Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Good morning. Buenos dias. We welcome everyone to our regularly scheduled meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Today is Tuesday, September the 1st, 2026. And we take note that a quorum of the board is present. The Chief Executive Officer, County Council, Executive Officer, and the Sergeant at Arms are all here to assist. And before we begin today, I want to highlight that we are introducing a pilot public comment registration system, which creates a more consistent and accessible experience. And I would like to have our executive officer, N.E.N., please go over and provide information on how it can be utilized. Thank you.

Good morning, members of the public.

All right. A little bit of translation.

Well, good morning, members of the public. We are pleased to present to you our new public comment system. Whether someone is participating by phone or in person, they will be able to register for the items they want to speak on and have a clear understanding of where they are in the process, including registration confirmation and text message reminders. Members of the public can call in directly, but now there is a registration option that expedites the process. Individuals participating in public comment, either by phone or in person, will have the opportunity to register for their desired items prior to the agenda item being heard. We encourage all members of the public to register to speak during today's meeting on our website at www.public... comment.lacounty.gov, that's www.publiccomment.lacounty.gov. Registering online will allow you to identify the agenda items that you are interested in addressing. You will receive a confirmation email with further instructions. To receive notifications via text message on your phone when the item you wish to address is next, just enter your phone number on the website. If you do not have a computer or wish to make a comment at any time when the agenda item is active, you may call 213-444-2600 and press star, then follow the instructions to register. An operator will be on the phone to assist. You can find more information on our website at bos.lacunty.gov. That's bos.lacounty.gov. Please click on the remote participation instructions for more information. This new service will help everyone connect and share their comments more easily. YOU WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE BOARD THROUGHOUT THE MEETING. FOR ITEMS NOT HELD BY THE BOARD, YOU WILL RECEIVE ONE MINUTE FOR ONE ITEM AND UP TO TWO MINUTES FOR TWO OR MORE ITEMS. FOR ITEMS HELD BY SUPERVISORS, YOU WILL HAVE ONE MINUTE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD AND ONE MINUTE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT. PLEASE CLEARLY STATE YOUR NAME AND INDICATE THE AGENDA ITEM NUMBERS YOU WILL BE ADDRESSING. PLEASE NOTE ONCE YOUR TIME HAS EXPIRED, WE WILL IMMEDIATELY MOVE TO THE NEXT SPEAKER. WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN TO SPEAK, YOUR NAME OR THE LAST FOUR DIGITS OF PHONE NUMBER WILL BE CALLED. To ensure we hear both from in-person and remote speakers, we will alternate between the two speaking cues. Members of the public who are in attendance, when you hear or see your name displayed on a screen, please come down to the front of the room and staff will assist you. Please do not approach the podium until directed to do so. Also, for members of the public in attendance, please note that we have a constituent assistance team that includes representatives from the Departments of Mental Health, Public Health, Health Services, Public Social Services, Children and Family Services, Homeless Services and Housing, and Parks and Recreation in the audience should you need assistance from them.

Thank you very much. I hope everyone will utilize this new system. It's been a great investment, and we've heard many concerns from our constituents and the community when they come forward, either to call in telephonically or come in in person. So I hope this will help to expedite all of those concerns. With that, members will now start the county's land acknowledgment. The County of Los Angeles recognizes that we occupy land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Tongva, Tataviam, Serrano, Quiche and Chumash peoples. We honor and pay respect to their elders and descendants, past, present and emerging, as they continue their stewardship of these lands and waters. We acknowledge that settler colonization resulted in land seizure, disease, subjugation, slavery, relocation, broken promises, genocide, and multi-generational trauma. This acknowledgement demonstrates our responsibility and commitment to truth, healing, and reconciliation, and to elevating the stories, culture, and community of the original inhabitants of Los Angeles County. We are grateful to have the opportunity to live and work on these ancestral lands. We are dedicated to growing and sustaining relationships with native peoples and local tribal governments, including in no particular order. Fernandeño Tataviam, Band of Mission Indians. Gabrielino Tongva, Indians of California Tribal Council. Gabrieleno Tongva, San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians. Gabrieleno Band of Mission Indians, Quiche Nation. Yahaviatam of San Manuel Nation, San Fernando Band of Mission Indians, Coastal Band of Chumash Nation, Gabrielino Tongva Nation, Gabrielino Tongva Tribe. To learn more about the First Peoples of Los Angeles County, please visit the Los Angeles City-County Native American Indian Commission website at lanais.lacounty.gov. And with that, this morning, the invocation will be led by a lead pastor, Will Vukovarich. I'm sorry, I apologize if I didn't say that correctly. Representing Grace Long Beach from the 4th District, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, which will be led today by Leo Hernandez, former specialist, SPC United States Army, representing the 5th District. If you are all able, please stand and join us this morning.

County Supervisors, the burden of leadership is heavy, lonely, and costly. As a representative of the faith community, we thank you for your service and leadership. You are not alone. We are in this together. I'm honored to dream with you this morning as we imagine and work toward an LA County as it ought to be. An LA County where all families are fed, housed, and flourishing. An LA County where access to resources reduces the need to self-medicate the brokenness away. an LA County where folks have enough margin to enjoy the beauty of our beaches, our neighborhoods, our parks and museums, the Instagrammable coffee shops and the roses that despite all odds continue to sprout from our concrete streets. An LA County where all our neighbors, our friends, our families, and our children are welcomed and actually feel welcomed. An LA County whose streets are safe enough to be filled with the laughter of the young and the wisdom of the elders. An LA County that experiences peace, wholeness, flourishing, and plenty. Where justice flows like mighty rivers, dreams are no longer deferred but realized, and life feels better for all. From Lancaster to Long Beach, from Malibu to Pomona, this is our hope, our desire, and our prayer. Supervisors, this is the work you have been entrusted with, and we stand with you in it. God Almighty, this is why we need your help. Bless these leaders with wisdom, courage, humility, and compassion, and make us all people who seek the common good of this place, not merely for ourselves, but for the flourishing of all our neighbors. May this distant dream continue to materialize amongst us. Amen.

Good morning.

Please place the flag. Place your right hand over your heart. If you're a veteran, you may render a hand salute and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Supervisor Hahn, you're recognized. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you so much. Where are you? There you are. Thank you so much. We welcome Pastor Will Vukovic.

Good job.

Thank you. You were close. The only reason I know how to pronounce it because I struggle with it, Madam Chair, and he gave a voice memo that I listened to on how to pronounce it, so don't feel bad. Pastor Will, thank you so much for leading us. I feel like that was more than an invocation. That was a vision of I think what we all think LA County should be like and should behave like and should look like for everyone. So thank you for setting that forth to us and reminding us that that is of course what we've all been entrusted with doing in each and every one of our districts. So Pastor Will, we're going to call him Pastor Will for the rest of this. Pastor Will is the co-lead pastor at Grace Long Beach, where he serves as the pastor of ministry mobilization and focuses on local community engagement. In his role, Pastor Will has guided the church in using an asset-based approach to learn and understand Long Beach's Wrigley neighborhood and its history, its strength, its resources, and its needs. I spent about 10 years in Wrigley at one point of my life. By actively listening to residents of the community, Grace Long Beach has been able to focus on serving under-resourced children, youth, and their families. One of Grace Long Beach specific focuses is their legacy of supporting children and families involved in the child welfare system. those at risk of entering it, and youth transitioning out of foster care. To do this, Grace Long Beach works directly with our LA County Department of Children and Family Services. They also have a thriving foster care ministry and supports groups for resource. I know Catherine Bargan will love this because this is one of her focuses. They support groups for resource parents that provide care for children in the child welfare system. Together, Grace Long Beach and DCFS are able to help meet tangible needs for countless of our families in the county. Their commitment to the community was recognized in 2025 when they received the inaugural Faith in Action Award from the DCFS office. I didn't know we gave that award, but yes. Will's vision for Grace Long Beach is simple and powerful, to lead a church that loves Long Beach well. They are committed to supporting their neighbors and finding new ways to collaborate with leaders throughout the city and the county to ensure that their community is cared for. Pastor Will and his wife Erin have three boys, ages 15, 12, and 3. Thank you, Pastor Will, for your dedication to Long Beach, your commitment to children and families, and your continued work to strengthen our community. And thank you all, especially Jeanette Christian, my Long Beach deputy. We had a time getting here this morning. The entire 710 freeway from Long Beach was closed down all lanes, which meant that all those cargoes, container trucks were now on the 110 and we had a difficult time getting here. It felt like the universe was conspiring against us this morning, but we're all here and that was a beautiful invocation. As a token of our appreciation, five county supervisors would like to present you with a certificate of appreciation for what you did for us today. Thank you so much.

Supervisor Barger.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Please join me in thanking behavioral health specialist Leo Hernandez for leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance this morning. Leo served in the United States Army from 2014 to 2019 in Kuwait and Jordan. During his service, he received numerous accommodations, including Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Exponentiary Medal, Army service ribbon and the overseas service ribbon. Talk about an overachiever. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Cal State Northridge. Leo is a proud resident of Palmdale He came across the Angeles Crest Highway to get here this morning, so I take my hat off to you for that, where he works for JVS SoCal as a peer support specialist, connecting veterans to the community resources that they have earned and that they deserve. In his free time, he enjoys working on cars and spending time with his children, Leo and Luciano. Thank you, Leo, for your service to our nation. your ongoing service to our communities, and for joining us here this morning. Let's give him a round of applause. Thank you. supervisor partner and now I would like to introduce to you our dog of the week We're back and we have a very sweet and special pup for you to meet. This is Eggy, a four month old German Shepherd who is absolutely the sweetest dog. He's been through a lot the first few months of his life. He was rescued from a hoarding situation and has been eagerly looking for a forever home since. He was temporarily adopted but later returned because the owner's other dog wasn't ready for a sibling. but Eggy is ready to be someone's best friend, sibling, and quite frankly, just someone to cuddle with. Eggy endured so much change and transition, and we're hoping to find him a loving home that he can settle down and make his own. If you'd like to make Eggy yours call the Agora care center at 8 1 8 9 9 1 0 0 7 1. Again, this is Aggie and given all that he's been through, he is very, very, very well adjusted. Um, and now I'm going to turn your attention to the screen for our pet from Palmdale. Meet Hank, this is a one-year-old German Shepherd who was surrendered by his owner because they didn't have time to give him the attention that he deserves and he needs. Hank is a happy, kind dog who loves affection, similar to Eggy. He's still gaining his confidence in the play yard, and while he may be a little slow to warm up, he's very friendly once he is comfortable. If you'd like to adopt Hank, come out, help Hank come out of his shell and adopt him, call the Palmdale Care Center at 661-575-2888. Our animal care centers are open Monday through Saturday from 11am to 5pm for walk-ins. I would encourage you to go and bring home someone to be your forever best friend. Visit animalcare.lacounty.gov to see all the pets who can be yours. And thank you for bringing Eggie down. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. All right. Hopefully Eggie finds a home. And with that, Members, Executive Officer, will you please call the agenda?

Good morning Madam Chair and members of the Board. Today's agenda will begin on page 2, Consent Calendar, Board of Supervisors, items 1 through 20. On item 19, Supervisor Barger requests that this item be held. Also, this includes a revision as indicated on the supplemental agenda. On item 20, Supervisor Mitchell requests that this item be held. This also includes a revision as indicated on the supplemental agenda. ON PAGE 12, ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS, ITEMS 21 THROUGH 92. ON ITEM 21, SUPERVISOR MITCHELL REQUESTS THAT THIS ITEM BE HELD. ON ITEM 22, THIS ITEM WILL BE HELD FOR REPORT. ON ITEM 23, SUPERVISOR HORFATH IS RECUSING HERSELF PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 84308 BECAUSE SHE RECEIVED A CONTRIBUTION OR CONTRIBUTIONS OF MORE THAN $500 WITHIN PAST 12 MONTHS FROM MARK LANDVER, WHO IS A PARTY PARTICIPANT OR AGENT OF A PARTY PARTICIPANT IN THE PROCEEDING. On item 37, Supervisor Solis is recusing herself pursuant to government code section 84308 because she received a contribution or contributions of more than $500 within the past 12 months from Al Ballesteros, who is a party participant or agent of a party or participant in the proceeding. Also, Supervisor Horfath is recusing herself from the vote pursuant to government code section 84308 because she received a contribution or contributions of more than $500 within the past 12 months from Anthony Mills, who is a party participant or agent of a party participant. IN THE PROCEEDING ON ITEM 38 SUPERVISOR BARTER REQUESTS THAT THIS ITEM BE CONTINUED TO SEPTEMBER 29 2026 AS INDICATED ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ON ITEM 39 THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION TO ADOPT AND INSTRUCT THE CHAIR TO SIGN A RESOLUTION TO UNDERTAKE BOND FINANCING IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED 20 MILLION 300 THOUSAND DOLLARS TO FINANCE THE ACQUISITION CONSTRUCTION REHABILITATION AND OR DEVELOPMENT OF THE MERCY CLAREMONT PROJECT LOCATED IN THE CITY OF CLAREMONT ON ITEM 44, THIS INCLUDES A REVISION AS INDICATED ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA. ON ITEM 48, THIS INCLUDES A REVISION AS INDICATED ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA. ON ITEM 56, THIS INCLUDES A REVISION AS INDICATED ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA. ON ITEM 62, SUPERVISOR MITCHELL REQUESTS THAT THIS ITEM BE CONTINUED TWO WEEKS TO SEPTEMBER 15, 2026. ON PAGE 50, THIS INCLUDES MISCELLANEOUS ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA WHICH WERE POSTED MORE THAN 72 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING AS INDICATED ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA. ITEMS 90A THROUGH 90F. ON PAGE 51, SEPARATE MATTERS, ITEMS 93 THROUGH 94. ON ITEMS 93 AND 94, THE BOARD WILL TAKE A SEPARATE VOTE ON THESE MATTERS. ALSO ON ITEM 93, THIS INCLUDES A CORRECTION AS INDICATED ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA. ON PAGE 52, SPECIAL DISTRICT AGENDAS. THESE ARE THE AGENDAS FOR THE MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF SANITATION DISTRICT NUMBER 27 AND THE NEW HALL RANCH SANITATION DISTRICT ITEMS SD1. THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY ITEM 1D AND THE REGIONAL PARK AND OPEN SPACE DISTRICT ITEM 1P ON ITEM 1P THIS IS AN ADDITION AS INDICATED ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA ON PAGE 54 NOTICES A CLOSED SESSION ITEM CS1 THROUGH CS10 ON ITEM CS2 THROUGH CS5 CS7 ONE CASE AND CS9 THE CHIEF PROBATION OFFICER REQUESTS THAT THESE ITEMS BE CONTINUED TWO WEEKS TO SEPTEMBER 15TH 2026 ALSO ITEM CS7 INCLUDES A CORRECTION AS INDICATED ON THE SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA On item CS7, County Council requests that one case be continued two weeks to September 15, 2026, as indicated on the posted agenda. The requests for continuances through CS10 are before you. That completes the reading of the agenda, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Moved by Supervisor Mitchell, seconded by Supervisor Barger. To approve the items, that will be the order. Executive Officer, please play the Code of Conduct.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I please have your attention. The meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is about to commence. A code of conduct will now be read and we request that you comply with it to ensure the efficient administration of the meeting. Members of the public, it is your right to participate in today's Board hearing, and the Board encourages such participation. However, the right of the public to address the Board must be balanced with the need to ensure that public comment does not interfere with the orderly course of the Board's business. All are reminded to abide by the following rules. Speakers must cease speaking immediately when their time has ended. Public comment on agenda items must relate to the subject matter of that item. General public comment is limited to subjects within the jurisdiction of the Board. Public comment does not include the right to engage in a dialogue with Board members or staff. Please remain respectful of the forum and refrain from uttering, writing, or displaying profane, personal, threatening, derogatory, demeaning, or other abusive statements toward the Board, any member thereof, staff, or any other person. Members of the audience should be respectful of the views expressed by speakers, staff, and board members, and may not clap, cheer, whistle, or otherwise disrupt the orderly conduct of the meeting. Any person engaging in conduct that disrupts the meeting is subject to being removed from the board meeting. And finally, if you witness conduct or behavior by other members of the public that disrupts your ability to remain engaged or participate in this meeting, please notify the Sergeant-at-Arms or other county staff. Thank you for your cooperation.

TODAY'S MEETING ORDER WILL BE THE FOLLOWING, PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT HELD FOR DISCUSSION BY THE BOARD, INCLUDING THE CLOSED SESSION MATTERS, FOLLOWED BY ITEMS 20 AND 22, THEN ITEMS 19 AND 21, FOLLOWED BY GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT AND FINISHING UP WITH CLOSED SESSION. EXECUTIVE OFFICER.

At this time, we will hear from members of the public wishing to address the board on all items not held for discussion by supervisors, including closed session matters. The consent items will be acted upon with one motion. For members of the public already on the phone, if you have signed up to speak for these items, you do not need to do anything further. If you are on the phone, have not signed up to speak, and would like to comment on these items, please press star now and follow the prompts to be placed into the speaking queue. If you are watching the meeting and would like to address the board on these items, please call 213-444-2600. Press star and follow the prompts. An operator will be on the phone to assist. Please be prepared to indicate the agenda item numbers that you wish to address.

We will now call in in-person speakers. And while they're coming forward, we will take remote speakers. This will be for all items not held by the board for discussion in closed session matters. Will the following individuals please come forward and staff will assist you? Greg Crum, Ismael, Michael Mecca, Colin Campbell, and Daniel Garcia. Aaron Garcia, your line is open. Please begin.

Hi, my name is Adon Garcia. I'm the LA County Director of Advocacy for Streets Are for Everyone. I'm here to talk in support of the agenda item for the Hollywood Bowl season pass tickets. My favorite movie is The Princess Bride. It's a movie full of adventure, romance. revenge and it was a low budget film at the time so they couldn't get like a live composer to record the soundtrack so it was all done digitally fast forward like 20 years the hollywood bowl hosts a screening of the movie with a live orchestra it was the first time ever that this entire soundtrack was played live and that's like the beauty of the bowl it is a place where history is made and it's done by Angelino showing up you see the old chaps with their fedoras you see older women with the most beautiful flamboyant dresses and they bring a new life to the artist's work and that's why I'm talking in support of this agenda item because thank you Maya Coleman your line is open please begin

Good morning, supervisors. My name is Maya Coleman, and I'm with the Reimagined LA Coalition and a member of District 3. I'm calling in opposition to Agenda Item 62. We urge the county not to confuse surveillance with community care. An ankle monitor is not housing, mental health care, substance use treatment, a job, or the support that people need to successfully return home. It simply extends the reach of our criminal legal system into our communities. At a time when the county continues to acknowledge overcrowded deals, inadequate health care, unsafe conditions, and preventable harm, expanding electronic monitoring is moving in the wrong direction. We cannot monitor our way out of a broken system. If LA County is committed to Care First, Jail's Last Vision, we should be investing in affordable housing, behavioral health services, employment, education, and reentry support, not expanding contracts that profit from surveillance. Real public safety comes from stability, opportunity, and community investment. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 62 is continued, I believe, just so that speaker is aware.

Madhu Katwani, your line is open. Please begin. Madhu Katwani. Your line is open, please begin.

Can't hear her.

Madhu, your line is open. OK, we'll go to the next caller. Dr. Lawrence, your line is open. Please begin. Yes.

Hi, it's Dr. Lawrence Winston, founder of Wise Up Ministries. I'm speaking on behalf of item number 41, the Hollywood Bowl tickets. In our experience, the tickets for the chancellor rapper event on juneteenth the tickets were 19 and it was very affordable and then they moved down to 16 that way we were able to buy tickets for 30 of our community members and we were able to get there however parking um was was quite expensive but the discounted ticket rate allowed us to cover the parking for everyone that attended um and we carpooled we also attended um previously i attended um a little wayne versus drake concert at the hollywood bowl and it was an experience that where the tickets were very pricey thank you this was very years alison mcdowell your line is open please begin

Go ahead.

Allison.

Allison McDew.

Hello.

Yes. Please begin.

Yes. Hi. Good morning, Board of Supervisors. My name is Allison McDew. I want to applaud the LASL for creating a reduced price program for Angelenos from low incomes at the Hollywood Bowl. Really supporting item 41. I really want to ask the Board of Supervisors to establish this countywide reduced price programming for all Angelenos. For our cultural institutions, because it's an opportunity to close a socioeconomic and educational gap, so many studies have shown that these immersive trips to cultural landmarks boost a student's critical thinking and empathy. And really, these educational breakthroughs are twice as large from youth, from low-income families who lack these opportunities. And we would really just love to see these lowering of entry barriers at these county venues. And I feel like especially as what's been done at the fourth year, It's really thinking about entertainment not as a luxury but as an educational tool to students who really need it and families.

Thank you. Caller ending in 7127, your line is now open. Please state your name and begin.

Good morning, Board of Supervisors. I'm Lydia Scott, item 41 on your agenda. I'd like to thank L.A. Field for creating a reduced-price program that allows all Angelenos with low incomes to experience performances at the Hollywood Bowl. I'M ASKING FOR THE BOARD TO BUILD ON THAT IDEA BY ESTABLISHING A COUNCILWIDE REDUCED PRICING PROGRAM FOR ANGELINOS WITH LOW INCOMES AND AT COUNTY CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS, INCLUDING MUSEUMS AND EVENT VENUES. TOO OFTEN PUBLIC CULTURAL ASSETS HAVE SEATS AND ADMISSION SPACES THAT GO UNUSED. AN EMPTY SEAT GENERATES NO REVENUE AND PROVIDES NO BENEFIT TO ANYONE. WHY NOT USE THOSE VACANT SPACES TO EXPAND ACCESS? Offering discounted admission to residents with low incomes when capability is available would create opportunities for people who might otherwise be excluded. Our cultural institutions belong to all Angelenos. I respectfully ask the Board to establish...

Thank you. Madam Chair, there are no other remote speakers to address the Board on these items. We will now go to in-person speakers. Please begin.

Greg Crum speaking on Agenda Item 56. Good morning, supervisors. I'm here on behalf of the Los Angeles County Lifeguard Association and the more than 900 lifeguards who protect 72 miles of coastline across LA County. Supervisor Mitchell, Supervisor Horvath, Supervisor Hahn, our beaches and coastlines are within your respective districts. Supervisor Solis, Supervisor Barger, thousands of your constituents visit our beaches on a regular basis. And I want to thank you all for your continued commitment to the safety of our beaches, our beach communities, and the public programs supported by our county lifeguard system. Supervisor Hahn, thank you so much for your work in keeping LA County lifeguards at Cabrillo Beach. Our coastline is a regional resource and protecting it's our responsibility. LA County lifeguards have built a coordinated regional lifeguard system with the staffing, training, equipment, and experience necessary to protect millions of beachgoers. We're in the middle of one of the biggest summers we've ever had, and we hope that the work at Cabrillo shows that we can keep all of our beaches and Will Rogers, Doc Weiler, and all of our other contract cities.

Thank you. Thank you so much. Next speaker, please.

Hello. I'm speaking on 32 for MLK library, 35 family visitation DCSF, 36 medical upgrade, and 38 for local health emergency for the fires. So we have some new technologies for Stargate. We were wondering if for MLK we could do a demo of these new AI models for Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Black Panthers, to protect African-American cultures that have been systematically beaten down. If you read the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution, it does institutional racism. So we want to identify it and help people lift up. The budget's $238.5 billion. It's with Japan. So this is a federal budget, but it's a joint partnership. And if we could, use it for DCSF. Sacagawea is one that I wanted to be able to implement. It's from my hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia. And she's a Native American. So at the beginning of our speeches every day with LA Board of Supervisors, you want to honor Native Americans. So this should honor Native Americans. It should protect their culture. Sacagawea was sold as a sex slave into marriage at age 13. which I think is inappropriate. So this would be able to protect children for DCSF is the recommendation. For the fire emergency that we're dealing with right now, I've been to Altadena, Pasadena. This is critical infrastructure. It's new technology. It's also a fusion reactor is potentially what we want to do. But we want to start with police, fire, EMS first, and eventually roll it out to citizens is the recommendation. One fun one I picked was Geronimo, named after the Apache medicine man. And it's basically, Geronimo would be medical diagnostics to understand people holistically and how to help them. So if you're interested, we'd love to do it. And I'm in South Pasadena in Catherine Barter's district, under five. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

I'm Michael Mecca with the Pacific Water Quality Association. And we're opposing the Newhall Ranch sanitation district ban on water softeners. From what I've found on this, Newhall Ranch is a proposed development, and while it's in the middle of the big Santa Clarita ban and removal on water softeners, we have tens of thousands of new residents that are going to be denied water treatment options before they ever move into their new houses. I was heavily involved in the Santa Clarita ban and removal with Senator George Runner. We're realist. We understand that things need to change. Chlorides are an issue for sanitation districts to deal with. However, it needs to be done properly. And in the case of Santa Clarita, a lot of things came out that should not have been done. Lost my train there. I was involved on the removal of softeners to set a value.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

My name is . I'm here speaking as part of the public. Thank you to Holly Mitchell, Supervisor Holly Mitchell, and thank you to LA Phil for leading the way for different Angelenos to experience cultural landmarks in an affordable way. cultural landmarks like the Hollywood Bowl. Oh, I'm speaking on item 41. Sorry about that. Number 41. And when cultural landmarks like the Hollywood Bowl are made affordable to everyone, it reestablishes important community hubs for people to connect. So also shout outs to the Ford Theater for also leading the way to this. Thank you to the Hollywood Bowl for recently implementing a program for EBT users. More needs to be done, and I personally hope, as part of the public, that the tickets are going into the right hands and not people who would take advantage of this good intention. Thank you very much to everyone, and enjoy the rest of your day.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hello, members of the board, and then you guys here. I just want to say that if you are going to do anything about the corridors or commercial things, think about people with disabilities because they need a pathway to be to go to any corridor. So it needs to be clean. It needs to be clean. It needs to be accessible for people with disabilities. Thank you very much. And I appreciate you all for coming here. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Yes, hi, good morning. My name is Tara Taylor and I'll be speaking on item number 41. Good morning, Supervisors. I'd like to begin by thanking the LA Phil and Supervisor Mitchell for leading the way and helping to reduce Prices for Angelenos to participate in our cultural institutions, and in particular, in visiting the Hollywood Bowl. The EBT program is a trailblazing effort to get more of our population to our major cultural institutions, and I believe that this is only the beginning. Given the complexity of living in Los Angeles and the various economic positions of many of our residents here, I would encourage the supervisors here that this body would consider a comprehensive program for all of our cultural institutions.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes the time for public comment on these items.

Madam Chair and members of the board, the following items are before you. One through 18, 23 with Supervisor Horfath recusing from the vote, 24 through 36, 37 with Supervisor Solis and Horfath recusing from the vote, 39 through 61, 63 through 89, 90A through 90F, SD1, 1D, 1P, and please note we will take a separate vote on items 93 and 94. These items are before you.

Moved by Supervisor Horvath, seconded by Supervisor Hahn to approve these items with the exceptions noted by the executive officer. Executive officer, will you please call the roll?

Supervisor Mitchell?

Aye.

Supervisor Horvath?

Aye.

Supervisor Hahn?

Aye.

Supervisor Barger?

Aye.

Supervisor Solis?

Aye.

Supervisor Solis, aye. Motion carries. Madam Chair, we will now vote on the separate matter items. Item number 93 is before you.

Moved by Supervisor Barger, seconded by Supervisor Mitchell. To approve the item, Executive Officer, call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell?

Aye.

Supervisor Horfath?

Aye.

Supervisor Han? Aye. Supervisor Barger? Aye. Supervisor Solis?

Aye.

Motion carries 5-0. We now have item number 94, which is before you.

I will move that item, seconded by Supervisor Horvath, to approve the item. Executive Officer, call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell?

Aye.

Supervisor Horvath?

Aye.

supervisor hahn aye supervisor barter aye supervisor solis aye motion carries five to zero we will now move on to item 20 implementing commercial tenant protections to prevent small business displacement and deliver on thriving commercial corridors which is held by supervisor mitchell for members of the public already on the phone if you have signed up to speak for these items you do not need to do anything further If you're on the phone, have not signed up to speak, and would like to comment on this item, press star now and follow the prompts to be placed into the speaking queue. If you are watching the meeting and would like to address the board on this item, please call 213-444-2600, press star, and follow the prompts. An operator will be on the phone to assist. As a note, we have many speakers who have requested to speak on this item. In order to finish today's meeting efficiently and address all agenda items, we are requesting that if you are with a group, please identify one person to speak on behalf of your entire group. ADDITIONALLY, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS OTHER THAN WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN STATED BY OTHER SPEAKERS, PLEASE INDICATE ONLY YOUR NAME AND YOUR SUPPORT OR OPPOSITION TO THIS ITEM. KELLY LOBIANCO, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY IS AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS. FOR THE DEPARTMENTAL SPEAKER, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND TITLE FOR THE RECORD WHEN YOU ADDRESS THE BOARD.

