With development projects sprouting up left and right and tourism rates expected to hit 50 million visitors per year, the community gathered with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce at its economic development summit last week at ArcLight Cinemas to discuss how the neighborhood is growing.

With the recession slow down now in the rear view mirror, Hollywood looks to take advantage of the influx of development in the neighborhood.
(photo by Gregory Cornfield)

Summit co-chairs Dwayne Gathers (Gathers Strategies) and Timothy Grubbs with the chamber discussed how Hollywood is evolving into a case study of urban development in Southern California, and key issues as Hollywood moves forward.

Gathers said the community is may be unaware of the scale of the total development in Hollywood, making the summit a great marketing tool.

“It’s an opportunity to string it all together,” he said.

He pointed to a list of the 130 top hotels in Los Angeles County, and that only six were located in Hollywood. He said encouraging growth in the hotel industry will trickle down to other industries.

“We are not fully capturing as much of that visitor economy dollar as we otherwise might if those guests actually had places to stay in the community,” he explained.

He said with projects like the Hotel Argyle, Dream Hotel and others, Hollywood will have more hotel rooms and more options for visitors, which in turn will benefit retailers in Hollywood.

He also stressed the need for “responsible” growth and development. To achieve that, the chamber encourages developers and city leaders to consider all community aspects, such as neighborhood preservation, effects on local schools and cumulative effects on the community. That is why representatives of those agencies and departments, such as neighborhood council board members and local school administrators were invited to the summit as well.

“What we try to do is say all these elements of this conversation are important,” Gathers said. “We’re saying all stakeholders are welcome to this conversation. Out of that, better development can happen, will happen and is happening right now.”

Gathers said the summit helps explain the “bigger picture” of the neighborhood’s evolution.

“Yes, that building is causing me a nightmare to get around. But it actually is part of this larger story evolving around here,” he said. “It helps to see the bigger picture, and the bigger benefits [of development].”

Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, 13th District, said the summit is a chance for people in the community to come together to “really hone in on the fact that Hollywood is the place to be.”

“There is great validation for all the investment that’s happening here in Hollywood and the unprecedented growth that we’re seeing,” he said. “But despite our progress and upward trajectory, we still have a lot to work on.”

He said the Hollywood Community Plan Update is a “huge focus” and something that people in the development community must be aware of, as well as defeating the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative, which is set for the March 2017 ballot. It would put a two-year moratorium on construction and building permits for developments that include entitlements that violate the Hollywood Community Plan.

“[The community plan update is] what we need to do to combat the rampant NIMBYism that has generated a ruckus over the AHF building moratorium initiative, which is a terrible idea by the way,” he said.

O’Farrell said the community plan update is on track to be approved by September 2017.

“As part of the update, I intend to make very targeted amendments to the plan that were rescinded in order to incentivize affordable housing, protect and preserve our unique, historic cultural resources, and foster investment in Theatre Row along Santa Monica Boulevard,” he said.

O’Farrell also stressed the importance of updating all of Los Angeles’ community plans within the next 10 years, as 29 of the 35 plans are older than 15 years. The city last month approved a budget that increased funding for the community plan programs.

“I know some are concerned about the city facing litigation on this matter,” O’Farrell said. “One of the major challenges during the previous update was our population projections which were found to be outdated. Luckily, the Southern California Association of Governments just released updated population projections in April, so the timing couldn’t be better.”

The councilman said he knows litigation is coming, but he thinks the community is engaging in a process that will withstand great legal scrutiny.

The Coalition to Preserve L.A., led by AIDS Healthcare Foundation, is gathering signatures to place the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative on the 2017 March ballot to “fix this broken system.” The group said this month they identified “Transit Oriented Developments” proposed around Los Angeles, including Hollywood, that will gridlock streets and displace residents. They claim Metro and members of the city council use the presence of transit stops as a “thin excuse” for building upscale mega-projects. The coalition aims to end the alleged practice in which the mayor and members of city council take campaign donations from developers, then cut “backroom deals” and ignore the community’s zoning, resulting in luxury complexes near Metro stops. The coalition explained the measure will not affect projects and construction jobs that respect local community plan guidelines.