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Bureau Creation / Los Angeles Housing Department / Homeless Services System Oversight / Resources / Staffing Plan

Council File 25-0207

Approved — the Housing Committee cleared a major restructuring plan to shift homeless services oversight from LAHSA to direct City control, with $450,000 earmarked for the transition. It's now awaiting final City Council vote.

Introduced
2025-02-26
Last changed
2026-06-16
Status
open
Expires
2028-06-16
Committee
Budget and Finance Committee
Mover
NITHYA RAMAN
Second
BOB BLUMENFIELD
References
Related Council Files: 24-0330; 24-1179Chief Legislative Analyst Report: 24-04-0296

Brief

Councilmember Nithya Raman introduced a motion to establish a dedicated City Department for homeless services development and management, consolidating what had been scattered across multiple agencies. The Council voted 13-0-2 to adopt the motion on March 19, 2025. The proposal then moved through the Housing and Homelessness Committee and Budget and Finance Committee for implementation planning and funding approval, with the Budget and Finance Committee approving it as amended on June 16, 2026.

Full summary

Nithya Raman's motion proposes restructuring how Los Angeles governs its homeless services response, centering on reducing the city's dependence on the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and building direct City oversight capacity. The original motion called for creating a new bureau within the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) to centralize homelessness system planning and oversight. The Council adopted the motion 13-0-2 on March 19, 2025, with seconds from Bob Blumenfield and Katy Yaroslavsky, and a Chief Legislative Analyst report followed in April 2025 to analyze the feasibility and scope of the transition. As amended and approved by the Housing and Homelessness Committee on April 15, 2026, the file has grown into a comprehensive governance overhaul. Key directives instruct the City Administrative Officer and Chief Legislative Analyst to renegotiate the Joint Powers Authority agreement with LAHSA to give the City clear majority control over the LAHSA Commission, and to create a dedicated City Service Planning Area within the existing Continuum of Care framework. The CAO is also directed to hire outside consultants to support transitioning administration of City-funded homeless programs away from LAHSA during Fiscal Year 2026-27, with $450,000 appropriated from existing shelter and housing funds for that procurement. City contracts with LAHSA are to be amended to require an independent accounting firm to manage the distribution and tracking of City funding. Longer-term directives, to be completed within 60 to 90 days of Council action, call for merging the Continuum of Care Board with the LAHSA Commission to ensure City majority representation, redesigning the Coordinated Entry System to prioritize access for City residents to City-funded services, and preparing a phased integration of administrative functions into a new Bureau of Homelessness. The CAO is also instructed to report back every 30 days on transition progress through the end of FY 2026-27. The committee explicitly left open the question of whether a fully independent new City department will ultimately be needed, directing further analysis on that point. Committee member Hutt voted no on most of the more aggressive transition items, while Raman, Jurado, and McOsker formed the approving majority. The file was transmitted to the Budget and Finance Committee, which approved it as amended on June 16, 2026. It remains open and pending full Council action.

Activity (21)

  • 2026-06-16 Budget and Finance Committee approved as amended .
  • 2026-06-12 Budget and Finance Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on June 16, 2026.
  • 2026-04-21 Housing and Homelessness Committee transmitted Council File to Budget and Finance Committee.
  • 2026-04-15 Housing and Homelessness Committee approved as amended .
  • 2026-04-10 Item continued to April 15, 2026 Committee meeting due to loss of quorum.
  • 2026-04-09 Housing and Homelessness Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on April 10, 2026.
  • 2026-03-04 Housing and Homelessness Committee continued item to date to be determined.
  • 2026-02-27 Housing and Homelessness Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on March 4, 2026.
  • 2025-06-14 Community Impact Statement submitted by Encino Neighborhood Council.
  • 2025-05-23 Community Impact Statement submitted by Rampart Village Neighborhood Council.
  • 2025-04-23 Chief Legislative Analyst document(s) referred to Budget and Finance Committee; Housing and Homelessness Committee.
  • 2025-04-22 Document(s) submitted by Chief Legislative Analyst, as follows:Chief Legislative Analyst report, dated April 22, 2025, relative to creating a City Department responsible for the development and management of the City's homeless programs.
  • 2025-03-31 Community Impact Statement submitted by NoHo Neighborhood Council.
  • 2025-03-28 Corrected Referral per Council President to include Budget and Finance Committee.
  • 2025-03-21 Council action final.
  • 2025-03-21 Community Impact Statement submitted by North Hollywood Northeast Neighborhood Council.
  • 2025-03-19 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2025-03-14 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on March 19, 2025.
  • 2025-03-05 Housing and Homelessness Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2025-02-28 Housing and Homelessness Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on March 5, 2025.
  • 2025-02-26 Motion referred to Housing and Homelessness Committee.

Documents (19)

Council votes (1)

  • 2025-03-19 Vote — 13-0-2 · Regular

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