Thank you. At this time, we'll recognize Supervisor Mitchell. This is her item. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and good morning to all my colleagues. Small businesses are the backbone of L.A. County's economy. They are where jobs are created, where our hyper-local community's diversity is reflected and celebrated. But they're disappearing. They're seeing rent increases as high as 400%. One of my very own second district small businesses saw his monthly rent jump from $2,500 to $10,000 per month. Leases can be terminated with no recourse and no relocation help, even when a landlord's harassment is confirmed. Redevelopment can displace longtime businesses, even as our communities desperately need more housing and revitalization projects. Last year, the state took a first step with Senate Bill 1103, which requires advance notice for rent increases over 10%, notice prior to lease termination, and translation of leases into language the tenant can understand. I think this is the opportunity for the county to do its part to implement this law locally and keep small businesses in place. This board has a significant track record of supporting both small business and commercial landlords through grants, rent relief, and technical and legal assistance. Since the county's Department of Economic Opportunity was created back in 2022, the county has delivered over $83 million in direct cash relief to 9,700 businesses hit by a variety of disruptions like COVID, labor strikes, and natural disasters. We've now funded a permanent business interruption fund with an additional $2 million. And through the Economic Mobility Initiative, we've invested over $33 million in technical assistance and business formation grants, reaching more than 4,000 businesses. We've also invested $11 million to refresh storefronts for over 120 businesses. And after the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires, DEO matched displaced businesses with available commercial space. Our vision is that DEO is the Chamber of Commerce for all businesses countywide. And as a result, DEO has funded free legal representation for small businesses since 2021. They've also put on business forms touching over 1,200 businesses. And the list goes on. Despite these investments, commercial tenants still face exorbitant rent hikes, terminated leases, redevelopment displacement, and coercive eviction tactics. A commercial rental property license, a CRPL, since the government loves acronyms, again, that's a commercial rental property license, would allow the county to clearly identify where pressures are occurring. It would show which corridors are facing chronic vacancies and which businesses need direct outreach and support rather than us guessing or basing it on hearsay. or anecdotal stories. Following the fires, DEO had no list of which businesses had burned down or were partially damaged and had to rely on door-to-door outreach to deliver relief. A licensing system would mean that we would be able to reach effective businesses more quickly in future emergencies. The CRPL is as much about outreach as it is about enforcement against landlords who violate the anti-harassment ordinance. I'd also like to acknowledge the community members who've correctly said that a remedy after displacement is not enough. A small business can lose its customers, workers, inventory, and their neighborhood presence long before a court case reaches a final resolution. So that's why the county's report back should evaluate accessible administrative options for reporting commercial tenant harassment, including complaint intake, investigation, emergency review, anti-retaliation safeguards, and referral pathways for legal assistance. So let me just be clear about what this motion does and does not do. This motion closes the gaps in state law, helps us deliver relief to businesses more quickly, and holds bad actors accountable. It asks our business licensing work group to design a commercial landlord license, similar to models in major cities across the country, including Chicago, Tacoma, New York, and here locally, Santa Monica. For the first time, the county would have reliable information about who owns commercial buildings and which storefronts are sitting empty. If a landlord is found by the courts to have harassed a tenant out of their space, the tenant would receive financial assistance to relocate. It also asks DEO to study what fair rent looks like around the county. And when redevelopment pushes a small business out, it asks county council to return with real options for relocation assistance and incentives, rather than allowing our community anchors to be displaced without support. Again, let me be clear about what the motion does not do. As I've heard that there's been some perhaps confusion. It does not cap commercial rent. It does not make landlords share any copies of their leases. And it does not slow down or block any redevelopment projects. The motion is a result of pretty significant stakeholder feedback, and I'd like to thank my team who met directly with organizations who expressed their opposition, which is why we took it to cluster to create an opportunity for a full and transparent discussion. And as a result, what we're considering today is different than what we first introduced. As a result of feedback, we added a cap on the amount of relocation expenses that could be awarded. We spelled out exactly what counts as a redevelopment project so landlords will know where they stand. And we asked for departments to come back with more incentives for landlords who choose the special status license. I appreciate the commercial property stakeholders for raising serious implementation questions and their point that the rural and other unincorporated communities have distinct economic conditions is well taken. And that's why this is a report back motion. We're not setting a commercial rent cap or adopting a final relocation program today. We are directing our departments to conduct the analysis, engage stakeholders across the county, and bring the board options. We shouldn't have to choose between attracting investment and protecting the small businesses that create jobs, provide essential services, and give commercial corridors their character, not to mention giving commercial landlords rent through their tenancy. I believe we have to do all of the above. So I look forward to the report back with options to promote a fair and vibrant marketplace for all of our businesses across LA County. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. And I also want to join you and thank you for adding me, Supervisor Mitchell, as a co-author on this particular issue. It's a challenge for our small businesses. There's no doubt about it. And I want to thank you, Kelly Lobianco, and your department for helping us in the East Los Angeles corridors, as well as in the San Gabriel Valley, helping us to renovate storefronts and revitalizing areas that have been dilapidated. and have been left behind, particularly in corridors that I represent in the unincorporated area, not just in East LA, but also in the San Gabriel Valley, near unincorporated West Puente Valley, closer to areas that... for many, is home. And small businesses thrive there. They do make up the backbone of our economy. And it's disgraceful what is happening to them right now, having to deal with tariffs, having to deal with uncertainty because of ICE raids that has really suppressed and depressed people from coming into their shops and to their stores, and people also trying to maintain their economic stability. If there isn't a business open, then they don't have a job. And likewise, I want to reference the recent tragedy that we went through in East L.A. and Boyle Heights, the lineage crisis that we just faced. There were many small businesses there, and I know that, Kelly, your group is going to be looking at doing outreach and have been to help us decipher how many people – commercial owners of buildings and what have you, and also their tenants, have been impacted. And what we've heard, anecdotally, is that it's way above, maybe close to millions. And that doesn't include the oil spill that happened in East LA as well. So there are a lot of things that are impacting many of the folks that I represent currently. And I would ask people to be patient with us, but also understand that this is a report back. And I think some of us here are very responsive and want to be more responsible. And I have even put in my own discretionary funding to build in to a business relief interruption fund for those that have been interrupted because of disasters or because of man-made intrusions. Like the recent ice rates that have really hurt our corridors here, even in downtown Los Angeles, in the Garment District. All of these places have not recovered. And this is multiplied on top of what happened during COVID. Unfortunately, many of those individuals happen to be people that we represent, people of color, but it's no accident. They're striving. Many of them are hardworking immigrants that came here with the hope and desire of not depending on federal government or state government or county, but also being able to thrive. And I think that is what makes the LA County economy what it is, the fact that we have entrepreneurs and micro enterprises too, by people who want to start their own businesses, starting even from maybe selling tabales on the street to now getting a vendor cart that we're providing through DEO and also establishing safeguards so that they can become permitted and then go hopefully later on, if they want to, into brick-and-mortar. So there's a plan here. It isn't just throwing things out there unnecessarily. We really do want our communities to thrive. So I am fully supportive of this, and I can't wait to hear back from the report back, but also to thank you, Kelly, for the work that you've done, because we don't need to see more people displaced at this time. Unemployment is already high. in this area and we know that we are going to be uh heading for some more uh heavier uh challenges for for the time being but that's not going to be forever so now is the time for us to help stabilize our community so i wholeheartedly support the motion and thank you again supervisor mitchell and your staff for their good work on this issue thank you okay Advisor Barger, you're recognized.

Thank you. And thank you for bringing this forward. And Supervisor Mitchell, thank you for the transparency and how this has been handled. Going to cluster and all that is why we have this process and getting input from stakeholders and from people that are impacted. So I want to thank you for that. But I have a couple of questions for Kelly. I understand that there are examples of small businesses who have claimed that they've been displaced due to landlord harassment. or because a landlord increased the rent with the intent of forcing the tenant to move out. Under the proposed ordinance, a tenant would need to take this to court under the existing county anti-harassment ordinance to get relocation costs and other costs like rent covered so that they can move. Since the county anti-harassment ordinance was passed in 2022, how many small businesses have filed complaints under this ordinance that we put into play, and what was the result of those complaints?

Thank you, Supervisor Barger. As you heard from the supervisors that spoke before, and I think we're going to hear from a lot of folks today, Issues of affordability and displacement and harassment are very real for small businesses. We know we are a county of small businesses, and they face many, many barriers to both startup and growth and legacy in succession here. And so we certainly have been providing education and technical assistance and support since our beginnings four years ago, and that has included engaging with our LA region small business legal aid program. And so we've been engaging with hundreds, if not thousands at this point, of individuals who brought a variety of legal challenges to us. And we've worked with Beth Zedek and public counsel to support. That said, under the anti-harassment ordinance, right now there's no single custodian of that case data. So the ordinance essentially offers a private right of action to individuals who are experiencing harassment or retaliation under the scope of the ordinance so they can pursue that action directly and so while they might engage with our office of small business and partners to better understand their issues the actual civil suits are handled privately and so Right now we don't have a good sense of the actual numbers, but what I will offer is that the City of LA has set up a more proactive approach around residential tenant harassment complaints and has, since they set it up, received about a dozen in supported tracking of those into court. And I want to sort of lift up what I heard Supervisor Mitchell say, that I think the licensing program here and a more proactive approach to receive complaints to the county help triage to legal support will enable us to track what is essentially a private right of action over time and better understand the full scale and scope.

So the county anti-harassment ordinance that was passed in 2022 has done Nothing. We have no data to support the efficacy of that ordinance.

I will say that what the ordinance... No, just a yes or no.

I mean, I heard you. I heard a lot of what you said, but really, I just want to know. We have things on the books, and I looked at county council. Is there not enough teeth in the ordinance? Because, you know, we... We band-aid. But I think the goal, and we all support this goal, because there are bad landlords. There are bad landlords that make it really difficult for those, like up in Alphadena, when I think of the Galloways, who, quite frankly, are the gold standard for what you want in a landlord, because they had people that suffered. And actually, they lost a building, but yet they still recognize the importance of keeping businesses in the community. So my question is, what the anti-harassment ordinance that we voted on at this board and was sold as something that was going to protect um and i'm hearing today um i'm glad the city of la is being proactive on tenants maybe we need to look at that as well um but proactive versus reactive so to county council what in the ordinance um and and i don't no, if you have it in front of you, that is not working or that we need to do? And why are we not collecting data? And why are we not working with organizations such as the ones that are in the audience right now to capitalize on what's already on the books?

So first, I don't have the ordinance in front of me. And I will certainly go back and look at it. I don't know in terms of the data collection. That certainly would not be something that we would have. I think the goal of the ordinance was for it to be self-enforced. I'm going to have to defer back to Director LoBianco in terms of when they are reached out to by persons with complaints and they're working with public counsel in terms of how that can be tracked perhaps going forward in the future.

Yes, I'll just say, so the ordinance created a right, but we do need to create an infrastructure for education and support for businesses, and then also for tracking that long term. That does require the investment of infrastructure and resources to enable us to better track that. But it does create a right that people can take advantage of.

So do you need the board to tell you to do that, or is that something that should be done? I mean, I talk about proactive versus reactive. And, you know, this is reactive to a problem. And we just talked about the anti-harassment, and now you're saying what we need to do. So do we need to write a motion telling you to do that? Or is that something that should just be an obvious, based on common sense?

No, it's not necessary about a motion. So we, when we are engaging with small businesses that have a challenge, which there are many, right, that require a variety of resources and potentially including legal aid, we refer folks to our legal aid program with support from many folks in this room, including Bed-Zedek and public counsel. to actually implement, like to receive complaints, triage complaints, you need to build an infrastructure. There need to be resources that expand the opportunity for education and compliance. I believe that having a license and a program built out in this way would enable us to better do that here in the county. I'm just saying that it's not that we don't want to do it. I think we need to build out the infrastructure to make that happen.

Yeah, that... That's fine. I don't buy it, but that's fine. I respectfully quasi disagree with you in terms of which came first. I believe that we should be more proactive and it shouldn't be the board. directing that it should be in response to the needs of the consumers. And in this case, the consumer is a tenants of small businesses across the board, which brings me to my next question. And this is something that is anecdotal. And I understand that some small businesses have claimed that the landlord increased their rent in order to have them move out so that the landlords are eligible for state financial incentives. Can you explain a little bit more about this? And has this had an effect on any small businesses in the county?

Can you say that last part again? I'm sorry. So you're talking about the business?

I'm being told that landlords are intentionally pushing tenants out because there is some state financial incentive if businesses are left empty for the landlord.

I would have to, what I do know is that rents are increasing. You know, we've had, in our review, we did an HRNA study, and there are increases that we're seeing across the board. And we know that sometimes those costs are passed on to the commercial tenants, and it makes it unaffordable for folks to stay.

That's not my question. My question is, is there a state-run policy that incentivizes businesses to be empty over an extended period of time?

I appreciate that question and I'd like to come back to you with a fuller answer. I want to better understand some of the policies that you're referencing so that I can give you an answer there.

That is what is being presented as a way for landlords to price out. Go ahead.

Yeah, I likewise will look into it further, but my guess is it's probably a tax incentive, and they're claiming it as a loss. That's what my guess is, but we will look into that as well.

Yeah, I mean, I think these are important things to take into consideration because, again, we can put together a registry, and my concern is the cost that's going to be put into play to create a registry that's going to be passed on to the tenants as well. and it's like a domino effect, and I think that we need to look holistically at what is taking place and try to address it from the standpoint of both the state and local. My last question is, the motion focuses on the experience of the small business tenants. In Directive 1, a proposed definition of a commercial landlord and tenant are requested. What is your understanding of

who a commercial landlord is for the purposes of this motion and is it all commercial landlords of property or commercial landlords of small businesses of nine or fewer employees i just need to get a clarification on that the your clarification will come back in the report back because the reality is there's a variety of commercial definitions being used the definition under the anti-harassment ordinance is very broad the definition that we use at the department is more focused on you know 100 employees and $13 million or less in line with the state and federal standards in many cases. So we are going to come back with a clear definition of commercial landlord, commercial business as part of this program because that's going to be necessary for us to engage in a commercial rent study, which is part of Really operationalizing this and I do just want to share supervisor burger I hear you and I think that making sure that when we have a law in the books that we have a way to make sure that it's Shared with the public and that they can activate it and we do believe that we've supported folks in referring to no-cost legal aid where we can and And I think building the infrastructure within the Department of Economic Opportunity, our partners at the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs will be needed to make sure that we fully reach the hundreds of thousands of businesses that are here in L.A. County. Just the scale of that and making sure that education, a process, and technical assistance can reach everyone so that we can fully realize the compliance requirements. intentions of the law is necessary. And so we look forward to helping build the capacity and doing that in this report back and sharing what would be needed to really meet the anti-harassment law and the intent of this motion.

And the report back is in how many days? 180? Is that correct?

I'd have to double check.

Are you confident you can do this in 180 days?

I believe that we can come back with a report back. We're going to be working with county council and the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. We're all part of this motion.

As well as the industries that have submitted letters. I mean, even the LA Chamber of Commerce, who typically kind of stays under the radar on things like this, has come out expressing concerns. Are you going to bring them all in to discuss?

Certainly. We will engage our business community for sure, and a lot of that has already happened up until this point, we know. But like anything, a proper infrastructure for implementation is going to be important, and so we look forward to thoughtfully bringing back a proposal to this board.

And then, is this going to go under business license? Is that the goal, is to have it under the business license commission?

I think that those are all things that are going to be considered in the report back. There's a separate report back that's underway between DCBA and CEO right now on the business license program.

So I'd look to the authors. Just out of curiosity, I mean, because I know that the Business License Commission oversees an incorporated area for like massage parlors and things like that. Is the vision or the thought that there be something similar to that so that the commission oversees and has a hearing based on people submitting requests for business license? Do you follow me?

I did not.

So there's a business license commission that right now hears requests for, I mean, I think of massage parlors, because that seems to be the bulk of what they are acting on.

Yes.

And award business licenses to unincorporated areas. Yes. This is going to be a registry. Yes. And my question is, is it going to go before the business license commission, or do you expect it just to be a separate entity that's going to be directly... because that allows the public to come and be a part of, if there's a problematic landlord.

It would absolutely include, it is my expectation that it would allow for the public to be involved and bring forward. I understand that the CEO is looking at moving that from one department to another, and so I don't know that I can say it will go before that entity, but it is my expectation that the public have the opportunity and it be reviewed by an entity. Joe, like what you just identified.

Thank you. Good morning. So what we're looking at in our report on business license commission is the appropriate location of that program. Right now it's with TTC, and there's some analysis to look and see whether it belongs in another department like DCBA or DEO and what that process looks like. This motion would ask us to come back or ask DCBA to come back 60 days after we're done with our report. And so in that follow-on report, I think that's an important question that they should be answering, which is, do we create a new entity? Does this align with Business License Commission? Does it align with the current rent protection program that we have existing at DCBA? And so I expect that in the report that is filed in response to this motion, they will have to say where this is best administered.

Thank you. I mean, I guess I have a lot of questions, and I am concerned because you've got organizations like BizFed saying that LA County is the most unfriendly toward businesses and I just want to make sure we're not creating another layer of bureaucracy that similar to the ordinance that we just talked about makes promises but delivers very little at a cost and so I am going to be abstaining on this because it is report back and I think it's important to get that information but I will tell you that if we do enact something Transparency is going to begin at this board, and I will literally be questioning the data to make sure that our bureaucracy is doing what they promised to both the tenants and also the landlords, because I think that is important. When I hear that the anti-harassment ordinance is just that, something on paper, but we have no data to really support the effectiveness or the efficacy of this program, Raises a lot of concerns with me Because I think that we have an obligation if we act on something and make promises when we vote on an ordinance that we think is going to make a difference and we find out that out of sight out of mind that Disappoints me and concerns me so I will be abstaining and that is out of respect to the fact that this is report back and I would encourage both the tenants, but also the landlords, but also the business organizations to play a part in providing information and recognizing that we need to focus on those that are being irresponsible and being bad landlords. And then people like the Galloways, who I work with closely, and Alfie and I know you have too, Kelly, that are barely making it because they are giving breaks to their tenants, do not have an unfair burden placed on their shoulders. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would just like to add something. A couple of months ago, I also introduced a motion to look at creating a way of getting our departments to look at how we are providing fairness and equity in our business licensing. Because I have heard for many, many years now that there are many tenants who will not even come forward and admit that their rents have been raised for fear that they're going to be kicked out even though they have been there for twenty and thirty years so there's a lot here and the report back should address all of that so while we're looking at what the landlord's needs are we better also think about the economic impacts that this will have in terms of displacement, what that really means. And let's put it in numbers as well. I'd like to see that. And given all the different challenges that we have gone through in the last few months here in the county and last year, the fires, everything, it's all very important for us to have this data. And I don't just put it on you. I don't see that as just your burden. I think it's our departments, and that's what we need to think about as well. So I believe we're trying to go in the right direction, and I hope that these discussions will help us get there. So thank you. With that, Supervisor Horvath, you're in the queue.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our commercial corridors and the heart of our neighborhoods. They're more than just commerce. They are small businesses and gathering places for the community, and they help define a sense of place and of culture. But many of our commercial tenants, especially our legacy small businesses, face displacement from growing economic inequality, competition from online retailers, and harassment. Not to mention the impacts from the January 2025 wildfires, as well as the federal immigration actions and tariffs. And I will say, while this proposal will seek to create policy that will serve the unincorporated communities, I did hear from businesses in incorporated cities like Malibu even, which is not always known for being a rent control city, but we heard from some of those businesses that they even needed more protection given what they have been facing. And smaller cities don't always have the resources, the departments and the infrastructure that the county does to be able to explore in depth what this motion proposes. So I'm glad that that we are doing the work because I know it will not only benefit us in the county and whatever policies we do decide to move forward with, but it will also benefit other incorporated communities who are looking to the county as an example. I'm proud that our county has established initiatives like Business Interruption Funds, the Commercial Acquisition Fund, the Facade Improvement Program, Shop LA Local, and other programs to help small businesses remain and thrive in their communities. But there is more that we can do, and I appreciate that this motion gives us an opportunity to carefully and thoughtfully evaluate additional tools. As these recommendations are developed, the commercial rent study, legal analysis, and stakeholder feedback should help ensure that any new requirements are appropriately targeted to the businesses most at risk of displacement. We should also be thoughtful about the information that the county collects through any potential licensing program. The report back should consider strong privacy and data minimization standards that protect sensitive information belonging to small businesses and property owners, while still giving the county the information it needs to understand displacement trends and connect businesses with resources. Most importantly, the stakeholder engagement process should be broad, and including commercial tenants, independently owned small businesses, landlords and property owners, business organizations, community-based organizations, and other affected stakeholders. And I know we've already heard from many of these organizations to help inform today's conversation, and I hope that we will continue to actively engage many organizations and agencies that will represent those who will be impacted by any potential policies. I also want to highlight that BizFed as well as the Building Owners and Managers Association and the LA Chamber have submitted information that I think will help inform how we can carefully and thoughtfully craft policy while also meeting the stated intention of protecting businesses that are signature to what Los Angeles County is and what it means to so many different people. So I look forward to the recommendations, the proposed program design, and the analysis resulting from this motion, and to developing policies that protect small businesses in our unincorporated communities, setting an example for incorporated communities to consider, and keeping our commercial corridors thriving. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Next in the queue, we have Supervisor Hahn.

Thanks, Madam Chair. And obviously, I think we can all agree that our small businesses are the backbone of our economy. I mean, everybody says that. All chambers of commerce say that. They create jobs. In fact, they create more jobs than the big businesses in our region, in our neighborhood. So anything we can do, and I was talking to Supervisor Barger, and we did see true landlord character come forward during COVID, particularly for our commercial tenants. There were some landlords of commercial property that understood that it was through no fault of their own, that it was, you know, it was it was the county that was declaring some of these businesses could not operate legally and uh healthfully during the coven and some of the landlords were good and they and they uh appreciate that and then we saw other landlords who absolutely uh had no sympathy and and they had mortgages to pay so um they didn't give a break to those some of those and some of those small businesses did not survive and some of them never came back some of the restaurants, the small businesses. So we know that there are, you know, we know that there is an opportunity to protect small businesses where we can. Supervisor Barger brought up a lot of concerns, many of the concerns that I think our office has also been hearing. And so I think for me, it will be, I'm going to vote for this because I am curious about the report back. And I really want to urge you kelly to be have a very thorough report back and really lean into a lot of the concerns that you've heard today and um i would agree with supervisor barger make sure you're talking to the stakeholders who are going to be impacted, both the landlords, both the tenants. Because I think the more people that are involved in this, the better the product will be at the end. I've always believed that. And I think that's, you know, cluster process. Sometimes, you know, by the time it gets out on the other end, it's better. And I think that's what we're going to urge you to do. The worst thing I think that could happen is a report back that's one-sided. Because I think if we're going to do something like this, we really need to get the buy-in of everybody. I think for me it's going to be the cost. What is this going to cost us? You know, in a county where our budget is always tight and we've got priority mountain and there are certain things that are priorities for this board and things that are going to be unforeseen by this board, how hopefully the report back, and I don't know if you want to speak at all, what is our thinking right now is like, Are we going to ask the landlords to pay for the cost of this, the cost of tenant protections? Is there going to be another funding source that will help? Because we're going to drag in a lot of our departments on this. And anything we do really speaks to the ordinance that's already on the books. Anything we do is not worth the paper it's written on unless the enforcement is robust. And I think we found that with a lot of things. We've had very good intentions on this board. And then it boils down to, is it being enforced? Do we have the money, the staffing to really carry out a priority like this? So maybe, I mean, that will be interesting to me in the report back, but maybe you can speak to it. What's the thinking right now is how do we pay for this? Are there different funding sources, not only for the tenant protections, but for our extra department staff work?

Yeah, I think we'll fully consider the scope of something like this in the report back and do our best across county council and Department of Consumer Business Affairs and DEO to estimate cost for an infrastructure and an implementation plan that helps us fully achieve the intention of the motion in the program. I hear what the board is saying, and I agree. A policy is great. The anti-harassment ordinance created a right, and that is something that, whether we have a robust technical assistance apparatus or not, is important for the public to be able to have access to, because they didn't before. And so I don't want to minimize that. But I also recognize that a smart and thoughtful cross-departmental and right-sized implementation strategy is important, and I look forward to bringing that back.

Because we know every budget process, we have our departments lining up and speaking to our priorities, like kind of quoting us word for word about things that we've asked for, but then saying, we don't have enough staff. And they ask for more staff at every budget. And sometimes they get it and sometimes they don't. So just really want to make sure up front, if we're going to build this infrastructure, that we really understand the cost and we really are given a... a clear pathway to a funding strategy. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Supervisor Mitchell.

Thank you very much. I just wanted to respond to some of the issues raised by my colleagues. And Supervisor Hahn, I couldn't agree with you more. I couldn't agree with you more. And I would suggest that we as a board exercise a similar discipline for every motion or ordinance or ballot initiative that comes before us. Oh, I hate it when you use my own words against me. In terms of asking ourselves the question, how are we going to pay for it? So I agree with you. And like I said, I think that should be for this motion and everything else that we consider. How are we going to pay for it? It's really important. Specifically, as you talked about in terms of staffing, and I agree with you, in terms of the proposed commercial license program and how it will be funded, as we heard from the CEO, they're in the process of figuring out, studying if they should move the existing small business licensing program from TTC to either DCBA or DEO. Well, It would be my expectation that the 18 positions for that existing program that are in TTC would have to move wherever the program moves. And so that would be one issue with regard to the staffing. The work moves, the staff, the 18 staff need to move along with it. So I appreciate you raising that. to Supervisor Barger's question around the anti-harassment policy and whether or not it's enough and why we haven't seen any action there. It's my understanding that the anti-harassment ordinance is only for a private right of action, which means it requires a citizen to hire a private attorney to enforce the law. Because it's a private right of action, there is no governmental administrative kind of oversight to pursue it. And so that ZEDEC public counsel have come to us because of the limitations around the anti-harassment ordinance to pursue what we are considering with this. So that's what we're considering. I think that's the challenge. I appreciate your line of questioning, but if it only can be done through private attorneys, that may not be enough. The state program, I look forward to hearing back from County Council or Ms. Lobianco. If there's a state program, it does sound more like to me that people are talking about as municipalities are. I don't know if the state addressed the issue of a vacancy tax, but it is certainly something that we hear a lot in public discourse and how a vacancy tax could be helpful. That certainly is not what this motion is attempting to do. We are attempting to address these issues from a very different perspective. But so I wanted to respond to issues raised by my colleagues and hope that we can move forward. Oh, lastly, Supervisor Barger, I think I did say when you said the report back, there are various timeframes, but it is 180 days to prepare... with regard to the anti, da, da, da, da, for introduction, adoption, and ordinance amending the anti-harassment court ordinance. So it's 180 days. 120 days to conduct the commercial rent study. So there are varying time frames within it, but the meat of the motion and the report back is 180 days. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Very, very good. With that then, seeing no... FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM MY COLLEAGUES, AND LET'S GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT. EXECUTIVE OFFICER.

NEW SPEAKER. MEMBER CHAIR, GIVEN THE NUMBER OF SPEAKERS WHO HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEM 20, IN ORDER TO FINISH TODAY'S MEETING EFFICIENTLY AND ADDRESS ALL AGENDA ITEMS, THE TIME FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM WILL BE UP TO 50 MINUTES OR UNTIL ALL SPEAKERS WHO HAVE REGISTERED HAVE SPOKEN. If you are with a group, please identify one person to speak on behalf of your entire group. Additionally, if you do not have any additional comments other than what has already been stated by other speakers, please indicate only your name and your support or opposition to this item to allow others the opportunity to speak. Should you like to provide more detailed comments, you can do so by submitting written comments to our customer service staff with badges. Additionally, you can provide your written comments online at our website at www.bos.lacounty.gov by clicking the link Submit Public Comment Online. All comments submitted online will be filed in the official record. Thank you for your understanding and participation in today's meeting. It is now 1102 a.m. Public comment for this item will end at 1152.

Will the following individuals please come forward and staff will assist you? Mihan Tumajan, Alexandra Melgoza, Francisca Corona, Deanna Brown, Carlos Singer, Lourdes Ocampo, Corina Echevarria. Rafael Acevedo. Steve Quinones. Rosalind Sagara. Irma Juarez. Ramia Sinha. Cajo Mayera. We will hear from in-person speakers first. Please begin.

Honorable Chair Solis and honorable supervisors, I'm Mehran Tumajan with CREDA SoCal, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association. We respectfully oppose the motions under Agenda Item 20 in their current form. We've submitted a letter for the public record. We represent commercial real estate owners, investors, and the entire commercial real property ecosystem across Southern California. Our members go to great lengths to ensure that their commercial properties are tenanted and not vacant. We recognize the county's interest in protecting small and legacy businesses from potential harassment and displacement by bad actors who should be the ones targeted. I'd like to focus my comment on the proposed commercial rent study component. The revised motion shortens the study period from 12 months to 120 days, specifically includes a survey of small business renters. Given the complexity of the commercial real estate market, CREDA SoCal believes the study would be strengthened by involving the participation of commercial property owners, finance professionals, and brokers alongside commercial tenants. Consideration of differences in property type, operating expenses...

