We can have you all take your
seats. Before we call the
meeting to order, I would like
to read the city
s land
acknowledgments. The West
Hollywood City Council
acknowledges that the land on
which we gather and that is
currently known as the City of
West Hollywood is the occupied,
unseeded, seized territory of
the Gabrieleno Tongva and the
Gabrieleno quih peoples. I
m
officially calling this meeting
of the FEBRUARY 18, 2025 City
Council meeting to order at
6:05 and will Ari Strasnoy join
us to deliver the Pledge of
Allegiance, please. I pledge
allegiance to the flag. The
United States of America and to
the republic for which it
stands, one nation under GOD
indivisible with liberty and
justice for all. All right,
thanks, Ari. City clerk, MAY we
please have a roll call. Yes,
Mayor. Thank you. Councilmember
Erickson. Here Councilmemb Hang
here Councilmember Meister here
Vice Mayor Heilman here, Mayor
Byers here we have a quorum
terrific. City attorney, will
you please provide us with a
report of the closed session.
Yes, thank you. Good evening.
The city council convened close
session this evening to discuss
one piece of business listed on
the posted agenda. There were a
few pieces of written public
comment that were submitted on
the agenda item, but no members
of the public present to speak
on the item. The council
discussed the one item of
business and took no reportable
action. The closed session
concluded at 6 P.M. This
evening. That concludes my
report. Thank you so much. City
clerk, are there any changes
from staff to tonight
s agenda
as we move into agenda approval.
Yes, Mayor, and just to
reiterate for members of the
public item c1 has been, uh,
continued to a date uncertain.
There are no other changes from
staff from staff do my
colleagues have any changes? Oh,
Councilmemb Erickson, ready to
go. Thanks. I
ll start from the
back potentially f7, Sister
Cities program. I have comments,
but I can make them under
councilmember comments. Thank
you. The Weeho loves local
program expansion of new gift
card program f6. I
d like to
hold that for discussion. Uh,
f4, annual Juneteenth event.
Great. Uh, f3, West Hollywood
Design District Street poll
policy update and approval of a
licensure agreement between the
city of West Hollywood and it
won
t read anymore. Great. And
then I
m going to try an f2 as
well, the sunset strip, uh,
street pole banner policy
update and approval. Great. And
I don
t know if I have any more
me up I do d1, an ordinance of
the City of West Hollywood,
proving amendments to Section
10.28.050 of the municipal code.
Sounds great. Did you say? I, I
did not, no. That
s his. To
move that to consent. Thank you.
Terrific. So seeing nothing
else, um, I have moved to
consent item f2. Sorry, let me
get there. F2, the sunset Strip
Street pole banner policy
update and approval license
agreement, uh, f3, the West
Hollywood Design District
street pole banner policy
update and approval license
agreement, uh, for the annual
Juneteenth event f5, the arts
programming and recognition of
Black History Month 2026, uh,
f7, the Sister City program. Is
that correct? Terrific. What
about f1? I
m fine with that
one. Ok, so almost. Ok Seeing
no other changes. I actually
have a procedural question for
the city attorney. I just
wanted to ask real quick for
clarity. MADAM City Attorney, I
know it
s been precedent that
if a council member wants to
hold an item, it
s possible or
to remove an item, but normally
if it was requested, they would
need 3 votes to approve an
agenda, correct? In order to
prove the agenda, you need 3
votes, a majority of the city
council. What
s your specific
question is 3 council members
have given verbal
acknowledgement up here to say,
yeah, we can move that to
consent, but one person likes
to hold it. We
ve normally done
that out of tradition, but
without actual procedural rules,
right? Yeah, the courtesy has
been that if 11 council member
has questions to keep it on the
agenda so that it can be heard
in the regular course of
business. Thank you. Thank you.
So we have a motion to adopt
the agenda in a second.
Councilmemb Hang. Almost all
votes cast. You cast your vote
in the. Oh Almost Awesome, all
votes in the motion passes 50.
Thank you. Um, we
ll move on to
Levine Act disclosures, city
clerk, I believe you have a
comment. Yes, I do. So for
items f2 and f3 which were
moved to the consent calendar,
um, they are not subject to the
Levine Act under California
government Code Section 843085b.
So as the council looks at the
items on the agenda for tonight
to make their disclosures, just
keep that in mind. Thank you.
Terrific. Uh, with that, do my
colleagues have any other
Levine Act disclosures to
report tonight looking through
the agenda? No? Ok, see nothing,
um, we
ll move on to
adjournment motions. Do any of
my colleagues have adjournment
motions? I have one. You have
one? Ok, COUNCILMAN Erickson,
we
ll have to start with you.
Thank you. I would like to
adjourn tonight
s memory of see
Hendrick, who is the world
s
first openly gay imam who was
shot dead in South Africa this
past weekend. Thank you very
much. Um, I have 3, so forgive
me for a little bit of
verbiness, um, but I
m going to
get started first tonight we
will adjourn in honor of Donald
Shope, a distinguished
professor of urban planning at
ucla who passed away on
FEBRUARY 6th at the age of 86.
Donald Shoup
s groundbreaking
research and decades of
scholarship in the field of
land use planning reshaped the
way cities approach parking,
transportation, and urban
design. As a faculty member at
ucla since 1917. Before he
influenced generations of
scholars, students, and urban
planners. His work particularly
landmarked in his book The High
Cost of Free Parking challenged
conventional thinking and
sparked a global movement
towards parking reform. Shupe
s
work illuminated how cities
reliance on free parking spaces
and excessive off-street
parking requirements were
contributing to traffic
congestion, sprawl, pollution,
and housing costs, ultimately
halving urban environments. His
innovative ideas led to
widespread change with over
3000 cities. Adopting some of
his suggested reforms. His
contributions extended beyond
academia as his research gained
acceptance and recognition
worldwide. She
s legacy
continues to inspire and shape
urban planning practices and
his influence will be felt for
years to come. Beyond his
academic achievements, Shupe
was a beloved figure at ucla
and a mentor to so many. His
contributions to the ucla
Luskin School of Public Affairs
and his leadership of the ucla
Institute of Transportation
Studies cemented his place as
one of the foremost experts in
the field, even after his
retirement in 2015, Shu
remained an active and engaged
member of the ucla community
eagerly anticipated to teach
his renowned parking class this
spring. Donald Shoup
s work
will continue to inspire future
generations of urban planners
and his impact on the world of
urban design will endure as we
reflect on his remarkable
legacy and life of
contributions. We extend our
deepest condolences to his
family, colleagues, and all
those who were touched by his
wisdom and vision. Next tonight
we adjourn in memory of Tahiri
Broom, a 29-year-old black
transgender woman who
tragically lost lost her life
to gun violence on the morning
of FEBRUARY 9th in Southfield,
Michigan, while visiting from
Detroit from her hometown of
Cleveland, Ohio. She was known
by the nickname of Tokyo.
According to her social media,
she enjoyed pretty things, was
a self-described shopaholic,
and unabashedly earning money
to buy things. She was a fan of
Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. She
loved Forever 21 and Hot Topic.
She was a vibrant young woman
who enjoyed life. Her favorite
aunt, Patricia Bender,
remembered Tahiri by saying, my
baby is sweet, pure, giving,
humorous, and will do anything
for anyone and shines a light
so bright you
ll see it shine
forever. Family is really
hurting from this loss, but
justice will be served.
Tahiri
s name will live on
forever. Me Tahiri
s light
continued to shine in the in
the hearts of all who knew her
and made her memory inspire,
inspire us all to work toward a
world that is safer, more
inclusive, and more
compassionate for everyone. Our
thoughts are with Tahiri
s
family and loved ones during
this incredibly difficult time.
And finally tonight we will
endurn in memory of Sam
Norquist, a 24-year-old
transgender man whose life was
tragically cut short under
circumstances of profound
cruelty. Originally from
Minnesota, Sam moved to New
York in SEPTEMBER 2024 seeking
new beginnings and connection.
His journey, however, So sorry.
His journey, however, led him
into a situation marked by
unimaginable abuse and
suffering. Sam was reported
missing on FEBRUARY 9th. The
subsequent investigation
revealed that he had endured
over a month of relentless
torture before his life was
taken. 5 individuals have been
charged with second-degree
murder in connection to his
death. His death along with
Tahiri Broom
s death,
underscore the vulnerabilities
faced by transgender
individuals and the urgent need
for societal change to protect
and uplift marginalized voices.
Our thoughts and deepest
condolences are with Sam
s
family, friends, and all who
have been affected deeply by
this tragedy. Thank you. Next
we
re going to move on to
presentations. We have 2
presentations this evening and
first we
re going to just
recognize um Ari again who led
us in the pledge tonight with a
certificate, so if my
colleagues will join and
celebrate Ari for a great
pledge of allegiance tonight.
Uh Yeah So good job. Ok And
next we have a presentation for
the American Heart Association.
I
ll begin. Whereas
cardiovascular disease remains
the world
s leading cause of
death and disability impacting
millions of lives every year.
And in the United States alone,
more than 350,000 people
experienced cardiac arrest
outside of a hospital each year
with approximately 70% of these
incidents occurring at home and
tragically, only 1 in 10 people
end up surviving, and whereas
each year more than 23,000
children under the age of 18
experienced cardiac arrest
outside of a hospital in the
United States with nearly 40. %
of these cases being sports
related. And whereas
cardiopulmonary resuscitation
or cpr when performed
immediately can double or even
aaa person
s chance of survival.
Yet only about 46% of those
people who experience cardiac
arrest receive cpr from
bystanders while waiting for
emergency responders to arrive.
And whereas effective solutions
such as awareness campaigns,
cpr training, the
implementation of cardiac
emergency response plans and
access to automated. External
to defibrillators or AEDs have
been proven to save lives, but
more education and
accessibility are needed to
empower communities to respond
effectively during cardiac
emergencies. It
s all messed up,
so sorry. And whereas this
learning and properly
performing cpr gives bystanders
the confidence to act swiftly
in cardiac emergencies,
increasing the likelihood of
survival and by prioritizing
immediate action, calling 911,
delivering high quality cpr and
using an aed when available can
save more lives. And whereas
the American Heart Association
has set an ambitious goal to
double the survival rate from
cardiac arrest by 2030,
transforming bystanders into
lifesavers and ensuring that
everyone everywhere is prepared
and empowered. To be a vital
link in the chain of survival,
whereas the city of West
Hollywood commends the life
saving efforts of organizations
such as the American Heart
Association, whose unwavering
commitment to combating heart
disease and cardiac arrest has
advanced public education and
inspired people to save lives.
Now, therefore, be it resolved
that the city council, the city
of West Hollywood hereby
recognizes the importance of
the ongoing fight against heart
disease and stroke, and the
support and supports the
efforts to double the survival
rate from cardiac arrest. The
city hereby Claims FEBRUARY
2025 as American Heart Month in
West Hollywood and encourages
all residents to engage in
raising awareness, promoting
heart health, and participating
in cpr and aed trainings to
save more lives. At this time,
I would like to invite our
representatives up from the
American Heart Association to
the diaspora photo, and to
accept this proclamation. Thank
you so much. Ok Thank you so
much for this proclamation
today. I am here today both as
a marketer, as the cmo Foot
Locker, but most importantly I
am here for my passion as a
board member of the American
Heart Association. You rattled
off all the things that I
wanted to bring to light today,
which is number one, more
awareness and number 2, how do
we, how do we get more people
within West Hollywood to not
only advance the importance of
heart health, but also put meat
behind those bones and actually
do something about it, so I
encour. All of you here to not
only know your numbers but to
also check our website for many
ways that you can contribute
within the community, but most
importantly, take care of your
heart, take care of your health,
eat well and treat others
kindly on behalf of the
American Heart Association,
thank you so much and we are
very honored for this very
great award. Thank you. Thank
you so much. And with care for
heart and mind, we will move on
to public comment. Uh, the city
council values your comments.
However, Sorry, pursuant to the
Brown Act, the council cannot
take action on items not listed
on the posted agenda. The
public comment period is
limited to 20 minutes with 2
minutes allocated for each
speaker. The public comment
period is to address the city
council on consent calendar
items, other agenda items if
the member of the public cannot
be present at this time, uh,
that the item is considered or
items of general interest
within the jurisdiction of the
city council. Another period is
also reserved for general
comment later in the meeting
for those that could not be
heard at this time. Public
hearing testimony will only be
taken at the time of the
hearing. If you signed up to
speak on both consent calendar
items and general public
comment, as well as the items
as, um, as well as an item that
was moved to the consent
calendar. You MAY take this
public comment period to speak
on the consent calendar items.
