Westside : Feuer Will Support Parking Proposal

Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Feuer announced Thursday that he will support a longstanding plan to construct a parking structure in the middle of Westwood Village.

But Feuer said he would ask the city architect to modify the plans slightly before the councilman approves them.

Business and property owners in Westwood Village had been waiting several weeks for Feuer’s decision on the proposal, which they have been working on for the last decade. Feuer had suggested an alternative use for the site--a development similar to Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade.

The councilman held a public meeting in Westwood last month to discuss the alternative and said at the time that he would make a decision by the end of November.

After analyzing the plans, Feuer said, he decided there were merits to the project as it is currently proposed--above-ground and below-ground parking with some retail space on the street level. Feuer’s concern is that the retail space be substantial enough to accommodate restaurants and other major commercial operations.

For that reason, Feuer said, he will ask the city architect to modify the plans to make each retail space deeper. The next step, he said, is to figure out how Westwood retailers and restaurateurs can offer free or reduced-rate parking in the garage.