Westwood Neighborhood Council recap – July 12

The Westwood Neighborhood Council meets monthly to discuss issues pertaining to Westwood Village and the surrounding areas.

Comments by public officials

• Jasmine Shamolian, a field representative for Councilman Paul Koretz, said construction for the Westwood Recreation Center dog park will be completed by the beginning of August. She added the city will be making parkway parking, or parking on the grass between the sidewalk and the street, illegal starting Aug. 1. Until then, violators will be cited with warning tickets.
• Eric Geier, community relations manager for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said construction for the metro’s Purple Line extension that runs through Westwood will begin in 2018. The first phase of construction will involve rerouting water pipelines, electrical lines and gas lines away from the new subway route. Geier added that this phase will take place at night to avoid affecting traffic during the day.
• Marco Perez, a representative from UCLA Government and Community Relations, said Geffen Academy, a private middle and high school for the children of UCLA faculty and staff as well as students from the greater Los Angeles community, will be opening on UCLA’s campus in September.
• Joshua Baum, Graduate Students Association director of local legislative affairs, said he thinks the Village should provide more affordable student housing options. Sandy Brown, vice president of the council, said it was up to housing developers to bring in affordable housing options, but added that many developers want to invest in profitable projects that charge tenants higher rates.

Discussion

• The council’s Land Use and Planning Committee recommended not supporting the construction of a 10-unit apartment building on Landfair Avenue because the project exceeded the Village’s height limits, did not provide affordable housing and would exist as a modern-style building among the traditional Spanish-style buildings in that area. However, the council found that the building project was up to code and felt the building’s design alone was not a major issue. As a result, the council did not pass a motion against the building.
• Brown advised the council to read through the Westwood Neighborhood Council guidebook in order to familiarize themselves with Westwood’s bylaws and specific plans in order to help them make better decisions for the Village.

Motions

• The council passed a motion to create a UCLA student engagement committee. However, the council could only create an ad hoc committee consisting of council members due to bylaw constraints. The council appointed Angus Beverly, parking and transportation chair and a current UCLA law student, as the chair of the new committee.