Measure PRT

City of Los Angeles City Airports, Harbor, and Water and Power Departments Charter Amendment

Measure PRT would amend the City Charter 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.

This measure requires approval by a majority of voters voting on the measure to pass.

Fiscal Impact: No fiscal impact.

Next Los Angeles County Measure: Measure FD

See Endorsements for Measure PRT
Background

City Charter Section 607 places limitations on franchises, concessions, permits, licenses and leases for each Proprietary Department (Airports Department, Harbor Department, and the Department of Water and Power). Section 607(a) provides that the City Council may authorize a lease term of up to 50 years for the Airports Department and Department of Water and Power, and 66 years for the Harbor Department. 

City Charter Section 630 provides that the Board of Airport Commissioners shall consist of seven members, and that one member shall reside in the area surrounding Los Angeles International Airport and one member shall reside in the area surrounding Van Nuys Airport. These areas are defined by ordinance. 

City Charter Section 651 provides that the Board of Harbor Commissioners shall have possession, management, and control of Harbor Department assets. It further specifies that the lands and waters under possession, management, and control of the Board of Harbor Commissioners shall be known as the Harbor District. 

City Charter Section 651 also reserves water frontage for public use, and prohibits the sale of the tidelands and submerged lands of the Harbor District. City Charter Section 652 states the powers and duties of the Board of Harbor Commissioners, including the power and duty to establish rules and regulations related to the Harbor District. 

State law requires a Coastal Development Permit for many developments within the Harbor District. This includes construction projects and projects that meaningfully increase or change the level or type of activity on a site or in the water, or that change public access to it, even if nothing is built.

Proposal

If approved, Measure PRT would:

  • Allow the City Council to authorize Airports Department and Department of Water and Power leases for a term up to 66 years, or the maximum length allowed by any federal or state law, whichever is less, if the City Council makes a finding that a term longer than 30 years would be in the best interest of the City.
  • Increase local residency requirements for the Board of Airport Commissioners by requiring that three of the seven members of the Board of Airport Commissioners reside in the area surrounding the Los Angeles International Airport and that two of the seven members reside in the area surrounding Van Nuys Airport.
  • Require the Board of Harbor Commissioners to annually allocate a portion of the operating income of the Harbor Department for waterfront public access projects and other public serving projects and programs developed with public input as part of a Public Access Investment Plan.
  • Require all applicants seeking approval of a lease, lease extension, or lease amendment, or any proposed development of property within the Harbor District that requires a Coastal Development Permit, to submit a workforce impact disclosure that provides an assessment of estimated workforce effects associated with the proposed action, including employment and economic impacts.

Source: Los Angeles City Voter Pamphlet 

Los Angeles County Election Resources

Los Angeles City Election Resources