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good morning. My name is Francisco Corona, and I am a Los Angeles County resident and a supporter of local small businesses. I'm here today to ask the Board of Supervisors to vote yes on item 20 and move the commercial rental property license forward. Small businesses are not just places where we shop or receive services. They are part of the fabric of our communities. I especially want to recognize Carlitos Tires and Auto Repair, a small business that has served the Florence Firestone community for more than 27 years. Carlitos Tires is more than just an auto repair shop. It has also been a place where community members can receive information, connect with resources, and feel supported. But businesses like this face a real challenge. Their future can depend on a commercial lease. And when those lease expires, the businesses may have very little certainty about what comes next. That is why transparency matters. Small business owners deserve to know who owns a property.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good morning, Madam Chair and supervisors. My name is Carlos Singer, and I'm speaking on item number 20, I'm the Chief Policy Officer at the LA Area Chamber of Commerce. I submitted detailed responses to this motion already. So I'm going to just cede my time to the other folks who are making time to address the board. But I would just like to say that the reason I'm here in person is to clarify that we were in no way involved in a stakeholder process and would absolutely welcome the opportunity to do so going forward. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good morning. My name is Alexandra Melgoza, president of the Florence Firestone Community Leaders and local business owner in Florence Firestone. I'm here strongly in support of item 20 to ask the Board of Supervisors to vote yes and move the commercial rental property license forward. As a business owner and the community leader, I understand how important stability and transparency are to small businesses. Carlitos Tires and Auto Repair has served our community for more than 27 years. It is not only a successful local business, it has become a trusted community resource and a place where residents connect with information, resources, and support. Its lease expires in May, 2027, creating uncertainty about whether This longtime community serving business will be able to remain we need transparency So small businesses owners understand their property lease and options before facing displacement This is about more than one business. It is about protecting the small businesses jobs. Thank you. Next speaker, please Good morning.

My name is Diana Brown to our esteemed supervisors. I am a resident of Los Angeles County, and a member of the Florence Firestone community. I have worked for over 20 years at Charles Drew Middle School, and I spent most of my life in this community with the families. During this time, I became a member and a customer of Carlitos Tires. For 27 years, this service, this business has been here, and it's been in place. where families are welcome, community members come and gather. The possibility of losing this small business has troubled this community and myself. I respectfully and humbly ask the board to vote yes on this agenda, item number 20. Thank you. And please remember that when we protect longtime small businesses, we protect more than jobs. We protect community services. and relationships. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please. My name is Karine Echeverria, and I am a Florence Firestone resident and a proud supporter of our local small businesses. I'm here today to ask the Board of Supervisors to vote yes on item 20 and to move the commercial rental property license forward. I want to speak about Carlitos Tires and Auto Repair and what this business means to our community. For more than 27 years, Carlitos Tires has been serving Florence Firestone, not only as a small business, but as a place where people can find help, information, support, and someone they could trust. If Carlitos Tires is forced to move, we will lose more than a business. We could lose a great community leader, mentor, and someone who has dedicated years to helping others. Steve has used his business as a place to connect residents with resources, bring people together, and to encourage others to become involved in their community. His lease expires in May of 2027, and that uncertainty should matter to all of us. Supporting small businesses means... Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Good morning, board members. My name is Rafael Juan Diego Acevedo Villalobos. I HAVE BEEN A RESIDENT OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY FOR MORE THAN 55 YEARS. I AM ASKING THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO VOTE YES ON THE ITEM 20 AND MOVE THE COMMERCIAL RENTAL PROPERTY LICENSE FORWARD. SMALL BUSINESSES ARE THE BACKBONE OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. THEY CREATE JOBS, PROVIDE ESSENTIAL SERVICES AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE RESIDENTS THEY SERVE. But long-time small businesses can face serious uncertainty with dealing with commercial property owners. In the case of Carlitos Tires, his lease will expire in May of 2022. After 27 years...

Thank you. Next speaker, please. Hi, my name is Rosalind Segarra. I'm with the Los Angeles Conservancy. I'm here to speak in support of item 20. The LA Conservancy supports legacy businesses by connecting long-time business owners across LA County with small business resources that help to safeguard, strengthen, and grow their businesses. We support expanding protections for commercial tenants through the creation of a commercial rental property license, guaranteed relocation pay after harassment, a countywide commercial rent study, protections to tenants displaced by redevelopment, and funding to bring on legal and community partners to help design and carry out these protections. Relocating a business is very expensive, and mom and pop shops rarely have large cash reserves. Landlord funded relocation assistance in circumstances as outlined in the motion give legacy businesses a lifeline to prevent permanent closure. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hello, my name is Rebecca Helm, and I just want to say thank you all for all that you do for our county. I'm a Northeast LA resident and part of Snellas, and I'm here to date in enthusiastic support of item 20. I know the shopkeepers up and down my neighborhood. They're my friends. Their kids go to school with my friends, and this is the outline of an ideal And I've heard from some of the people that are being displaced, their rents have actually gone up seven times and they have no money to, or it's very difficult to get the money to be able to relocate. And I know that we have a chance today to be able to, although it's not rent cap yet, we have a chance to protect and spread these types of ideal situations in our county. And I know that you all are, it seems like you all are behind it. And I want to just say again, thank you for even putting this forward and making this a reality in this beautiful county. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Rumiya Sinha, and I'm an attorney on Betzedek's small business development team. I'm here in strong support of Item 20. Every day, I speak with hardworking small business owners who are struggling to stay afloat. As their attorney, I can advocate for them to be treated with respect, but there's only so much I can do when the legal protections are not there. When a landlord doubles the rent overnight or harasses a tenant into leaving, or when a redevelopment project displaces a business with no relocation assistance, there's often no remedy I can pursue on their behalf. That is the gap this motion seeks to fill. The cost of uprooting and reestablishing a business is enormous and it should not fall on the shoulders of a tenant forced out by landlord harassment or redevelopment project. When landlords are held accountable for relocation costs, displaced business owners have a real opportunity to reopen, retain jobs, and continue serving the communities that depend on them. That is why I urge the board to pass this motion and adopt these crucial protections for small business commercial tenants. Thank you.

Thank you. We will now go to our remote callers. Aces Harris, your line is open. Please begin. Aces Harris, your line is open. We will go to the next caller. Mona Harton, your line is open. Please begin.

Yes, good morning. My name is Mona. I am a small business owner as well as a landlord in LA County Firestone District. I understand there's a lot of protections already in place for tenants, especially the harassment clause that needs to be enforced if that's what the problem is. The problem with doing something like this is you are scaring people away from the county to invest in your county and owning buildings, which is going to only cost more unemployment. And it's already a very hard business climate in the county. I urge you to delay this vote. We were not asked to be part of this. We were part of Stop the Down Zone when they tried to lower our zone from industrial down to jewelry shops a couple years ago. And they promised us, the county, that they would include us in anything they'd be doing. I haven't received one call

Thank you. Christopher Bowen, your line is open. Please begin. Christopher Bowen, your line is open.

Good morning, Chair Solis and supervisors. Christopher Nikhil Bowen here with the Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Los Angeles, representing nearly 2,000 commercial real estate professionals and 135 million square feet across L.A. County. Since August 20th, when we submitted an opposition letter to the Economic Development Cluster, BOMA GLA has worked constructively with Supervisor Mitchell, Horvath, and Vargar offices. We appreciate the accelerated rent study, protecting some sensitive lease details, extended ordinance timeline, proposed relocation cap, and direction to better define who and what is covered. However, the motion still prescribes broad licensing, requires sensitive lease and rent reporting, rent and termination restrictions, and gross receipts relocation formula, far beyond targeted protection of vulnerable small businesses. Please limit any program to qualified small and legacy businesses, as was clearly outlined in the preamble. Require the study and legal analysis to inform every proposal and require another board vote before any license... Thank you.

Ani Boyajian your line is open. Please begin.

ANI BOYAJIAN Good morning. My name is Ani Boyajian speaking on behalf of the Central City Association and we respectfully oppose this item. We share the county's goal of supporting small businesses that contribute to the vitality of our communities and ensuring that they are not unnecessarily displaced. However we are concerned that the motion is too broad and could extend protections beyond the mom and pop businesses that need them most. The mandatory licensing reporting requirements, annual reviews, potential rent restrictions, and relocation mandates would add additional costs and uncertainty for commercial property owners. These added burdens could discourage investment, increase the cost of doing business, and make it more difficult to activate commercial properties. We encourage the county to pursue targeted protections that provide meaningful support to the small businesses most in need, while avoiding blanket policies that could unintentionally discourage investment and limit opportunities for growth. Thank you.

Thank you. Natalie Allen, your line is open. Please begin.

Hi, this is Natalie Allen. Responsible property owners are not the enemy of small business. We invest our own capital, pay property taxes, insure and take significant financial risks to create the commercial spaces that these businesses occupy. If LA County makes owning, improving, or redeveloping commercial property increasingly expensive and unpredictable, there will be consequences for us. Property owners will be less willing to invest. Redevelopment will become more difficult. Some owners will simply avoid leasing to smaller or higher risk businesses. Ultimately, those costs and risks will work their way back into commercial rents, and that would hurt the very small business this motion is intended to help. I am particularly concerned that the proposal does not adequately distinguish between a landlord who has actually done something wrong and a responsible property who wants to simply improve, redevelop, sell, or change the use of a property. Those are very different situations and should not be treated the same way. I respectfully ask the board not to move forward. Thank you.

Matthew Lyons, your line is open. Please begin.

Good morning. My name is Matthew Lyons and I'm calling on behalf of the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership. The partnership supports fully the goal of protecting small businesses from unlawful harassment and displacement. This proposal unfortunately goes far beyond protecting tenants from unlawful conduct. It contemplates a significant new regulatory framework for commercial property owners. All of this has a cost. Who will pay? Will this be another unfunded government mandate that actually falls on the backs of small businesses and commercial property owners? We look forward to being part of the stakeholder engagement and to county staff conducting a thorough analysis and distinguish between unlawful displacement and lawful redevelopment. We are concerned about the potential unintended consequences for an investment throughout the county, and we believe we can protect small businesses while also preserving property rights, encouraging investment, and maintaining a healthy supply of commercial space.

Caller ending in number 0716, your line is now open. Please state your name and begin.

Roy Humphries, did you say that you are spending millions to combat labor movement strikes as you watch the state arms shaft, the Palisades burn victims as featured in Senator Hawley? predatory practices are the nature of the human beast yes gilda solely scapegoats ice law enforcement as democrat four organized crime definition spends millions aiding and abetting illegalities supervisor barger the adult in the room enforcement cost money as democrats defund the da and prosecution system hence failure you must contact the state officials who are undermining your efforts AI computer systems are essential. God protect President Trump from the Democrat, Socialist, Communist assassins. Thank you.

Thank you. Caller ending in 1550, your line is now open. Please state your name and begin. Caller ending in 1550, your line is open. Please begin.

This is Mark Granger. commercial real estate broker, small property owner. I have two concerns regarding this ordinance. The first is directed specifically to Supervisor Mitchell. I have repeatedly attended the Gardena, the Avalon Gardens Community Center. We've been assured that you were going to reach out to the business community. I have never heard anything about this ordinance until recently, meaning yesterday. Secondly, I am currently going through the green zone, which you enacted without any comments or input from the business community. that process has taken two years and is i'm up to spending almost 60 000 on that process and i ended up having to put in a five foot uh setback on the back of my property you need to start communicating with the business community ordinances of this nature are extremely expensive thank you caller ending in phone number 5618 your line is now open please state your name and begin

Hello, my name is Diane Foster. I'm a small business owner in Highland Park and I just wanted to make sure I was on the record saying I was in favor of this motion. It's been really hard as a small business owner to see all of my neighbors be pushed out by larger private equity firms and corporate landlords coming in pushing them out and these spaces are still vacant and aren't helping the other small businesses thrive so i want to be on the record but i am in support of this motion thank you

Thank you. We will now go back to in-person speakers. Will the following individuals please come forward and staff will assist you. Sally Hernandez, Mariana Luna, Carlos Vasquez, Diana Sanchez, Antonio Hernandez, Alberto Santillan, Alma Valdez, Marco Ortega, Memphis Perez, Miguel Montero, Carlos Gonzalez, Jeremy Kaplan, Amy Chong, Sylvia Marroquin, Luis Herrera, Manny Mireles, El Campillo, Lena Sullivan, Anahi Gonzalez, Lorena Herrera, Irma Juarez, and Claudia Jerez. Next speaker, please begin.

Good morning. My name is Jose Steve Quinones. I am a small business owner, community leader, CEO, president of the Florence Fires Community Organization, and owner of Carlitos Tires and Auto Repair, where I have served our community for over 27 years. I'm here today to strongly support Item 20 and ask the Board of Supervisors to vote yes and move this important motion forward. My business is more than an auto repair shop for 27 years. It's also been a trusted community resource where residents connect to the connect with information, county services, local leaders, and community programs. But today I am also speaking as a tenant. My commercial lease expires in 2027 in May. After investing 27 years of my life, my livelihood, my business, and my community relationship into the location, I have serious questions. What happens if the landlord decides not to renew my lease? Where do I go? What information am I entitled to? What options or resources will be available? I am not asking the county to take away property owners' rights. I'm asking for transparency, fairness, accountability, and level playing field. The commercial rental property- Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Good morning, supervisors. My name is Kaho Maeda, and I'm with public council, but speaking today on behalf of our partner, Little Tokyo Service Center, in strong support of item 20. LTSC builds and manages both affordable housing and limited commercial spaces in Little Tokyo and throughout LA. We support this motion to create standards for treating commercial tenants, specifically those that are mom and pop small businesses, with fairness and respect. We have tried to support legacy-owned small businesses in Little Tokyo as they faced harassment from their landlords. Unfortunately, because commercial rent protections are non-existent, we have not been able to prevent some of them from displacement. When these businesses close, they not only impact the business owners, but also all of the workers and the communities they serve. Even when they find a location elsewhere, the disruption can be very challenging to overcome. While this motion will not directly impact LTSC tenants, we support efforts to set this as a normalized precedent that affords rights to mom and pop small businesses that make up the backbone of our neighborhoods and communities. We respectfully ask that you vote yes on this motion. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

My name is Kerry Martin, speaking today in favor of item 20. I'm a staff attorney at public council where I work to support small businesses, micro entrepreneurs, and community serving nonprofits. Commercial tenant protections that foster transparency, accountability, and community investment are common sense. For far too long, corporate landlords and real estate conglomerates have been allowed to operate unregulated, and we are all seeing the effects. Block after block of business closures for rent signs and big box stores replacing local commercial districts that once served as vital community hubs, while the business diversity that once defined Los Angeles County disappears before our eyes. Nothing being proposed today radically tips the balance in favor of tenants or impacts the ability of property owners to set rents, sell their property, or redevelop. Instead, it sets minimum standards for those who own a piece of our county and tells them that we respect and value our small business ecosystem enough to protect it. Please vote yes on 20.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good morning, supervisors. My name is Rosa Maria Marquez. I'm a business owner in Highland Park. I've had Rock Rose Gallery for the past 27 years. It came out of my work more as an incubator to bring the arts to the community, to bridge communities through the arts. I've learned a lot in this 27-year process. I was recently evicted. I moved. two months ago. I'm still looking for a place. I'm somewhere temporarily, but not leaving Highland Park. It's a community that I've come to know and love. I've been in Los Angeles working in the arts for the past 60 years, but Highland Park is a really special community, and I want to support this motion, please. You mentioned that it would take time to put information together. I'm a resource. I've learned so much about what it means to be evicted. I'd love to share that with you. Thank you.

Thank you. I have someone on my staff that will talk to you. She's coming, ma'am. Next speaker.

Good morning. My name is Irma Juarez, and I'm a small business owner woman for Los Angeles, the city of Los Angeles. I own a small protein delight store named Healthy Protein Nutrition for the last seven years, and I am here to support the item number 20. It is the right way to do. I was recently displaced by the property owner using harassment tactics, and they refused to do any repairs needed. That was bad for my business and for my customers as well. The landlord didn't want to as well renew my lease after so many years. I lost a lot of money, time, and most of all, all my customers. And I cannot find any affordable place at this moment to continue my business and to sustain my livelihood for my family, especially my two children. I want to continue running a protective business and continue as well, continue paying my taxes because we are the backbone of the economy. Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Good morning. My name is Luis Herrera. I own a barbershop in the Florence Firestone neighborhood of an incorporated SD2. My business supports not only my family, but also employees, people in the neighborhood. I am speaking in support of item 20. My family has owned businesses in the neighborhood for over 20 years. It's been really challenging to keep our businesses afloat all these years with lack of tenant protections. We have had landlords refuse to make needed repairs, terminate our tenancy for no cause, and threaten to triple our rent for upsetting our rights. How can small business owners be expected to keep their businesses afloat when their lenders won't even make needed repairs? And we are displaced due to property being converted into big box retail and high-rise condos. We need more commercial tenant protection to stop small business displacement and maintain the storefronts that close to feed and care for our community.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good morning. My name is Jesse Saenz. I'm here at the Los Angeles Tenants Union. As tenant organizers, what we're hearing from commercial landlords today is very familiar. Regulation gets called an attack as though landlords have a protected right to extract the maximum possible rent from somebody else's work. We see the same forces displacing tenants and neighborhood businesses. Rent hikes, harassment, and holding storefronts vacant for higher rents are the machinery of gentrification. We need real infrastructure that puts obstacles in the way of displacement and shifts power towards the people who actually sustain these communities. Being business friendly cannot mean being friendly to extraction, our neighborhoods, our homes, and livelihoods, not just investment opportunities. Support item 20.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good morning, Board of Supervisors. My name is Memphis Perez. I'm here representing our small business movement and the many mom and pop businesses that are fighting to keep operating in their communities. L.A. County has already taken important steps by including commercial tenants in their Tahoe ordinance. We're here today to ask for more transparency as we apply this policy. Don't just protect the property, protect the businesses inside the property. We need this Tahoe upgrade ASAP. Let's create that commercial rental property license so the county can understand what is happening in the commercial corridors and whether there is a history of violations. From this license, we can also create incentives for those good landlords that are already helping keep our small businesses operating in our communities. Second, relocation assistance for small businesses displaced because of confirmed landlord harassment. This is more fair than to just destroy a legacy business that was thriving and was a staple in the community. Last, protect businesses from redevelopment displacement. Development should not require displacement. So we ask the Board of Supervisors, don't just protect the property, protect the business Thank you.

Next speaker, please. Hello, my name is Jeremy Kaplan. For 20 years, my wife and I owned the Red Books, the only used bookstore in Northeast Los Angeles, until Systems Real Estate purchased our building, raised our rent at 133%, and gave everybody 30 days notice. No intro, no negotiation, no acknowledgment of SB 1103. Unfortunately, this is happening all over Los Angeles. It's an existential crisis where corporate landlords are buying every available piece of property, doubling, tripling, and quadrupling rents, and evicting stable long-term tenants. There are no guardrails. They are making more by writing off over-evaluated properties than they would by leasing them at reasonable rates. I believe in the Los Angeles of Jonathan Gold, where vibrant community corridors, serve food, literature, and art. No one comes to Los Angeles to see vacancies created by greedy people.

Thank you. Next speaker, please. My name is Celida Hernandez. I have been a vendor for more than 25 years. I am here to ask for support for the laws

I'm here in order to ask for support for laws for the unincorporated areas.

Because in my personal experience, not having protections in those areas From my personal experience, not having protections in these areas, that has been a barrier that prevents us from growing and strengthening businesses in our own communities. At this time, I would like to open a business, but when I found out that there's no rent control in the area where I live, that shuts the door to these projects and to the dreams of bringing small businesses to our areas. I thank all of the people who are supporting these laws. And I ask for those of you who are not in support that you would consider supporting us. Because having a business is not easy at all. We go through a lot of challenges. So I invite you to walk in our businesses and get to know our problems. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Am I up? Okay.

uh hello my name is alberto santillan i have owned a vintage shop in boyle heights since 2022. my business is more than just a place to shop i've used my commercial space to host mental health support groups for spanish speakers and to screen lgbtq themed movies it represents boyle heights essence and there's really no place like it and unfortunately it's in danger of closing For the past five months, I've had no electricity in my business because of an old faulty electrical panel and meter box that exploded, causing an enormous fire hazard. LADWP issued an order directing the corporate landlord to replace the panel, but they refused to do so. I believe they have no incentive to fix the issue because they're awaiting permits to redevelop the property. And I am struggling to make ends meet with no electricity. And my landlord has now filed an eviction lawsuit against me for paying reduced rent during this whole ordeal. If I'm forced to move out, I'm not entitled to any financial assistance from my landlord and will need to completely shut down. This type of harassment has to stop. How can small business owners be expected...

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Buenos dias, mi nombre es Lorena Herrera. Good morning, my name is Lorena Herrera. Tengo negocios en Florence Canton por 25 años.

For 25 years I've had businesses in Florence Compton.

Apoyo a la propuesta al código 20. I support the proposition for Code 20. My business has been used to give employment to a lot of people. Barber shops that are surrounding where I am,

80% of them are my ex-employees.

Pero todos pasando retos en nuestros negocios. All of us go through challenges in our businesses. Con subidas inesperadas en las rentas. With unexpected raises of rent. En uno de mis negocios renové contrato, me subieron 500 el mes pasado.

In one of my businesses where I renewed the contract, they raised it by $500 last month.

So I've gone through so many challenges. During the pandemic, my husband passed away. And then so many other things between the fire, immigration, heat. We want to move forward and we ask for your support. I'm the mother of two children. And I provide for them by myself. We want the laws to be changed for us as business owners. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good morning.

My name is Carlos Vasquez and I am the Entrepreneurship Training Director at Lift Los Angeles. Our mission is to help Angelenos break the cycle of poverty by investing in parents and entrepreneurs. I am here today in support of the motion before the board and the protections it would provide to small businesses and commercial tenants across Los Angeles County. Small businesses are essential to the economic and social fabric of our communities. but commercial tenants often face rising rents, limited information about their landlords and leases, displacement, and harassment, leaving tenants with no options but to close. Small businesses play an important role in the financial success of our city and county governments. They provide jobs to thousands of Angelenos and pay taxes to our government. This motion will help them stay in business, and we appreciate you approving this motion. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hi, good afternoon. My name is Alma Valdez. And I'm here in support of Article 20. Because I am already tired of going against the current.

I have five years with my business. And ever since the second year, the roof was not in working condition.

And the owner of the property said that all of the maintenance and anything that needed to be repaired in the building, that that was my responsibility. So I had to do that. And then months after that the plumbing and the floor burst. 1950 that was the cost of the plumbing. I had to close down the business for six days to be able to fix it. It was $15,000 to fix the electrical, which was not working.

I spoke with the property owner and he said the same thing, that it was my responsibility to do it.

And I have one and a half years left on the contract. I have not received all of the investment that corresponds to me for the property. And so last year I found out that they transferred the ownership to, I don't know, it might be a family member, so that means I can go outside. And we need the support of this motion. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hi, my name is Amy Chong, SD5 resident and a proud daughter of former small business owners. And I'm an advocate with inclusive action for the city and economic justice organization working to build an economy that works for everybody. We are in a state of an emergency. Community serving small businesses are closing left and right while commercial tenants have no protections. Let me be clear about what we're asking for here. We're asking landlords to be transparent about their properties, commercial tenants to have basic protections against harassment, to understand what fair market rents are, and to provide relocation assistance when businesses are displaced. Responsible landlords should have nothing to fear from reasonable protections. However, we all know that there are landlords who have caused real harm to small businesses and communities they're supposed to be serving. This motion creates accountability, transparency, and stability to keep small businesses in our neighborhoods. So please support this motion. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

I'm a Los Angeles County resident and I support item 20. I work for an organization that supports over 500 entrepreneurs and every week we have many come to us and we have observed harassment, displacement, and rent increases of up to three times in the past five years. Current protections are not enough. They need relocation assistance, more information, and the registry. Small businesses provide almost a third of all jobs in Los Angeles County. Small businesses need more certainty, because this certainty will not only help business owners, but also the employees keep employment, increase wages, and also improve outcomes for hundreds of thousands of Angeleno families. Money stays in Los Angeles County when small businesses remain, creating a sustainable economy and tax base. We urge the Board of Supervisors to pass a motion and adopt these protections of Item 20. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Hi, everyone. My name is Karen. I am a small business organizer with Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, or SAGE. I'm here in favor of Item 20. First of all, I want to say thank you to Supervisor Holly Mitchell for taking bold leadership here today to protect the fabrics of our community. Small businesses need strong protections. strong protections against displacement. The county has great business programs already, but it does not address the root cause for the issue. Commercial units do not have any form of rent control, therefore rents are skyrocketing. Without these policy protections, we will continue to lose small businesses to harassment, hurtful redevelopment practices, and businesses will ultimately just close. The report back will bring back both sides of the story, and I agree when supervisors say that it is important to make policies that have real solutions. Many small businesses have faced climate gentrification, ice rates, and it's leaving our communities destabilized. There are neighbors, friends, families, and community. Let's keep our neighborhoods together, thriving, and protected. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

and a current resident of SD3 in the Guatemalan and Salvadoran corridor where there's a lot of small businesses. So this is a topic very near and dear to my community and my heart. Supervisor Hahn brought up the idea of cost. And as a middle class taxpayer, I couldn't agree more. We cannot afford to be reactive. Prevention may require initial investment upfront, but the cost of an action often poses a far greater toll. When a neighborhood grocery store closes, the impact doesn't stop at the storefront. Our elderly residents, who cannot move as freely as some of us, lose access to essential food and services. And what does that do? It places a greater burden on our healthcare system, economically as well. When a small business with indoor seating that has served a community for a long time is pushed out by an unsympathetic landlord, residents lose more than a place to shop. They lose a place to gather, connect, and escape the extreme heat. Please invest in our small community. Please invest and not be reactive. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good morning, supervisors. Just wanted to thank Supervisor Mitchell for taking the leadership in this motion. My name is Francisco Arbizu. I'm with SAGE. Over the last three years, we've been working closely with small businesses. And we always hear all kinds of stories. So I echo some of the comments that some of my colleagues have made already. But voting yes on Los Angeles County commercial rental property license. Voting yes on amending LA County commercial tenant protections ordinance to include relocation assistance. Voting yes on LA County commercial rent study and voting yes on relocation assistance to commercial tenants displaced by redevelopment projects. It's a win-win situation. Protecting small businesses is a win-win situation for small businesses. Protecting small businesses is a win-win situation for commercial landlords. But protecting small businesses is a win-win situation for our local government.

Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good morning, Claudia Jerez, DPS SDWC. The landscape of our communities means that we are, the changing landscape of our community means that we are either evolving or we are in need of a necessary change to keep subsisting. in a way that we keep our standards and that the spark that we have here in LA is maintained in LA County. Implementation of this tenant protection is necessary. We must evolve and with it comes change. I support all Hispanic businesses and I support them. My father was a businessman such as those businesses. We went to the SWAT meetings. We went to, he had a Christian library right there at the corner of my house. So I completely understand. I do support Hispanic businesses. I support Hispanic people in that community. I believe that- Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good morning. My name is Akia Benbow, founder of Honey Queen Juice Bar. Our mission is to help heal our community through the power of fresh juice. I'm speaking in strong support of item 20, commercial tenant protections. I ask, if you cannot legally sell someone a lemon car, why should you be allowed to lease a lemon building? Commercial tenants like me suffered when landlord neglect repairs, lease unsafe non-compliant properties, and impose unjustifiable rent increases, forcing tenants to spend limited business capital correcting problems they did not create. I spent most of my investment bringing my landlord's property up to code. Yet after taking my rent and benefiting from my improvements, the landlord quickly forced me out before I could fully launch. A major loss for the food desert community awaiting fresh beverage offer. I am now trying to relocate without any resources, assistance, or any leads. We need landlord accountability, mean for relocation assistance, protections against harassment and displacement, reasonable rent caps, especially at lease renewal, and pathways for small businesses who are interested to get to ownership themselves. Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Chair, all members of the public who registered to speak on item 20 have been heard. That concludes the time for public comment.

Madam Chair, item 20 is before you.

Thank you. Moved by Supervisor Mitchell, and I will second to approve the item. Executive Officer, please call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell.

Aye.

Supervisor Horfath.

Aye.

Supervisor Barger. Aye.

Aye. Aye.

Supervisor, Supervisor.

It's item 20.

I was being distracted. I'm going to abstain on this one.

Supervisor Solis.

Aye.

Motion passes, three ayes, one abstention.

Please raise your hand if you're in agreement. Thank you. OK. OK. Thank you.

We will now move on to item 22. Oh.

Oh, did you already vote?

No, we're good.

Supervisor Hahn will also register an aye vote on item 20.

So there are four votes for the item. Thank you.

Yes, that's four aye votes and one abstention.

Thank you. Next item.

We will now move on to item 22, verbal presentation on the summary of... Can people please settle down?

Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you very much.