You MAY also sign up to speak
during the 2nd public comment
period for your, for your
general public comment. Lastly,
speakers should not bring any
items to the podium other than
a prepared written statement or
writing materials. MADAM City
Clerk, how many public speakers
do we have? We have 12
individuals in chambers and no
one in Zoom, ok. Can, uh, I
will go ahead and read the
first speakers. Um, I have my
list here. So Jonathan Wilson
will start there, followed by
Christopher Clapp and Genevieve
More after that. Well Mayor,
vice mayor, and council members,
i just want to say thank you.
For moving forward with the
Juneteenth event. I
m very
grateful for that. I
m coming
to you, Jonathan Wilson, as a
member of society, I
m a
resident within West Hollywood
as well as a business owner in
West Hollywood. Um, one of the
things is, yes, I, we
appreciate this. Please note
that um as we do planning,
there MAY be a need for
additional dollars. We
re not
too clear about that yet, but,
you know, we
re keeping things
moving. The reason why I want
to say there
s to keep this,
keep the idea open is that, you
know, my company actually
wanted to give some dollars, um,
uccl they also want to give
dollars um to the Juneteenth
event only because it
s such a
big uh moment and right now in
this time that we
re in with
with the federal government and
some things that are changing.
Maybe I shouldn
t have said
that, but I did. Um, some of
the things that are changing
out there, but the climate out
there is really, really
difficult for some people, and
I think as we move away from
dei in some circles, um,
there
s gonna be a need to
uplift people in other ways.
And so I just want to make sure
that we
re open to different
ways of thinking. It was
complex, I guess to have money
come from my company and for
money to come from ucla at this
time for this event. So just
please keep in mind that um
just be open to future ways of
thinking, um, as we go for the
next 4 months. So, thank you
again for pushing this forward.
I
m very grateful, extremely
grateful, and um. Thank you.
Yeah Thank you, Christopher
Clap. Followed by Genevieve
More. Followed by Greg Rain.
Good evening, Honorable Mayor
Byers, Vice Mayor Heilman, and
distinguished members of city
council. Can you pull the mic
down a little bit, yeah, thank
you. I
ll start again, uh. Good
evening, Mayor by Honorable
Mayor Byers, Vice Mayor Heilman,
distinguished members of city
council and uh all esteemed, uh,
city staff of West Hollywood.
Uh, my name
s Christopher Clapp.
I live in Los Angeles and uh I
have operated a business here
in West Hollywood, uh,
Petrogian restaurants and
boutique on Robertson. Um, I am
currently the vice chair and
treasurer of the West Hollow
Design District. Uh, I just
wanna reach out and say thank
you, thank you for your support,
um, of our local. Community, um,
specifically the item tonight
f3, uh, the banner program is
absolutely essential to our
operations. Um, I
m inspired
specifically by city staff
Laura Bay, Laura d
Ambrosia,
and Paolo Kesperit, and I thank
them for their guidance and
continued support of our
programming, um, so yeah, just
uh a heartfelt thank you and I
look forward to being of
service to the constituents
here in West Hollywood, um,
thank you. Thank you. Genevieve
More followed by Greg Rain and.
Craig Williams after that.
Thank you, Mayor. Good evening,
Mayor, Vice Mayor, council
members, Genevieve More,
PRESIDENT, ceo of the West
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce
and good evening to all the
members of the public and the
staff. I ditto what MR. Clapp
said. I want to thank you, uh,
our appreciation for both the
business improvement districts
banner program licensing
agreement and also protects all
of us, you as well as us, and
it
s an agreement that hasn
t
been in place for all these
years, but I think it
s
welcomed and I want to thank
Laura, uh, Byron. Apollo,
Casperad and David Wilson for
all the work that they
ve done
on that. Um, I also want to
thank Mayor Byers for the Weeh
Ho Loves local extension
program and Tom Keeley and his
team at Visit West Hollywood
and we talked about it today at
a board meeting. The chamber is
also launching a Weehoe gives
Back program, and we think
combined with the who loves
locals, the city, the chamber,
visits West Hollywood can all
drive traffic, and we have some
case studies from other
chambers recently at a
conference that my just went to
last week about, um, local
programs that have a chamber
that bought like gift cards
for restaurants and gave it to
the customers if they visited
there, and I think they spent
$15,000 and it generated about
80,000 into the businesses, so
we do think that this has legs,
it has some strength and power
if we all combine efforts. So,
uh, you can go to WeHho
Chamber.Com/WheeHhoGivesback uh
for that pledge we
re going to
launch it on MARCH 1st and we
have some media as well, so I
just want to thank you for all
that, um, because Right now we
did do a survey, and we did get
a good response from the
businesses, and they are down
about 25 to 50%. So while we
weren
t hit with the fires, I
think the world thinks we
re
all burning or we have toxic
air, so we
re trying to say
come into West Hollywood, we
can help you and we can help
the fire victims and first
responders and give back to
them and give back to everybody
and our fellow businesses, but
we all have to work together to
give back and patronize our
businesses, so thank you. Thank
you. Greg Ring, followed by
Craig Wil, Todd Holman
after that. Good evening.
Excuse me. Good evening,
Honorable Mayor Byers, Vice
Mayor Heilman, steamed City
council, and city staff. I am,
uh, Greg Grang, resident of Los
Angeles and the current
Executive director of the West
Hollywood Design District,
which is both a pleasure and a
privilege, um, to hold that
office, um, I spoke, um, via
public comment on items b 11
and f3 already, and I am simply
here so you can see my face and
hear my sincerity when I too
say thank you for your support
of. The Design District and our
programming, um, I followed
instructions and did not bring
anything to the dais, but I do
have with me maps for
tomorrow
s art walk as well as,
um, promotional materials for
Design West Hollywood, which is
MARCH 4, 5 and 6. It was
originally a two-day event, but
through community engagement
and support. We have extended
it to 3 days, and we look
forward to making that an
annual event for the city and
the community. Thank you so
much. Appreciate your support.
Thank you. Greg, Greg Craig,
you give those handouts to me,
I can make sure the council
gives them. Thank you. Next
speaker is Craig Williams,
followed by Todd Holman and
Sarah Adolfson after that. Good
evening, Mayor Byers, Vice
Mayor Heman and city council.
Um, I
m Craig Williams, and I
have the pleasure of being a
longtime West Hollywood
resident and I wanted to speak
in support of an increased
budget for the Juneteenth
celebration for 2025. Um, We
re
calling it an event, but I
d
like to. We purposed that to a
celebration and a demonstration
of our commitment to inclusion
and diversity. There are 3
things that I know for sure.
The black people are
entrepreneurs. Black people do
spend money and the east side
of West Hollywood has a lot of
vacant storefronts. This is an
opportunity for West Hollywood.
To embrace and engage a
demographic. That can
accomplish those goals, and I
think that the Juneteenth
celebration, we hope to do that.
Thank you for indulging. Mhm
Todd Holman. Of Sara for the
Human Services Commission. Good
evening, We buyers. Vice Mayor
Heilman and council members,
Todd Hallman, 30-year plus West
Hollywood resident, uh, Public
Safety commissioner, but
tonight I
m speaking as a
resident on behalf of
Juneteenth. Thank you for
proving the budget. I have been
very open and honest with all
of you how disappointed I
ve
been with this event over the
years. I think this is a year
for us to get it right. Um,
social justice is on it. I know
they have a subcommittee. They
are meeting, they probably will
need additional funding,
because we need this to be a
jubilant Juneteenth celebration,
especially with what we
re
dealing with in this country
today. Social justice is very
important to us and I
m also
going to ask you to really
stand behind this advisory
board, not only for me as a
black queer man, but for all of
us, because their work is going
to affect all of us because of
the climate we live in. We also
need to work on our diversity
as a city. People of color
coming on Friday and Saturday
nights to West Hollywood does
not diversity make. We need to
do a better job and make West
Hollywood more inclusive. I
give a lot to the city. I love
this city, but at the end of
the day, I
m a queer black man
with a tribe in this city. I
don
t want the next generation
to feel that way. So, please be
there for social justice.
Please be there for this event.
We need this. Thank you. Thank
Sarah Adolfsson Adolphen, sorry,
I keep getting that wrong in my
head. Thank you. And David Nash
after that it all works. Uh,
good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor,
uh, council members. My name is
Sarah Adolfson. I
m here on
behalf of the Human Services
Commission. As you know, the
commissioner attend city
council meetings to share
information about vital social
services provided by the city
and its partners. Tonight I
want to highlight the
importance of cervical cancer
awareness and preventative
services. While cervical cancer
rates have declined significant
disparities persist. This year,
an estimated 13,000 women in
the us will be diagnosed, and
more. 4000 will die from the
disease. Women of color
experience the highest rates of
cervical cancer, with a death
rate nearly 80% higher than
white women. Furthermore,
transgender men face barriers
to screening, including
discrimination, lack of
provider knowledge, and
discomfort resulting in lower
screening rates. Cervical
cancer was once a leading cause
of cancer deaths for women. But
thanks to increased prevention
and screening efforts, the
mortality rate has been reduced
by 50%. When detected early,
survival rate is 92%. Even more
encouraging, over 90% of
cervical cancers could be
prevented by the hpv vaccine.
So what are we doing? The city
of West Hollywood Partners with
several nonprofit agencies to
provide crucial and life-saving
services, including Planned
Parenthood, offering essential
reproductive and sexual health
services. Including screenings
such as pelvic exams and Pap
smears. The Audrey Lord Health
Program at the la lgbt Center
providing identity sensitive
health services, including
cervical and other cancer
screenings and importantly,
they offer self-collection test
options for transgender men
along with Pap smears and hpv
testing. And then finally, the
Saban Community clinic offers a
range of services including
obgyn checkups, Pap smears,
screenings, lab tests, family
planning, birth control, and
cancer screenings. So if you
re
due for a screening, or you
need supportive services,
please
visitehh.Org/humanservices or
call 323-848-6510. Thank you.
And Sarah, on behalf of all of
us, I just want to offer our
condolences to you and your
husband on the loss of your
father-in-law, and if we could,
I completely forgot that in my
notes, but we
ll be adjourning
in in their memory tonight as
well. Thank you so much. That
means a lot to us. Thank you.
Next speaker, we have David
Nash. Followed by Jacob Shaw
and Tony Solano. I think I
heard my name. My name is David
Nash. I
m a 26 year resident of
West Hollywood. Good evening,
Mayor Byers, Vice Mayor Heilman
and city council members. I
m
here tonight to thank two
people who are very special to
me in the city of West
Hollywood. First, Larry Block,
who owns Block Party. He
s been
gracious enough to allow me to
have a small art show in the
back of his store through the
end of the month. I greatly
appreciate that opportunity.
Both Larry and I share um a
disability. We have very
limited vision. And, uh, not
just because it
s me, but to,
to renew and refresh your
awareness of how people with
disabilities can surprise you
with their creative abilities.
I
d like each and every one of
you to stop by and take a look
at my art show in the back of
the store. The very first
customer I had first paying
customer, I must say I greatly
appreciate was Quartez Jordan,
the manager of our aquatic
center, he has become not just
uh asset to the city, but a
friend to me, I greatly
appreciate that he purchased a
picture. And uh I gave more
thought to how much I
appreciate Cortez, and I looked
up the salaries in the city
open list, and I noticed that
his salary is about half of
Danny Revis
s and less than a
quarter of the city manager.
That
s an extensive operation,
those two pools up on the 4th,
pardon me, the 5th floor here,
and I think not just because
he
s been kind to me, but
because of the quality of work
that he supervises and the
importance of the aquatic
center, I
d like to see Cortez
Jordan get a raise. So thank
you for listening to me. Please
come to my art show and do give
more money to support the
Aquatic Center and Cortez
Jordan. Thank you. Thank you.
Jacob Shaw and Tony Solano. Or
just Tony didn
t make it. Good
to see you, Mayor, Vice Mayor,
city council members. Thank you
for the opportunity to make
this public comment. Uh, it
s
very simple we have partnered
with ucla Health, Jacob Shaw
and Tropicana have graciously
offered their Place of business
to host a blood drive. There
are some new changes that have
come about, so we
re very
excited to bring this about,
this coming Friday from 10 A.M.
To 3 P.M. If there
s anybody
that would like to make
donations to first responders.
We are hosting a table for that
as well. If anybody would like
to discuss potentially working
with us to host another blood
drive within the city of West
Hollywood, our great city. I
would love to have that
conversation and I hope to see
some of you there. Thank you
very much. That this coming
Friday from 10 to 3. And flyers
around. Thank you so much. Uh,
next speaker is Michael Nuttall,
followed by Annie Gianpicente
and Steve Martin will conclude
our public speaker list. If
anybody else is hoping to speak,
please get your comments in.
