A proposal to build a luxury Bulrgari hotel in Benedict Canyon has been turned down by L.A. city officials due to environmental concerns.
On Sept. 6, L.A. City Planning Director Vincent Bertoni sent a letter to Gary Safady, the developer behind the controversial Bulgari Resort project, citing concerns that it would disturb over 800,000 square feet of natural vegetation and land surface.
“The Project would result in excavation of over 118,000 cubic yards of soil and removal of over 75 percent (849) of the site’s protected trees and shrubs and over 90 percent (359) of the site’s significant trees,” Bertoni wrote.
Protected and endangered species could also be affected.
The environmental impacts, Bertoni wrote, “are far greater than initially anticipated,” adding that it violates the goals of the city’s Community Plan for the area. And it is “contrary to related protections, policies, and studies for preservation of hillside areas, wildlife habitat, and ecological resources in ridgeline areas,” he added.
Mike Gatto, Safady’s attorney, told LAist he now plans to sue the city on the grounds that the decision “was not based in law and was not grounded in sound public policy.”
He added that the local government was not following “proper procedures.”
The public, he said, should have been given the opportunity to weigh in on the project as part of the California Environmental Quality Act process.
“The CEQA process was ongoing and it was just about to go public and that’s when the City Council stepped in,” he said. “That is completely incorrect.”
Under CEQA, governmental officials are expected to weigh in on what is called the “Initial Study”…
Read the full article here