We will now move on to item 22, verbal presentation on a summary of potential impacts and planned strategies to mitigate El Nino during the 2026-27 storm season, which was held for presentation. For members of the public on the phone, if you've already signed up to speak, no further action is needed. If you're on the phone and wish to comment but haven't signed up, press star and follow the prompts to join the speaking queue. If you are watching the meeting and want to address the board, call 213-444-2600, press star, and follow the prompts. An operator will assist you. Kevin McGowan, Director of the Office of Emergency Management, Chief Executive Office. Dr. Ariel Cohen, National Weather Service, Andrew Weiss, Acting Director, Countywide Communications, Chief Executive Office, Mark Pastrella, Director of Public Works, Sheriff Robert Luna, Fire Chief Anthony Maroney, Miral Karakusian, Director of Aging and Disabilities, Carter Hewley, Senior Manager, Department of Homelessness and Housing Services, Gary Jones, Director of Beeches and Harbors, Michael Sylvester, Chief Deputy Director, Department of Public Social Services, will give a presentation. For the departmental speakers, please state your name and title for the record when you address the board.

Thank you, and thank you to the panel for being here. I know Supervisor Horvath wants to begin.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and I want to thank our county departments for being here to present today and for preparing our county and our residents for this winter and El Nino emergency events. As we have all heard, a very strong El Nino is threatening our communities and county infrastructure this storm season, which begins October 15th. though I know recent reports have put us on alert as early as this weekend. This is particularly concerning for communities near wildfire burn scars, and that's why we brought forward the motion asking for this panel to come forward today. Communities like the Santa Monica Mountains and Altadena could experience intense flooding and landslides due to the heavy rainfall, and our coastal communities and vulnerable infrastructure are also of notable concern. especially after a large storm surge cut off westward beach road in malibu restricting public access to point doom beach proper planning and prevention can reduce the impact of these types of emergencies on communities particularly our most vulnerable populations it's imperative that the county work alongside our cities non-profits land management agencies and our residents to coordinate a strong unified response and promote awareness and visibility on potential el nino impacts It's my goal that all county departments, our cities, community groups, and of course our residents understand their risks, how best to prepare, and where to turn when they need help. I'm looking forward to the county-led emergency drill that will happen later this month to ensure that we're coordinated. And I know my office is also holding a virtual El Nino Town Hall on September 28th. to educate residents and answer their questions. We welcome everyone to attend to learn more about how our county is supporting you and details on that particular event you can find at our individual website lindsayhorvath.lacounty.gov under events. But I look forward to today's presentation and I will have some questions for our respective departments. Thank you all for being here. I know my colleagues were saying, wow, it looks like everyone's here. And when we say we're showing up in force, we mean it, especially to keep our community safe. So I thank you all for being here. And I'll turn it to you for the presentation.

Good morning, Chair Solis and members of the board. Thank you for the opportunity to present on this important topic. For the record, I'm Kevin McGowan, Director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management. This morning, the National Weather Service will begin by explaining El Nino and its potential effects on Southern California. I will then discuss how OEM is preparing the county for the possibility of more frequent and more severe winter storms. Following my remarks, you'll hear from our partners at CEO Countywide Communications, Public Works, the Sheriff's Department, Fire Department, Homeless Services and Housing, Beaches and Harbors, Public Social Services, Each will discuss their respective preparedness efforts. And with that, it's my privilege to introduce Dr. Ariel Cohen, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service's Los Angeles Oxnard Forecast Office, who will be providing an overview of El Nino and its potential weather impacts. And can you please advance the slide?

Good day, everyone. My name is Dr. Ariel Cohen. I'm the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, Oxnard. Thank you for having me here today. In terms of understanding El Nino and its true influence, El Nino is defined by ocean warmth. But for danger to actually be realized locally, the atmosphere must actively couple with that heat. to steer storms toward Southern California, and that's highly uncertain. For this upcoming winter, this is significantly tilting the regional odds toward a wetter-than-normal winter, bringing the potential for significant storms, flooding, severe weather, coastal impacts as well. However, El Nino is not a single storm, and it does not guarantee a wet season or dictate individual storm tracks. Here is an analogy. Facing a top ranked sports team increases the statistical chance of a difficult game, but it does not guarantee an automatic loss. Similarly, an active El Nino does stack the deck toward a stormy season, but it does not predetermine a disaster. Outcomes will be decided play-by-play as individual storms develop. When it comes to messaging location specific hazards, high impact threats such as peak hourly rainfall rates or debris flow potential for burn scars cannot be reliably forecasted months in advance. Actionable site specific forecasts require current observations and high resolution numerical modeling and are delivered within a few to several days of the onset of a storm when predictability allows. Now, considering operational reality versus hypothetical extremes, while long range research models frequently explore worst case theoretical scenarios, and there are many that are of particular significance, the National Weather Service focuses on real world actionable forecasts. We will escalate the messaging of reasonable worst-case scenarios only when sufficient scientific evidence exists near a storm's arrival. Very importantly is preventing public warning fatigue. Framing seasonal climate signals as confidence shifts And dynamically involving certainty rather than inevitable emergencies is critical. We are concerned that overstating long-range risks now can lead to warning fatigue, significantly reducing public compliance when high-urgency short-range life safety alerts like flash flood warnings or tornado warnings potentially are issued later in the winter. To conclude regarding our operational National Weather Service cadence and support for our core partners, we are maintaining consistent communications with the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, Los Angeles City Emergency Management Department, all of our core partners as the conditions evolve. We're actually hosting two times a week, every single week, a briefing rhythm throughout the entire season to all of our core partners, highly technical Tuesday sessions, tailored for our core partners such as the Office of Emergency Management and Public Works, and then broad Friday risk messaging briefings, including the media. Thank you very much for having me, and I'm happy to address any of these items at any time. Thank you.

Thank you, Dr. Cohen. Can you please advance the slide? Thank you. Our collective objective with the county is not simply to prepare for El Nino as a climate pattern. It is to strengthen the county's readiness for operational consequences that may accompany severe and repeated storms, including flooding, debris flows, damaging wind, coastal erosion and flooding, power outages, road closures, evacuations, sheltering needs, and impact to critical infrastructure. The Office of Emergency Management is coordinating a countywide preparedness effort that's focused on readiness, public awareness, and operational coordination. First, we are working with county departments and our countywide partners to conduct hazard and operational assessments. These assessments help identify communities and facilities, infrastructure, and essential services that may be particularly vulnerable, as well as resources and capability gaps that we can use to address winter storm seasons. On October 18th, OEM convened the County's Emergency Management Council, bringing together county departments, cities, public safety agencies, utilities, the National Weather Service, disaster management area coordinators, and other partners. In that meeting, we established a common understanding of the potential threat and the priority preparedness actions that people can follow as we approach the storm season. OEM will also be continuously working directly with our cities, our Council of Governments, disaster management areas to ensure that there's detailed coordination and planning across the entire Los Angeles County. Second, we are developing plans that clearly define how the county coordinates significant storms response. These plans addressed emergency operations center activations, information sharing, emergency notifications, resource support, evacuation coordination, mass care and shelter operations, and the transition from response to recovery. Of particular importance is evacuation planning for areas of increased risk following recent wildfires, including the Eaton and Palisades burn scars. This planning establishes detailed processes for coordination with local jurisdictions and clearly defines agency roles and responsibilities. For example, Public Works assesses hazards, identifies areas potentially at risk, and provides recommendations for emergency actions such as evacuations. The Sheriff Department coordinates and implements those evacuations within its jurisdictions, while other law enforcement agencies do the same for theirs. The Fire Department conducts rescue operations. and the Office of Emergency Management coordinates and issues countywide emergency notifications. This planning also places particular emphasis on ensuring that the needs of vulnerable communities and individuals with access and functional needs are incorporated into our evacuation notifications, transportation, sheltering, and other response activities. Third, the county departments are assessing county-owned properties and critical facilities and identifying measures to protect them from rain, flooding, wind damage, and the potential of power disruptions. We're also developing preparedness information and planning guidance that jurisdictions can use to conduct similar assessments. On September 30th, OEM will host a tabletop exercise facilitated by the Naval Postgraduate School Center on Homeland Defense and Security. County departments along with operational partners including some select jurisdictions and our disaster management area coordinators and agencies responsible for communities will participate in this. Most importantly, the exercise will allow us to identify gaps and response actions that we can continue to work on throughout the storm season. Clear and coordinated public information will also be essential. Andrew will provide a more detailed update from countywide communications, but I want to emphasize that OEM is an integral part in all of the county's emergency communications. With that, we provide emergency management expertise necessary to ensure public messaging is timely, operationally accurate, and coordinated with the actions of emergency responders and public safety agencies. Finally, and most importantly, preparedness must extend beyond government. Every resident should understand the flood risk, where they live, and consider purchasing flood insurance. Standard homeowners' and renters' insurance policies generally do not cover flood damage, and flood insurance typically has a waiting period. Residents should act now and not wait for storms to arrive. Residents should also inspect their homes, clear drains, rain gutters, secure objects, address roof drainage problems, and prepare for possible power outages. We strongly encourage every resident to register for emergency notifications at alert.lacounty.gov and follow information from trusted government sources. Depending on the emergency and its location, alerts may be issued by a city, the county, a state agency, the National Weather Service, or other authorized public safety agencies. In closing, we can't predict precisely how much rain El Nino may bring, but we can and must use this time to strengthen our plans, protect our facilities, coordinate with our partners, and help our communities prepare. Preparedness now will reduce our risk, improve our responses, and help protect lives when the next major storms arrive. Thank you for your time. I'm available for any questions. And with this, it's my pleasure to introduce Andrew Vease, the Acting Director of CEO County YCOMS.

Sorry about that. Good morning, Madam Chair, members of the Board of Supervisors. My name is Andrew Vease. I'm the Acting Director of Countywide Communications. LA County is working collaboratively across multiple agencies to prepare ourselves and the public before the first of any potential El Nino driven storms arrive. In July, we partnered with OEM to host the first ever countywide emergency joint training exercise for county communicators. More than 100 communicators from all 39 departments experienced a simulated Joint Information Center activation, providing everyone with valuable, hands-on emergency communications experience. And since early July, the departments seated with me today have been meeting weekly to take early proactive steps to ensure one voice messaging and to share how LA County is preparing for storm season and how the public can too. We have three main communication objectives. First, to prepare all communities across LA County for severe storm weather by providing multilingual, culturally relevant information and resources. Second, to share facts about what an El Nino storm season means for LA County and identify related storm hazards so people can start preparing with resources like flood insurance. And third, to amplify storm preparedness resources including advisories and weather forecasts early and proactively while driving residents to ready.lacounty.gov slash rain. We have been proactively pitching to media outlets, resulting in more than a dozen stories to date, including yesterday's story in the LA Times, a three-part KNX series on El Nino, interviews with Univision, ABC, CBS, Fox, and ethnic and hyper-local media outlets reporting to their audiences in language. The CBS story I just mentioned has been viewed 300,000 times on their YouTube channel. Our initial work is focusing on earned media, given the natural interest in this topic, and it's been very effective. We will also look for opportunities for pro bono advertising as the season continues. As we head into storm season, we will continue to do targeted media pitching on resources for people experiencing homelessness, older adults, residents with access and functional needs, and other populations with specific needs. This outreach will include presentations on community preparedness to cities, community groups, town councils and other municipalities. We are also going to be launching a weekly El Nino preparedness newsletter, which will provide the public with preparedness tips and resources sourced from these very departments. Residents can sign up for that today at ready.lacounty.gov slash rain. Thank you, and I'd like to hand it over to Public Works Director Mark Pestrella.

Thank you, everyone. Thank you, supervisors, for having me here today and recognizing the role that Public Works plays and has played for over 100 years with respect to flood protection for LA County. My name, again, is Mark Pestrella. I'm the director of Los Angeles County Public Works. And as a part of that, I'm the chief engineer of the Los Angeles County Flood Control District. Public Works approaches flood risk the same way we approach other major infrastructure risk. We start with the science. We evaluate the consequences and direct our resources where they can reduce the greatest risk. Our regional flood control system here in LA County is prepared for the upcoming storm season. We prepare that every year, all year long for the worst case scenarios. But preparedness is not simply about the capacity of our dams, channels, debris basins, and storm drains. It also means understanding where flooding is most likely to occur, which communities are most exposed, and where the consequences of flooding could be greatest. That is particularly important this year as we prepare for the potential impacts of a very strong El Nino. So what is the science telling us? I want to thank our partners from NOAA that are here today. They did a great job. I like the analogy. That was great. I would say one thing just to put it in context. We don't see this as the Super Bowl at Flood Control District of our storms. we would see the season as a potential Super Bowl and it would take many storms to reach like the highest capacity we've ever seen in terms of storm damage and flooding. However, we are treating this condition as if it could produce those kind of conditions and preparing community as if we are going to have our Super Bowl. NOAA is currently reporting a greater than 90% chance of probability that this El Nino will become a very strong event during the fall and winter. A very strong El Nino, as stated before, does not guarantee that LA County will experience above average rainfall or damaging storms. In fact, the last very strong El Nino I recall, we had no rain. But you should know, we were prepared and learned a lot from that event because we found that some of our partner agencies weren't prepared and were taking the risk that we wouldn't have rain. And this year, we are actually reaching out to all those partners, including our great partner, the Army Corps of Engineers, to be sure they are prepared. For us, this means preparing for a range of possible conditions rather than planning around a single rainfall event. We evaluate storm intensity, duration, soil moisture, watershed conditions, burn scars, debris potential, drainage capacity, and the possibility of storms arriving in succession. These factors matter because flood risk is cumulative. When soils are already saturated, reservoirs and debris basins have been received and have received runoff from earlier storms, another storm arrives significantly next to it, it can cause major problems. We lose what we call flood control. This looks like the dams filling up and spilling over the top of the dam, which did occur in 2004 and 2005. All 14 dams spilled over in 2004-05 event. And we lost no lives and had no major property damage, even though they did spill over. So we had the capacity to handle significant events. Of course, our job is to continually evaluate these conditions and adjust our operations as risk changes. So it's a risk-based approach. We think about flood risk as a combination of three things, the hazard itself, who and what is expected to that, exposed to that hazard, and how vulnerable those communities are and infrastructure may be. We use FEMA flood information, historical flooding, rainfall and watershed modeling, burn area conditions, infrastructure capacity, field observations, and our friends at NOAA to help us draw a picture for each event as they're coming in. We then use that information to prioritize the work And areas with the greatest probability of flooding become the most important. But probability alone does not determine priority. We also consider the potential consequences, including threats to life, homes, critical infrastructure, evacuation routes, and communities that may have fewer resources to prepare for our recover from a flood. So prioritizing Vulnerable communities is our highest priority. Our goal is not simply to distribute resources equally across the county. That would be wasteful. It is to deploy resources according to the risk. That means giving greater attention to communities where significant flood exposure overlaps with greater social and physical vulnerability. This can include communities with limited evacuation routes, older drainage infrastructure, or places where there is no flood control system, the Malibu and also our North County. We look at historical data for what we call our skeletons, repeated historical flooding. We look at the geography, topography, and again first and foremost the residents and their ability to deal with and prepare for a significant flood event. This year we're also placing significant attention on Altadena. and the unincorporated areas of the Santa Monica Mountains affected by the LA wildfire. And I'm sure you all know why, because these areas will produce the highest level of potential debris flows and therefore significant potential loss of life and damage to properties. Wildfire changes watershed behavior. Loss of vegetation changes the soil and can cause rainfall to run off more rapidly. It can mobilize mud, rock, and sediment. It can clog or not only affect our homes, affect our businesses, but also affect our transportation system in significant ways. The PCH is one area of transportation that we're most significantly watching this year because of its potential impact to be lost to high sea conditions as well as the rainfall conditions that are existing there because the area continues to be highly vulnerable to erosion. As you know, Supervisor Horvath, we managed through that with the construction and we continue to manage through it. The North County is also an area of transportation in which we have learned and continue to learn lessons about what's going on with climate. We've seen more significant damage to the drainage systems and the road system in the North County than any other area in terms of transportation damage. And these are due to sheet flow and the flows that you maybe saw in the Grand Canyon this recent week, that type of flow where it's a debris flow that runs across the land and destroys the road system and everything in its path. The purpose again, the next slide please. The purpose of our flood risk assessment is not simply to produce a map, it's to drive operational decisions. As storm forecasts become more precise, we use the latest information to determine where crews, equipment, patrols, Inspections, emergency resources should be positioned. And these folks, this winter, will be on 24 standby throughout from October till April and be ready to stand up to about 600 department employees who operate the flood control system for LA County. We continually move from regional forecast to watershed level assessments, ultimately to community level action. And I'm mentioning this, and as it was mentioned by the previous speakers, those calculations are being made in real time. So it's not easy for us to tell you when it's going to rain and where it's going to rain today. But as we get closer and closer to the storm event, we get better and better information. And so there's this balancing act of when should we pull the trigger on something. We know we can move things to certain areas. But this issue of evacuation becomes very technical. So this year, we decided amongst ourselves, Kevin, myself, the fire chief, the sheriff, that Public Works, myself, will be the entity that will be making the calls on evacuations. So I will be taking that responsibility formally. Although we had previously done that, I will formally be playing the role of evacuation warnings. System readiness. The backbone of that effort is one of the largest urban flood control systems in the nation, something that this Board of Supervisors should be very proud of. It includes 14 dams and reservoirs, 178 debris basins, 483 miles of flood control channels, more than 3,300 miles of storm drain, and 82,000 catch basins and 27 spreading grounds. It's a huge investment that this board has made through the years. You currently spend 80% to 90% of the money that we receive for flood control on maintaining the existing system, maintaining it in a world-class level, providing a specific level of flood protection. Our crews inspect and maintain these facilities throughout the year. Before storm season, we use our risk assessment and we identify vegetation that needs to be removed and just generally prepare the system so that it can catch the debris and rain. Prioritizing our response. Before and during major storms, we do not treat every part of the county exactly the same. So one of the things I want to remind everyone is I know when you see rain, we get concerned. Residents, I know the board does too, that doesn't mean it's raining the same level everywhere at the same time. In fact, that's the nature of rain. It can be very intense in one neighborhood and it can be sunny in another. We don't generally get rain over the entire LA County at the same time. We could have a cell of rain that would be a 500-year event occurring for maybe 30 minutes and could cause localized flooding. So you can imagine this requires the ability to be flexible, but also it requires us to be educated and be educating you as to about where the actual areas to be concerned about. So we don't over-resource or thin out our resources and not be able to respond properly to the right locations. Working as one regional system. Flood protection and less energy is shared responsibility. Very important. You can't expect your public works department to cover everybody. It's a joint effort. Everybody from our major partners like the US Army Corps of Engineers to our local cities who have their own floodplain managers and have their own PDs to right down to the neighborhood level of property owners taking care of their business on their property. I want to guarantee you this year, The Corps of Engineers is fully engaged with us on this year's forecast. And we agree that storm readiness is our top priority. I met directly with General Butch Graham, Chief Engineer to the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Colonel Bost, the new commander of the Los Angeles District, to make sure we are all aligned in preparing community together for this event that's coming up. And I'm proud to tell you that, and I'm happy to tell you, that the Corps is all on board in taking care of some of the routines that we normally don't see them take care of. So I'm happy to I'm happy to report that this isn't a year where we find deficiencies that could potentially be a problem Again stormwater doesn't recognize jurisdictional boundaries for that reason our preparation must also cross those boundaries throughout the year we work with city engineers public works directors emergency managers and the National Weather Service to share information about conditions. Again, as storms approach, that team of regional flood fighters, flood control folks, weather forecasters are all working together around the clock to make sure that we meet our KPI of no lives lost and limited property damage. So the same approach guides our long-term investments. We study where flood risk exists today. I can tell you where I expect there to be flooding. If you call me and say in my neighborhood, my staff can tell you at any place, any location in LA County, what we expect will happen with any kind of rain event. And to that end, property owners can call or your staff can call my staff at any time. And I have a number I'll give out here in a minute. 1-800-933-0930 if you want to become aware of your specific property's potential flood hazard. And if you're just concerned about this weather coming, we have engineers who can answer the question, have real-time data right down to property level about the potential for flooding on any property in L.A. County. So that's our preparedness. So how can we prepare? This is the next slide and my last slide. Preparedness is also totally local. Government has important responsibility for reducing regional flood risk, including not hyping flood and not creating fear for people. Some of the biggest hazards we get are people that get scared and they leave their property and they drive improperly through the rain system. or they underestimate again the raining. So it's taking it seriously, but not being to the point of having fear drive us. The final level of preparation occurs at the neighborhood level. And I talked about it earlier. We're asking residents to take four actions. Know your risk. Understand the conditions around your home. Are you in or near a map floodplain? You can look this up on our website. Are you below a hillside or burn area? Are you near a channel, a creek? Debris basin or low-lying roadway. And on that one, let me be very specific. Most tragic losses we have had in LA County have been children entering into the flood control system, going across channels or crossing creeks at any level of flow. It's very, very important that we educate our children and educate folks to stay out of floodways when we have rain. Has your property or neighborhood ever flooded? It's important to know and know the historical issues. Have an emergency plan. Know when you leave your neighborhood if conditions are deteriorating. Consider family members, older adults, non-ambulatory relatives, people with disabilities, pets, medications, and transportation needs. In communities with limited access or evacuation routes, early preparation becomes even more important. Prepare your property. The basic thing of clearing your gutters. and making sure you have a flow path on your property so it runs off your property. Know where the water comes into your property. Know where the heaviest inundation is. Stay informed. Weather risk changes rapidly. A seasonal outlook tells you what may be more likely over several months, but a local forecast during that week is critical to people's safety. Stay in touch with LA County. Listen to the news and be prepared. So we are helping communities prepare. That is the objective, as Kevin said, our main objective. We are recognizing every household has the same ability to prepare. Some do and some don't. Some rooms have more financial resources. and transportation options, information, or ability to protect their property than others. That is why LA County preparedness must focus additional attention on communities where vulnerability is greatest. Public Works will continue working with cities, community organizations, emergency managers, residents to get information and assistance to those communities before a major storm arrives. Residents who are concerned about flooding, mud, or debris affecting their property can also contact Public Works, as I said, At our free engineering number, 1-800-933-0930, they can also go to ready.lacounty.gov for the latest information about this El Nino event. In closing, thank you, Supervisors, for helping us. You play a major role, obviously, in preparing community, and today is a very good start for our preparation for community.

Mr. Sheriff, I think you're next.

Good afternoon, everybody. Robert Luna, your sheriff of Los Angeles County. So Madam Chair, members of the board, thank you for having us here today. The Sheriff's Department focus for the upcoming El Nino storm season is protecting life and property through early preparation, coordinated evacuations, and our ability to rapidly deploy resources as conditions change. Pre-storm planning and resource positioning. Our department maintains emergency operation procedures specifically addressing severe weather, flooding, and post-fire mud and debris flows and hazards, as the Public Works Director has articulated. Before significant storms, our Emergency Operations Bureau and affected stations coordinate closely with the Office of Emergency Management, Public Works, County Fire, and other county departments and public safety partners. We monitor forecast and anticipated impacts, brief personnel, inspect equipment, identify vulnerable locations, prepare roadway closures, and preposition resources based on anticipated threat. In regards to evacuation and life safety operations, evacuation and life safety operations are among our most important responsibilities during significant storms. The Department of Public Works continuously monitors conditions and provides a technical assessment of potential flooding and debris flow impacts and provides debris flow forecast, hazard maps, and list of identifying properties that may be at an elevated risk. When an evacuation warning or order is issued, our station personnel are responsible for notifying residents in the affected areas and conducting the law enforcement evacuation operation. We also use our new citizen evacuation tracker that we started back in April of 25 to document these notifications. So incident commanders have situational awareness of the evacuations progress. So in a sense, it gives us a live picture of evacuation status. The Department of Public Works identifies the hazard. County partners coordinate. The Los Angeles County Sheriff Department prepares and conducts law enforcement evacuation operation. The Office of Emergency Management supports coordinated alerting. Stations conduct evacuations and document resident notifications. vulnerable communities and burn scar areas. Recent burn scar areas will require particular attention. Our planning identifies vulnerable properties and communities before the storm arrives so our personnel know where the greatest risk may exist and where evacuation notifications may be required. Patrol stations located near recent burn scars will conduct regular patrol checks, continuously reassess conditions as storms develop, and provide timely updates regarding changing conditions and take appropriate action. Several days before the storm, our Community Partnerships Bureau Homeless Outreach Services Team, better known as HOST, and station personnel will conduct outreach to the unhoused population in riverbeds, washes, and other high-risk locations. Personnel will provide warnings, conduct welfare checks, assist with evacuations, and coordinate with county agencies and service providers regarding relocation to safer locations or available shelters. This protects vulnerable individuals and reduce the number of emergencies requiring additional public safety resources, including swift water rescue operations during severe storms. During evacuation operations, personnel will remain mindful that residents with access and functional needs may require additional assistance, additional time or other considerations to evacuate safely. In regards to roadway and flood response, our stations identify roads and intersections susceptible to flooding and debris flows as part of their local planning. Stations will implement pre-planned road closures at flood prone intersections and other locations that routinely experience significant water accumulation during storms. During significant storms, our deputies will be available to establish road closures and access controls, provide traffic direction, assist stranded motorists, support rescue and evacue operations, evacuation operations I should say and establish detours around hazardous areas I do like to remind people at this time if you see a sign that says flooded or do not enter do not enter we end up having to rescue a lot of folks that go through those and that creates a high risk for all of our folks These activities will be coordinated with Public Works, the California Highway Patrol, Caltrans, Fire, and other agencies so emergency access can be maintained and resources can be adjusted as conditions change. In regards to emergency coordination and specialized resources, if an incident exceeds the capabilities of an individual patrol station, the Department can rapidly expand its response. Our department operations center can be activated to coordinate department resources, support affected stations, and the field incident itself. Commanders maintain department-wide situational awareness and coordinate with county emergency operations center and our partner agencies. The department also maintains incident management teams and command and coordination support during large-scale or complex incidents by helping manage operations, planning logistics, resources, and other critical incident functions. The department also maintains specialized resources, including swift water response capabilities that can be deployed when the conditions warrant. In regards to public information and department readiness, timely, consistent, and accurate public information is absolutely critical to keeping our communities informed and prepared. Our Emergency Operations Bureau, Sheriff's Information Bureau, 24-hour operations center, and affected stations will coordinate timely and accurate public safety information regarding if evacuation warnings and orders road closures, flooding hazards, and areas residents should avoid. We will work with the Office of Emergency Management and our county partners to ensure coordinated emergency messaging. I also at this time want to emphasize that when you get directions to evacuate, especially a mandatory evacuation, that you comply. That has gotten our folks in grave danger in the past. Our focus going into this El Nino season is making sure our personnel are prepared, our resources are strategically positioned, our facility stations are ready, and our coordination with county partners is established before the storms arrive. I wanted to mention with the urging of the county CEO, Mr. Nikita, that on the 8th of September of 26, we have a meeting with all of our contract city partners to make sure that they are looped in to what the county family is doing so that we can help each other, keep each other informed. AND SO ON. AND THEN I ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE AND WE'VE MENTIONED IT BUT I'M GOING TO REINFORCE IT. HAVE YOUR FAMILY PREPARED FOR ANY AND ALL EMERGENCIES INCLUDING AN EARTHQUAKE. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SUFFICIENT FOOD, WATER, AND REMEMBER THE SIX P'S. PEOPLE, PETS, PRESCRIPTIONS, PAPERS WHICH MEAN IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS. personal needs priceless items and a communication plan with all of your family members because the first thing that's going to happen is that don't depend that your cell phone service is going to work So prepare your communication plan with your cell phones going down. That is very, very critical. And then, just as important, take care of your at-risk neighbors. And with that, I want to introduce my partner, Chief of the LA County Fire Department, Anthony Maroney.

So good afternoon, honorable chair and members of the board. In regards to fires preparedness efforts, this begins with preparedness before storm related events. The fire department does participate in interagency training for mud and debris flow and swift water incidents. We monitor forecasts and inputs and implement augmented staffing and the pre-deployment of specialized resources in identified areas. We also participate in active patrol during the storm. When an incident occurs, we participate in a coordinated emergency response along with our partners at the Department of Public Works, LASD, and OEM. In addition, the fire department does amplify the public one voice messaging, and we do participate in education and safety awareness before our storm season starts. I'd now like to pass it on to our partners at Homeless Services and Housing for their report.

