CITY OF LOS ANGELES NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL CERTIFICATION APPLICATION

1. Describe or name the proposed boundaries of the Neighborhood Council.

From our By-laws:

Article III: Boundaries

The physical boundaries of the Council include the entire geographical area defined by U.S. Postal Service zip codes 91324 through 91330, plus a small portion of 91343, which receives mail addressed to the community of Northridge. The portion of the 91343 zip code is bounded by Lassen St. on the North, 405 freeway on the East, Roscoe Blvd. on the South, and Balboa Blvd. on the West.

2. Attach a map of the Neighborhood Council to this application. Your Department of Neighborhood Empowerment Project Coordinator can work with you to obtain an appropriate map.

See Attached

3. Explain why these boundaries were chosen. For example, the boundaries may be based on census tracts, on historical landmarks, on existing community planning areas, etc.

The boundaries are based on Northridge zip codes: 91324-91330. They were chosen because residents and businesses recognize their community as Northridge and it is a named community both on public maps and in LA City documents. Several residents in a portion of Zip code 91343 which to USPS allows to be addressed as Northridge, asked to be included. Our By-laws were amended to include that portion of 91343 with an east boundary as the 405 freeway.

4. Do the proposed boundaries overlap with any other Neighborhood Council?

There may be overlaps that we have been unable to determine. But our By-laws allow for such groups:

Article V: Council Functions

5. To collaborate with and support individuals and organizations within the Community in accomplishing their local goals which the Council determines to support and are consistent with these By-Laws.

a. It is not the Council’s function to control or eliminate existing local community groups or ignore their concerns regarding issues that affect only them.

b. If a local group elects its leaders and holds open meetings allowing its members the same rights as the Council allows its Stakeholders, the decisions of such local groups concerning their local issues will be binding upon and supported by the Council. A local issue is one that affects only the members of that group.

c. Groups that are self-appointed or operate outside the public purview will not have the automatic support of the Council

5. If the answer to Question 4 is "Yes", list the Neighborhood Councils which are affected by the boundary overlap.

NA

6. If the answer to Question 4 is "Yes", explain why you believe the boundary overlap exists. What is the reason for the overlap?

NA

7. As required by City Ordinance, every application which describes overlapping boundary areas must include a detailed rationale or explanation for including the overlapping area in the Neighborhood Council which is applying for certification. Please provide an explanation in the space below if you desire to have the overlapping area included in your Neighborhood Council. Attach additional pages as necessary.

Our area has been defined and developed during 11 public monthly meetings. We have not learned of boundaries of our neighbors.

8. Does the Neighborhood Council area contain at least 20,000 residents?

Yes

9. If the answer to Question 8 is "No", mark the space or spaces below which apply:

NA

10. If the population in the Neighborhood Council contains more than 20,000 residents, estimate the total:

Between 50,000 and 100,000. 

11. Please describe your Neighborhood Council and explain why your Neighborhood Council is applying for certification.

The NCC is organized as a Town Hall form and not a deliberative body. We have voluntarily adopted the "Brown Act" and the Public Records Act making our meetings and records open to everone. Here are our mission, policy, and function statements from our By-laws:

Article II: Mission

1. The Mission of the Northridge Community Council is to facilitate communication between the City of Los Angeles and Community Stakeholders on issues of concern to the community and/or to the Community Stakeholders

Article IV: Objectives and Policies

1. The Council's objectives are:

a. To promote good planning, fair taxation, representative government, healthy life-styles and the general welfare of the Community of Northridge (as herein defined under Article III: Boundaries)

2. The Council's policies are:

a. To assist individuals and groups in achieving goals which promote Community betterment while avoiding interfering in the internal affairs of any individual, group or organization.

b. To make recommendations for civic action commensurate and consistent with these By-Laws.

Article V: Council Functions

The Council’s functions are to:

1. To inform the Membership and others of upcoming issues, activities, projects and/or changes which may affect or have the potential to affect the Community;

2. To provide a forum for the discussion, deliberation and collaboration of Community issues;

3. To facilitate open debate as to all aspects of any issue before the Council (within the reasonable time parameters determined for any meeting);

4. To act as an advocate for the Community on issues for which there is a consensus;

Residential profile: Predominately single family along with multiple family dwellings.

