LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) filed a lawsuit in Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, today against the City of Los Angeles and the City Council also naming are real parties of interest CH Palladium, LLC and CH Palladium Holdings, LLC, developer of the Palladium Residences Project, over what AHF alleges was the illegal and improper planning approval process for the controversial residential and commercial development in Hollywood. The proposed project, which includes two 30 story towers with 731 residential units—with only 37 units designated at lower rents—was approved by City Council in a 12-0 vote without hearing testimony on March 22, 2016.
Through its legal action, AHF is seeking, “ … a writ of mandamus invalidating the City's approval and certification of the Environmental Impact Report and invalidating and setting aside the Land Use Entitlements because of the City's violations of the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA"), the City Charter, the Los Angeles Municipal Code, and other laws.”
“We believe and assert in our lawsuit that the pattern and practice of the Mayor, City Attorney, City Planning Department, City Planning Commission, and City Council operating in defiance of an express City Charter limitation on authority to process and grant general plan amendments is a willful failure to comply with public duties imposed by the City's fundamental land use laws,” said Michael Weinstein, AIDS Healthcare Foundation President. “Through this legal action, we seek to hold these public officials accountable and overturn the faulty—and we believe illegal—approval of the Palladium Project.”
“Our petition and complaint also seeks a declaration of rights and injunctive relief invalidating the City’s process of piecemeal general plan amendments for individual parcels, which violate AHF’s and other community members rights to a comprehensive general planning process for the coherent development of L.A.,” added Liza Brereton, Counsel for AHF.
AHF, which has its world headquarters on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood right next to the proposed project, is a founding member of the Coalition to Preserve L.A. and is a major funder and supporter of the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative, a proposed March 2017 ballot measure seeking to rein in ‘mega’ development projects throughout the City of Los Angeles.
LINK TO LAWSUIT: http://www.aidshealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/4-21-16-SCAN-Verified-Petition-for-Writ-of-Mandate.pdf
About AIDS Healthcare Foundation
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 608,000 individuals in 36 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare.