Good afternoon, Supervisors. Director Mahan was unable to be here today. I'm Carter Hughley, Chief of Strategy and Partnerships at the Department of Homeless Services and Housing. HSH has initiated our operational readiness by reviewing areas of greatest need and identifying accessible emergency interim housing sites that are connected to those areas and to the outreach teams that serve unsheltered residents in those areas. As you know, here in LA County, two-thirds of our homeless neighbors are already surviving outside, which means we already don't have a housing solution for everyone. So we work every day to get vulnerable people safely out of vulnerable areas. But for folks who are unable to come inside due to shelter and housing capacity constraints, we're already working with them to educate them about their risk, empower them with information about their options, and protect them by distributing emergency supplies and equipment directly to them and our partners who serve them. In coordination with our sister departments, we're also finalizing our emergency activation standard operating procedures for our unsheltered response. And we're taking steps to train our staff on the protocols related to severe weather events. We are also creating pathways for additional interim housing capacities, which will include identifying existing vacancies in our interim housing portfolio, using emergency motel vouchers, and augmenting our emergency shelters at alternative and existing interim housing facilities. Next slide, please. In addition to participating in the tabletop exercises and being part of the communications working group that Andrew mentioned, HSH is undertaking additional communication efforts to inform our partners and the public about climate-related events and responses. Our goal is to ensure the right people have the right information at the right time, which includes those surviving unsheltered in our highest risk areas and the partners that serve them. Our Emergency Centralized Response Center pushes climate-related notifications to HSH-administered and partner outreach teams for targeted communications to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. HSH also maintains timely and accessible digital content on our website, social media channels, and e-newsletter, and our communications team will distribute relevant information in multiple languages to the public via these channels. Regularly updated digital content will include county weather alerts, resources to connect folks experiencing homelessness to emergency services, information about LA's 211, and other key updates and community resources as they become available. We continue to remain committed to this important work alongside our partners here with equity, accountability, and transparency at the forefront of our decision making. And now I'll turn it over to my colleague Gary Jones with the Department of Beaches and Harvards.

Good afternoon Chair Solis, members of the board, Gary Jones with the Department of Beaches and Harbours. Our department is responsible for 23 miles of LA County coastline, including world famous surf rider Venice and Manhattan beaches. We also manage Marina del Rey, the largest constructed small craft harbour in the United States. Our approach to coastal preparedness extends beyond a single weather pattern. Our seasonal preparations reduce risk and allow us to respond quickly when conditions change, while investment in the long-term resilience of our coastline is a year-round commitment. Our preparations for this year's El Niño and the predicted combination of strong storms, sea level rise and super king tides are the same as they are every year. That's because we proactively prepare our beaches and Marina del Rey for the worst winter conditions. Our seasonal berms are the most visible form of coastal wall protection. These berms are long piles of sand about 15 feet high. Without them, waves during high tides and storm surges could quickly rush over the flat beach and flood parking lots and other facilities. The tall berm makes it much more difficult for water from the waves to cross the entire beach and enter facilities. Our crews monitor, maintain and rebuild these berms as needed throughout the winter. We also deploy sandbags in flood prone areas to protect the county's facilities. But please remember sandbags should never be filled with beach sand or emptied onto the beach after use. Other preparations include lifeguard tower relocations and routine inspections to help reduce impacts before storms arrive. Preparedness also means making sure people have information they need. We amplify safety and preparedness messaging from the LA County lifeguards and from the Marina del Rey harbourmaster to Marina del Rey lessees, the boating community and the public as conditions change. We also amplify beach safety messaging from lifeguards and other agencies. When conditions change, we respond quickly to protect public safety, infrastructure and beach access. This requires a coordinated emergency response. Our response to the recent erosion at Point Jume exemplifies our ability to rapidly implement emergency mitigation measures in partnership with other agencies. Seasonal preparedness addresses today's risks. Our Coastal Resilience Initiative focuses on tomorrow. Through the initiative, we invest in long-term strategies that help protect beaches, public access and coastal infrastructure from evolving coastal hazards. These strategies include living shoreline and beach nourishment projects. We're also working with cities and other stakeholders to create comprehensive adaptation plans that benefit the entire coastline. Together, these efforts reflect the department's comprehensive approach to coastal preparedness, preparing for the season, protecting during emergencies, and preserving Los Angeles coastline for the future. And with that, I'd like to turn it over to Michael Sylvester with the Department of Public Social Services.

Thank you, Madam Chair, board members. I'd like to update you on DPSS's efforts. My name is Michael Sylvester. I'm chief deputy of administration. I'm here on behalf of Dr. Jackie Contreras. And we have two roles, obviously, as many of our partners have during emergencies. One is to take good care of the over 4 million clients that we serve and a million of them children and making sure that they can still obtain and maintain their benefits throughout an emergency. So making sure that alerts and all of the information shared on the emergency is distributed out to our clientele. We do use the the Get Ready LA website to make sure that it's consistent information that's provided to them. We also have an additional responsibility for our IHSS population. We do wellness checks during emergencies to make sure that they have the resources needed. Our social workers do that on behalf of their clients. And then in addition, we have our lead role for the county, and that's in the mass care and shelter role. In that role, we are sending out notifications as well, but we are using the county distribution network for that. We also pre-identify potential shelter sites. In doing that we work with our partners in American Red Cross at Los Angeles County Parks and Rec to pre-identify shelter sites pre-stage equipment that would be in Locality to where we think the shelter sites might be needed we you obviously use the zip code and impact zones that are distributed by our emergency partners We look for alternative locations because as you know during emergencies we have to make swift changes and plans because the fires or floods in this case actually pop up in different areas and when those change we have to change where we might have shelter sites. We compile a list of locations where vendors can provide us with ADA showers, and also locations where showers can be alternatively provided through YMCAs, community centers, and the like. We participate in shelter exercises. We're actually the ones that work with American Red Cross, and we do shelter exercises. We plan to do that in accordance of preparation for these emergencies. We have approximately 1,000 county employees who are trained in shelter services. And many of them are DPSS employees. We do have some that are in other departments. We would really like, I'm going to make a plea, we'd really like to expand that to become a countywide staffing resource. In fact, one of our recommendations would be to look at that as part of the DSW program so that DSWs can be shelter ready. But we do have over 1,000 in DPSS alone. But we have to take them off the line, just like everyone else, to man the shelters. We also work with American Red Cross on messaging. On preparedness, we direct them to the same messaging that's going to be put up on the Readiness LA website. Red Cross is actually here. They were here in case there were any questions for Red Cross, but Red Cross is a major partner for LA County. They have helped us with the shelters quite a bit throughout the last emergencies. We also, I just want to remind the board as well, we also will be pursuing Disaster CalFresh if it is appropriate during, depends on the disaster impact. But we did do that during the fires. It was very helpful to the public. And that would be another thing that we're actually the lead on. So that concludes DPSS's portion of the presentation.

Okay. Supervisor Hurley, did you have any questions? And then we'll start with the other board members that want to ask.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I really appreciate that. And the purpose of today's presentation is not to alarm anyone, but to alert everyone to make sure that they are ready, they are checked in, and have the information that they need. To that end, I know many of us woke up to reports that potentially this weekend there would be a hurricane coming in this direction. Is that real? And what should people actually be prepared for this weekend?

It's extremely unlikely that we have direct impacts from the lower latitude tropical systems that have been occurring very, very far away from the area. And in fact, we're talking about extremely small odds. Our biggest concern is going to be the significant swells, southerly swells that are going to be impacting coastal areas. It's certainly possible that a lot of people are going to be outdoors around the holiday weekend at the beaches. And the rip currents are going to be extremely strong, potentially deadly. And the amount of energy from that swell, the long period swell, is going to be of particular concern to folks headed towards the beaches. especially if it's sunny outside. We could have sunny conditions and still very dangerous conditions at the beaches, not to mention significant coastal erosion can occur with such tremendous energy from these distant storm systems, as well as coastal flooding. So those are the main concerns, even if it's completely sunny outside.

Thank you for that. I know many people have had that question, and it sounds like from your answer, we don't want to put our lifeguards to the test any more than we already have. We want to make sure that we're keeping people safe, but it's helpful to know what we should actually be preparing for. To that end, if people walk away with one piece of information of where they should go to stay on top of information throughout this season, I'll ask our comms where should they be going, just to reiterate that.

So for preparedness resources, they should go to ready.lacounty.gov slash rain. And if there's a significant enough event, we will activate our emergency page on lacounty.gov slash emergency.

Thank you. And each of you have touched on this in different ways, but obviously residents impacted in the burn scar areas are paying particular attention to the weather conditions. What should they be on the lookout for and what specific information Should they be checked into as we're entering this season?

Supervisor we as you I believe you know in these not only the recent burn scars But anything less than five years in recovery Public Works is assessing those specific properties and identifying the most vulnerable locations and was touched on with sheriff Luna who said who announced that we do have a list of properties that we consider most vulnerable and we will be reaching out to those property owners and Specifically at the beginning of the season here October 15th that they're about to prepare them they themselves Just very simple there could even be renters and properties like that what we want them to do is if they know there was a Recent fire in their neighborhood to go to the backyard or the front yard and look for hillside slopes that come down onto the property and if the vegetation is burned and still scarred They we want them to contact us directly so that we can talk to them about a plan for their specific property

So individual homeowners can contact you directly?

Yes, they can.

And I know that we also hear from people, you know, there are routine areas that experience flooding. People are frustrated. We know this happens every time there's a rain, and yet it feels like nobody is really responding. So what sort of preventative measures have we been taking, especially in those areas that have been routinely impacted?

So we finally call those places skeletons. The Department of Public Works, they're better known as deficiencies in the system. They're not really true deficiencies. They're just places that do not drain at like 100-year protection. They drain something less than that. The places, this storm this week, I could see the Venice area, the low-lying areas of Venice and that potentially having. So what we do is we pre-deploy pumps and other devices to drain those areas that we know are a problem. And we have an ongoing list at the department throughout the cities and the county in the flood control district area where we will pre-deploy facilities to make sure that those things get taken care of. It's interesting, though, because if somebody doesn't maintain their drain on their property, it could flood. So there's any number of things that can come out, but the known ones, we are on them on top of that and already preparing for that.

And is that countywide regardless of incorporated city versus unincorporated area, or are you doing that only in the unincorporated area?

It's a good clarification. It's in the flood control district's boundaries, which is 85 of the 88 cities, everything south of Avenue S, to be technical, and we do not cover the island, Catalina Island.

And for the property owners as well, the information you shared, is that only for unincorporated residents or is that countywide as well?

That's countywide, supervisor, within the L.A. County flood control district boundary.

Okay. I know that another thing that we hear in our district, and I'm sure Supervisor Barger does as well, the landfills get particularly impacted with this wet weather season. So what are we doing to prepare? What are we doing to address what we know are impacts, the awful odors and things that take months to recover from? What are we doing now?

So we've already reached out to all the landfills in LA County that we have jurisdiction with or partnership with. The county agencies are coordinating the landfill with the operators themselves and disposal facilities to ensure wet weather plans are updated and facilities are prepared for anticipated heavy rainfall. They are mandated to have a wet weather plan supervisor of any rain of any consequence. And as you know, we went through several of these where we had not only, we had odors, but we also had some facilities that took off in an unusual way in terms of underground fires and things. And some of that was triggered by leaching of water into the ground. So the landfill operators are responsible for facility preparedness with regulatory agencies providing oversight and public works is providing technical support and coordination. Specifically at Sunshine Canyon Landfill, preparations are starting earlier and incorporating lessons from the recent storms, including improvements to drainage, slow preparation, and erosion control. Public Works participates in regular inspections and reviews wet weather plans with facility operators and partner agencies to identify potential issues and maintain readiness throughout the storm season. So yeah, we are in contact with them already. We're making sure not only that they have their wet weather plans, but any open construction site During the wet weather season within the unincorporated area also has its wet weather plan in place before the October 15th rainy season deadline

And how have we prepared for stormwater capture, given that this will be an unusual season? It's also an opportunity to capture water.

Yeah, so that's one of our dual operations, dual mission at flood control is to capture as much of the precious rainwater as possible, which is safely to do. So as I stated earlier, all our debris basins are ready to regulate those flows. The spreading grounds, 27 of them have been prepared and been cleaned and ready to take in flows. They will be going, and then all of the investments you've been making through Measure W, making sure that those systems are ready and operable for the season so that we can, again, capture safely, capture the flows. It gives me an opportunity to remind the media that we can't capture every drop because water is very heavy. It can be dangerous to capture. And so we will prioritize people's safety and flood control first, and water conservation will be the second priority.

Okay, and my final question is really related to the impacts on our unhoused population. I know we touched on that there will be pre-identified locations for shelters. There will be a unique role for our ECRC to play. And we're also people we know will be calling into 211. So where are we actually identifying those locations? How are we making sure 211 has the capacity to take the calls? And what should people expect out of the ECRC as it relates to that operation?

Thank you for those questions. So I'll start with the ECRC. There's several roles the ECRC plays. First is on training. They're providing training to outreach teams and practicing how we respond to emergencies in advance of them. Doing case conferencing to coordinate spaces and teams so they can talk about vulnerable clients and vulnerable spaces. and helping figure out how to connect those clients to the services they need. They're also doing situational awareness, pushing out situation reports to our teams and to our partners about what's happening, any emerging threats that they're seeing in the areas, and then monitoring sort of how not only our unsheltered locations, but our shelters might be impacted by events. Wildfires was a good example of how they did that at ECRC. And then finally, just really serving as that central referral and coordination point where they're working with outreach teams to receive referrals and coordinate the connections to things like emergency vouchers or interim housing placements. So that's a lot of different roles that the ECRC is playing. To the question about capacity and what can be done, our primary strategy is to reduce demand on 211. Instead of thinking of it only as we have to staff up to meet the demand, we want to prevent that from happening as much as possible by first working now to get vulnerable people out of vulnerable areas. Also looking at how we can use existing interim housing capacity near some of our watersheds and river basins. Also looking at our provider contracts and seeing, like, how can we add cots and beds at sites that already exist, our emergency winter shelter capacity. So just looking sort of across the entire system and thinking about how do we make the most of what we already have, how do we add capacity to what we don't have, and then once it gets to, like, how do we add motel vouchers, working both with 211 and with our outreach teams to refer directly into those vouchers.

Okay, and DPSS, I think you wanted to jump in as well.

Yeah, so for general population shelters, we do work very closely with Red Cross, as I indicated before. There's approximately 75 county documented shelters, but there's several hundred

And are those throughout the county, including our incorporated cities, or are they only in unincorporated areas?

No, they're throughout the county. So some are in incorporated areas and some are in unincorporated areas. Now, the cities take the lead in incorporated areas for shelter, and we have the lead in unincorporated areas. But if the city can't, if they have a capacity issue, we step in to assist them. So that's why the shelters are important to cover the entire county from a geographic perspective. But they're Red Cross has several hundred and so what we're doing with Red Cross is we're going through the listing updating them all making sure that that we have master facility use agreements with them all of our terms are updated and and that we can and then we'll basically pull all of the all the impact areas and overlay that and then look for shelters that would be outer lying those impact areas because we don't want shelters in in the impact area and sometimes that forces you further and further out depending on how far the impact becomes. But that's how we handle that and also in terms of we work very closely with HSH in the shelters to make sure that as we have unhoused come into a general pop shelter that we can get them to shelters where they might actually have better services for them, more appropriate services for them. And we also case manage individuals who are in the shelter who are looking for a 211 hotel voucher, other options that might be more formidable for them.

Thank you all very much. This was incredibly comprehensive and I think useful for everyone who's been paying attention and really concerned about what this season might mean. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Supervisor Barger, you're in the queue.

Thank you. And thank you, Dr. Cohen, for actually participating. making it understandable. Supervisor Hahn, right before you talked about the fact that we hear that word, you know, the El Nino, we think it's going to be all about rain. But I will say, and I don't know if this is a question or a statement or both, when I was growing up, it rained. It rained. And the thing that changed was we didn't walk to school. Now, when it rains, the news covers as though it is the Armageddon coming upon us. And I guess my question to you is, do you know what has changed in terms of, is it perception? Because we haven't had rain over periods of time. But what has changed that's created this, for lack of a better term, hysteria as it relates to rain?

Supervisor, I appreciate your comments sincerely. This is on my mind a lot, because public safety is our core mission. It's what we're all here for. And we want to make sure that our alerts are taken seriously. And it's the difference between saving lives and otherwise. I think a lot about the question that you asked. I don't have a single answer for it. I would imagine that over time, social media may be playing a role in terms of that. I would imagine that over time, perceptions just change overall. I mean, we've had an El Nino, a significant El Nino that was completely dry, a very strong El Nino that was completely dry. And we've had very strong El Ninos that had much significant weather. We know that when people are Expecting there to be significant weather and it doesn't happen, there's the concern about desensitization of alerts subsequent to those seasons. So I'm not completely sure exactly what has driven what you mentioned, the evolving perception, but what we're doing from the National Weather Service proactively is having these twice a week meetings every single week with our core partners, and on Fridays, including the media, to really be leading the messaging. Because that messaging, I can give a completely factual statement, and it can be perceived completely different than the actual words I'm using. And the goal is to work collaboratively together with our partners at Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, emergency management departments across the board to really unify the messaging so that when catastrophe does strike, and we know it does strike, people are ready, people are prepared as we work together in advance, and they're also listening. It's a community effort, and I appreciate all the work we do collaboratively to make that possible. You asked a great question. I'm always thinking, how can we do better? So that's, at least as a step, why we're doing these meetings twice a week, to really get everyone on the same page. Thank you for that question.

Yeah, and thank you. And I would say, though, that things like what's happened in Tibet, Nepal, as well as the Grand Canyon, I think further put fear in people's minds, but I will say, and I look to you, Mark, we talk about the burns cars, and thank you, Supervisor Horvath, for highlighting that, because that is something that even last year, when it rained, I had concerns about the Alcadena area, because it's on the foothills, and there had been there's burn scars and their vegetation had not had time to have regrowth. And so my biggest fear was that we'd have mudslides. So, I mean, I feel that's a valid concern. But then you've got the high desert. And last year, flash floods washed out roads and people couldn't get to and from. And that's probably going to occur again. It's probably occurred in years past. I mean, flash floods are... But I don't want to say, well, maybe they are a norm in the high desert or even down in Riverside County in the deserts. When you have a lot of rain coming up in the foothills and coming down fast, it's got to have a place to go. So how prepared do you feel that we are this year as it relates to that?

Supervisor, we're prepared as we have been in every year. We have such a great track record in LA County for our preparedness for system. And that's because you all have made this great investment in a system to protect people. That includes the road system. The road system itself provides a tremendous amount of flood protection, including the area of the North County. And it was a tragedy last year, as you said, what happened. And I want to communicate again and double down on what Chief said. Our sheriff said if you see a sign this is don't enter don't enter and as I said don't let gender go in I do want to address one thing supervisor is you said what has changed there is there is a change in our Climate that has been happening it has caused us to have more severe events at a higher frequency our rainfall has changed in its nature in that it's less frequent but higher intensity

And I appreciate that, Mark, but I think my frustration is, and Dr. Cohen, I touched on it, is that every time there's a rain coming, it's all hands on deck, Armageddon. And I think it's important for us. I mean, I think back to when Lucy Jones, when someone asked, like when I was in my teens, they asked, is it appropriate to panic during an earthquake? And she turned and said, it's never appropriate to panic. And so I say that what we're doing today, and we're going to do it with the earthquakes, is education, preparedness, personal responsibility. Is government ready to respond? And that's an important, calm way of letting people know that you should always prepare for the worst. With the chances of that happening, probably not likely, but you always prepare for the worst.

Correct? We prepare every year for the worst conditions. We maximize the capacity of the system that's built to take those storms. So, you know, I started this by saying fear is the enemy for us because that's usually where we have someone make a mistake. Because they're fierce. So we do have to be careful and we have to modulate the way we talk about it. We don't pull the word out safety or unsafe lightly. And we're precise about when something's unsafe. But we don't want all of L.A. County to think it's unsafe every time it rains. In fact, it's a natural phenomenon, as you know. It's a critical, rainfall is a critical component of our water system here and our water supply here. And so if we get rain in a regular year, we'll do like we did last year, did a tremendous amount of water. We captured like a third of the drinking water supply for L.A. County, and we had a fairly good storm season. However, we do need to prepare as if it is going to be the Super Bowl because it could happen.

You should be preparing right now expecting the worst. That's why we cleaned out Devil's Gate. That's right. Got a lot of heat for it.

Yeah.

But we did it not because it was going to happen that year. But we need to be prepared in case it did. So I believe the preparedness across the board, even when we're not talking about El Nino, is common sense. I mean, if not us, who?

Supervisor, if I could add on, one of my first years here as the meteorologist in charge, 2022-23, was actually La Nina year, and we had some of the most catastrophic floods along the central coast during that timeframe. While Los Angeles was a little bit south, we had the Montebello tornado, if you recall, during that time. That's during a La Nina period, pretty significant La Nina, actually. Overall, The correlation between El Nino and La Nina and precipitation storm patterns is much greater well east of here, Texas to Florida. That's where that correlation is much stronger. Here, where storms are first hitting the coast, not quite to that same extent. But what you mentioned, preparedness every year. We can get storms in La Nina years, neutral years, and El Nino. You've hit it spot on.

I like you. I like you, too. Chief Moroney and Sheriff Luna, the CERT team, I can't remember who the CERT team falls under. Is it under both of you in terms of training, similar to what you have, Supervisor Horvath, the brigade that you've got doing the CERT certifications or training? Yes. Are we going to create a more robust? We're both engaged in it, but yes, we have it. I mean, are we really pushing that out? Because that is a program where you do empower the public to be the emergency preparedness for that community if there's an emergency.

I think both departments do a pretty good job of pushing it out, but you can argue we can always do better.

Well, yeah, because I should be doing it, and you haven't recruited me yet. Well, we should all be doing it. I know. And then I always want to say, don't put baby in the corner, Chief Maroney. Swiftwater Rescue, are you all doing like with LAFD training on that?

Yeah, we're participating in training with our allied agencies, our mutual aid partners. We did have a significant number of swift water rescues in the Antelope Valley in December. You know that we rescued many of the people with our department helicopters. We will be prepared again, especially on Labor Day, if we were to have flash floods in the Antelope Valley. In addition to... the Santa Monica Mountain area that was impacted by the fire. So we will be ready to not only augment our resources but pre-deploy them to the right areas. We do monitor the mud flow and debris flow plan that comes out from DPW and we use that as our staffing guide so that mud flow and debris debris plan that Director Pastrella's staff puts together is really key to how we prepare to respond to any incidents along with our sheriff's partners.

Excellent. And then I'll just say, and Janice has been prodding me over here, when we talk about the unhoused, and I worry about the flood control because how many of us turn on the TV and when there's a lot of rain coming, they're rescuing the unhoused that have been living down there. I hope we are doing outreach today in anticipation of, I mean, they shouldn't be in there anyway, in anticipation of any amount of water that may come down from the foothills. So I'm looking to you. And then last but not least, Jennifer Aniston. Listen to me. I know. Yeah, I did. Janice Hahn. Janice and I were talking. So you've got the shelters you're ready to set up, correct? Correct.

You're talking to me? Yes, we have shelters already.

So let's do it right now just for the unhoused that are on the street. I mean, I'd love to talk to you about that because the public is going to talk to us now when they hear that and say, if you can do it during an emergency, why can't you do it in what some would argue is an emergency on the street, which is a whole different. discussion, Dr. Cohen, does not fall under meteorologists, although you probably have an opinion. I'd love to hear it sometime. But seriously, all kidding aside, when I hear that, it makes us think, well, if you can do it for an emergency, this is an emergency that we're facing on the street. And so I think that we need to be cognizant of the fact that standing up an emergency shelter should not be just for El Nino. It should be across the board. And I'm not chastising you, but I'm just kind of highlighting the perception that that leaves with people when they hear that.

Yeah, and just to clarify, our use of emergency vouchers in some of our augmented system is not reserved only for El Nino. We do that for extreme weather all the time.

And again, thank you, Supervisor Horvath. I think this is important. I look forward to this discussion as it relates to the earthquakes as well, because I, again, think it's important for us to empower the public with knowledge. And then, Mr. McGowan, thank you for the work that you do. And if you can get insurance companies to actually honor their policies, even on fire, let alone flood, you are a better person than the regulators.

Earthquake insurance, too.

Yeah, I know. Thank you.

OK. Supervisor Hahn, you're on.

Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you. This has been a really good conversation and what's needed. But, you know, listening to everything, I still come back to what I think a lot of the public, Dr. Cohen is feeling like, is it going to be a wet one or is it going to be a dry one? We just don't know. When do you think we will know? Are we talking about October, November? We're talking about January, February. When is this event happening?

That's a really great question, and we still have a lot to look at. As we look at the storm horizons, we're probably a week, maybe a week and a half out before the onset of significant storms.

That's shocking.

With reliability.

With all the technology out there, satellites out there, all the meteorologists, the Doppler 7000. It's shocking to me that a week and a half out is all we will have.

We can say that over the seasonal cycle, over a few months, we're looking at large chances of above normal precipitation. But in terms of the specificity, the granularity of a forecast down to, say, point scale, we could only be looking at an hour or less sometimes. So that public education aspect that you brought up, You know, I think we all want to know exactly what it's going to be like where we are a year from now, for instance. But that's beyond the bounds of the scientific predictability that we have. And we want to make sure that that precision we provide is matched with the accuracy. And that's based on the science. So at this point, when we look out over a three month, four month time span, Good chances of above normal precipitation, but that does not imply catastrophic flooding. Are the odds tilted in that direction? They are.

But again, are we talking about October?

We will definitely be. And great question. This is why we're having these updates twice a week with our core partners, with the media on Fridays.

I appreciate that. And I think, you know, just so much I'm leaning into a lot of what Supervisor Barter was talking about, because it is true. We really don't have much weather to speak of in L.A., so all of our meteorologists... no offense meant, and everybody on TV. I mean, they really have nothing to talk about most of the time because we're just like sunny and clear all the time. And so when there is even a chance of participation, you get... Storm Watch 2027 News at 11. It becomes a major event. And then I do remember the last time we had a potential hurricane, I was the chair of the board. You know how we all have our own disasters as a chair. And it was Hurricane Hillary. And Kevin, we were down there in the EOC. We were preparing. We had the superintendent. We were canceling classes. We were trying to evacuate Catalina. Remember, there was the last boat leaving at one. You better get on now. And then there was nothing. You know, there was a few little drizzles that hit our windshield. So I think the public is a little bit in this. The boy who cried wolf. And so I think our biggest challenge, and I think you said that, Dr. Cohen, is our ability to communicate to get them to take us seriously. One of the things I was thinking about, Sheriff, and Kevin, maybe you can... Sheriff, you were talking about working on the communication system that sometimes we get over... I'm thinking about our cable TV. You know, we're all... very aware of those regular, that screeching noise. Most people are just annoyed that it interrupts their program. And it's a very archaic box letter message. And in my opinion, they're too vague and they're too broad. The last time we had a flash flood warning, it came across my TV saying, for the following counties. And it listed like seven counties. And I think the average person sitting there in their living room, is there a way, Kevin, that we can work with this emergency messaging system to change the lettering, change the music, change the message so that it becomes more if we needed to be more specific about what we're asking the public to do.

Thank you, Supervisor Hahn. I'm going to actually kind of tackle both questions or the premise of both topics kind of together. So building on what Dr. Cohn was saying, I think it's important for our communities, I think it's important for the board, our public servants to know that as we approach a storm forecast, when we get into that five to three day window, so if if the storm is going to impact us on friday that's the forecast the closer we get to friday the accuracy of that storm increases and what we did last year and the year before was we went into a much more intense preparedness posture in that three day to 48 hour window because that's when we have much higher certainty from the national weather service that These storm impacts are going to cause debris flows and using last year as the model. That's when we did our press conferences and that's when we did proactive notifications and emergency messaging to tell people to take specific actions. So I would that is going to be the model that we use this year. In relationship to the emergency alert system, EAS for short, it's more than just the county system. That is a federal system that's through the integrated public alert and warning system. The sheriff's department and OEM actually jointly can access that system following the January fires. OEM and the sheriff, we test that system.

It's not good.

Correct. Yeah. And it's the system's limitations. We maximize that system to the highest level it can be used. In addition, like the one that you're referencing when it's a flash flood, that's actually the National Weather Service that accesses that system. So it is a system that multiple...

I don't know if you guys are familiar with the one that comes across your cable, right? We get it for a lot of... But they're so broad and so vague. And again, even the lettering is a turnoff. Maybe we work with our own county channel, Channel 36. Is that our channel, 36, 37? I just feel like if we're really serious about this being serious, even that emergency messaging, people become numb to it. Because it is so rote, and so most people feel it's irrelevant to their particular situation, that they're just not paying attention. I think that's what I'm most worried about, listening to everybody. How do we get the public to take this seriously?

We'll take it back with the comms teams, and we'll work through it.

Yeah. Sheriff, did you want to say something about that? Catherine Barger thinks she didn't want to speak.

I remember during the fires, there were a lot of concerns and questions. What you're asking, completely legitimate. And I think we do have to figure out a way to make it better. But please remember that as we are on a path to make things better, it usually means better technology. And in our world of emergency response, actually, the more techie you get, the more it's probably going to fail at the time you need it the most. So some of the most archaic systems that we have may be the best mechanism to communicate when that huge earthquake hits, when communication goes down, when your cell phone's not working, because that was a big issue for us during the fires, both for Eaton and the Palisades. So just something for you or for all of us to consider.

Maybe there's something in between. Yes.

Sorry, Supervisor Andrew Vese with Countywide Communications. We do have the capacity to do that with the county channel and we regularly do. Following the fires, our partners at ISD actually built an alert banner that we can activate from lacounty.gov that will actually put a message onto every county website that has the plugin, including your websites. So when there's extreme heat or a big rainstorm coming, we will activate that and that will display across the county system.

