Westwood BID recap – July 16

The Westwood Village Improvement Association, also known as the BID, is a nonprofit organization tasked with improving the state of Westwood Village. The BID was created by property and business owners in August 2011 to provide Westwood Village with functions the City of Los Angeles could not provide. Its board of directors meets monthly.

• Chair Jessica Dabney said Vice Chair Jack Powazek will leave the board of directors following his retirement as UCLA administrative vice chancellor. Steven Olsen, vice chancellor and chief financial officer at UCLA, will take his position for a couple of months as the board searches for a permanent replacement.
• Executive Director Andrew Thomas said the Los Angeles Department of Transportation is planning to install three electronic signs outside the Broxton Avenue Public Parking lot and on Westwood Village streets to show the number of empty spaces there are in the lot and in the street. He also said city officials are looking to shift sidewalk maintenance responsibilities from the city to residents and business owners, and BIDs across the city are working with officials to establish a plan.
• Thomas also announced Chris Pearson’s resignation as Zone 2 board member. Pearson’s job required him to move to Orange County.
• Board member Jim Brooks said the BID’s Clean, Safe, and Beautiful Committee and L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz’s office will work with businesses that are illegally displaying sandwich signs on the sidewalk and using the blue BID trash cans.
• The executive committee and board members Peter Clinco and Mark Eberwein will interview candidates to fill a merchant seat and a Zone 2 seat on the board of directors.
• Nathan Donnell, vice president of sales for Park Mobile, gave a presentation about his parking service that is coming to UCLA and Westwood Village. He said drivers will be able to download an app on their phones that will allow them to pay for a parking space. Donnell also asked the board to coordinate a meeting with merchants and create a validation system that would provide discounted parking for drivers who use the app.
• A representative for the Coalition to Save Small Business asked the board to send a letter to Koretz showing its opposition against an L.A. City Council proposal that would legalize street vending. The board agreed to send the letter asking the council to not pass a motion that would authorize street vending without any regulations. The board will also ask the council to include an opt-in feature so individuals neighborhoods can decide whether street vending should be allowed in their area.

Compiled by Roberto Luna Jr., Bruin senior staff.