Los Angeles is at a turning point for our Parks — and we need your help. LA City Council is considering a proposed Charter amendment that would add hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the Recreation and Parks (RAP) budget without raising taxes. This change to a 90-year-old funding formula would help meet the needs identified in the City of LA’s recent Parks Needs Assessment, and would help Griffith Park along with neighborhood Parks and recreation centers throughout the city. If the City Council acts, the voters will get their say in November.

How did we get here? (a quick history)

Our Parks have been underfunded for decades. RAP manages 500 sites across 16,000 acres, serving over 4 million people, yet Los Angeles spends just $92 per person on Parks while peer cities average three times as much. As a result, LA has dropped from 49th to 90th in national Park rankings in just 10 years. And more than 1.5 million Angelenos don’t have a Parkland within a 10-minute walk of home. We have a rare chance to change that — but the window to act is closing fast.

The Charter Reform Commission recently voted to recommend doubling the City’s required Parks funding allocation — the first update to RAP’s funding formula since 1937. This change would raise RAP’s revenue base from $298M to approximately $596M, nearly meeting the full annual operating need identified in the City’s own 2025 Parks Needs Assessment. This is not a new tax — it is a structural fix to a broken, decades-old formula. The recommendation now sits with the City Council, which must vote to place this measure on the November 2026 ballot.

Eight in ten LA voters support increased Parks funding.

Now we need our elected officials to act. Our communities — especially those that have waited the longest for safe, accessible green space — cannot wait any longer.

If you live in the City of Los Angeles, please call AND email your City Council member today ask them to vote YES to double RAP’s required budget allocation and put the parks funding measure on the November ballot.

You can find your City Council member here.

There are other actions you can take:

• Attend a City Council Rules Committee hearing in support of parks: May 14 or June 4
• Write and submit public comment in the official City Council File for Charter Reform (File 26-0489-S2) saying you support doubling RAP’s Charter Minimum Allocation AND share why this important to you
• Spread the word to friends, neighbors and colleagues

Still have questions? Reach out to: info@friendsofgriffithpark.org