I have been a resident of West Hollywood for the past 30 years. I live just south of Sunset Boulevard across the street from the Chateau Marmont, a historic and cultural landmark. Over the years our city has changed dramatically with the granting of too many development projects along our famed Sunset Boulevard (and elsewhere in the city). Now, the City of Los Angeles wants to make matters worse with another massive, out-of-scale project at one of the worst intersections in the city. At the base of Laurel Canyon, and at the “F-Rated” intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Crescent Heights, the proposed 8150 Sunset Boulevard project will jeopardize our quality of life.
I have been fighting the 8150 Sunset project since it was first announced in 2013. I am spearheading a group, Save Sunset Boulevard, opposed to the project because it is far too large for the neighborhood, it will impede access for first responders to answer 911 calls for life threatening emergencies and it will have severe traffic and safety impacts on an already perpetually congested area. This is a major concern.
Save Sunset Blvd. is not against development, or against development on the 8150 Sunset site. Our mission is to ensure and to fight for responsible development. We’re not against development or growth, but it has to be responsible, and this project is not.
The 8150 Sunset project is a controversial, 334,000-square-foot retail and residential project located on the site that once housed the famed Garden of Allah hotel. In 2013, Townscape Partners purchased the strip mall and announced plans for a massive development that included a 216-foot tall tower (equivalent to a 19-story building) of residential units. The project met with stiff neighborhood opposition because it would triple the square footage currently permitted, increase traffic, close a city street (the southbound right-turn lane), use city property for free, slow L.A. Fire Department and first responders response time and destroy the historic Lytton Savings building.
Townscape, in claiming to have listened to the neighborhood’s concerns, hired acclaimed architect Frank Gehry and presented another alternative. Oh yes, they listened alright, and came back to the table adding another structure to the site and making the tallest building 18 feet higher! I am unswayed by the Gehry designs, and I am concerned with the project’s severe impacts on the neighborhood.
They used Frank Gehry to get approval on a project that is significantly out of scale for the proposed site and infrastructure and otherwise violates CEQA, the General Plan, and earthquake and street closure (vacation) laws. Gehry is working on so many other projects with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti that he’s a golden boy now, and they used him to get it passed.
Project plans call for removal of a much needed right hand turn lane at the southwest corner of Crescent Heights and Sunset at the base of Laurel Canyon and three driveways for ingress and egress, plus deliveries, to be on Havenhurst Drive. Havenhurst is a narrow residential street with historical buildings that already is a cut-through street. Now they want to add more cars and delivery trucks to the mix? What are they thinking? This is a bad idea and very bad planning. This is a public safety nightmare.
I am particularly distressed by the massing of the multi-building project, which will have 65,000 square feet of commercial space, including a 25,000 square feet grocery store and 249 residential units, including 28 units for low- and moderate-income families. The buildings on the southern part of the property tower over residential neighborhoods with historic properties that are much smaller. Along Crescent Heights, you will have a structure approximately 174 feet tall, (equivalent to a 16-story building) and along Havenhurst Drive, another structure will be 234 feet tall (equivalent to a 22-story bldg).
I live adjacent to the project on Havenhurst in the Colonial House, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to the Colonial House, which is six stories high, the tallest nearby buildings are Granville Towers on Crescent Heights, which is seven stories; the DGA which is 79 feet high and approximately seven stories, and the Chateau Marmont, which is eight. Townscape is wanting to build a structure that is 234 feet tall, which is equivalent to 22 stories. Just think, this is almost three times the height of any of these buildings and almost seven to 10 times higher than the two- and three-story residential properties surrounding the site. Crazy! These structures will overshadow surrounding properties, rob them of their views and overburden their streets and sewers. The infrastructure is just not there.
I was born and raised in Manhattan and grew up surrounded by skyscrapers. I moved to Los Angeles in the early 1980’s and I loved it — all the great signature architecture and mid-century buildings and all the light. I am really sad that developers want to Manhattan-ize L.A., and in the process, demolish signature architectural treasures. I moved here because I wanted to be in L.A., not Manhattan. What would people say if they tried to Barcelona-ize London or London-ize Paris? Each city is unique. Let’s honor each city for its uniqueness and not try to make it like each other or generic.
Let these developers take the lead from Wallis Annenberg, who preserved the Italian Renaissance style post office and artfully juxtaposed it with the low beautiful Zoltan Pali structure. Annenberg also preserved the Marion Davies home in Santa Monica while adding new structures to the property. Old and new can co-exist together, and she did it brilliantly.
