In Wake of Carmel Partners/Huizar Scandal, LA City Council Strives for more Oversight
Two measures were recently voted in by the Los Angeles City Council members aiming to prevent abuses of power such as those federal prosecutors allege former Council Member Jose Huizar is accused of. They also aim to deny the type of back alley deals that Huizar and developer CP Employer (formerly Carmel Partners) allegedly engaged in.
The first measure stipulates that any high-value projects go before the council directly. This changes the previous process where in projects were first vetted by the planning and land use management committee or P.L.U.M. before reaching the council. The second measure seeks to monitor the way in which developers and council offices communicate outside of council-wide proceedings.
This is in response to the alleged payoffs Huizar and former councilman Mitchell Englander, benefitted from as members of both the City Council and the P.L.U.M committee.
City Council President Nury Martinez said “The city has been plagued with a series of corruption scandals related to how we deal with the approval of development projects.”
Carmel Partners paid $1.2M to resolve a federal criminal investigation into its dealings. Englander has been sentenced to 14 months in prison while Huizar is currently awaiting trial.
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