At a special meeting held earlier today, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission voted to reject appeals from two organizations seeking to block the construction of new multifamily residential developments in Hollywood and Palms.
The first project, which comes from applicant Proper Development, would replace a pair of single-family dwellings at 5806-5812 W. Lexington Avenue. Plans approved by the City of Los Angeles in July call for the construction of a five-story building featuring 17 apartments - including two extremely low-income affordable units - above at-grade parking for 25 vehicles.
Bittoni Architects is designing the contemporary podium-type building, which would present a gridded facade to Lexington Avenue. Architectural plans show that the building would be composed of two wings above its parking level, flanking a central atrium.
A group of neighboring homeowners appealed the Lexington Avenue apartment complex shortly after its approval by the Planning Department, arguing that the project violates local zoning rules and should be required to undergo more stringent environmental analysis.
A staff response disputed the claims made by the appellants, and recommended that the project's existing determination letter should be upheld.
The second development considered by the Commission is slated to replace a duplex at 3117-3119 S. Bagley Avenue in Palms.
In June, developer ABY Holdings, LLC secured entitlements to redevelop the roughly 6,400-square-foot site with a new four-story apartment building featuring 12 residential units - two of which would be deed restricted extremely low-income housing.
The project, designed by The Code Solution, faced an appeal from neighboring property owner Margaret Fields, who argued that the project as currently designed would exceed the incentives allotted under the Transit Oriented Communities guidelines, and should be subjected to review under the California Environmental Quality Act.
A staff report disagreed with the arguments made by the appellant, though it acknowledged that the ABY Holdings had agreed to redesign the building to account for some of the concerns expressed by Fields.
The Commission voted to grant the appeal in part - specifically in regards to a rear-yard setback which was not previously compliant with the TOC guidelines - but voted to uphold the project's approvals.
