After more than 100 residents voiced opposition to a new apartment complex slated for North Kings Road, the West Hollywood City Council remanded the controversial development back to the city’s planning commission for a redesign.

The 826 N. Kings Road project may be altered after the city council requested that changes to the building be considered. (photo courtesy of Ric Abramson)

The project under appeal during Monday’s city council meeting was a 34-unit apartment building planned for 826 N. Kings Road, which would replace a single-family residence.

Last October, the planning commission approved the project, but Kings Road resident Cynthia Blatt appealed the ruling to the city council. Since then, she has formed the United Neighbors for Responsible Development citizens group, which has protested issues of overdevelopment in the city.

Blatt and other group members contend that the 826 N. Kings Road development, coupled with at least three other major projects scheduled for the street, will cripple the infrastructure and cause adverse environmental impacts.

“A broad view of cumulative impacts is required,” said Douglas Carstens, an attorney representing Blatt during the appeal. “The cumulative impacts will not be captured with a project-by-project review.”

The main crux of Carstens’ argument centers on impacts the project would have environmentally — shading of nearby buildings, added vehicle traffic, overstrained water infrastructure and the removal of trees.

“The property being exempt from [the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)] is our primary concern,” Carstens said. “There are less environmentally damaging alternatives.”

A single-family residence is currently located on the Kings Road parcel where a developer hopes to build an apartment building. (photo by Jonathan Van Dyke)

A 1928 single-family home current sits on the 826 N. Kings Road parcel. The land backs up to the historic Charlie Hotel and it’s across the street from the historic Schindler House — both reasons, the appellant said, development should protect the integrity of the neighborhood.

However, Kings Road is zoned Residential 4, which requires higher density projects. The project would have to include at least 25 units, and the city and state affordable housing laws required an increase to 34 units.

“The project is fully consistent with the type of land uses and density called for by the general plan and the underlying zoning, with the density bonus permitted by city and state law,” West Hollywood associate planner Laurie Yelton said. “As such, the project is expected to be adequately served by all public utilities and infrastructure. The project is well-suited for this site and the surrounding high density, residential, multi-family neighborhood.”

Ric Abramson, the architect who designed the proposed 826 N. Kings Road project, said the developers have tried to work with neighbors for the best possible outcome. Since the appeal, they found a way to create six additional parking spaces for guest parking, and they increased the setback between 826 and the neighboring 848 N. Kings Road building.

“For us, this project was not only satisfying the code, but excelling far beyond so it could be pointed to as an example for how we conserve energy, how we conserve water, how we are sensitive to the environment and how we protect trees if at all possible,” he said.

As the appeal hearing proceeded, attorney R.J. Comer, who represented the developer, asked for more time. He said it had recently come to light that there might be an alternative method to decrease the project’s density.

The West Hollywood City Attorney’s Office said that the city council could remand the project back to the planning commission, where the possibility of off-site affordable housing could be discussed in a redesign. Comer noted the possibility of a fee paid to the city’s affordable housing fund.

City council members said they were impressed by the community’s engagement on the appeal.

“To Cynthia, you have captured the imagination of this city for this moment and I bow down to you, good for you,” said Councilman John D’Amico. “It seems that the best of this building would be even better at 25 percent smaller.”

Councilman John Duran said it would be worth exploring a lower density redesign. He said he’d like the building to be four stories instead of the proposed five. He also warned community members that a different project might have different setbacks.

“Will everybody be happy?” he said. “No, but I think more people will be happy.”

Mayor Pro Tempore Lauren Meister said it was likely the council would have to deal with bigger density issues in the future.

“We’ve already exceeded in that little area (Kings Road) the proportion of dwelling units that we thought we would be moving forward with in our general plan for the next 20 years,” she said.

Ultimately, the council voted to remand the project back to the planning commission.

On Tuesday, Blatt said the ruling “keeps us in the game.”

“There is a lot more to be done,” she said. “It’s not a victory, but it’s a battle won. We did well last night and we are cautiously optimistic.”

Abramson said the idea of eliminating the affordable units in some way, whether through a fee or moving them to another location, was very new, so it would take time to figure out the development’s next step.

“Now, our challenge is how do we keep that same spirit and bring it to a smaller project and see if it will work for the developer, city and community,” he said. “It’s going to be a challenging road.”