KTLA

WeHo Commission Votes on Controversial Housing Development That Sought to Separate Rich, Poor

A rendering of the proposed residential development at 8899 Beverly Blvd. in West Hollywood. (Credit: Los Angeles Times)

A controversial West Hollywood housing development that had called for separate amenities for low-income residents — including a pool they could not access — has failed to gain the approval of the city’s Planning Commission.

The proposed project includes 64 market-rate housing units and 17 affordable units to be built at 8899 Beverly Boulevard. The city requires developers of new residential projects to reserve a percentage of the developments for moderate and low-income housing or, in certain instances, pay a fee instead. The city said it expects that such units would be dispersed throughout the development.

But the developers of the project, Beverly Blvd. Associates, at first wanted to deny low-income tenants access to a pool that many of their units would look out on. They also had proposed a separate entrance for the affordable apartment area.

“Poor doors,” as such entrances and separate amenities for lower-income residents have come to be called, have caused a stir in other cities, including London and New York City, where a development on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with separate entrances for luxury condominiums and affordable units was recently approved.

Click here to read the full story on LATimes.com.