Tag: West Hollywood City Council

WEST HOLLYWOOD—The city of West Hollywood revealed on November 6 that Semi-final election results have been posted by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. According to the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, after Election Day there are still outstanding ballots to be processed and counted in the Official Election Canvass.

During the Official Election Canvass, all Vote-by-Mail, Conditional, and Provisional ballots received on Election Day are processed and verified. Once verified, they will be counted. Details about upcoming ballot counting updates are available on the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Schedule. After counts are final, the election must be certified.

Semi-final election results indicate that candidates John M. Erickson and Danny Hang have secured the top number of votes by West Hollywood voters for two seats on the West Hollywood City Council. Results updated on Wednesday, November 6 at 3:46 a.m. indicate that John M. Erickson secured 6,440 votes and Danny Hang secured 4,829 votes.

Election results details are available on the LA County Election Results website. West Hollywood General Municipal Election details are additionally available by visiting www.weho.org/elections.

Semi-final election results also indicate that West Hollywood Measure WH – West Hollywood Local Control, Public Safety Measure passed. With this Measure enacted, if Los Angeles County or a regional government agency imposes a future sales tax that impacts West Hollywood, Measure WH will automatically redirect ¼-cent of those sales tax funds collected in West Hollywood back to the city to maintain the services residents have indicated are important.

There are 26,036 registered voters in West Hollywood. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office must still count same-day registration ballots, provisional ballots, and Vote-by-Mail ballots. Election results are tentatively scheduled to be certified by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. West Hollywood will receive LA County certification documentation, and it is anticipated that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will declare the Election concluded on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.

The two newly elected Councilmembers will be sworn-in at the regular meeting of the West Hollywood City Council on Monday, December 16, 2024 at 6 p.m. The City Council annually elects the City’s Mayor and Vice Mayor in a rotation of Councilmembers and the City Council will elect Councilmembers to serve as Mayor and Vice Mayor at its regular meeting on Monday, December 16, 2024, as well. There will be a WeHo City Council Reorganization and Installation meeting on Monday, January 13, 2025. West Hollywood City Council meeting agendas are posted in advance on West Hollywood’s website at www.weho.org/councilagendas.

For additional information call West Hollywood’s City Clerk’s Office at (323) 848-6800. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing call TTY (323) 848-6496.

By Trevor

WEST HOLLYWOOD—On October 12, West Hollywood City Council accepted an $8.2 million grant from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to be used for bike and pedestrian safety infrastructure along with improvements in the electric transit fleet and roadway safety. Council and community members are now at odds. Some are protesting against this project indicating that this is not what they initially voted for.

On October 18, there was an organized protest organized by WEHO, We the People, who spoke out against the upcoming bike lane project.

On September 30, community members started a petition to stop the bike lane project that began years ago. Petitioners are now arguing that the project voted on in 2022, is not the project they are working on today. Fountain Avenue is too narrow of a road to accommodate traffic, parking, and bicycles.

The petition cites a statistic from the U.S. Department of Energy, who claimed that “an idling car can produce 20 times more pollution than one moving at 32 mph.”

On November 21, 2022, the West Hollywood City Council unanimously voted to implement a Fountain Avenue improvement project including protected bike lanes, widening the sidewalks, and more. The city reportedly began the process of identifying funding for the proposed project.

On September 18, the West Hollywood City Council voted in favor of the project in a 3-2 vote with much public discussion over the verbiage in the grant regarding the aforementioned bike lanes.

West Hollywood Mayor, John Erickson spoke in favor of the project.

“We must do all that we can to invest in transportation and infrastructure around the city. Our roads and sidewalks are out of compliance and this street along with so many others, is due for improvements that improve the lives of everyone.”

The following individuals are listed as WEHO City Council members on the City of West Hollywood webpage.

Mayor and Senior Director of Planned Parenthood, John Erickson

Vice Mayor and strategist for climate change, Chelsea Lee Byers

Three-term council member and neighborhood advocate, Lauren Meister

Former Mayor and lecturer at USC Gould School of Law, John Heilman

Council member and affordable housing advocate, Sepi Shyne

By Sharon

WEST HOLLYWOOD—On Friday, August 9, the city of West Hollywood announced on its website that the nomination period for City Council candidates that started on Monday, July 15 has been extended until Wednesday, August 14 at 5 p.m.

It was previously announced that the Candidacy Nomination Period would end on Friday, August 9; pursuant to the State Elections Code, a five-day extension may take place if an eligible incumbent does not file Nomination Papers by the deadline.

According to a news release, residents of West Hollywood who want to run for West Hollywood City Council should contact the City Clerk’s office to schedule an appointment to receive nomination papers and to review the requirements and deadlines for becoming an official candidate.

