WEST HOLLYWOOD—The city of West Hollywood announced on its Facebook page that it is asking for feedback from the public for its zoning improvement program. The city is evaluating future zoning updates to reduce barriers to creating affordable and diverse housing.
Zoning regulations impact what gets built in West Hollywood, with the potential to either hinder or encourage housing development. Recommendations will prioritize affordability and how new housing development aligns with community demographics.
The updates will consider the proximity of housing to important community amenities, including significant transit investments (such as future stations for the proposed Metro K-line extension and existing major transit stops), employment centers, public facilities, and recreational open space. The impacts of zoning changes will be incremental to balance contextual design and equitable housing access for all.
To inform recommendations, West Hollywood is analyzing the impacts of zoning at multiple scales. Mapping and data analysis will demonstrate the implications of zoning on land use in neighborhoods throughout the city. Lot-level studies will be developed to assess the potential for different forms of housing development given lot dimensions, zoning requirements, and financial considerations.
Throughout the process, input from community members, developers, and other stakeholders engaged in housing and community development work will be vital in guiding priorities for zoning changes.
Project Goals
Thoughts and recommendations on a few different topics include:
-Production. Increase housing supply through a targeted equity-driven strategy that aligns with local housing needs.
-Affordability & Accessibility. Encourage the delivery of affordable and diverse housing choices, meeting residents’ needs based on the fair distribution of housing types at every affordability level.
-Equity. Expand access to diverse housing types in all neighborhoods and mitigate displacement risk for those most vulnerable, relying on equity measures to inform the approach.
-Environmental Stewardship. Adopt land use approaches that minimize environmental impacts by leveraging the City’s transit and pedestrian infrastructure and concentrating housing near neighborhood and regional amenities.
-Strengthening Neighborhoods. Preserve naturally occurring affordable housing and encourage contextual approaches to development that integrate with existing historical sites and neighborhood identity.
There will be an in-person meeting on Wednesday, October 8 at 6 p.m. at Plummer Park. There will be an online meeting on Thursday, October 16 at 1:30 p.m. via Zoom (the public can register online).
By Danny Jones