Thank you so much. Hi my city
council. Uh, I
m back to talk
about trash. Um, one of the
things that I like to talk
about is trash, but currently
I
m at 650 bags that I picked
up in the West. Community and
the TriWest area to be specific,
um, and the one thing that I,
one thing that I found that I
just like to educate people
about is that of the trash that
I find, I find water bottles a
lot, which is probably no
surprise to anyone, but what I
find double that amount are the
caps to water bottles, so my
ask or something to keep in
mind is that when we
re making
contracts or doing parties or
events, the water bottles that
have the caps that stay on
instead of fully coming off,
they can like, you know, pop it
off a little bit, are much
better. Then all the plastics
that end up in our street, so
just something to keep in mind
when we
re buying water bottles.
And then the second thing I
want to talk about was That
orange turd in the White House.
The National Park Service.
Removing the tea from the lgbt
plus, uh, the Stonewall
Monument, I think it was
repulsive. They
re trying to
erase the tea from lgbt plus
and I just think with the voice
that we have, the voice that I
have, that I want to stand up
and say that that part of the
community, the entire community
we love, we cherish them and we
see them and we won
t turn our
backs on them and thank you.
Thank you. Annie jumped Vicente,
followed by Steve Martin. There
it is, thanks, yeah, there was
actually a news article written.
Why did you, why did you all
censor me last time I was here
to speak, you wouldn
t show my
face. I know why, cause Chelsea,
I told you right before I gave
public comment exactly what I
was gonna do. You knew exactly
the public comment I was going
to give, and you told the
camera not to show you my face.
How
dare you? Yeah, uh,
Michael, thank you for, um, for
your, uh, uh, for your speech
and saying that, you know, you
stand with the t and lgbtqia
plus, um, the problem is though,
is in this city, I
ve now had
to, uh, I have been attacked
every single weekend just for
waiving the progressive pride
flag around the streets. People
call me, tell me that flag
belong does not belong here.
Why are you waving it? What
even? Is that thing that flag.
What makes you think you could
wave it around? Why are you a
coward for not showing your
face just because how and I
both agree we should be wearing
masks. Did anyone catch that
protest this weekend in San on
Santa Monica Boulevard and
Crescent Heights where, you
know, trans people were very
upset that the city
s not doing
anything. You know, it
s been a
trans sanctuary city for Far
too
long and you haven
t
done anything to strengthen
that, like, Like you are
allowing the federal government
to come in and just take us out.
I mean, like What what outrage
was there over the ice signs
that were, you know, on Santa
Monica Boulevard too, like,
like they
re, they
re coming
for us and you
re, you
re just
gonna allow it to happen. Do
something to strengthen
protections for trans people.
We still can
t afford to live
here in a trans sanctuary city.
None of us can. This is not a a
sanctuary city. This is just
not. It
s a facade. Thank you,
Steve Martin, I believe you
ll
be our final speaker today.
Good evening, council members
and Mayor, um. I, I guess it
was about 500 years ago that
the Pope decreed that the sun
revolved around the earth. And
It just seems odd that in 2025
we would have a PRESIDENT Who
would suddenly decree that
we
re all simply binary.
There
s only two genders, men
and women, and Uh For some
people that might be amusing,
but it really impacts so many
people. And tries to trivialize
so many people. But I think we
need to take a long view, uh,
I
m part of that generation
that grew up illegal. Uh, there
was basically nothing about our
existence that we were allowed
to do. And despite all the laws,
um, as a young man, I was
persistently perhaps stubbornly
illegal, but the laws did
change and we did make progress
and what I think is most
important is that despite being
in a very long fight. Is that
It was most important to remind
people of our basic humanity.
And that
s what
s so important
in this particular fight with
the trans community because we
have so many people on school
boards in Congress and in the
White House and in the federal
bureaucracy who are really
trying to eradicate and
trivialize people
s lives and
you know, I heard a great
interview from a military
person who happened to be trans
who was so effective in talking
about what a wonderful
opportunity. They had to serve
to work in the military and how
much support they had from
their comrades in arms and how
wonderful it was to serve as in
the army and as to serve the us
people or serve the people of
America, and I just think that
we need to be there and remind
people that we are talking
about friends, neighbors, and
people with real humanity.
Thank you. I believe that
concludes our public comments.
Any anybody show up in Zoom or
any other slips come in?
Additional speakers in chambers
or Zoom. Terrific. Then I
believe we
ll turn to the
staff
s table over here for our
city manager
s report. Good
evening. Thank you, Mayor. Good
evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor and
city council members. Um, I
will be providing the city
manager
s comments from the
staff table today. Happy Black
History Month. FEBRUARY is
Black History Month. It
s also
the time when we provide our
annual update on the city
s um
equity and inclusion
initiatives, um, the city is
continuing with our deia
initiatives regardless of the
direction that the federal
government is going. At this
time. Uh, joining me is Jamaica
Carter, our equity and
inclusion officer. She
ll be
buying a brief presentation of
the city
s equity and inclusion
efforts over the last year.
Thank you. Hello. Good evening,
Mayor, Vice Mayor, council
members, and community members.
Thank you for the opportunity
to speak to you today. My name
is Jamaica Carter, and I serve
as the equity inclusion officer
for the city of West Hollywood.
Tonight I will provide an
overview of our equity
initiatives, highlight our
vision for an inclusive city,
discuss our partnership with
gar, the government alliance
for Race and Equity and outline
the steps we are taking to
strengthen equity within city
operations. I will also share
updates on our draft city
organizational equity statement
and discuss what lies ahead. As
we shape our vision for equity
within our city, we recognize
that equity is not just an idea,
it
s an it
s an essential
framework for how we operate as
a city. We envision a city
where all community members can
thrive regardless of their
identity or background. Our
goal is to lead in creating
policies that are truly
inclusive and equitable,
ensuring that every individual
has access to opportunities,
resources, and representation.
Our vision is important because
it serves as a guiding
framework for our work. When we
prioritize equity, it creates a
stronger, more connected
community. And a strong vision
can inspire collective action
around shared goals and will
continue to shape our city into
a place where everyone has the
opportunity to thrive. In 2020
we joined the garr network.
Gare is a dyna dynamic peer to
peer learning and practice
network dedicated to advancing
racial equity in government.
This created a foundation for
our racial equity work during a
critical time and providing
staff with the tools to deepen
their understanding and
implement strategies for
advancing equity in their work.
The importance of our
partnership with ga cannot be
overstated. The equity
challenges we face today are
just as urgent as they were 4
years ago and even before that.
Addressing structural
inequities requires long-term
commitment and action and garr
provides essential support for
embedding racial equity in our
government systems through
training, coaching, and
strategy development. We can
better align our efforts with
best practices across cities
and ensure sustainable progress.
We also have gut team goals,
the gear teams are made up of
staff from various divisions,
and they have been making
significant progress over the
past few years and will
continue and we will continue
to support these efforts by
providing citywide training,
divisions specific training,
coaching support, long term
strategy development. This is
important because without
Intentional action within the
organization inequity
inequities will continue to
persist. And it
s necessary for
our infrastructure to address
these challenges, to ensure
that racial equity is not an
afterthought but a foundational
principle in governance. Over
the past few months, we have
taken a deep dive into the
equity landscape, engaging with
divisions to understand their
efforts and identify
opportunities to enhance and
expand their impact. Through
these conversations, several
key themes emerged. Equitable
resource allocation and access,
ensuring that fair distribution
of city services and
opportunities for both staff
and the community. Inclusive
language and communication,
fostering clear, accessible and
cultural responsive messaging.
Internal and community dia
education and training to
ensure that we equipped staff
and community members with the
knowledge and tools to drive
meaningful change.
Collaborative and community
centered engagement, partnering
with residents to co-create
solutions that reflect and
serve our city
s diverse needs.
These insights are key to
guiding our our equity efforts.
And over the next year we will
remain focused on embedding
equity into all city functions.
We are committed to focusing on.
Equity strategies aligned with
broader city strategic plan
goals. An equity action plan
driven by community input.
Continued training for staff,
elected and appointed officials
and also community members as
well as community equity
initiatives. Furthermore, I am
happy to share that equity is
not just an aspiration for the
city of West Hollywood as we
see here, our commitment to
equity is reflected in ongoing
initiatives that drive
meaningful change. From our
engagement with gar to
centering equity and public
safety and health initiatives,
addressing disparities through
responsive community training
and support services. We are
taking action. These efforts go
beyond statements, create real
change and lasting impact
across the city. Last year we
began a collaborative process
to draft a citywide equity
organizational statement.
Through staff input, group
discussion, and shared
perspectives we created a
statement that reflects our
values and aspirations. An
organizational equity statement
serves as a formal commitment
to equity and inclusion guiding
our decision making and
fostering trust. It unites
staff, leadership, and
community members around shared
values and drives collaboration.
Towards a more inclusive
environment. I
m going to go
ahead and read the equity
statement. The city of West
Hollywood is committed to
fostering a thriving inclusive
community where all people have
access to opportunities,
resources, and representation.
We recognize that equity is a
shared responsibility and an
ongoing practice that informs
our policies, programs and
services rooted in our
foundational values of
inclusion and advocacy, we
acknowledge that systematic
barriers and historical
injustices have had have
impacted marginalized
populations including bipoc,
lgbtq plus displaced, disabled,
and aging communities. We
commit to actively dismantle
these barriers through
practices and systematic.
Change, that prioritizes
meaningful engagement, resource
distribution and empowerment
for residents and visitors
alike. This includes empowering
our city staff through
equitable opportunities for
development, decision making.
An active participating in
active participation in shaping
the city
s future. Through
transparency, accountability,
and collaboration, we will
address current and historical
injustices and work
continuously to build a city
where everyone has seen, heard,
and supported. Together we
strive to uphold equity as the
foundation of our policies,
practices, and vision for. West
Hollywood
s future. A strong
equity statement is important
and it provides clarity and
accountability. It serves as a
framework for decision making
and ensures that our actions
align with our values. It helps
reinforce our commitment to
inclusion and serves as a
foundation for continuous
improvement. So I was, so as we
look ahead, we know that equity
is not a one-time effort. It is
a continuous process that
involves. That evolves with
community needs, so it
s
critical to keep these goals in
mind. Equity as a continuous
commitment, collaboration and
shared responsibility.
Sustainability and active and
adaptive strategies by
maintaining our commitment,
fostering strong community
connections and adapting our
strategies. We ensure that our
city remains a model for
inclusive, uh, inclusion and
progress. Our work in equity
and inclusion is ongoing and it
and it
s, excuse me, and it
s
success relies on continued
commitment from city leadership
staff and the community. Even
as we face external challenges.
Including efforts in the at the
federal level to undermine and
discredit deia work. It is
imperative that we remain
committed. Equity is not a
political trend. It
s a
fundamental, a fundamental
necessity for a thriving and
inclusive city by continuing to
prioritize these efforts, we
protect the rights and
well-being of all. Together we
can create a city where
individuals are valued,
empowered, and included. Thank
you all for your time. Thank
you, Jamaica. Um, just one
other announcement. Wee Hores
will be presenting power and
progress during Black History
Month. This is an online
presentation via Zoom and
YouTube. It will be FEBRUARY 26
from 6:30 P.M. To 8 P.M. Um,
for more information, please
visit WeHho.Org/WheeHhoreads
and that concludes my comments,
Mayor. Thank you so much, City
manager, and we appreciate the
presentation tonight. Um, we
ll
move on to the fiscal impact on
the consent calendar. City
clerk, what is the fiscal
impact on tonight
s consent
calendar. Thank you, Mayor. The
fiscal impact on tonight
s
consent calendar with the
addition of items f2, f3, f4,
f5, and f7 is $988,968 in
expenditures, $102,750. In
revenue and $6,584 in waived
fees. We do have a motion and a
second to adopt tonight
s
consent calendar. Terrific. And
the motion passes 50. Amazing.
So noting item c1, the public
hearing has been continued to a
date uncertain. We
ll move on
to legislative item d1, an
ordinance of the city council,
the city of West Hollywood,
approving amendments to Section
10.28.050 of the municipal code
regarding utilizing the parking
credits pool. Thank you to our
staff representatives who are
making their way to the table.
