The West Hollywood City Council will determine the fate of the 8850 Sunset Blvd. project at its Aug. 26 meeting. (photo by Rance Collins)

The 8850 Sunset Blvd. project that has long been a subject of controversy in the city of West Hollywood will finally make its way to the City Council on Aug. 26. The block-long development would replace a row of largely one-story storefronts that include the iconic Viper Room nightclub.

In April, the project was approved by the city’s design review commission. The proposed 11-story mixed-use structure would have 78 residential units, a 90-room hotel, multiple restaurants, conference rooms and a new version of the Viper Room, among other spaces and features.

The Viper Room, now operated by Silver Creek Development, has remained open during the planning phases. Once partially owned by Johnny Depp, the club is well known in Sunset Strip lore. Johnny Cash, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen and the Pussycat Dolls are among its performers, and River Phoenix infamously overdosed there in 1993.

It has been a nightclub, under various names like Filthy McNasty’s, since World War II, though the structure itself dates over 100 years old. But while nearby Whisky A Go Go, the Roxy and the Rainbow have all secured historical designation, the city rejected awarding the Viper Room this distinction in 2016.

“Because the Viper Room/Terner Liquor store building has been irrevocably altered over the years, it is ineligible for landmark status,” the West Hollywood Preservation Alliance wrote to the Beverly Press in April, explaining that because of the alterations the alliance is not taking an official position on the project. Regardless, it wrote that “the WHPA prefers to see the city’s decades-old buildings preserved or adaptively reused, particularly on the Sunset Strip.”

The group Sensibility on Sunset has advocated against the project, citing potential disruption to the community as a reason to halt the project. A comment section on its website, 8850sunsetboulevard.com, invites residents to express feedback on the project.

The West Hollywood staff report said that noise would likely remain a problem during the entirety of the multi-year construction, even with mitigation measures. This is contrary to a previous report, which said the demolition phase was the only time noise levels would be “unavoidable.”

“Even with the implementation of these mitigation measures, the noise levels would remain significant and unavoidable at the [neighboring] London Hotel during demolition and some construction phases of the project,” the report read.

WeHo Heights Neighborhood Association chair Elyse Eisenberg said in an interview that while she was not “against developing this property which has deteriorated over the years,” she felt that the development “is too big and too intense.”

“They are trying to shoehorn every imaginable use into a site that is smaller than The London,” Eisenberg said. “They have a very poor traffic circulation plan. Even though it has been revised a couple times, it still portends to be a nightmare. It will be all valet, even for the residents. And of course, there is never enough parking in these developments. People do not all come by Uber and bicycles to what is designed to be a destination restaurant and nightclub.”

Eisenberg said she anticipated that the council will approve the project in a 3-2 vote, with Mayor John Erickson, Vice Mayor Chelsea Byers and Councilwoman Sepi Shyne voting in favor. She claimed each is “backed by United Here 11,” a hotel workers union.

“They will ignore the comments of the thousands of people who have written in or spoken opposing the project,” she said, questioning whether the development would even be completed if approved.

Silver Creek Development managing director Charles Essig said that the Viper Room will remain vital to the new building.

“We’re very interested in revitalizing [the club] given it being a big part of the [Sunset Strip] for such a long period of time – that’s why we acquired that business, as well,” Essig told the Beverly Press in April. “From a structural building standpoint [however] the building is inherently challenging, and it’s just dilapidated.”

As the project has developed, it has changed in height and density, to comply with community concerns, Essig said.

“We’ve listened to quite a bit of feedback on the original project, reducing height and density and making different moves that were responsive to the overarching horizon, if you will, with respect to the Sunset Strip, and how it translates into the overall skyline and fits in a very thoughtful way,” Essig said. “I think [the current project] directly responds to that and will be incorporated into this western portion of Sunset extremely well.”

West Hollywood City Council members either declined or did not respond to a request for comment until after the public hearing on Aug. 26, which be held during the regular City Council meeting starting at 6 p.m. in the council chambers, located at 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. For information and read the full staff report, visit weho.org/city-government/wehotv/city-council-meetings.