The Robertson Lane project, which received a development
extension last year, will incorporate The Factory building. (Beverly Press/Park Labrea News file photo)

Last week, the city of West Hollywood ordered that the excavated Melrose Triangle site be filled. The area has long been earmarked for a large-scale development. Unfortunately, following a series of controversaries that included jailtime for developer Arman Gabaee, the Charles Company’s plans fell through – but only after a large hole was dug for an underground parking garage. That hole became something of a swamp, raising health concerns, and had to be drained. With no further development on the docket, the vacant lot will remain empty for the foreseeable future.

Stalled development has become a regular concern in West Hollywood, which has been tasked by the state of California with building close to 4,000 new housing units by 2029. With just four years to go, the city is behind schedule.

“We are doing our best to meet the housing goals established by the state. Keep in mind that the city didn’t decide that it wanted to build 3,900 new housing units,” Heilman said. “This number was imposed upon us by the state as a result of a process which is inequitable. Because West Hollywood is already a dense city, we are being forced to build more units than communities which are lower density. For instance, a city like Rancho Palos Verdes has to build approximately 600 units even though it is more than six times larger than West Hollywood.”

The Melrose Triangle development would have added 80 apartment units, making a small dent in the number needed.

“The city has limited ability to control [properties] that it doesn’t own,” assistant director community development Jennifer Alkire said. “We do have a suitable sites inventory with our housing element that shows sites of the city where we foresee an ability to concentrate some of the housing, and this is not one of those sites. So, we have limited opportunities to compel them to do something.”

Many other developments have housing included, including projects along the Sunset Strip such as the multipurpose building approved for the block currently occupied by the Viper Room. But not all proposals currently include housing.

The stalled development on the site of the former French Market likewise included no housing in its plans. The Robertson Lane project, which is set to dominate much of Santa Monica Boulevard, will have a luxury hotel, retail space and an office tower – and progress on that development has yet to be visible since its approval in 2022. Faring, the retail firm behind the project, had no comment on its progress, though it was granted a project extension by the City Council in October. Last year, a mixed-use development – sans housing – set for the former Hustler building at 8920 Sunset Blvd. was also given a six-year extension on its project agreement.

In attempt to assist stalled developments continue progress, the West Hollywood City Council passed an ordinance last March that established a process for renewing expired building projects.

“There were a number of projects, particularly on the city’s east side, that we saw getting kind of stalled out on the way through construction,” director of community development Nick Maricich said. “So, we have seen projects move forward now that had previously been sitting unfinished, and this is allowing them to get completed and get those units built.”

“Each project has a story – the city’s story must include a supportive climate for development that does not contribute to delays,” Mayor Chelsea Byers said. “This means evaluating our approach to development and the processes we have in place and perhaps retooling or refining these processes to ensure the city is not contributing to the barriers. Part of this work included the study session we held Monday night and I believe the outcome helps us move forward more in greater alignment with our goals.”

On Feb. 24, the City Council met with the West Hollywood Planning Commission to discuss the role that commission plays in developments, including its billboard approval process. The city has a program in which it shares the profits in certain billboards, including on traffic-heavy Sunset Boulevard.

“The city has many development projects in the pipeline and ensuring we have clear processes in place that all interests understand – including, the City Council, planning commission, city staff, the development community and the broader public – helps set us up well for the work ahead,” Byers said.

“The meeting helped clarify the planning commission’s role in evaluating development agreements not just for billboards, but for other projects where a developer has requested a development agreement,” Heilman said.

Councilman John Erickson said that he’s bringing forth “a number of items” meant to cut through the red tape currently in place to get developments off the ground. He also said that the planning commission had been causing hindrances in the development process.

“We actually have to build housing,” Erickson said. “If there’s a planning commission that’s allowed to essentially make design comments that have nothing to with how we actually just need to build the housing, [then] I think we are actually wasting the public’s time. And we need to get on it.”

Erickson said that while “you will find opposition everywhere,” it is necessary for the city to say, “We value your input, but we’re going to build this.”

“At the end of the day, that’s all we should be doing – building housing. We’ve got to make it easier and more affordable to do that,” he said.

The West Hollywood Planning Commission does not represent the city in media relations, and as such does not make comments to the press. Staff said that city expertise is left to the City Council. The divides on the planning commission have typically concerned the scale of housing projects and historic preservation.

“We are working on programs locally here in West Hollywood to implement our housing element, remove barriers that were identified – barriers to housing production in the city,” Maricich said.

Byers added that “116 strategies” had been identified in the housing element to help West Hollywood meet its housing goals.

“That is a lot of work to accomplish,” she said. “We just launched the Zoning Improvement Program, which I see as one of the most critical steps in deciding how more homes of different varieties will be built across the city and this work will happen over the course of the next year, starting with community engagement through the Engage WeHo platform and a series of community meetings in March.”

The Engage WeHo website, engage.weho.org, encourages resident participation in city projects. The Zoning Improvement Program for Housing seeks to reduce barriers to further housing being built. A community meeting on the topic will be held on March 5 at 6 p.m. at Plummer Park, Rooms 5 and 6, located at 7377 Santa Monica Blvd.