I am thrilled by the victory on Sept. 15 when the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission voted unanimously for a historic-cultural monument designation to the Lytton Savings building on the 8150 property. The wonderful mid-century modern building,, with its zig-zag roof and glass walls, offered a radical architectural departure from the traditional bank building when it opened in 1960. It is possible to have growth and modernization and to blend the two seamlessly, like Wallis did. Why must they tear it down?
Save Sunset Blvd. has been working with other area groups to fight the project, including the groups Fix the City, the Coalition to Preserve L. A., and the Laurel Canyon Association. I am also working with the City of West Hollywood because the West Hollywood will be overburdened by the enormity of this project in so many ways ( it will impact WeHo’s streets and sewers.) There’s power in numbers. We’re banding together to say “no more.” We’re tired of this. Los Angeles is being destroyed by certain developers, and we cannot allow this to happen.
Despite five separate appeals, including one from the City of West Hollywood (although in Los Angeles, the West Hollywood border is immediately behind the property), the Los Angeles City Planning Commission unanimously approved the project in late July. The Laurel Canyon Association, Fix The City, adjacent property owners and the City of West Hollywood are opposed because of the above concerns. It now moves to the L.A. City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee for a hearing on Oct. 25. If that body approves it, the project goes before the full Los Angeles City Council for final approval. Councilmember David Ryu, who represents the district where the project lies, has expressed his concerns about the project.
However, the L.A. City Council must give final approval to the landmark designation. The council will likely consider the designation at the same time it considers approving the project.
As the project heads to the L.A. City Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee, I will be relentless in my fight. I will be attending with an army of opponents (over 1,000 letters and petitions were sent to the city in opposition), but in the meanwhile we are busy posting lawn signs and getting the word out. We are hoping that Councilmember Ryu will vote against the project and keep his pledge to support the community regarding out-of-scale projects.
I know that fighting the 8150 Sunset project is an uphill battle. Townscape Partners spent $166,715 in the first quarter of 2016 lobbying for the project, according to a report by the city’s Ethics Commission. They are trying to buy everyone.
However, if I backed off of everything I did in life because I didn’t think I could win, what would that mean, what kind of person would I be? I am a competitive swimmer, which gives me the drive and perseverance to fight this project. I am a real estate agent in a city with stiff competition. I look at the finish line and do not get intimidated by my competitors. I have integrity, and I have to fight for what I believe in and what I think is wrong and unfair.
Selling properties in Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills and the Westside, plus the South Bay beach communities, I have a large and loyal celebrity clientele. I am not worried that opposing this project will hurt my business.
I work with responsible developers and not with developers who disregard the community and the context of their buildings. Along with the above concerns, the developers of the 8150 project have not taken into account that the Buddhist Temple sits within 100 feet of their site, a site that will be selling alcohol and having entertainment venues. I couldn’t work with a developer that was doing something like this. If they said, “Rory, we’re selling $3 million to $13 million condos , what’s your problem? We’re going to put you as the realtor in this complex if you let us build it. You can make a lot of money,” I’d say “No. I just can’t do that. I need to sleep at night.”
Upcoming meeting information
Any local residents in Los Angeles and West Hollywood can come to speak on this project. There is a meeting for the City of Los Angeles Planning, Land Use, Management Committee for Oct. 25th at 2:30 p.m. at L.A. City Hall, 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles.
The committee will hear the case for 8150 Sunset Boulevard and all five appeals against it at the same time and may even hear the Lytton Savings Bank Cultural Historic Monument status. Check for any changes to this date, time and location with sharon.dickinson@lacity.org a week before planned meeting.
