

The Los Angeles Redistricting Commission finalized its package of proposed boundaries for 15 council districts, rejecting requests from hundreds of Korean Americans to have their neighborhood council placed in a single district.

Minutes before midnight Wednesday, the panel voted 16 to 5 to send a map to the council. But even some who approved it said they weren't particularly proud of it.

Several on the 21-member panel were sheepish about having dealt a blow to Koreatown civic groups, which had spent weeks sending residents, business people and activists to testify on the proposed boundaries.

"I am terribly guilt-ridden over the concerns of the Korean community," said Commissioner David Roberti, who nevertheless voted for the changes that disappointed Koreatown advocates. "They did not win here and 10 years ago they didn't win either, and I was on that commission as well."

The 21-member panel meets Wednesday to finalize the proposal, which will then go to the City Council for a vote.

For weeks, Koreatown civic groups and activists had asked for their neighborhood -- an area covered by the boundaries of the Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council -- to be placed in the district represented by Councilman Eric Garcetti.

Because that neighborhood also includes Thai Town and Historic Filipinotown, advocates believed it would give an Asian American candidate a better chance at winning a council seat. Commissioners rejected the proposal while acknowledging Koreatown was experiencing a political "awakening."