A summary of selected City Hall actions last week that affect the Westside.

CITY COUNCIL

* VENICE YOUTH CLUB--Authorized the Building and Safety Department to waive $47,000 in building and engineering permit fees for the construction of a new recreation center for the Boys and Girls Club of Venice. Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, whose district includes Venice, said the new club will serve as “our most important defense against gangs.” The club’s current facility, at 2230 and 2304 Lincoln Blvd., provides tutoring, counseling and athletic activities for 1,300 children. The expansion will enable it to serve an additional 1,700. City Council President John Ferraro warned that waiving the fees would probably set off similar requests from other nonprofit organizations.

* RICHARD DREYFUSS HONORED--Approved a resolution commending actor Richard Dreyfuss for his financial and moral support of the Venice Family Clinic, which provides health care for the working poor and the homeless.

* HAZARDOUS BUILDING--Approved the use of $15,000 to immediately secure a three-story apartment building at 2017 N. Argyle Ave., which one Fire Department official termed a “tragedy waiting to happen.” The dilapidated building will be fenced off and boarded up so no one can enter.

HOW THEY VOTED

* EXPANSION DENIED--Denied the hardship appeal of two landlords in Venice to expand their properties from two units to three, a move that would require an $18,000 fee and an additional parking space. Hoping to avoid the fee, the landlords of the separate properties--one at 24 Catamaran St., the other at 125 Catamaran St.--appealed that they were converting storage areas into a third unit and therefore not expanding the property. Appeal denied 11-0. Voting against the appeal: Marvin Braude, John Ferraro, Ruth Galanter, Jackie Goldberg, Nate Holden. Absent: Mark Ridley-Thomas.