Los Angeles City Council · Held

Los Angeles City Council meeting, August 21, 2026

August 21, 2026, 10 a.m. · Updated October 2, 2026

From official records: The Los Angeles City Council adopted all 15 agenda items and one reconsidered item on Aug. 21, 2026, according to the Clerk's Council Vote (CVVS) records and each council file. It voted 9-3 for up to $2.01 billion in Convention Center expansion bonds, with Nithya Raman, Monica Rodriguez and Katy Yaroslavsky voting no, voted 11-1 to stop new public parking lots in agricultural zones in fire and hillside areas, with Raman voting no, and gave final approval to a development agreement for The Bloc downtown. Eunisses Hernandez, John Lee and Hugo Soto-Martinez were absent all day.

As of October 2, 2026, outcomes for the August 21, 2026 meeting 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.

Attendance and votes

• Eunisses Hernandez (CD 1), John Lee (CD 12) and Hugo Soto-Martinez (CD 13) are recorded absent on all 19 roll calls. Adrin Nazarian (CD 2) is recorded absent on items 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12 and 13 and the first reconsideration vote. Counts are our tally of the Clerk’s CVVS records for Aug. 21, 2026.
• Split votes: item 9 passed 11-1 with Nithya Raman voting no (CF 26-0290). On item 15, the Convention Center bonds, the motion to split the vote and the lease-leaseback ordinance each passed 12-0, and the remaining recommendations passed 9-3 with Raman, Monica Rodriguez and Katy Yaroslavsky voting no (CF 15-1207-S10).
• The Council reconsidered item 37 from Aug. 19 (CD 9 sanitation for the Central Avenue Jazz Festival), 11-0, then adopted it as amended by Curren D. Price and Traci Park to move $35,688.97 in AB 1290 money for sanitation at several Council District 9 events, 12-0 (amending motion).

5. Watts Towers conservation contract with LACMA raised to $1.34 million for 2022 to 2025

• What it does: Amends sole-source contract C-143404 with Museum Associates (LACMA) for restoration, conservation and maintenance of the Watts Towers, retroactive to July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025 (committee report).
• Money: The ceiling rises by $1,107,584, from $229,009 to $1,336,593: $450,000 from State Parks, $500,000 from the Park and Recreational Sites and Facilities Fund, $307,584 from Cultural Affairs special appropriations and $79,009 from its trust fund (committee report).
• Who it affects: Council District 15 (CF 26-1029).
• What happened: Adopted, 11-0; Hernandez, Lee, Nazarian and Soto-Martinez absent (CF 26-1029).

6. Study contracting out one or more City animal shelters and consolidating City staff

• What it does: Tells Animal Services, with the CAO and Chief Legislative Analyst, to report on a request for information to have an animal care organization run one or more City shelters, as at the Northeast Valley Animal Care Center, and tells the CAO to report on moving City staff to the remaining shelters without job losses (committee report).
• Who brought it: Bob Blumenfield and Monica Rodriguez, seconded by Eunisses Hernandez and Ysabel Jurado (committee report).
• What happened: Adopted, 12-0; Hernandez, Lee and Soto-Martinez absent (CF 26-0582).

7. DWP and Sanitation split up to $14 million in Hyperion Pure Water planning costs

• What it does: Approves a memorandum of agreement for DWP and Sanitation to share planning costs for the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant Program Implementation Plan for Pure Water Los Angeles, for work from May 1, 2019 through July 31, 2024 (Energy and Environment Committee report).
• Money: Up to $14 million shared equally; DWP reimburses Sanitation up to $7 million from the Water Revenue Fund. No General Fund impact (committee report).
• What happened: Adopted, 11-0; Hernandez, Lee, Nazarian and Soto-Martinez absent (CF 21-1188-S15).

