Students may soon have more control over how Westwood operates.
Student leaders are pushing to create a local council to advise the Los Angeles City Council on students’ concerns regarding Westwood, such as its lack of nightlife and affordable housing. Michael Skiles, president of the Graduate Students Association, along with other graduate and undergraduate student leaders, proposed creating a new neighborhood council in Westwood to better represent students at a GSA forum Wednesday.
The North Westwood Neighborhood Council, the tentative name for the new council, would serve UCLA’s campus, Westwood Village and the North Village.
The Westwood Neighborhood Council, which is currently the official advisor to the City Council on matters regarding Westwood and its residents, would exist in addition to the proposed North Westwood council. However, members of the Westwood Neighborhood Council who live or have businesses within the boundaries of the new council would need to resign because their council would no longer control that area, Skiles said.
Westwood Forward, the coalition of students working on the new council, is putting together an application for a council subdivision to the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, the city’s legislative body for neighborhood councils. Skiles said he expects the first official elections for the North Westwood Neighborhood Council to take place in June if the department approves the application. Only those who live within the boundaries proposed in the new council’s application will be able to run for seats...
Paavo Monkkonen, a UCLA associate professor of urban planning, helped student leaders draft the proposed council’s boundaries. Monkkonen said he wanted to help students create a new neighborhood council after attending a public hearing in September where homeowners expressed opposition to UCLA’s plan to build housing in Westwood...
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