Results for “whitley heights”

A few of you dont get the history of this.. This started out as "Angelino Heights Railway" .They wanted it to loop around AH/EP and meet somewhere in DTLA, they had the vintage rail car,route,and even a car house..they lost funding…fast forward 5 yrs and the same plan for the Phase 2 loop of the AHR is the "Bring Back Broadway Trolley" …it was going to either be a Red or Yellow car to tie in with the Historic Core (LA’s version of the vintage street cars of SF) …a year later its a dinky new street car…I lost faith in it then. If this was a route for an old Red or Yellow car id say do it..but if its just a train version of the DASH then no.

It is true that coastal sage scrub plant community is more common than woodlands in the low laying flat areas but you’ll run into problems taking that out of context and generalizing that LA was treeless before settlement. The article that you quoted which made very broad generalizations about just the the southern floodplain and the San Fernando Valley. That statement that you quoted is really only accurate as a generalization which means that there are plenty of exemptions. To this day there are many remnant oak/sycamore woodlands around LA, the entire northeast LA area, surrounding the 110 freeway from downtown out past Pasadena is a good example, the stretch of 405 going past the Getty going into the valley is another good example. Hollywood was originally named Holly Woodland although the sign spelled it Hollywoodland, after the Toyon which still covers the hills( the east coast developers thought was Holly). Even where I live in Boyle Heights there are rebounding populations of Coast Live Oaks and Western Sycamore sprouting up around the 101 freeway. In the most technical sense oak trees need to be close to a subterranean water source but there are many places in LA that fit that description. With the havoc that we have caused by introduced species on our native woodlands we have a responsibility to combat the demise of this ecosystem by incorporating it into our built environment which is actually pretty easy to do. By having so many non-porous surfaces in our built environment water naturally funnels to planters anyway.
Jacarandas are giant purple weeds that don’t support bird our species like native trees do. A

Also, you are 100% incorrect when you said "I can think of many surrounding buildings that are of significant height or are hotels, such as the Moment Hotel, the high-rise on Hollywood Blvd. / La Brea, and let’s not forget the planned Crossroads development."

The Moment Hotel is 2 stories with an occupiable roof, and is a remodelled glorified motel. That Highrise on Hollywood/La Brea is not near this project, it serves no visual contextual relationship. Someone standing near this proposed site cannot see that high-rise. And that Crossroads project is more than 6 blocks away, and East of Highland…which was a clearly established deliniating point of my argument. Also, if you can think of MANY surrounding buildings that are of significant height, please list them (this is not sarcasm)

Keep in mind the zone of Hollywood I am talking about: West of La Brea, East of Crescent Heights. Minus that highrise on Hollywood/La Brea which serves minimal contexual relationship to this site, there are ZERO over 4 stories on Sunset, and ZERO over 6 stories within (minus that one exception we already discussed)

Anyway…we all know this isnt going to be approved for 11 stories. I just looked into the meeting when this was introduced, it hasnt gotten the so called seal of approval and there will be many more discussions about it.

@inshane: When I said this area is NOT Touristy, I should have been a bit more clear, since I was using a term of relativity. I was not comparing it to an area like Calabasas, or Hancock Park or the actual Hollywood Hills. I was comparing it areas of Hollywood East of La Brea, West of Crescent Heights, Areas like Beverly Grove, or Miracle Mile, or Santa Monica, Or Venice, or Westwood, Downtown/USC, ect. This specific zone of Hollywood Hills West is Not touristy. Those Tour Buses drive down Gardner because it is a quasi-primary route south between Fairfax and La Brea, and b/c of its width, not because Gardner, Gardner School or anything near by is worthy of tourist snapping pictures. Yes there is a movie/tv show being filmed on Ogden Dr or N Genesee Ave that they stop to look at sometimes, but minus that, there is no major tourist draw between Fairfax – La Brea (west -east) and Sunset-Hollywood (north-south) that tourists are visiting in high numbers.

Also as someone who goes to Runyon everyday, I can say with absolutely certainty that it is nowhere near the tourist attraction as say Hollywood Walk of Fame or Griffith Observatory. As someone who goes to Runyon 5 times a week, for the past 4 years, I can say that a large number of users are locals. Most of those Yoga groups? Locals. A lot of those models? Locals. Professional Dog Walkers? Locals. The fact that so many ppl walk to Runyon, is also indicative of it being a local population (after all there isnt much space for tourists to park, seeing how we have no parking lot for them up here (thank god).

Yes the Rock Wall at the Guitar Center has some tourist visiting it, but not nearly enough to justify calling this a tourist zone. And ppl bleeding off Hollywood Highland go East, not West on Hollywood.

So yea don’t get me wrong, I am did not mean to imply this is truly some pure anti-touristy zone. What I was saying is that compared to the rest of Hollywood, this is the least touristy zone.

