City Council Expected to Debate Fates of Districts 1, 4 and 13

The Los Angeles City Council's Rules, Elections, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee could vote Friday on a final redistricting plan.

The City Council is also expected to consider the final map a little later the same day.

This latest plan--created by the city's Chief Legislative Analyst Office in conjunction with the City Attorney's Office--comprises 18 adjustments to the map .

Click here to begin to download a copy of the Chief Legislative Analyst's over 90-page report dated March 14, 2012.

Echo Park residents began circulating a petition when the Redistricting Commission plan shifted the Echo Park Farmer's Market just south of Sunset Boulevard in the parking lots between Echo Park Aveue and Logan Street, out of Council District 13 and into Council District 1, which covers part of Echo Park and reaches as far north as Highland Park.

The recommendations for revision to the Commission's map presented in the report now include:

(1) Move the area between Sunset Boulevard, Echo Park Avenue and Logan Avenue from Council District 1 into CD 13

(2) Move the area between Echo Park Avenue Scott Avenue, Logan Avenue and Elysian Park Drive from CD 1 into CD 13

(3) Move a portion of Westlake from CD 13 to CD 1

According to Caitlin Flint of Echo Park's Advancement Project, the first change appears to move the Echo Park Farmer's Market back into CD 13. The second moves a residential area near Elysian Park back into CD 13. And the third shifts more of the heavily-Latino Westlake area into CD 1.

See a screen shot of the changes in the attached media gallery.

The original plan approved Feb. 22 also moves an "additional portion of Silver Lake that is west of Silver Lake Blvd. and Landa Street, connecting to Fountain Avenue and continuing west along Hollywood Boulevard into" Council District 13, also according to Flint.

Much of this area was formerly part of Tom LaBonge's Council District 4. The plan approved by the Redistricting Commission would give LaBonge instead parts of Koreatown and also portion of the San Fernando Valley, including Universal City.

The Legislative Analyst's report to the city council also includes this recommendation:

Move area between proposed CD4 boundary, Armstrong Avenue to Glendale Boulevard to Fletcher Drive to Riverside Drive, from CD 13 to CD 4.

CD13 is currently represented by mayoral aspirant Eric Garcetti and sure to be a hotly-desired perch, with at least five candidates already entering the race, and state senator Kevin DeLeon also expected to declare.

Meantime, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that current council members Bernard Parks and Jan Perry plan to sue the Redistricting Commission under the federal Voting Rights Act.

They say that current voting behavior has allowed Latinos and blacks to get elected in multi-ethnic districts.

They say this pattern does not justify creating five new Latino and two new African-American majority districts to remedy former discrimination.

According to the Times, the city does not agree.

Parks and Perry have developed their own plan for revising the districts, according to the City News Service.

Read the full Times piece here.

The rules committee is scheduled to hold its meeting on Friday at 8:45 a.m. in the Board of Public Words Edward R. Roybal Hearing Room, Room 350, located at Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring St.

The Los Angeles City Council will then discuss the redistricting report at 10 a.m. in the John Ferraro City Council Chamber, Room 340, located at Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring St.