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Part 2: West Hollywood innovations– A history of civic creativity |
West Hollywood is The Creative City—innovation is in our DNA. Despite its small geography, West Hollywood has become one of the most influential small cities in the nation. The progressive spirit of the City is evident in its many groundbreaking accomplishments during the 30 years since it established Cityhood in 1984.
In 1984, the first West Hollywood City Council established West Hollywood as the first City in the nation to have a majority openly gay governing body. This was a landmark development in LGBT rights globally and in the United States.
The ordinances adopted by the West Hollywood City Council within the first year of Cityhood included landmark legislation such as the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (which, upon its adoption was one of the strictest rent control laws in the country); an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against people with HIV and AIDS; a Domestic Partnership Ordinance; and an ordinance prohibiting discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation. Today, many of the City’s landmark ordinances have been duplicated and have become mainstream policies nationally and globally.
In 1985, the City Council established its Social Services program to provide much-needed services to residents. Over its history, the City has provided millions of dollars in grants to fund programs for people in need. Today, the City’s Social Services Division budgets approximately $5 million per year in funding to support to programs that impact thousands of people in West Hollywood; City residents live longer and have lower rates of chronic diseases than residents of L.A. County as a whole.
The City of West Hollywood was one of the first government entities to provide social services grants to local AIDS and HIV organizations. The City sponsored one of the first AIDS awareness campaigns in the country in October 1985 and the City’s response to the AIDS crisis has been recognized as a model for other cities, nationally and globally. The City has been one of the most outspoken advocates for the legal rights of LGBT people. In 1985, the City of West Hollywood was one of the first cities in the country to adopt a Domestic Partnership Ordinance.
In October 2014, the City marked an exciting milestone as the City Clerk’s office at West Hollywood City Hall filed its 10,000th couple as registered Domestic Partners. The City also created the nation’s first municipal Transgender Task Force in 2001; in 2009 this became the City’s Transgender Advisory Board.
West Hollywood was one of the first cities in the country to pass a resolution in support of marriage equality, paving the way for same-sex marriage initiatives all over the county. In a monumental moment in U.S. history, the City, in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Register-Recorder Clerk, began to issue marriage licenses and perform civil ceremonies for same- sex couples in June 2008, following the Supreme Court of California ruling on Proposition 8. After a legal stay, in June 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed an appeal in Hollingsworth v. Perry and the City of West Hollywood launched a marriage celebration. West Hollywood City Councilmembers and City Officials performed hundreds of civil ceremonies.
While blazing a trail on progressive policy issues, the City of West Hollywood has also received high marks for sound general and fiscal management policies. The City, with its diverse revenue base, recovered more quickly from the 2008 recession than most cities in the nation and receives top ratings from agencies such as Standard & Poor’s (S&P). During the past five years, the City’s revenues have steadily increased and have now surpassed pre-recession revenue levels by 12%. The City has invested in a series of leading-edge Capital Projects, including an automated parking garage and implementation of the West Hollywood Park Master Plan. In 2011, the City celebrated the opening of the new LEED-rated West Hollywood Library to showcase the City’s rich intellectual, literary, and cultural diversity. A new Aquatic and Recreation Center is currently in design development.
The City is passionate about adopting fresh new ideas and the latest in technological advancement. At West Hollywood City Hall, staff members have formed an Innovation Catalyst Group (ICG), which explores the development and implementation of groundbreaking civic ideas and technology. The City, through this group, has launched initiatives such as a monthly TEDx lunch series for City Hall staff members and has laid the groundwork for exciting new resources such as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) initiative, an Open Data initiative, and a new web-based platform for civic engagement.
West Hollywood has a robust history of civic innovation and citizen engagement. A summary of selected past and current programs follows:
West Hollywood has developed award-winning transportation innovations, making it one of the most walkable and accessible small cities in the country.
The City of West Hollywood operates two transportation systems, the Cityline and The PickUp. The Cityline is West Hollywood’s main public transportation system. The shuttle route, from Beverly Blvd. and San Vicente Blvd. to Fountain Ave. and La Brea Ave., generally follows Santa Monica Blvd., deviating from the boulevard to serve the majority of the city’s neighborhoods. Shuttles run approximately every 30 minutes, Monday through Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and are ADA compliant. Cityline has partnered with NextBus to provide real-time arrival information. The PickUp runs from 8:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Its route runs from Almont Dr. to Fairfax Ave. along Santa Monica Blvd. Shuttles arrive roughly every 15 minutes and stop every two to three blocks. The PickUp, which is intended to provide an alternative to driving and to support West Hollywood nightlife, features music curated by a local DJ and offers a variety of perks, including discounts at local businesses. Additional hours and route extensions are planned in 2015. In addition to patrons of the CIty’s bars and restaurants that the PickUp was designed to serve, it has become a valuable transportation option to hospitality industry workers.
