WEHOville.com – West Hollywood Preservation Alliance

From WEHOville:

West Hollywood’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) on Monday will review a proposal for a project on Palm Avenue whose architect is a member of that same commission.

The fact that Ed Levin, a partner in Levin-Morris Architects who was appointed to the HPC in 2005, is working on the project has angered some of its neighbors and those who will be evicted because of it. Levin will have to recuse himself from a vote on the project, but neighbors assert that his close relationship with other commission members will have an impact on their perception of it. The project also is opposed by the West Hollywood Preservation Alliance.

The project that Levin has designed for Westwood Property Ventures, a part of Jeffrey Damavandi’s Dylan Investments, consists of a four-story, L-shaped building with an underground parking garage that will house seniors and resources for them including a hair salon and recreation space. The proposed project is going before the HPC because it will wrap around and incorporate two existing houses designated by the city as culturally significant parts of the Old Sherman Thematic Group. One of the houses, at 927 Palm, will serve as an administrative and reception area for the building. The bungalow at 931 Palm will be a stand-alone residence. With the 931 Palm bungalow, the project will have 49 units.

In the battle to preserve historic structures in West Hollywood, it often seems like the losses far outweigh the successes. In an article published by WehoVille, local historian Bob Bishop uncovers what appears to have been the first community effort to protect a building in West Hollywood.

The building in question was the William S. Hart residence at 8341 De Longpre Ave., which may be the oldest remaining structure along the Sunset Strip. The battle to save it took place in 1985, a year after West Hollywood became a city.

Bishop writes that the owners of St. James Club — now the Sunset Tower Hotel — next door to the Hart residence wanted to replace the house with a parking garage.

“A coalition of neighborhood groups, the Sierra Club and Hart Jr. opposed the developer’s proposal,” Bishop writes. “The battle took four more long years to play out, but ultimately, the plan for a parking garage was denied by respective planning and review authorities in both cities [West Hollywood and Los Angeles].

The victory was doubly sweet because it ensured that the wishes of the home’s original owner, silent-film cowboy star William S. Hart, were finally fulfilled. Hart had donated the property to the public in 1944 with the intent that it serves as a park.

Check out the full story at WehoVille.com…