8. Ask for an ordinance letting DWP use a negotiated design-build contract for the John Ferraro Building

• What it does: Concurs with DWP Board Resolution 026 233 and asks the City Attorney to draft an ordinance under Charter Section 371(b) setting alternative delivery criteria, a competitive sealed proposal, for renovating DWP’s headquarters, for five years (Energy and Environment Committee report).
• Money: No fiscal impact statement was submitted (committee report).
• What happened: Adopted, 11-0; Hernandez, Lee, Nazarian and Soto-Martinez absent (CF 26-0868).
• What’s next: The City Attorney filed the draft ordinance Sept. 8; the Energy and Environment Committee scheduled it for Oct. 1, 2026 (CF 26-0868).

9. Bar public parking lots in agricultural zones in fire and hillside areas, with an interim ban on permits

• What it does: Tells City Planning to draft an ordinance amending Municipal Code Section 12.24 W 37 to disallow public parking areas in the Agricultural zone in sensitive areas, to report on limiting them in Residential zones, and to prepare an interim control ordinance with an urgency clause blocking permits for such lots in Very High Fire Severity Zones and hillsides (PLUM report).
• Who brought it: Bob Blumenfield, seconded by John Lee. The motion says a 2024 change to the state Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act (AB 2243) treats parking allowed by conditional use permit as a “principally permitted” use, which extends the Act’s streamlined housing approvals into low-density areas in very high fire severity zones (motion).
• What happened: Adopted, 11-1; Raman voted no; Hernandez, Lee and Soto-Martinez absent (CF 26-0290).

10. Final vote on development agreement for The Bloc at 700 S. Flower St., adding up to 466 homes

• What it does: Adopts the ordinance approving a development agreement with NREA-TRC 700 LLC for The Bloc. The project adds a residential tower with up to 466 units and two parking levels, and demolishes 24,342 square feet of theater and retail space, for 1,894,988 square feet of floor area on the 4.3-acre site (PLUM report).
• Who it affects: Council District 14, Downtown (CF 25-0778).
• What happened: Adopted on second reading, 12-0; Hernandez, Lee and Soto-Martinez absent. The Council had approved the first reading Aug. 14 (CF 25-0778).
• What’s next: Ordinance published Sept. 9, effective Oct. 19, 2026 (CF 25-0778).

14. Take jurisdiction over the 261 S. Kenmore Ave. banquet hall alcohol and dancing permits

• What it does: Asserts Council jurisdiction over the Central Los Angeles Area Planning Commission’s July 28 decision on case ZA-2025-2662-CUB-CUX-1A, which upheld permits for full-line alcohol, dancing and hours for a 176-seat, 7,056-square-foot banquet hall in Koreatown, appealed by Voice of Wilshire Koreatown (motion).
• Who brought it: Heather Hutt, seconded by John Lee (CF 26-1130).
• What happened: Adopted forthwith, 12-0; Hernandez, Lee and Soto-Martinez absent (CF 26-1130).
• What’s next: PLUM denied the appeals Sept. 8, and the Council adopted that report Sept. 11 (CF 26-1130).

15. Up to $2.01 billion in MICLA lease revenue bonds for the Convention Center expansion

• What it does: Authorizes the bonds, a lease-leaseback ordinance and a construction fund ordinance for the Convention Center Expansion and Modernization Project (Budget and Finance Committee report).
• Who brought it: City Administrative Officer and City Attorney; Price and Blumenfield moved to split the vote (motion).
• Money: Estimated total debt service of $5.43 billion for the 2025 and 2026 bonds, $5.02 billion of it from General Fund lease payments (committee report).
• What happened: The lease-leaseback ordinance passed forthwith, 12-0. Recommendations 1 and 3 to 6 passed 9-3, with Raman, Rodriguez and Yaroslavsky voting no, and the fund ordinance was held for a second reading (CF 15-1207-S10).
• What’s next: The Council adopted the fund ordinance Sept. 1, 8-3, with the same three voting no (CF 15-1207-S10).

Previous meeting: August 19, 2026 · Next meeting: August 25, 2026 · All meetings