Westwood Village Improvement Association recap – Jan. 17

The Westwood Village Improvement Association is a nonprofit organization tasked with improving the state of Westwood Village. Property and business owners created the association in 2011 to provide the Village with functions the city of Los Angeles could not provide. Its board of directors meets monthly.

• Andrew Thomas, the association’s executive director, said the Westwood Business Improvement District’s request to be excluded from new street vending policies in LA was not approved.

• Thomas also said the application for a parklet on Glendon Avenue received support from the North Westwood Neighborhood Council, and the association is working to submit the parklet application before its due date, Jan. 31.

• Thomas added the BID’s participation in a pilot parking revenue program for the city will go before LA City Council on Jan. 18. Once the program is implemented, 15 percent of the revenue from parking meters will go back into the association to improve the Village. Currently, all parking meter revenue generated by Westwood goes to the City of LA.

• The Westwood Homeless Count is taking place Jan. 23 as part of the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, hosted by the Westwood Neighborhood Council and the Westwood Community Council, Thomas added.

• Jessica Dabney, board member and representative of North American Realty property management, nominated Brad Erickson, board member and executive director of UCLA’s Campus Service Enterprises, to be the association’s new vice-chair. The official role of the vice-chair is to fill in for Jim Brooks, current chair and president of TOPA Management, in case of absence. Dabney said Erickson was a resident of Westwood and provided unique experience to the board because of his UCLA background. The board unanimously approved Erickson’s nomination.

• The board unanimously approved Brooks’ appointment of the executive committee as the ad hoc nominating committee to interview and nominate candidates to serve on the board.

• The association approved reducing the number of regular board meetings per year from ten to six, including the annual board meeting when officers of the board are elected. Thomas said the various committees of the association and the board will still meet around 44 per year. The association also tentatively set board officer elections for their November meeting.