Some Neighbors Balk At Wetherly Drive Project

The Park La Brea News is reporting on local opposition to developer Genton-Barthe Real Estate Group's Wetherly Project, a 14-story tower planned for a swath of land around S. Wetherly Drive and Almont Drive (near the Four Seasons Hotel). The 95-unit condo project, which'll take out existing apartment buildings, has been revised numerous times, but Harald Hahn, president of the Burton Way Homeowners Association, tells the paper that the height of the tower remains a sticking point. Hahn says the project goes against the Wilshire Community Plan, which established 45-foot height limits. Via the paper: "Where we have a problem is that this is spot zoning. The whole neighborhood has a 45-foot height limit, which is about three to four stories. We have two existing high-rise buildings in the neighborhood, but they were special cases built before the redo of the community plan,” Hahn said. “We believe it will destroy the [character of] the neighborhood, and would lead to owners of adjoining properties to ask for the same thing, ‘if he has it, why can’t we have it?’It sets a bad precedent for the surrounding neighborhood.” The project was previously covered here, but it looks as if the design has changed since that post. According the paper, there is a Planning Commission meeting on the project later this month. [Park La Brea News; PDF; image courtesy of]