Right, thank you. And that leads me to asking Meral, our Director of Aging and Disabilities. See you back there. Those are two populations, aging and disabilities, that I think we've got great concerns for. We heard a little bit during the fires of the difficulty of evacuating people who had mobility challenges or, you know, hearing, seeing challenges. So wondering what you're thinking on both those populations. How do we make sure they are going to be safe? But I'm also thinking there's a lot of our senior populations that when they hear the word website or www.gov slash backslash, they can't do it. or nor do they want, they just don't. And I feel like during COVID we had some of the issues of insisting people signed up for vaccines online. It was extremely difficult. You remember that.

Yeah.

What's a better way to communicate to those who just aren't literate when it comes to websites?

Absolutely. I mean, I'm going to answer the second question first, and thank you for having me here. It was the added bonus to this presentation. I promise I wouldn't say any jokes. But I think it's really important to focus on community-based approach, right? And I think this is where board offices play an integral role. You are connected to countless community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, et cetera. I think in county departments, I've been here for almost a year, which has just flown by. We're not so good at that. I think that's something I really want to focus on in the midst of hiring my team and developing that. I think it's credible messengers. We talk about it on the juvenile justice side, but it's also like how do we get people who are clear with the messaging on where to redirect, talking to your neighbors. I think we've lost that in our communities. I think that's also hard. I think government can, and this is going to sound controversial, but government puts all these messages out, but how are we communicating it and how is it trickling down? And so I think that's something we want to focus on. And to answer the first question, we have two distinct populations that we serve. And access and functional needs is something that I've been honing in on. And I think emergency preparedness is something our department is going to prioritize. And I just need to have the proper expertise. We're moving in that direction, but we're going to get there.

Thank you. I'm really looking forward to your office particularly working with our office and maybe helping us put together something for direct communication with our seniors for a lot of issues. But I think we could use the help too as well.

Absolutely. And just acknowledging that we have over 200 senior and community centers countywide. And so I think that's a good targeted approach as well, right? That's a good idea. So I think there's a piece of it we run. We have 13 of them in our department, but there's over 200 in the region. So I think really kind of anchoring some of this emergency management around training our senior staff, our train the trainer type situation is just really, I don't think our department has done that as a region. So I'm really looking forward to building that. Great.

Thank you. And I know, Mark, you said it in all sorts of ways, but I just want to hear it one more time. You talk about maintaining our systems, but I just want to hear it one more time, and I think the public wants to hear it. Have all major storm drains. channels, catch basins, and flood control systems been inspected and cleared. We can have the best system, but as you know, even your own gutter system, if you haven't cleared it, it's not going to work. Have you cleared all of our drains?

Supervisor, our maintenance regimes will be finished technically on October 14th of the week before 95%, 98% of them are complete and ready to go. We have a few basins in the Altadena area that we're going to finish up on. So that's our annual goal, October 15th. All systems are completely 100% go and ready for any rain event that comes.

Great. Thank you. I just wanted to hear it one more time. The public wants to hear it.

I wouldn't mind if you let me give some practical answer to what you were just bringing up. Being in the rain business for so many years, part of my entire career has been in it.

Did you say being in the rain business?

Yes. You know, it's a tough business as you can tell. These meteorologists, you know, they tell you 50-50 it might happen. So you have to plan for everything. But one thing we do know, we do know about the shape and size and the way the water flows over L.A. County. This is the flow paths in L.A. County. So these are known places where water goes, either ponds or goes. This is mapped, well-known, documented. And as I said, we can provide information to property owners down these days.

You know where those sites are.

I know where to tell you not to drive. I know where. And I think one of the messaging we want to do better at this year is saying, if it rains... this area should be avoided or that area should be avoided. Got it. We are very precise in letting homeowners that we know are vulnerable, like the mountain areas, we go to them, we door knock, we talk to them, we tell them beforehand, you should be aware. With the vulnerable communities, as you said, maybe some of these locations the county residents are located in, non-ambulatory and that, we do know in the county facilities specifically where the skeletons are, where the drainage areas are with them. So what we want to do is prepare them for that. It's that thing, know your drainage. You have a staff at Public Works that know the entire hydrology and hydraulics of LA County.

So you know where the likely places are.

So practically, I would tell you is we don't want to overhype it. It is very dangerous to drive in rain. If you don't have to drive on a day when it's raining hard, don't drive. That's the business. That's an easy thing to say because people have to go to work. The flood control systems will keep those road systems safe and going, but there are areas where the roads are vulnerable too. We will map those in our communication. We will prepare people for when it rains. We always say it always rains and you should know where it is. People do move into places. You'd be surprised. We'll go and tell people, did you know there's a dam behind your house, two miles behind your house? They don't know there's even a dam, and that's because it doesn't rain enough in Los Angeles for people to be highly aware of their drainage. So in this year, I think one thing we can do, we've been doubling down on that, is instead of getting everyone scared, is saying, in these areas, you are susceptible to raining. When it rains, if you can avoid driving, avoid driving.

Yeah, that's great. And I was a huge proponent of work at home. I had some disagreements with some department heads. I think you were one of them.

Well, my flood control people needed to be at work.

But I think this is a message to all department heads right now, right? Because we got really good at working from home during COVID. I mean, there was infrastructure that was put in place. People had systems to work from home. Again, it doesn't work for everybody, but I think this would be an opportunity when we get a week and a half away from a major storm event, if we can, as a department head- Tool, yes. Allow your employees to work from home during the- How many inches would trigger that? Yeah, you know me, a few drizzles, and I'd like to work from home.

I'd like what you brought up. I think we would have to come up with some parameters, as you said, on the mental rainfall. I love staying home on a good rainy day. Yes.

Yeah, I mean, I just I'm just putting that out there. That's a board policy, but I'm just putting out this. And let me just touch briefly. I know we're talking about the burns scars. But as you know, Mark, my big concern will be the Palos Verdes Peninsula. And Kevin, you know that, too, very well. And the sheriff knows that very well. How and we know the land movement was directly connected to. That's what made it happen. It accelerated. It's always been moving, but that accelerated. We know that. And the last major rain event caused it to move in an incredible way. What are we doing, Mark, Kevin, you know, fire to support our Palos Verdes Peninsula cities?

You know, I've been meeting with the city. All the cities in that area, we've been going over their plan, which is to pump the groundwater, and they've been successful at pumping groundwater. They continue to do that, as you know, supervisor. Their surface drainage is also a problem because it's the surface drainage which is infiltrating into And there is no practical way to conduct that surface drainage over the surface into the ocean quickly. It just is the nature of the beast up there. So one of the things they have worked on is, and they continue to place temporary systems in place, and we supported them last year with technical advice on how to do that. And they are going to prepare again this El Nino season as if it's going to rain. And you'll probably see your Bisqueen cover up there again.

Right, the giant slip and slide.

Yes, giant slip and slide. Good way to say it. So they're prepping. They're city engineers in contact with us. We're working through any difficulties they may have. We're making sure our utilities aren't part of the problem as well. And so we're prepping for that.

Thank you. Madam Chair, let me just ask one more. Thank you, and just keep your eye on them, please, because, okay, Kevin, because the chair is like reining me in.

I was just going to say they're also hosting a Peninsula Prepared Expo in October that the county is a participant in, and that's for all of the peninsula cities.

Thank you. And the last thing that I just want to throw out there is Catalina, which is certainly there's unincorporated area there. And I just want to make sure we are working with them to make sure that we can protect their their residents, their wildlife, if there's any left. And as you know, the whole evacuation issue for an island is extremely tenuous.

So the camps on Catalina are the most vulnerable locations. They don't occupy the camps. They're not authorized to occupy the camps during rain events. This is an unincorporated area. The city of Avalon is in contact with us routinely on rain events, as you know, Supervisor. So it's much like the peninsula. And we could conduct, maybe we can go out and conduct a similar prepping. Maybe Kevin knows that we're already going to do that.

Well, one specific thing that came up with Hurricane Hillary that drove some of the decision-making was some of the impacts to SoCal Edison's infrastructure. And we've been meeting with SCE ever since then. They've made investments. They've armorized certain things. They've already deployed backup power. So there's more capabilities out there for Edison that change the decision-making around evacuations too.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. I was going to say there's issues with that airport too, right? Okay, never mind.

Yes, reclaiming my time.

Supervisor Mitchell. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you for bringing the issue to the table. It's clearly an important one, and I support all the comments made by my colleagues. Just very quickly, To morale, you know, when I think about faith-based organizations, churches, synagogues, mosques, they certainly know the seniors in their membership. And so as you do outreach to community-based organizations, we've had a variety of motions. The chair has carried some. I think I have. bringing faith-based organizations into the county infrastructure. So reaching out to them, you know, I had this bright idea when I was in the legislature to have churches, mosques, and synagogues to get generators. because that would be a great place if you know that your place of worship had a generator. If there was an emergency, you can go plug in your phone. Because individual residents, we can't afford them. But if they had them in every community, it would be great. So I hope that you will include them in your outreach planning. We've talked a lot about burn scar areas, and that's important, as well as I want to make sure previous slide areas, too. It occurred to me. The one department I don't see here is Park and Rec. When we think about some of their large regional parks, that's been my experience. Some of the Kimihan Park property and neighboring properties, that abuts residential areas. So I know Park and Rec was not included in the motion, but I'm hoping that there's coordination. We still have tarps in the second district from...

Previous so just want to make sure that that's on our hurrah our radar in communication Park and Rec It is supervisor the area you're speaking about is one of the quote-unquote skeletons or vulnerable locations in our system listed So we'll be inspecting and I'll work with Norma to make sure that the county property isn't contributing to the problem

Two quick questions, Madam Chair. We've heard, thank you for the PowerPoint. That was very helpful. I was over there cheering Mr. Sheriff when you said, there's a sign that says don't cross, don't cross. I was like, could you say it a little louder for the people in the back? Because it always amazes me that there will be a news segment where the sign said don't enter, danger, and someone drove through it. So thank you for repeating that directive. You know... Are there areas where any of you feel we remain most vulnerable still, even with the communications plan and all the plans that you shared with us today? Is it something that we should know as a board where you feel vulnerable?

It's human behavior, Supervisor, and it's individual responsibility that we will always be vulnerable and we will never educate enough Because there will always be someone who didn't hear or didn't know. So as I said before, make way for the flood. Don't cross a stream. Don't drive if you don't have to. you know, heed the warnings. When we ask you to evacuate, you evacuate. But it's the, again, we cannot spend enough money on education because we have found, as our experience has been, that everyone will need to be re-educated, given the Mediterranean climate we live in, because it doesn't rain enough for people to get. You go to other communities and it rains all the time. This isn't even, you know, a question, as you said. But in a place like L.A. with a Mediterranean environment, and it's very flashy, it's high hazard, low frequency, high hazard event. So education.

I appreciate that. How is OEM engaging with utility companies to ensure services are maintained for our shared constituents during the upcoming storms? I think that we have all looked at the travesty of Gary, Indiana. And so wondering if there's been communication with utility companies.

There has been, and it's kind of a two-pronged approach. One is from us in emergency management in the National Weather Service, there's engagement with all of the utilities so that they have awareness of the potential storms and the impacts. The other side of it is our utilities have been hosting their own internal, well, it's not internal, but utility-led processes that we've been participants into. This is still going on. It's going to continue to go on for the next few months. And so we have different utilities that have stepped up to lead utility coordination efforts and this spans across just like the major Investor-owned utilities to even some of our municipal utilities and across different utility sectors So not just power but gas And and the other ones water sewage, so it's a broad effort Thank You madam fear

Thank you. I appreciate the panel and the questions by my colleagues, but I wanted to thank you, Mr. Cohen, for coming and spending time with us and humoring us. But can you explain when this was taken, the picture of the proposed El Nino?

That's a conceptual model that applies to what we have.

It's conceptual.

Yeah. And that's why we're having as many touch points as possible to give the latest expectations going forward.

So what draws my attention to it is that on the upper portion here in this corner, it's warm, right? That's northern. It's a northern continent there. And then below where we're at in Los Angeles, it says wet. And then it says wet and cool around Mexico and below. So what does that mean? It's kind of a more lighter green or lighter shade. What are you saying? Is it going to be?

The odds are tilted towards above normal rainfall in aggregate over the course of the wintertime. It doesn't guarantee flooding. It certainly tilts the odds in that direction of significant storms, but far from guaranteed at this juncture. So the overall what we call jet energy in the atmosphere, what's steering these storm systems, has the potential, regionally speaking, to bring more storm systems through. It doesn't guarantee it at all because El Nino, it's a state of the water temperatures. That atmosphere coupling is not perfect one-to-one.

Okay.

Great questions.

So this isn't a quiz for our students then, right? For our staffs. Because when I saw it, I thought, okay, well, what's the real message here? And this is prediction. You're predicting. This is a prediction. And it can change. That's why I asked when you took it or when this was made available. But anyway, I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you were able to add to our discussion and the lively discussion that we've had in everybody here. I know I think every single one of us has gone through some weather disaster, one man-made or whatever it was. I know I have. Speaking about Montebello, we had that freak tornado, and it displaced about 6,000 workers, one warehouse, two, three blocks. And so there are ramifications to when there are disasters. And I don't tie that to El Nino or El Nina, but nonetheless, those things happen as well. And that just makes me think, well, how well are we prepared for anything similar to that? And no one could predict that that was coming, is my understanding. Is that correct?

If I could elaborate on that, Supervisor. When we issue warnings, we're constantly balancing the, what we call probability, the detection, detectability of the phenomenon versus false alarm. When we issue a warning, there are going to be many people that are not directly impacted by life-threatening conditions. And we're very respectful of the false alarm desensitization concerns. But at the same time, those that do get impacted by the catastrophic weather, they need some time. And so there's a public education aspect, I think, a great opportunity that we have to work together to ensure people understand that a warning doesn't guarantee that you're going to personally experience those conditions, but that those conditions somewhere in that area are aligning to be favorable for destruction. And that even without a warning, if we're talking about those conditions possibly coming together, it might be worthwhile to take some extra steps. It's a very dynamic situation overall. And there's no yes, no with a lot of things, which I know folks want to have. And so having that communication, that public awareness about what are the bounds of predictability is really critical for being prepared.

Well, let's hope people aren't betting. I mean, that's the other question. I mean, it's unfortunate that people actually bet on these things, too. and it's unfortunate. And that's a message, that's something else, but I just think it's important as well. I did want to ask questions of our... Public Works, Mark, I know we've been working together a lot on a lot of different issues in our district. And what I'm concerned about with an immense amount of rain coming down in certain areas in the unincorporated area, for example, City Terrace, East Los Angeles, we have cliffs. We have City Terrace where high hills where water will just come straight down. Nowhere to go. And I'm not sure that our community is really fully prepared in understanding what's taking place there. And with the recent oil spill, that can still be impacted at this time.

Yes.

Because the time frame doesn't allow for that to be cleaned up by October. So can you kind of give me a sense of what that will be?

On the oil spill, I'm confident that we'll be in good shape come the time that we have real rain. Supervisor, I'm not that concerned about that. Of course, we've got to keep pressurizing them. And they have to have any construction they're going to be doing to remediate will have to be controlled. They may not be able to do, may have to shut them down if we get into rainy season and we don't want them to cover the soil on that. So we'll be monitoring that for erosion control. In your area, like every area, we have these deficiencies or well-known areas where there's ponding or there's hillside movement. They're documented in our department. Every time we go on one of those investigations, they're kept. They're kept and documented and then what we do in each rain season, we prepare and we pull those out and we look has anything been done to mitigate what mitigation and when we're in mitigation season, which is usually the summer. If there hasn't been mitigation even by a private property owner, we've got them on the list and then we're visiting those locations to remind them. And so, yes, you mentioned a few there. And again, every one of the districts has some locations like this where drainage becomes a problem when it rains in any kind of significance. And then, of course, landsliding is a phenomenon in L.A. County, given our geology and topography, the steepness of it that we look to trigger after multiple storms. So cumulative flows. Cumulative rain can cause landsliding. Debris flows are a part of a regular debris flow, and we map those, as was mentioned previously. And we're mapping those and giving those to all first responders with each event as they're coming through. So preparedness has a lot to do with us planning, pre-planning, and then warning.

I did want to raise the issue about the homeless, too, particularly in Whittier Narrows and L'Oreal Park. And I know that in the past we've had assistance by host committee, sheriff's host committee, and I know they do a lot of work. Are they going to be going out regularly before, I'm sure, I'm certain before October and all of that to help us begin to identify the homeless people?

Yeah, our host team will be a significant part of our preparedness plan with all of our county partners.

And that's going to be ongoing?

That's year-round, Supervisor, the host teams.

Especially.

Yeah, our department is a part of it as well as our folks from the homeless.

I'm really concerned because the last time there was a significant rain that we thought was coming, Hillary and what have you, a lot of were cleared from the encampment, and they were taken to cities that were kind of far removed from where they were placed. So I would like to ask for us to start looking at how we can get the cities from the cogs that surround these areas to also provide incentives so they put aside vouchers. They put aside. They're, you know, they have to put some skin in the game here, in my opinion, and they have not. Some cities have taken that on and helped in my region. For example, the city of Albany and Malden Park, I want to say. But I'm just saying that it's not fair. And there has to be some fairness when we talk about disasters. We're talking about people's lives who are impacted. And I don't see that discussion going on. You say you want partnerships with cities, but how willing are we really to make that demand that they need to put up vouchers? That's not directed at the Weather Service, but obviously to our housing, our homeless OEM, as well as our sheriffs can also play a role here because it's life. We're talking about taking care of people who are in distress, finding them places when there isn't maybe sufficient shelter, one big congregate shelter. but the fact that we need vouchers.

I can speak to that, Supervisor. Thank you for that comment. And we do have very strong and growing relationships with our COGs and our cities that are funded by LSF for things like interim housing and voucher capacity. So we're increasing our awareness of what they're funding and how accessible those resources are in times of need. There have been examples where we've called on our COGs to pitch in in situations where we don't have a resource and we need help, and several COGs have pitched in to help there. Hurricane Hillary was a really great example of partnering with HOST to get folks out of those dangerous areas and into programs like Pathway Home and getting them on a long-term path.

we know how to do it uh the issue is always resources and we agree with you that partnering with our cities and our cogs to make all the resources on the table is what we need to be i would really like to make a recommendation that the next report we have or if we can ask for a report on that on that very issue because i can't i can't wait for october and to find out uh cities are calling me and saying well uh supervisor we have people out here we don't have we don't have any vouchers well wait a minute You do have funding that's available through your local funding that you receive for homeless through your COGs and your cities. That's been made available. And why can't we identify a ratio or percentage, you know, and start to develop some kind of metrics there? And it isn't just for my district. I would think that it may be impactful in other areas as well. But I do want to see something more granular and a real metric to be used.

And if you have cities that you want us to connect with directly that are calling you and saying, like, we don't have resources, we can make sure they understand what's at those cogs that they can tap into.

Well, it's disappointing because we've gone through this already with some of them, and they don't seem to take us serious. And they put the blame, the onus, on the county. And that's not what this is about. If it's really about partnership and coordination, then I would say that's not a one-way street here. It's got to be two-way. So I would ask for that to come back to a CEO if you can. I don't mean to be rude with anybody, but I'm just saying this is a fact that's happening in the county, and it's not fair. Because we're responsible for a broader population than many of our cities are. And there are many people right now that I know are very, very scared just overall. They don't even want to accept public assistance in any way because they think it's going to impede them from getting anything else or might even hurt their ability to establish citizenship. And that's a fact. And so I really want to be careful how we address our community, how we articulate, how we message to them, and not just always microethnic. Because 50% of this LA population speaks different languages. While English is the dominant language, I understand that. But we need to start messaging in different ways. And I would really implore our departments to do a better job. Some of you are, but some can do a lot better. And help each other. Some are doing really well, and some can do better. That's my plea for you. I THINK WITH THAT, I WOULD JUST SAY LET'S HOPE THAT THERE ISN'T A BIG CATASTROPHE. WE HAVE OTHER MANMADE CATASTROPHES THAT ARE HAPPENING IN D.C. BUT THE ONES THAT ARE HERE, AT LEAST WE CAN WORK TOGETHER AND SAY WE'RE GOING TO WORK ON IT AS A TEAM. AND I DO WANT TO THANK OEM STAFF. I DO WANT TO THANK YOUR STAFF, KEVIN, FOR THEIR HELP ON LINEAGE AND EVEN ON DPW AND WHAT HAVE YOU ON THE the oil spill and all of that, because those are disasters that also impact our communities. And with this bad weather that we've had, what, almost a whole month or more of weather degree over 90, and if you're in a home and you don't have air conditioning, it's like 100. It's been pretty miserable for people right now in L.A. County, and a lot of folks, I will tell you, some in my district don't have a lot of faith. in anything we say. So that to me is very important, that we do the very best that we can. So thank you. There's no further questions from my colleagues? Okay, we've beaten El Nino to death. All right, we'll go to public comment. Thank you.

Will the following individuals please come forward and staff will assist you? Sean Patrick Patterson, Claudia Jerez, Luciano Haber, Colin Campbell, and Daniel Garcia. Paloma Bustos, your line is open. Please begin. Paloma Bustos, your line is open. Yes, my name is Paloma Bustos.

Thank you. My name is Paloma Bustos with the Senator-General Traffic Initiative at Loyola Law School. I just want to encourage the county to include human trafficking prevention in its planning for this storm season. Last year, the board passed a motion specifically focused on preventing human trafficking after natural disasters. That work recognizes that disasters can create conditions that increase vulnerability, including displacement, lost income, unsafe work, and an urgent need for housing or services. Since the county is now planning for El Nino, this is an opportunity to build on that policy already in place. We asked the county to include trafficking prevention in its emergency planning, community outreach, and future reports to the board. Doing this now will help make sure trafficking prevention is part of the county's response before the next emergency happens. Thank you.

Thank you. Caller ending in 0716, your line is open. Please state your name and begin.

Roy Hunkers, Roland Heights. I applaud efforts to maintain modernized disaster readiness as to establish the risk to environment, both natural and man-made, as evidenced by the city of Los Angeles and others who have failed us, i.e. the Roland Heights sewage flow into the Los Angeles River. The data centers pose a new set of risks which the elected officials have been negligent and especially when I have suggested the county develop countywide homeless and transient campsites, i.e. crossroads, how different this all could have been. On the positive side, there's a possibility that our historic drought status will be mitigated. Thank you.

Thank you. Caller, phone number ending in 5957. Your line is open. Please state your name and begin.

This is Mel Bailey. And I just wanted to add, I do appreciate the motion, and I just wanted to tag on to one of the latter things that Sue Varser said as it relates to the language barrier. I wanted to know at what point or if the county is doing anything to assist our multilingual citizens or constituents to be able to learn English. And I think that would be helpful as well because we won't be able to control everything. Obviously the board can't control departmental approaches, but for the private businesses, I think it's also important that we are assisting our fellow community members of learning English. And, you know, I think it'd be a much safer situation for them. So hopefully that's something that we can look into as well. Thank you.

Thank you. We will now go to our in-person speakers. Please begin.

All right. This is Sean Patrick Patterson. I'm program director of the next 5,000 The next 5,000 emergency plan proposal was submitted. It is on public comment. The proposal will establish a major emergency distribution and temporary shelter center capable of supporting LA County during the natural disasters. That's the Skid Row District. The Skid Row District already SERVES AS A DISTRIBUTION CENTER FOR THE HOMELESS. IF DURING A NATURAL DISASTER, ALL THE HOMELESS PEOPLE ARE SENT TO THE SKID ROAD DISTRICT, WE CAN CONSOLIDATE THE TENTS, THE FOOD, THE MEDICAL SUPPLIES, AND IT WILL SERVE NOT ONLY THE RESIDENTS OF L.A. COUNTY, BUT ALSO THE HOMELESS. And so I'm asking the board to consider the proposal by the next five.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Hello, I'm Colin Campbell, District 5, Catherine Barger, out of South Pasadena. I'm trying to do a pilot right now, and I volunteered to share, elect to share my information with all federal, state, and local systems. This is for Stargate, and one of the things that they're talking about is communication issues. So this uses all the communication networks that we have, but we also have quantum internet. And so quantum internet allows you to be able to communicate instantly faster than light. And so you essentially could alert people if telephone network is down. to evacuate them. And I'm trying to get them to do the pilot out of South Pasadena. I'd like to show some new technology. And I would like to demonstrate US Cyber Command's best capabilities. So this is new technology. And it's our AI. And South Pasadena is concerned because of privacy issues. But we can contain it.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Luciano Haber. I'm a firefighter with Southern California Wildfire Response. We're a community fire department based up at the Santa Monica Mountains. First of all, I'd like to say thank you for your leadership in times of emergency preparation and items like this. Listening to this presentation, I've identified problems that have the greatest solution, community involvement. As a community fire department, that is what we specialize in. We are initial attack, tactically capable, and I believe in old-fashioned retail politics. I've gone door to door with 19 HOAs with every LAFD station in the San Fernando Valley, most of these city council offices in person. That is something we strive to do, and I would love the opportunity to to make you aware that we are capable, we are mobile, and we are ready to assist in any and all natural emergency or wildfire crisis. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

And then you go here. I appreciate all your wonderful participation in making sure that the people in the fully prepared for the police MS and police plan. But my question is more to do with the issue that has not been discussed. The issue is how many are available? Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good morning. Good afternoon. Claudia Jerez, DPSS DWC. I can say that on that map, I can tell you, I can recognize the verbiage of that map, that wet and cool and that wet. I think we can advance to something greater than wet and cool. It's a little bit elementary, wet and cool. I think we can advance it to something more, I guess, I don't know, more scholarly, I would say. That's my comment for that. necessary to be prepared for all types of weather events. La Niña and El Niño to hit in the month of September is an out of normal condition. It's a special circumstance for all of us. The impact of destruction these hazards bring to our community requires all hands on deck approach. El Niño and La Niña and the destruction this represents requires an analysis due to the extreme nature of its capacity for destruction. The dissemination of our communities could be a real possibility. El Niño and El Niño That concludes the time for public comment on this item.

Madam Chair, this report will be received and filed.

Thank you. Hearing no objections, that will be the order.

We will now move on to item 19, protecting Eaton and Palisades fire survivors from fraud, predatory practices, and contractor scams, which was held by Supervisor Barter. Thank you. For members of the public on the phone, if you've already signed up to speak, no further action is needed. If you're on the phone and wish to comment but haven't signed up, press star and follow the prompts to join the speaking queue. IF YOU HAVE NOT REGISTERED OR REGISTERED BUT WATCHING THE MEETING, TO ADDRESS THE BOARD, PLEASE CALL 213-444-2600, PRESS STAR, AND FOLLOW THE PROMPTS. AN OPERATOR WILL ASSIST YOU. RAPHAEL CARVERHALL, DIRECTOR OF CONSUMER AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS, AND MARK PASTRELLA, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, ARE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS. FOR THE DEPARTMENTAL SPEAKERS, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME AND TITLE FOR THE RECORD WHEN YOU ADDRESS THE BOARD.

THANK YOU. SUPERVISOR BARGER.

THANK YOU. AND I WANT TO THANK SUPERVISOR HORVATH FOR COAUTHORING THIS MOTION. with me as more Eaton Fire survivors move forward with rebuilding. my office has heard increasing concerns about contractor fraud and bad actors that are targeting homeowners in Altadena who are very vulnerable at this time. As the region contends with more home building than was anticipated, new companies are emerging to help rebuild our communities. But with that comes the need to protect homeowners from potentially fraudulent and unprepared contractors. And I would say if it's too good to be true, it is too good. While there are predatory and fraudulent actors out there, some companies and builders also find themselves completely beyond capacity and unwittingly harming survivors. However, at the end of the day, our residents have already lost far too much and need support to make individual decisions that help them rebuild and come home. They should not have to worry about being victimized again and again by unscrupulous contractors or scammers. That is why we are bringing in this motion today. We need to make sure the county is responding to what we are seeing on the ground and our consumer protection and enforcement partners are working together. It also puts a strong emphasis on prevention. And I know we started off when we began the rebuild process, try to educate the DA, did a press conference. We've been very proactive. in trying to educate people to make sure that your contractor has a license because a liability will fall on you if something happens on your property or they are not licensed and have some sort of workman's comp insurance. This motion directs county departments to develop and execute a coordinated plan of action to address contractor fraud and other scams that are impacting the survivors. This includes establishing a specialized task force made up of county departments and law enforcement partners to ensure that all the tools and resources necessary are being deployed. And by the way, these are already in existence, just not in a coordinated effort. Survivors need clear, trusted information before they sign a contract or spend their recovery dollars including how to verify a contractor's license, understand the contracts they are signing, recognize the warning signs of a scam, and report suspected fraud. By integrating these resources into our one-stop permitting centers and working with trusted community partners, we can reach survivors, where they are in the rebuilding process. While we have done previous outreach through workshops and consultations, it's clear that we must do more to educate survivors on ways to protect themselves. Our goal is to protect survivors and make sure that people rebuilding in our communities are legitimate, licensed, and accountable. I understand the DCBA needs to move quickly to enter into agreements for paid media, including billboards and other advertising in the fire-impacted areas, as well as in-person support and outreach with legal service providers. And so to expedite those efforts, I would like to read in a minor amendment to Directive 3, and it would be as follows. The Board shall waive the requirements of Board Policy Number 5.100 for these agreements. These agreements and any amendments shall be approved as to form by county council to keep a checks and balance. And thank you, Rafael, for pointing that out to us because this is a sense of urgency. I've talked to someone whose family member handed over a 50% down payment and never saw the contractor again and took off with the money. Even with those that are licensed, we also have businesses, and there was one prefab business where the gentleman thought when he paid the amount of money that it was for everything because that's kind of the way it's advertised, and then he found out it wasn't, and he took his life. Now, did the company do anything illegal? No. No. But if he had known what he was signing and that the little footnotes were, by the way, you have to pay for a slab, moving the building on, hooking up to sewer, hooking up to water, he may have thought twice about paying $450,000 for what he thought was ready to go. So these are lessons learned, but these are also things that are happening today. So I would ask you, Rafael, and again, thank you and your team. You're in the community, and it's greatly appreciated. What are the most common contractor scams or violations that you are seeing in Altina and maybe even in the Palisades burn area, and what happens after a complaint is filed?

