City Council rejects appeals of East Hollywood apartments, West Harbor complex

At its meeting on September 10, the Los Angeles City Council rejected appeals seeking to block a new housing development in East Hollywood and a planned expansion of the West Harbor complex in San Pedro.

The apartments building, planned by ROM Investments at 5416-5430 W. Carlton Way near Metro's Hollywood/Western Station, is to consist of an eight-story building featuring 131 studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments above subterranean parking for 148 vehicles. An existing two-story building with eight homes would also be retained, resulting in 139 total apartments on the property.

Past approvals allowed for density bonus incentives to permit a larger structure than otherwise authorized by zoning. In exchange, 15 of the new apartments are to be set aside as low - and very low-income affordable housing.

The project had been faced with two appeals, the first of which came from SAFER, an affiliate of Laborers International Union of North America Local 270 (LIUNA) which commonly challenges new housing developments in the City of Los Angeles under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The appeal argued that the project should be paused to allow for further study, an argument which was rejected in a unanimous vote.

The second appeal, lodged by residents of the existing property, decried the loss of their homes, and accused the applicant of violating local land use regulations, housing and tenant protections laws, and CEQA. A staff report recommended denial of that appeal as well, citing a lack of evidence to support its claims.

The West Harbor development, planned far to the south at the Port of Los Angeles, took a step toward its second phase earlier this year, when the Board of Harbor Commissioners voted to certify an environmental impact report for a planned expansion that would include a 6,200-seat amphitheater and a 175-foot-tall Ferris wheel. 

While the project enjoys the support of the building trades, it ran into unexpected opposition from Unite Here Local 11, the politically powerful union representing hospitality workers in the Los Angeles area. Unite Here appealed the project's CEQA determination, arguing that it had failed to fully assess potential impacts to vehicle miles traveled.

The Council unanimously rejected the appeal, at recommendation from Port of Los Angeles staff.

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