Though it seemed just months ago that the partially constructed Target on Western Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood might be moving forward, it's not. A recent court ruling requires Target to get permission to restart construction from a judge, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Target’s been dormant since an August 2014 ruling found city officials shouldn’t have let Target build a 74-foot-tall shopping center on a site where building heights are supposed to top out at 35 feet. A consequence of that ruling was that construction had to stop.
Target appealed the decision. And, at the same time, it also worked to get the Los Angeles City Council to change the zoning of the site. If it was successful, the building’s height would "be allowed at the site automatically," says the Times. Target’s appeal of the 2014 case was dismissed, and, in May, the City Council approved the zoning change, so it seemed that work could start within weeks.
But by June, a new lawsuit had been filed that called into question the legality of the new zoning, and charged that the environmental review process for the project had been a "sham."
Robert Silverstein, a lawyer who represents a lot of development opponents, especially in Hollywood, and who's representing the La Mirada Homeowners Association against Target says that the latest round of approvals for the project are, "still so riddled with violations of the law that it just shocks the conscience."
Target’s attorney says the new lawsuit could take as many as three years in court to resolve.
In the meantime, Target appears to be planning to pick up construction despite the latest lawsuit. "Target already knows that resuming construction will be at its own risk," Target’s attorney wrote in a legal filing by the company in July. "Given the meritless nature of the next round of lawsuits, though, Target is willing to take that risk."
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