Draft Proposal Keeps Hollywood Within 3 City Council Districts

Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz may soon represent a different set of neighborhoods within and near the Hollywood area.

In draft redistricting maps released Wednesday, Koretz's Council District 5 no longer includes the Laurel Canyon area and the Valley communities of Sherman Oaks and Encino. Instead, Koretz may pick up the Miracle Mile and Hancock Park neighborhoods, previously represented by Councilman Tom LaBonge's Council District 4. He would also pick up a sliver of land in Hollywood that is bounded Sunset Boulevard to the north, Fountain Avenue to the south, Havenhurst Drive to the west and N. Mansfield Avenue to the east.

Koretz voiced displeasure at the possibility of losing his Valley territory. "I enjoy the areas I’ve represented. I have an excellent relationship with the community groups there," Koretz told the Los Angeles Times.

Under the proposal, LaBonge would also lose the Toluca Lake/North Hollywood area and pick up Sherman Oaks and Encino, giving his district a much larger focus on the Valley.

He was not pleased with the idea of moving his district almost entirely into the Valley.

"In the interest of the city as a whole, I’m very disappointed in the draft-map released by the Redistricting Commission," said LaBonge in a released statement. "The people of the 4th District participated in the public hearings on redistricting, stating loud and clear the importance of neighborhood integrity, the balance of diversity and the political representation of communities of interest in Council District 4. This draft redistricting map weakens the political representation of the Santa Monica Mountains, fractures the community of Hollywood among three Council districts and dissolves the historic core of Council District 4 – the greater Wilshire area, including the Miracle Mile, Larchmont Village, Windsor Square, Pan Pacific Park and Park La Brea. What disappoints me most is that the will of the people of the 4th district was seemingly ignored by this important process."

Seven public hearings will be held from Feb. 1 to Feb. 11 over the draft maps. (See attached.) The closest planned to Hollywood will be at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre at 743 S. Lucerne Blvd. in Los Angeles on Feb. 1. The second is at Walter Reed Middle School 4525 Irvine Avenue in Studio City on Feb. 9.

The L.A. Times also has an interactive map, showing the current districts and how they could change.

Some of the more significant changes in the proposed maps include:

• The Hollywood & Highland entertainment complex will be represented by LaBonge under District 4 rather than its current representative, Councilman Eric Garcetti, in District 13.

• To the west, Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl blasted an email criticizing the draft maps for "lopping most of Westchester and part of Playa Vista" from his 11th Council district into another. Rosendahl said his 11th District had about 10,000 too many residents, but the commission has suggested "amputating the bulk of Westchester and part of Playa Vista from the rest of our district," instead of trimming along the edges. The councilman noted that the draft map would divide communities that share a neighborhood council, a chamber of commerce and a community plan area. He also criticized separating Westchester from Los Angeles International Airport. 
  
  
• Paul Krekorian, whose CD2 already includes a large chunk of North Hollywood, would now cover the NoHo Arts District and Toluca Lake. 

• In downtown Los Angeles, Councilman Jose Huizar's District 14 would represent the majority of the area and Jan Perry's District 9 would hold on to only the Staples Center and L.A. Live.