2023 Annual Westside Mayors Forum
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Check out Jeff Hall's writeup of the event in the Brentwood Beat: Westside Urban Forum: Small Can Be Good
WUF is pleased to present the annual Mayors Forum, bringing together mayors of the Westside cities for a discussion of priorities for 2023 from a land use perspective and the ways cities are responding to pressing and long-term issues.
In 2023, our mayors will face a myriad of issues, including the central conflict of land use and social & racial equity. We’re sure to discuss a variety of topics and touch on each cities’ efforts to:
- Balance economic development with the need for workforce and affordable housing;
- Implement lessons learned from pandemic-related changes to retail businesses and land use, including strategies to address excess office space, work-from-home trends, vacant commercial spaces, and conversion of under-utilized commercial spaces for new commercial models;
- Implement recent state laws to allow increases in density and reductions in parking, while trying to maintain local land use control;
- Meet state-required Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) housing numbers and win state certification of housing elements;
- Focus on local sustainability, including reducing emissions, addressing water insecurity and stormwater management, and ensuring recycling efforts result in material reuse;
- Improve transit and ridership, as well as the outlook and commitment to public transit in light of decreased ridership;
- Address historic inequity and supporting communities displaced by freeways and urban renewal; and
- Collaborate with the City of Los Angeles and the new Bass administration.
Join us to hear directly from our mayors on these and other 2023 Westside land use topics.
Panelists
Mayor Gleam Davis, City of Santa Monica
Mayor Sepi Shyne, City of West Hollywood
Mayor James T. Butts, Jr., City of Inglewood
Mayor Albert Vera, City of Culver City
Moderator
Jeff Hall, Founder of Westside Today and Brentwood News