LA County Board

5. Establishing a New Los Angeles County Transportation Commission to\nEnsure Transparency and Equitable Mobility Outcomes\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisor Mitchell: Instruct the Directors of\nPublic Works and Regional Planning, in consultation with County Counsel, to\nprepare an ordinance amending County Code, Title 15 - Vehicles and Traffic,\nto dissolve the existing Highway Safety Commission and, in its place, establish\na new Transportation Commission for the County (Commission), where the\npurpose of the Commission shall be to advise and assist the Board on all\nmatters pertaining to transportation policies, State and Federal legislation, goals,\nplans, processes, particularly those related to service requests, contracts, and\nmobility-related major capital projects, with the ordinance to come back to the\nBoard for approval within 120 days and the Commission shall have its first\nmeeting no later than within Fiscal Year 2025, with the ordinance to specify, as\nappropriate, the following conditions:\nThe Commission shall consist of eleven voting members appointed by the\nBoard, with expertise in any of the following fields, where members with\nlived experience in the unincorporated County, transit dependence, and\nexposure to traffic violence are strongly preferred:\ni. Mobility/Transit planning\nii. Transportation engineering\niii. Public health\niv. Sustainability\nv. Racial equity and justice; and\nvi. Aging and Disability advocacy;\nTechnical experts from each of the following fields shall attend\nCommission meetings, but shall not be members of the Commission, and\nshall provide technical assistance to the Commission, as appropriate:\ni. The Director of Public Works shall serve as a technical expert\nfor transportation engineering, as well as traffic safety, goods\nmovement, transit planning, and parking management, and as\nthe lead technical expert for the Commission;\nii. The Director of Regional Planning shall serve as a technical\nexpert for mobility planning;\niii. The Sheriff shall serve as a technical expert for parking\nmanagement;\niv. The Director of Aging and Disabilities shall serve as a\ntechnical expert for aging and disabilities;\nv. The Director of Public Health shall serve as a technical expert\nfor public health;\nvi. The Chief Sustainability Officer shall serve as a technical\nexpert for sustainability; and\nvii. The Executive Director of Racial Equity shall serve as the\ntechnical expert for racial equity and mobility justice;\nThe Commission may also invite technical experts from outside of the\nCounty to attend Commission meetings and assist the Commission\nincluding, but not limited to:\ni. The Chief Executive Officer of the County Metropolitan\nTransportation Authority (LA Metro) shall serve as a technical\nexpert for transit planning; and\nii. The State of California Department of Transportation shall\nserve as a technical expert for emerging technology, as well\nas goods movement and speed enforcement;\nThe Commission shall not have the authority to make final decisions, but\nmay make recommendations to the Board on items related to\ntransportation matters within the unincorporated communities of the\nCounty;\nThe Commission shall establish a relationship with related Commissions,\nincluding the Regional Planning Commission, the Airport Land Use\nCommission, and the Aviation Commission, as well as a coordination\nstrategy with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation\nAuthority on overlapping issues and priorities, further, the Commission\nshall only advise on matters connected with the General Plan Mobility\nElement upon referral by the Board or by another County Department\nand shall not advise on subdivisions and land use entitlements;\nThe Commission shall consist of a Chair, Vice Chair, and Second Vice\nChair, and shall host an election during its first meeting for officers and\nvote on how future elections shall be held;\nThe Commission shall establish two-year terms for all voting members\nand a compensation policy consistent with County Commissions for\nvoting members that are not full-time employees of the County or another\ngovernment body, and shall also establish a policy for removing a\nmember of the Commission before their term ends, if necessary;\nThe Commission shall meet bi-monthly, with a virtual option for members\nof the public to participate, at the same time and in an easily accessible\nlocation central to the County and accessible via public transportation;\nThe Commission shall post agendas, developed by the Director of Public\nWorks and approved by the Chair of the Commission, and include\nstanding items such as:\ni. Department of Public Works verbal report;\nii. Transportation Policy Planning Update; and\nii. Legislative Update;\nInstruct the Director of Public Works, in consultation with the Chief Executive\nOfficer, the Director of Personnel and the Executive Officer of the Board, to\ndevelop a proposed budget, with potential funding sources for training and\ntravel, administrative support staff, equipment and location space lease and/or\nrentals for the newly established Commission, with the proposed budget to be\npresented to the Board in writing within 180 days; and\nInstruct the Director of Public Works, in consultation with the Chief Executive\nOfficer, and the Director of Personnel, to initiate the necessary steps to create\na new dedicated Transportation Planning Division within the Department of\nPublic Works and report back to the Board within 180 days with\nrecommendations on the proposed budget with potential funding sources,\nstaffing plan, and list of responsibilities for the Department of Public Works’\nTransportation Planning Division, with the Transportation Planning Division to be\nprimarily responsible for coordinating administrative support for the\nCommission. (23-2730)\nAttachments: Motion by Supervisor Mitchell\nPublic Comment/Correspondence