STOP The SEVEN Story 910 N. Wetherly Project (AKA 910-914 Wetherly Palms) in the Norma Triangle neighborhood!

As members of the local community, we are adversely affected by the proposed 910 N. Wetherly Project and request West Hollywood City Council to:

PERMITS:

Revoke any permits and halt any development proposals for the 910 N. Wetherly project site until the following have been completed: 1) EIR (Environmental Impact Report), public scoping session regarding neighborhood impacts (i.e., traffic, light and shadow, construction noise, earthquake, fault line and liquification danger studies, etc.) have been properly conducted by independent third-party experts  2) The EIR reports and Negative Declarations MUST be presented for public input, as per CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) requirements, before moving forward with any city permitting.

HEIGHT

Reject any development proposals on the 910 N. Wetherly project site whereby the building height exceeds 4 stories.  The proposed building has SEVEN above ground stories (74 Feet in Height) and towers over every other building on Wetherly Drive and all adjacent streets, including the historic landmarked church next to the site.  This proposal completely ignores the sloping site method of determining height, thus defacing this historical neighborhood. 

DENSITY

Reduce the size and scale of this development, given the many detrimental effects of a high density, 89 unit building that may hold as many as 200+ residents.  Of the 89 apartments, 62 units (69%) are 303 square foot studios intended to house 2+ people.  This project should be no more than 30-40 units and include a neighborhood community garden beside the historic church.

TRAFFIC 

Withhold endorsement based on the negative impact on a severely congested area.  Wetherly Drive dead ends into a tiny, narrow one-way street (Phyllis Avenue). The twice daily elementary school drop-off/pick-up already blocks several adjoining streets.  The additional density of 200 people will worsen an unbearable situation for current residents. 

SAFETY & SECURITY

Protect neighborhood security by requiring adequate access for ambulances and fire trucks during construction and afterwards, and enhanced infrastructure to support the increase in density, traffic, and pollution.

INSUFFICIENT PARKING

Demand inclusion of additional parking.  Three levels of underground parking are planned with only 66 stalls for 200+ residents (most of which are for economy sized vehicles), 18 of which are to be shared with the church, further limiting available spots. One parking space per unit with separate parking for the church is needed.  Loading, delivery, and ride share zones should be located within the building driveway.

NOISE RAMIFICATIONS

Reject plans for the proposed massive roof deck/lounge (and roof placement of mechanical equipment/HVAC) as it will worsen already problematic noise levels already exacerbated by the Montrose and Edition Hotels. 

LIGHT/SHADOW

Demand a comprehensive light/shadow study since the proposed building would dwarf all surrounding buildings and negatively impact their ability to install solar panels.

PRIVACY/SETBACKS

Protect the privacy of current and future neighbors from roof decks and balconies that overlook existing buildings. Also, the proposed setbacks are insufficient to allow light, prevent shadow, provide air space between buildings, and community green space.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

We request that the city withhold funding and refuse to use any of our public money for this project because:

1)   There have been two lawsuits based on the bad faith and fraudulent dealings that characterized the sale/purchase of this property.  We demand that WeHo City Council open a criminal investigation into the purchase and immediate resale of the 910 Wetherly property by David Aghaei to the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation (WHCHC), at over a million-dollar profit, while a salaried member of the WeHo City Planning Commission.

2)   We do not want any of our taxpayer dollars to promote reckless over development with no improvements to the existing CITY infrastructure.  The City of West Hollywood’s stated mission is “to protect the quality of residential life”.  The 910 Wetherly project does the exact opposite.

3)   WHCHC has disregarded community concerns regarding height and density, has not made significant changes to the original project design, has provided misleading renderings, and has misrepresented their own commitment to the public and their own mission statement requiring them to “seamlessly fitting into neighborhoods”.

For more info and updates, you can reach us at:               wehoconcernedneighbors@gmail.com