A summary of significant Los Angeles City Hall decisions affecting the Westside in the last week. : CITY COUNCIL

* SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky has introduced a proposal requesting an amendment to the city ordinance that prohibits city employees from establishing religious practices on the job. The amendment would spell out some of the practices that are forbidden, including wearing religious insignia on city uniforms, conducting religious services and religious proselytizing on city time.

* SIDEWALK CLEANING: Approved a proposal by Councilmen Michael Woo and Nate Holden to allow funds that are collected from parking meters to also be used to finance cleaning and maintaining the sidewalks in which the meters are located. An ordinance will be prepared by the city attorney and presented to the council within 30 days. The funds currently are spent on traffic control or to construct parking facilities.

* HANNIBAL THE ELEPHANT: Approved a motion by Council President John Ferraro that authorized the use of city employees and a department heavy-duty truck to take Hannibal the elephant to Zacango Zoo in Toluca, Mexico. The five-ton Hannibal, who has been at the Los Angeles Zoo for 11 years, has been sold to the Mexican zoo.

HOW THEY VOTED: How Westside representatives voted on selected issues.

* SETTLEMENT: Approved spending $800,000 to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by a family of a 16-year-old boy who was accidentally shot and killed by a Los Angeles police officer on Feb. 20, 1987. Police said the officer shot Manuel Diaz III after tripping over a pile of wood in a darkened South-Central alley while investigating reports of a loud radio. Diaz was carrying a radio. Passed 12-0. Voting yes: Marvin Braude, Ferraro, Ruth Galanter, Woo and Yaroslavsky. Holden and Joel Wachs were absent.

* POLICE CHIEF: Rejected a proposal to delay the selection of a new chief of police until after the June elections, in which voters will decide whether to adopt a package of police reforms. The proposal failed: 8-4: Voting yes: Ferraro. Voting no: Braude, Galanter and Woo. Holden, Wachs and Yaroslavsky were absent.

* LA’S BEST: Approved an agreement that allows the Community Redevelopment Agency to give $1.78 million to the Los Angeles Unified School District for the Los Angeles’ Better Educated Students for Tomorrow program (LA’s BEST). The funds will be used to finance construction of a classroom building at the Lockwood Elementary School in Central Los Angeles. The money will also be used to improve the school playground facilities and its parking lot. The program is operated in 19 other elementary schools, including one in Venice, and provides after-school tutoring, nutrition snacks and recreational activities to nearly 4,000 students. Passed 13-0. Voting yes: Braude, Galanter, Ferraro, Wachs, Woo and Yaroslavsky. Holden was absent.

* METRO RAIL: Approved an amendment by Holden urging Congress to lift a prohibition preventing tunneling under Wilshire Boulevard in the Fairfax area because of methane gas for the Metro Rail Red Line. Passed: 11-4. Voting yes: Braude, Ferraro, Galanter, Holden, Woo and Yaroslavsky. Wachs voted no.

* METRO RAIL II: Approved a proposal creating an alternative route for the Metro Rail Red Line that bypasses Wilshire Boulevard in the Fairfax area and creates transit stations at Olympic and Crenshaw boulevards and Pico and San Vicente boulevards. Passed: 13-1. Voting yes: Braude, Ferraro, Galanter, Holden, Wachs and Woo. Yaroslavsky was absent.

* FOLK ARTS PROGRAM: Approved submitting a request to the California Arts Council for a $30,000 grant to partially fund a folk arts program at the city’s public libraries for elementary school children. The city has proposed spending an additional $50,000 to run the program. Passed: 12-0. Voting yes: Braude, Ferraro, Holden, Woo and Yaroslavsky. Galanter and Wachs were absent.