HHPNC Proposes ‘Shop Highland Park Discount Day’

Many businesses in Highland Park offer discount stamps to customers who shop there, but the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council wants to take matters further by developing and sponsoring a program to boost local shopping by creating a monthly “Shop Highland Park Discount Day.”

At its monthly board meeting earlier this month, the council voted, 15-0, with one abstention, to allow HHPNC President Monica Alcaraz to “conduct due diligence” with city officials as well as simultaneously perform outreach with local businesses to get their feedback about the proposed program.

The idea behind the program is to prepare a list of businesses that support a monthly discount day, and identify what kind of products they would like to offer for the plan, Alcaraz told the council at its Nov. 7 meeting at the Highland Park Senior Center.

Just how much of a discount shoppers could expect was not discussed at the meeting, although At-Large Director Aracely Lozano pointed out that many local businesses offer a 10-percent discount to shoppers. Lozano also said she wasn’t sure how much of an impact a “Shop Highland Park Discount Day” would have in a market where discounts are already given.

The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, which oversees neighborhood councils, is likely to approve the Discount Day plan, not least because a similar program has been practiced with great success by the Reseda Neighborhood Council, Alcaraz said.

If the plan materializes, a Yelp-type sticker imprinted with a Shop Highland Park Discount Day logo would be posted on participating stores, Alcaraz said.

At-Large Directors Gloria Trejo and Paul Bonsell both cautioned that if the council encourages local businesses to participate in the program, it would be important to ensure that no conflict of interest with any particular business is created in the event that it comes before the council in connection with any issue in the future.

In fact, Bonsell proposed a motion, which was voted down 9-3, to table Alcaraz’s proposal until the HHPNC got permission from both the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and the City Attorney’s office to implement a local Discount Day.

A related item on the HHPNC’s agenda revolved around a proposal by Alcaraz to establish a “Shop Highland Park Discount Card” and spend no more than $100 for the purchase of the cards, which would be given to shoppers and would allow them to claim discounts on purchases.

The council voted, 13-2, to table the item until it was reviewed further.