The WeHo City Council candidate nomination process requires a potential candidate to gather between 20 and 30 signatures by voters registered in the city. Potential candidates must be at least 18 years old, residents of West Hollywood, and registered voters within the City.

Two City Council seats will be decided in the upcoming General Municipal Election, which will be held on Tuesday, November 5. City of West Hollywood Councilmembers each serve for a term of four years and are elected at large. Each year, councilmembers select one of their members to serve as Mayor for a year, with the term beginning after the West Hollywood City Council reorganization, which occurs once every year.

The West Hollywood’s elections page, www.weho.org/elections provides detailed election information and links to the California Secretary of State’s Voter Registration page, the Los Angeles County Registrar/Recorder’s website, and specific links for polling places and sample ballots.

For more details, to schedule an appointment to receive nomination papers, and to review the requirements and deadlines for becoming an official candidate contact West Hollywood’s City Clerk’s Office at (323) 848-6409 or send an e-mail message to Alyssa Poblador at apoblador@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing call TTY (323) 848-6496.

By Trevor

WEST HOLLYWOOD—On July 15, the city of West Hollywood disclosed that the nomination period for candidates running for the West Hollywood City Council opened on Monday, July 15 at 8 a.m. The deadline for filing nomination papers is Friday, August 9 at 5 p.m. pursuant to the State Elections Code.

West Hollywood residents who are interested in running for City Council should contact the City Clerk’s office to schedule an appointment to receive nomination papers and to review the requirements and deadlines for becoming an official candidate.

The City Council candidate nomination process requires a potential candidate to gather between 20 and 30 signatures by voters registered in West Hollywood. Potential candidates must be at least 18 years old, residents of West Hollywood, and registered voters within the city.

There are two West Hollywood City Council seats that will be decided in the upcoming General Municipal Election, which will be held on Tuesday, November 5. West Hollywood Councilmembers each serve for a term of four years and are elected at large. Each year, City Councilmembers select one of their members to serve as Mayor for a year, with the term beginning after the City Council reorganization, which occurs once every year.

West Hollywood’s elections page, www.weho.org/elections, provides detailed election information and links to the California Secretary of State’s Voter Registration page, the Los Angeles County Registrar/Recorder’s website, and specific links for polling places and sample ballots.

For more details or to schedule an appointment to receive nomination papers, and to review the requirements and deadlines for becoming an official candidate contact the West Hollywood’s City Clerk’s Office at (323) 848-6409 or send an e-mail message to Alyssa Poblador at apoblador@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing call TTY (323) 848-6496.

By Trevor

WEST HOLLYWOOD—On Friday, April 26, the city of West Hollywood disclosed that they want community members to provide feedback on proposed policy changes to the Sunset Arts & Advertising Program.

“The Sunset Strip has been a premier outdoor advertising venue since the 1960s and ’70s, when recording artists debuted albums on custom-painted billboards. Today, technology propels advertising into new realms, transitioning from painted murals and vinyl to dynamic and creative billboard displays,” the city of WeHo stated in a press release.

The Sunset Arts & Advertising Program was adopted in 2019 to allow a limited number of new billboards on Sunset Boulevard. The program includes a design excellence competition where only a select number of applicants are awarded the opportunity to proceed with applications for new billboards. The proposed amendments will provide additional clarity for defined terms, clarify intent and vision principles, and strengthen the standards, including those around brightness and orientation of the new billboards.

Proposed amendments focus on making guidelines, vision, and standards clearer for the public and applicants; clarifying the language of standards and guidelines to make them easier to understand and follow; bolstering the lighting standards with specific and measurable standards; and incorporating best practices into the policy.

West Hollywood wants residents, businesses, and visitors to share their feedback and suggestions on Engage WeHo. PDF documents of proposed amendments to the program, a map of billboard locations, the original Sunset Boulevard off-site signage policy, and the Sunset Boulevard lighting study are available by logging in or creating an account at https://engage.weho.org/SAAP.

The feedback portal is open and will remain open through Sunday, May 19 at 11:59 p.m. (Those looking to provide feedback must be logged in). West Hollywood’s Community Development Department will gather feedback submitted during the review period and present proposed program updates at a future date.

