West Hollywood : Development Plan Approved

After almost three years of preparation, hearings and revisions, the City Council on Monday formally adopted a plan aimed at governing development in the city well into the next century.

Work on the 200-plus page document was completed earlier this month.

The plan, reflecting concerns over growth and traffic and noise problems, calls for a 50% cut in the maximum amount of development as compared to county guidelines that were in effect at the time West Hollywood became a city in 1984.

“I think we did a very careful study, and, hopefully, (the plan) will work,” Mayor Helen Albert said. “Our thinking all along on restricting development was that you can always add it, but once it’s there, you can’t take it away.”

The plan provides for limited parking areas on residential lots behind commercial property, mostly on Santa Monica Boulevard but also on Beverly Boulevard.

Other features include preservation of single-family-home neighborhoods, moderate increases in areas already dominated by apartment houses and designation of a few high-density residential areas.

The plan also provides for bonuses that will allow apartment developers to put in more units per development if they designate some of the apartments for low- and moderate-income tenants.