According to multiple sources, the Los Angeles City Council is slated to vote on the Hollywood Community Plan on June 19 after eight years of discussions regarding the future of Hollywood.

The W Hotel and Residences is located at Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, one area in which some residents believe Hollywood is becoming overdeveloped. (photo by Aaron Blevins)
The plan aims to guide commercial and residential development while protecting historic properties and neighborhoods. It also presents guidelines for future transportation options, bike lanes and green space.
Ziggy Kruse, a member of People for Livable Communities (savehollywood.org), claims that the foundation of the plan, which was championed by Councilman Eric Garcetti, 13th District, is based on bad population data. The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has predicted Hollywood’s population to rise in the coming years, though a recent Census showed a population decline.
“The plan is fatally flawed,” Kruse said.
She said People for Livable Communities fears that the plan will reduce height restrictions to allow developers to construct skyscrapers. Kruse said the area’s infrastructure is insufficient, and the plan’s accommodations fall short.
Officials have stated the plan calls for increased density in Hollywood, specifically near subways and other public transportation. However, Kruse believes that Hollywood’s police and fire protection would become increasingly strained.
“That’s a dangerous game they’re playing,” she said.
Kruse said the organization is not against development — it simply must be done right. She spoke of the shopping center at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue, which she said turned out nice.
“The only downside is the parking,” Kruse added. “People, quite frankly, like it.”
She suggested that the council send the plan back to the planning department to redo the environmental impact report. Otherwise, the council could be facing a lawsuit, which People for Livable Communities is currently preparing.
“We are ready if it’s needed, yes,” Kruse said.
Councilman Tom LaBonge, 4th District, said he supports the plan as drafted, though he is concerned about “super high-rises.” A portion of his district is in Hollywood, where the tallest building is 22 stories.
“It does preserve the center … of Hollywood,” LaBonge said, adding that it also preserves neighborhoods. “The middle of Hollywood will still be the same.”
He said he would like the current council or any future councils to have discretion when it comes to proposed skyscrapers in Hollywood. LaBonge also said that he believes any proposed high-rises should have an observation deck for tourists and residents.
“There needs to … be potential development,” he said, “and this is a guide for development in the future.”
In terms of the population figures, LaBonge said he supports SCAG’s numbers. While Hollywood has lost some of its population over the last few years, he believes that people will return.
“I think it’s good to look to the future this way,” LaBonge said.
Doug Haines, of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council and the La Mirada Avenue Neighborhood Association, both of which have raised objections to the plan, also said the plan is “fundamentally-flawed” due to the population figures.
“The plan itself doesn’t stand up,” he said, adding that the EIR is based on inaccuracies. “Instead of resolving that … they’ve just been trying to fudge it the whole time.”
Haines said 16,000 people have left Hollywood in recent years, and officials believe that Hollywood’s population of 198,000 could grow to 249,000 by 2030. He said his neighborhood has witnessed a 35 percent decrease.
“It’s not a community plan,” Haines said. “It’s a development plan, first and foremost.”
Haines wondered aloud what companies would contemplate relocating to Hollywood. He referenced several media and film businesses that have left the area, such as CBS, which occupied Columbia Square several years ago. Haines also mentioned the office towers in Century City and other areas.
“What is the draw in Hollywood? It certainly isn’t the aesthetics,” he said, adding that the blight is not the fault of the community. “The jobs aren’t in Hollywood anymore. Hollywood has always been a residential community.”
Haines stated that there are no funding sources attached to the plan. He also echoed Kruse’s sentiments regarding infrastructure and fire and police protection. John Walsh, of the Yucca Argyle Neighborhood Watch Group, expressed similar thoughts.
“It’s a blueprint for overdevelopment,” Walsh said.
He said he is not against the plan itself, but the lack of height restrictions is concerning. Walsh said skyscrapers will take away from the view in Hollywood, which is a major component of its charm. He said high-rises could affect property values in the Hollywood Hills.
“‘You’re next.’ That’s what we’re saying to the rest of the city,” Walsh said, referring to the city’s plan to create community plans for other areas.
Kerry Morrison, the executive director of the Hollywood Property Owners Alliance, said the plan will provide forward momentum to keep Hollywood on its path to revitalization. She said it will be beneficial to lawmakers, community leaders, investors, property owners and other decision makers in determining what kind of retail, housing and jobs to bring to Hollywood.
“Otherwise, there has been, up to now, a lot of ambiguity … and a lack of clarity about Hollywood’s future,” Morrison said, adding that a lack of planning will be a disincentive for new projects and employers. “Adopting this community plan will reduce ambiguity [and] provide clarity and a sense of common direction.”
She said opponents tend to lose sight of how big Hollywood actually is, focusing on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street instead.
“We’re talking about a very large community that is integrated with jobs, schools and transportation,” Morrison said. “It’s all good because it kind of weaves everything together to transform this into a thriving community.”
She said density is welcome, as business owners need a requisite density to support retail projects. The lack thereof has led to a vast amount of tattoo parlors and “stripper stores,” Morrison said.
“Density is what is going to be required if we’re going to transform the retail and actually transform ourselves into a live-work community,” she added.
