This Thursday, the West Hollywood Planning Commission will hear two projects that represent a critical crossroads for our city. While they sit on different blocks near the high-traffic intersection of Santa Monica and Fairfax, they share a common, unsettling theme: the sacrifice of neighborhood safety and middle-class stability for “Square Peg” monoliths that break our local laws.
The July 1st Ticking Clock: We are currently in a high-stakes political drama. On July 1, 2026—just five short months away—a controversial state law called SB-79 will take effect, stripping cities of much of their voice near transit hubs. But this law is so contentious that even the LA Metro Board recently voted 11-2 to oppose its implementation, joining Mayor Karen Bass in warning that it sacrifices community safety for developer profit. Yet, in West Hollywood, we see developers “front-running” this deadline, rushing to secure entitlements while we still have a say in what becomes of our neighborhoods.
7811 SMB — The 10,000-Foot Legal Chasm: At 7811 Santa Monica Blvd and along the adjoining residential side streets of Orange Grove and Ogden, the “Bond” project is built on a legal “Original Sin.” The developer is asking to waive a mandatory 50,000-square-foot land requirement—they are nearly 10,000 feet short of the “floor” needed to qualify for this density.
To make the numbers work, they’ve designed a “Trojan Horse” where hotel rooms are “interlocked” and scattered throughout the residential floors. This design destroys the privacy and security of long-term neighbors by forcing residents to share hallways with transient tourists. Worse, they are using a new law, AB-130, to try and bypass an Environmental Impact Report on a site with a 100-year history of industrial toxins.
948 N. Hayworth — Pulverizing the “Stepping Stones” A few blocks away, a 6-story “Brutalist” tower threatens an elementary school zone. The developer is destroying four existing rent-stabilized units—the very “stepping stones” that allow middle-income residents to gain a foothold in our city. When a young professional “moves up” and vacates a stabilized unit today, that apartment should stay available for the next teacher or librarian. Instead, these homes are being pulverized.
In their place, we get a “Barbell Economy”: luxury units on top, a few low-income units on the bottom, and the “Forgotten Middle” permanently priced out in between. Even the “replacement” units will start at luxury market rates, only becoming “stabilized” after they reach a price point our workforce cannot afford. Adding insult to injury, the building uses “storage room padding” to maximize height and loom over the schoolyard playground, a move the LAUSD warns is a specific danger to children.
A Call to Action: We cannot allow “Objective Standards” to become optional suggestions. We cannot trade the health of our children or the stability of our workforce for a developer’s head-start.
- Official Staff Report (Item 9.A – 7811 SMB): Click here to view the 7811 Santa Monica Blvd Report
- Official Staff Report (Item 9.B – 948 N. Hayworth): Click here to viewthe 948 N. Hayworth Report
Email Your Comments: Send to pcpubliccomments@weho.org by NOON on Feb 5th.
Show Up: Join community members, Thursday, Feb 5th, at 6:30 PM, West Hollywood Council Chambers.
It is time to tell the Planning Commission: Uphold the law. Protect the kids. Save our middle-class housing.
-Victor Omelczenko
West Hollywood
So many questions regarding BOTH of these projects. On Hayworth, the glaring issue is why does a 6 story building only have 12 units? And WHY are there “storage” units on the top floors with windows when there are 12 smaller storage units in the basement? Could it be those are not actually storage units but areas that will magically become extra units? If Weho truly needs more housing wouldn’t one think that this developer could do better? Then, The Bond project appears to be fraught with problems, not the least of which is the toxicity issues, particularly next to… Read more »
It seems like the developers always win. They have so many tricks and loopholes, and it seems like we residents are always given the short end of the stick. It’s interesting to see how many city council members and planning commissioners take the side of the developers, and make it sound like they’re doing the right thing. Then we’re left with vacant properties and big holes in the ground. By the way have they ever filled in the Melrose triangle? I wish Victor were on the planning commission! Then, maybe between him and Lynn Hoopengarner they could talk some sense… Read more »
Yes – Victor and Lynn could show them so much about doing the right thing for West Hollywood! I found it absolutely abhorrent that 37+ members of the neighborhood showed up to express their rightful concerns about this Frankenstein-ed project and were tossed aside by the planning commission . . . all in favor of a haughty, blight of a man who doesn’t even live in West Hollywood. The fact that he was chuckling during so much of the public testimony made my blood boil. I’m glad that at least one of the BRICK gym members called him out on… Read more »
Victor, I wholeheartedly agree with your perspective. Unfortunately the majority of city council, planning commission members, and city staff refuse to fight for what is at the best interest for West Hollywood. Nobody wants to question the merits of SB-79 and try to eliminate any CEQA or EIR as reasons for stalled developments. Mark R Edwards made it clear at the last commission meeting that he doesn’t care about the voices of us that raise the concerns you mention as we are a handful and not the majority voice. Nobody has asked if the power grids can handle the added… Read more »
This post raises serious and timely concerns about local control, public safety, and the pace at which major developments are being pushed through ahead of SB-79.
Nobody wants to live in a place where a bunch of your “neighbors” are transients; it is like having an Air BnB in your building and we know how that plays out. This is another project that will never be built, much like the Factory project or the French Market Place, but it will tie up entitlements from more credible developers who might build something more useful to the community.
We urge the West Hollywood Planning Commissioners to uphold the law this Thursday evening. Do not reward an incomplete land assemblage with unallowable waivers. Come join us.
Weho needs to stop allowing variances for such massive structures. While building on the commercial corridors is the right strategy, there needs to be some consideration for the neighborhood streets directly behind or alongside the proposed mega buildings. Size and scale matters in our small city and more protections need to be implemented for those neighborhoods which will be negatively impacted.