Westwood's Height Limit Tested Again.

Having once gotten the nod to eclipse Westwood's six-story height limit by building nine-story and 14-story buildings on an acre-plus site, developer Richard Weintraub is back before the city seeking another height variance.

This time, he proposes a single, 34-story building that would cover less of the lot. Still, it would be far taller, than any other building on the Wilshire Corridor, already one of the most congested areas on the Westside.

Though revised to reflect community concerns, the new proposal has met with opposition.

A series of groups are challenging the development, claiming that because it would not pass "shade and shadow" tests, it should not gain an extended conditional use permit to exceed the height limit.

The shade and shadow test measures the length of time a building casts a shadow on any residential building during the winter and summer solstices, the shortest and longest days of the year. No structure higher than six stories may cast a shadow for longer than two hours, according to the Wilshire-Westwood Scenic Corridor Specific Plan.

Sandy Brown, president of the Holmby-Westwood Property Owners Association, said she wants to see Weintraub go back to the original plan.

"The shade-shadow analysis is theirs, not ours," she said, disputing Weintraub's claim that the building passed the test. "It does cast heavy shadows to the north - big ones - during the winter solstice, two blocks from the project."

Brown's group is joined in opposition to Weintraub's plan by Westwood Homeowners Association and Westwood Presbyterian Church.

Responding to complaints from some in the community that his two-building high-rise residential project would obstruct views and block light, the developer is pursuing a compromise development plan for a thinner structure covering less area.

At the urging of community groups and the Westwood Design Review Board, Weintraub's Americana Glendale Inc. will present an alternate design for the project to the West Los Angeles Planning Commission at its July 18 meeting.

The site, at Wilshire Boulevard and Malcolm Avenue, is one of the last developable pieces of property on the Wilshire corridor, and Weintraub said he would build 105 condominiums.

For his part, Weintraub countered that the thinner building is far better for the community because it will block less light and take up less space on the site. The old plan covered 71 percent of the lot, the new building just 26 percent.

By covering less of the lot, the project can include three-fourths of an acre of open space that will be landscaped to create a small park.

At 34 stories, Weintraub's development would be far taller than any other building in the Wilshire corridor. The tallest building currently standing along Wilshire Boulevard is The Wilshire condominium development, at 27 stories.

Weintraub said he expects to spend $100 million on the project. He plans to sell the condos for between $650,000 and $10 million. That big number would be for the 10,000-square foot penthouse, he said.

If the new proposal fails to make its way through the city channels and he cannot earn a conditional use permit, Weintraub said he would return to the original plan for the site.

"Under any circumstance something's going to get built at that lot in the next 12 to 14 months," he said.

The revised proposal has not been universally opposed.

On Weintraub's side are residents of The Longford condominiums at 10790 Wilshire Blvd. - as well as Ishak Bibawi, owner of a 64-unit apartment building at 10811 Ashton Aye,' just south of the project site. Bibawi fought the first incarnation of the plan because of the, amount of space it would take up, but said in a letter to the city of Los Angeles that he had rallied the endorsement of all of his tenants. Bibawi said in the letter the alternate design, because of its thin construction, provides his building with increased air and light.

Bibawi, who couldn't be reached for comment, said in the' letter he found it difficult to understand where the opposition came from, especially considering that he and other immediate neighbors approve of the project.

"The people opposed to the project were not even a part of the opposition in the past when I fought and spent hundreds of thousands in legal fees," he wrote.

The site now contains four buildings: a three-building, 25-unit apartment complex and a 20-room motel. All four would come down under any building scenario, Weintraub said.