Board of Neighborhood Commissioners · Held
Los Angeles Board of Neighborhood Commissioners meeting, August 17, 2026
From the minutes: On Aug. 17, 2026, the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners approved its July 20 minutes 5-0, with Commissioners Debbie Wehbe and Maggie Quiroz absent, and took no other vote (minutes). The General Manager's report covered board dynamics, the training calendar, the Mayor's appointment of Flor Chaidez to the Board (CF 26-1200-S40) and a Council motion to study requiring a majority of neighborhood council board members to get CERT certification (CF 26-0906-S4). Commissioner Randell Erving asked that the CERT requirement be placed on a future agenda (minutes). Two days later the Council amended that motion to study wider access to CERT training instead of a requirement (amending motion).
Outcomes for the August 17, 2026 meeting of the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners come from its posted minutes.
| Where | City Hall, 200 N. Spring St., Suite 1060, and by Zoom |
|---|---|
| Agenda | Official agenda (posted August 14, 2026) |
| Minutes | Official minutes (approved September 2, 2026) |
6. CERT certification for neighborhood council boards
- What it does: A motion by Ysabel Jurado, seconded by Monica Rodriguez, asked DONE and the Fire Department to report on requiring a majority of all neighborhood council board members to obtain and keep LAFD CERT certification, with options, timelines, costs, exemptions and renewal rules (motion). It was on the General Manager’s report for information (agenda).
- What happened at the Board: Vanessa Serrano, DONE’s managing director of field operations, gave an update on the council file as part of the report; the Board took no vote. A representative of LAFD’s CERT Valley Bureau told the Board the motion asks for a report and does not now make training mandatory. Under Commission Business, Commissioner Randell Erving asked that the CERT training requirement be placed on a future agenda (minutes).
- Neighborhood council positions: Community Impact Statements were filed by Coastal San Pedro, North Hollywood Northeast, Bel Air-Beverly Crest, Sylmar, Greater Wilshire, West Hills, Sherman Oaks and South Robertson (CF 26-0906-S4). North Hollywood Northeast filed “Against, unless amended” on Aug. 26 (CIS) and “For” on Sept. 23 (CIS).
- What happened at the Council: On Aug. 19 the Council adopted the report as amended by Motion 15A, which changed the instruction to a report on increasing access for board members to get CERT certification and struck the requirement, exemptions and renewal language. Vote 13-0, with John Lee and Hugo Soto-Martinez absent (amending motion; Council action).
Five of seven commissioners attended; Debbie Wehbe and Maggie Quiroz were absent. The July 20 minutes were approved 5-0 on a motion by Keren Waters, seconded by Douglas Epperhart, and the meeting adjourned at 2:26 p.m. (minutes). The Aug. 17 minutes were linked from the Sept. 2 special meeting agenda and approved at that meeting 5-0 (Sept. 2 minutes, linked from the Sept. 22 agenda).
The agenda listed the next regular meeting for Sept. 1 and a special meeting on Sept. 22, 2026 (agenda). The Sept. 1 regular meeting was later posted as canceled, and a special meeting was posted for Sept. 2 (agenda index).
Every item
| # | Item | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | General Manager's report: board dynamics, training calendar, proposed CERT requirement for NC board members, Flor Chaidez appointment, events | Report given; no vote |
| 1 | Introduction | |
| 2 | Call to order and roll call | |
| 3 | Approve minutes of the July 20, 2026 meeting | Approved 5-0 (5-0-2) |
| 4 | Public comment on multiple agenda items | |
| 5 | General public comment | |
| 7 | City Clerk elections update | |
| 8 | Commissioner announcements and requests for future agenda items |