What are Neighborhood Councils?
In 1998 voters approved a new Los Angeles City Charter, the first comprehensive change in how this city is governed in 70 years. One of the important features in the new charter was the establishment of a citizen advisory body to provide improved access to government. Neighborhood Councils are the independent community based organizations or associations that serve as that advisory body. Neighborhood Council Valley Village functions as a conduit or bridge between City Hall and Valley Village.
Bridging the Gap
An open forum is essential to the success of any group endeavor; talking and getting to know each other will minimize differences, develop common goals and foster a cooperative spirit.
Neighborhood Councils encourage the Community Stakeholders of all the city’s diverse neighborhoods to become directly involved in quality of life issues affecting them. Neighborhood Councils are advisory in nature and may not directly implement city ordinances but they are designed to work closely with elected city officials and advise them of the community priorities. Community Stakeholder shall mean those who live, work or own property in the neighborhood and also those who declare a stake in the neighborhood and affirm the factual basis for it.
The Councils are being funded by the City and can be allocated money for neighborhood projects.
Do Neighborhood Councils Affect Resident Associations?
Neighborhood Councils do not take the place of homeowner, resident, neighborhood watch, non-profit, civic service or business associations. Strongly established groups contribute to the success of any Neighborhood Council. The most effective Neighborhood Councils are in communities with strong involvement.
Formation and Structure
Neighborhood Council Valley Village consists of 15 board members elected by the Stakeholders. In order to give a voice to every segment of the community the board is elected from qualified representatives as follows:
- 1 Education community representative
- 1 Faith Based community representative
- 1 Community Based Service organization representative
- 2 Business Owners representatives
- 2 At-Large representatives (no specific affiliation)
- 4 Renters (including apartment, condo and single family dwellings)
- 4 Residential Homeowners
- 1 Student representative (non-voting)
All Board members must be stakeholders in Valley Village as defined by the city of Los Angeles, and be 18 years of age before Election Day. For more information on Board Service or the Election, contact the Elections Chair Ginny Hatfield at 818-759-8204.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders are those who live, work or own real property in the neighborhood of Valley Village and also to those who declare a stake in the neighborhood as a community interest stakeholder, defined as a person who affirms a substantial and ongoing participation within the Neighborhood Council’s boundaries and who may be in a Community organization such as, but not limited to educational, non-profit or religious organizations.
Meeting Schedule
Meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of each month:
Faith Presbyterian Church
Social Hall
5000 Colfax Avenue
Valley Village, CA 91607
6:30pm – 9:00pm
Meetings are open to the public. You may receive meeting notices by signing up for our email list.
How can I get involved?
- Attend our events and clean ups
- Volunteer: There are many opportunities to volunteer on behalf of NCVV. Interested stakeholders can participate in our many annual events such as National Night Out or Light Up ValleyVillage, serve on a Board committee, or join signature programs such as CERT and Neighborhood Watch. There are many ways you can help make Valley Village better for all of our 25,000 stakeholders. For more information on how you can volunteer, contact NCVV Vice President Ginny Hatfield at 818-759-8204 – or – submit an inquiry through at myvalleyvillage.com
- Come to a Board meeting or a committee meeting
- Make a public comment at one of our meetings. Please bear in mind that the Board can only take action on items on the agenda. If you would like to ask that an item be agendized you must contact the president or committee chair at least a week in advance of the meeting for consideration.
- Join a Committee
- Join the Board
Funding
If your organization would like us to fund an effort that would benefit our outreach in the community, please complete the Neighborhood Purposes Grant Form and email the form to info@myvalleyvillage.com.
Please plan ahead, it can take 2-3 months or more to approve and process a funding request before payment is sent. The Board can only discuss and vote on items on the agenda, so completed Neighborhood Purposes Grant requests must be received at least a week prior to the next meeting to be considered for the agenda.