Also, so that we’re all on the same page…no one is claiming West Hollywood gets a subway/light rail (or even any new bus lines worth mentioning) in 2020…what Metro is committing to, is funding (with existing, non-Measure M funds) the preliminary studies to ensure that the Crenshaw/LAX Northern Extension is “shovel ready” in 2020. The benefit of the project being “shovel ready” is that it allows for additional funding opportunities (federal, private, etc) that could accelerate the construction of that project. We still have a long ways to go before it reaches West Hollywood, however, because of the strategic and… Read more »
Mike Dunn/fine7760 I appreciate your addressing your comment to me, but I’m not sure what exactly I said that you are responding to. My two main points I was intending to make were: 1) this was not put on the ballot by some citizen using the direct initiative process, so it was not correct for someone to compare apples to oranges (if Manny had said “the legislators are a bunch of idiots and I vote no on anything the legislature puts on the ballot” I would not have corrected him as that would have been his opinion) I think I… Read more »
I’m guessing your definition of shovel ready and mine are different. The extension from the current north terminus on Crenshaw at Exposition has not been agreed upon let alone studied. The most direct route misses West Hollywood completely by running north along Highland Ave using a long abandoned but still in existence former right of way that divides the north and southbound traffic. As I have pointed out La Brea Ave does run through West Hollywood for a couple of blocks and adopting that route would fulfill the MTA’s promise technically. While the City of West Hollywood has worked very… Read more »
Josh Kurpies, The MTA has not been since its inception and never will be if their current philosophy prevails be pro bus service. Currently they have cut service and have hundreds of serviceable buses in storage. It’s not a lack of Bus Operators, it’s a belief that every dollar spent on bus operation is a dollar that can’t be spent on pet projects that have limited effect on transit. In case you and others are unaware of the make up of the MTA allow me to explain. The MTA was created by the State of California merging the former RTD,… Read more »
@Manny Measure M was not placed on the ballot by the public. The LA Metro Board of Directors sought authorization from the State, which required the state legislature to pass and the governor to sign, an authorization for them to move forward in placing on the ballot to extend the current 1/2 cent sales tax from Measure R (2008) when it sunsets and increase 1/2 cent sales tax for the purposes of funding Metro’s Long Range Transportation Plan. This was not some carelessly written ballot proposition authored by the public – this is a proposition which, if passed by 2/3… Read more »
If you want to know what WEHO will do about 8150 Sunset, take a look at how much money Townscape contributed to several of the current council members’ campaigns. It’s public information.
@AL1975, @Larry, @Jake and @Jason. You seem reasoned, measured, real. You all receive the stamp of ‘FACT.’ The balance of the thread demonstrate apathy, outdated information and misleading. The remainder of this thread is stamped ‘FICTION.’
All you need to know about this article is captured in a single line: “I live adjacent to the project”. NIMBY indeed.
Is this thread a part of a ‘FACT or FICTION’ rerun???
8150 Sunset and the Townscape “boys” (it is an all white male development – no women, no minorities just white men) need WEHO to dump the sewage down Havenhurst, to access the street across from the WEHO housing building (where many live with breathing problems), to head down Havenhurst with 100s of trucks to build this New York big money development (where Trump is an investor and Chris Christie’s wife is principal) along with other political favors to get it built. Of course the developers also own three of the WEHO City Council members aka “The Townscape Three” – Duran,… Read more »
Peter, please reveal your source stating Donald Trump, and Chris Christies wife are investors in Townscape. I attempted to research who the investors are and neither name came up. Singling out three council members for taking political contributions while excusing the other two is nothing but stupidity. Every political contribution is nothing but a bribe in order to get favor for the contributors agenda. And concerning the salary paid to the City Manager, it may be excessive but unlike Obama, he, the city manager, hasn’t indulged in out of control deficient spend. Lastly, Obama a leader? Thats the biggest joke… Read more »
“A NO vote on M”…….that works for me. It fits into my system of how to vote on Propositions…..I vote NO on all of them.
As a way to skirt political responsibility, California offers the public to many propositions and ballot measures (many using trickery and confusing the average voter) ……But I digress.
I’m all for a subway or light rail line going the length of Sunset, but that isn’t even in Metro’s long-term plans. We MIGHT get a subway spur under Santa Monica Blvd. in WeHo, but that is at least a decad or two away. Maybe then we can consider higher density, but as things stand now, traffic is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. These projects – whether a huge mixed use like 8150 or one of the numerous hotels planned (both in Hollywood, LA and West Hollywood – are all approved without any improvements to… Read more »
That half ass proposal by the MTA to run Light Rail down Santa Monica Bl. from San Vicente to La Brea is nothing but a joke and a attempt to fool the citizens in West Hollywood in hopes of getting their vote proposition “M”. The smart route they should propose is Light Rail from at least Supulvada to Downtown L.A. Using that route and connecting it to the Expo Line at Supulvada hopefully would reduce traffic from the westside. For those unaware of the development of the westside including Century City, a freeway, extension of Ca. Highway two, Glendale Freeway,… Read more »
Manny, just like similar districts of New York, London and Berlin that are surrounded by their predominant city, so is west Hollywood. The smartest thing that west Hollywood can at this stage is to get the transit in there asap along with additional housing in order to get those damn prices down!!! For years Los Angeles and environs have acted like a snot nose kid not wanting to grow up into an adult all the while having millions of more people than other world class cities. It’s so time folks!!!