Whenever you
re ready, will you
please introduce yourself and
present the staff report. Good
evening, Mayor and members of
the council. I
m Jennifer
Alcaer. I
m the assistant
director of Community
Development, and I
m going to
give a brief overview of what
this item is all about and then
I
m here with um Bill Bortfield
and Vince Guarino who are going
to help us answer any questions
you MAY have. So, um, We don
t
have a PowerPoint, so I
m just
gonna, just gonna go, uh, the
parking credits program was
established in 2012, and at the
time, it was a tool that was
used to help businesses that
wanted to expand or property
owners that wanted to lease
their tenant spaces to um to
other types of businesses to
allow flexibility for that and
to allow our commercial
corridors to um flourish and
thrive. Um, at that time,
additional parking was required
for those types of changes, and
so that was a tool that we used
at that time. Since then, we in
2018, uh, the city lowered
parking requirements for many
of the commercial uses and
changed how and when new
parking requirements were
applied for a small conversions
and where um where those things
were required and in 2023, the
state adopted ab 2097, which hi
bi t s the city from applying
uh, minimum parking standards
to new projects and so now we
have because of those changes,
we
ve got more tools in the
toolbox to help businesses
expand and to help those tenant
spaces be used by different
types of businesses, um, so the
parking credits program is, is
not as critical, and in fact,
now we have a certain set of
businesses that pay the fees
for parking credits because
they
re required in their
conditions of approval, and we
have new business. Services
that come in and they aren
t
required to pay those fees
because they
re not required to
have parking credits. They
re
not required to provide that
off-street parking. And so in
order to try to make those
equal and provide equity to the
different types of businesses
that are long standing and new,
um, the most, the easiest and
most straightforward way to go
about that is to just eliminate
the fee associated with those
parking credits, so that nobody
has to pay that extra amount.
Uh, we did think about changing
the conditions of approval to
not require the additional
parking. But that takes a lot
of extra steps on the part of
the business owners. So while
that MAY be a long term
solution over time at this
point in time, um, it, it
presents an, uh, an
administrative challenge and it
presents extra extra steps for
those businesses that maybe
aren
t um aren
t equipped to do
that, um, to go through those
steps with the city. So that
s
what we
re recommending at this
time is to just eliminate the
fee and move forward and I
m, I
and the team are here with
Quest for any questions. Like
Terrific. Do any of my
colleagues have questions to
start, uh, Councillormer
Meister. Yeah, thanks. Thanks,
Jennifer. Um, so the fee, uh,
as it
s even showed in the um
in the staff report went
towards the parking improvement
fund. So how then do we improve
how do we, you know, have funds
then for the parking
improvement fund if we don
t
charge for parking credits. So
I
m gonna pass that question on
to, um, my partners from the
parking division. I
m mayor,
vice mayor and council members
Vince Greeno parking services
manager, uh, that is one of the
impacts that it will have, uh,
uh, we
ll have to figure out
how we
re gonna address that uh
revenue shortfall. Ok. Um, and
then my other question was, um,
The program required uh staff
to do a parking credit survey,
I believe every 6 months. Can,
do we, when was the last time
we actually did that survey? It
was uh before covid, we haven
t
had the demand for the parking
credits, so it hasn
t been
necessary to do the survey, um,
because we have less and less
businesses utilizing it. Ok, um,
ok, that makes sense. Well,
those are my only questions. I
might have comments, but I
don
t want to, if there
s, I
don
t know if there
s public
speakers. I don
t have any
public speakers on the item
Vice Mayor Heilman, did you
have comments? I had Sort of
one related comment. I know
that when we did the parking
s
credit, parking credit program,
it was utilized fairly
frequently around here with the
understanding that the parking
structure here would be
available for people. I have
come in on several occasions
where it
s very difficult to
find a parking space at all in
the parking structure and um
I
ve raised this. Previously,
but the overflow in the library
doesn
t always work either
because we have so many spaces
that are not utilized or not
able to be utilized because we
have the devices there and if
there aren
t aren
t valets or
people there to assist, you
can
t utilize those spaces, so
I
m completely supportive of
the item, and I appreciate you
bringing it forward, but I, I
hope that you will look at What
is causing those kind of
impacts because they are
impacting people who want to
utilize the library and utilize
the park, and I think some of
it is people who are employees
of other businesses, not to
mention the bdc where they
charge substantially more for
parking than we do, so maybe
that
s something that needs to
be looked at. That
s all. Other
Any other questions? What? Go
for it. Um, how do we monitor
and police the five-story
parking structure to follow up
on Vice Mayor Heilman
s
comments, uh, so specifically
if you park there, you can go
into the library and can you
still get validated for that,
or do you need to be in the
library a lot? Have we fixed
that little ticket snafu that I
realized when I was a Uh, when
I worked here at City Hall. So,
so we don
t the the validations
for the library only work in
the library garage. Great. Um.
Are we or have we implemented a
better valet program on the 5th
floor. When do we offer valets
up there on the top floor. Uh,
typically during uh council
members or during uh the
council meetings if we have the
demand. Has there ever been a
need to implement it or added
during the weekends when we see
more individuals um driving to
the dog park, um, but you know,
driving in general and parking
there, would it be beneficial
to have an option like that
exists on Saturdays and Sundays.
We can, we can look into that,
uh, one of the challenges is
that it, it tends to be uh the
folks doing the ballet or the
folks are coming in don
t like
to use the valet typically, but
we
ll, we
ll see what we can do.
Yeah, the only reason I ask is
I think any of us that know how
to park and where to park in
the city. No, not to park in
the five-story parking
structure, uh, when we need to,
it
s very nice. I appreciative
of it. However, I think if
there
s ways that we can
increase the opportunity for
people to park. I know the
weekends are very busy with a
lot of our events and so the
more accessibility we can have
for people to park there. It
s,
it
s better, but that
s just a
general comment. Councillor
Meister. Thank you, Mayor. Um,
I would like to suggest that we
have some type of parking needs
assessment study done. For that
parking garage because I mean,
maybe you
ve done it, but now
that the arc has opened and
programming keeps increasing.
We are seeing that it is harder
and harder to park in the
five-story garage and um I
remember when Oscar Delgado was
here and we had a project come
before us that wanted to reduce
their parking by 100 spaces and,
you know, at that time, no one
from staff said anything about
Well, maybe we
ll need those
spaces because of arc, but the
truth of the matter is that we
probably did need those spaces,
so I think we need to see
numbers around, around the
parking garage and and what the
needs are, especially as we
keep increasing programming at
the arc. Thank you, Councilor
Buring. Thank you, Mayor. Uh,
thank you for the presentation.
Um, I just wanted to note that
Cars are getting bigger too,
and I
ve noticed that in the
parking lot. It
s hard to park
when cars are just getting
bigger, trucks are getting
bigger, people are driving them
and parking them in there,
taking over more than one spot
1.5 spots, so that
s something
that can be looked into. It
s
something that we can control,
but you know, cars are just
getting bigger. Vice Mayor, I
see a motion. Yeah, I was going
to move the item with the
direction that
s been given to
investigate the issues of
parking shortages and in the
five-story parking lot and also
looking at the issue of ballet
and when we utilize it and also
looking at the library parking
lot and see whether that
s
properly configured for maximum
use, so. Thank you, and we have
a second on the table. Are
there any other comments or
questions from my colleagues? I
question. Does, does your
motion include the idea of a, a
needs assessment. I mean, you,
it sounds like it. Well, I, I
wasn
t authorizing them to go
and hire a consultant to do a
needs assessment, but to
investigate and if they do need
a consultant to do a needs
assessment, then that would,
they would come back to us with
that terrific. I
m trying to
not go too far afield from what
was actually agenda I guess I
would just ask, do you need a
consultant to do I mean, you
usually do parking studies all
the time. I mean, the parking.
Division There we go. I was
having trouble with my
microphone, uh, uh, we, we do
some of the surveys internally,
yes, but in this instance, I
think we would want to go out
and get a consultant. Could we
bring that back as a different
agenda item. Yeah, we
ll look
into it if we need to come back
for for with an item for a
consultant, we
ll do that. It
d
be great. Ok, so we have a
motion in a second on the table.
I believe we
re prepared for a
vote with the direction
included by Vice Mayor Heilman.
Terrific. Motion passes. Thank
you so much for your
presentation. We
ll move on to
uh Unfinished business, item e1,
the mid-year update on fiscal
year 2024, 2025 operating
budget and progress on work
plan priorities. Good evening,
whenever you
re ready. Ok. Um,
while we
re waiting for our
PowerPoint to load. Ok. It
s on
there. You just have to close
out of that. Thanks. There it
is. One second. Great, thank
you. Thank you for your
patience. Um, my name is
Christine Seret. I am the
assistant to the city manager
with me tonight is Melissa
Linley, the budget officer, and
sitting at the dais with you,
of course, our city manager
David Wilson. We will be
presenting a report to you on
um the fy 25 mid-year budget
update and Melissa Linley will
be doing the, the presentation
for you this evening. Good
evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and
council members. I don
t think
that
s. Ok. Good evening. I
m
happy to be here this evening
to present the city
s midyear
budget. We
ll start by
recapping last fiscal year and
then dive into the current
fiscal year, including where we
are midyear and our projections
for the end of the year. We
ll
also update you on some
proposed organizational changes,
then touch on our departmental
work plan priorities and look
ahead to the next budget
process. Let
s begin with last
fiscal year. All of the amounts
in this table are rounded to
the nearest million. Fi 24 was
another successful year
financially. As you can see
from this chart, we
re
providing some historical
context, starting with f I 20
and fy21, which, as you
ll
recall, were significantly
impacted by the covid-19
pandemic. You can see the
revenue surge in fy 22 and fy
23 as we rebounded. Some of
that growth was due to
recovering from the pandemic
and some was thanks to new
revenue streams like Measure
e-sales tax. And our digital
advertising programs. Are
adopted budget for fy 24 back
in JUNE of 23 was 151 million.
We made some adjustments
throughout the year, ending
with the revised mid-year
budget of $153.5 million. The
final results were better. Our
actual revenues shown here in
blue came in at 161 million.
That
s 7 million above budget.
And we spent less than
anticipated with actual
expenditures of 147 million 6.4
million below budget. This
resulted in a healthy surplus
of $14 million. While fy 24 was
a strong year. It
s important
to note that revenue growth was
more moderate than the previous
2 years. Our biggest revenue
sources, sales tax and hotel
tax saw slight dips. We also
had a temporary waiver of
business tax certificate
renewal fees, which impacted
revenues. However, we saw
growth in property taxes,
permits, and interest earnings,
which resulted in an increase
from the previous year of $0.9
million. On the expenditure
side, we saw increases across
all categories. This reflects
the return of services and
events that were deferred
during the pandemic, along with
some key investments, which
included the first year of
field operations for the care
team, increased support for the
pride in Halloween events and
economic study, marketing
support for local businesses
and some one-time capital
expenditures, including
construction and
pre-development costs for the
Holloway and Durim housing.
Program and the log cabin
renovation. Now let
s talk
about the current fiscal year
fy 25. The city
s financial
financial position remains
solid. Our fy 25. We adopted a
budget of 161 million for both
revenues and expenditures in
JUNE of 2024. Looking at the
mid-year numbers, which are
JULY through DECEMBER. We
re
right on track. Revenues were
72 million, which is 45% of the
original budget and
expenditures were 76 million or
47% of the original budget.
With supplemental expenditures
previously approved by council
and recommended mid-year budget
adjustments, the proposed
mid-year budget is balanced
with revenue and expenditure
budgets of 162.5 million and a
projected year-end surplus of
$30,000. Tonight we
re
recommending a few mid-year
budget adjustments. We
re
proposing a $1.9 million
increase in general fund
revenue, driven by higher than
anticipated interest earnings.
We
re also recommending a
$180,000 adjustment to general
fund expenditures, including
42,000 for recreation safety
training and programming, and
138,000 as a one-time
allocation for hearing examers
hearing examiner services
related to parking. This will
allow us to maintain these
services while we complete a
request for proposal process to
secure more cost-effective
services in the future. We also
have some minor adjustments
proposed for the proposition a
and parking improvement funds
detailed and attachment aid to
the staff report. As a recap,
The council has already
approved supplemental
expenditures of 1.7 million for
public safety technology,
Halloween Carnival production
costs and a haunted trolley.
Local business marketing
support, the Women
s Freedom
Festival, and outdoor ice
skating rink, an additional
funds for special counsel
programs. This chart provides a
helpful comparison showing
prior your actuals. The
original fy 25 budget and our
proposed mid-year budget
highlighted in blue. The
proposed mid-year revenue
budget of 162.5 million is 1.9
million higher than last year
s
actuals. This is primarily due
to the reinstatement of
business tax certificate
renewal fees and some
conservative budgeting for
revenues like hotel taxes and
city permit revenues. The
proposed mid-year expenditure
budget of 162.5 million is 15.4
million higher than last year
s
actuals. This difference
reflects the 6.4 million in
savings we realized in fy 24,
as well as new expenditures
included in the fi-25 budget to
support the city
s priority
areas in areas like financial
stability, community safety,
infrastructure development,
community services, arts and
culture and community
engagement. With the
recommended adjustments or
projecting a balanced budget
and any excess revenues will be
allocated to reserves and our
capital program. Moving on to
organizational changes,
reflecting counsel
s direction
to consolidate staff and the
billboard program within the
community development
department. We
re recommending
3 new positions. A senior
planner, a project development
administrator and an
administrative specialist.