Morrison said Hollywood needs more people living and working there. She said the population figures may be misleading because the demographic of Hollywood has changed. More young people have entered the area, filling vacancies left by families.
“It is hard for a family to live in the heart of Hollywood without the amenities,” Morrison said, adding that many area apartment complexes are full.
She said it is obvious that Hollywood, and Los Angeles as a whole, cannot survive by clinging to the car culture. Morrison said it is imperative that the city provide an opportunity for people to move about without cars, which could be resolved by adding density to public transportation hubs.
“That is the future,” she said. “We’re very excited about it. We’re ready to get started on it. …It’s been a long time coming.”
Representatives from Garcetti’s office could not accommodate multiple requests for an interview by deadline. However, they issued the following statement from the councilman.
“This community plan isn’t about driving development,” Garcetti said. “This is about being prepared when outside market forces create a demand for development. Right now the city is not prepared. The current plan dates from 1988. If there were a time to ‘freeze’ things in Hollywood, it certainly wouldn’t be 1988. We need a plan that contains additional protections for neighborhoods and that includes traffic mitigations like the Red Line that didn’t exist in 1988. That’s what I’m looking for.”
To view the plan, visit cityplanning.lacity.org.
6 Comments
We Need More Density?? Are you kidding?
Testimony of Pat McCosker, President of The LAFD Union from the April 17th Plum Committee Hearing
about the Higher Density that will be created with The Hollywood Community Plan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGCB_aqornk
6:50-7:59
I don’t know if supersizing Hollywood is a good idea or a bad idea..
I just know it is a DEADLY idea..
If you don’t do something about the Infrastructure
And specifically, I mean, by having enough Firefighters and Paramedics to protect that Community.
You know what’s going on…
40% of the time we’re not getting there on time right now..
To save lives, when people are not breathing..
To keep a fire from burning out of control.
So you can’t build up the City even more
While the Fire Department is staffed the way it is right now..
Because it’ll be IRRESPONSIBLE.
It’ll take us even longer to get there..
More lives will be lost..
More fires will burn out of control..
And it’s irresponsible.
So, you know, there’s supposed to be a Mitigation, people pay fees, Developers pay fees
Those don’t come back to The Fire Dept.
You’re not following right now,
Your Infrastructure Plan.
The Mayor just swept the Hydrant Fee clean on The Fire Dept.
Took Millions of Dollars out of it to Balance the Budget, rather than to put back into that Infrastructure that PROTECTION FOR CITIZENS when Developers build.
This is DANGEROUS STUFF.
Thank you
Very few Hollywood residents support this plan. It is a developers plan blessed by the politicians who are paid by the developers and businesses to do thier bidding. There is already too much traffic and crumbling and inadequate infrastructure, fire police etc… Density and highrises are the last thing Hollywood needs. Ask the politicians and planning people wht the residential vacancy factor is now in Hollywood. There are many vacant units. The units proposed in these highrises are not for poor or working class people they are fancy condos. We don’t need them…
how is ms. Morrison getting around? is she taking the subway or the bus? or ask mr. LaBonge how he is traveling? taking public transportation once or twice a year does not cut it.
using the TOD’s as a reason to increase density in any neighborhood is like using a spatula to pick up behind ones doggy and then reuse that thing in the kitchen. – either one makes no sense and is utterly disrespectful not to say disgusting, especially when you have guests for dinner.
in any case most of my guests come from areas like Century City and around the Beverly Center and they all travel by car and since i don’t have a doggy they can rest easy and enjoy the food at my house.
Joey B.
More simply, the entire Hollywood Community Plan is a fraud based upon falsehoods and material omissions.
There has been a twenty year decline in Hollywood’s population from a high of 213,883 in 1990 to a low of about 196,000 in 2012, but the latest official confirmation of Hollywod’s population was 198,228 in 2010.
The evidence shows that the Metro Stations are the areas which have the greatest exodus. 35% of the 15,250 people who left Hollywood come from US census tracts contiguous to the Metro Stations (4,405 ppl). Studies across the country show the same result. When given a chance, Americans move away from dense areas. Each time the developers crowd people with their ugly projects, people move away.
The developers build without regard to the people they’re driving away because the City has been given them hundreds of millions of dollars to build these nightmares — no matter how big a failure. The W Hotel condos sold only 29 units out of 143 in two years, and the owners themselves bought some of the units.
The legal flaw in the Hollywood Community Plan is simple. The City Framework requires the Plan to provide for the population decline or incline. Hollywood is in a proven decline, and thus, the only legit goal of the Hollywood Plan was, How do we improve the quality of life for remaining Hollywoodians?
The City will be sued. Down is not Up, and the City ignored the actual population loss in favor of an illusionary population increase.
The rest of the City should realize that if the City were able to get away with this fraud, they too will have no say in their Community Plans. Their Plans will also say whatever the 1% want the plans to say wityh no regard for facts.
When the projects become financial ruins, there is the federal government, the state government and the City government to bail them out — with tax payer dollars. We lost $1/2 BIllion on Hollywood-Highland. Over all the City gave developers $1.5 BILLION in the last decade. The sole purpose of the Hollywood Plan is to keep the gravey train going for the 1%.
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