The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved Councilman David Ryu’s motion to form a “standardized transition plan” between incoming councilmembers and their predecessors.

Ryu introduced the motion in December after he started his term without any documents from his predecessor, former Councilman Tom LaBonge. LaBonge chose to destroy more than 100 boxes of documents from his 14 years in office. Thirty-six of the boxes were retained by city and returned to Ryu’s office, but the city clerk’s office and LaBonge have supported Ryu’s proposal for a more “seamless transition.”

“As has been widely reported, my office started with no documentation or paperwork related to open land use cases, constituent inquires, or information on outstanding commitments of discretionary funds,” Ryu said in a letter. “Background material could have been useful for service delivery to our constituents but more importantly could provide information necessary for important issues facing the district and city.”

Ryu said without transition rules, departing officials can leave nothing behind.

“Council districts deserve a seamless transition between elected leaders so that current cases and projects are not delayed when offices turn over,” he said.

The city council instructed the Los Angeles Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA) and City Attorney’s Office to report to the Rules, Elections, Inter-

governmental Relations, and Neighborhoods (REIRN) Committee in 30 days with an update on the progress of forming transition protocols.

At the REIRN committee meeting on Feb. 16, an assistant CLA confirmed that there are currently transition procedures for council offices, although, those procedures are unwritten.

Councilman Herb Wesson, 10th District, seconded Ryu’s motion and is the committee chairman. He said it is necessary to have a written set of step-by-step standardized procedures for transition between council offices. Councilmen Paul Koretz, 5th District, and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, 8th District, agreed after experiencing similar issues as Ryu when they took office.

The Los Feliz Neighborhood Council (LFNC) unanimously adopted a resolution to support Ryu’s motion after they learned that LaBonge ordered the destruction of the documents that “more than likely included valuable, and perhaps irreplaceable information regarding ongoing projects, log of constituent service requests, and records of financial expenditures.”

“Communication, clearly defined rules and continuity are three known hallmarks of effective organizational management and leadership,” LFNC said in a statement. “[The motion] would not only be to the public’s benefit, but the current lack of a clear policy has proven to be an onerous public detriment and cause for derision.”

Ryu suggested that records retention protocols, similar to those that apply to the mayor’s office and state and federal officials, could be good models for the city council offices.

Holly Wolcott, Los Angeles City Clerk, said her office will also continue to work with both the mayor’s office and city council offices on transition and records retention protocol and schedules.

Ryu added that he is open to all recommendations “as long as there is a seamless transition.” He declined to comment on specific recommendations that he hopes the city implements, but said he hopes they become a new template.