Sunset Building Seeking Permission to Expand Billboard Height

How tall is too tall for the billboard placed at the 8730 Sunset Towers Building in West Hollywood? The city's planning commission will consider that very question when they convene on Thursday.

The West Hollywood Planning Commission will consider a request from the property owner to modify the conditional use permit for a nearly 11,000 sq. ft. billboard on the structure's west facing façade.

According to the Planning Department's report, the applicant is seeking permission to "[remove] 660 square feet from the bottom of the tall wall and [place] it on a billboard-like structure that would be mounted 30 inches away from the rooftop."

In doing so, the owner would be replacing the rooftop cabinet box, which provides the building's "8730 Sunset Towers" identification sign.

One Sunset Towers has maintained off-site advertising since 1996. In 2001, the owners received a conditional use permit to continue hosting the sign when the city's zoning laws were updated.

In 2008, the neighboring parking structure was remodeled, resulting in the partial obstruction of the lower portion of the sign.

Associate Planner Antonio Castillo has recommended against granting the modification. He argues that the request violates two city code standards, one of which requires that tall walls adhered directly to structures and the other of which requires that the wall "not substantially impair the aesthetic appeal of the building’s architecture."

Castillo stated in his report that by removing 600 sq. ft. from the lower portion of the tall wall and replacing the identifying sign, the owner "will substantially impair the aesthetic appeal of the building’s architecture and will not result in an aesthetic improvement or enhancement to the building or site."

His report continues: "The request would remove a feature of the building and create an additional blank surface [...] The existing rooftop identification sign has been a vital feature of the building since its construction in the 1960s. Over the years, the sign copy has changed but has always represented and/or identified the building."

The West Hollywood Planning Commission will hold their regular meeting on Thursday, April 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the West Hollywood Park Public Meeting Room, 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard.