This post was updated Nov. 3 at 6:56 p.m.
The North Westwood Neighborhood Council is the official neighborhood council representing UCLA, Westwood Village and the North Village to the Los Angeles City Council. Council meetings are held each month and open to the public via Zoom.
The November special board meeting was presided over by Mario Hernandez, a representative from the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment of the city of Los Angeles.
On Oct. 7, the NWWNC was placed in Exhaustive Efforts, a probationary status, for a tentative three-month period due to noncompliance with an agenda posting policy. The special board meeting was controlled by Hernandez due to Exhaustive Efforts.
During the Exhaustive Efforts period, council agendas will be set by a neighborhood empowerment advocate and all committee meetings will be suspended.
[Related: North Westwood Neighborhood Council to undergo 3-month probationary period]
Comments by public officials:
- Carmen Zambrano, a UCLA Government and Community Relations spokesperson, said the university plans to begin requiring proof of vaccination and a photo ID to enter indoor spaces, including dining halls and athletics facilities. Zambrano added that the Intramural Field is under repair due to flooding during the summer and will be out of service until at least December, with hopes of reopening in early 2022. Zambrano also said that UCLA will be participating in citywide lighting of prominent buildings memorializing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic by lighting Royce Hall and Powell Library blue from Nov. 18 to 20.
Board announcements:
- Hernandez, the neighborhood empowerment advocate, said that as a part of Exhaustive Efforts, he will work with Jose Galdamez, another neighborhood empowerment advocate, and assume the powers of the neighborhood council. Hernandez added that during the period, the NWWNC will be barred from holding committee meetings and publishing Community Impact Statements, which are resolutions adopting an official stance on an issue. Community Impact Statements are used by neighborhood councils to advise the Los Angeles City Council and city officials.
- Evan Farrar, an organizational stakeholder and fourth-year public affairs student, said that not being able to draft Community Impact Statements prevents the council from fully representing its constituents to the LA City Council.
- Peter Clinco, an organizational stakeholder, said that focusing on administrative changes doesn’t improve the state of the neighborhood, adding that business developers and small business owners need the NWWNC’s support. Clinco also said that Exhaustive Efforts prevents the NWWNC from adequately supporting business owners.
- Kevin Crummy, a business stakeholder, said that all NWWNC members should complete their city-mandated trainings as soon as possible so that the NWWNC could move forward with its Exhaustive Efforts work plan and return to normal status.
Public comment:
- Steve Sann said that he is happy to see that the NWWNC agenda format has been updated to include public comment periods throughout agenda discussion, rather than only at the start of the meeting. Sann added that he believes the meeting’s settings on Zoom were potentially in violation of the Brown Act, which governs public officials’ meeting requirements, as it did not display the names of all board members in attendance.
- Jane Ni, the Facilities commissioner for the Undergraduate Students Association Council, said that her office relies on NWWNC to help advocate for students’ needs to the city of Los Angeles. Ni added that due to Exhaustive Efforts, students may be unable to make their voices heard, calling for committee meetings to be reinstated.
- Grayson Peters, a former NWWNC vice president and UCLA alumnus, said he thinks the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment had failed to follow its own grievance procedures when placing the council in Exhaustive Efforts. Peters added that the department’s grievance procedure lists Exhaustive Efforts as a potential remedial measure in the case of a formal grievance process, which was not conducted with the NWWNC.
- Bruce Fan, a third-year political science transfer student, said he hopes that NWWNC will be given the chance to independently represent itself.
Agenda:
- The council approved a motion to form an Outreach Ad Hoc Committee to develop an outreach plan to fill committee vacancies while considering diversity and inclusiveness. The ad hoc committee will be in effect for up to 30 days or until its plan is approved. Additionally, the committee will not be bound by Brown Act requirements due to its ad hoc status, Hernandez said.
- The council appointed members Andrew Lewis, Furkan Yalcin, Sachi Cooper, Josh Trifunovic and Vignesh Senthilkumar to the Outreach Ad Hoc Committee.
- The council approved a motion to form a Strategic Plan Ad Hoc Committee to develop a budget plan for spending the remainder of its 2021-2022 fiscal year funding of $42,000. About five to six months remain in the council budget fiscal year, Hernandez said. The strategic plan ad hoc committee will also be in effect for up to 30 days or until its plan is approved. This committee will also not be bound by Brown Act requirements due to its ad hoc status, Hernandez added.
- The council appointed members Yalcin, Crummy, Kyle Schmidt, Nuha Khalfay and Clinco to the Strategic Plan Ad Hoc Committee.
- The council approved a motion to set Nov. 15 as the deadline for all committee members to complete city-mandated trainings. Required trainings include anti-bias, ethics and open government, funding, code of conduct and city planning. However, the city planning training is only required for NWWNC members on the NWWNC Planning and Land Use Committee, Galdamez said.
- The council approved a motion to hold its board retreat for training Nov. 15 and Dec 1. However, the Nov. 15 date was canceled after the board meeting was adjourned, making Dec. 1 the only board retreat date. All council members will be required to attend the Dec. 1 board retreat as part of Exhaustive Efforts requirements.
- The council approved the meeting minutes from its Sept. 1 board meeting.
- The council approved the meeting minutes from its Sept. 7 board meeting.
- The board approved its August expenditure reports. In August, the council spent $0 from its monthly budget.
- The council approved its September expenditure reports. In September, the council spent $0 from its monthly budget.
