North Westwood Neighborhood Council recap – Sept. 4

The North Westwood Neighborhood Council is the official neighborhood council representing Westwood Village and UCLA to the Los Angeles City Council. Council meetings are open to the public and held monthly. The next meeting will be held Oct. 2 in the Weyburn Commons Village View Room from 7-10 p.m.

Comments by Public Officials:

• Andrew Thomas, executive director of the Westwood Village Improvement Association, said the Los Angeles Police Department will be temporarily increasing deployment in Westwood Village starting Monday Sept. 10 to connect with the community. LAPD will be responding to calls, holding roll call meetings and meeting with local businesses and stakeholders to hear their concerns throughout the month.
• The WVIA will turn four parking meter spaces by the Ministry of Coffee into a small park-like area with chairs, umbrellas, and games on Sept. 20, Thomas said. This event will be part of PARK(ing) day, a nationwide occasion that promotes turning car space into pedestrian space. Businesses nearby will offer discounts that day, he added.
• Thomas added he expects more attendance during the Westwood Village Block Party than last year. The block party will be held Sept. 22 and serves to connect students with local businesses in the Village. Up to 15,000 people attended the block party last year over a five-hour period, he said. This year, their block party will feature a Ferris wheel in addition to the regular music, entertainment and food samples, he said.
• WVIA will also invite social service providers to connect with the local homeless population during an access day Nov. 21 at the Westwood Presbyterian Church, Thomas said. Free lunches and showers will be provided.

Motions:

• The council unanimously tabled a consideration and re-vote on approval of two previously approved neighborhood purpose grants. One grant would go to Kaleidoscope, a chamber orchestra that would perform a free community concert. The other grant would go to the UCLA Foundation to fund the UCLA Community Programs Office food closet. Both grants were tabled due to insufficient information and to allow the council to discuss the merits of the grants further.
• The council unanimously approved a boundary adjustment petition which calls for the inclusion of the Westwood Recreation Center, Westwood Gardens Park and Bad News Bears Field as a shared resource between the NWWNC and the Westwood Neighborhood Council. This adjustment would not incorporate those three areas into the NWWNC district, but it would allow the NWWNC to more easily use those spaces for public events and committee meetings. Michael Skiles, president of the NWWNC, said those areas are useful because they are rent free and offer parking spaces.