North Westwood Neighborhood Council Recap – March 3

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 are currently being held virtually via Zoom. The next full board meeting will be held virtually April 7.

Comments by public officials:

• Carmen Healey, the assistant director of UCLA community and local government relations, said LA Metro’s Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project, which seeks to connect the San Fernando Valley to the Westside and Los Angeles International Airport, received suggestions to include a stop on the 405 Freeway near UCLA.
• Jasmine Shamolian, the Westwood field deputy for LA City District 5 Councilmember Paul Koretz, said Koretz created a Hate Crime Security Fund to finance additional security measures at cultural, religious and LGBTQ+ centers. Shamolian added that programs to “sweep” homeless encampments near the Westwood Recreation Center have been scaled back to once every week.
• Brad Fingard, the west area representative of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office, said that LA County has administered more than 441,000 vaccine doses and is set to receive half of the newly ordered 21,000 Johnson & Johnson shots by March 6.
• Fingard said two new mobile vaccination sites opened this week and two more will open next week for a total of eight mobile vaccination sites in the city of LA. More than 8,000 doses have been distributed at these sites in South LA, East LA and the East Valley.
• Fingard said the mayor’s office is working with community organizations to help residents with disabilities find transportation to vaccination sites. An express lane was opened at Dodger Stadium to accommodate those with disabilities.
• Fingard said street sweeping services in LA city will be reduced to every other week because of staff shortages and hiring freezes. The Bureau of Street Services launched an online forum to inform residents 24 to 48 hours before beginning street cleaning services.

No public comment.

Agenda:

• Representatives from Landmark Properties, a real estate development agency, introduced plans for the development of a residential building on 10915 W. Strathmore Drive. Aaron Stange, a development manager at Landmark Properties, said the project is slated to include 37 units of which five will be low-income supportive housing. The council unanimously voted to approve the agency’s request for building and zoning permits.
• The council did not approve a motion that would have allocated $1,000 in social media advertising to encourage people to apply to the Neighborhood Purpose Grant.
• The council unanimously approved a motion to spend $3,250 for election advertising in UCLA Student Media publications, including the Daily Bruin.
• The council tabled a $5,000 NPG application for the World Harvest Food Bank.
• The council unanimously voted to accept Grayson Peters’ resignation from his positions as the vice president of the NWWNC, the transportation and safety committee chair and a board member. The council unanimously appointed Councilmember Nina Long as the transportation and safety committee chair and Kevin Crummy as the vice president.
• The council tabled a motion on submitting a community impact statement to the city council on LA’s zoning code and affordable housing.