Additionally, hr is
recommending a reclassification
of an engineering position from
traffic management program
specialist to assistant
engineer. Funding for these
changes will be included in the
proposed fi26 budget. Finally,
let me point out a few things.
The attachments to the staff
report. Attachment aid details
the approved and proposed
budget adjustments for the
general fund as well as minor
adjustments to the Prop a and
parking improvement funds.
Attachment b outlines our
departmental work plan
priorities which are key
initiatives and ongoing
programs developed as part of
the fy 25 and 262-year budget.
It also shows our progress so
far in fy 25. Attachment c
provides an overview of the
budget schedule, looking ahead,
we
ll continue to monitor
economic conditions and ensure
the long-term financial health
of the city. Planning for the
next budget process, the 2nd
year update starts now. There
will be several opportunities
for input throughout the
process with two meetings of
the Finance and budget
subcommittee, and 2 meetings.
With city council or receive
and file item in MAY and the
fy26 budget adoption in JUNE.
Thank you, that completes the
report for this evening and
we
re happy to answer any
questions. Thank you both so
much. Which is my colleagues
like to begin comments, and we
do have one public commenter so
far, so we take that first, and
we
ll come back. Ok, great.
Kevin Burton, have you signed
up to speak. Anybody else would
like to speak? Get your slips
in Good evening, counsel. I
m
Kevin Burton, a resident of
West Hollywood, and I
m with a
group of community emergency
response team members here in
West Hollywood. We owe research.
I know this is about, this is
an update of the budget. I
think it
s a good opportunity
to start thinking about next
year
s budget. I want to
comment on, um, emergency
communications, which are
touched on in the work plan of
the community safety Department
where they say they
re going to
work on Depending the Nickho
Program where you can receive
email from the city or the
Sheriff
s Department during an
emergency. That
s all very good.
Uh, that
s one of many channels
the city can use, but it was
obvious listening to a
discussion among yourselves,
comments from the public at the
same occurred at the public
safety commission. That many
people in the city did not know
what was going on the night of
the Runyon Canyon sunset fire
and uh just did not pay
attention to the channels the
city was using, so I
d like to
suggest that the city resume
our program at used to have,
perhaps our council member
Heilman remembers the city had
emergency sirens in Plumber
Park, West Hollywood Park, and
I think those should be
considered. For next year
s
budget and the sirens of
yesteryear are not those of
this year, because many cities,
Sierra Madre Rolling hills,
especially Beverly Hills, use
modern sirens which each can be
individually activated, not
only do they siren, but they
broadcast messages. What is the
siren about? Where can you go
to get information. So I was
suggest you seriously consider
that. And speaking of
information about emergencies,
our website WeHhoresearch.Org
focuses on information. About
West Hollywood during
emergencies and also links to
the city
s own emergency
preparedness webpages. Thank
you. Thank you. Ok, back to us,
which of my colleagues would
like to begin? Vice Mayor
Heilman, looks like you
re
preparing. My only comment is
thank you for the presentation
and I support the revisions
that you
ve made, they all make
sense to me, and I look forward
to working with the mayor on
the upcoming budget. Get
started very soon. Councillor
Erickson, did you have comments?
Yes, thank you so much and
thank you, Kevin. Um, I, I saw
that public comment and was
that you that did that public
comment? Well, someone did a
public comment about sirens and
someone who lives next to
Plumber Park. I don
t know if I
would know a nuke was falling
or something was happening and
there would be scared to hide
underneath a table or something
like that if I heard a siren,
but that
s neither here nor
there. Um, thank you very much,
uh, Christine and David and
staff for putting this together.
Couple of questions and I
ll
get into my comments and I
ll
do that. How much um did the
offset of the business tax, uh.
Um Application cost or impact
the city
s budget. Is there a
dollar amount? Um, I think I
don
t have the exact number
with me right now. You can, you
can rough it. We had
anticipated it was going to be
about $2 million. We reduced
the budget for. And we did that
this last year, but didn
t we
do it the following year, the
previous year to that or some
version of that. Yeah, we
ve
had two rounds of it, one
initially during covid, the
early part of covid, and then
we did it again this past year.
It
s businesses were still
being impacted. Yeah, I think
definitely our businesses are
still being impacted in some
way. I think it
s a small
gesture of goodwill that we can
continue to look at and explore
if my colleagues would be
interested in that um to help
our businesses out. It
s it. It
is a nominal amount per
business and how you
re
registering, but every dollar
helps that we can give to our
business community. So if
that
s something my colleagues
be willing to explore or I
guess I can just give direction
if that
s possible. I would be
really interested in seeing
what that looks like in our
budget, um, uh, in regards to
the tax that was passed by the
voters this year, David, that
comes into effect when and how
much is that estimated to bring
in again? We
re talking about
the city tax, um, I do like the
1/3 of a 3 cent tax that we
passed overwhelmingly this past
year that was whh and it did
pass in NOVEMBER, and it is a
contingency tax so it only
comes into effect if another
regional entity attempts to
place a tax measure that
impacts our local cap, and if
it did go into effect, we
estimate it would be somewhere
in the neighborhood of 5 to
million dollars per year. Great.
And are we expecting a ballot
measure from the county to do
that, I believe that is up in
the air. That
s what. I No,
it
s not measure a, but that
did not, that did not, was not
subject to the cap, and so it
did not trigger measured whh,
the city
s tax right now that
taxes is like is active and
sitting in the wings. We are
not collecting any revenue
because there hasn
t been a
trigger event. And the soonest
that could be is 2026. It would
have to be a next regular
election. So we wait and see.
Wonderful, because I was
wondering about that because I
didn
t know if it had triggered
it yet, so that
s helpful
information and clarity in
regards to the budget
presentation for how we receive
it in JUNE. I know there
s a
number of infrastructure
projects that have really high
dollar amounts associated with
them. I know that we have a, a
memo and things about major
development project updates,
but I know some of these
projects are going to cost
Significant investments in our
budget in the coming 5,, 1015
years. If there
s a way
specifically that we could see
how or The city is paying for
that. I know we
ve talked about
bonds and we
ve done bonds
before, that would be helpful
to see how then we can
prioritize certain
infrastructure projects for the
dollar amounts that are there
specifically I
m looking at the
carb grant with some of the
projects that are happening on
our streets. I know that helps
pay for and offset some costs.
So what is the dollar amount
there additionally. In the next
1 to 2 years, I believe we
ll
be dealing with the full
renovation and amazing
opportunities that are log
cabin, and I know our log cabin
community, um, the West
Hollywood recovery community
has been asking about rents,
and we
ve spoken about, I
ve
spoken with David about this,
but if we can nail down on how
we would be able to continue to
support the recovery community
with just landing the plane and
how much they
re going to have
to pay every month. I know that
they
ve initiated their own
fundraising efforts, but I
would like to address that
sooner rather than. Um just for
peace of mind with them. I
ve
spoken with a number of them
and I understand those concerns,
but something along those lines
with our infrastructure
projects, and then additionally
because there was a slide in
here and I know we
ve gone down
this road regarding staffing
where are and how are we
supporting some of our most
critical staffing areas. I know
that you
ve added 3 positions
with the billboards, projects
which we all approved a couple
of meetings ago, but there are
some other departments that I
think do require some looking
at. I
m looking at Nick and
Jennifer down here, everyone
s
favorite floor, the second
floor, I do think some more
attention to that. I do know
Parks and Rec is someone that
might be needing some more
staffing opportunities to
comment on the public
commenters around the pools, um,
and then looking at
administrative or financial aid
assistance, uh, in on the
whatever floor the finance
department is on now, but
looking at how we
re continuing
to engage in our bargaining
units and our negotiating.
Opportunities there to help
support staffing at those
levels. I know we don
t give
direction on staffing. I want
to make that very clear so
everyone
s aware that
s
something David we
ll figure
out, although we did get into a
little bit of a gray area with
directing 3 positions. From the
da to the city to higher, which
are now immediately in the next
year
s budget, so I think the
public and the city can
understand the confusion there
with if it
s that easy for us
to say, you just need more
staff, so boom boom boom, there
it is, right? And I
m not
saying that we shouldn
t have
more staff or need more staff,
but I want to make sure it
s
very clear for the public and
internally with our staff on
how these processes work and
where the need and demand is. I
have spoken with the bargaining
units. I hear their concerns,
and I agree. With them and I
just want to make sure that
we
re addressing the critical
needs in our in our amazing
city hall to support the great
work that you all are doing,
that we all ask you to do more
um a lot, and I think about it
and I look at events and parks
and everyone, they
re doing a
lot more, so those are all my
comments. I support this item
and I
m looking forward to the
continued work and thank you
very much. Thank you, and I
just have one clarification for
the record that our city clerk
asked me to make, which is that
related to the reclassification
of the traffic management
program specialist. That is
correct and the staff report.
It is being proposed to reclass
to an assistant engineer, civil
engineer within the engineering
division. It
s not an assistant
city engineer. So I just wanted
to clarify that for the record,
and thank you for your comments.
I think David did want to
respond. I was just going to
add that yes, as part of the
budget process for the next
year
s budget update, we will
be having discussions with the
budget subcommittee, um, we
always have the departments and
divisions submit budget. Us
based on their needs. We
re
also doing a classification and
compensation study, um, this
year right now currently that
will help inform the city on
some of those needs, um, so
there
ll be lots of
opportunities over the next
several months to talk about
staffing um for the next year
s
next fiscal year
s budget. You
hear that, Vice Mayor. We have
lots of work to do.
Councilmember Meister, so yeah,
in the same vein I was going to
ask or say uh how many program
changes have Occurred since the
budget was approved that are
scheduled for the current
budget year. So how many of our
initiatives and program changes
have happened that that would
affect You know, staffing and
other things that haven
t been
necessarily addressed. And you
know, in this mid-year budget.
Well, I can tell you from a, a,
a budgeting perspective in the
supplemental expenditures that
have been approved at the
council level. It looks like we
have somewhere in the
neighborhood of 10 to 12 items
that came through with budget
requests, um, and those are
things that are on the work
plan and are being implemented,
um, expeditiously. We also have
items that come in through
council and or that are
adjusted on an ongoing basis
from our executive team
prioritization and repriorit.
Ization and that happens on an
ongoing basis, but items from
council, I believe they
re, um,
as I noted, there were, uh, I
think 10 to 12 they
re noted in
attachment a. They
re in one of
the pages on attachment a, uh,
and then there
s also, um,
There are also other items that
the city council brings that
get added to our kind of daily
and monthly look ahead
calendars. Yes, so I guess my
point is just that You know,
how is it, how is it affecting
staff. So, you know, 10 to 12.
Initiatives can be very um you
know, taxing on staff and or or
not. Um, so I think that as we
go into Uh, Our next year
s
budget, we have to, we have to
sort of incorporate that
possibility. So that we
re
ready for it as opposed to You
know, putting these through and
then and not having the budget
for it to increase staff or Or
whatever else is needed. So
that
s, that would be my
suggestion, um, and then I just
wanted to say that I agreed
with Kevin Burton, and I do
think that public safety
communications, um, have to be
looked at and uh I think that
the emergency sirens and
broadcasting system would be
well worth its uh whatever
investment it would take. Thank
you, Councilmember.
Councilmember Hang. Oh, I
m so
sorry. Yes, please, so yes, we
are looking at that. As part of
our response to the wildfires.
We have a committee of staff
looking at that and what we
were reporting back on that.
We
re not looking specifically
at the sirens at this point,
but that
s something that we
can consider for next year
s
budget as we
re looking at it.
Um, as far as staffing, I
m
sorry, well, I guess staffing
and priorities and all the new
initiatives that we do have, um,
we are looking at coming back
in APRIL to have a priorities
discussion. We
ll get a lot of
that from the budget
subcommittee, but I think it is
important to hear from the full
council as we
re developing our
work plans because there are a
lot of new initiatives and
things added during the year,
so having a discussion like
with everything incorporated
together and Including those
things that have been added
over the next year, MAY be
helpful for all of us. Sounds
great. Thank you, City manager,
Councillor Hang. Thank you,
Mayor. Thank you for the report.
I know that
s very arduous and
long, so I really appreciate,
we all really appreciate the
numbers, um, speaking of
critical need of staff, the
three new hires, the senior
planner position, the project
development administrator
position and the administrative
specialist for position. Would
you happen to have an idea of
when they will be onboarded. As
they will be revenue generating.
