LA City approval for Koreatown apartment project overturned by court

A 27-story apartment complex in Los Angeles' Koreatown will not go forward until its full environmental ramifications are studied, further delaying what's been more than a decadelong approval process, a Los Angeles County Superior Court has ruled.

Last week, Judge Yvette Palazuelos sided with two neighborhood advocacy groups that sued the city and developer of the 269-unit, mixed-use project, claiming the project was approved in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act by not requiring an environmental impact report.

The plaintiffs alleged the project -- slated for construction on the old Ambassador Hotel site -- violates height caps and other zoning regulations -- will significantly impact traffic, and is at odds with the neighborhood character. Environmental Justice Collaborative v. Colony Holdings LLC, BS162453 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed April 18, 2016).

"The fact that even the basic processes in place to ensure that the impact is studied and there is sufficient information on which the city is deciding things is not followed here, is problematic," said LTL Attorneys' Prashanth Chennakesavan, who is representing the petitioners pro bono.

The owner of the development company behind the project, Michael Hakim, said they're "happy to do an additional study. It just takes a little longer."

The report, which could take more than a year, represents another roadblock for the project that sought a city permit in 2006.

Following a traffic report by the Department of Transportation in 2008 that said the project would impact surrounding residential streets, the Los Angeles City Council denied the permit in October 2009 and then again in December 2014 and March 2015, according to court documents.

In April 2015, Mayor Eric Garcetti disapproved of the decision and by May 2015 the project was unanimously approved by the city council.

Hakim's company, Colony Holding LLC, manages thousands of units in the area. This marks its first development attempt.

"We're already invested in the community," he said. "This is a passion of mine, building homes and housing. I'm just learning the process."

The counsel for Colony Holdings, Amanda Monchamp, of Monchamp Meldrum LLP, did not respond to a request for comment.

Grace Yoo of Environmental Justice Collaborative, a petitioner in the suit along with Friends of the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative, noted that they the group has not sued over any of the other projects.

This project stands out among the other projects because of its sheer size, she said.

"Why would you choose to do it on a residential street where you can barely fit two cars going north and south?" Yoo said.

The scores of projects in the works "already opened the flood gates for development," Hakim said.

Outside counsel for the city, Amy Hoyt of Burke, Williams & Sorensen LLP, deferred comment to the city attorney's office, which did not respond to a request for comment.