Westwood Neighborhood Council recap – Aug. 9

The Westwood Neighborhood Council meets every month to discuss issues regarding Westwood Village.

Comments by public officials

• Fiona Ma, chair of the Board of Equalization, said California will be introducing new taxation policies to collect revenue from the cannabis industry as California moves to legalize marijuana. Ma said she thinks California should model its cannabis industry after states that have legalized marijuana, such as Colorado, which have had success with the cannabis industry.

• Representatives from the Geffen Academy at UCLA, a private middle and high school opening this fall for children of UCLA faculty and staff as well as students from the greater Los Angeles community, discussed funding and scholarships for the new school. The academy will provide partial scholarships for students who demonstrate financial need, representatives said. Some board members said they were concerned that the academy will hold physical education classes by renting space in the Village, as space is very limited.

Discussion

• Lisa Chapman, president of the council, said she would like the board to better abide by council guidelines, such as only allowing two minutes per speaker as well as having the board only discuss agenda items. Chapman added she thinks issues raised in public comment should be put on the agenda and discussed at following meetings.

Motions

• The council voted against giving Liwan Restaurant and Hookah Lounge an entertainment permit that would allow for live entertainment such as music. Chapman said the council has had some issues with the restaurant in the past for not meeting building code regulations. For example, the restaurant is built on a space that was originally a parking lot and is not adequate for establishing a restaurant on. Liwan also continues to violate other codes, including serving food without a permit, Chapman added.

• The board unanimously voted in favor of a motion that opposes small cell cellphone towers in the city. Several board members said they thought the towers, which are signal boosters set up by Verizon Wireless, were bad for the Village’s appearance.

• The board approved a motion to change the bylaws to allow the council to create new standing committees that can focus on particular Westwood issues. Currently, the bylaws only allow the board to form ad-hoc committees, which can only include sitting board members, but new standing committees can include community members as well. Chapman said she submitted paperwork to the city to approve the change and hopes to expedite the process.