A housing project over a decade in the making could take a big step back this Wednesday.

The L.A. City Council is set to decide whether or not to revoke an exemption that allowed a 250-unit housing project at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Gayley Avenue at 10951-10955 Wilshire Blvd on Wednesday, September 11. The motion was originally set for this past Wednesday, but 7th District Councilmember Monica Rodriguez had the motion continued to next week.

Plans for a 29-story tower at the location have been in motion since 2009, but those plans have hit many roadblocks. Most recently, the upcoming Purple Line that starts in Westwood and the potential conflict it could cause has prompted 5th District Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky — whose district includes Westwood, Century City, and Palms among other neighborhoods — to write a motion that would require approval from LA Metro for the project to move forward.

LA Metro has prevented the project from being cleared since 2018 because of the potential conflict with the Purple Line. Most recently, Metro requested a technical study that was completed by the applicant, but the department declared it invalid because of a delay in its submission.

Looking to move forward with the long-delayed project that received strong support from businesses and residents, former 5th District Councilmember Paul Koretz authored a motion that granted the project an exemption to the requirement that LA Metro clear the project in August 2022. The plan is currently entitled as a 250-unit hotel project, but that plan has reportedly been abandoned after the construction of an on-site hotel at UCLA.

Just over two years later, Yaroslavsky authored a motion that would rescind this exception. Yaroslavsky’s August 28 motion cites that Metro has now built a significant portion of the station near the site, “unalterably changing the status quo on the ground” as to why Metro clearance should be required.

“[The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety] cannot now be sure whether the WG project can be safely constructed as originally designed without further information,” the motion reads.

A representative for the applicant made a public comment at Wednesday’s council meeting, arguing that the project should be accommodated and that the applicant shouldn’t pay for Metro’s contractors not considering adjacent projects.

“If the city rescinds that prior motion today, it will be the first time it does not stand up at all for [a] City of Los Angeles constituent,” Cindy Starrett with firm Latham & Watkins, LLP said, “but instead allows the mistakes by Metro’s contractors in ignoring this adjacent project to prevent this person from fulfilling his vision.”

With Yaroslavsky absent at Wednesday’s meeting, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez moved to push the decision back one week to September 11. Rodriguez wanted more clarity on the reasons behind the issues, requesting that the city’s LADBS and LA Metro be present at next week’s meeting to answer questions regarding the project. 

She emphasized not only the need for more housing in Los Angeles but also that the amount of new housing construction in the city continues to decrease each year despite this need for more units.

“We don’t make things easy for development in this city,” Rodriguez said, “particularly for the development of affordable units or low-to-moderate income housing.”

Rodriguez showed concern about the process of permitting projects if one like the Wilshire Gayley project that has gone through an exhaustive permit process still cannot end up being built.

“There has to be some basic level of expectation that when you go through the process of getting your project permitted and entitled, you should be able to go forward with a project,” Rodriguez said. “I am concerned about…further complicating or allowing Metro to further obstruct what people have already invested tens of thousands of dollars to entitle and build.”

Photo obtained using Google Maps.