Since spring 2013, the City has hosted a series of community meetings, workshops, walking tours and bike rides, to gather input for an update to the City’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Mobility Plan. In the summer of 2013, the Community Development Department launched an interactive map of the City for the Plan- asking locals and visitors to post ideas on walking and biking in West Hollywood. Working with the non- profit technology based advocacy organization OpenPlans, the “share your ideas” map visually (and digitally) linked comments to geographic locations - creating a rich data set of ideas to inform future pedestrian and bike improvements.
In 2015, the City launched an Employee Bike Share Pilot Program, “West Hollywood Bikes@Work,” that makes bikes available to City of West Hollywood employees on a short-term basis during work hours for traveling to/from satellite parking garages, work-related meetings, and wellness rides. The program is intended to encourage fun, physical activity, and alternative modes of transportation among employees.
The City launched a comprehensive public safety media campaign in October 2014 including transit-shelter ads located throughout the City and large electronic and traditional billboards on Santa Monica Boulevard, the Sunset Strip, and key gateway locations for West Hollywood. The campaign features three distinct ads that exemplify the civic creativity of our City:
- Wink, Then Walk features a handsome shirtless man who is walking and approaching a crosswalk — “Make eye contact with drivers before you cross the street” urges the ad, “what happens next is up to you.”
- Look, Don’t Like displays a distracted driver who is thumbing through a social media app while holding a smart phone — “Watch the street, not the screen,” suggests the billboard, “you might like what you see in the crosswalk.”
- Ride, Don’t Race displays an attractive young woman racing past the library on a bicycle – “Stop at signs and signals,” the ad reminds cyclist, that they too must obey the rules of the road, “you never know who is around the next corner.”
There are also Wink/Look/Ride ads on social media and web-based placements in a variety of online publications as well as on mobile apps. The billboards and ads were produced by the City’s Public Information Division, which contracted with Jim Pietras Creative and Melinda Risolo of DMR Creative Services for the development of the ads. Additional plans are in progress for a bicyclist safety ad, as well.
The crosswalk safety video, Alice in WeHoLand, was produced by the City’s Public Information Division and conceived by YouTube sensation Todrick Hall. The dance-filled video offers viewers a colorful twist about curbing smartphone use and walking and driving safely. The video features a vibrant cast of characters with drag performers, gym-bunnies, models, go-go boys, and dancers who perform a pulsating choreographed routine in West Hollywood’s iconic Rainbow Crosswalks, as well as other recognizable locations throughout the City.
In April 2015, the City of West Hollywood won a first-place award for Best Government Social Media Campaign at the 2015 Government Social Media Conference & Expo (GSMCON) in Reno, Nevada. The City was recognized with a Golden Post Award for excellence in its social media efforts to promote pedestrian safety and, specifically, for its Alice in WeHoLand YouTube safety video. To date, the video has received over 1,000,000 views.
West Hollywood’s Rainbow Crosswalks at the intersection of Santa Monica and San Vicente Boulevards are the world’s first permanent Rainbow Crosswalks. Since their installation in 2012, they have garnered worldwide attention and have become an iconic symbol of hope, pride and acceptance for the LGBT community. Additionally, the City has rolled out measures to improve unsignalized crosswalks along Santa Monica Boulevard. Enhancements included in-street pedestrian crosswalk signage, which are bright neon yellow vertical signs posted at street-center to warn drivers that it is “State Law to Yield to Pedestrians in Crosswalk,” and reflective raised pavement markers installed at the leading edge of crosswalks, which help to alert motorists of crosswalk locations and slow traffic.
All parking meters in the City of West Hollywood are smart parking meters that accept payment by credit card. According to the Parking Division, credit card payments make up about 70% of all transactions at smart parking meters.
