The North Westwood Neighborhood Council heard updates about climate change initiatives and discussed proposed improvements to transportation during Wednesday’s meeting.

The NWWNC represents UCLA and Westwood to the Los Angeles City Council and meets every first Wednesday of the month in UCLA’s Weyburn Terrace. Meetings are held in person and can be attended virtually via Zoom. The Zoom link can be accessed in each month’s agenda. The next meeting is set to be held June 5.

Comments by public officials:

• Mandy Laflen, field deputy for LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, said the LA County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the County Climate Action Plan, which aims to reduce emitted greenhouse gas. She added that Horvath passed a zero emissions vehicle master plan April 23 to support EV infrastructure. Laflen also said the Department of Economic Opportunity, in partnership with Horvath and Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, opened a $4.1 million grant program intended for small businesses affected by COVID-19 and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike April 25.
• Sherwin Shamoeil, senior field representative for California State Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, said AB 2943 – also known as the California Retail Reduction Act – was passed out of committee unanimously.
• Michael Russell, executive director of the Westwood Village Improvement Association, said the alley behind the AirGarage public parking structure on Hilgard Avenue will need to be reconfigured for Broxton Plaza.
• Carmen Zambrano, assistant director of UCLA’s Community and Local Government Relations, said campus operations will be limited due to the Palestine solidarity encampment – which has since been swept by LAPD – and there will be move-out events to avoid bulky items being left on the curb.
• Erica Gatica Doughty, the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment project coordinator, said the city is in a budget deficit. A new city general manager was nominated April 26 but has not yet been approved by the city council.

Public comment:

• Luis Garcia Chavez, a graduate student at UCLA, encouraged the city to focus on housing and transportation resources in the potential budget and to avoid cuts in those resources.

Agenda:

• The council heard a presentation on Phase 1 of the LA County Public Works Department Advertising Bus Shelter Replacement, a project to address aging infrastructure by improving 40 bus stops through the installation of new shelters, benches and bike racks.
• The council heard a presentation on the Commercial Cannabis Activity License LA-R-24-101737-ANN, a permanent license for the Farmacy cannabis retail store in Westwood. The council decided to write a letter in support of its license renewal, which was up for approval Thursday.
• The council reviewed a joint CicLAvia event request with the West LA Sawtelle Neighborhood to close three to five miles of streets to allow for biking, walking, food vendors and more. The council unanimously approved the request.
• The council approved the May consent calendar.

There were no council announcements.

Wednesday’s council meeting was held amid the Palestine solidarity encampment at UCLA and the day after an attack where counter-protesters used fireworks, aerosol irritants and projectiles to attempt to breach the encampment.

In an interview with the Daily Bruin, Council President Josh Trifunovic responded to the attack.

“Both sides’ opinions and points of view get lost because all we’re talking about now is their violence,” Trifunovic said. “We went from protest to criminal activity.”