Acting on a proposal by Council President Krekorian, the Council voted to create a Charter Reform Commission for the first time in a quarter of a century. The body created by this ordinance will have authority to review the entire City Charter and will be specifically tasked with considering changes recommended to it by the Council.
Among the subjects that have been suggested for review by the Commission are:
- Improving delivery of City services
- Reform of the city’s planning and land use approval process
- Defining the role of the City’s Ethics commission
- Establishing a consistent procedure for filling vacancies in City elected offices
- Defining the rules for censure and suspension of elected officers
- Exploring an increase in the number of Council districts to reduce their size
The Charter Reform Commission’s recommendations will be submitted to the Council in the form of Charter amendments by January 2026, to appear on the November 2026 ballot. “It sounds like that’s a lot of time but it’s going to take all of that time to do a comprehensive review of our City Charter,” said the Council President. “The other important thing that’s in this ordinance is that it provides for periodic review of the Charter, rather than waiting another quarter of a century.”