So this helps to begin the
recruitment process typically
recruitments can take anywhere
from 3 to 4 to 6 months. It
just depends on the positions,
but we anticipate towards the
end of this fiscal year to
hopefully have those positions
filled or close to filled so
they
ll be ready and up and
running for the start of the
next budget cycle which starts
JULY. Thank you. And with
regards to the staff, um, does
The city usually promote from
within, or are we going to do
an open requisition for it. It
depends. We often promote from
within some of our positions
require an internal recruitment
first before external some
positions do not, and we go
external, but often higher
internally for those as well,
so it really just depends, but
we always try to promote from
when then when there are people
who have the experience and
expertise for the position.
Thank you. Yeah, I mean, I
really appreciate these 3 new
hires. I think the creation of
this new billboard unit is
going to be vital to generating
more revenue for our city and
providing more staff to
actually carry that work out,
the important work, um, you
mentioned that the tot tax was
kind of on a kind of on a dip.
I know they
re not here, but on
a high level, do you know what
visit West Hollywood is doing
that hopefully bring those
numbers back up. That
s a great
question. Is Laurayry here?
Laura, do you, do you feel uh
able to answer that question,
or would you like us to, to get
a response from Visitw West
Hollywood. Ok, we
re we
re
going to see if they can get us
a response, but if not, we
ll
come back and provide one as a
memo. Thank you. And then, um,
when
s the last time the city
updated its fee schedules every
couple of years, every year.
Every year. Every year. Every
year there
s an item we look at
our fees and there
s an item
from staff for any updates, and
then every and I don
t know if
Annie
s here every 2 to 3 years
and we actually do a study and
it MAY be more like 3 to 5
years we actually do a full
study where a consultant comes
in and looks at our fees, but
generally every year we
reevaluate internally like the
actual impacts of certain
things in the related piece.
Great. Thank you. Do my
colleagues have any other
questions? Is he Vice Mayor
with a motion on the table. Did
you have any comments to add
for? Oh, and we got a second.
Um, I just wanted to add to, um,
you know, it
s a mid-year
report, and I
m aware that most
of the conversation tonight has
been about staff capacity. I
know we are great contributors
to the workload that staff is
constantly dealing with, so I
appreciate that and just
recognize our responsibility as
a council and making sure that
the items we
re putting forward
to are truly reflective of the
community
s needs at this time,
um, that balance of being a
counsel that so few are in this
way that actually bring items
forward on our agenda, I
believe, is what has made us
such an amazing city that
s so
responsive, and I
m deeply
aware that we can only
accomplish what we can
accomplish on behalf of the
community if staff
s able to
accomplish it, so we
ll be
recognizing that balance as a
counsel. I certainly will, as
somebody who brought multiple
items together tonight as we
move forward and just want to
reflect and honor our role in
the whole conversation as well,
so if there
s nothing else they
see a motion and a second on
the table. Vice Mayor Hellman
and I have acknowledged our
work to do for the next budget
cycle. We
re excited for that
and my vote is in. Terrific.
Thank you both for the
presentation. You too, City Man
David Wilson, we appreciate it
and we can move on to item e2.
Our update on major development
projects. And I don
t believe
we have a staff presentation in
our full report for this, but,
um, would you? No? Oh, he
s got
some. Ok, great. Maybe we do.
I
m happy to provide an
overview. Sure, ok, good
evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor,
counsel Nick Marisic, director
of community development,
joined by our assistant
director Jennifer Alkier and
our building and safety manager
Ben Galan. Item e2 is the
quarterly update on the status
of major development projects
around the city back in JUNE of
2023, the council requested to
receive these reports, and
we
ve expanded them over time
to a compass additional project
types such as those requesting
approval under the builder
s
remedy provisions of state law
and for the first time with
this report a list of
standalone billboard projects
being proposed under the Sunset
Arts and advertising program.
Attachment a covers major
projects and builders remedy
projects and attachment b
includes a map of these
projects, uh, the additional
billboard projects are listed
in attachment c and are shown
on a map in attachment d. I
know that the first project
listed in attachment a, the
Melrose Triangle project has
been a long standing item of
interest, and we do have a
significant update with this
report on this project. The
entitlements for the previously
approved project have now
expired. And there is no new
project that has been proposed
by the owner for the site at
this time. Given the excavation
work that took place on the
site, the city has required the
applicant to secure the
necessary permits to backfill
the excavated area and to
restore the site in a timely
manner. Part of the permitting
process requires a community
preconstruction community
meetings to be held, and the
applicant we
ve been informed
has been scheduled that meeting
for a Wednesday, FEBRUARY 26th
at 10 A.M., 3 P.M., and 6:30
P.M. Via Zoom, and they, uh,
the additional information
including the Zoom meeting
instructions and access
information has been sent out
to adjacent businesses and
residents within 200 ft. It
also can be found on a website
that the owner has set up,
which is
www.Melrose-triangle.Com.
That
s Melrose triangle.Com and
the owner has also set up an
email address, Melrose
triangle@gmail.Com where
community members can reach out
if they have questions and just
showing here a copy of the
notice which they provided to
us at the end of last week. Um,
finally, I would like to note
that we
ve submitted a
memorandum this afternoon with
updated in additional
information for attachments a
and c, and this is available
for the public through the
posted online agenda, and thank
you to the city clerk team for
their assistance in getting
that distributed this afternoon.
The staff
s recommendation is
for the council to receive and
file this report. We
re
available to answer any
questions. Thank you. Thank you,
Councilmemb Erickson is ready
to go. Thank you. Um, a couple
of items around Melrose
Triangle. Um, do you know
specifically how long it would
be so the community meetings
happen. And then what is it a
rough timeline. So the
community noticed that they
ve
distributed now or are
distributings says, quote, It
is anticipated that it will
take between 6 and 9 months to
fill the hole depending on
weather conditions and
availability of film materials.
Ok, so I have 2 questions to go
along with that. Now I had one
actually, but now 2.1. Are we
going to be making sure that
the dirt that they bring in is
tested to make sure it
s not
coming from any potential toxic
or environmentally unsafe area.
I have been asked by some
community members. There
s a
lot of dirt out there right now
and some of that dirt might be
be removed from areas that were
victims of fires and who knows
what could be going on, but is
there a testing requirement to
that, and if not, I want to
make sure that we add that to
whatever goes in there because
I don
t want what. Anyways, you
get where I
m going to, is
there a way in which we can
collect on any financial bond
or anything that we
ve had
there in with them if we didn
t
have one, I understand, but um
6 to 9 months is unacceptable
in my opinion. Is there an
expedited timeline that we can
give to them, I mean, I know
this seems like reductionist
and I understand I don
t have a
background and you know filling
holes in dirt, but like I did
grow up in the Midwest like how
long does it take to fill a
with dirt, I guess, really. I,
I, I mean, I don
t mean to be
like joking about it, but like
my my niece has filled a hole
that she
s built in the
backyard quicker than I think
this. Possibility. I I just
don
t get it. I
ll, I
ll ask
Ben to respond to some of those
questions. I will say that we
are anticipating a significant
number of truck trips required
in order to fully refill the
excavated area and Ben can
speak to that more. Sure, thank
you for the question,
COUNCILMAN Erickson. Uh, first
question was regarding
certification of the infill, so
both in the building code and
in our requests to the
developer, uh, the info does
have to be certified on site
before it gets shipped to West
Hollywood. So that
s already in
play. And regarding the second
question, it was regarding how
long it
s going to take to fill
the hole, so That holds about
270,000 cubic feet and each
dump truck is about 10 cubic
feet, so we
re going to have
about 27,000 trucks coming in
to infill that that hole, so,
um, again, as uh Director Nick
mentioned, it all depends uh
there
s there
s a few factors
that play into it, um,
obviously the weather, they
re
not going to be moving dirt in
there when it
s raining, um,
and uh also it
s availability
of infill, um. They
re going to
have to be going outside of the
county to to find material to
bring that in. So, uh, the
developer has identified 3
sites where they
re going to be
bringing material into the city.
So, again, it
s between 6 and 9
months. Great. Is there a
deadline that we can place on
there as a city to say if it
s
not done by DECEMBER 30th, 2025,
you now have to pay $10,000 a
day or anything like that. I
mean, they don
t have
entitlements on the property
anymore and um is there any
type of financial penalty that
we can apply to them. We
ve
been working with the city
attorney
s office to initiate
this process, so I would um
defer to her. I would, I would
defer to attorney advice on any
possible options with respect
to that. Understood the urgency
to get this filled as much as
possible. We
ve, you know, sent
them letters. We have them in
the plan check process just to
get permits to be able to
do the film. So it
s a long
complicated process, and we
will put whatever pressures we
can on them both through our
legal remedies and through our
permits that we can to get this
done as quickly as possible. I
mean, I just think that every
tool should be on the table
with this aspect, I think, you
know, I was councilmember,
land
s deputy when this project
first was going through
Councilmember Meister, I think
you weren
t on the council yet.
We, I know Vice Mayor Heilman
was, but you know, this. Been
reiteration after iteration. So
if it is legally feasible and
our my colleagues agree, I
would like to implement or look
at some type of penalty
structure for not getting it
done in 9 months max, 6 months
at the best. I don
t know what
those possibilities are. Is
there a bond on this project?
Yeah What are the requirements
for us to collect? I don
t
think the amount of the bond
was, it was lower than the cost
to fill the hole. It was, it
was much less than the actual
cost to fill the hole, um. Yeah,
so I did that
s just my only
comment on this item and that
s
all thank you very much. Thank
you, Councilor Meister. Thank
you, Mayor. Did you say 27,000
trucks. Yes. Oh Approximately,
yes, trucks, trips are trucks
Trips are, yeah, each, each
truck is a trip. 27,000 and and
did it take 27,000 trips to get
the Get it out, so That
s not
really included in in an
environmental Impact Is there,
was that, was there an
environmental impact report on
this? There was for the
original project. No, I
understand that. I
m saying
that for this specifically.
This is a slightly different
process. It
s somewhat of an
enforcement measure to get them
to fix a condition that they
created, so it
s not, it
s
going through a building permit
process, but it
s not going
through a normal discretionary
planning review process because
it
s essentially an enforcement
matter to get them to fix it,
but shouldn
t there be
mitigation? I mean, if there
are environmental impacts from
27,000 trips that hasn
t been
accounted for in the original
eir. Hellman. Well, I, I
suspect that there were, um,
the study of all of the
construction trucks that would
be going there if it had been
built, so I
m sure that the eir
considered not only all of the
trucks that were going to be
there for the demolition, but
then all of the trucks to pour
concrete, etc. So I
m sure the
eir studied probably well more
impacts than this is. Creating.
Thank you. Um, And then, um,
Did you say that it was 200 ft
for the notice. Or 500 ft. I
believe it
s 200 ft. That was
what was given to us from the
owner representative when we
received the notice, but I
would defer to our colleagues
in neighborhood and business
safety who enforced this
provision of the code if
there
s a question as to
because shouldn
t it be 500 ft
if it
s 500 ft. For notice of a
of anything. You know, uh, uh,
uh, commission meeting, um, it
seems to me 200 ft barely gets
into onto Rangeley. I mean
that
s not very, how many
people were actually noticed.
Or being noticed maybe we could
ask Vito. At a Midas to join us
here for that question. Thank
you. And to confirm the notice
I received included the 200 ft,
not 500. Uh, thank you, um.
Kilmer Meister staff is happy
to double check the noticing
that was done for the project.
Next Wednesday is the first
neighborhood outreach meeting
and the notices and postcards
are being mailed out. I
m
trying to confirm if it was
given the size of the project
that we increased the
notification, but we
ll confirm
that for you, ok, because when
the project went before council,
it was at least a 500 ft notice.
