What is a Neighborhood Council?
Los Angeles’s 99 Neighborhood Councils together form the grassroots level of the LA City government. The system was created to connect LA’s diverse communities to City Hall, and was established in 1999 by an amendment to the City Charter. While Neighborhood Council board members are volunteers, they are public officials elected to office by the members of their community.
The Neighborhood Council system tailors LA’s municipal government to the City’s communities, ensuring that recognition and accommodation of these communities’ diversity is built into City governance.
Neighborhood Councils advocate on issues like homelessness, housing, land use, emergency preparedness, public safety, parks, transportation, and sustainability. They also provide local expertise and a local voice on the delivery of City services to their communities. Each Council holds monthly meetings of their full board, in addition to monthly Committee meetings with a more targeted focus on key issues or projects. All meetings are open to the public.
The WNC board is made up of 14 at large members and one youth representative. At-large members serve four-year terms, staggered so that half the board is elected every two years. This year is an election year. Dates in parenthesis indicate when each member’s term ends.
Email the full board at board@winnetkaNC.com.
Winnetka Neighborhood Council 2020 Accomplishments
The pandemic redefined how we help our neighbors in an emergency. Normally in times of need we physically come together, however in order to limit the spread of the virus we needed to physically stay apart. With the guidance and support of the city and our Councilman Bob Blumenfield, we were able to identify safe ways to help support those most in need.
April 2020: In order to maintain social distancing requirements and take advantage of buying power, $1,250 was donated to each of four local non-profit organizations (Guadalupe Center, ONEgeneration, West Valley Food Pantry, & West Valley YMCA) to provide food and services to those in need. Additionally, the YMCA provided showers for our homeless neighbors.
May 2020: Due to the unprecedented and growing demand on local food pantries the WNC voted to further support the West Valley Food Pantry’s effort to feed those experiencing food insecurity by donating an additional $5,000. The WNC was also able to donate unused reams of paper to the Sutter Middle Grab-n-Go to help support distant learning.
June 2020: Approved $2,500 NPG for Parents, Educator/Teachers in Action (PESA) to help address issues of racism and hatred caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of the SHADES program of Teen Court
December 2020: Through a joint State/County initiative, a program currently known as PPE Unite is distributing, free of charge, PPE items for small businesses (100 employees or less) throughout the County. As a result of efforts by the Winnetka Neighborhood Council, the Winnetka Chamber of Commerce and the United Chambers of Commerce San Fernando Valley Region, PPE Unite organizers have expanded distribution operations to serve the Valley and surrounding communities through a new facility in Chatsworth.
New Website: The Winnetka Neighborhood Council website underwent a major facelift in 2020 to help make the site more accessible and more informative for Winnetka stakeholders.
The new site includes a community events calendar, a news and community updates board, as well as a robust resources page that provides information on how to get in touch with elected officials and city departments. You can also register for the Winnetka Neighborhood Council newsletter to receive email updates on Council and community happenings.
Do you have a favorite image, photograph, or location in Winnetka? Submit your pictures to communications@winnetkanc.com for an opportunity to have your submission featured on the Winnetka Neighborhood Council website!
Newsletter
Find out more about the Winnetka Neighborhood Council in our WNC 2021 Newsletter
