Coalition Takes on Century City Tower Development

A coalition of local residents, merchants and property owners believes the 37-story Century City Center, proposed for the northeast corner of Avenue of the Stars and Constellation Boulevard, would threaten quality of life in the area by too sharply increasing the number of people and cars.

The Century City development is slated to consist of office, retail, dining, parking and living space, in addition to a public plaza.

Among members of the coalition against the JMB Realty Corporation project are other developers, including Westfield LLC, One Hundred Towers LLC and Entertainment Center LLC, according to the Save the Westside website.

Specifically, the group opposing the Century City Center claims the development would violate terms of the Century City North Specific Plan, which serves as a development guide for the region.

California law requires cities to have general plans, which guide planning and development (see the Los Angeles General Plan here). Within a city, there can be even more detailed or stringent guidelines for particular areas, and these are found in specific plans. Los Angeles has 45 specific plans, one of which is the Century City North Specific Plan, which has been in effect since 1981 (see specifics of the plan on the L.A. Department of City Planning here).

Save the Westside claims the proposed Century City Center would be more than two and a half times what is allowed in the specific plan. The project's developers say that not only does it comply, but it's also 40 percent smaller than a project already approved for the area.

One of the items at issue appears to be the method used to determine the amount of car trips (and, thus, increased traffic) that would be created by the new development.

Christopher Koontz, planning deputy for area Councilmember Paul Koretz, told Curbed L.A. the project does comply with requirements in terms of floor area ratios and ratio of the development to the site, parking and height. He also pointed out one difference:

"The project does propose a different 'trip rate' than the one found in the Specific Plan. Allowing for such an 'alternative trip generation' is allowed and contemplated under the Specific Plan. The claims of Save the Westside are not without some basis but are exaggerated and misleading."

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