Los Angeles City Council unanimously backs Code Watch volunteer program and approves routine agenda items

The Los Angeles City Council on Friday, Feb. 18, unanimously approved a slate of routine agenda items and advanced a volunteer-led code-enforcement program known as Code Watch, with council members praising the program's neighborhood impact and urging expanded outreach.

Council President pro tem Ruth Galanter presided over the meeting. The council voted 12-0 to approve items 1 through 10 on the regular agenda, and later approved items 12 through 20 (with exceptions and amendments described below), also by unanimous roll call.

Code Watch — why it mattered

Item 16, called special by Councilmember Chick, drew discussion and unanimous approval. Chick described Code Watch as a neighborhood volunteer training program that helps residents and volunteers identify visible code violations and secure voluntary compliance. "Code Watch is a program that gives very, brief but thorough training to residents, to volunteers out in the city who care about their communities and their neighborhoods," Chick said, adding that the program had reduced blight, saved taxpayer dollars and achieved a high rate of voluntary compliance.

A volunteer-bureau representative confirmed the program is coordinated through the city's Volunteer Bureau and that the bureau…