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Council approves 20-year coordinated street‑furniture program; will begin negotiations with JCDecaux
Summary
The council approved the Public Works Committee report to pursue a 20‑year agreement for a coordinated street‑furniture program, including 2,500 transit shelters, automated toilets, kiosks and information terminals, and a guaranteed minimum $150 million revenue share over 20 years; the measure passed as amended, 12-2.
The Los Angeles City Council approved the Public Works Committee report on July 24 directing staff to negotiate a 20‑year agreement for a coordinated street‑furniture program with JCDecaux (often referenced in the committee materials and on the floor as the leading respondent). Staff said the Infinity/JCDecaux proposal guarantees a minimum revenue share to the city of $150,000,000 over 20 years (adjusted by the CPI). If negotiations with JCDecaux cannot be completed within 60 days, staff were instructed to negotiate with Adshel Inc. as the fallback proposer.
Chief Legislative Analyst staff member Lynn Ozawa summarized committee recommendations the council adopted: dedicate city inspectors to enforce contract provisions and maintenance; ensure all advertising complies with specific plans and historic‑district guidelines; provide local community input on furniture style and color; prohibit freestanding advertising; resolve First Amendment/newsstand issues with publishers; and include collective bargaining provisions for furniture maintenance employees. The Public Works Committee added a direction that staff coordinate information terminals and kiosks with the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, Department of General Services and Information Technology Agency to support neighborhood councils and city facilities.
The program described to council would provide 2,500 transit shelters, 150 automated self‑cleaning public toilets, trash/recycling receptacles, newsstand/vendor kiosks, computer information terminals and community information panels. Staff represented that the toilets would not be used to generate advertising revenue; rather, advertising on shelters and kiosks subsidizes amenities such as toilets.
Council debate and public comment focused on safety, vandalism, maintenance, impact on neighborhoods and the treatment of modular news racks. Councilmember Weiss and others urged a pilot approach and raised public‑safety and visual‑clutter concerns; Weiss successfully moved to reopen the public hearing briefly so five members of the public could speak. Several members (including Pacheco and Garcetti) highlighted benefits for transit users and neighborhood information access; Councilmember Pacheco moved that locations with high concentrations of homeless residents be given priority for toilet siting and the motion was adopted as part of the package.
Publishers and representatives of the print media urged separation of modular news racks from the main RFP and asked to negotiate locations directly with the city; Councilmember Bernsen (Burns on the floor) secured language requiring concurrence between the city and publishers about placement of modular news racks or a separate negotiation process. The council also addressed legal concerns identified in the board review process: staff said the city attorney retained outside counsel (O'Melveny & Myers) to analyze prior European legal actions involving JCDecaux, and that the Board of Public Works found JCDecaux to be a responsible bidder after review of appeals and international law questions.
On final action the Public Works report, as amended on the floor, was adopted by the council (recorded vote: 12 ayes, 2 noes). Council directed staff to return with negotiated contract terms and implementation actions and to include community input, enforcement resources and procedures to address neighborhood‑specific constraints.