Thank you very much, Supervisor. Rafael Carvajal, the privilege and honor of being the director of the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. And thank you, Supervisor Barger and Supervisor Horvath for bringing this motion. The concerns that we're watching closely include unlicensed contracting, improper payment practices, misrepresentation about licensing and qualifications. We see a lot of that. Incomplete or problematic contracts, which is people not understanding exactly what's in the contract or how they're written. Work that is abandoned or substantially different, what they thought they were purchasing or paying for. Contractors taking advantage of residents who are under tremendous stress and they're putting high pressure tactics on them to execute these agreements. So we do at DCBA recognize that when people come to us and reach out with these issues, they're already frustrated, scared, and don't understand where to go and turn to for help. So we simply don't just look at the complaints. We actually sit down and we triage them to determine not only do they fall under our jurisdiction, but we review the facts. We triage the entire situation, review documentations, and we provide counseling and connection to other resources that they might need. And even if it's not within our jurisdiction or our authority, we work with our partners collaboratively including the DA, the attorney general, and our very own county council affirmative litigation team. And ultimately, what we'd like to do is collect the data, too, so that we could start forecasting potential issues in the region, so we could start addressing them before people actually fall victim to some of these issues. And like you noted, Supervisor, prevention is just as important as helping people when they're already in trouble. So one of the things that we want to do is scale up the outreach. Anytime you drive through Altadena or the Palisades or anywhere there's been an emergency, the first thing you see is billboards on attorneys and how to sue and how to find some assistance. We need to do the same to make sure that folks understand what their rights are and the resources that are available to them. Another thing I'd like to add is that our team, our counselors, actively support folks who are going through these situations. if folks need assistance understanding a contract, understanding their rights or responsibilities, they could also call us and we'll actually walk them through some of the paperwork and some of the process themselves so that they could understand what they're facing. And in regards to the additional reading language, really appreciate that because we do want to execute some agreements immediately, leveraging some of the dollars our county council has already helped us acquire to resolve some of the work that Affirmative Lit has already been doing. to get advertisement out both on the radio, billboards, print ads, bus benches, and then also bring in some support from the legal service community to help folks already stuck in these situations.

ask this question. I've got more, but I'm going to consolidate into one because I know my co-author wants to say something. But to both you and Mark, obviously what you're hearing in terms of the fraud, are you all coordinating to best leverage both communication to the public? Because not everyone's going to come to a permitting meeting that we hold in Loma Alta Park. So are you all leveraging communication channels to make sure that we are touching at every touchpoint possible?

Yes, we are. We're actually working with multiple departments, including LACDA, Public Works, the DA, all of our partners, even some of the city staff to get information out. We hold regular workshops around this information. But like anything, there could always be better coordination, and that's why I appreciate this motion. It actually pushes us forward to continue to build on what we already started.

You know, I can confirm that, Supervisor. There's a presence in our one-stop center, not only of the DCBA, but also the contractor state licensing board is also present in the one-stop centers. As you said, though, there's multiple touch points. I mean, you're not sure where they're going to touch point first in the system. They typically, homeowners, I'm sorry, or survivors, will find a contractor first. And that's, you know, sometimes too late because they've already been convinced to go with that person. But we are continuing to provide vetted names of contractors who have done work in LA County at our one-stop centers. We're educating the public when they come in. One of the things that has come to our attention, there's an interesting thing going on with people coming in. And we noticed an uptick in people who are applying to be their own builders. It's called builder-owner, owner-builder. Under state law, homeowners can build their own home. But it's a very significant effort to do so. And it's wrought with danger because you still have to hire the subs and subcontractors. And there's another little twist to that that I know about personally is if you go owner-builder, and you have a mortgage, and you are taking insurance money to pay that down, the mortgage company will be very, very anti-owner builder. a licensed contractor to give that money, to send the money to. So it can be a delay in your reimbursement of your insurance as well. So this is another thing that's going on. I'm aware of several folks that don't have the right licensure to build, but they're guiding property owners to go owner-builder. We normally cannot tell them they can't do that, but we would push them away from doing that given the insurance requirements and what I just described to you in terms of reimbursement from their mortgage companies. It's a difficult approach.

You never know where it's coming from. Thank you for that. Again, thank you, Supervisor Horvath, for co-authoring this. It's unfortunate we have to do this. But the reality is that when I hear someone say that they're excited they paid $200 a square foot, that is A red flag, because the average right now is about $350 to $400 a square foot. And so that's what the contractors are leveraging is the price per square foot. And you get someone unsuspecting, and they're desperate. So thank you.

Thank you very much. I appreciate you bringing forward this motion, Supervisor Barger, to better protect our wildfire survivors from fraud, scams, and other predatory business practices. As thousands of families continue the process of rebuilding their homes and their communities, The last thing they need is to be taken advantage of by scammers and predatory actors. My team has heard from constituents in the Palisades Fire Areas who have already lost thousands of dollars to unlicensed contractors. Our seniors, those with limited English proficiency, and vulnerable households in particular need clear, consistent, and frequent communication to understand their rights and to access consumer protection resources. this should include how to file complaints and how to report fraud in addition to directing a plan of action from departments to address and curb fraud in 30 days this motion also directs an expanded awareness campaign and the expanded communications will utilize both online methods and in-person resources at our county one stops in altadena and calabasas as has been said and with community partner organizations like the long-term recovery groups The awareness campaign should include materials in multiple languages. Our wildfire survivors have already been through far too much. And I look forward to the plan of action and awareness campaign to increase consumer protection for our LA County residents. And my one question is that we increased the penalties and enforcement power for DCBA in terms of violations for price gouging protections. earlier this year and certainly last year. Are there additional enforcement tools or authority you need that could deter some bad actors and provide more remedies for victims of fraud?

That's a great question that I'd like to sit down with our colleagues at County Council. They actually have the authority to pursue unlawful business practices, unfair business practices under the 17200s, which is something that we can leverage to try to pursue some of these bad actors if the existing laws don't exist. And that's why we coordinate really closely with them on that. When the price gouging protections were in place, there were rebuilding protections in place, but once they expired, those rebuilding protections expired along with the protections.

All right. Well, I think given that we know people are being preyed upon, unfortunately, and they're incredibly vulnerable, and they just want to get home, making sure that you have the tools that you need to protect our residents is important. So if there are additional tools that your department needs in order to achieve that end, please do let us know. Thank you.

I just want to add, I support the motion, Supervisor Barger and Horvath. This is something that has been a continual, I guess, challenge for the county for so many disasters and things that we've gone through. For me, recently, it was the lineage fire where we had people that were actually increasing funds or asking for additional funds for purifiers. They were going door to door. and they were charging like $300 for maybe $100 or $75 purifier. And then also we're seeing attorneys, very similar to attorneys that are taking advantage of some of the folks that have been involved in or alleged involvement in things with the county, with children and family services, et cetera. In this case, these attorneys are actually corralling residents paying them their dinner and saying, hey, if you have a claim, there's one, two, three, four, five things and you fit this mold, we'll take your case on. And it's not towards us, it's towards the corporation, but nonetheless, I don't know what the standards are for the law firms that are doing this, but they're advertising and they are going out to communities and they're also leaving leaflets at people's homes, we've already found that. So I would just say that when we think about this, let's think about it in a broad sense too, so that we can defend what we're doing and then move on to the next. But I do support the item, thank you. Seeing no more questions from the board, let's go to public comment.

Will the following individuals please come forward and staff will assist you? Catherine Peoples, Roxanne Nazario, Claudia Jerez, and Luciana Haber. As a final reminder for remote participants, in order to address the board remotely, you must call 213-444-2600 whether you're registered or not. Madam Chair, there are no remote callers to address the board. We will go to our in-person speakers. Please begin.

Good afternoon, board and chair. My name is Catherine Peoples. I am the executive director of HPP Cares. I represent the Rebuild Center for both the Eaton as well as the Palisade Long-Term Recovery Center, where we provide rebuild case management as well as support to all of our survivors. We have seen unbelievable predatory activities happening in the community up to the tune of a million dollars. I've had a survivor lose a million dollars to an unlicensed contractor. So I am so thankful that you brought this motion. We must all agree to this motion. Our survivors need this, and I cannot stress it enough. Countless days after day, we see numerous survivors, $300,000, $700,000 that they have paid individuals that are not licensed. We must stop the ability for anyone to be able to pull an owner builder permit. If you made that one change for me, it would make my day amazing. It would allow us to have immediate prevention. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Back at the podium. My name is Luciano Haber again with Southern California Wildfire Response. This was not something I initially was planning to speak on, but I just wanted to because as we spoke to victims of the Palisades and the Eaton fires, I just wanted to personally say thank you for addressing this. There has been a lot of problems and a lot of attention on the illegal contracting side, fraudulent practices side, and just general fraud. We've spoken to three families in the Palisades who were actually convinced to donate to supposed causes for wildfire prevention and emergency response and that was one of those topics that really hit home because they made a significant donation one of them in the 35 000 range and that went completely out the window so i really thank you for taking the initiative with this and best of luck thank you thank you next speaker please

My name is Roxanne Nazario. I'm the Director of Policy and Advocacy at HPP Cares. I just want to thank Supervisor Horvath and Barger for bringing this forward. As my boss, Catherine Peoples, was just sharing, we are the eyes on the ground. We are at the EFC. We are rebuilding. We're dealing with these survivors every day. And we've kind of become the place that everybody goes to when they have nowhere else to go. So my boss is on the phone for hours at a time, meeting with survivors, trying to give them hope, trying to give them a path back to home. So we started sounding this alarm. And thankfully, you guys were already on it. So you guys were already putting this together, which we appreciate. We've been doing educational contractor events, especially when it comes to building in the burn zone, which is different, right? So a lot of these contractors coming in, even if they're licensed and have everything in place, they still may not have the experience of working in burn zones, so that's important. We need to keep the education up because most people don't really know what's happening.

Good afternoon, Claudia Jerez, DPSS, DWC. Public awareness, community engagement, we must go back to the old community getting together to make sure these practices do not occur. It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a village to maintain that child and that's our environment. our environment, our atmosphere, our homes. It takes really a village, and this is a village here, and we are in a way together going through this. And so I think that grief is very important when the fires are happening. Grief is important that people understand that They do need support for that, emotional support, people that understand how to, you know, move forward with the grief, losing your home, losing everything and having everything in destruction. I think that people have to understand that, you know, people do need support. Thank you. Thank you.

That concludes the time for public comment on this item.

Madam Chair, Item 19, as revised, is before you.

Moved by Supervisor Barger, seconded by Supervisor Horvath. As amended to approve the item, Executive Officer, call the roll.

Supervisor Mitchell?

Aye.

Supervisor Horvath?

Aye.

Supervisor Hahn?

Aye.

Supervisor Barger? Aye. Supervisor Solis?

Aye.

Motion carries 5-0. We will now move on to item 21, report on the strategic plan to curtail street racing in Los Angeles County, which was held by Supervisor Mitchell. For members of the public on the phone, if you've already signed up to speak, no further action is needed. If you're on the phone and wish to comment but haven't signed up, press star and follow the prompts to join the speaking queue. If you have not registered or registered but are watching the meeting to address the board, please call 213-444-2600. Press star and follow the prompts. An operator will assist you. David Carroll, Director of Youth Development. Steve Berger, Deputy Director in Julian Garcia, Principal Engineer, Department of Public Works. Commander Terrence Bell, Sheriff's Department. Victor Puebla, Captain, Sheriff's Department. And Carrie Miller, Branch Manager, Policy Implementation and Alignment Branch, Chief Executive Office, will give a presentation. For the departmental speakers, please state your name and title for the record when you address the board.

Supervisor Mitchell.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and I want to thank the Street Takeover Reduction Work Group and all the departments who are here today and are working collaboratively with you. You know, I continue to hold this item because I think it's important that we make it a priority and that the general public continues to understand the work that's happening. So I think I'll turn it over and hear the presentation, and then I'll come back, Madam Chair, and we'll have some questions.

Supervisor Jeremy Gray, just like to quickly open chief operating officer for the CEO. We submitted our seventh report on this matter last week. If you recall when we presented the last time, we presented that during the period of 2024 to 2025, we actually saw a decrease of around 33% in activity. And we have since, as you can see from our last report, seen a spike. And I'm going to have Dr. Carrie Miller and our panel talk about some of our analysis today. and some of the remediation strategies that we plan to execute to address those fluctuations in our numbers. Dr. Miller.

Thank you, Jeremy. Good afternoon. Pleasure to be here. I'm Carrie Miller, the branch manager for policy implementation and alignment branch with the chief executive office. And I'll walk through the presentation and then open it up for questions. Next slide, please. So as you know, we have a full group of private partners, public partners, community-based organizations, and advocates that we are working with to try to really get a handle on this problem moving forward. Next slide. So what we saw, as Jeremy mentioned, we saw a 33% drop for the year after we implemented our original action plan. That number and that drop actually held for five straight quarters, and then we saw a spike. And if you see the spike, it's pretty dramatic and disturbing. We went up 41% from the exact same time period over the last two years. Next slide, please. With that, there was a lot of activity that we did to implement the action plan that our partners here worked really hard on. As you see, over 3,000 students and community residents participated in prevention and education workshops, and 84% of participants did say that they would be less likely to participate in any type of this activity after participating in those workshops. Next slide. If you look at the infrastructure that DPW has been working really hard to put in place, over the last quarter, they installed three installations in East Gardena, two in Walnut Park, two in East Rancho Dominguez, and eight in Florence Firestone. This represents the most significant installations of any quarter that we've had since we started doing this work. And you see there's four additional planned installations underway. Next slide, please. This is a picture for folks who don't know what an intersection installation looks like of the work of DPW installing one of these. Next slide, please. Looking at enforcement operations for LASD, they conducted eight solo agency operations in the last quarter. A combination of LSD and CHP's activity issued 134 citations, made 46 arrests, and towed 47 vehicles. The DA, we know, diverted 31 people using the Street Racing Kills diversion program and collected restitution in the amount of $3,000. And they're still prosecuting two felony cases of organizers of street takeovers as we speak. Next slide, please. We are continuing with our community and communication strategies. As you know, the Department of Youth and Development Services last quarter put out a PSA on the dangers of these events. This was informed by youth and largely constructed with youth input. And they've seen really significant performance on the channels where they have posted this PSA. Next slide, please. In terms of identifying safe and legal alternatives, we have our first event that is scheduled for September 19th at Santa Fe Dam. We are looking at targeting youth using go-karts so that they can learn how to safely participate in these activities, and we can use that as an opportunity to stress that legal drifting is far better than the illegal options. We are still pursuing Avenues with Antelope Valley fairgrounds and Pomona fairgrounds both who have expressed interest in holding legal alternative events next slide, please So if we look at the data, this is CHP data. We saw that their numbers jumped 21, which is almost doubling from where they were at the last quarter next slide, please and Looking at LASD's jurisdiction, we did see a 200% spike over the previous quarter. This was largely in Supervisorial District 2. Next slide, please. What we did to try to better understand this data is we did a breakdown between unincorporated areas and contract cities. And it was interesting when we did that, because what we found is there are actually zero events happening in the unincorporated areas except for SD2. But what you see is a big jump in contract cities, much higher than what we've seen in the past. Next slide, please. And so we further dug into this data to see, well, what is happening here? And when we looked at the data for contract cities comparing this last quarter, quarter two, to one year prior, so that we're looking at apples to apples comparison, there was a 200% spike in contracted cities. Next slide, please. However, when we looked at the unincorporated area data, this is what was really interesting. We only saw a 16% spike, which could be what we would expect from regional differences. However, what was really important is if you look at the central division, there was a drop of 28. So in the middle of this incredible spike that we saw, there was a drop in this central division. So we wanted to understand that more. Next slide, please. So when we started to break down what was happening in central division that might be different than other areas, we know that LASD had considerable enforcement efforts in that area. So that was certainly something that happened. But we also then looked at, started to look at our DPW installations to try to better understand what that picture looked like. And what you will see here is that in the last year through last quarter, they installed 14 intersection installations and all of them were in central division boundaries. So that is significant that every single place that they put them is in the very same area where we saw this drop. Next slide, please. So looking forward, DPW has, as you can see here, additional installations planned. And now what we're going to look at is the south division, because that's where the spike happened. Next slide. And then, as we've always report out, what are the costs of these impacts? DPW reported a $410,000 cost just for last quarter, not only because of the installations that they were doing, but also because there was significant damage to the installations they did do and required a number of repairs to those installations. Next slide. So with this, the work group has spent a lot of time trying to understand and figure out what has been going on and what can we do to remedy this situation. So we know that this is a complex problem. We know there are a lot of factors driving it. And it's going to take a lot of different types of interventions to really get a handle on this spike and get it back down to where we were. So across the partners, they will speak more about this, but just at a high level, they have already committed to expanding school and community prevention programming, planning installations in the South Division intersections, which is where the spike occurred, deploying additional enforcement resources. And we are increasing our social media monitoring and trying to remove as many of these posts that we possibly can, since we know that drives a lot of the activity. Next slide, please. And with that, we open it up for questions.

Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you. to the panel. The 200% increase is alarming, but I want to start by acknowledging the collective work that you all have done. Who's to say it wouldn't have been larger? I think we were very optimistic about the trend that we'd seen over the last several quarters. And we knew summer was coming and we knew what the trend showed us for the summer. And so I certainly wasn't nowhere near anticipating a 200% increase, particularly when you give the disproportionate number of those that are in the second district, both contract cities and the unincorporated communities. We recently, my team, did a work group community walk in East Gardena and Willowbrook the 18th of last month. And again, I want to thank Public Works, Sheriff's Department, and our other partners for participating in that and hearing directly from residents and beginning to identify concrete next steps. You know, this is an interesting issue where people have all kinds of ideas. And I do believe this multi... PRONGED STRATEGY AROUND EDUCATION, ENFORCEMENT, THE BARRIERS, REALLY MAKES SENSE. AND IT'S JUST A MATTER OF HOW WE CONTINUE TO IDENTIFY RESOURCES, PRIORITIZE AREAS THAT NEED TO BE TARGETED BASED ON THE DATA THAT YOU'RE BRINGING TO US, THAT IT'S AN EQUITABLE INVESTMENT BASED ON THE DATA. I UNDERSTAND THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT CONDUCTED AN OPERATION AT 157TH AND BROADWAY. And there was a great reduction, and yet then we heard from and got video from constituents that showed that the crowds returned this past weekend. So it's like we've got a presence, and yet people come back. So I'm hoping that that is an area that we can continue to monitor and focus on. So I guess really my question is, what are next steps? I appreciate it, seeing the data. separated by unincorporated areas and contract cities, identifying the area where there was a slight reduction, what could have caused that, acknowledging the fact that it's the public works interventions that are helpful. What are our next steps? What mitigation strategies are we going to consider moving forward for SD2 as well as the county as a whole?

I can take a stab at that. Supervisor Steve Berger, Deputy Director for Transportation, L.A. County Public Works. Yeah, so as I think you heard from Carrie and as you alluded to, we're starting to see data that's informing us that some of these interventions, the physical interventions, are working. And so we're using that data. I love the fact that we're getting really solid data now.

I agree.

And we're using that to focus where we want to do the next installations. The other thing that was notable, that is a lot of the uptick was in the cities. And we've already begun reaching out to those cities to offer our expertise, our collaboration. This is all one county. And although they'll have to be the ones to put in these installations in their jurisdiction, we definitely have the ability and the desire to work with them to share our expertise, our experience. And help them get if they if they decide that these physical interventions are meaningful and helpful to help them with that as well Good afternoon board and happy to see you.

I'm David Carroll director of the Department of Youth Development You saw earlier the thirty three hundred and thirty six workshop or folks that were served through about 127 workshops and We are fortunate that we are able to continue that work with street racing kills, but expand and focus it. So we're moving from one-off workshops to sustained engagement, where we can work with the same group of young people over an extended period of time so that they fully understand the dangers of street racing and the alternatives, et cetera. We're focusing on multiple school districts, including in Compton, Montebello, and Pomona, among many others. But we have those specific relationships already set up. We're expanding our reach across the DYD school-based programming. So we've got about 10 schools that are served through the Bloom Initiative and another 10 that are served through the DYD Rooted Initiative. So all those schools will be receiving the workshops through SRK. ON A REGULAR BASIS. WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY-BASED PREVENTION AND OUTREACH, AGAIN, GOING TO COMMUNITY EVENTS, PARTNERING WITH PARKS AND RECREATION, OUR SPOT TEAM PROGRAM, AS WELL AS JCOD STORES LOCATIONS TO OFFER THE WORKSHOPS IN THOSE FACILITIES. AS WELL AS OUR 42 YOUTH DEVELOPMENT NETWORK PROVIDERS THAT ARE SPREAD ACROSS EVERY SPA ACROSS ALL FIVE SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICTS. WE'RE GOING TO ASK YOUNG PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S WORKING, RIGHT? INCREASE THAT YOUTH ENGAGEMENT SO THEY CAN TELL US WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO HAMMER THE MESSAGE HOME SO THAT THEY REALLY UNDERSTAND WHY WE ARE PROVIDING THE WORKSHOPS AND WHAT THE GOAL IS. AND CONTINUING TO WORK WITH OUR PROVIDER TO STRENGTHEN THEIR WORKSHOP DELIVERY MODEL SO THAT IT IS HAVING THE IMPACT THAT WE EXPECT.

I wanted my partners to go first, because obviously for the Robert Luna of the Sheriff of Valley County, I want to make sure everybody understands that we do support the multi-pronged approach. Education is critical. Engineering is critical. And our partners at Public Works just talked about that. So I'm not going to talk about the enforcement PORTION OF THIS. OUR DEPARTMENT WAS DOING VERY WELL. YOU SAW THE STATISTICS UP UNTIL THIS YEAR. WE ACTUALLY HAD A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION. AGAIN IT WAS SHOWN ON THE CHART. BUT THIS LAST SUMMER THINGS WENT IN A COMPLETELY OPPOSITE DIRECTION. I find it to be unacceptable. Obviously, when we're talking about street takeovers, it is something our community is becoming less tolerant of, and we're getting a lot of complaints. But what I want to spend a couple of minutes talking about is in the last month or so, we have seen a very disturbing trend where there are individuals that are coming in to do these street takeovers and there are burglaries or what people call looting attached to it. These videos are extremely disturbing. You have dozens and dozens of young men and women running into whether it be auto stores, markets. And I just want to bring specific attention to an incident that happened in Bellflower. And we just had another one in Bellflower early last this morning. But you had a very hardworking family. immigrant family who worked their whole lives to put this market together. They had a street takeover at an intersection in Bellflower, and parts of this group went in there and caused what's estimated at about $30,000 in damage. I've seen enough of this to where I'm just making a public statement That if you are involved in these street takeovers and you choose to go out and impact our businesses and our community, there's going to be some significant accountability. We're trying the engineering. We'll continue to do that. We'll continue to do our education, which I fully support. But if you are specifically burglarizing our businesses here in Los Angeles County, we are not going to tolerate it. One, I have asked our department leadership to put more focus on issuing more citations and seizing more vehicles. So in a way, when we're talking about education, I am warning our community that if your kids are out there partaking in this type of activity, there is a high probability that there's going to be a citation, an arrest, or your vehicle being impounded as a result of the activity that's occurring out there. Please know that as I've given that direction, we have more of our specialized units in investigations and other parts of our department that will be assisting our patrol stations that are heavily impacted by this activity. I have personally called the CHP Commissioner, Sean Durie, and I've asked him for help. He has been him and I have an extraordinary relationship. He's already sending additional units. And I also want people to know that the U.S. attorney here has called me and he's asked to be involved in the enforcement of this. And people may say, well, how does the U.S. Attorney's Office get involved in this type of activity? We will be working with the DA's office because there will be conspiracy charges filed specifically on individuals who are doing the burglaries or looting, as people call them. So this is very serious. And I'm putting out this warning to our community. Please, we need to stop this nonsense. It's illegal. It's very serious. We've had violent crimes at these incidences. This cannot continue. I have authorized the use of drones over some of these more problematic intersections. And I'm just going to give an example because I don't want to get into too much detail. That is a result of the drone footage. we were able to capture vehicles that may not have been directly involved in doing the donuts around the intersections, but they were blocking the intersection so other cars couldn't get in. And our detectives on follow-up investigations went out, got a warrant to seize these individual cars, And we impounded seven additional cars on top of what we're doing already. We're going to continue to do that kind of work. So again, this is not without warning. I'm tired of it. Our community's tired of it. This behavior is unacceptable. And so I would like as much help as I can get. And I know one thing that we're looking at, and I think it may just need a little bit more data research, is that some of the cities that are being very successful in impacting this problem, I'm going to use the city of Pico Rivera for example, they are now issuing administrative sites for spectators. It's $2,000. That sounds like a lot of money. It is a lot of money. But until we start doing this, I believe, in our unincorporated areas, that'll further give us an additional tool to impact this and hopefully keep these individuals who are involved in this away from this. And the last thing I'll say, and I want to go back to the U.S. Attorney's Office and the conspiracy issue, That if you are involved in arranging these, setting these up, and somehow profiting from this, I'm going to use every tool at my disposal to come after you. Whether it's through the LA District Attorney's Office or the U.S. Attorney's Office, you cannot impact our communities in this fashion anymore. So that's the end of my report, and I stand ready for any questions any of you may have.

I appreciate that, Sheriff, and I appreciate you coming today to participate in the panel. Let me say I agree with you. It's horrible that small businesses have been impacted, but I want to add that there are communities that have been terrorized for years. And so I appreciate us highlighting businesses that are being looted, but I don't want it to be lost that there are family, friends, and neighbors who have had loss of life and have been held captive in their houses week after week after week. And so I appreciate you bringing the fire today, and I hope that's sustained not only for our small businesses, but for our residents who have been held captive in their homes. They are the people who have brought this attention to us, who have come here quarter after quarter to testify. who reach out to you all, who talk about not being able to leave their homes on the weekends because out of fear of not being able to get back into their homes. So I appreciate that. I don't want their lived experiences minimized at all, given kind of the new heightened attention. I want to appreciate the media's attention on this. It takes it to another level when people see businesses Impact it. I don't want the community members lived experience for years now lost in that.

Yes, ma'am. And I was my head was shaking up and down, just acknowledging what you were saying. And please know that our residents have not been ignored. I know how frustrating it is. Yes. But I think if you look at the statistics that actually showed. That our different stations were we're starting to impact this up until this coming year So we we were listening to our residents a lot of frustrated residents And as you stated there has been violence At some of these incidences that we take very serious, and that's why we were responding the way We are or have been I just wanted to make that I

I appreciate that. I think it's also really tragic. As we talk about our budgets and all that we're trying to do and all that you all are trying to do, the fact that this is completely avoidable. We just spent hours talking about El Nino and things that we don't have any control over and how we have to devote resources to keep people safe. This is completely preventable. I think it's also important to acknowledge out loud that specific communities continue to be targeted. period and the question for me is in as a result of your arrests if there is a sense if that there are people who are coming into these communities to engage in this illicit behavior or if it's local residents who are tearing up the streets in their own neighborhoods

We can definitely dig in to get more specific information, and the commander can correct me if I'm inaccurate. It's a combination of both, unfortunately.

So that's not lost on me, that particular communities are being targeted for this behavior. That's deeply disturbing. I would like, if possible, the new... data today in terms of how you're being able to burrow down to specifics was very helpful. But if we can, if prosecutions are increasing and arrests are increasing, it would be, I think, helpful for us to have a sense of if people are coming into the community or not. Particularly as we begin to target or continue to target the multi-pronged strategy. If we're targeting schools, in districts where it's happening, but that's not who's committing the crimes, then we need to figure out how to partner with neighboring municipalities to make sure that the public education is going to where the people are who are engaging in the activity. So that's why I think it's important for us to actually know.