The City of West Hollywood has awarded a $2.6 million contract to Unitronics to design, engineer, fabricate, install and maintain a 200-car automated vehicle storage and retrieval system for the West Hollywood City Hall Automated Garage and Community Plaza Project. Automated parking facilities use computer-controlled, motorized vertical lifts and horizontal shuttles to move vehicles from the arrival level to a remote parking space for storage without human assistance. The driver leaves the vehicle in an area known as the “entry compartment” where sensors determine the size and dimensions of the vehicle. The driver then pulls a ticket or swipes their monthly parking card to activate the storage process. The vehicle then proceeds to the final storage location. Upon retrieval, the driver presents their card or ticket at the parking activation station. The vehicle is automatically retrieved. The driver is then directed by electronic signs to the correct exit compartment to pick up their vehicle. During the retrieval process, the vehicle is rotated so that it is facing forward for ease of exiting the facility. The entire process takes approximately two minutes. The garage is scheduled to open by Winter 2015.
West Hollywood is testing a shared, universal city-wide valet that operates valet stands throughout the city. All transactions are done digitally and customers can have their cars retrieved at a different point than where they dropped off, encouraging walking and greater exploration of local businesses.
The City is testing out services with private provider ParkMe, a mobile application that maps real-time availability of parking spots in both public and private lots.
Parking citations can now be paid, contested, and tracked online, improving the customer service experience for community members and improving city staff efficiency.
The population of West Hollywood expects best-in-class health and wellness opportunities, and the City is creating amazing new facilities in response. In addition to health and wellness, the City offers a compassionate response and many services to its residents living with HIV and AIDS. A list of innovative health programs includes:
Now in Phase II of development, the West Hollywood Park Master Plan includes plans for additional park open space, development of a new aquatic recreation and community center with gymnasium and park support facilities, and children’s playground areas, including both a competition pool and a recreational pool planned for the rooftop of the new gym. An AIDS Monument, to be located near the entrance to the West Hollywood Library, is also included in the new development plan.
The City of West Hollywood encourages residents to plant and get the most from public parkway strips. The parkway strip is the area between the sidewalk and the curb. It is public property and, with the exception of the City’s trees, it is a resident’s personal responsibility to beautify and maintain. The City has prepared guidelines to help residents to transform their parkways into organic edible gardens.
This Task Force is built on the strategic cooperation agreement signed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with California Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday, March 5, 2014, which promotes intergovernmental partnerships between Israel and California. The West Hollywood City Council unanimously agreed to the establishment of the Task Force at its meeting on Monday, July 21, 2014.
Under the banner of “WeHo Cares,” the Social Services Division provides social services, health education and information to the community to improve the quality of life for those in need. Services include necessities of life such as food and shelter; AIDS education; preschool education for young children; job placement; legal services; mental health services; and homeless services. Services are provided via contracts with local non-profits and by the city itself. Programs serve seniors, people living with AIDS, gay men, lesbians, families with children, immigrants and people living with disabilities. The staff oversees social service contracts totaling over $3 million annually by performing program and financial audits, contract management and administrative support. Staff provides crisis intervention and information, and referral to constituents who call or walk in to City Hall.
WeHoLife (weholife.org) is a partnership of the City of West Hollywood, local businesses, community organizations and residents dedicated to providing information and opportunities for individuals to learn, support and encourage healthy living with an emphasis on HIV and substance abuse prevention. WeHoLife, funded by the City of West Hollywood, sponsors a condom distribution program with local businesses.
Online registration for parks & recreation classes and activities through the ActiveNet Programming platform has cut down on paperwork and streamlined registration processes.
West Hollywood was among the first cities in California to join Let’s Move! Created by First Lady Michelle Obama, this nationwide program aims to give communities simple tools to help kids be more active and eat healthier. West Hollywood has expanded on this empowering idea and invited all residents to join Let’s Move!
The Parks Route Walking Path is a project of the City’s “Well West Hollywood” program to improve health and well being through physical activity, better nutrition, and sound public policy The 2.5 mile-long walking path runs between West Hollywood Park and Plummer Park. The round trip is five miles or 10,000 steps. A published brochure available on the City’s website provides a map, points of interest, and information on how to start a walking fitness program
The Senior Health Fair, held every May and now in its 14th year, features demonstrations, free health screenings, and information from a variety of community organizations. This is part of West Hollywood’s annual series of events to engage its thriving population of older community members. The tradition is rooted in President John F. Kennedy’s national designation of “Senior Citizens Month” in 1963; in 1980 President Jimmy Carter renamed it “Older Americans Month.”
