Energy and Environment Committee · Held
Los Angeles City Council Energy and Environment Committee meeting, August 4, 2026
From official records: On Aug. 4, 2026 the Los Angeles City Council's Energy and Environment Committee approved DWP paying Sanitation up to $7 million, half the cost of Pure Water LA planning at Hyperion, a request for a DWP report on new groundwater recharge sites in the San Fernando Valley, and a 10-year extension of a DWP customer center lease in North Hills. It continued a motion on trash bins at ADU-heavy multifamily lots; the committee reports on file record 4-0 votes with Katy Yaroslavsky absent. Council files show the committee acted on eight items in all.
As of October 2, 2026, outcomes for the August 4, 2026 meeting of the Energy and Environment Committee of the Los Angeles City Council come from official records posted so far, such as council files, recorded votes and filed statements. Some results may be missing until the full minutes are posted and read.
| Agenda | Official agenda (posted July 31, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Video | Recording |
| City Council districts | Council District 6 |
Items are lettered in council file order because the agenda text was not available to us. Items E to H were added Oct. 1, 2026 from council files that show committee action on Aug. 4: a City Plants study, sent on to Budget and Finance (committee report); the John Ferraro Building design-build request, approved as amended (committee report); a composting master plan (committee report); and the Notch Peak power agreements (committee report). Each report records a 4-0 vote. Committee members, per the committee report: Adrin Nazarian (chair), Katy Yaroslavsky, Ysabel Jurado, Nithya Raman and Imelda Padilla. Yaroslavsky was recorded absent.
A. DWP pays Sanitation up to $7 million for Pure Water LA planning
- What it does: Approves an agreement between DWP and the Board of Public Works to split the cost of planning work for the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant Program Implementation Plan, part of Pure Water Los Angeles, done from May 1, 2019 to July 31, 2024 (committee report).
- Who brought it: Board of Water and Power Commissioners, Resolution No. 026 257 (CF 21-1188-S15).
- Money: Up to $14 million shared equally; DWP reimburses Sanitation up to $7 million from the Water Revenue Fund. The CAO reports no General Fund impact (committee report).
- What happened: Approved, 4-0, Yaroslavsky absent (committee report).
- What’s next: The Council adopted it Aug. 21, 2026, 11-0, with four members absent (CF 21-1188-S15).
B. More groundwater recharge in the San Fernando Valley
- What it does: Asks DWP to report in 120 days on expanding groundwater recharge in the Valley, including a deep former mining pit owned by Vulcan Materials near San Fernando Road and Branford Street, with costs, risks, timeline and funding, and on any 1940s and 1950s City plans for recharge land in Sun Valley (motion).
- Who brought it: Imelda Padilla, seconded by Bob Blumenfield (CF 26-0790).
- Who it affects: Council District 6; the motion ties the idea to more recycled water from the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant (motion).
- What happened: Approved (CF 26-0790). The committee report with the vote was not posted as of Oct. 1, 2026.
- What’s next: No Council action was posted on the file as of Oct. 1, 2026 (CF 26-0790).
C. Trash bins when ADUs are added to multifamily lots
- What it does: Asks City Planning, Building and Safety and Sanitation to report in 60 days on trash rules when ADUs bring a multifamily lot to five or more units, including “micro-dumpster” standards or RecycLA collection, so bins stay on site instead of on sidewalks and alleys (motion).
- Who brought it: Heather Hutt, seconded by Ysabel Jurado (CF 26-0877).
- Neighborhood council positions: For: Studio City.
- What happened: Continued to a date to be determined (CF 26-0877).
Every item
| # | Item | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| A | DWP pays Sanitation up to $7 million, half of $14 million in Pure Water LA planning costs at Hyperion | Approved, 4-0 |
| B | DWP to report on more groundwater recharge in the San Fernando Valley, including a Vulcan Materials pit in Sun Valley | Approved |
| C | Report on trash bin rules when ADUs push multifamily lots to five or more units | Continued to a date to be determined |
| D | Extend DWP's lease for its North Hills customer service center at 9154 Sepulveda Blvd. by 10 years | Approved, 4-0 |
| E | CAO to study bringing City Plants urban forestry work in-house, contracting it or funding it another way | Approved, 4-0; sent to Budget and Finance |
| F | Ask for an ordinance letting DWP use a negotiated design-build contract for the John Ferraro Building renovation | Approved as amended, 4-0 |
| G | Sanitation to write a Modern Organics Processing and Composting Master Plan to raise local composting capacity | Approved, 4-0 |
| H | Ordinance approving DWP power sales and agency agreements for the Notch Peak Project | Approved, 4-0 |