Valleywide : $450,000 for Quake Aid Coming to Valley
The Los Angeles City Council approved $450,000 in federal money Tuesday for earthquake repair in six Valley communities, allowing them to form business improvement districts.
Reseda, Encino, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana and Woodland Hills will use $75,000 each to pay for landscaping, bus benches, street cleaning, new lighting and more parking, as well as other improvements.
To form an improvement district to allocate the funds, each community needs approval from at least 15% of the businesses in the area.
Councilwoman Laura Chick’s planning deputy Ken Bernstein said Reseda is ahead of the game since it already has secured signatures from 15% of the businesses in the district.
“We are really excited about this since Reseda took such a bashing after the quake,” said Bernstein. “These business improvement districts are key factors for continued recovery and long-term economic revival.”
Bernstein said the next step is for the areas to hire consultants to inform the businesses in the communities of the funds so that communication and planning can begin.
The council is also close to approving another proposal that would transform Ventura Boulevard into a thoroughfare a la Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade. Stay tuned.
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