A proposal to begin the creation of a new Westwood Business
Improvement District was withdrawn from today’s city council
agenda after area merchants expressed upset over what they
considered sneaky politics.
Councilman Jack Weiss, whose district includes Westwood,
deferred plans for Westwood’s new BID to the Economic
Development Committee, headed by Councilman Eric Garcetti.
Though the BID proposal has been referred to the Economic
Development Committee, it has not been officially removed from
today’s meeting agenda, according to EDC press aide Rich
Llewellyn.
But the city council will likely not address the item.
Weiss apparently moved the proposal in response to a multitude
of angry letters and phone messages he received following
Tuesday’s release of the city council agenda.
“He did it because there was a fierce outcry from all the
merchants,” said Philip Gabriel, owner of Scrubs
Unlimited.
Some Westwood merchants and community members were enraged with
Weiss’ proposal for a new BID, which was made just four
months after the previous one was not renewed.
Weiss held a meeting with merchants on Jan. 9 and made no
mention of his new BID proposal.
Weiss press aide Lisa Hansen said Weiss hadn’t conceived
of the new proposal at the time of the meeting.
The new BID was to focus on street maintenance, not helping the
Village’s parking shortages, which is the primary concern of
merchants.
One of the people who could be a key player in the formation of
a new BID is Doug Brown, the treasurer of Westwood’s prior
failed BID and the landlord of Madison’s and the incoming
Whole Foods Markets.
He also owns the surface parking lot across from Madison’s
and the parking structure adjacent to Maloney’s.
“I don’t think it would be in Doug Brown’s
best interest to have merchants actually have a voice about parking
and parking prices in the area,” said Clinton Schudy, owner
of Oakley’s Barbershop.
During Doug Brown’s tenure as treasurer of the BID,
$750,000 went unaccounted. That money has yet to be accounted
for.
“It would have been politically disastrous for Weiss to go
forward knowing the opposition, especially considering the amount
of missing money under the last BID,” said Jay Handal,
president of the West L.A. Chamber of Commerce.
Handal also noted the quickness with which Weiss seemed to be
moving.
“In Brentwood it took us seven months to form a BID. How
can it take seven days?” Handal said.
Several merchants threatened to protest at City Hall if Weiss
left his proposal on the meeting agenda.
“The Boston Tea Party would seem like a slumber
party,” Gabriel said.
A hearing for the new proposed BID is expected at the Feb. 5
committee meeting.