I acknowledge that, thank you.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Yes, Supervisor Hahn.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, I was really frustrated at the increase. Both my district, but certainly in the second district was the largest. In my district, they went up by almost 50. In Supervisor Mitchell's district, they had 96 last quarter and 323. This quarter. So I was frustrated, especially listening, Carrie, to everything you're doing and all the statistics about all the workshops and the education and the outreach and the intersection barriers. I mean, we've done a lot since this first started. And so it was extremely frustrating to me. Supervisor Mitchell is calmer about this than I was when I saw these numbers. But I know there's lots of theories about why. World Cup celebrations, sporting events, media promotions around attractions for racing, a new trend, video game driving that promotes reckless driving. The fact sheet says recent decentralization of the LAPD Street Takeover Task Force and or disruption to intelligence sharing among law enforcement agencies. And I know you're going to address all those trends. You don't have to tell us now exactly how you're doing that. But I think, you know, all those Contributing factors are not necessarily going away. I mean, it's not the World Cup, but it'll be something else and I'm wondering after listening to the El Nino preparation right I'm wondering how much this task force is really Preparing for at least one of those factors, which would be of course, you know the Olympics And Sheriff, I'm really glad you said what you said, because, you know, what happened in Bellflower was just shocking, shocking. And it was almost like the street takeover almost looked like a distraction to what they were actually there to do. They were actually there to loot and rob that liquor store. But the street takeover and the spinning and the sparks, and I think there were some fireworks. It seemed like it was a big distraction. And thank you for being sensitive, Sheriff, to that family that was devastated. Now, they reached out to our office, because I represent Bellflower, and the family felt... They have not felt comfortable walking around at night since that incident occurred. They also felt like what they reached out to us was that our Bellflower substation, which is just a substation, was understaffed. I appreciate, Sheriff and Commander Bell, your work on maybe increasing some penetration there in that area. But sometimes when we just have a substation, it's not highly staffed. There's not as many personnel as a regular station. What would you say, Sheriff, to the community and particularly to the family that own this store? How do we get them to feel safe?

First of all, I just spoke about the sensitivity towards the family. I'll make sure that they connect with our captain at the Lakewood Station, which also covers Bellflower, to make sure that we do everything we can to make sure that they know that we are there. We respond. We investigate. And our deputies do an amazing job of doing that 24-7. Obviously, I will never use any excuse like staffing or anything else, but we are a department that's understaffed. We've talked about that on many occasions here. But when I go out and communicate consistently with our community, one, I want them to know that I have the authorization to hire between 800 and 1,000 deputies per year. You guys have given us that authorization. So that's a misnomer out there based on past history. AND OUR STAFFING IS ACTUALLY, I'M SORRY, OUR HIRING, RECRUITING AND HIRING IS ACTUALLY UP. OUR APPLICATIONS ARE UP ABOUT 50%. ANY TIME WE TALK ABOUT RECRUITING, I REMIND EVERYBODY THAT WE ARE HIRING. AND SO IF ANYBODY KNOWS ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO BE A DEPUTY SHERIFF, PLEASE COME ON OUT. And but there's, you know, we're still at the negotiating table. I think all of you know that that impacts staffing. We're talking about this star program, which impacts our retention. That all impacts everything we're talking about. But if you're talking about nightly deployments. whether it's in the city of Lakewood, Bellflower, or any of the unincorporated areas that impact all of your districts, our deputies are out there. We have the staffing we have out there. That's usually not falling below the minimum staffing standards. So I get it when somebody, there's a crime in progress, people are going to say, hey, they didn't get here quick enough, or there wasn't enough of them. I respect that and understand that. But we are responding in significant numbers to these.

You can't be at every intersection everywhere. And this whole problem to me is a little whack-a-mole, right? We solve it at one intersection. We put up barriers or just... You know, deterrence. And then they moved to another action. But sheriff in Norwalk last week, the Norwalk public safety officials noticed a lot of cars and people beginning to congregate. And so they called the sheriff's department. The sheriff's department was able to arrive on the scene quickly and prevent the overtaking of the entire intersection. And maybe either you or Commander Bell can talk about what worked there. Like, why did that one work to prevent? It was trying to happen. Clearly, they had all gathered to make it happen. But something interrupted it.

I'll try and address it. And if Commander Bell has anything to add.

And what can we learn from that that we can use in other ways?

The key there is that somebody saw the activity and called us immediately. And the quicker we become aware of it, reminding the community that you are our eyes and ears, Get a hold of us immediately. Either we put air assets up through our helicopters. They can immediately show up and give the ground units specific information about how many cars, how many people. And then we start bringing in black and whites, other type of resources. And if we can do that, we would definitely impact this before it becomes a significant problem for us. That's a big help to us.

Right. So that's a good message. If you see something, say something. Yes, ma'am. And, yeah, you know, Commander, did you want to say something?

Yes, Commander Terrence Bell. I just wanted to add and echo the Sheriff. As you know, in Los Angeles and East L.A., that was a similar situation where we had where it was a street takeover about to occur. We were able to prevent that. But what we've seen now with the technological aspect to it, We were putting up cameras, surveillance cameras. This will only help us to respond faster. These cameras that are live feed to our sheriff's stations will give us a live feed. And we can see some of these cars start to build up. And that will help us respond in addition to what the community calls. If they just gives us a call, we will respond. So we're going to reassure the community that if they call, we will respond. We're going to use all resources and technology to address this problem. And cameras will be one key component helping us resolve that.

Thank you. And I appreciate, Sheriff, I appreciate the air assets because I think that also can relay important information on the ground, but as you said, could capture license plates and vehicles to then hold accountable. if in fact it turns into a full-blown intersection.

Yeah, and that's for drones, but if somebody calls, our helicopters are in the air, and they have minutes of response time and get there quickly to start coordinating our units coming in to be more effective.

Yeah, thank you. Well, again, I appreciate the all the education, the outreach. I think that's important. But to me, when I read the the incident reports of these most recent, you know, these are not, you know, the kids that could have been in school listening to outreach about why street racing is bad. This seems to be an elevated level of of folks who have criminal intent to to harm. INNOCENT PEOPLE. SO THANK YOU. MADAM CHAIR.

YES. I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON THIS REPORT. IT IS TROUBLING AND I KNOW THAT FOR MY DISTRICT IT HASN'T GROWN INCREASINGLY BUT THERE IS THERE'S STILL ACTIVITY. AND AS YOU SAID SHERIFF THERE'S ALREADY BEEN TWO RETAIL THEFT OCCURRENCES THAT HAPPEN AT THE AUTOZONE THERE IN EAST L.A. AND IT'S REALLY TROUBLING BECAUSE I TOO AM CONCERNED IF WE'RE ADDRESSING STUDENTS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND WHAT HAVE YOU, THAT'S ONE POPULATION. AND THAT'S PREVENTIVE. BUT IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE THAT ARE 21 AND OLDER OR WHATEVER, then we're looking at a different population, and I'd love to see that information provided to us. And I agree with Supervisor Mitchell if these folks are actually from our area, from the immediate zip code or precincts, so to speak, and then have that information because I think that's probably another way of doing more investigation into really deterring who those folks are and who they're connected to. And I do think that our businesses need to be made aware in our communities that they have some rights and that they should also be vigilant. So I want you to reaffirm what you said that If they see something, say something to call and not to be afraid. And I get it. Some of our businesses are intimidated right now because they're afraid of everything, especially in East L.A. If it's ICE, if it's anyone wearing a uniform, even if it's DPW. or public health. They don't want to have anything to do with government. And that is really bad. So we have a lot of things to overcome. And I think the best way is to get to them in their community, speaking their language, culturally competent, and making sure that those relationships are lasting and not just a one-off. Otherwise, it's going to continue. And my sense is things aren't going to get, I hope they get better. I really do. But I know that there's always opportunity for someone to do something negative. And I really want our business people to know that we support them. And that's, it's really dangerous and FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE, TOO, TO CONTINUE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S CONSEQUENCES TO THEIR ACTIONS. SO I WOULD JUST SAY THAT. THANK YOU. SUPERVISOR MITCHELL.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MADAM CHAIR. I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY SOMETHING PERHAPS WITH COUNTY COUNCIL BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE BROUGHT FORWARD MOTIONS TO INCREASE PENALTIES, AND WE WERE GOING TO BRING FORWARD A MOTION WITH REGARD TO ADMIN CITATIONS, BUT IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT A FEDERAL COURT DEEMED THEM UNCONSTITUTIONAL. If that is happening in Pico Rivera, I'd like to know how Pico Rivera gets to not pay attention to federal court. But make sure I'm following the comments made, and is that correct or not?

Hi, Supervisor Mitchell. Craig Kirkwood, Deputy County Counsel. They haven't changed the law yet. That hasn't happened.

Pico Rivera.

Pico Rivera hasn't changed it. That's my understanding. But the case that you cited is correct and is still on point with respect to spectators being penalized, if that's what you're referencing.

So when you say Pico Rivera hasn't changed the law yet, you mean they have not come into compliance with the federal ruling? That's correct, Supervisor. Okay. Okay. So what does that mean for Pico-Rivera? If they're still issuing admin citations, what does that mean?

They are not in compliance with federal law. I mean, at this point, those types of spectator citations are a violation of the Constitution in terms of right of assembly and free speech.

So I just wanted to clarify because we were going to put that in one of our past motions and understood about that ruling. So I am open and we should continue to collaborate on ways from your perspective, Shara, additional tools you think you need. That isn't one of them. So let's continue to have conversations about ways in which we can empower you based on your experience about what we need to try to turn this corner. I thought. ADMIN CITATIONS WERE NOT CORRECT. I WANTED TO GET THAT CLEAR ON THE RECORD. THANK YOU.

VERY GOOD. SEEING NO OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD, LET'S GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT.

Will the following individuals please come forward and staff will assist you? Claudia Jerez, David Matthews. As a final reminder for remote participants, in order to address the board remotely, you must call in by phone to 213-444-2600, whether you're registered or not. Caller with phone number ending in 7204, your line is open. Please begin.

Yes, I live in the fifth district, and I ask that you please don't forget about us in the Antelope Valley. The South County takeovers get a lot of attention, but actual street racing out here is a big danger. Just a post today in Lancaster, the Sheriff's Station states there's been over 29 fatal traffic collisions and over 800 injury collisions, with 50% of that attributed to speed. While the focus on youth outreach is appreciated, we have Rona Dell suffering midlife crises, also driving around in cars modified for racing, being used to race from stoplight to stoplight on busy streets. This creates noise pollution. Law enforcement is also spread thin up here, but maybe in partnership with the local police department, more efforts can be made to target those that are creating a public hazard to people on the roads and those being a nuisance. to those in their homes. The idea of the fairgrounds opening up with a double-edged sword. We're close to Willow Springs and there is open track days and that doesn't seem to help. This might end up being more of a double-edged sword and an opportunity for people to gather and race illegally on their own after or prior to legal events. Thank you.

Thank you. We will now go to our in-person speakers.

Good afternoon. Claudia Jerez, DPSS DWC. I can say that I see youth all the time when they come out of school. And I see them with their backpacks and everything. And I think, wow, they're really learning. So when I see these violations, I Don't think it's all of them. I can say that youth are and can be manipulated easily. They can be manipulated easily or they can be instructed easily. It's important that these street takeovers are a representation of the youth being derailed from normal standards. We must bring them back and teach them useful techniques, forms of expression that are useful and constructive. And also, we have to give them good examples and good instruction and make sure that they understand the consequences, but we have to provide them the good example. And we have to also help them grieve because they are also grieving with us in all this. Thank you. Thank you.

That concludes the time for public comment on this item.

Madam Chair, this report will be received and filed.

Hearing no objection, that will be the order.

We will now move on to general public comment. AT THIS TIME, WE WILL HEAR FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON SUBJECT MATTERS WITHIN THE BOARD'S JURISDICTION, BUT NOT ON ITEMS ON THE MEETING AGENDA. FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ALREADY ON THE PHONE, IF YOU HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE STAY ON THE PHONE. IF YOU ARE ON THE PHONE, HAVE NOT SIGNED UP TO SPEAK AND WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE PRESS STAR NOW AND FOLLOW THE PROMPTS TO BE PLACED INTO THE SPEAKING QUEUE. If you are watching the meeting and have registered or you have not registered and would like to address the board on this item, you must call 213-444-2600. Press star and follow the prompts. An operator will be on the phone to assist. Please be prepared to address the board on subject matters within the board's jurisdiction.

We will now call in in-person speakers. And while they're coming forward, we will take remote speakers. Will the following individuals please come forward and staff will assist you? Daniel Gonzalez, Claudia Jerez, Luciano Haber, and Daniel Garcia. Joseline Tucker, your line is open. Please begin.

Good afternoon, Board of Supervisors. My name is Jocelyn Tucker and I am calling because I am disappointed regarding the status of the skilled nursing facilities. It has been a horrible experience for my family trying to deal with those facilities and the lack of care and concern and empathy and supervision, it would be nice to have a hearing to allow for other families to speak. If you could do that, I'd really appreciate it.

Thank you. Caller, ending in 0716, your line is open. Please state your name and begin.

This is Roy Humphries, Roland Heights. Supervisor Mitchell et al. Racism in O2 yesterday, today, and it ain't going away as the ignorance of this board needs only to visit my YouTube channel for Black History Education Enlightenment and abandon the BLM in which 25 Blacks were murdered by Blacks and billions in burning and looting of Black businesses by Blacks. Hilda Solis has been a master enslaver of Latinos in Los Angeles County, legal and illegal, a la Reconquista forever. Why are there 53 Mexico consulates in the United States of America? Now, we all are faced with the Islamic insurrection. Again, go to my channel and eye-opening experience. The madami's imam says, death to the infidels and martyrdom. You will never be the same. The invisible crew.

Thank you. Cash, your line is open. Please begin.

Okay. Yeah, so I'm live right now?

Yes, go ahead.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I've noticed a very disturbing pattern with the Board of Supervisors that you keep announcing these decisions or legislations that you're making that are supposed to help LA County citizens. And then it'll say in the kind of the fine print that it's only for people living in unincorporated parts of the county. And I looked it up on Google, only 10% of the whole population of L.A. County lives in unincorporated areas. I don't know what kind of hoax you guys think you're pulling here, but the citizens of L.A. County, we need you guys to be making decisions that affect, you know, if not 100% of us, but at least...

Thank you. We will now go to our in-person speakers. Please begin.

Hi, my name is Diego Garcia, and I want to pick, because I'm a big human being.

This is for Daniel Garcia. The collective troop presents Actian T4. It's a powerful new play by Daniel Garcia and A.M. Sanazaro, an exploration of the chilling history of the Actian T4 program. This deeply historical and urgent work examines the Third Reich's clandestine euthanasia initiative, a precursor to the Holocaust that served as a testing ground for mass murder and systemically targeted individuals with physical, mental, and psychiatric disabilities. It starts tomorrow, Wednesday, September 2nd. It will be on September 2nd, 3rd, 9th, and 10th at 7.30 p.m. This is at the Thymel Arts Shirley Dunn Studio, 5481 Santa Monica Boulevard in L.A. It's also on Sunday, September 6th, and Sunday the 13th at 3 p.m. Doors open at 2.30 for that and at 7 for the evening one. general admission 20, students 15, ADA and companions $12. The Instagram is at the collective troop and also you can find tickets there in the bio.

Next speaker, please. Next speaker, please begin.

Luciano Haber. I know I've spoken today so far, and I know the topic of wildland fires is especially sensitive to Supervisor Barger and Supervisor Horvath. Now I'd like to take a moment to why it's personal to me. Last year in March, I had the unfortunate responsibility of making a call to the next of kin of a friend of mine who was a wildland firefighter out east. From that call, I made a promise that I would do everything in my power where I live in my home to fight the crisis of wildland fires. And fortunately, Southern California Wildfire Response is ready to take up that mantle. So I ask of you, the board of two things, help us engage with the community and open the doors to the agencies that we can work with. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Ian Jamieson, Hilda Solis, on August 25th, last Tuesday, there was a second gas leak at the Hilda Solis Rose Court, for which you have ponied up $7.5 million in county funds. The first occurred on April 22nd. On April 22nd, LA County Fire Department, I don't know why you're filming me, did not evacuate us. That was a violation of safety protocol. You need to do an investigation of LA County Fire as to why the first evacuation did not occur. Additionally, you need to instruct Steve Fowler of El Monte Community Development to meet with the residents as to any financial, medical, and or other hardships they suffered. And you also need to direct City Councilwoman Julia Ruedas to do the same. I filed a report with your office on Friday. I've heard nothing back from you. And I'll just conclude by reminding you that we are nearly three years into Israel's genocide in Gaza, and none of you have condemned it. All of you have stood steadfast with Israel. And therefore, all five of you genocidal psychopaths can rot in hell. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Good morning. My name is Danny Gonzalez, and I'm here on behalf of the Los Angeles LGBT Center in strong support of restoring $24 million cut in transition-aged youth homeless services. TAE services are critical for young people experiencing homelessness, including LGBTQ youth who rely on housing, supportive services, and a consistent network of care to build stable futures. Disruptions of funding between fiscal years can have catastrophic consequences, pushing vulnerable young people back into homelessness and instability. We urge the county to backfill the full $24 million, providing greater transparency around funding and implementation, and work closely with the city to ensure that there are no gaps in services. We ask that you make TAY homelessness services a priority and protect young people who depend on them. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

How's it going? Hello, I'm Colin Campbell from District 5, Catherine Barger. So I contacted LA Board of Supervisors Melissa at the front desk, and my emails are blocked to go to Measure G, LA county.gov. I was wondering if you guys could help me send in the information. They're requesting us to have meetings with local churches, so South Pasadena, St. James, Ethics Commission for Measure G. We want to discuss ethics, as well as also I'm promoting the Stargate AI. So we want to make certain our AI for health care is ethical, which would be really nice. And that's basically it. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please. Claudia Hernandez, DWC, DBSS. Fires, youth takeovers, lineal fraud, all those things, these are all representations of issues we must tackle. We must come together and ascertain with a sound mind if we are the leaders of this county. We must confront them with firmness and conviction and maintain our wholeness. These are events that are very tragic to all of us and cause very serious emotional upheaval in us. And we must, you know, confront them with standards. The issues are volatile, difficult, but we must meet them with a sound mind. And that is something that I want to share. Thank you. Thank you.

Madam Chair and members of the board, that concludes our time for general public comment.

We will now proceed with adjournments. Madam chair will now proceed with the Germans.

I'm sorry. Okay, we're going to start with the first district colleagues today. I would like to adjourn in the memory of a good friend of mine that I had known for over 30 years. He was a pioneer in environmental justice and so many good things. David Allgood was a very good friend of mine, helped me in my career when I got started back in 1992. He was born in Vallejo, California in 1947. He served in the Air Force from 1966 to 1972 as a Russian language interceptor. And he spent his early years as an artist and was responsible for the development of fine art embossed serigraph printmaking. And back in 1980, he opened an art publishing company, Minds Eye Studio in Los Angeles, where he promoted his work along with many other artists He thought needed support by creating and marketing limited edition works. He was an advocate for artists' rights. David was always helping someone or organizing people to stand up against injustice. And after 10 years, he closed a mind's eye and devoted his time to politics, which was always a thread in the fabric of the man he was. David served as the executive director of the California League of Conservation Voters. known today as the California Environmental Voters. He continued to organize progressive groups to fight for clean air, clean water, and against corporate domination and state politics. David was a true Renaissance man with an ability to connect people in order to innovate and solve problems. He loved history, art, music, making pies, and spending time with his family, friends, and his dogs. I remember him fondly because he worked so tirelessly with me on crafting many pieces of environmental justice legislation. And my community and I give him and his family our blessings and our thanks.

I'd like to join you on that.

Yes. Okay. So, okay. Yes, absolutely. I think all members. Next, members, I'd like to move that when we adjourn today, we do so in the memory of Samuel Boz, who passed away on August 14th, 2026, at the age of 83. Born on February 28, 1943, Mr. Paz lived a life defined by service, advocacy, and unwavering commitment to civil rights. Mr. Paz honorably served in the US Navy in the 1960s before pursuing higher education at UCLA from 1969 to 1971, and later earning his law degree from USC, where he became deeply involved in student activism. Beginning his legal career in 1975, he quickly emerged as a pioneering force in police accountability, winning one of the first major legal victories involving police surveillance. He dedicated his practice to serving communities in need, particularly Spanish-speaking clients, and became widely recognized as one of Southern California's leading civil rights litigators. Mr. Paz's influence extended nationally. He joined the ACLU of Southern California Board in 1978 and later the ACLU National Board in 1988, serving for more than 30 years until his retirement in 2018. His leadership contributed to landmark victories, including multiple million-dollar settlements against the LAPD and his pivotal role in opposing Proposition 187, protecting vital services for undocumented immigrants. He was widely honored for his contributions, receiving the ACLU Certificate of Honor and the ACLU Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. as an educator who served as an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School, the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, and the People's College of Law, shaping generations of civil rights attorneys. Mr. Paz was a brilliant litigator, a generous mentor, and a visionary leader whose guidance and examples strengthened the national movement for police accountability. His humility, kindness, and willingness to advise others made him beloved across the legal community. Mr. Paz leaves behind a profound legacy marked by courage, integrity, and decades of service to justice. His life work continues to guide the efforts of countless advocates and institutions committed to civil rights. And lastly, members, Finally, I move that we adjourn today in the memory of former West Covina Mayor, Dr. Forrest Tennant, Jr., who passed away on August 13th. Mr. Tennant was a remarkable physician, humanitarian, community leader, historian, and philanthropist, whose lifetime of service touched countless people. He dedicated much of his distinguished medical career to the understanding and treatment of chronic pain. He became a pioneering voice in the treatment of archnoditis, bringing hope to patients who were often misunderstood, overlooked, or told that little could be done for them. Through his research, clinical work, teaching, and writing, he tirelessly advanced medical understanding of the devastating condition while helping patients achieve relief and a better quality of life. He authored numerous medical books and publications on pain management, sharing his knowledge with physicians and patients around the world. His compassion for those who suffered remained at the center of his life's work. Beyond medicine, Dr. Tennant was a dedicated servant to the city of West Covina, serving both as mayor and city council member. He understood that a community's strength comes not only from its institution, but also from its people, stories, and history. That vision led him to help establish the West Covina Historical Society, creating a lasting home for the preservation of the city's heritage. Dr. Tennant's generosity also extended through the Tennant Foundation, which for more than two decades has provided grants to nonprofit organizations in San Gabriel Valley. His belief in giving back became a powerful force for good, strengthening organizations and supporting communities in need. Dr. Tennant leaves behind a legacy that is founded in the lives he touched, the patients he helped, the history he preserved, and the organizations he strengthened, and the hope that he gave others. That concludes my adjournments. Second District, Holly.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Colleagues, I ask that when we adjourn today, we adjourn in the memory of Charlena D. Price. Mrs. Price passed away on August 10th at the extraordinary age of 100. Born on January 8, 1926, in Hammond, Louisiana, she was the eldest of six children and was raised in a faith-centered home that shaped her lifelong dedication to service, leadership, and compassion. In 1941, her family made a pivotal decision that forever changed her life by joining the historic migration of millions of African Americans who left the South in search of greater social and economic opportunity. At the age of 14, she moved to Los Angeles to live with her aunt and graduated from Jefferson High School in 1945. She later completed a dental assistant program at LA Trade Tech College. During her daily commute, she met Curran D. Price Sr., whom she married in 1947. Together, they welcomed their two sons, Curran Jr. and Charles, and built a loving and supportive home. In February of 1965, Mrs. Price became an economic pioneer when she purchased a single-family home in what was then the all-white Morningside neighborhood of Englewood. Determined to create opportunities for her sons, she worked tirelessly to ensure they both graduated from college. She believed in stability and community, residing in Englewood for 51 years and remaining active in her block club throughout that time. Professionally, Mrs. Price served over 15 years at the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office. She later worked at a law firm and spent more than a decade teaching office management at Englewood Adult School, her most gratifying post-retirement endeavor. She had a gift for helping students understand not only the material, but its purpose, encouraging them to pursue their interests and build their careers. A lifelong advocate for civic engagement, youth and education, Mrs. Price strengthened neighborhoods and inspired generations across South Los Angeles. Her community work earned recognition from the City of Englewood, the California State Legislature, the City and County of Los Angeles, and numerous nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. In honor of her impact, the intersection of 38th Street and Griffith Avenue proudly carries the name Charlene D. Price Square. In her free time, Mrs. Price cherished moments with loved ones and enjoyed gardening, baking rolls and solving Sudoku and word puzzles. She also had a passion for travel, exploring destinations throughout California, the US, as well as Europe, Asia, Mexico, Jamaica, and Cuba. Her faith remains central throughout her life, guiding her with resilience and grace. She'll be remembered for her kindness, strength, and lifelong devotion to service. Mrs. Price is survived by her sons, Councilmember Curran D. Price Jr. and Charles Price. her sister, Gloria, and a host of extended family and friends who will forever cherish her memory. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like to, may I join you on that?

Yes, all of us. Thank you. Okay. Supervisor Horvath.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that when we adjourn today, we adjourn in memory of Joan Boyette. A devoted champion for arts education and a longtime Studio City resident, Joan Boyette passed away on August 4th at the age of 90. A third-generation Angeleno, Joan dedicated her career to making the arts accessible to young people across Los Angeles. After a decade with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Joan established the Music Center's Education Division in 1979. Over the next two decades, she helped grow it into one of the nation's largest arts education programs, reaching millions of people, and was instrumental in the founding of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. Joan believed deeply in opening doors for others, whether for a young person discovering the arts or a colleague finding their path in the field. Even after retiring, she continued serving Los Angeles through arts and cultural organizations, leaving an influence that can be still felt in classrooms, theaters, and creative communities throughout our county. She is survived by her children, Kevin and Susie, her granddaughters, Brooke and Jordan, and her great grandson, Henry. We adjourn today in honor of Joan, recognizing her extraordinary contributions to arts education, the opportunities she created for generations of young people, and the lasting legacy she leaves across Los Angeles County. And Supervisor Barger, I know you wanted to join me in that.

Yeah, thank you. And Susie actually is the executive director for the Blue Ribbon Music Center. And is someone her mom, as you said, Supervisor Horvath was just a remarkable woman who really did leave an incredible legacy. Yes. Thank you.

So thank you for joining me in that. I move that when we adjourn today, we adjourn in memory of Tim Curry, a beloved actor, singer, and performer who made Los Angeles his home for nearly four decades. Tim Curry passed away on August 25th at the age of 80. Born in England, Tim grew up singing in church and discovered theater at a young age, beginning a career that would ultimately span more than five decades. He became known for taking creative risks and embracing characters outside the expected, and in doing so, his work helped generations of people feel more comfortable embracing what made them different. Tim was also an avid reader, painter, and gardener, who found great meaning in creating and restoring beautiful spaces. After suffering a major stroke in 2012, he continued to work, engage with audiences, and participate in the artistic community that had surrounded him for much of his life. In his later years, he reflected on the messages he received from people who told him his work had helped them feel seen, understood, and less alone. He is survived by his nieces, Kate Lewis and Julia Bowman, his nephew, Mark Lewis, and his great nieces, Josephine and Georgina. We adjourn today in honor of Tim Curry, recognizing the creativity and courage he brought to his art. And I had the privilege of getting to know him during my time serving in West Hollywood when we had a commemoration of the Rocky Horror Picture Show as part of our Halloween celebration. And He was incredibly kind and supportive of the community, always inspiring and daring, and he is certainly treasured by the community and certainly missed as well. I move that when we adjourn today, we adjourn in memory of Dolly Rebecca Parton, a beloved artist, songwriter, philanthropist, and American icon. Dolly Rebecca Parton passed away on August 25th at the age of 80. Born into a family of 12 children in the mountains of East Tennessee, Dolly grew up with very little and went on to build an extraordinary life. Yet no matter how far her career took her, She remained deeply connected to the stories of working people, strong women, family, heartbreak, hope, and home. Dolly also made an enduring mark on Hollywood and Los Angeles. Her film debut in 9 to 5 helped tell a story about working women standing together against harassment. Inequality and being underestimated, certainly a message resonant with this board. Dolly showed generations of women that there was no single way to be strong or successful. Some of Dolly's most meaningful work, however, was dedicated to children. Her father never had the opportunity to learn to read or write, and in his honor, she created the Imagination Library so children could experience the joy of having books of their very own. What began in the community where she grew up became an international literacy movement that has given hundreds of millions of books to children. Dolly spent her life telling stories and then used her success to make sure millions of children would have the opportunity to discover stories and dreams of their own. Dolly's music made people feel seen. Her humor brought people together. And the story of a girl from a family of 12 children who never forgot where she came from reminded people that where you begin does not have to determine how far you can go or how much you can give back along the way. Dolly was preceded in death by her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, and leaves behind a large and deeply cherished family, as well as generations who found joy, comfort, courage, and possibility in her life and work. We adjourn today in honor of Dolly Rebecca Parton. recognizing the joy she brought to our lives, the doors she opened for women, the dreams she nurtured in children, and the extraordinary generosity with which she shared her gifts with the world. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Supervisor Barker.