In 1999, the new Los Angeles City Charter created neighborhood councils as quasi city entities to advise those in government who are making decisions that affect our lives. During the neighborhood council certification process, the City was divided into many geographic areas and a neighborhood council in each area was empowered to represent the respective communities. Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (DLANC) was certified on April 27, 2002 to serve every person having a stake within its borders.

The mission of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council is:

To unite the diverse communities of Downtown Los Angeles and to provide an innovative forum for all community stakeholders to contribute to a healthy, vibrant, and inclusive Downtown.

All of the Board and committee meetings are open to the public and provide you with an opportunity to speak. The board procedures are more formal than committee meetings so your time to address the Board may be limited. Committee meetings are generally informal, and discussions between participants are commonplace. This is important because the heart of Neighborhood Council work happens at committee meetings. We invite you to explore the "Committees" pull down menu on the left of each page for meetings and issues that pertain to your wonderful neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles.

Our Bylaws describe the composition of the 27-member Board of Directors, with a representation breakdown by Stakeholder Categories: seven (7) geographic areas; or, by sector of interest, including Residents; Business Interests; Arts, Cultural, and Educational interests; Social Services Providers; and Workforce. Each Board candidate is encouraged to identify/list an Alternate Running Mate at the time of his or her filing.

According to the Bylaws, a Community Stakeholder is defined as:

Any individual who lives, works, or owns property within the boundaries. In addition, Community Stakeholder status may be identified by participation in educational institutions, religious institutions, community organizations, or other nonprofit organizations.

For more info on DLANC and our Board of Directors, please read our Bylaws, attend our meetings that interest you, sign up for the mail lists, or call (213) 473-6451.