The North Westwood Neighborhood Council heard updates on wildfire relief efforts during their February meeting.

The NWWNC, which represents UCLA and Westwood Village to the Los Angeles City Council, holds meetings on the first Wednesday of every month at Weyburn Commons. Meetings are accessible to the public both in person or virtually through a link posted on the council’s website. The following meeting was held March 5.

In the Feb. 5 meeting, community members discussed the upcoming council elections and infrastructure developments and heard from officials who addressed wildfire recovery.

Council announcements:

• Councilmember Connor Webb said the Transportation, Environment and Public Space Committee met to discuss infrastructure permitting and development ahead of the LA 2028 Olympics through a request to the city.

• Councilmember Elizabeth Brady said the Budget and Finance Committee met to discuss the allocation of $1,000 to wildfire relief efforts.

• Councilmember Andrew Lewis said the Ad Hoc Elections Committee met to discuss outreach and marketing needed for the upcoming neighborhood council election, such as paid advertisements and tabling at public events.

Comments made by public officials:

• Patricia Macias, City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky’s Westwood field deputy, said the Westwood Recreation Center was still an active evacuation center for wildfire victims as of Feb. 5, as the committee continues to work with Red Cross and Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to coordinate rehousing plans. Macias added that community members can request the city’s clean teams for areas affected by heavy rainfall or ruined with excess trash.

• Mandy Laflen, field deputy for Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, said the board filed a motion to seek state and federal support for cleaning up beaches and testing water quality as part of wildfire recovery efforts. Laflen added that Horvath introduced a motion to prevent price gouging of home rental prices by increasing penalties from $10,000 to $50,000. Laflen also said Horvath initiated a motion to establish a $32 million wildfire recovery fund to provide direct assistance and distribute resources efficiently and equitably.

• Janet Turner, outreach deputy district director for Congressman Ted Lieu, said the congressman is supporting and preparing legislation to oppose Department of Government Efficiency access to the Treasury systems and passed a bill for managing forests on federal land. Turner added that the House passed four bills related to wildfire recovery including allocating more tools to invest in long-term hazard prevention while rebuilding destroyed infrastructure.

• Carmen Zambrano, UCLA’s assistant director of community and local government relations, said the Bruin Relief Initiative will introduce community members to volunteer opportunities for wildfire relief. Zambrano also said the school is helping coordinate the second year of Sustainable Move-Out in June.

[Related: First Thursdays brings comfort, crafting to community in response to LA fires]

• Department of Neighborhood Empowerment Project Coordinator Erica Gatica Doughty said surveys were sent to neighborhood councils to ask about wildfire experiences and what additional resources and support were needed. Doughty added that city employees have been deployed to assist in wildfire relief, so they were not at full capacity.

Comments made by the public:

• Steve Sann, chairman of the Westwood Community Council, said Westwood’s homeless count was set to take place Feb. 20. Sann added that the Westwood Public Library has been facing vandalism and safety threats.

[Related: Community Members Volunteer for the Westwood Homeless Count]

Agenda:

The Budget and Finance Committee recommended the other half of the wildfire relief funds to go to UCLA Bruin Wildfire Relief Fund for students and faculty affected by the fires.

The council discussed Community Impact Statement on Council Files 25-0006-S21, which support tenants who may have violated certain terms of their lease by allowing individuals displaced by wildfires to stay in their homes for an extended period of time. The statement also supports displaced tenants not paying rent for the period of time their homes are uninhabitable or under evacuation order. The council voted in favor of submitting the Community Impact Statement.

The council voted unanimously in favor of the Community Impact Statement for Council File 25-0043, which supports the creation of a self-certification program to allow for more construction and development of houses amid wildfire relief efforts.

The council discussed a Community Impact Statement on 23 council files addressing wildfire relief. The files call for a detailed investigation and reporting on factors such as firefighting and climate change, waiving water bills in affected areas and developing programs to assist affected workers. The council voted in favor of the Community Impact Statement.

The council discussed Community Impact Statement on Council Files 24-1399 and 99-1800-S95, which support prohibiting the use of pavements as extra parking, except for in garage driveways and circular driveways. The council voted in favor of the Community Impact Statement.

The council discussed a request for action for the reopening of the LA National Cemetery’s pedestrian gate, located at Constitution and Veteran avenues, primarily to increase access to public transportation methods such as the two new Metro stations in the area. The council voted in favor of the request for action.

The council discussed a request for action to the county to provide funding for a regional greenway between Santa Monica and Westwood on Ohio Avenue and improve access to hospitals and future metro lines. The council voted in favor of the request for action.

Lewis was appointed as the council’s interim vice president following Marcello Robinson’s resignation. Councilmember Connor Webb was nominated and appointed as secretary to fill in for current Secretary Jacob Wasserman’s leave of absence until June.

The council voted Will Holzer, a second-year political science and statistics and data science student, to be the organizational chair. Brady was appointed to manage website and social media access, and Councilmember Raag Agrawal was appointed to be the second bank cardholder.

The council approved their December consent calendar.