New Council to be Formed

Be careful what you wish for

From the Bruin: Students and Westwood community members won an election to create a new neighborhood council in Westwood, according to a preliminary vote tally Wednesday.

Westwood Forward, a coalition of students, homeowners and business owners, received 2,004 votes to break away from the Westwood Neighborhood Council and form their own neighborhood council that would consider local policy and advise the Los Angeles City Council on Westwood issues. 1,481 people voted not to support the creation of the new council.

The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, which oversees neighborhood councils, allows for groups to subdivide neighborhood councils based on a simple-majority vote following an application process. In December, members of the Westwood Forward coalition submitted an application, along with proposed bylaws, boundaries and a petition containing signatures from just under 1,000 individuals who favor the new council...

Full story at http://dailybruin.com/2018/05/23/vote-to-subdivide-wwnc-create-new-westwood-council-receives-majority/

Editor's note: The assumption is that partitioning the current council will overcome NIMBYism and produce affordable housing for students and student-priced businesses. Given Westwood's location and high land prices, it's not clear that the eventual result won't be more high-end (unaffordable for students) housing and expensive restaurants and shopping. On verra.