City officials hope to have most construction projects in Hollywood back on track in about a month although the largest and most high profile projects will probably have to wait longer or modify their proposal,  according to officials who spoke with LandUseLA.com

As previously reported by LandUseLA.com and Curbed LA, projects in the Hollywood Community Plan area were temporarily frozen earlier this month when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge issued a ruling that said the update of that community plan was "fundamentally flawed" and no more permits could be issued that relied upon the community plan for its justification. After several days in which all Hollywood-area projects were stopped, the Planning Department issued a new policy that provided a pathway for most construction projects to move forward.

Still, at least 30 projects remained in limbo because their entitlements relied upon the community plan, according to a review of online records by LandUseLA.com.

Last week, the City Council instructed the Planning Department to return within a month with a timeline and expected cost for fixing the Hollywood Community Plan Update. The council also expects the department to return with an ordinance that will revive the old Hollywood Community Plan while the update is being repaired.

If the City Council revives the old community plan, many of the 30-plus entitlement cases currently in limbo could restart. However, any projects that rely upon the updated community plan would have to either redesign the project  to meet the old community plan, recast the legal justifications based upon the old community plan, or wait for the update to be repaired and enacted and then determine whether the project still meshes with the community plan.

ALSO: LandUseLA.com on the radio
LandUseLA.com publisher Chris Parker was on WhichWayLA? yesterday, discussing the Hollywood injunction. You can listen to the interview here: WhichWayLA?

Scores and scores of projects in the Hollywood Community Plan area will require an extra level of review and more than two dozen Hollywood projects are on hold indefinitely thanks to a policy enacted this morning by the Los Angeles Planning Department.

The department's new policy - dubbed the Hollywood Community Plan Update Injunction Clearance - is in response to a Feb. 11 ruling issued by the Los Angeles County Superior Court. The court determined that the department's Hollywood Community Plan Update was "fundamentally flawed" when it was approved in June 2012. Because the Hollywood growth plan is void, the city is prohibited from granting any "authority, permits or entitlements which derive from the HCPU or its EIR (Environmental Impact Report)," the court said.

A temporary - and unannounced - hold was placed last week on all projects in the Hollywood area by the Planning and Building & Safety departments until the Planning Department could issue a response to the court ruling. The response was issued this morning as Zoning Information File No. 2433, a 4-page memo with instructions on what projects could still move forward and which type of projects would be put on hold indefinitely.

The good news for property owners in Hollywood is that many projects will be able to move forward, albeit with an extra level of review.

But according to ZI-2433, any project that has an entitlement request which rely on the HCPU or its EIR are now on hold until the City Council passes legislation that addresses the court's concerns. The council voted Tuesday to instruct the Planning Department to return within 30 days with a timeline and cost.

In the meantime, dozens of projects that were filed with the Planning Department are on hold. That's because those projects include entitlement requests such as Zone Changes, Zone Variances or other deviations from the Zone Code that can no longer be decided by the department because the community plan for the Hollywood area is void.

A LandUseLA.com review of the department's online records has found 28 cases that are now on hold which were filed with the Planning Department's Office of Zoning Administration between Aug. 11, 2013 and Feb. 8, 2014. The projects include everything from minor entitlement requests such as yard deviations to major projects such as hotels and mixed-use projects. It is safe to assume there are additional projects filed prior to August 2013 that didn't receive entitlement relief by Tuesday and are now on hold. 

One of the more interesting entitlement cases that is now ensnared in this injunction hold is a request from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery to add 7 new mausoleums and/or wall crypt structures. In October, the cemetery submitted a request for a Zone Variance and Zoning Administrator's Adjustment, among other entitlements, to be able to build the new mausoleums.

As mentioned previously, the majority of projects in Hollywood will be able to move forward once they receive approval from city planners assigned to the HCPU Injunction Clearance process. According to ZI-2433, building permit requests in the Hollywood area will be reviewed and approved if they: don't require a Planning entitlement (i.e. - "by right"); only need ministerial clearances tied to previously issued building permits; or require discretionary approvals under one of the special districts in the Hollywood area as long as those approvals don't require an amendment and/or exception.

