West Hollywood Planning Commission rejects 5-story housing, retail project

West Hollywood’s planning commission nixed a proposed mixed use development last week that would have brought a pair of five-story buildings with housing and retail to the intersection of Beverly Boulevard and Sherbourne Drive.

As Wehoville reports, planning commissioners, who unanimously opposed the project, argued that it was out of scale with other buildings in the neighborhood and that the developer had requested too many exemptions to local zoning rules.

The proposed project would have replaced a single-story structure that currently houses the Peppermint Club with 30 units of housing and 9,700 square feet of retail, office, and gallery space.

Five of those units would have been affordable, with three set aside for very low-income tenants and two for moderate-income tenants. In exchange for the affordable housing component, the developer requested an additional story beyond what was already allowed by a city incentive for mixed use projects.

City of West Hollywood

But some commissioners were reluctant to grant the developer’s additional request for an exemption to setback requirements for projects in the area. Residents in attendance at the meeting further complained that the two buildings would compound traffic problems in the area and overshadow nearby structures.

In the end, some commissioners reportedly praised the Lorcan O’Herlihy-designed project’s architecture, but decided not to approve it on the grounds that it was not compatible with the surrounding community.

City of West Hollywood

The decision is a blow for developer Arash Danialifar, who recently purchased another Beverly Boulevard property farther east, with plans to redevelop the site as office space with ground-level retail.

It’s not clear yet whether the developer plans to appeal the commission’s decision to the West Hollywood City Council.

• Planning Commission Rejects Project Proposed for Beverly at Sherbourne [Wehoville]
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• Contemporary courtyard-style apartments headed to West Hollywood [Curbed LA]
• City Council gives final approval to Frank Gehry-designed Sunset Strip development [Curbed LA]