Draft Environmental Impact Report
Project Description: A mixed-use development on an approximately 3.6-acre (154,648 square-foot) parcel in the CM and C4 Zones within the Hollywood Community Plan area. The Project includes two development options. Under Option 1 (Residential), the Project would contain up to 731 residential units. Under Option 2 (Residential/Hotel), the Project would provide up to 598 residential units and a 250 room hotel with related hotel facilities such as banquet and meeting area. Under both Options, the Project’s two new buildings would be up to 28 stories and approximately 350 feet in height, as defined by the Los Angeles Municipal Code, and would be constructed with the same structural configurations, including the same massing of above-ground and below-ground structures. Both Options would also include approximately 24,000 square feet of street level retail and restaurant uses, including activation of currently vacant retail space in the Palladium building along Sunset Boulevard. The Project would include recreation/spa facilities for residents, approximately 1,900 on-site parking spaces, and approximately 820 bicycle stalls. Parking would be located in a subterranean structure as well as in an above-grade structure along the northern edge of the Project Site. Additional landscaped open space would be provided for Project residents on the roof-tops of the parking structure and above the retail/restaurant structure at the southwest Project edge. Under both Options, based on a maximum floor area ratio (FAR) of 6.0:1, and a combined lot area of 154,648 square feet, the developed floor area on the Project Site would be approximately 927,354 square feet, including the existing 63,354 square-foot Palladium, within the permitted maximum.
The Project would include 111,339 square feet of commercial retail and restaurant uses within three lower levels (one subterranean) and one rooftop level, and 249 apartment units, including 28 affordable housing units, within the twelve upper levels representing 222,564 gross square feet of residential space. The Project would also provide a new, 9,134 square-foot public space (“Corner Plaza”) at the northeast corner of the site (this area is, and will continue to be, owned by the City, although the Applicant will be required to improve and maintain the area), a 34,050-square-foot central public plaza at the site interior (“Central Plaza”), public rooftop deck/garden areas (“Sunset Terrace”) along Sunset Boulevard, a private pool and pool deck area for residents (“Pool Terrace”), as well as other resident- only amenities totaling approximately 6,900 square feet that would include a residential lobby, resident recreation room, fitness center, business center, changing rooms, and library, as well as a wrap- around landscaped terrace on the fourth floor of the South Building (“Garden Terrace”). Parking for all proposed uses would be provided on-site via a seven-level (three subterranean and semi-subterranean levels) parking structure (“Parking Structure”) housed within the podium structure that includes 849 total parking spaces (295 for residential uses and 554 for commercial retail and restaurant uses). Short- and long-term bicycle parking totaling 985 spaces would also be provided on-site, including 428 spaces for residential uses and 557 spaces for commercial uses. The total development would include up to 333,903 square feet of commercial and residential space with a maximum floor-area ratio (FAR) of 3:1.
Permits and Approvals: Project implementation would require the following discretionary entitlements and related approvals: General Plan Amendment to designate the Selma Avenue Area as Regional Center Commercial consistent with the Sunset Boulevard Area designation and the designation of surrounding properties; Zone Change and Height District Change to designate the entire site [Q]C4-2D-SN, removing the restrictions on residential uses on the Selma Avenue Area, updating references to the Community Redevelopment Agency on the Sunset Boulevard Area, potentially including options for rooftop dining, and adding a Q condition to require the Applicant to nominate the Palladium as a Historic-Cultural Monument in accordance with the City’s Cultural Heritage Ordinance in connection with the issuance of a building permit for the Project; Conditional Use Permit to allow the sale of a full line of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption at the Project’s proposed restaurant/dining and hotel uses, including in-room hotel mini-bars, hotel restaurant/bar, and hotel meeting rooms, as well as at the Project’s residential and/or hotel indoor and rooftop lounges (recognizing that the existing Hollywood Palladium already has a deemed-approved Conditional Use Permit for alcohol), and for off-site consumption within the Project’s ground floor retail at a potential gourmet food or boutique wine store; Conditional Use Permit to allow a hotel in the C4 zone within 500 feet of an R zone; Conditional Use Permit to allow Floor Area Averaging and Residential Density Transfer between the Project Site’s two parcels; Zoning Administrator Interpretation to specify the front, rear, and side yards of the Project; Zoning Administrator Interpretation to permit automated parking; Potential Zoning Administrator Adjustment to allow balconies to project approximately three feet into side yard; Vesting Tentative Tract Map to create ground and air lots, and haul route approval; Site Plan Review; Potential Development Agreement with the City of Los Angeles; Demolition permits; Grading, excavation, foundation, and associated building permits; and other permits and approvals as deemed necessary, including possible legislative approvals as required by the City to implement the Project.
Document Review and Comments: If you wish to review a copy of the Draft EIR or the documents referenced in the Draft EIR, you may do so by appointment, between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M., at City Planning Department, Room 750, 200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. The Draft EIR is also available for viewing on cd-rom at the following libraries:
- Central Library – 630 West 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071
- Frances Howard Goldwyn-Hollywood Regional Library, 1623 North Ivar Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028
- Will and Ariel Durant Branch Library, 7140 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046
- John C. Freemont Branch Library, 6121 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Comment Due Date: The review period for the Draft EIR begins on October 23, 2014, and ends on December 8, 2014. If you wish to submit comments regarding the Draft EIR, please reference the file number above, and submit them in writing by 4:00 P.M. on December 8, 2014.
Please direct your comments to:
- Luciralia Ibarra
- City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning
- 200 North Spring Street, Room 750
- Los Angeles, CA 90012
- Fax: (213) 978-1343
- luciralia.ibarra@lacity.org
Circulation Period: October 23, 2014 - December 8, 2014
