The North Westwood Neighborhood Council is the official neighborhood council representing Westwood Village and UCLA to the Los Angeles City Council. Council meetings are open to the public and held monthly. The next meeting will be held virtually Jan. 6.
Comments by Public Officials:
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Jasmine Shamolian, a representative for Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz, said Koretz’s office is preparing for a potential shortage of hospital beds in LA in the near future. Board members Noreen Ahmed and Josh Trifunovic raised concerns to Shamolian about the prevalence of tents and encampments in parks across the city.
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Zac Gaidzik, the field deputy for the West/Metro Los Angeles Office, spoke to the council on behalf of LA County District 3 Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. Gaidzik said there have been 40 new deaths in LA County due to COVID-19 on Wednesday alone, and a 225% average daily case increase since early November.
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Gaidzik spoke to the council about LA County’s stay-at-home order enacted Friday. Stakeholders and restaurant owners Peter Clinco and Trifunovic expressed the need for economic aid among the businesses in Westwood Village as a result of the order. Gaidzik said he would relay these concerns to Kuehl.
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Octaviano Rios, policy analyst and community liaison for the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, spoke to the council about the upcoming North Westwood Neighborhood Council elections set to take place May 2021. Rios reminded the board that applications will open in January.
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Carmen Healey Zambrano, the UCLA Government and Community Relations assistant director, said that the UCLA campus will be closed for winter break this year for a longer period of time than previous years. UCLA will be closed this year from Dec. 19 through Jan. 3.
General Public Comment:
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Lauren Buisson, a representative from the LGBTQ+ Alliance of Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils, asked the council to appoint two NWWNC members to the Alliance. No members were appointed at this time.
Agenda:
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The board unanimously appointed Councilmember Andrew Lewis to serve as the new board secretary, a position previously held by Councilmember Grayson Peters.
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The board unanimously appointed two representatives to the Westside Regional Alliance of Councils’ Homelessness and Transportation Committees. The board appointed Councilmember Ahmed to the Homelessness Committee and Lewis to the Transportation Committee.
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Councilmembers Peters and Furkan Yalcin moved to request that the Los Angeles Department of Transportation implement a four-way stop sign at the intersection of Kelton Avenue and Ophir Drive. This is the only intersection in UCLA’s off-campus apartment area that is not a four-way stop, Yalcin said. The motion unanimously carried.
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Peters moved a motion for the council to file a Community Impact Statement in support of Council File 20-1354, which calls for the Department of Water and Power to prepare Los Angeles’ power supply for the transition to zero emission vehicles by 2035, as mandated by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The motion unanimously carried.
Contributing reports by Joyce He, Daily Bruin contributor.
