It was long. It was boring. It was enough already… then, finally, it was funny.
During Monday night’s City Council meeting, Agenda Item C1, the Chrysalis Project, set forth a proposal to construct a two-sided full-motion animated billboard and public plaza at 8222 Sunset Blvd., the first standalone billboard under the City’s Sunset Arts and Advertising Program.
The project would build out a 60-foot-tall billboard with a 1,000-square-foot east-facing animated sign face and a 480-square-foot west-facing animated sign face, along with a publicly accessible plaza featuring a pollinator garden, seating, terrazzo floors, and an educational display dedicated to the Monarch butterfly. It also incorporates solar panels, a first for any SAAP project. Under the 30-year development agreement, the project is projected to generate $60.1 million in City revenue, including a minimum annual guarantee starting at $550,000 in year one escalating 3% annually, plus a 30% revenue share on gross advertising revenues above $4.25 million. The project was unanimously recommended for approval by the Planning Commission in December.
The item ran an hour and fifteen minutes. But the deliberations had a moment.
Vice Mayor Hang Was Worried About the Poop
West Hollywood City Council meetings can be tedious. This one sure was when it came to Item C1. The applicant and Staff fielded questions for over an hour — about security cameras, encampment protocols on the Los Angeles side of Havenhurst, revenue sharing thresholds, sign orientation, and neighbor impacts — before deliberations even began. And then Vice Mayor Danny Hang dropped an s-bomb. Sort of.
“I’m worried about the poop,” Hang said.
Councilmember John Erickson responded: “We know the headline tomorrow will be in [the] Beverly Press.” He got the headline right, the publication wrong. Hang continued: “I’m worried about the general maintenance cleaning schedule… ‘cause it’s not just the poop. It’s also the rain, rain leaves hard water stains, dust, airplane signature residue, etc. You name it. Because I don’t want this beautiful sign to look beautiful for the first 30 days, and then it’s covered in poop. And if you’re only gonna clean it once a quarter, then we gotta look at poop for four months.”
Hang also raised a concern about the minimum annual guarantee, suggesting the threshold for the City’s 30% revenue share may be set too low, and asked whether the development agreement could be renegotiated. Staff indicated that doing so would likely require continuing the item. (Hang’s full comments can be found watching the council meeting below via WeHoTV — beginning at the 1:42:00 mark).
What the Rest of the Council Said
Councilmember Erickson said he liked the project and intended to support it but shared concerns about security and maintenance.
Councilmember Lauren Meister said she had concerns about impacts on neighbors along Havenhurst and about the precedent of approving a standalone billboard with no retail or restaurant component. She asked Staff whether anything in the SAAP precludes standalone projects. Senior planner Paul Caporaso confirmed nothing precludes them and noted the City is no longer accepting new applications, so no other standalone projects are in the pipeline. It’s not the first time the council has wrestled with a Sunset Strip billboard.
Councilmember Chelsea Byers said she was excited about the project and what it would do for the east end of the Sunset Strip. She asked for a crosswalk study on the eastern side of the site and said trash receptacles need to be part of the maintenance plan.
Mayor John Heilman said he was supportive and pushed back on concerns about neighbor impacts, noting the sign faces are oriented toward Sunset, not toward residential streets. On maintenance, he agreed with the Council’s concerns. Staff pointed to Conditions 310 and 311, requiring the applicant to submit a detailed plan covering all materials, including maintenance, before building permits are issued, subject to approval by the Director of Community Development and enforceable by code enforcement. The council agreed to receive that plan as an information item. “I don’t want to say every third Tuesday you have to power wash it,” Heilman said.
The item passed 4-1, with Meister casting the dissenting vote.
The Chrysalis will be beautiful. One question left lingering in the air: “What about the poop?“
Related Coverage
Billboard Battle: Council Wants Upgrade, Residents Demand Peace
West Hollywood Selects Designs for Signs to Revitalize the Sunset Strip
Revised Roxy/Rainbow Billboards Are Back Before Planning Commission
2004 called. They want their “Beverly Press” reference back.
Another advertisement,money making scam contract,just like the visual screens at bus stops,that keep getting bashed and broken by the homeless..It’ll be no time,before people start throwing rocks at the screen,which in return,is a money making scam for everyone involved..!
Meanwhile city officials could care less about the ‘poop’ on the sidewalks from transients / Homeless lol
Danny Hang is worried about butterfly poop? This is why so many people can’t take him seriously. He’s merely Erickson’s stooge. Butterfly poop? Really, Danny?
He’s a clown.
Hey! He’s a social worker. He knows about this stuff.
The $60 million question is where is the revenue from the billboard going to be used. Bike lanes? Polyamory centers? I guarantee they won’t be used for affordable housing
This has to go down as one of the most absurd and comical debates regarding approval for a project. The idea of “poop” on a billboard would derail a project is insane. Where is the outrage of defecation on sidewalks from our unhoused or those that don’t pick up after our animals? Somehow a little dirt on a billboard is something to be concerned about. I agree that maintainence should be a given. I am more concerned on a stand alone billboard was approved without providing any real public benefit for job creations or housing benefits. We can do better… Read more »
More visual blight but then again, more revenue for the city. And since so many businesses are sitting empty…I guess they can use the funds to keep their wacky pet projects funded. Talk about poop. This is a lot of it.
For the better!
Bob Dylan – The Times They Are A-Changin’