The Los Angeles City Council Friday reasserted its authority over an airport citizens advisory after the Board of Airport Commissioners approved a resolution to reduce representation of the group and add additional requirements to council-appointed members.
In a 10-0 vote, the City Council requested Los Angeles World Airports to report with recommendations on how they can consider changes to the makeup of the Van Nuys Airport Citizens Advisory Council.
Council members Adrin Nazarian, Traci Park, Curren Price, Nithya Raman and Monica Rodriguez were absent during the vote.
The City Council requested that all prior changes to the bylaws of the VNY’s advisory council — such as appointment criteria, geographical composition, purview or related matters — as well as any new changes be compiled and codified into a single document and posted on LAWA’s website.
“Recent actions by the Board of Airport Commissioners underscores a need for greater clarity, and codified council oversight regarding how it operates its structure,” said Councilwoman Imelda Padilla, who represents the 6th Council District, which includes VNY.
Established by the Board of Airport Commissioners and approved by the City Council in 1985, the VNY Citizens Advisory Council reviews issues affecting the operation of Van Nuys Airport, and provides advice and recommendations to the commission, Mayor’s office, City Council and other appropriate agencies.
The aim of the advisory council is to empower residents who work, live or own businesses in proximity to VNY to have a say in how airport operations impact them.
The VNY CAC is composed of 20 members with three of them appointed by the Board of Airport Commissioners, another three appointed by the mayor, and two representatives each appointed by City Council members from Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 12. Those districts, with the exception of the 5th District, encompass the San Fernando Valley.
In December 2025, City Council members Nithya Raman and Imelda Padilla introduced a motion to ensure the City Council be involved when changes to the citizens advisory council are proposed, which came in response to the Board of Airport Commissioners’ approval of an October resolution that established a residency requirement.
The resolution in part reads: “Any individual appointed to the VNY CAC by a member of the Los Angeles City Council must reside within the boundaries of the Council District they are appointed to represent.”
Additionally, “…LAWA (Los Angeles World Airports) staff will review the residency of all Council District-appointed members of the VNY CAC to ensure they are still eligible to serve as representatives for that Council District.”
The rule only applies to City Council appointees, but not those appointed by the mayor or the Board of Airport Commissioners.
Additionally, the resolution reduced representation of City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky’s 5th District from two appointees to just one.
Los Angeles World Airport and the Board of Airport Commissioners justified their resolution by arguing the 5th District no longer includes a portion of the San Fernando Valley, using Mulholland Drive as a boundary. Airport officials further argued the district’s exposure to VNY operations decreased.
Yaroslavsky previously contended that while her district may no longer include parts of the Valley after redistricting, the airport’s flight paths impact her constituents in West L.A. and in the hillsides.
Marykate Harris, a 26-year Valley resident, and Wayne Williams, a 42-year Valley resident, are both former members of the VNY CAC. In a previous email, they endorsed a “Valley Community Statement,” created by Valley residents, to criticize the airport’s resolution.
“LAWA’s misuse of authority, their lack of standing and transparency not only in the illegal removal of both myself and others based on nonexistent claims of a district residency requirement, let alone efforts to block public awareness of aircraft impacts on the communities of the Valley, must be resisted and viewed as assaults on the residents of the Valley impacted by VNY airport and the Los Angeles City Council itself!” Williams wrote in his email.
“It’s essential that local leaders come together, demonstrate integrity, and respond with meaningful steps to protect and uplift the voices they were elected to represent, especially the original reasoning for establishing the VNY CAC, to represent `non-aviation’ interests, and not sit idly by as LAWA runs (roughshod) over the CAC only for the benefit of the wealthy corporate jet industry,” Williams added.