Goals for the Sunset Arts & Advertising Program are:

Revitalization: The principal benefit of the program is to help revitalize the Sunset Strip. Through this program, new development and façade remodels were encouraged and this has led to several projects completely redeveloping underutilized, and sometimes deteriorating sites;

Historic Preservation: The program encourages the designation, restoration, and preservation of historic buildings. Once designated, the income from a billboard helps the property owner maintain the historic building;

Streetscape and Public Realm: An important aspect of the program is the improved streetscape that is part of many of the projects. The goal is to create meaningful public realm enhancements that actively engage and enrich the pedestrian experience along Sunset Boulevard, providing interesting places to sit, to view, and to engage with streetscape elements, some of which will be interactive. Program projects also contribute to capital improvement projects, such as the Sunset & La Cienega Boulevard Intersection Improvement Plan, which will improve this intersection for both the pedestrian and the motorist;

Economic Vitality: This program helps individual property owners and business owners with additional revenue to improve and maintain their buildings and businesses, thereby encouraging economic stability and growth. Iconic businesses such as the Rainbow Bar & Grill, the Roxy Theatre, the Whisky a Go-Go nightclub, and the Comedy Store will be ensured a stable and steady income, helping to maintain these important businesses on the Strip; and

City Content & Arts Programming: Each billboard must provide a contribution of time (17.5% per hour, 10.5 minutes per hour) to city content (public City announcements and/or public art). At the top of every hour, full motion animated billboards will display ten and a half minutes of City content and/or arts programming curated by the City of West Hollywood in consultation with the City’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission. This is an important aspect of the program, helping the City achieve the goal of bringing art to everyone using Sunset Boulevard and adding to the vibrancy and aesthetics of the Sunset Strip, ensuring its importance and relevance as a world-famous destination.

For more details on the Sunset Arts & Advertising Program, visit the city of West Hollywood website. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing call TTY (323) 848-6496.

By Trevor

WEST HOLLYWOOD—The West Hollywood City Council will decide whether a re-ban will be issued on the use of dockless electric scooters and e-bikes in West Hollywood at a regular meeting on Monday, June 26. City Council will consider three alternatives that respond to safety concerns and community complaints, primarily about scooters.

The Dockless Micro-mobility Pilot Program was launched on July 1, 2021, allowing e-scooters and e-bikes as transportation options for the West Hollywood community. The main goals of the pilot program were to expand West Hollywood’s transportation network, while supporting environmental sustainability. 

Alternative one would end the Pilot Program and return a prohibition of scooters and e-bikes to West Hollywood. 

Despite efforts made by the West Hollywood City Council to address the public’s concerns about scooters littering sidewalks and blocking walkways, the problem of improper parking persists.   

The Pilot Program received 1,452 complaints over the past two years, from July 2021 through May 2023, with approximately 60 percent reported by three individuals. Sixty-six percent of complaints are regarding a device blocking the sidewalk.

On March 6, city council requested for staff to return with research on the implementation of speed-throttling sidewalk detection technology citywide. The proposed use of this technology was an effort to discourage sidewalk riding. Scooter companies, Lime and Bird, did not adopt speed throttling “at the scale desired by the City Council,” according to the City’s staff report. 

Lime implemented a 12 mph speed cap in West Hollywood as of May 2023, but the staff report states that “Lime is no longer pursuing speed throttling for any devices in any of their markets.” Bird applied speed throttling only in specific areas of the city.

If alternative one is selected, the city council would terminate the scooter pilot program by July 31. A ban on “rental mobility devices,” which includes both scooters and e-bikes, would be reinstated by August 1.  

West Hollywood would cancel existing permits with scooter and e-bike companies as well as terminate supporting contracts with service providers like ABM, Populus, and Toole Design. 

The impacts of terminating the use of scooters and e-bikes were acknowledged in the staff report. 

Should the West Hollywood City Council terminate the Pilot Program, setbacks for West Hollywood’s emission reduction goals are expected. Since the Pilot Program began in July 2021, 449,730 total trips, or 628,543 miles, have been traveled with dockless micro-mobility devices. The amount of miles traveled by a vehicle would emit 253 metric tons (253,000 kg) of CO2 emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

Unbudgeted costs for the termination process would include $175,000 to contract for the removal of devices from the public right-of-way, $125,000 for disposal of devices not retrieved after being impounded, and $75,000 for the storage of devices removed from the public right-of-way. 

Alternative Two entails continuing the pilot program through October 31, 2023. Staff will manage the program with any modifications desired by the city council and initiate a randomized phone survey, which is set to cost $40K, according to the staff report. In October 2023, city council will reconvene on the issue to decide whether or not a permanent program is possible based on the survey results and updates from staff.

Alternative Three proposes that staff continue the Pilot Program while transitioning into a permanent program. Staff would begin working with Toole Design on the program requirements, proceed with a community survey as was originally scoped (not engage in a randomized phone survey), and accommodate any modifications desired by the West Hollywood City Council. An update including a timeline for the permanent program would be presented to the city council in October 2023.

By Paige Strickland