Commercial profile: A mixture of different types of businesses: small, medium, and large including Northridge Fashion Center.

Economic profile: A mix of upper, middle and lower income people.

Types of employment: Retail, wholesale, manufacturing, entertainment, government, health services, banks, finance companies, insurance, construction, public utilities, communications, computers, university, hospital, day care, guidance counseling, education and many others.

As required by City Ordinance and the Plan, the applicant must provide a detailed description of the outreach process used to identify community stakeholders. The applicant must also provide proof of the collection of no less than 200 signatures from community stakeholders within the Neighborhood Council boundaries. And, the signatures collected by the applicant shall, to the maximum extent feasible, reflect the broadest array of community stakeholders who will be active participants.

1. Describe in detail the outreach process used to identify community stakeholders. Attach additional pages as necessary. You may also use the blank list provided with the worksheet to note the stakeholders in your Neighborhood Council and return the list as a part of your response.

We started outreach from the existing Northridge Civic Association and the Chamber of Commence. We obtained lists of all the churches, schools, neighbored watches and other organizations. We contacted the City Councilman's staff for other lists. We contacted all of these groups by mail and by phone.

We asked all those who came to our meetings to expand the list to all known stakeholders in Northridge and give out flyers of the next meetings. At first we copied on our own. For the August, September and October flyers, DONE copied 2000 flyers for us.

2. Describe or list the types of outreach activities used to inform stakeholders about the existence or formation of the Neighborhood Council. What types of outreach activities were employed? Examples of outreach activities include mass mailings, telephone calls, public meetings, and door-to-door visits. Attach additional pages as necessary.

We started with flyers, phone calls and emails to all those who came to meetings starting in October 2000. Flyers were delivered door to door in about six areas. We established a website: www.nothridgecouncil.org with information about meetings, agendas, minutes, bylaws, links, privacy policy, request for E-mail addresses, etc. We have taken flyers to the Northridge Farmers Market, the Northridge Oasis Street Faire, and approximately 24 community events each month for the past 6 months.

Flyers have been hand distributed into thousands of grocery and drug store brown bags each month for several months. CSUN and Northridge Hospital have distributed flyers to their employees, students and the public.

We have had columns and announcements in two local Chamber of Commerce Newspapers for the past several months (circulation 8,000 per month). We have invited the press to our meetings and sent out press releases.

We have made telephone calls or emails to more than 300 local community businesspeople and community activists informing them of monthly meeting agenda items and upcoming speakers.

We post the agendas, minutes and other information on our web site and post flyers and agendas ten days in advance of meetings at the Northridge Library, Porter Ranch Library, Mid Valley Library and Northridge Park office.

3. Approximately how much time was spent on actual outreach activities prior to submitting this application? Examples include "one hour per week for six months", "an hour every day for one month", "at least three months", "every week
since July 2000", etc. Attach additional pages as necessary.

Since October 2000, about 10 volunteers have spent at least 2 hours a week working for our Council. About 5 of us have spent an average of 8 - 10 hours a week or more on Council business. Two have worked 20 hours or more.

4. Were public meetings held on behalf of the Neighborhood Council? On average, how many people attended each meeting? Were the meetings, in your opinion, productive? Attach additional pages as necessary.

The first several meetings were held in homes. Since March they have been in public places. The first few meetings had attendance of 15 to 25 or so members. The last few meetings have increased to more than 100. The September meeting was very productive and we passed out bylaws. However, those who seemed intent to keep our organization from going forward disrupted several previous meetings.

We have attached our meeting agendas along with our minutes that are almost a newsletter describing the meetings.

5. Attach to this application the original signatures of no less than 200 community stakeholders within the proposed neighborhood Council boundaries. Keep a copy of the signatures collected for your records. Signature amounts in excess of 500 will be retained on file by the Department as additional outreach documentation.

Signatures shall, to the maximum extent feasible, reflect the broadest array of community stakeholders who will be active participants in the Neighborhood Council. Please explain how the signature collection process was used to include, inform and educate the widest possible variety of stakeholders. Attach additional pages as necessary.

Our Council has elected to follow the CA Public Records Act. The act provides privacy protection for personal information provided by our "voters". We decline to provide our voter/membership record but are providing a list of these voters/members. We have the original signatures on file with personal information, which is protected, under our privacy policy. Participants signed at various meeting and represent all those who chose to come to open meetings.