With a “wired” population, West Hollywood consistently reaches out to its residents and stakeholders in new and tech-driven ways, bringing as much of its population as possible into civic life.
2014 ushered in a new era for the City’s website (weho.org) as the City spent its first year working with a completely revamped content management system for the website. The City added and trained several staff members as administrative users which has increased the speed and accuracy web content. The City also launched a completely revamped mobile website to better serve the ever-increasing number of mobile users who visit the site. In addition, the final weeks of 2014 saw an upgrade to the hardware that serves the website which has created a noticeable speed increase for both the City’s main site and its mobile site. WeHo.org had over 1,900,000 pageviews during 2014 from 186 different countries with 32% of that traffic coming in through mobile devices.
The City’s growth and reach in social media was significant during 2014. The City’s Facebook fans increased by 58%; Twitter followers by 53%; and Instagram followers by 62%. Twitter offers the City the widest reach of the three main platforms, and in 2014 almost two million people viewed City tweets. The City was awarded first place for Best Social Media Campaign at this year’s Government Social Medial Conference + Expo (GSMCON) for its “Alice in WehoLand” YouTube public safety video, which debuted in October 2014. Other highlights and awards include:
- CAPIO 2012 Award of Merit - New Media
- Highest Ranked Internet Strategy - L.A. County Cities
- Highest Ranked Internet Strategy - California Contract City Association Member Cities
- CAPIO 2011 Award of Excellence for the City’s New Media Strategy
- CAPIO 2011 Award of Distinction
- 2010 Web Marketing Association’s Web Award for Outstanding Achievement in Web Development as the Best Government Website
- 2010 MarCom Honorable Mention
- 2010 W3 Silver Award
Launched in 2014, EngageWeHo (engageweho.org), a Mindmixer platform, is an online town hall forum where citizens have a space to share ideas, and community leaders a resource to gain ideas and input. It allows anyone to contribute from anywhere with an internet connection, increasing participation in the City’s planning process by eliminating time and location constraints.
WeHoTV provides access to the City government and also produces and presents programs providing information, cultural presentations, and other programming available to the public for viewing on television or live streaming online. This includes programming in support of the diverse population of West Hollywood.
As part of the “Eastside Community Plan” community-based strategy, the City employed web platform Neighborland (www.neighborland. com/wehoeastside) to provide information to, and gather feedback from, community members about the future of West Hollywood’s Eastside. The Neighborland site is designed as an interactive resource that inspires people to share ideas and engage in conversations with neighbors about visions for the future of the Eastside neighborhood. Community members can also post ideas through text and social media apps.
Telling stories with mapping technology, the 2014 One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival presented information in interactive “Story Map” form (www.weho.org/pridemap). It listed all city-sponsored arts and cultural programming with media-rich mapping technology.
Established in 1987, this program is committed to promoting interest in the arts and adding vibrancy to West Hollywood’s urban fabric. In 2001, the City of West Hollywood adopted a revised Urban Art Ordinance that requires developments of most real estate projects greater than $200,000 to place art on-site equal in value to 1% of the project cost, or to contribute an equal amount into the City’s Public Art and Beautification Fund.
Over summer 2013, the Community Development Department sent out the first edition of W|H Cityscape. The digital bulletin focuses on West Hollywood’s built environment, highlights opportunities for community participation in the planning process, provides updates on planning policies, major development projects, building and permitting trends, and technology improvements within the department, as well as trends in the field of development, planning, and design. The department is currently exploring new ways to reach the community with digital bulletins.
The City is always exploring new ways to enhance and improve services and increase the efficiency of its staff, in order to provide excellent customer service.
The City of West Hollywood has already started the transition to paperless forms and electronic signatures, resulting in countless hours of time and resources saved by City employees. Some grant forms, public record requests, permitting/ registration, and payment services can now be accessed online by the public. The city is working towards making all permitting possible online. Internally, employee/commissioner forms, payroll, and human resources assets have been digitized and made available through WeHoDocs, an internal document archive. Utility meters can be read by satellite/cell, message boards and facilities can be remotely accessed, and procurement and maintenance request are tracked through digital platforms. Staff reports, meeting agendas and minutes for City Council, Commissions and Boards are provided digitally for greater access by the community.
