Los Angeles City Council Meeting Summary – March 13, 2026
Los Angeles City Council Meeting Summary – March 13, 2026
The Los Angeles City Council convened on Friday, March 13, 2026, for a regular meeting and a subsequent special meeting. The regular meeting featured approvals of routine items, presentations recognizing cultural heritage and community leaders, public testimony on several agenda items, and a closed session. The special meeting included discussions and votes on the Time-Limited Subsidies (TLS) housing program and a major street lighting assessment.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of minutes from March 11, 2026.
- Commendatory resolutions.
- Adoption of agenda items 2 through 8 and 10 through 12 (all passed with 12 ayes).
Public Comments & Testimony
- On the Fast Food Fair Work Ordinance: Multiple fast‑food workers urged the Council to approve the ordinance without delay, citing wage theft and unsafe conditions.
- On Olympics Leadership: A coalition of 100 organizations (unions, housing, immigration groups) demanded an inclusive process to select the leader of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
- On Charter Reform: Several speakers criticized the charter reform commission, calling for an elected commission and alleging ethical lapses.
- On Street Lighting and Sidewalks: A speaker highlighted dangerous pedestrian infrastructure, especially missing sidewalks in District 2, and called for more investment.
- On Homelessness and Housing: Testimony criticized homeless sweeps and the 4118 rule, with one speaker noting that arrests in one district increased five‑fold after a new councilmember took office.
- On the Casey Wasserman / Epstein Issue: Multiple speakers expressed concern about Wasserman’s connections and urged the Council to take stronger action.
- On the Street Lighting Assessment (Special Meeting): A representative of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) argued that the proposed assessment would nearly triple property‑owner costs and that the city should fix existing lights before expanding the program.
- On Homelessness Spending (Special Meeting): A speaker contended that the city should give unhoused residents housing unconditionally rather than funneling money through nonprofits with high administrative costs.
Presentations & Recognitions
- Bulgarian Cultural Heritage Month: Councilmember Park presented a resolution to Consul General Boyoko Ristov, designating March 2026 as Bulgarian Cultural Heritage Month.
- St. Patrick’s Day Celebration: Councilmember McCosker hosted a celebration with the Irish Consul General and Verona Murphy, Speaker of the Irish Parliament. The Lions Academy of Irish Dance performed, and certificates were presented.
- Senator Richard Polanco: Councilmember Hernandez led a tribute honoring former State Senator Richard Polanco, designating the intersection of Avenue 26 and North San Fernando Road as “Senator Richard Polanco Square.” Several former and current state and federal officials spoke about his role in building Latino political power and passing over 250 bills.
- Reverend Zachary Hoover: Councilmember Jurado and Soto Martinez recognized the outgoing Executive Director of LA Voice for his decade of work on food access, housing, and faith‑based organizing.
- Coach Dylan Smith: Councilmember Park honored Pali High football coach Dylan Smith as the 2025 AFC Don Shula High School Coach of the Year. A video recounted how his team overcame the Palisades fire to finish a perfect 10‑0 regular season. The coach, a student, and a parent spoke.
- UTLA and SEIU Local 99: Councilmember Hernandez and Soto Martinez recognized the two unions, which are in contract negotiations with LAUSD. Speakers provided statistics: 21% of UTLA educators qualify for low‑income housing, 1 in 3 new teachers leave within five years, and the average SEIU 99 classified employee earns $35,000 per year, with 99% unable to afford a one‑bedroom apartment. The Council expressed solidarity with the unions, and a motion supporting their contract fight was introduced.
Discussion Items
- Time‑Limited Subsidies (TLS) Program (Item 17): Councilmember Rodriguez questioned staff on how participants are selected, their acuity levels, and case management. Staff explained that the program prioritizes long‑stay interim housing residents (12+ months), assigns them to one of three tracks, and provides intensive services. Councilmember Park expressed concern about placing high‑acuity individuals in private apartments, while Councilmember Raman noted that TLS has produced better outcomes than congregate shelters at lower cost.