All of this stems from appeals filed by Hollywood-area homeowners groups against the city's June 2012 approval of the Hollywood Community Plan Update. The groups objected to the plan, saying it was based upon false growth assumptions and didn't adequately address infrastructure issues for the population growth that the community plan allowed.

A tentative ruling was issued in December but it wasn't until last week that the written Superior Court determination was issued, requiring the city to stop issuing permits based upon the updated Hollywood plan.

How long will this injunction last? It's unknown. But the City Council instructed the Planning Department to return in a month with a plan and cost for fixing the Hollywood Community Plan, not to return with the actual fix itself. Once the department gets council approval on the timeline and cost, it would presumably take several months of department work and then public hearings until the City Council can vote on the updated Hollywood Community Plan Update.

In the meantime, dozens of projects currently in the pipeline plus countless more that will be filed this year, will be on hold.

ZI No. 2433: Hollywood Community Plan Update Injunction Clearance Instructions
http://zimas.lacity.org/documents/zoneinfo/ZI2433.pdf

Curbed LA: NIMBYs Put Indefinite Stop to All Building Permits in Hollywood
http://la.curbed.com/archives/2014/02/nimbys_put_indefinite_stop_to_all_building_permits_in_hollywood.php

City Council motion: Instructions to Planning Department re Hollywood Community Plan Update
http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2012/12-0303-S3_CA_02-18-14.pdf

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Request for 7 New Mausoleums:
http://planning.lacity.org/cts_internet/index.cfm?urlCaseId=193758&caseNumber=CPC-2013-3262-PUB-ZV-ZAA-SPR&fuseaction=case.summary

LA Times: Judge Deals Major Blow to Hollywood Growth Plan
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-judge-hollywood-growth-plan-20131211,0,7703380.story#axzz2tnkOGC7X

The Los Angeles Planning Department will continue to review and approve projects in the Hollywood area despite a recent Superior Court judge's tentative ruling to strike down the Hollywood Community Plan because the legal process could take a year or more, the department's chief said in a memo released during the holiday break.

Planning Department chief Michael J. LoGrande said his department "remains committed to the important principles of the Hollywood Community Plan," in his memo, dated Dec. 20, 2013, and posted late last week on the department's website.

Earlier this month,  Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Allan J. Goodman struck down the Hollywood Community Plan, saying that the city did not comply with state environmental laws when it approved the updated plan in June.

Goodman said the city's approval was based upon inflated population figures that were not substantiated by government data. Several neighborhood groups have opposed the revised community plan, and three groups filed suit to stop it. Opponents of the Hollywood Community Plan say that it wrongly encouraged higher levels of density than the area's infrastructure could handle and said the increased density was unnecessary.

LoGrande said in his memo that the department was still committed to the approved Hollywood Community Plan because it was "developed through an inclusive community-based process involving numerous meetings with Hollywood stakeholders over many years." He said the plan is beneficial because it directs growth around transit hubs, establishes lower height limits around historic districts and protects hillside areas from "over-development."

LoGrande also said that since Goodman's decision was tentative and the jurist's final decision could be appealed, it could be a year or more before Goodman's decision could impact the Planning Department or projects proposed for the Hollywood area.


Michael LoGrande Memo re Hollywood Community Plan


LA Times: Judge deals major blow to Hollywood growth plan

Starbucks, the world's largest coffee specialist, is aggressively expanding in Los Angeles in the one area it has yet to conquer: your car.

The Seattle-based company's green-trimmed stores are found in every corner of Los Angeles. But in the last six months, Starbucks has rolled out plans for a half-dozen new stores that are car-centric and devoid of the leather chairs, wood paneling and hipster music so common in its traditional shops.

Drive-through restaurants are more complicated projects in the city than a traditional walk-in coffee store since they require discretionary Conditional Use Permits and may have additional requirements such as Site Plan Reviews, Specific Plan compliance requirements and/or deviations from the Zoning Code. And of course, that assumes that an applicant can find a suitable location for a drive-through restaurant. There aren't a lot of failing drive-through restaurants in Los Angeles to be taken over or vacant commercial land.