200 ft doesn
t even get you
barely across Santa Monica
Boulevard to the Norma triangle
or uh that area. So I just
think that it should be a 500
ft notice for this because
otherwise residents aren
t even
going to get it. Understood. So,
and I also would ask that uh
that staff, please reach out to,
you know, West Hollywood, West
Residents Association, uh, and,
uh, the Norma Triangle to let
them know. In case they haven
t
already seen or heard, you know,
when these meetings are
happening because 27,000 trips
are an awful lot of trips, um,
And then, uh, separate from the
Melrose Triangle. Uh, so thank
you for that. Separate from the
Melrose Triangle, I just, I, I
had asked to have the developer
names, uh, included in our, in
this, in this report and I
specifically asked for it
because, as you know, there are
several There are some
developers that have multiple
projects, and I think it
s
important for the public and
for counsel to, uh, to be aware
of that. So when we look at
these and we see that projects
are sitting there for 123, 12
years, um, that, that when they
come back to us to ask for a
development agreement or a
public benefits project, uh,
where they
re getting more and
more and more over and above
our zoning ordinance that we
consider You know, it
s
discretionary that we consider,
are they ever going to build
anything? And so I think it
s
really important. That
s why,
and I thank you for adding the
names. The one thing I would
say though is there are a
couple that are like, um, you
know,,,, 8920 Sunset Boulevard
llc and it
s not really the
owners or the developer
s name,
and this was something that I
talked to John Kiho about, uh,
the former community
development director or
developer whatever services
development services, uh, that,
that they would that they would
collect the. Actual names of
the developer versus just llc
because that doesn
t really
tell us anything because You
know,, 8500 whllc, the same
developer could be 80, you know,
I
m just making this up, but
8800, you know, Santa Monica
Boulevard llc, and we wouldn
t
know. So I think it
s important
for us to have the actual
developer
s name, in addition
to the whatever the official
name is, um, and then Um,
lastly, I would like to, um,
Ask about construction art
fencing, what
s happening with
that? There are certain
projects that are sitting there
and not being developed even
though they have their
entitlements, um, But they
don
t have their construction
art fencing yet. So, um, and
they, and just by the way, the
the Melrose Triangle
construction art fencing is not
being maintained. Um, but I
know that there are other
projects that have started, you
know, demolition, etc. I think
I think actually the one on La
Cieca and Santa Monica
Boulevard. I don
t think I
ve
seen construction art fencing,
and they have They have started
work there, um, So I think it
s
important that we, uh, you know,
follow up on that construction
art fencing and make sure that
even though they
re doing
nothing that, you know, that we
get our construction on fences.
Thank you. Thank you,
Councilmember Meister. Do, are
there any other comments or
questions from my colleagues,
Vice Mayor Hellman. Thank you
for Thank you for the update on
the projects. I really
appreciate it. Um. I, I share
some of the frustration. I know
you have frustration, we have
frustration that some of these
projects haven
t been built, um,
obviously the financial
conditions have changed
interest rates have changed
since some of these projects
were approved, um, market
conditions and market demand
has changed and and that
s, um,
so it
s understandable that
sometimes projects don
t go
forward. But I also think that
um we need to have some kind of
strategy as a city, and I think
maybe, um, you know, your, your
role is really to process the
applications and evaluate them,
and maybe we need to be looking
at bringing in somebody, um,
who has, um, some real estate
development expertise who can,
uh, from a city standpoint,
help us figure out uh How to
navigate these challenges, um,
You know, turning to the
Melrose Triangle, I, I hear my
colleagues very frustrated and,
but I also know that I don
t
really want the hole filled in.
I want the project built, um,
and it
s not likely going to be
built. Obviously the permits
have lapsed, um. So that means
that the hole does need to be
filled in until they figure out
what
s going to be done. I
don
t want to make it more
onerous for them, and, you know,
we can widen the, the, um,
noticing to the neighborhood,
but the neighbors are the ones
saying we want this hole filled
in. It
s ugly, it
s, it
s
terrible. It
s an eyesore, so
I
m not, I think sometimes
we
re being a little bit
inconsistent in terms of how we
deal with these. Situations. I,
I do think we also have to be
realistic that some of our own
actions have impacted the
ability of some projects to
move forward, um. You know, I,
I
ve heard from some people
that have hotel projects that
getting hoteliers to sign off
on it is challenging because of
the the wage ordinance and
because of the demand and in
this area. So It might be
helpful for us as some of these
projects are being looked at to,
to have somebody who can come
in and provide us and provide
our staff with some Expertise
almost from a development from
a developer
s, uh, viewpoint as
opposed to from the staff
s
viewpoint, uh, and I don
t know
who that person would be or who
that entity would be, but I, I
just think, I think we all want
these projects to get built, uh,
at least the ones we voted for,
the ones we voted against, we
might be happy they aren
t
aren
t built, but I, I, I worry
that that, uh, obviously, I
think we get played sometimes
by developers. I think we, you
know, and I think sometimes
they come forward with projects
to get approval. And they don
t
know themselves whether they
can actually be built because
they
re kind of doing it on
spec, hoping that some, uh,
hotel or some housing developer
we partner with them. So anyway,
those are my comments, but I, I
really appreciate the update.
It gives us a greater awareness
of where we
re at with all
these projects, Councilmember
Erickson. Yes, thank you so
much. I, I agree with what Vice
Mayor Heilman was saying, and
and then on the flip side is
why aren
t certain buildings
that are approved being
demolished. I look at Robertson
Lane continuing to be an
eyesore, the old buildings that
are just going to be demolished
anyways, and I
m wondering why
those buildings are just still
even there. Why haven
t we
demolished them? We passed an
ordinance. I mean, my
understanding is they meet all
the requirements. Maybe I
m not
hearing. Other sides of the
story, but those buildings
should just be demolished and
we could add temporary parking
for the businesses in that
district at this time being,
which I believe the developer
has offered to do to help
offset that the building not
being built yet, I think
personally some of these
buildings might not want to
fill in the hole. I totally
understand um. You know,
opening up Pandora
s box there
with having to redo the whole
project, but there are projects
we
re waiting on and I won
t go
into depth anymore about about
them, but why isn
t or why
haven
t, uh, the items along
Robertson between Melrose and
Santa Monica been demolished
yet. I know the developers
requested it. I believe with
respect to that issue, I don
t
think we
ve received a new
request from the property owner
since the council enacted those
changes, so if they sent you a
request tomorrow to demolish
the property. Would you be ok
with that? We would it
consistent with the code as it
exists now. Yes, thank you. And
they would have to improve the
property for parking or
something they couldn
t just
put dirt, yeah, no, I
understand there was a dirt
conversation before, so I get
that. And I see I would never
go against Jennifer. I see her
shaking her head, but these are
the types of things where I
think we could add some
benefits to the community,
parking, whatever it needs to
be there, space for pride, once,
uh, some of these bigger
projects happen in the next few
years, so look for that email.
Thank you, uh, Councillor Mur
Hang. Thank you, Mayor. Um,
just, I just had one. Quick
question, uh, for 9200 has, I
know that since the last
council meeting we gave clear
direction to bring it back to
the planning commission and to
back to the council, um. Do we
have any movement with the
developer? Are they keeping
that design or Yes, we
ve had
conversations with them, and
they
re coming back with a
revised design. It was very
exciting. Thank you. Ok, are
there any other comments,
questions, terrific. Um, yeah,
that 27,000 trucks number will
be sitting in my head all night,
um, but thank you all so much
for your work on these updates.
I guess I do have questions and
um and understand there
s
conversations going about our
inclusionary zoning ordinance
changes to that. I
m concerned
that it
s an amazing program
and there
s costs that get
added there. I don
t know how
realistic that slice of the
cost pie is in terms of all the
other costs underground parking
when we build. Underground I
know costs rise and if we
re
filling holes in the long run
anyhow, so I just, you know,
have some, so many different
things on my mind about what
else is contributing to costs,
and if we
re having honest
conversations about that,
there
s probably a lot of
things that we need to be
looking at, um, but that
s not
for now, it
s for later. I
appreciate this conversation
and thank you all. I think
we
re all set. We can move
forward and there
s no need for
direction, just lots of
conversation, so thank you. Um.
We can move on to a new
business item f1. Right? Yes. A
request for a commitment letter
for a ground lease and
authorization to issue a loan
from the Affordable Housing
Trust Fund in the amount of $1
million for development of an
affordable housing project at
1047, 1057 Crescent Heights
Boulevard and $200,000 for
associated plan check fees.
Perfect timing. Good evening
council members. I have a brief
presentation if you want it or
if we have questions, I
m I
m
seeing we
ve got one comment.
Ok, and I think we also have
some public speakers maybe So
no presentation, just ok. I
think we can allow our public
speaker, public comment speaker
to come up first, Tara
Barasskis, so I sing that?
Sorry. Thank you for coming out
tonight. Good evening, Mayor
Byers and members of the city
council. My name is Tara
Barauskas. I
m the executive
director of Community Corp.
We
re very excited to be here,
um, to get started with the
first step in this exciting
affordable housing project at
10:47 at 10:57 Crescent Heights
Boulevard. So just to give you
a quick update, we
ve currently
started working on our
conceptual drawings with our
architect Koenige, uh,
Eisenberg architects and, um,
we will be conducting our
community outreach in the
coming months. Um, so with that,
We
re hoping that you
ll be
supportive of this, um, ground
lease and loan commitments so
that we can keep our project
moving. So we
re happy to
answer any questions you might
have. Thank you so much,
Councillorm Meister, I believe
you had one comment. Yeah, I
don
t, I don
t know if it
s a
question. I, I just want to
make sure that we have
something in the commitment
letter like we
ve done in the
past that there is
collaboration and communication
with our, um, with that, with
Udas with our urban design and
architecture studio because
especially because this is our
property. It
s not like it
s
another, you know, it
s
somebody else
s property, um, I
would like to see that in the
letter, so it
s in Section 7 of
the commitment letter. It
s the
same language, so it
s
architecture design section on
page of the commitment letter,
which is attachment b. It
s
page, it
s the 3rd page, and
it
s the same language that
we
ve refined. We pulled it
from our last project, and I
know that specifically we did,
we went line by line with the
city attorney and I went with
you and we pulled the same
language, so so long as you
re
comfortable with that and
they
ve reviewed this as well,
and so at this point in time
everybody
s comfortable with
Section 7. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much. I think
we
re all set on this item then
tonight we
ll, thank you. All
right, thank you. Fantastic.
Item f2, f3, f4 went to consent.
. 0, f5 did as well. Wow, I
think we
re on item f6. We do
have one public commentary. I
know you had questions,
comments, vice mayor. I believe
she
s left. She did say it in
her comments earlier. So we
ll
start with you, Vice Mayor. I
can present if you
d like, no,
no, thank you for bringing this
forward. I think it
s a great
suggestion and I just have
concerns about how the Weeho
loves locals program, um, Uh,
existed or how it was
implemented last time. Last
time we got a poster, postcard
in the mail with no really
indication of who it was coming
from or what it was about and
it was just Weeho loves local
go on a website. I just think
it wasn
t very effective in
terms of getting people to
patronize local businesses, so
I just wanted to, to Uh,
emphasize that, and I
m hoping
that as this program is
implemented, it
ll be
implemented in a much different
way where we actually are, um,
communicating with our
residents in a way that will
encourage them to patronize
local businesses as opposed to
what was done last time, which,
again, and and I heard from a
number of businesses who said
they got no business whatsoever
from it. They, they didn
t even
know about. The program. So I
appreciate that feedback.
That
s great. Councilor Meister,
yeah, I, I would, I would
wonder. If we were, if we were
able to figure out metrics for
that last program so that we
could see how it, if it did
increase or not increase
business. I think that would be
important and it would be
important for this as well. Um,
I actually just wanted to see
if uh my colleagues would be
interested in under this
program to give residents and
visitors free parking on small
business Saturday. One day, you
know, let, let people just come
and park wherever and uh and
now not park wherever park at
meters for free right in front
of your house is what you
re
saying meter for free. They
have 2 hours. Um, but pocket
meters for free and um and give
our small businesses an
opportunity to to see those
people come out. Yeah, I, I
love that idea. Sorry, there
you go, I, I think you know if
that
s feasible, I
m happy to
support it. Um we love parking.
I was just having this
conversation, we love parking,
not parking minimums, but in my
opinion, but I was also um when
I was passing the lot at
Crescent Heights in Santa
Monica Boulevard, which Helen
made so sure got done so
quickly, you know, it
s it
s
fairly empty, and the reason,
you know, I know people want to
have other things built there,
but if there
s any outreach, we
could specifically due to that
community and those businesses
too. I don
t know if they
re
aware of it. I know it
s a big
empty parking lot, but it
s
another way to promote their
abilities to have that be in
that, that busy area too. Uh,
Vice Mary, did you want to make
a comment? Well, one, the issue
of free parking isn
t on our
agenda, so I don
t think we can
really address that tonight. I,
I am very skeptical of it, um,
particularly on Saturdays,
which are already very popular
in West Hollywood, but What,
what we
ve seen happen if we
re
talking about parking meters,
that
s where people are going
to park who are not turnover
customers, so if we
re talking
about doing something in our
parking structures that might
be something that we could ask
our staff to look at, um, and
so I, I, I have concerns about
us just doing it tonight. One,
it
s not on the agenda, and 2,
we don
t, we don
t know the
full impact of it. So Uh, I, I
think we should avoid any
discussion. Yeah, I appreciate
that. And just to bring back to
the program as this is, I
didn
t, you know, invent the
Weeh Ho Locals program. It
existed and I think it
s a
great model that needs to be
built on. Um, I know it did
give some businesses
opportunities to connect and
using that framework that
existed already. I thought this
gift card program, which, as
you saw in the staff report is
a program that a number of
other cities have run. It was
the city of Concord, California,
and a conversation I had with a
councilmember last summer. It
got me really excited about
what this opportunity could
look like. I knew then that we
were in the middle of our
economic study that um and soon
later learned that the
lunchtime hours and what we
were experiencing here as a
city, um, was that there was a
lot of decline in business and
so many of our own residents
are people who can better
participate in our businesses
with maybe a little leg up, and
I recognize that many of our
residents are living on fixed
or limited incomes that often
precludes them from being able
to participate in the
incredible business scene that
we have here, um, because of
some of that. Economic divide
that does exist in our
community, so my hope was in
delivering a gift card program
that could be sort of of the um
you know, purchase buy in and
then the city contributes an
additional percentage and that
way people have a, a, you know,
tab that goes a little bit
further at one of our local
businesses, um, so I
m really
grateful to visit West
Hollywood for their willingness
to be a part of this. I spoke
with Tom Keeley last week,
grateful for the chamber and
their help in getting this out,
but as Vice Mayor Hellman said,
it
s key that our residents
know about this. One thing that
wasn
t. Included in this and I
believe would be essential as
this comes back and gets
implemented and goes out to the
community is especially stops
at our boards and commissions.
