Charter Amendment PRT aims to expand community oversight of Los Angeles’ airports, secure ongoing investment in L.A.’s public waterfront spaces, and help city agencies bring in more revenue and investment through more attractive lease offerings.
One of the most visible changes would alter the makeup of the Board of Airport Commissioners, increasing the number of members who live in communities near LAX and Van Nuys Airport. Other changes would update the rules around leases for the Airports Department, Department of Water and Power and Harbor Department. The measure would also require the Harbor Department to continue its practice of dedicating funding each year to public waterfront projects.
What’s at stake
If voters approve the measure, the city’s charter, essentially its constitution, would be amended to do the following:
Increase the number of commissioners on L.A.’s airport board who are from neighborhoods around the city’s airports. Allow the city’s Airports Department and DWP to offer longer leases for their facilities and property, with City Council approval, aligning their maximum lease terms with the Harbor Department’s. Add economic and employment reporting requirements for new Harbor District leases, lease extensions, lease changes or coastal development permits. Codify the Harbor Department’s practice of allocating a portion of its annual operating income to public waterfront projects.
If voters reject the measure, there would be no change to the makeup of the L.A. Board of Airport Commissioners. Airports Department and DWP maximum lease terms would remain limited to 50 years. Applying for new leases, lease extensions or lease changes with the Harbor Department, or coastal development permits, would not require additional economic and employment assessments. And the Harbor Department’s allocation of some of its income to public waterfront projects would not be added to the charter.
Why now
Amendment PRT is part of a package of proposed changes to the L.A. city charter meant to improve operations and build public trust. They were recommended by the L.A. Charter Reform Commission earlier this year, and the City Council decided to put some of the commission’s proposals before voters. The charter commission was formed after the 2022 City Hall tapes scandal, in which members of the City Council were recorded using racist language and discussing how to hold onto power.
This measure would make changes to three city agencies: Los Angeles World Airports, the Department of Water and Power, and the Harbor Department. All three have faced corruption scandals over the past few decades. More recently, officials have been facing backlash for their handling of the repeatedly delayed People Mover at Los Angeles International Airport.
Your guide to LA’s charter amendments
Los Angeles residents are voting on six amendments to the city charter in the Nov. 3 election. LAist is helping you make sense of these complex policy changes.
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Official ballot language
Official title: Charter Amendment PRT
You are being asked:
“Shall the City Charter be amended to: require the Harbor Department to allocate funds for waterfront public access projects; require disclosure of workforce impacts for certain Harbor Department leases and agreements; increase maximum terms for certain leases; and change the composition requirement for the Airport Commission?”
What your vote means
A “yes” vote means: You want to enact these changes to the airports board makeup, to lease rules for airports, harbors and the DWP, and to add existing investments in public waterfront projects to the city charter.
A “no” vote means: You want the airports board and lease rules for airports, harbors and DWP to stay the same, and do not want to add existing public waterfront project investments to the city charter.
Understanding Charter Amendment PRT
The measure would make several changes to L.A.’s Airports Department (also known as Los Angeles World Airports), the city’s Department of Water and Power, and the Harbor Department.
One provision would change the composition of the seven-member Board of Airport Commissioners, which oversees LAX and the Van Nuys Airport. Two of the members would be required to live “in the area surrounding” Van Nuys Airport, and three would have to live “in the area surrounding” LAX. The measure doesn’t define those areas. Instead, the City Council would have the power to further divide them and establish specific residency requirements.
The measure would also allow the City Council to approve longer leases for the Airports Department and DWP. The current 50-year limit would change to 66 years to match the Harbor Department’s. The new limits would mirror state law.
Each of the agencies generates its own revenue and is overseen by a board. Their boards are in charge of approving leases for agency facilities or property.
The idea behind longer lease terms is to allow the departments to offer more attractive long-term leases for airport space and DWP property to private entities and, in turn, spur more revenue, investment and economic growth. For airports, this would apply to leasing terminals or hangars to airlines or commercial spaces for restaurants, for example. For DWP, it would apply to the land the agency owns up and down California, which it could lease for a variety of uses, including construction staging, trucking operations or parking.
The amendment would also make changes to Harbor Department lease rules. The Harbor Department includes the Port of Los Angeles, one of the busiest shipping centers in the world, which leases its terminals to an array of operators.
The new rules would apply to applicants for new leases, current leaseholders seeking changes or extensions, and developers applying for a coastal development permit. Under the measure, they would also have to submit information about how their proposal would affect the local workforce and economy.
Finally, Amendment PRT would add a section to the city charter requiring that the Harbor Department dedicate some of its operating income each year to public waterfront access projects and programs through Public Access Improvement Plans. These projects include the Wilmington Waterfront Promenade, seafood restaurant Trani’s Dockside Station in San Pedro, and the San Pedro Promenade. The Board of Harbor Commissioners would decide on the specific amount to allocate each year. The agency already has a practice of allocating about 10% annually to these efforts.
What supporters say
Supporters say the measure is about strengthening community representation and public input around L.A.’s airports and waterfront. They argue changes to the airport board would give more of a voice to the concerns of people who live around LAX and Van Nuys Airport.
“You really need to have citizen commissioners, which they used to be called, that are from the local area and breathe the same air and drive the same streets and understand the local community,” said City Councilmember Tim McOsker, a co-sponsor of the measure whose 15th District includes the port communities of Wilmington and San Pedro.
McOsker said changes to waterfront lease reporting requirements are also a way to increase public transparency about their effects on coastal communities.
Supporters also say the measure secures ongoing investment in public-serving waterfront projects and helps boost the city’s ability to attract economic drivers with more competitive leases for airports and the Department of Water and Power.
McOsker signed a letter of support for Amendment PRT along with Councilmembers Imelda Padilla and Traci Park, President of Westchester/Playa Neighborhood Council Paula Gerez, and community advocates Gina Martinez of Wilmington and David Yanowitz of Van Nuys.
What opponents say
The L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce opposes the measure. The chamber is concerned that the new Harbor Department lease disclosure requirements would burden terminal operators and deter investment.
“Our own analysis raised concerns about the additional requirements it could place on businesses and the potential impact on investment and port operations,” chamber spokesperson Brenda Gonzalez said in an emailed statement. “Ultimately, we did not believe these provisions were in the best interest of keeping Los Angeles economically competitive.”
The Chamber of Commerce said it strongly opposes the expansion of similar workforce and economic impact disclosure requirements citywide, not just for waterfront areas and the Port of L.A.
Potential financial impact
The only piece of the measure with a fiscal impact is the requirement that the Harbor Department allocate funding annually to waterfront public access projects and programs, according to Matthew Szabo, L.A.’s city administrative officer. The Harbor Department’s existing practice of allocating about 10% of its operating income to these initiatives has typically equaled about $27 million annually.
The rest of the measure would not cost or earn the city money.
Campaign finance
