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After criticism over ‘walk of honor,’ La Verne adopts rules for community projects on public property
Summary
The council approved a new administrative regulation to govern community organization projects on public property after public concern that the 'walk of honor' Old Town project proceeded without sufficient council oversight. The policy sets de minimis thresholds and requires council review for larger projects; staff will publish criteria and request submissions for future projects.
The La Verne City Council on May 4 approved a new administrative regulation to govern community-organization projects that use public resources or occupy public space, following public criticism about the process used for a recent "walk of honor" installation in Old Town.
City staff described the regulation as a transparency measure to require community groups seeking to do projects on city streets, sidewalks or other public property to submit proposals for review. The policy creates a "de minimis" category (small projects requiring minimal staff time) that allows some volunteer efforts to proceed without full council review, but requires council consideration for projects with material staff time, overtime, or potential liability.
Public commenters — including Donita Beauchamp and Rick Bowen — questioned why the prior walk-of-honor project proceeded with significant staff involvement before the council had a chance to provide direction. Bowen said he had reviewed city communications and found hundreds of messages between private organizers and city staff and asked who had authority to approve such work.
Staff said the committee reimbursed the city for material and overtime costs and engaged with the public works department, but the episode revealed a need for clearer rules. "Transparency is huge," a public commenter said, urging that future projects be fully vetted.
Council members who supported the regulation said it preserves the city's ability to partner with community organizations while giving the council authority to judge public benefit and fiscal impacts. The council approved the regulation 4-0 (Crosby absent) and asked staff to publish submission criteria and a process for evaluating public benefit.
Next steps: staff will post the administrative regulation, establish submission criteria and thresholds (including the $1,500/time and three-hour de minimis threshold referenced in the staff report), and bring material projects forward for council decision.