I
m thinking about the older
adults advisory board first and
foremost because again it was
sort of targeted with those
folks in mind, people who
haven
t maybe felt that they
re
the businesses in our city are
accessible to them, um, and by
way of starting there and
helping everybody feel like
this is a community in a space
that you can be a part of that
we can start to invest more
deeply into our business
community. So that was the
mindset I approached this. I
deal with, although it
s
clearly open to everyone, um,
and I would hope that as this
comes back, staff also brings
maybe a cap or an investment
total that we could um put this.
I see that some cities started
with like $20,000 and once it
reached that threshold, they
were able to invest again. I
think that will also help us
understand some of the data
that we
re asking for, but I
also understood was that in the
gift card model, we
re able to
actually see which businesses
are using that and so I think
it
s a good opportunity for
businesses to further
communicate. Their services and
resources to our residents in
new ways too as part of that,
so that
s not our job as a city
to promote businesses, but I
hope this helps close the gap
and get people connected in new
ways. I saw that there was
another speaker that popped up
while I was going to
Councilmember, Hang, do you
want to jump in? Thank you,
Mayor. I think this is a great
item. It
s going to support our
local businesses. It
s, you
know, they
re suffering.
Everyone is suffering. So
anything we can do as a counsel
to promote within our city. I
think it
s a great idea. The
card will provide metrics like
you just said to our local
businesses as well in terms of
their services, so I
m in full
support of this item. Thank you.
Thank you. Are there any other
questions, comments? Great,
we
ve got a motion on the table.
No, no, it
s all great. It
s
nice other people supporting it.
Terrific. Thank you all so much
and great news. That was the
last item tonight. Woohoo. Um,
We don
t have any items on
excluded consent. Do we have
any final public comments
signed up for the evening? One
individual signed up, but
they
re not in chambers anymore.
All right, um, then we
ll move
on to councilmember comments
and meeting attendance reports,
who would like to begin? Ok,
we
ll start with Councilmemb
Erickson and then over to
Councilmember Hang after. Thank
you so much, MADAM Mayor. Um,
in terms of meetings I attended
the subcommittee ad hoc
committee non-Brown Act
Committee of the Commission and
Advisory Board meetings with
Councilmember Meister. I
attended the liability Trust
Fund board and oversight
meeting. I attended the West
Side City
s cag meeting where I
was appointed the voting
delegate for the cag to the
Santa Monica Bay Restoration
Commission and congratulations
to our own mayor, who is now
the vice chair of the West Side
Cities coc. Um, and then
additionally, I know that we
are going to be prioritizing
some infrastructure updates in
the coming meetings and I just
wanted to highlight some facts
to make sure that the record is
reflective of some things that
we
ve talked about in the past
in terms of paving history
Fountain Avenue was last paved
20 years ago and sealed 4 years
ago. Santa Monica, the
streetscape was completed in
the year 2000. I was a freshman
in high school. 60% repaved in
the last 3 years. Beverly is
Concrete street only patched
since cityhood, meaning 1984.
Melrose was paved last year
from croft to San Vicente and
only patched from San Vicente
to Doheny since cityhood. Major
infrastructure improvements.
This is something that I would
like us to focus on later as we
talk about what we should
prioritize. Fountain Avenue. No
recent major improvements ever.
In terms of the street. Santa
Monica. Streetscape project in
2000 bike lanes added from
Doheny to King
s Road, Beverly,
no major recent improvements.
Plans for a streetscape with
bike lanes and utility
undergrounding are in
development. Melrose, a
streetscape plan completed from
Croft to San Vicente and the
next phase includes San Vicente
Rohini. Um, these are just
important information that we
should keep on the top of our
mind as we talk about how our
infrastructure is lagging and
outdated, and these are just
the facts to support that.
Thank you, City staff for
helping provide that
information. That
s all. Thank
you, Councillor Marrickson.
Councilor Maur Hang. Thank you,
Mayor. Um, I have nothing to
report as far as meeting
attendants, um, I just wanted
to say that, you know, last
week there were signs that were
posted in West Hollywood in the
Rainbow District. That
indicated a ice as well as
ice
s phone number. I spotted
those signs. I reported them
immediately to our director of
Community safety who then had
Coke complis who took swift
action to have code compliance,
walk Santa Monica Boulevard to
remove all those signs. Um,
those signs were put up with
the intention to intimidate
people, to intimidate certain
members of our community and um
we will not be intimidated here
in West Hollywood. Thank you,
Mayor. Thank you account number
Ha. Councilormer Meister. Thank
you, Mayor. Uh, attendance, I
participated in the joint
policy committee meeting and
scag Regional council meeting.
I attended uh Virtually uh as a
as a just a Visitor and uh
Public speaker, uh, the West
Side Cities cag meeting. Um, I
was wondering uh if maybe the
city manager could answer a
question about what
s happening
with the lighting in West
Hollywood Park. Trailers. Helen,
come up and answer that. Um. I
know we
ve been waiting on the.
New lights to be installed
there. So just to give you a
brief overview, um, the light
base in on all the 41 light
structures in the park, um, we
saw deterioration on those
light bases, so we removed them
for safety, um, during the last,
it
s been about a year actually
we
ve been in conversations
with the manufacturer going
back and forth on, um, getting
replacements. Um, we haven
t
come to a mutual agreement on
what would be a suitable
replacement that we would agree
that wouldn
t. Deteriorate over
time, like the initial base. So,
um, we are. Currently in uh
final discussions with them and
we
re looking at other options
to move forward. Um, so in the
interim, we don
t have a, a
solution, but we are looking at
possibly either finding a new
base or looking at different
types of lighting in the park.
So we
ll be coming back to
council in the near future with,
um, our options to move forward.
Thank you, Helen. Thank you,
Vice Mayor Hellman. Thank you,
Mayor. Um, I attended the Weh
Hope Pride subcommittee. I also
attended various community
events including the winter
sounds. I did have some
comments on the sister cities
program, and I want to thank
you and uh councilmemb Hang for
bringing this forward, as you
noted, there was a previous
initiative to try to establish
a sister cities
relationship,
um, I, and I
ve asked staff to
try to retrieve. The files so
you can have access to it or
staff can have access to it. I
think it
s very important as we
move forward with this
initiative that we have clear
understanding of what our goals
are in establishing this, um,
are we trying to create an
economic relationship with
tourism and trade. Are we
trying to establish more of a
political relationship and
Expressing our alliance with a
community that MAY have similar
political leanings or be under
attack. Are we trying to
establish relationships where
we have uh local torchbearers
who could champion this
relationship. Part of the
reason, last time we were
unable to move forward, there
were people who had different
views of what a sister. Cities
relationship should be. There
were certainly people who were
associated with the Visitors
bureau who wanted to have a
sister cities
relationship
with Mexico City or a city in
Mexico because of the the
tourist possibility. There were
people from the Russian
speaking community who were
advocating for communities from
their home country or there
s a
particular arts district in St.
Peter
s. Pittsburgh that would
have been a great partner,
obviously that
s not on the
table anymore. Um, and then
there, there were also people
who had advocated for the Mora
district of Paris because of
the high concentration of arts
design and the lgbt community,
so I hope that as we move
forward, there will be some
thought about that and also
thought about those within the
community who are not part of
the city who will be part of
this initiative because it
can
t just be the city. It
s
got to also engage the business
community and the residents, so
those are just my suggestions
for thought as we move forward,
but I
m very excited about it
and you know, I
ll have some
free time in 2 years, so I, I
might want to be part of that,
yeah. I know you
re just trying
to send me away right now. I
got your comments earlier. I do
just want to follow that up and
say it has been in my time on
council and just the few short
years, a real honor and
inspiration to be a part of
some of the small conversations
and delegations that have come
to the city, mostly for some of
the political purpose and in
the exchanges we
ve had with
the Australian consul general,
you know, I know that they
re
looking to invite us as a pride
speaker in the month of JUNE to
go speak at their private event.
That
s a place where we have
multiple sort of relationships,
so there
s just so many
different opportunities. There
and with the Olympics coming
and the Pride House coming, it
felt all the more important to
really plant this seed and as
you said, sort of build
intention to what we
re really
trying to do. So just thank you
and thanks for sharing the
history. It
s really important
and I
m looking forward to
growing this in a bigger way. I
wanted to, and I just got a
note that we do have the old
staff reports, so we
ll get
them shared very soon. Thank
you so much. I
ll continue with
my attendance and then wrap up
with my comments, my meeting
attendants included the
National League of Cities
Transportation Ad advocacy
meeting, which was Very
frustrating look at how things
are changing very rapidly in
relationship to the cities, and
I also attended the lgbtq
elected leaders, local elected
leaders meeting the West
Hollywood Pride subcommittee
meeting. It
s crazy. We
re back
planning again for this year.
The Metro Service council
meeting and the la County City
Selection Committee meeting, as
well as the West Side cdc cog
meeting where, as Councilor
Erickson said, I was elected
vice chair, very excited to
serve that term and represent
our city in that capacity, um.
I was a speaker at Troy Masters
celebration of life this past
week and was just so honored to
reflect the many stories and
relationships that Troy shared
with our city and the many
staff members and members of
this council whose lives he
touched, so just really a
special night in celebration of
a very incredible human who we
all MISS Very deeply. I want to
give my thanks to the residents
of the domain apartments for
hosting my first meet and greet.
There
ll be more to come. Look
forward to continuing to
connect with folks in the
community in that capacity. And
just in terms of my comments, I
have to say I was very moved by
the equity statement read
earlier tonight and our city
s
ongoing commitment, especially
in these times, to the values
of diversity, equity, and
inclusion, and it happened very
quickly, but we did approve two
items tonight, one in
recognition of Junetee
Juneteenth with an expanded
budget for that social justice
advisory board to get to work
with. We
re very excited to see
what happens there as well as
new programming for Black
History Month in 2026 brought
with my councilmemb Erickson,
so thank you for that. That
idea, um, uh, just wanted, uh,
you know, reflect how important
it is these continued
investments and just thank the
city for our ongoing commitment
to this work, um, I want to
also recognize that the 22 of
the adjournments I read tonight
for the transgender community
members who were killed because
of who they are, where a
request that I received from
several members of the
community. I had multiple
people reaching out requesting
those that both of those
individuals be recognized, and
I deeply appreciate. The
recognition of our city
s role
in voicing and naming and
uplifting those individuals and
their stories in this way and
we
ll continue to be here to do
that work. Um, I want to just
also recognize as councilmemb
Hang said the I signs we were
quick to respond and spent a
long day of media responses and
making sure that people knew
what our city is truly all
about the sanctuary city that
we have long been. I look
forward to the Know your rights
campaign information that will
come out and in the meantime
encourage people to be more
familiar with your rights and
share this information, the
county Office of Immigration
has an incredible resource page.
They
re also beginning to host
events throughout the
communities, um, specifically
starting in East la, but
they
re making their way around
the county, and I believe it
s
really important that all of us
take time to understand our
rights and help empower those
around us with that full
information and just finally I
said it really quickly at the
end in my in the last item on
the Weeh Ho Locals program, but
I also would be remiss if I
didn
t. Think Laura and Paulo
specifically for your help um
both in researching this
initiative early on, but also
spurring my own encourage
enthusiasm and excitement for
this program. It really takes
all of us. I just want to thank
you both and recognize your
hard work behind the scenes in
support of our business
community, so unless there
s
anything else, I said a lot to
wrap it up. I think we
re all
set. Ok, so we have one more
special meeting adjournment. We
are adjourning this city
council meeting to this joint
study session of the city
council and planning commission,
very exciting meeting which
will take place here on Monday,
FEBRUARY 24th at 6 P.M. At the
West Hollywood Park Public
public meeting room council
chambers. We
ll see you all