Developer seeks to bring 16,519 square foot project to 1951-1953 Westwood Boulevard
By Dolores Quintana
The appeal from the Westwood Hills Congregational Church regarding the proposed development at 1951-1953 Westwood Boulevard was denied in a unanimous vote by the Los Angeles City Planning Commission as reported by Urbanize Los Angeles on July 28. The Church’s objections, according to Urbanize Los Angeles, were based on the possible disruption of preschool classes on their property that would negatively impact the children and the report from the Los Angeles City Planning Commission report recommended denial of the request since the City’s approval of the project already called for mitigation measures to be used to protect the local neighborhood.
According to the planning commission documents, this development requires the “demolition of an existing 3,760 square foot commercial building and the construction, use and maintenance of a new, five-story residential building with 29 dwelling units, three of which will be set aside for extremely low-income households. The building will include 16,519 square feet in total building area.” Additionally, the project will boast “23 automobile parking spaces and 32 bicycle parking spaces. A total of 3,052 square feet of open space is provided within the rear yard, a rooftop deck, an outdoor 5th-floor common open space, and private balconies.”
The developer, Kamran Tavakoli, Westwood Investments 26, LLC, applied for Transit Oriented Communities incentives that would include exceptions to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) rules. The three extremely low-income units are part of the TOC incentive program agreement with a 70 percent increase in density that qualifies for Tier Three entitlements according to the TOC program and will allow the building to be five stories tall despite local zoning ordinances.
According to Urbanize Los Angeles, California Development & Design Inc. is the designer of record and the project’s plans are “depicted in renderings as a contemporary podium-type structure highlighted by a series of landscaped terrace decks that provide open space for residents and reduce the building’s scale along its rear property line.”
