A summary of significant Los Angeles City...

A summary of significant Los Angeles City Hall decisions affecting the Westside in the last week.

CITY COUNCIL

KOREATOWN PARADE: Approved the closure of Olympic Boulevard from west of Vermont Avenue to east of Western Avenue on Sept. 21 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the annual Koreatown Parade.

WESTWOOD VILLAGE: Approved an amendment designed to clarify a clause in the Westwood Village Specific Plan. The amendment says that the land-use plan permits no more than 350 hotel rooms to be built in the village. Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky said the amendment clears up confusion over what the plan allows.

CRUISING: Councilman Michael Woo has requested that $12,800 be used from his district’s parking meter fund to buy signs, barricades and other traffic control devices to help control cruising along Hollywood and Sunset boulevards and adjacent streets. The council must approve.

RECYCLE: Councilwoman Ruth Galanter is recommending that council committee agendas and related journals be printed on white paper instead of colored paper to increase the probability that the material will be recycled and reused. It costs more to recycle colored paper, Galanter said.

NAME CHANGE: Approved the name change of a portion of Union Jack Street in Venice to Union Jack Mall, which will be used as a pedestrian mall between Esplanade East and Via Donte.

OVERRULED: Reversed a decision by the Board of Zoning Appeals by approving a proposed health club complex at 1020 South Crenshaw Blvd. with certain conditions. The club plans to have a putting green, a restaurant serving alcohol and a dance floor. Conditions include installing nylon netting around the golf green, restricting the number of hours alcohol is sold and the number of patrons allowed on the dance floor. Customers are also prevented from entering or leaving the club parking lot from the nearby residential area during late-night hours.

SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER: Approved a proposal by Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky to name the southeast corner of Pico Boulevard and Roxbury Drive the Simon Wiesenthal Plaza in honor of the Los Angeles-based Holocaust research center.

RECREATION AND PARK COMMISSIONERS

RHINOCEROS: Approved rejoining the Sumatran Rhinoceros Trust, a coalition of four American zoos organized to protect the rhino from extinction. Approved also spending an estimated $180,000 for reentering the program and also buying a Sumatran rhino from Indonesia. The animal is expected to arrive at the Los Angeles Zoo by the end of August. Los Angeles dropped out of the coalition last year. The Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn., which had paid the zoo’s share of the rhino roundup, decided that it was too costly. The zoo is now using general fund money.

HOW THEY VOTED

FIRE BROWNOUT: Approved an agreement to allow the Los Angeles and Culver City fire departments to provide fire protection and rescue services to each other in certain areas during the city’s rolling brownout, caused by budget constraints. The Los Angeles Fire Department was also asked to consider seeking similar agreements with other nearby cities. Crews are withdrawn from service on a rotating basis to avoid closing fire stations. Passed: 12 to 0. Voting yes: Marvin Braude, John Ferraro, Nate Holden, Joel Wachs, Michael Woo and Zev Yaroslavsky. Galanter was absent.

GRAFFITI REMOVAL: Approved spending $500,000 to continue the graffiti removal program, which is operated by 12 community-based organizations that remove the markings from private and public property. Passed: 13 to 0. Voting yes: Braude, Ferraro, Galanter, Holden, Wachs, Woo and Yaroslavsky.

VETERANS FUNDS: Approved the city accepting $200,000 in state grants to fund the Veterans Job Training and Placement Program. The program will provide training and placement for minority, disabled, homeless and Vietnam veterans. Passed: 12 to 0. Voting yes: Braude, Ferraro, Holden, Wachs, Woo and Yaroslavsky. Galanter was absent.

APARTHEID: Approved the extension of the city’s economic sanctions against South Africa until the council is satisfied that true justice exists, including the government’s allowing blacks to vote and releasing all political prisoners. Voting yes: Ferraro, Galanter, Holden, Wachs, Woo and Yaroslavsky. The vote was 12 to 0.

APPOINTMENT: Approved the appointment of attorney William K. Mills as a member of the city’s Ethics Commission. Mills, who lives in the 10th District, replaces Alice Walker Duff, who served a year on the commission. Passed: 12 to 0. Voting yes: Braude, Ferraro, Galanter, Holden, Wachs, Woo and Yaroslavsky.

TROPICAL HARDWOOD: Asked the city attorney to prepare an ordinance for council consideration that will prohibit the city from buying tropical hardwoods or tropical hardwood products to show support for the preservation of the tropical rain forest. Passed: 13 to 0. Voting yes: Braude, Ferraro, Galanter, Holden, Wachs, Woo and Yaroslavsky.

CHRISTOPHER COMMISSION: Approved a request that the city administrative officer prepare a preliminary analysis on how much it would cost to implement all of the Christopher Commission recommendations for reforming the Police Department in the wake of the Rodney King beating. Passed: 13 to 0. Voting yes: Braude, Ferraro, Galanter, Holden, Wachs, Woo and Yaroslavsky.