North Westwood Neighborhood Council recap – Sept. 2

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 virtually on Oct. 7.

Announcements

• LAPD Officer Pete Ojeda said the victim of the Aug. 22 shooting outside Habibi Cafe is in stable condition.

• UCPD is investigating reports of a local man taking unsolicited photos of women in Westwood. While no crime has yet been committed, LAPD, UCPD and local businesses have been made aware.

• Andrew Thomas, executive director of the Westwood Village Improvement Association, presented the results of a Westwood stakeholder survey on the Westwood Village Specific Plan. The survey was conducted in cooperation with City Council District 5. With more than 2,500 respondents, the survey was the most popular survey the WVIA has ever conducted, Thomas said. The majority of respondents indicated they wanted to change to or eliminate the Specific Plan.

• UCLA will only have approximately 700 students living in the dorms this fall quarter, in accordance with LA County’s COVID-19 health guidelines, said Carmen Healey, assistant director of community and local government relations.

• UCLA will host three voting sites for the presidential election in November, including two five-day voting centers at Ackerman Union and one 11-day voting center at the Hammer Museum, Healey said.

• Voters must now be 16 years old to vote in neighborhood council elections and 18 years old to hold a seat on a council, said Octaviano Rios, a community liaison of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment.

Agenda

• Lisa Chapman, president of the Westwood Neighborhood Council, encouraged the NWWNC to continue to abide by the Westwood Specific Plan despite the results of the recent stakeholder survey.

• NWWNC accepted the resignation of Zahra Hajee, a board member, vice president and NWWNC Budget Committee co-chair. Hajee will now work as a district representative for Scott Wiener in San Francisco.

• The board selected Nina Long, a fourth-year public affairs student, to fill the open renter’s seat and Furkan Yalcin, a UCLA alumnus, and Nuha Khalfay, a medical student, for the two at-large council member seats.

• The council unanimously voted for Grayson Peters, secretary of the NWWNC and a fourth-year French language and culture and political science student, to fill the vice president position. No one was nominated as a replacement for the secretary position, so Peters will fill both roles.

• Duffl, a new local delivery service, is applying for a liquor license, said David Lin, a fourth-year business economics and philosophy student and founder of the company. Duffl is opening a retail storefront at 950 Gayley Ave. as a hub for its deliveries. The council supported Duffl’s intention and application but does not have authority to bestow the license. Council members who have not completed LA’s financial and conflict of interest training abstained from voting.

• Nikki Mark, a Westwood resident, presented her petition for UCLA to reopen its recreational facilities to the community and asked the council for their support. Healey said it is not possible to open these facilities because of COVID-19 related county health guidelines but that UCLA hopes to open the facilities once the fall quarter begins.

• The council voted in favor of a Community Impact Statement against the reinstatement of cleaning and rapid engagement cleanups impacting unhoused residents within the special enforcement zones established around LA’s A Bridge Home shelters.

• The council endorsed a motion directing the Department of Transportation to report back on the feasibility of developing a permanent network of Slow Streets to enable wider access to open spaces for all Angelenos.

• The council nominated new board members and stakeholders to various committees. The most sought-after position was on the committee addressing homelessness.