Paramount Master Plan Moves Forward After Monday Hearing

On Monday, May 16, the proposed new Master Plan for Paramount Pictures, which would add approximately 1.3 million square feet of office and studio space to the studio’s 62-acre site, as well as parking and office buildings on two ancillary lots owned by Paramount on the south side of Melrose Avenue, and a new digital sign district for the lot, received its first public hearing as part of the city approval process.  The hearing, held at the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, was attended by more than 100 residents of nearby Larchmont Village, South Hollywood, Melrose Hill and other neighborhoods, who spoke about their concerns with certain details of the overall plan.

The major concerns for neighbors, at this point, seem to be the sign district, size and compatibility of the new buildings, and traffic and parking issues.

Recently, Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association Charles D’Atri told the Buzz that he’s afraid the sign district  could set an unwelcome precedent for large digital signs in the area….and that the proposed 15-story office building, is too tall for the neighborhood and out of scale with surrounding areas.

Ed Hunt, from the Melrose Hill Neighborhood Association, also attended Monday’s hearing and says his neighborhood, which lies a bit further east and not quite so directly adjacent to the Paramount Property, mostly supports the project.  Paramount, he told the Buzz, has been a good neighbor over the years, and good source of jobs for the area.  However, he said, “There are always four issues that come up [with any big development project]:  traffic, parking…and parking and traffic.”  Hunt said the main traffic concerns for his neighborhood will be increased volume along Melrose Ave., but he says Paramount has included funds for traffic studies and mitigations in their plans, so he’s optimistic the issues can be managed.

Public comments on the project may be submitted to Elva Nuno-O’Donnell at the City Planning Department until 4 p.m. on May 23, 2016. After that, according to Nuno-O’Donnell, a Letter of Determination will be issued for one portion of the project (a Tentative Tract Map application), and then after a period of time that allows for possible appeals of that decision, any appeals filed will be forwarded with the rest of the project to the City Planning Commission for the next level of review. The CPC is scheduled to hear the case on July 14, and the Planning Department will send a recommendation report to the Commission approximately one week before that date.