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.
As of Feb. 18, the City of Los Angeles Department of Neighborhood Empowerment lifted the council from Exhaustive Efforts, a probationary status, according to a Feb. 18 department letter sent to the board.
On Oct. 7, because of noncompliance with an agenda posting policy, the NWWNC was placed in Exhaustive Efforts for a tentative three-month period.
The council must work with Erica Gatica, a neighborhood empowerment advocate, and continue with the outreach and strategic plans it adopted under Exhaustive Efforts, according to the department letter.
[Related: North Westwood Neighborhood Council to undergo 3-month probationary period]
Comments by public officials:
- Michelle Persoff, a spokesperson for Assembly Member Isaac Bryan’s office, said Bryan’s office participated in the Los Angeles Homeless Count at various locations
- Janet Turner, a spokesperson for Congressman Ted Lieu’s office, said Lieu worked with Senator Alex Padilla to allocate more funds for homelessness. Their proposal, the Housing for All Act of 2022, would focus on investing in converting hotels and motels into more permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness and funding programs such as housing vouchers, Turner added.
- Carmen Zambrano, a UCLA Government and Community Relations spokesperson, said UCLA will continue universal indoor-masking protocols despite the lifting of these mandates for fully vaccinated individuals in LA and California. Zambrano added that UCLA plans to hold additional townhalls with mayoral candidates. She also said First Thursdays, a monthly event series in collaboration with the Westwood Village Improvement Association, held its inaugural event on March 3, which included a Mentorship Cafe where UCLA students met with alumni and a Westwood Block Party.
Board announcements:
- Furkan Yalcin, the NWWNC president and an at-large stakeholder, said some council members participated in the Westwood Homeless Count held last week
- Andrew Lewis, the NWWNC vice president and a general resident stakeholder, said community members should attend and support First Thursdays.
Public comment:
Steve San said the Westwood Homeless Count occurred on a cold night, potentially impacting the results since some people experiencing homelessness may have sought temporary shelter indoors. He added the results have yet to be finalized. The count’s results are slated to be completed by the summer.
Agenda:
- The board appointed Bruce Fan, a third-year political science and international relations transfer student, to the NWWNC Transportation and Safety Committee.
- The board unanimously approved its December and January expenditure reports. In December, the council spent $0. In January, the council spent $0.
- The board approved a motion to amend the council’s bylaws, based on recommendations from the NWWNC By-Laws Ad-Hoc Committee, including updates to neighborhood boundary descriptions and residence requirements to accommodate students. The new residence requirements would expand its scope to include those who were Westwood residents in the past 180 days and plan to continue being one. The amendments also set term limits for board members to a total of 15 years. Board members can serve for up to seven consecutive years, after which they must leave the board for two years.
- The board tabled discussion on a neighborhood purpose grant for Village for Vets because the grant application and related documents were not made available in a timely manner. The organization provides services such as meals and emergency grants to veterans experiencing or at the risk of experiencing homelessness.
- The board supported the Healthy Streets LA Ballot Initiative, which would direct the City of Los Angeles to prioritize street improvement measures that were outlined in the city’s mobility plan. Michael Schnieder, the chair of the Mid City West Neighborhood Council Transportation and Sustainability Committee, said that the initiative would add multiple bike lanes on Gayley Avenue, Wilshire Avenue and Weyburn Avenue, among other areas in Westwood.
- The board approved a Community Impact Statement statement opposing a Los Angeles City Council motion filed by District 5 Councilmember Paul Koretz, which would require the Los Angeles Housing Department to provide recommendations on an ordinance to ensure tenants have greater transparency when receiving utility bills within 60 days.
- The board approved a Community Impact Statement opposing a draft city council ordinance that would prohibit assembling, disassembling, selling or distributing of bicycles and bicycle parts on public property
- The board approved a Community Impact Statement opposing a motion that would implement additional restrictions that will increase the cost and difficulty of building additional housing
- The board approved a Community Impact Statement supporting a motion Koretz filed that would prohibit the construction of any new gas, fossil fuel, or diesel stations or bumps in LA
- The board approved a Community Impact Statement opposing Koretz’s Oct. 5 motion to request the prohibition of sitting, sleeping, and lying in public areas such as Westwood Park.
- The board approved a Community Impact Statement supporting a city council motion to analyze election procedures for various neighborhood councils
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