Planning committee delays decision on Hollywood Jack in the Box hotel

The City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee has postponed its vote on a 21-story hotel proposed for the corner of Sunset and Cahuenga boulevards in Hollywood, where a Jack in the Box stands today, the Beverly Press reports.

The delay comes as a campaign mountains against the developer, not based on overdevelopment concerns—as is common in Hollywood—but over the personal politics of one of the developer’s executives.

R. D. Olson’s president of construction, Bill Wilhelm, has come under fire for his membership in Legatus, a Christian fundamentalist group, “that publishes articles supporting misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic policies,” according to UNITE HERE, a coalition of union members who are protesting the project.

The Press says Wilhelm resigned from the Legatus group earlier this month.

Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, who reps the neighborhood, says the union is using the issue to “drive a wedge” in the community, adding “In my experience, there has been nothing homophobic about R.D. Olson’s approach to this project. In fact, they have agreed to work with me to create an LGBT jobs pipeline.”

The Press says PLUM Committee is expected consider the proposal next month.

R.D. Olson bought the site in 2014. Last year, renderings for the project revealed a 21-story hotel with Art Deco touches and a rooftop pool. The project is known as Ivar Gardens.

• Planning committee delays decision on contentious hotel proposal for Hollywood [BP]
• Hollywood Jack in the Box to Make Way for Art Deco-Inspired Hotel [Curbed LA]
• Inexplicable Hollywood Jack in the Box Might Become a Hotel [Curbed LA]