HOLLYWOOD HILLS–A Superior Court Judge issued an injunction barring the granting of construction permits based on a flawed community plan as of February 11.

 

Superior Court Judge Allan J. Goodman stated in the judgment granting the injunction that any permits derived from the Hollywood Community Plan and its Environmental Impact Report (EIR), both of which were ruled as “fundamentally flawed” on December 10 were to be vacated and set aside until both documents have been properly amended under the appropriate California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines. Judge Goodman also ordered the city of Los Angeles to return within 90 days with an update on the progress made towards amending the community plan and EIR.

 

In response to the injunction, the Department of City Planning announced in a zoning information file released on February 18 that they would be issuing injunction clearances for projects provided that fall under certain conditions.

 

The first is that any project that received a “discretionary Planning entitlement” before February 11 can be issued an injunction clearance if that project is not involved in some on-going court challenge. Any current applications for entitlements that are derived from the community plan have been placed on hold until the plan is properly amended, but if they are not derived from the plan, they can be issued regularly.

 

Building permits filed before February 11, and any “ministerial clearances and approvals,” will not need an injunction clearance, according to the information file. If supplemental permits are needed, and they are filed after February 11, they can be cleared for processing as long as they are not derived from the contentious plan. “By Rights” projects are not required to have an injunction clearance filed if the project’s regulations have not been modified by the community plan.

 

Applicants whose projects do not fall under the previous conditions can contact the Associate Zoning Administrator if they believe that their project has “acquired vested rights that supersede the injunction,” according to the file.

 

Express permits and tenant improvements are the only items that do not need an injunction clearance, as the information file states that they are not derived from either the community plan or EIR.

 

On February 14, Councilman Mitch O’Farrell introduced an ordinance that would initiate the process of amending the community plan. The ordinance would also order the Department of City Planning, with assistance from the City Administrative Officer, to return within 30 days with a timeline on revising the community plan. It was unanimously adopted on February 18.