WeHo Wrap-up

Long Range Planning at the City of West Hollywood

WeHo is a cute little city made of lots of little neighborhoods (each circle has approximately a half-mile radius)

For the past 9 months, I interned (remotely) with the Long Range Planning Department (LRP)at the City of West Hollywood, aka WeHo for the non-LA folks. I think of all the cities I could have worked for, WeHo was the perfect fit since it has a particularly progressive and fun artsy vibe. And I had done some research about the West Hollywood Design District for my Intro to Physical Planning class the year before. It was a great opportunity to get a better sense of what “Long Range Planning” actually involves.

Here’s a quick round-up of some of the projects LRP is currently working on.

Sunset Boulevard Arts & Advertising

West Hollywood is home to Sunset Blvd, known for its vibrant entertainment, nightlife, and billboards. One of the big projects now is the Sunset Boulevard Arts & Advertising program which is re-imagining what billboards on the strip could be. Billboards are a surprisingly big moneymaker for cities in terms of shared revenue, which is esp attractive since the hospitality, retail, and restaurant industry took a hit from COVID.

There are several proposals for locations throughout the strip. Structurally, they’re more artistic and integrated into the environment, and programming includes more time for art in addition to standard advertising uses.

The Now (by HODGETTS + FUNG and REFIK ANADOL) features a dynamic “media cube” (Source)

One of my favorites is this display cube that’s integrated into the side of this building, along with smaller coordinating displays along the sidewalk. You can check out some of the other proposals on this map I worked on or this older pdf that goes into each of them in more detail.

Sunset Gateway

Gateway locations from the Sunset Strip Gateway Conceptual Framework

West Hollywood is also planning on creating three big iconic gateways along Sunset Blvd. I got to sit in on these presentations and can’t wait to share more about the project once the winner is announced. The proposals are amazing and beautiful.

Gathering Spaces

There are a few Design District “Gathering Spaces” in the works. The one at Beverly Plaza includes this proposed public art and landscaping by Greenmeme and Land Images.

Proposed Public Artwork for Beverly Plaza (Source)

I think all of these projects are super cool and probably especially interesting because of my background. Thinking back to my MDP and DK days, I imagine creating cool artsy content for these displays or public art for these spaces would be such a dream. It was fascinating getting to be on the other side of the table, looking at the proposals being pitched, hearing the questions people were being asked, and seeing what type of details they were looking for.

Some Other Projects

Of course, LRP is also working on a ton of other stuff that’s less flashy but also just as important:

• Sustainability: LRP is updating the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP), a plan for how the city will prepare for and address climate change. This includes several recommendations around Climate Leadership, Energy, Transportation, Zero Waste, and the Natural Environment.
• Mobility: LRP also works on various projects related to mobility. Metro is considering a few different routes for the Crenshaw North extension. West Hollywood is advocating for the Fairfax-San Vicente Hybrid since it serves more residents and jobs. WeHo also just launched a new pilot program for dockless e-scooters & e-bikes.
• Zone Text Amendments (ZTAs): Sometimes, the text in the zoning docs needs to be updated for various reasons. I got to work on this little ZTA about driveway widths and presented it to Planning Commission.
• Eastside Community Plan Updates: In 2017, the city created the Eastside Community Priorities Plan. I checked in with folks to see how we’re doing on those recommendations and reached out to the community to see if their priorities had changed.
• ADU Ordinance Clean Up: Since the state passed new ADU laws this year, LRP is cleaning up the existing ordinance to make it easier for people to build ADUS. Part of this involves getting input from the Current Planners about what parts of the ordinance are confusing and how to improve it.

Overall

I wish I could have worked with folks in person, but I think it still worked out well in the end. The small but mighty LRP team was very friendly and easy to get along with. Thanks to the whole team for making it such an enjoyable and educational internship :)