- Street Lighting Assessment (Item 19): Councilmembers Yaroslavsky and Rodriguez raised questions about an amendment to study a carve‑out for Pacific Palisades and the need for an updated operational plan. The City Attorney confirmed the amendment is a report‑back that does not delay the assessment. The Bureau of Street Lighting said the 2022 operational plan remains valid. After debate, the Council voted 11‑1 to adopt the assessment, with Councilmember Rodriguez dissenting; the ordinance is held for second reading on March 24.
Key Outcomes
- Consent calendar and commendatory resolutions adopted (12‑0).
- All presentation resolutions approved.
- Councilmembers introduced a motion of support for UTLA and SEIU 99.
- Item 17 (TLS Program): Approved (12‑0).
- Item 16 (Budget and Finance Committee report): Approved (11‑1, Rodriguez dissenting).
- Item 19 (Street Lighting Assessment as amended): Approved (11‑1, Rodriguez dissenting). Ordinance held over for second reading.
- Closed session held for Item 14 (no public action taken).
- The meeting adjourned in memory of Juan Cuevas, a 26‑year‑old gun‑violence victim whose murder remains unsolved (the Council introduced a motion to extend a reward for information), and in memory of Alyssa “Pepper” Williams, a young woman who overcame homelessness and worked as a substance‑abuse counselor.
Meeting Transcript
Located between Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east, Echo Park Lake has been a central part of the community since the 19th century. The lake was originally created in 1868 as a drinking water reservoir with water supplied by a ditch connecting it to the Los Angeles River near Los Files. Soon after, 33 acres of land were donated to the city to establish a public park. During landscaping in 1892, workers noticed sounds echoing across the area, inspiring the name Echo Park. Today the lake features a flat one mile loop popular with walkers and runners. Local running groups often train here, including members of the Los Angeles Fire Department, who were among the 27,000 runners participating in the Los Angeles Marathon. We are at Dodger Stadium, and I believe it's about 6 30 a.m. in the morning, half hour before the start time of the LA Marathon. For me, this is my 10th year in a row running the LA Marathon, and every year I run it for a charity that hits close to home with us. Widows, orphans, and disabled firefighters fun. Personally, it's my first one, and I didn't fundraise, but Kelly here did. By doing fundraising like this, it brings great attention to all the different foundations that you might not know about. I think that's awesome. And there's a bunch of different ones. We are supporting my twin sister. She had foot surgery like two years ago, so being in a marathon is like impossible to think of. So it's great to see her out here proving us all wrong. You only live once, so you might as well while you have the chance. Go run it. You gotta try it once. Anything for a good cause, anything to promote health, nutrition, support the community as a whole. My wife is running uh this is our first official full marathon. She's running this for her 40th birthday. She's had some health struggles that she's overcome, and so it's a huge achievement for her to accomplish this today. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Some kind of like use that metaphor in your head. Just keep going, don't stop. You face so many obstacles and hurdles in your life that you have to overcome, you have to persevere through. Um, and I feel like running a marathon is exactly that. I helped this year with putting together a fire department uh marathon team for the Los Angeles Fire Department. I think it's uh it's good to get the legs going and uh keep the fitness standards up to where they should be with our department. Being a part of this running community within our smaller organization has really motivated me to like train hard. Being able to run through the city that you work in is actually a pretty awesome experience. All running's gonna hurt regardless. You definitely just have to go out and do it. And once you're finished with it, it's so gratifying at the end, and it's infinitely worth it. We are at almost a 26 mile marker. It's just a lot of cheering people on and getting people excited and giving them that last little push before they cross the finish line. Right here is where they need the last push the most. Woo! Let's go work. They gave me some extra swag for 10 years in a row. A little tenure medal. To be a good firefighter for the city of Los Angeles, the number one thing is heart. You've got to have dedication and you've gotta have a will to want to help people to be a public servant. Here at Frank Hodgkin's Memorial Training Center, we're having the LAFD Career Expo. It's where we're gonna have all kinds of tables where candidates can come in and speak to different people regarding the process, the application process, and ask questions how they can be part of our team. We have approximately 700 people coming, and we have all the different departments that we have within the Los Angeles City Fire Department, which includes our brush unit, we have our drone section, we have our Thames teams, Arson, some of the helicopter pilots with all the people that are coming that are applying this week. We want to see what options they have within the fire department if they should get hired. I am in the uh application process, so I want to learn more about the profession, the opportunities.
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