetings of the Charter Reform Commission. Any communication between these parties regarding potential charter reforms must be disclosed.
D. A Commission staff member shall disclose any ex parte communication at the next Commission meeting following the communication. Any off the record Communications that take place during an official public meeting shall be disclosed before the adjournment of the meeting. Disclosure shall include the time and date of the communication, the form of communication, the approximate duration of the communication (if applicable), the identity of the persons who participated in the communication, and a summary of the content of the communication. The summary shall include a general description of the types of Charter reforms communicated.
Commission members may ask as a Commission Staff member to resubmit communication disclosures that are not sufficiently detailed.
E. The Charter Reform Commission staff shall maintain a public database on the Charter Reform Commission website where a log of ex parte communications can be found. The Charter Staff shall update this log within 72 hours of an ex parte communication disclosure.
F. Failure to comply with the requirements of this section shall subject the Commission staff member to potential censure by the Commission, and the Commission may resolve to recommend the appropriate appointing/hiring authority initiate removal of the Commission staff member. A violation of this section shall not render any action of the Commission or Commission staff member invalid.
G. This section shall only apply to communications occurring after January 21st, 2026.
Ex Parte Disclosures
Adjournment - 8:00 PM
General Information
For information concerning this Commission, please contact the following Commission staff: Max Podemski, (213) 584-8090, Max.Podemski@lacity.org.
PUBLIC INPUT AT THE CHARTER REFORM COMMISSION MEETINGS
Members of the public who wish to speak on one or multiple items shall have an opportunity to speak up to one minute per item up to a total of two minutes for two or more agenda items. At regular meetings, members of the public shall also have an opportunity to speak up to one minute for general public comment on any matter within the subject-matter jurisdiction of the Commission. The Commission is not required to take general public comment at special meetings. The Commission may limit the total amount of time taken for public comment on any specific agenda item, on all agenda-items collectively, and/or on general public comment, based on the anticipated time required to hear from public speakers on any given or all agenda items, on the availability of Commission members and the need to maintain quorum, and on any other relevant factor. The Commission shall not discuss or take action relative to any general public comment except as explicitly permitted under the Brown Act.
Translation Services
Translators, sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices, or other auxiliary aids and/or services may be provided upon request. To ensure availability, requests should be made at least 72 hours prior to the meeting. Please contact: Max Podemski, (213) 584-8090, Max.Podemski@lacity.org.
Telecommunication Relay Services
Telephone communication is one of the most important forms of communication in society today. Due to advancements in technology, telephone devices have evolved with new services and capabilities.
Individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing, and individuals with a speech disability are following these trends and are rapidly migrating to more advanced telecommunications methods, both for peer-to-peer and third-party telecommunications relay service (TRS) communications.
TRS is a telephone service that allows persons with hearing or speech disabilities to place and receive telephone calls. TRS is available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories for local and/or long-distance calls. TRS providers - generally telephone companies - are compensated for the costs of providing TRS from either a state or a federal fund. There is no cost to the TRS user.
What forms of TRS are available? There are several forms of TRS, depending on the particular needs of the user and the equipment available: TRS includes: Text to Voice TIY-Based TRS; Speech-to-Speech Relay Service; Shared Non-English Language Relay Service; Captioned Telephone Relay Service; Internet Protocol Relay Service; and Video Relay Service. Please visit this site for detailed descriptions: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.
All requests will be filled if received no later than 72 hours prior to the meeting. Don't hang up! Some people hang up on TRS calls because they think the CA is a telemarketer. If you hear, "Hello. This is the relay service ... " when you pick up the phone, please don't hang up! You are about to talk, through a TRS provider, to a person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, or has a speech disability.
For more information about FCC programs to promote access to telecommunications services for people with disabilities, visit the FCC's Disability Rights Office website.
NOTICE TO PAID REPRESENTATIVES:
If you are compensated to monitor, attend, or speak at this meeting, City law may require you to register as a lobbyist and report your activity. See Los Angeles Municipal Code 48.01 et seq. More information is available at ethics.lacity.org/lobbying. For assistance, please contact the Ethics Commission at (213) 978-1960 or ethics.commission@lacity.org.
Possible discussion with authorized neighborhood council representatives. Pursuant to Los Angeles Administrative Code section 22.819, an authorized representative of a neighborhood council will have an opportunity to provide the neighborhood council's formal position on a matter listed on this meeting agenda within the time allotted by the meeting chair. The neighborhood council shall provide the commission with a copy of the Community Impact Statement it filed with the City Clerk or the adopted resolution regarding its formal position in advance of this meeting.
SE OFRECE UN SERVICIO DE TRADUCCIÓN AL ESPAÑOL EN TODAS LAS REUNIONES DE ESTE COMITÉ