New City Council Chambers Have Kinks to be Worked Out

City Council’s inaugural meeting in the new council chambers, located on the ground floor of the , proved to be uneventful, at least from a legislative perspective. Nonetheless, people will be talking about Monday night’s two-hour meeting in the days ahead, because of problems with the room.

The new chamber has plenty of seating—140 permanent seats, and space for an additional 40 chairs in the back. There is also state-of-the-art technology that allows councilmembers to cast their votes on computer, which are then displayed on screen for all to see.

That same technology also displays on screen the name of each person speaking during public comment, along with the amount of time he or she has left to speak. All that technology seemed to work perfectly Monday, but the room had other problems.

The new dais was raised to the point where councilmembers were only visible from the neck up. “I want to see what they’re wearing,” said longtime resident Jeanne Dobrin.

With two computer monitors on the dais to look at—one displaying what the viewing audience saw and the other to cast their votes, councilmembers appeared as though they were not listening during public comment. One speaker said after his two minutes, “They weren’t even paying attention to me.”

Theater-style lighting had bright lights on the stage and dim lighting above the audience, making the crowd barely visible to several councilmembers. Meanwhile, with no spotlight on the podium during public comment, people watching the monitors could barely make out who was speaking.

Others complained of an echo in the seating area that made it difficult to hear some councilmembers' comments, especially if the audience started clapping, and with the speakers not working in the lobby, attendees who stepped out could not hear what was happening inside.

Several people called the chamber “claustrophobic” since it is significantly smaller than the West Hollywood Park Auditorium next door where the council has always met. Others said the room was “sterile,” ‘too formal” and “uninviting.” Resident Allegra Allison said the chamber “looks like a set from Judge Judy.”

Council had originally scheduled a training session for Sept. 26 to work out kinks exactly like these. However, when on Sept. 26, the council cancelled that mock session. These problems will likely be fixed before the next council meeting on Oct. 17.

Fur postponed

The one major piece of legislation on the council agenda for Monday’s meeting was postponed. At its Sept. 19 meeting, , banning the sale of clothing apparel that contains animal fur. Passage of that ordinance made headlines around the globe as West Hollywood is the first city to enact such a law.

However, there were several key points in that ordinance that needed to be worked out, most importantly the implementation date. Because those points must be written into the ordinance before the council approves it, a “second first-reading” was scheduled for Monday’s meeting. Now, the council says it needs more time to get the proper language for the ordinance, so that second first reading has been delayed until November.

“We’ve consulting with staff and city attorney and representatives of the business community,” Mayor Pro Tempore Jeff Prang said during council comments. “So we’re holding that off until we can come up with something that everyone feels more comfortable with before going forward. If we’re going to adopt a pioneering ordinance that may be copied by other communities in the country, we want to make sure it’s the best one that we can bring forward.”

Councilman John D’Amico, who sponsored the fur-free ordinance as his first piece of legislation after taking office, added, “We’re very much committed to moving forward and continuing to work with both sides and have a chance for everyone to get to the table finally, and have a discussion about how to carefully choose the words of this ordinance.”

Councilmembers declined to discuss the ordinance further with Weho Patch after the meeting ended. However, from their statements in the meeting, it appears that the business community is now working with the city regarding the ordinance.

Businesses that sell apparel containing animal fur had been unwilling to meet with D’Amico and city staff about the ordinance when they were drafting it during the summer. However, several business owners spoke at the Sept. 19 council meeting vehemently opposing the ban, some threatening to move their shops to Beverly Hills or Los Angeles.

Three days after the passage of the ordinance, the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced an alternative . Thus, it now appears that the two sides are working on a compromise.

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