Two Westwood Neighborhood Council members announced Wednesday they are resigning from their positions on the council.
Stephen Resnick, council secretary, and Connie Boukidis, council land use committee chair, announced their resignations in the agenda for the council’s Jan. 10 meeting. Resnick has served as secretary of the council since its formation in 2010 and Boukidis has served as land use chair since the council created the committee in 2011.
The secretary is responsible for organizational work, including making copies for council meetings and logging all public submissions for agenda items to the council and referring them to the council’s committees. The secretary also serves on the executive committee, along with the president, vice president and treasurer.
The land use chair leads committee meetings, during which its members vet businesses applying to operate in Westwood. The committee rules on each applicant based on conditions in the Westwood Village Specific Plan, a planning document for the Village, and makes a recommendation to the council.
Council President Lisa Chapman, who accepted their resignations, said Resnick resigned because he wanted more time to spend more time with family.
Chapman said she thinks Boukidis resigned because she was overwhelmed with the workload involved in her position. Boukidis did not immediately respond to comment regarding the reasoning for her departure.
Chapman said she thinks the council has benefited from Resnick and Boukidis’ work over the past several years.
“It will be a shame for our council to lose either of them in those posts,” she said.
The resignations come after council members were split over Chapman’s decision to agendize two items during their December meeting without seeking input from the land use committee.
The first item modified the specific plan to make restaurant definitions less restrictive, while the other would have eliminated some sample alcohol conditions businesses must adhere to when applying for an alcohol permit in Westwood. Chapman said she did not think the two items needed to be discussed by the committee prior to going before the entire council.
During the meeting, Resnick suggested the council postpone both items to later council meetings so the land use committee could rule on them, and council members who were absent, including Boukidis, could provide their input.
The council approved the first item, after defeating Resnick’s motion to postpone voting on the item. However, the second item did not pass.
Resnick and Boukidis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Both members will continue serving on the council in their roles as general council members. The council will select a new secretary and land use chair at its January meeting.