Before I reply, I want to make it clear that I am about as Anti-Anti-Density NIMBY as it generally comes (See my comment at the bottom of the discussion). But I’m guessing you’re not an actual local of this area are you, if your questioning "what is the benefit of preserving the "scale" of this stretch of Sunset".

We need to realize that this stretch of Sunset passes through the VERY residential, non-touristy, non-hotel filled zone. This is NOT the part of Sunset where the CNN tower is, nor is it the part of the Sunset Hotel filled zone west of Crescent Heights. This is highly residential, with many single family homes as close as 2 blocks radius (Nice borderline mansion single family homes) There is literally NO buildings on Sunset in this area above 4 stories (most are 2), and there is nothing nearby over 6 stories (Literally From Highland to Fairfax (over 17 blocks) there is nothing over 4 stories).

I am not against density, not in the slightest, but putting a 11 story building next to 2 story buildings seems a bit much. Literally if there was ONE 6 story typical wood-frame building near by, this wouldnt feel as jarring, but there isnt. Even the typical 6 story building would seem out of place here, but at least there are others a few blocks away.

For those saying whats the purpose of preserving scale, I am not saying we should preserve the 2-3 story scale of this section of Sunset. But increasing it by more than 5x-4x seems drastic. If you see nothing wrong with 11 stories, then why not make it 50? Is there a relative threshold of increased density/height that we should agree upon??

Lastly, Does anyone know how this was received during the Neighborhood council? I must have missed this one bc I certainly would have noticed this being discussed.

Jesus Christ did I just become a NIMBY?? As someone who lives literally around the corner from this, I have to say this project is 1000% our of scale. That is not an opinion, but a very clear apparent fact. If you don’t believe me, simply go on Google Maps and take a look yourself. I understand the argument that this is on Sunset Blvd, but this is NOT the stretch of Sunset near the CNN building and other 8+ story buildings. There is nothing over 6 stories near this building, nor anything over 4 stories west of this site on Sunset (until u get all the way past Cresent Heights).

The conflicting issue is I consider myself Anti-NIMBY, but 11 stories?? Even the typical 6 story developments (that allows you to use wood construction) would be pushing it for this area, but at least that would be in line with whats going on down on Santa Monica (a much more developed area).

Also, this zone of Hollywood / Sunset is NOT the tourist heavy, hotel zone. West of La Brea, Hollywood becomes very residential (hence why our district is called Hollywood Hills West). We have beautiful single family homes (damn near mansions) within 2 blocks of this site. This is not the often incorrect "slummy" "ghetto" "Run-down" part of Hollywood ppl refer to. Just bc it is near Runyon, does not mean its a tourist heavy zone.

Lastly, does anyone know how this was received during the neighborhood council meeting? This must have been in one of the meetings I missed.

Like I said I am almost certainly far from the typical anti-development NIMBY, I just think an 11 story building surrounded by 2-4 story buildings is a bit much. If there was at least ONE 6 story building near by, maybe this would be no big deal, but Jesus.

Hi Tom,

I am curious about your thoughts about the LA housing trend in the near future. I write a personal finance, in which I wrote a piece on where people can buy a house between 2009 and 2017 between $600k and $700 . In the end, I basically reached the conclusion that if one wants to buy now or next year, the "affordable" neighborhoods to look for are West Adams, Leimert Park, Jefferson Park, Windsor Hills, View Park, View Heights, and Morningside Park in Inglewood.

If one waits just for one or two years, one needs to raise the budget to over $700k. It becomes more difficult for many at the $700k price point, because it far exceeds the conforming loan limit of $636k. The consequence is that, people can’t resort to the low down payment options, such as an FHA loan or a 5% down conventional. I wonder what your thoughts are.

Here is the link: https://www.dollarsandsensela.com/blog/2017/3/18/i16329d0uban3apebnrn03dmk5urjs

…I think that all depends on where exactly one of these are located. Neighbor could be good but may be the street or neighbors do not.
I do not live there but I really have this doubt: Why always the same places?
What happen with these other neighbors? I do not think that the rent will be higher than in other places and look ok; but may be any of you residents of the city can tell me why not.
So what about these ones that I never see in these lists:
-Wilshire Montana
-Mar Vista
-Oakwood
-Baldwin village
-Jefferson
-Palms
-Leimert Park
-Park Mesa heights
-Central Alameda

Thanks

I’m not as familiar with Boyle Heights, but according to CoreLogic home sales prices have increased 19.6% in Boyle Heights since April 2016. My belief is all of these areas are going to continue to see large increases in appreciation. But…the rest of LA will most likely see some increase as well. Good luck!

Hello Tom!
Thank you for doing this Q&A!
My wife and I live in Boyle Heights. I love the location and the fact that it’s so close to the arts district, we also think with all the new developments that Boyle Heights is really up and coming.
We were thinking about moving to Woodland Hills to get closer to the beach and malibu but part of us think if we stick in Boyle Heights a few more years, we could get a nicer profit from our house.
What’s your take on this?
Thanks for your help!