The Los Angeles City Council approved a plan Wednesday to put the unfinished Target project at Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue back on track.

The Target project at Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue may resume after the Los Angeles City Council approved an amendment Wednesday to change height limits at the site. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The council unanimously voted to approve an amendment to the Station Neighborhood Area Plan (SNAP) that will enable construction to resume on the project. The amendment allows a 74-foot Target building at the location, which is zoned for 35-foot-tall structures. The change would only pertain to the Target site.

Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, 13th District, backed the amendment and said he is pleased that the council decision sets the stage for work to resume. The previously approved Target project was halted in August 2014 after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge sided with community groups seeking to stop the development on grounds that it exceeded a 35-foot height limit for buildings in the area. An appeal to that ruling is pending.

“Target needs to complete the project and activate that very important commercial corner of Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue in Hollywood,” O’Farrell said. “It is time to look forward and not back. This project has overwhelming community support, will bring hundreds of construction jobs and permanent employment opportunities to local residents, and generate tax revenue so that L.A. can provide services our residents deserve.”

Target Corporation issued a statement Wednesday following the city council’s approval.

“Target is thrilled with the recent decision by the L.A. City Council. This decision allows us to take steps to resume construction for this important project, which will bring additional retail to the neighborhood, as well as create about 75 construction jobs and approximately 250 new permanent full- and part-time positions for residents in the surrounding community,” Target spokeswoman Erika Winkels said. “Target is committed to the new store on Sunset Boulevard, and we will continue to work closely with city officials and the community as we begin resuming construction.”

Doug Haines, a member of the La Mirada Avenue Neighborhood Association, one of the groups that initially sued to stop the Target construction, has vowed to file another lawsuit challenging the latest city council decision. Haines added that there should be a new environmental review.

“They have basically taken a project that was stopped because it didn’t conform to the law, and reconfigured the law rather than reconfiguring the building,” Haines said. “[They are] automatically going to be slapped with a lawsuit.”

Robert P. Silverstein, attorney for the La Mirada Neighborhood Association of Hollywood, issued a statement as well.

“The L.A. City Council keeps violating the law. Rather than follow the judge’s orders, the city council today retrofitted the law to accommodate Target’s illegal project,” he said. “Had Target and the city council followed the law in the first place, a store would already be up and running. We want a Target project that is legal, and an honest process. But what we saw today was neither. The culture of rule breaking under Mayor Garcetti, Councilman O’Farrell and the L.A. City Council must stop.”

The timeline for when the project may resume is uncertain, but construction could start again within weeks. An issue involving a childcare facility Target is required to provide for employees remains unresolved. Target is seeking to pay an in-lieu fee instead of building a childcare facility on-site or nearby. The amount of the in-lieu fee is still under review by the city.