This post was updated Nov. 16 at 10:14 p.m.

The North Westwood Neighborhood Council appointed a new secretary and passed a community impact statement supporting the construction of new UCLA student housing on Levering Avenue at its November meeting.

The council, which represents UCLA and the Westwood Village, meets on the first Wednesday of every month at UCLA’s Weyburn Terrace. Meetings can be attended in person or virtually by the public using the link posted on the corresponding month’s agenda. The next meeting is set to be held Dec. 3.

Comments by public officials:

• Mandy Laflen, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s Field Deputy for West and Metro LA, said an emergency preparedness event will take place on Nov. 16 at the Skirball Cultural Center. Laflen added that the LA County Board of Supervisors recently passed a state of emergency declaration in response to federal immigration raids. Laflen also said that students from the UCLA Basic Needs Center reached out to Horvath’s office looking for resources to support the roughly 7,000 UCLA students who use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

• Janet Turner, the outreach deputy district director for United States Representative Ted Lieu, said Lieu would host a Zoom event entitled “Conversations with Veterans,” which happened over Zoom on Nov. 8. Turner added that Lieu partnered with Meals on Wheels – a non-profit providing home-delivered meals to homebound individuals – to deliver food to the community. When asked about USPS trucks parking by red curbs in Westwood, Turner said she plans to file a complaint, adding that Ted Lieu’s office meets with USPS leadership every other week.

• Sherwin Shamoeil, a field representative for California State Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, said Gov. Gavin Newsom signed seven bills that the assemblymember voted to pass. Shamoeil added that Zbur’s office is preparing its bill package with legislative goals for 2026 and encouraged those with ideas to reach out. Shamoeil said that, as of Nov. 5, the federal government had a contingency fund of about $6 billion dollars for SNAP benefits, adding that releasing them to states would restore around 75% of SNAP benefits to Californians for one month.

• Carmen Zambrano, an assistant director at UCLA Local Government and Community Relations, said UCLA would celebrate Veterans Day on Nov. 6 at the James West Alumni Center. Zambrano added that Bruin Family Weekend was Nov. 7-8. Zambrano also said Grant Kerr has joined UCLA’s Federal Government Relations team as a senior director based in Washington, D.C.

• Erica Gatica Doughty, a neighborhood empowerment advocate for EmpowerLA – which manages LA’s neighborhood councils, said the organization’s West LA Summit would be Nov. 8 at the Mar Vista Recreation Center. She added that several city departments would be in attendance. Doughty also said that Senate Bill 411 – a bill allowing legislative bodies of local agencies to hold virtual and hybrid meetings – will expire in January 2026. She added that a new bill allowing for teleconference options is not set to go into effect until June 2026. Doughty said her department postponed several training sessions covering topics such as etiquette, communication and healthy board dynamics.

• Michael Russell, the executive director of the Westwood Village Improvement Association, said the Midvale Interim Housing Project is housing three formerly unhoused people and is working on housing a fourth person. Steve Sann, the chairman of the Westwood Community Council, said that one resident said living conditions in the housing project were intolerable, but Russell added that the person’s report did not match that of the site manager. Russell also said that Bread Head Sandwiches opened at 1136 Westwood Boulevard, making it the 15th business to open in Westwood Village in 2025.

• Patricia Macias, the field deputy for councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, said the LA City Council approved a metal and wire theft reward program allowing the LAPD to offer rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of people who steal or vandalize metal and wire. Macias also listed several efforts to provide food assistance to families in light of the government shutdown, including the Department of Aging providing meals to seniors with the help of the Department of Recreation and Parks, as well as food distribution efforts by the LA Regional Food Bank, LAUSD and the YMCA. Macias added that the city’s Budget and Finance Committee met, and while revenue for the general fund in September was above projections, the city still foresees running a deficit at the end of the year. The Inside Safe Program housed 79 people living on Cotner Avenue, Macias said.

Comments made by the public:

• Ellen Evans, the vice president of legislative affairs for the Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council, said she is running for state senate in California District 24.

Announcements:

• Connor Webb, the chair of the transportation, environment and public space committee, said the Department of Transportation presented data and information about the Westwood Boulevard Safety and Mobility Project to committee members. Webb added that there have been 354 collisions on Westwood Boulevard between Le Conte Avenue and Exposition Boulevard in the past 10 years. Webb said the project would enhance Westwood for pedestrians and add painted bike lanes.

• Melissa Nessman, a co-chair of the outreach committee, said the committee is reaching out to local businesses to hear their thoughts on the Broxton Plaza expansion – a project that would pedestrianize more of Broxton Avenue ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games. Nessman said businesses seem to be in favor of the expansion as a way to bring foot traffic to businesses.

• Elizabeth Brady, chair of the budget and finance committee, said the NWWNC launched its monthly newsletter, which people can sign up for on the NWWNC website.

• Elsa Duval, a co-chair of the ad hoc olympics and paralympics committee, said the city launched a program called PlayLA in recreational centers. Westwood Recreational Center will also offer acrobatic diving classes for youth, she added.

• Andrew Lewis, the chair of the community health, homelessness and safety committee, said the committee met with a representative from Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s office to discuss restarting Westwood Connect Day, which previously provided services to people without housing.

Agenda:

• Lauren Wagner resigned as secretary of NWWNC, and Sailasya Munamarty was appointed as the new secretary. Nessman was appointed to oversee the NWWNC’s social media accounts.

• The council voted on a community impact statement in support of a housing development project for UCLA students at 901 Levering Ave. The UC Board of Regents approved the allocation of nearly $9 million to fund the project in July. The council voted in favor of the CIS with an amendment from President Josh Trifunovic that requested construction be halted for a four-week period around the time of the 2028 Olympic Games. UCLA will serve as the Olympic Village for the quadrennial games.

• The council voted to pass a community impact statement in support of a proposed outdoor dining self-certification program. The program would allow small businesses to self-certify code compliance in order to maintain modest outdoor dining areas, according to the statement.

• The council voted to pass a community impact statement urging the LA City Council to create an implementation task force for a new automated red light camera program that passed in the California State Legislature.

• The council voted to pass a community impact statement in support of school zone speed limit reform that would clarify hours of enforcement and install flashing signs in protected zones.

• Nessman presented three prospective meeting sites for NWWNC moving forward, including St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Hillel at UCLA and 28th Church of Christ, Scientist. She added that several other locations are being considered, but the listed sites had been visited by her and board member Elizabeth Brady. The council did not vote on a new site.

• The council approved its October consent calendar.