Probably the most interesting of Starbucks' current projects is a proposal to convert the Gilmore Gasoline Service Station at the southwest corner of Highland and Willoughby avenues. The Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council's Land Use Committee last week heard the proposal, which is still in draft form and has yet to be formally submitted to the city.

The gas station was designated a Historic-Cultural Monument in 1992 by the city but has sat vacant for more than 20 years. Starbucks' current plan is to retain most of the building's unique architecture while also providing drive-through and walk-up service (draft elevation provided by GWNC LUC).

Greg Wittmann, secretary of the GWNC LUC, told LandUseLA.com that his committee "was receptive to the idea of a drive-through Starbucks because the Gilmore Gas Station is a designated historic structure in serious disrepair which has sat vacant for 25 years."

The committee did have two areas of concern, asking Starbucks' architect to consider using the alley behind the parcel for automobile access instead of Willoughby and to improve the visibility of pedestrian access from Highland.  Architect Elizabeth Valerio told the committee that her firm still needs to meet with city officials, including the Planning Department's Office of Historic Resources.

Starbucks submitted applications in the last several months with the Planning Department for drive-through outlets in San Pedro, Northeast Los Angeles, Granada Hills and Valley Village.  The San Pedro location was approved in September and the Northeast LA location was OK'd in August. The Granada Hills application has a public hearing set for next Tuesday (Nov. 5).

A case was filed in August for a drive-through restaurant in Valley Village* at the southwest corner of Burbank and Laurel Canyon boulevards. The original application requested an exception from the Valley Village Specific Plan to allow a drive-through restaurant. But the case was terminated earlier this month because Starbucks would need to amend the specific plan to allow for drive-through restaurants, according to the Planning Department. An amendment is a much more expensive and time-consuming application than the exception and much less frequently approved.

The termination of the Valley Village project speaks to the difficulties a company like Starbucks faces as it tries to expand its drive-through operations in more neighborhoods throughout the city. Large portions of south Los Angeles are under an Interim Control Ordinance that prohibits new fast-food restaurants to be permitted, and other specific plans in Los Angeles also prevent or severely limit fast-food and/or drive-through restaurants.

Starbucks has nine drive-through outlets in the Valley already, plus single outlets in Venice, Arlington Heights and South Los Angeles. If the Gilmore gas station site is approved, it'll be the first Starbucks drive-through between the 405 and downtown Los Angeles that is north of Washington.

Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council Land Use Committee Agenda
http://www.greaterwilshire.org/site/?q=node/547

Gilmore Gasoline Service Station Historic-Cultural Designation (#508)
http://cityplanning.lacity.org/complan/HCM/dsp_hcm_result.cfm?community=Hollywood

Approval Letter for Proposed San Pedro Drive-Through Starbucks (1690 W. Lomita Blvd.)
http://pdis.lacity.org/pdf/viewPDF.aspx?Query=;Doc=200A9

Approval Letter for Proposed Northeast LA Drive-Through Starbucks (6240 E. York Blvd.)
http://pdis.lacity.org/pdf/viewPDF.aspx?Query=;Doc=20083

CUP for Proposed Granada Hills Drive-Through Starbucks (17901 Chatsworth Blvd.)
http://planning.lacity.org/cts_internet/index.cfm?urlCaseId=192731&caseNumber=ZA-2013-2389-CU&fuseaction=case.summary

Terminated Valley Village Drive-Through Starbucks (12106 Burbank Blvd.)
http://planning.lacity.org/cts_internet/index.cfm?urlCaseId=192834&caseNumber=APCSV-2013-2476-SPE-SPP-ZV-CU&fuseaction=case.summary

* DISCLOSURE: My firm, Pacific Crest Consultants, was one of several firms asked to provide a contract proposal to provide entitlement services for the Valley Village project prior to the case submittal. We were not selected.