In an effort to make the City’s data easier to understand and use by the citizenry, the City of West Hollywood has created this portal to allow constituents to easily obtain transit, budget and spending information using a storyboard view. The City is also exploring instituting data collection requirements (open APIs) in all RFPs going forward, and working towards greater uniformity of data collection and naming convention across City departments.
The Innovation Catalyst Group (ICG) was created to provide City staff at all levels of the organization with an avenue through which innovative ideas could be explored and developed. The ICG is a funnel for innovation at City Hall used to capture and sift through ideas and to review and prioritize projects and pilot programs. The ICG is comprised of the City’s Innovation and Strategic Initiatives Manager, Information Technology Manager, and key representatives from the City Manager Office, Arts and Economic Development Division, Community Development Department, and Communications Division. The ICG provides several services including:
- Clearinghouse — ICG collects and analyzes innovative trends within the organization and serves as an advisory board to executive staff regarding potential opportunities.
- Brainstorming sessions — sharing ideas with staff and learning what ideas are being generated by individual departments.
- An Innovations Blog that explores what other cities and organizations in non-governmental sectors around the world are doing to spur innovation.
- Technical Assistance — helping staff with innovative ideas who don’t know how to get started.
A monthly series where City Hall employees come together to watch TED Talks and engage in discussions about global issues, technology, design, and innovation.
Employees established West Hollywood University (“WeHoU”) as an institutional educational program with the goal to offer a wide variety of lifelong learning and continuing education programs, designed to meet the needs of WeHo employees by WeHo employees.
TRAKiT, a new state-of-the-art permitting system, was launched by the Community Development Department in 2014. The new system streamlines planning and building permit application processing times.
A real time mapping resource for information about development and construction projects that are happening in West Hollywood. (Accessible through www.weho.org)
The City appreciates the diverse mix of businesses located within its boundaries and continues to seek new business formation and relocation to increase the number of technology and high-value job providers locating within its borders.
Formed in February 2014 by the City Council, this task force was charged with assisting in the review of policies and impacts regarding shared economy businesses operating in the City of West Hollywood.
Established in 1996, West Hollywood Design District (www. westhollywooddesigndistrict.com) works to market and promote the area as a premier destination for art, design, restaurants, boutiques and specialty retail.
Created in 2001, the Sunset Strip Business Association (www. thesunsetstrip.com) is an assessment district that improves the business and neighboring residential environment on Sunset Blvd. through: security, street maintenance, public outreach, and marketing.
In 1989, the West Hollywood City Council approved its first BID with the establishment of the West Hollywood Business Improvement Area and the Hotel Marketing Benefit Zone. In 2013, the new West Hollywood Tourism Improvement District was created, replacing the previous Hotel Marketing Benefit Zone and increasing the hotel assessment from 1.5% to 3%. Visit West Hollywood (www.visitwesthollywood.com) manages the work program of the Tourism Improvement District.
The City of West Hollywood, in partner- ship with Jewish Vocational Services (JVS) Los Angeles (www.jvsla.org), offers free employee recruitment and training services through the WHEST office loca- ted inside the West Hollywood Library. These services are available to new and existing West Hollywood businesses.
Each year, the City of West Hollywood celebrates Pride month through the artistic contributions of our LGBTQ community with the One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival (www.weho.org/ pride). Events are encouraged to find space in West Hollywood theatres, clubs, shops and restaurants in an effort to bring arts into the community.
The City of West Hollywood in partner- ship with the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce encourage residents to shop local and patronize West Hollywood businesses when they are looking for a place to eat, shop, or play. (www.eatshopplayweho.com)
West Hollywood has been in the movie industry since the early days of silent film. Today, the City continues to be a popular, vibrant, film-friendly location. The West Hollywood Film Office at City Hall and Visit West Hollywood work to market, promote, and support film and television production in the City (www.filmwesthollywood.com).
The Film Office provides permits and technical assistance to advance economic development goals. Visit West Hollywood provides film location business referrals and offers assistance with hotel accommodations and wrap parties to increase awareness of West Hollywood as an iconic prodution center.
Online business tax certificate renewals and special events permitting will soon be offered online.
During the first year of operation in West Hollywood, businesses are not required to pay business taxes. During the second year of operation, businesses receive a 50% discount on their business taxes.
Qualifying businesses that choose to renew a lease in West Hollywood for five years or more may be granted a one-time rebate equal to up to $50K in business taxes.