Los Angeles is on the verge of changing its founding charter in order to save the city’s beleaguered park system. The city conducted a $4 million park needs assessment last year that identified $15 billion in one-time capital investments and the doubling of the Department of Recreation and Parks’ budget as essential to bringing its park system back from the brink.
In the last five years, Los Angeles has plummeted from 49th to 90th place in a national ranking of park systems in the largest 100 cities in the United States. The budget for Los Angeles parks has not kept pace with inflation over the past two decades, and full-time and part-time staff have been slashed. L.A. spends $92 per capita on parks, while comparable cities spend $283 per capita, more than three times as much per resident.
With this dire picture in mind, park advocates crafted a citizens’ ballot initiative in the fall that would have generated around $395 million a year through a half-cent sales tax, but city leaders, including Mayor Karen Bass, would not endorse the measure early this year. So, advocates were unable to raise funds for a signature-gathering campaign.
Since then, they have shifted their focus to reforming the city charter, which serves as the city’s constitution. For the past year, a charter reform commission has been considering numerous changes to the way the city works, from the structure of departments to the size of the city council and funding for parks. The charter currently mandates that 0.0325% of property tax revenue goes to the Department of Recreation and Parks. That formula has been in place since 1937.
In late January, the commission voted to recommend doubling the parks allocation, effectively doubling the department’s budget. Now that recommendation goes to the city council, which must vote to put it on the November ballot for voters to decide the fate of Los Angeles parks.
“This initiative is our opportunity to correct historic inequities and ensure every Angeleno has access to parks that are essential for health, climate resilience, and community well-being,” said Tori Kjer, executive director of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, one of 61 organizations backing the charter reform initiative.
Community media outlets have also rallied to the cause. A dozen ethnic media outlets around the city published an open letter to the city council and the mayor headlined, “LA Asked Residents What Parks Need; Now City Leaders Must Act.”
“The city of Los Angeles engaged in a very important exercise last year by consulting its population about their needs and wants regarding parks,” the editorial said. “As news outlets that serve many of the city’s diverse communities, we urge city leaders not to turn your backs on what the residents told you.”
The publications included Al Enteshar, American Community Media, Hispanic LA, Impulso, Excelsior California, Fanous Show, The Immigrant Magazine, Kiosko News, La Opinion, Myanmar Gazette, Saigon NHO News, and UNE News Express.
“The diverse media organizations publishing this editorial have chronicled the importance of parks as places to gather, preserve traditions, and build relationships and understanding with other cultures,” the editorial said. “Parks have also been exalted as places that allow immigrants to create new and important memories, celebrate with family and friends, and provide respite and healthy exercise and play for themselves and their children as they adapt and grow in their new homes. Often, parks are the only places where low-income families can gather, send their children to play sports, make friends, and, for older adults, remain active and socially engaged.”
These community news sources also recognized that their communities are disproportionately affected by the city’s park system’s failings. While 1.5 million Angelenos can’t reach a park within a 10-minute walk of their homes, residents in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color have 70 to 80% less access to nearby park space than predominantly white, higher-income communities, limiting opportunities for recreation, health, and community gathering.
Advocates worry that without meaningful investment, these disparities could worsen, especially as the city prepares for global events like the World Cup and Olympics. An influx of visitors and increased demand on public spaces could further strain already under-resourced parks, putting added pressure on the communities that rely on them most.
“The city that is about to host matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the XXXIV Summer Olympic Games deserves serious improvement to its park system,” the ethnic media editorial concluded. “The residents who make this city what it is also deserve safe, well-maintained, and accessible parks that reflect the pride and potential of their communities.”
