The Los Angeles City Council will review the redistricting commission’s final map. (photo courtesy of the Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission)

The Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission approved a final map on Oct. 21 that it plans to submit to the council for review after compiling a report at its meeting on Oct. 28.

The map proposes major changes to districts in the community and puts in question the future of Councilwoman Nithya Raman’s 4th District and Councilman Paul Krekorian’s 2nd District. The redistricting commission created two new districts called “2 or 4” and “4 or 2,” both of which are primarily in the San Fernando Valley, and left it up to the City Council to decide who will represent which district. The council is expected to consider the map at a date to be determined.

The commission’s map draws the southern boundary of the 4th District along Franklin Avenue in Hollywood and its northern boundary along Sherman Way and Roscoe Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley. The eastern boundary is primarily Clybourn Avenue in the San Fernando Valley and the Golden State (5) Freeway along Griffith Park, with a small area extending south into Silver Lake where Raman lives at the southeastern portion of the district.

The map removes the Miracle Mile, Hancock Park, Windsor Square and Larchmont Village from the 4th District and places them in the 5th District. Councilman Mitch O’Farrell’s 13th District includes most of Hollywood on the new map. It expands west from its present boundary at La Brea Avenue to Fairfax and Laurel avenues, encompassing the neighborhoods north of Fountain Avenue to Hollywood Boulevard that are currently in the 4th District.

The 2nd District, which is currently centered in North Hollywood, could potentially be moved farther west in the San Fernando Valley to include the communities of Canoga Park, Winnetka and Reseda.

Raman was represented on the redistricting commission by former City Councilwoman and current Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member Jackie Goldberg, who said the redistricting process was unfair to people living in the 4th and 2nd Districts. She said it was unprecedented to make such dramatic changes to Raman’s district, particularly because she was elected less than a year ago.

“There is no precedent for stripping a first-term council member from 100% of their constituents, and demographic changes in this city have not necessitated the drastic action this map represents,” Goldberg said.

Not identifying which district would be the 2nd or 4th led to further disenfranchisement of residents, she added.

“I think that probably the biggest problem for me about this whole process was the refusal to label CD 2 and CD 4,” Goldberg said. “It put these district commissioners and constituents at an inherent disadvantage. There was literally nobody advocating unequivocally for these district interests throughout the entire process.”

Raman also criticized the commission’s final map.

“City Council has an opportunity to restore the community’s faith in the redistricting process when the map comes before us,” Raman said in a statement. “I’m gratified that so many Angelenos were activated to speak up to defend their neighborhoods and their rights as voters. The public record is clear, this map has unacceptable inequities and needs to be changed.”

Krekorian said the redistricting commission’s final map is flawed.

“I am confident that the council will respect the will of the people instead of the deal-making of political insiders and reject this unnecessarily divisive and controversial proposal,” Krekorian said in a statement. “The job of the redistricting commission was simply to propose new district maps that balance population based on new census data, and to ensure those districts comply with the law. It could have done so with minor adjustments of existing district lines.”

O’Farrell also said he plans to scrutinize the map when it is sent to the City Council.

“I appreciate the commission’s time and dedication, but the draft map needs work,” O’Farrell said. “I am committed to ensuring that no voters are disenfranchised.”

Others in the local community were pleased with the commission’s final map and the placement of neighborhoods currently in the 4th District into the 5th District.

“We think the map is great,” said Cindy Chvatal-Keane, president of the Hancock Park Homeowners Association. “It connects us with communities of interest to the west, and they based it on hours of public testimony, census data and other information. The redistricting commission meetings were independent and transparent.”

Other community representatives wanted their neighborhoods to stay in one district, including Peter Nichols, co-founder of the Melrose Action Neighborhood Watch. The new map keeps the Melrose District in the 5th District.

“A lot of people and neighbors were advocating for them to make us whole,” Nichols said. “It’s good news, but [we are waiting] until it is settled. I’m cautiously optimistic, because the council has the final say and could throw the whole thing out.”

Michael Schneider, first vice chair of the Mid City West Neighborhood Council, said members are pleased the final map keeps the council in the 5th District. Previous iterations of the map during commission deliberations placed a northern portion of Mid City West in the 13th District.

“As of right now, we are really happy. We feel like the redistricting commission listened to us,” Schneider said. “There are probably going to be changes at council, so we are keeping an eye on it.”

Conrad Starr, president of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, also said the final map takes into account the wishes of the council to primarily be in one or two districts. Currently, the GWNC is in the 4th and 5th Districts, and the final map places it primarily in the 5th District except for a small portion between Melrose and Willoughby avenues and La Brea Avenue and Wilton Place, which would be in the 13th District.

“Overall, the map they gave us was largely satisfactory. I wouldn’t say it would be a dramatic change,” Starr said. “We have long-standing relations in [the 5th District]. The fewer people we have to work with to make changes in our neighborhood, the easier it is for us.”