WEST HOLLYWOOD—The city of West Hollywood is asking the public to attend a virtual Housing Element Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Scoping Meeting. The Housing Element is a policy guide that provides an indication of the need for housing in the community, with a focus on the availability, affordability, and adequacy of housing, and serves as a strategy to address housing needs across the economic and social spectrum. Cities and counties are required by law to update their housing elements every eight years.
The city of West Hollywood indicated in a press release that the Scoping Meeting is an important component that serves to include agencies, stakeholders, and the public in the decision-making process. During the meeting, the city and its consultant will deliver general updates on the 6th Cycle Housing Element and encourage public comment to identify environmental topics to prioritize in the EIR.
As part of the public outreach process, West Hollywood will host a free virtual webinar about the Housing Element Environmental Impact Report on Tuesday, May 11, at 11 a.m. The virtual community meeting will urge the exchange of ideas aimed to elevate awareness of what should be considered important regarding environmental topics, allow open discussion of public concern, and include relevant issues in the final written scope. Community members who want to participate can register and join on Zoom at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_P3hCvexZTcWXr22y-QBavg.
West Hollywood is asking community members to join the meeting to discuss and to take part in the process. During the upcoming months, there will be a wide range of outreach and public engagement activities including online community surveys; community-wide workshops; and public hearings at meetings of the City’s Planning Commission and City Council. The Housing Element Update for the 6th Cycle will cover the eight-year planning period from 2021-2029 and is currently underway.
For additional details about the Housing Element Update, visit www.weho.org/housingelement.
The city’s role will be the preparation of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Housing Element update as described in the Notice of Preparation. The purpose of this Notice of Preparation (NOP) is to provide agencies, interested stakeholders, and the public with information describing potential projects and to request feedback on the scope and content of the environmental document, the potential environmental effects, and what alternatives there are for the project that should be analyzed within the EIR. Written responses to the NOP must be provided no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26 to be considered.
For more information or to submit written commentary, contact the city of West Hollywood’s Project Development Administrator, Alicen Bartle, at abartle@weho.org or via mail to West Hollywood City Hall, 8300 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069. For more details about the City’s Rent Stabilization and Housing Division, visit www.weho.org/housing.
For those who need special accommodations to participate in the meeting, call the City’s Rent Stabilization and Housing Division in advance at (323) 848-6450 or at rsh@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, call TTY (323) 848-6496.
