Venice Group Requests Ethics Investigation for VNC President

A neighborhood group wants state and city officials to investigate Linda Lucks, president of the Venice Neighborhood Council, for a possible ethics violation related to the ongoing discussion of restricted overnight parking in Venice.

The request, filed on behalf of the Venice Stakeholders Association by attorney John Henning, was filed with the State Fair Political Practices Commission and the City of Los Angeles’ Ethics Commission. It says Lucks should recuse herself during discussions about proposed overnight parking districts in Venice, which has been a controversial issue for several years. Lucks is an employee of the Venice Community Housing Corporation, which has opposed the OPDs over the years, and she is also president of the Venice Neighborhood Council, which supports the OPDs.

“Ms. Lucks’ involvement in the OPDs issue is in direct conflict with her economic interest in her paid position as Capital Campaign Coordinator at VCHC,” Henning wrote in the request. “On the one hand she is orchestrating a campaign to reverse the VNC's position on OPDs, and to influence the City Council to effectively abandon its own resolutions establishing OPDs, while on the other hand she is in the employ of one of the foremost opponents of OPDs.”

Lucks told Venice Patch this week that she does not believe she has a conflict of interest.

"This is just a diversionary tactic so people won't concentrate on what is at stake here," Lucks said. "Overnight parking districts have been on the table for many years and people have a right to know what is proposed at the Coastal Commission in June."

The purpose of the overnight parking districts is to prevent vehicles that do not have permits, which are available only to residents and at a small fee, from parking between 2-6 a.m. on many of Venice's streets. Opponents of the OPDs say the measure unfairly targets homeless people and those living in cars and RV's. Supporters say street parking should be reserved for residents and permit-holders.

Venice got the green light to establish OPDs from the L.A. City Council in 2006 and 2007, but the issue got more complicated when the California Coastal Commission stepped in to require a coastal development permit because the districts would fall in the Coastal Zone. That permit was granted in 2008, but opponents of the OPDs, including the VCHC, appealed the matter to the Coastal Commission. Before the commission heard the appeal, the Venice Neighborhood Council put a resolution in support of OPDs on the ballot in a local election, and the resolution passed. The commission denied the appeal shortly after, citing a need for early-morning parking near the beach. The VSA and the city of Los Angeles then sued the Coastal Commission, and settlement negotiations have been going on since then.

Mark Ryavec, president of the VSA, said in a statement that members of the VNC board did not respond to emails about Lucks' perceived conflict of interest. The VSA then took the matter to officials.

“The residents of Venice deserve a neighborhood council free from both actual and perceived conflicts of interest so they can trust that the recommendations of the council are determined on the merits and do not reflect the wishes of narrow special interests,” Ryavec said in a statement.

Lucks said she is rescheduling a town hall meeting on a lawsuit filed by the VSA to get the Coastal Commission to approve the OPDs. Originally planned for April 4, Lucks says she is working to secure a balanced panel of speakers for the event. A new date has not yet been announced.