6. Outreach activities are a very important part of all Neighborhood Council operations. Outreach activities should be performed regularly in order to share ideas and to communicate news, events and information. Please describe 
below how you plan to continue to conduct outreach activities after your Neighborhood Council is officially certified. Attach additional pages as necessary.

We will continue the outreach we have started and try to reach every church, school and organization and those unaffiliated in Northridge. Without funding we cannot make mailing to the general public.

By-laws shall be established to provide a written framework and an organizational structure for the Neighborhood Council. The Neighborhood Council by-laws shall include, at a minimum, the information required by Ordinance and described in the "Certification Application Guidelines and Instructions", including applicable laws and ethical standards.

1. Attach to this application a copy of the by-laws of the Neighborhood Council.

See Attached.

2. Attachment A, "Public Notice Location Log", must be completed and returned with this application.

From our bylaws on public notice

Article XIV: Meetings

2. The Secretary shall direct that Notice of all meetings, including date, time, location and purposes therefore, shall be provided to the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment which is charged to provide same to the Los Angeles City Clerk's Office, and also will direct that Notice will be posted 10 days in advance at

a. Northridge Library

b. Porter Ranch library

c. Northridge Park

d. The Council’s web site (www.northridgecouncil.org)

e. And will be e-mailed to all Community Stakeholders who have provided an e-mail address, and other methods that the Secretary finds feasible. This posting meets the requirement of the Ralph M. Brown Act.

A system of financial accountability shall be established that governs Certified Neighborhood Council’s use of its funds.

1. Describe the plan, method or system to be used for Neighborhood Council accounting purposes. Attach additional pages as necessary.

Full double entry books will be kept by council. If any funds are received for a specified purpose then a "fund" account will be provided. The Financial Statement will be prepared by a CPA with an appropriate opinion statement. No data will be submitted to DONE unless DONE provides funds to the council.

2. Each Certified Neighborhood Council’s Governing Body shall include an office named the Treasurer.

3. Each Certified Neighborhood Council shall discuss its finances at a regularly scheduled or special meeting prior to submitting any accounting statements to the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment.

4. Each Certified Neighborhood Council shall ensure that each Certified Neighborhood Council’s book of accounts shall be open to all community stakeholders of any Certified Neighborhood Council.

5. Each Certified Neighborhood Council shall establish a process by which each Certified Neighborhood Council member can review the Certified Neighborhood Council’s book of accounts.

Questions 2, 3, 4 and 5 are covered by our bylaws

Article XVIII: Review and Inspection of Records

1. The Council’s financial accounts and records shall be reviewed annually by a Financial Review Board, appointed by the President from non-Director Stakeholders on an annual basis. Such review shall include, but not be limited to, a review and verification of receipts and disbursements of the Council for the past year.

2. The Financial Review Board shall submit its report regarding its review to the Directors within 60 calendar days after its appointment.

3. The Council voluntarily makes itself subject to the California Public Records Act (California Government Code §6251) to provide full public access to its records.

4. As many Council records as possible, including the By-Laws, will be posted on the Council website by the Secretary or a designee.

1. Attachment C, "Contact Liaison Roster" which is included with this application, must be completed, signed by each person whose name appears on the list, and returned with the application.

Before submitting the Certification application materials, please ensure that all of the following items have been completed and included with the application materials:

1. Certification Application: Yes

2. Map of the Neighborhood Council: Yes

3. Signature Sheets: No but a listing of names and cities are provided see section 2.5.

4. Public Notice Location Log (Attachment A): see section 3.5

5. Neighborhood Council By-Laws: Yes

6. Accounting System Description and Samples: See Section 4.1

7. Contact Liaison Roster: (Attachment C)

8. Stakeholder Composition and Outreach: Worksheet not provided as not required)

PLEASE RETURN THE COMPLETED CERTIFICATION APPLICATION MATERIALS, INCLUDING THIS PAGE, TO:

Michael Vitkievicz, Certification Manager

City of Los Angeles, Department of Neighborhood Empowerment

305 East First Street, Los Angeles, California 90012

(213) 485-1360

CERT APP REV 092601

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