Farmers’ market exempted from tax

A proposed street-use ordinance tax, which some Westwood Village
Farmers’ Market vendors said would force them to close their
stalls, has been modified and now exempts all farmers’ market
vendors.

The proposal will be voted on by the Los Angeles City Council
later this summer.

The proposal ““ which would charge businesses about $532 a
week for street closures ““ drew the ire of UCLA student
protesters and Westwood community members, who said the non-profit
market would be forced to close if the legislation was passed.

“It was the community and students that caused that to
happen,” said Jessica Dabney, a Farmer’s Market
Education Foundation board of directors member, in regard to the
modifications to the proposal at one of the last of four community
outreach meetings held by the foundation last Monday.

“It is the FM’s Education Foundation’s mandate
to run the best farmers’ market they can and provide the
freshest produce. This exemption is great news,” Dabney
said.

With the tax issue resolved, the community members present at
the meeting, which included residents, the president of the Chamber
of Commerce, and Westwood Village Farmers’ Market
representatives, were able to focus their concerns on other matters
during an informal question and answer period.

“There’s an emptiness, a hole in Westwood. There
will always be some problems between homeowners and commercial
business, but we must marry the disconnect ““ stop segregating
and start integrating,” said Jay Handal, the president of the
Chamber of Commerce for West Los Angeles, regarding the
relationship between Westwood businesses and the members of the
community.

“The chamber believes any good community event is what
this city needs. The ultimate goal is to bring Westwood back to
being the hub of the Westside,” Handal said.

Parking and reaching a middle ground with the Casden project and
the new construction on Glendon Avenue are the biggest issues the
Farmers’ Market is facing, Dabney said. Both issues were
addressed during the meeting, primarily the parking issue, though
neither with any final resolution.

“There’s no parking for residents or farmers’
market vendors,” Handal said.

Handal said the best hope for improved parking would be in a
million-dollar Business Improvement Development, which would also
turn the city around socially.

As the meeting continued, questions and topics of conversation
strayed from current and direct farmers’ market issues to
problems with the city, including discussion on a foiled attempt to
move the entire market to Broxton Avenue.

“There was a huge effort to move to Broxton ““ we
held meetings, but Mann’s theaters opposed the move due to
movie premiers on Thursdays,” said Daisy Lin Shapiro, a
Farmers’ Market Education Foundation board of directors
member.

Despite these talks of a farmers’ market move, Darrell
Lloyd, an assistant manager of the Westwood Farmers’ Market,
said that a move will not be happening any time in the near
future.

“At this point and time it just isn’t
feasible” said Lloyd.

“The farmers’ market and events like it are the
anchor of Westwood, of the community. It’s the one positive
thing we have right now, and we want to keep it running
well,” said Prudence McGowan-Faxon, an officer of the Friends
of Westwood.