WEST HOLLYWOOD—The city is conducting a series of studies with feedback opportunities on multiple topics to collect public comment as part of its goal to create objective design and development standards within the City’s Zoning Ordinance that will apply to new multi-family and commercial mixed-use developments.
According to a press release from the city of West Hollywood, the first study and feedback opportunity will focus on issues surrounding the planning of parking garages and driveways. Studies in the future will focus on feedback for on site planning, open space, and urban design; and building design, massing, architectural projections, and unit typologies.
A link to the parking garages and driveways feedback opportunity can be found on the West Hollywood project page at www.weho.org/city-government/city-manager/objective-design-and-development-standards. This feedback phase will be open until Friday, March 3, with additional feedback opportunities being released as the work progresses.
This study is part of a larger city initiative to develop objective design standards for multi-family and commercial mixed-use districts that will address community concerns about neighborhood livability, scale of residential development, impacts from new residential projects on adjacent properties and neighborhoods, and maintaining the integrity of the City’s existing residential zones.
The study includes but is not limited to:
-Establishing more performance-based, site-specific green space and open space requirements;
-Evaluating options for increasing permeability through site planning in new developments;
-Exploring additional, flexible options for neighborhood-scaled massing;
-Developing specific design criteria for projects that propose exceeding height limits; and
-Reviewing and updating driveway and parking design standards.
In addition, the State of California adopted recent legislation aimed at addressing the statewide housing shortage and streamlining the review process for multi-family developments. These laws require the review of qualifying developments to be based on quantifiable, objective standards. In 2019, West Hollywood applied for and received grant funding under the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) SB 2 Planning Grant Program to support the work of updating standards and guidelines currently found in the City’s Zoning Ordinance to achieve the above goals.
West Hollywood is in the process of developing proposed additions and revisions to current design standards. Due to the broad nature of this work, it is being phased according to the following categories:
-Parking and Driveway Design
-Site Planning and Development, Green Space and Open Space
-Building Design, Massing, Projections, and Unit Typologies
-Urban Design and Public Right-of-Way Frontage
In addition to these objectives, the current study is intended to support the goals for sustainability, energy efficiency, water and natural resource conservation, wildlife propagation, and climate responsive design.
For more details about the multi-family objective design standards study and alternative ways to provide feedback, contact Michael Barker, West Hollywood Project Architect, at (323) 848-6483 or at mbarker@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing call TTY (323) 848-6496.
