Draft Proposal Would Drastically Alter East Valley City Council Districts

Sherman Oaks and Encino, meet Councilman Tom LaBonge. Toluca Lake and the NoHo Arts District, meet Councilman Paul Krekorian.

A major reshuffling of the East San Fernando Valley could be in the works after a draft map of new Los Angeles City Council district boundaries that will be in place for the next decade was released today.

Council District 4, which LaBonge reps, would be moved out of the Toluca Lake/NoHo area and into Sherman Oaks and other Valley neighborhoods, while Krekorian, whose CD2 already includes a large chunk of North Hollywood, would move into the NoHo Arts District and Toluca Lake. LaBonge would also lose the Miracle Mile and Hancock Park areas, giving his district a much larger focus on the Valley, including Van Nuys, Encino and Lake Balboa.

The L.A. Times also has an interactive map, showing the current districts and how they could change.

LaBonge was not pleased with the idea of moving his district almost entirely into the Valley.

"In the interest of the city as a whole, I’m very disappointed in the draft-map released by the Redistricting Commission," said LaBonge in a released statement. "The people of the 4^th District participated in the public hearings on redistricting, stating loud and clear the importance of neighborhood integrity, the balance of diversity and the political representation of communities of interest in Council District 4. This draft redistricting map weakens the political representation of the Santa Monica Mountains, fractures the community of Hollywood among three Council districts and dissolves the historic core of Council District 4 – the greater Wilshire area, including the Miracle Mile, Larchmont Village, Windsor Square, Pan Pacific Park and Park La Brea. What disappoints me most is that the will of the people of the 4^th district was seemingly ignored by this important process."

The map also moves Councilman Paul Koretz’s district south out of the Valley and into LaBonge's current territory. He voiced displeasure at the possibility of losing his Valley territory.

 "I enjoy the areas I’ve represented. I have an excellent relationship with the community groups there," Koretz said, according to the Times.

The district boundaries were released by the Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission, a 21-member panel appointed by the city's elected officials to redraw the maps based on 2010 census data.

The City Council will have to approve the final versions of the newly drawn boundaries after a period of public comment and any revisions by the commission.

The most notable changes include the separation of Westchester from LAX and the disunion of most of downtown from South Los Angeles. The new maps would extend one central Los Angeles district further into the San Fernando Valley, and eliminate a Westside district's reach over the Santa Monica Mountains into the valley.

Among those most angered by the new maps was City Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district covers an area of South Los Angeles. Perry described the commission's map-drawing as "economic apartheid."

Under the new boundaries, Perry would keep the successful L.A. Live complex and Staples Center, but would lose most of downtown and Little Tokyo and would pick up Watts. Councilman Jose Huizar would gain the lion's share of downtown, including Skid Row.

"The worst part of all this is that the commission has created an economic wasteland based on agreements between elected officials who have cut deals with the leadership in the City Council," Perry said. "Clearly this is a grab for assets."

Perry is mobilizing a group of downtown developers, Little Tokyo and downtown residents and community groups to oppose the new maps.

"This will hurt South L.A. To what end, I don't know," Perry said.

The LAX-adjacent community of Westchester, a neighborhood affected by the airport's noise, traffic, security issues and expansion, would be moved out of Councilman Bill Rosendahl's district, which includes the airport, into Councilman Bernard Parks' district to the east.

"That's an insult frankly, to the people engaged with an issue that impacts them. So that shows no respect for the people of Westchester," Rosendahl said. "Politicians are basically looking out for their best interests."

Bernard Parks Jr., Councilman Parks' chief of staff, agreed that moving Westchester into his father's district was drastic and said it does not make sense.

"Why are we all of the sudden adding areas that we have no relationship with and taking away areas that we have deep relationships with?" Parks Jr. said. "We believe Westchester is a great community, but we believe it's a perfect fit with the councilman that represents it currently."

The commission also moved much of Lemeirt Park Village, an historic black cultural center, out of Parks' district into City Council President Herb Wesson's district.

"It's like having peanut butter and no jelly," Parks Jr. said. "You can't have the business community separate from the park that sits right in front of it. Very simple common sense would have told these commissioners that."