UPDATED: City Council Scraps Hollywood Community Plan

Originally posted at 3:03 p.m. April 2, 2014. Edited with new details.

A zoning plan that allowed denser projects and taller buildings to be constructed in the Hollywood area was scrapped today by the Los Angeles City Council.

The council voted 11-0 to repeal a 2012 update to the Hollywood Community Plan -- which governs the types of projects allowed in the area -- in response to a December ruling by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge who said the update was "fundamentally flawed" and must be rescinded.

Proposed projects in the Hollywood area will now be reviewed according to a 1988 version of the plan while city officials work "to address deficiencies that were identified" by the judge, according to Tony Arranaga, spokesman for Councilman Mitch O'Farrell.

Planning officials said about 18 projects were put on hold following the judge's ruling, but they will now be considered under the 1988 zoning guidelines. About about 44 projects approved by the end of last year under the 2012 update will not be affected by the repeal, officials said.

Judge Allan J. Goodman ruled that the 2012 planning document was based on outdated population estimates from 2004 and 2005 and did not properly plan for an increased demand for city services.

The zoning blueprint was approved in 2012 with vocal support from then- City Councilman Eric Garcetti, now the mayor. Supporters said it would help the city transform run-down and crime-plagued neighborhoods into bustling residential and commercial centers.

But Hollywood residents' groups challenged the plan in court, contending -- among other things -- that the allowance for greater density would increase traffic congestion.

The 2012 update included provisions that allowed "transit-oriented development," which means taller and denser buildings could go up around public transit hubs, such as the Metro Red Line station at Hollywood and Highland, city officials said.

The update also "sought ... to steer growth away from hillsides and lower density residential neighborhoods," so while it allowed higher densities near transit stations, it also "established new, lower height limits and increased restrictions on development in order to protect lower density areas," city planner Ken Bernstein said.

--City News Service