Studio City-Toluca Lake Friction Continues at Downtown Redistricting Meeting

Tensions ran high at a City Hall redistricting commission hearing Wednesday, as hundreds speakers packed the hall.

Studio City Neighborhood Council Vice President Lisa Sarkin continued with her harsh words against Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council President Andrew Westall, who is also executive director of the redistricting commission.

Sarkin threw out  more suggestions that Westall has favored the wishes of Toluca Lake residents when drawing the district lines, although she gave no proof but for an email that Westall sent to her that stated his belief that Toluca Lake should stay in CD4, according to the Daily News.

"There's something here that stinks," Sarkin said, according to the Daily News.

Sarkin offered no evidence that Westall had used his influence to move Toluca Lake into CD4 after it was kept out of the first draft map. Westall insisted he has been "hands off" in regard to Toluca Lake, according to the Daily News. 

Much of the conflict has come from the fact that Toluca Lake was put back into Council District 4 in the second-round draft map, which caused a chunk of Studio City and North Hollywood to also be put into CD4.

The redistricting commission restored 99.4 percent of Studio City and most of North Hollywood to CD2 in its recent redrawing of the maps, according to Sarkin.

Next week, during the Redistricting Commission’s meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 29, at City Hall, these adjustments will be reviewed and sent on to the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

Read the Daily News story here.

And read reports on Studio City Patch here :

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