At last nights 11/3 city council meeting, long term West Hollywood resident Victor Omelczenko took to the public comment podium to speak on Item E3: Removing Infrastructure Roadblocks. The item brought forward by Council member Erickson would force a ‘safe streets first’ protocol and proposed that any future city council would needs a 4 vote supermajority to make any changes to approved projects.
Hello again, Victor Omelczenko, West Hollywood Resident:
I am quite concerned about this item, specifically the proposal to require a 4/1 vote to reverse previously approved infrastructure projects. This change feels undemocratic to me.
In my nearly quarter-century living here, I’ve only seen a 4/1 vote used for emergency ordinances—never as a blanket rule to shield decisions from future reconsideration. It sets a dangerous precedent that undermines the principle of majority rule and limits the ability of future councils to respond to evolving community needs.
The staff report cites as infrastructure examples the redesigns of historic Hart Park and of Fountain Avenue, two efforts that I have been personally involved in and supported, the former as a Public Facilities Commissioner and historic preservationist and the latter as an active bicyclist and pedestrian. I believe protected bike lanes, wider sidewalks, and traffic calming measures are long overdue. Fountain has become a high-speed cut-through—the “Fountain Freeway”—and it’s time greater safety and livability measures are implemented.
But supporting this project or others doesn’t mean supporting procedural roadblocks that silence dissent or public input. I am very wary of recent decisions and efforts to “streamline” processes so much that it appears robust public input is being diminished.
This proposal seems aimed at insulating the City Council from public pressure. That’s not how democracy works. We elect councilmembers to represent us—not to entrench decisions beyond reach. If a future council, elected by this community, wants to revisit a project, they should be able to do so with a simple majority.
Earlier, I spoke about the importance of voting in a democracy. In this case, please don’t dilute democracy in the name of progress.
Thank you.
Subsequent to the public comment period and council deliberations the super-majority four-fifths vote was denied approval.
John Erickson has lost the point of local government, which is to be responsive to local needs.
https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-fountain-ave-bike-lanes
Stop the loss of 2 travel lanes and stop the loss of over 62% of the parking on Fountain Avenue.
Mr. Omelczenko is exactly on point. Erickson has been watching too much Donald Trump propaganda b/s. West Hollywood is still a democracy and the sooner Erickson gets his pudgy hands out of Robert’s Rules of Order the better. Erickson is always trying to stack the deck without analysis and facts.
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Victor was spot on. Another of Erickson’s foul ideas.
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