Westside Homeowner Coalition Forms To Oppose High-Rise Condominium Project

An unprecedented coalition of Westside homeowner associations has joined forces to challenge the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the proposed 10131 Constellation boulevard project in Century City.

The luxury condominium project, which is comprised of two 47 story towers and a 12 story loft, has been proposed by JMB, a Chicago based real estate developer.  The proposed project has 483 condominiums in approximately 1.3 million square feet.

The project site is at the corner of Constellation Blvd. and Avenue of the Stars on the northeast corner.  It would replace the existing City National Bank, a drive-through teller, the Century Club and the vacant lot.

According to the EIR, the project would have approximately 980 residents and would increase the west L.A. residential population by 1.14%.  It would also increase fire rescue calls by 3.55%.

Controversy centers on land use issues and the fact that the developers have claimed that the new project would generate less traffic than the existing structures.  This is despite the fact that the bank is primarily a walk-up bank, the drive-through handles no more than an average of 50 cars per day, and the Century Club has no breakfast business, only walk-up lunch business and a limited dinner business. 

The homeowner associations and groups have grown increasingly concerned as traffic and congestion have choked the Westside.  In addition, increasing densification of residential areas, non-stop Century City development and the Santa Monica Transit Parkway project have contributed to the problem.

In the past, each association or group has written its own response, often duplicating the efforts of other groups.  Also, in the past, homeowner groups have focused on mitigations and impacts for their specific area.  This allowed each area to shift its traffic to another area.  Unfortunately, as each area shifted its traffic to other areas, the mitigations have become less effective and often conflict with each other.  The net result is that all homeowners face ever-increasing traffic both within their areas and in the Westside as a whole.

One benefit of having a large number of associations joining forces is that each area can share its experience and resources with the group.  This collaboration has yielded a cogent and compelling response to the proposed project.

It is the hope of each homeowner group that development will not be allowed unless its impacts are accurately disclosed and adequate infrastructure exists to support those impacts.

A copy of the coalition response can be found here. (Response) (Traffic Expert Report)

The 10131 project DEIR can be found by clicking here. (Volume 1)  (Volume 2)

The Tract 7260 response to the Notice of Preparation can be found here.