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6415-6419 West Selma Avenue / California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) / Appeal

Council File 21-1404

Under review — a two-year-old environmental challenge to a West Selma Avenue development was just decided by the Planning Committee, which rejected the appeals and upheld the project's exemption from deeper environmental study. The full Council hasn't weighed in yet.

Introduced
2021-11-24
Last changed
2026-08-11
Status
open
Expires
2028-08-07
Committee
Planning and Land Use Management Committee
Initiated by
Area Planning Commission (APC) / Central
References
Case: ZA-2013-3504-ZV-PA1-1AEnvironmental: ENV-2018-7559-CE-1A

Brief

The Central Los Angeles Area Planning Commission submitted a CEQA appeal regarding environmental review for a development project at 6415-6419 West Selma Avenue in August 2021. The Planning and Land Use Management Committee heard the appeal on August 11, 2026, and voted to deny it, thereby upholding the original planning commission determination. The file is now closed.

Full summary

This file covers a CEQA appeal challenging the environmental clearance for a development project at 6415-6419 West Selma Avenue in Council District 13, owned by 6417 Selma Holdings, LLC. The underlying entitlement is a Zone Variance and Plan Approval (ZA-2013-3504-ZV-PA1-1A), which was approved by the Central Los Angeles Area Planning Commission on a 4-0 vote on August 24, 2021. The environmental determination at issue is a Categorical Exemption (ENV-2018-7559-CE-1A), meaning city planners concluded the project did not require deeper environmental study under CEQA. Two parties appealed that exemption: Casey Maddren of Citizens for a Better LA, and Romulus Zamora representing UNITE HERE Local 11, the hospitality workers union. The Plan Approval itself was not appealed and is not before the Council. The appellants filed their challenge in October 2021, and the file was referred to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee. The case then spent nearly five years in procedural limbo, with the committee continuing the item repeatedly. The original deadline was tolled in late 2021 due to the Mayor's COVID-era public order and reinstated in February 2023 under Executive Directive No. 1. The file technically expired under Council policy in December 2025, but the committee resumed action in 2026 after updated transmittal documents were submitted by the Central Area Planning Commission in May 2026. The committee scheduled the item for June 9, 2026, then continued it to August 11, 2026, when it finally acted. On that date, the Planning and Land Use Management Committee denied both appeals and sustained the Central Los Angeles Area Planning Commission's original determination that a Categorical Exemption was the appropriate environmental review for the project. With that vote, the CEQA challenge is resolved at the committee level. The file remains technically open pending any full Council action, but the committee's denial of the appeals effectively clears the way for the previously approved entitlements to stand.

Activity (17)

  • 2026-08-11 Planning and Land Use Management Committee denied appeal(s) ; and thereby sustained the determination of the Central Los Angeles Area Planning Commission.
  • 2026-08-07 Planning and Land Use Management Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on August 11, 2026.
  • 2026-06-09 Planning and Land Use Management Committee continued item to August 11, 2026 .
  • 2026-05-15 Planning and Land Use Management Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on June 9, 2026.
  • 2026-05-06 Area Planning Commission (APC) / Central document(s) referred to Planning and Land Use Management Committee.
  • 2026-05-06 Document submitted by Area Planning Commission (APC) / Central, dated May 6, 2026.
  • 2025-12-16 File expired per Council policy, Council file No. 05-0553.
  • 2023-09-19 Planning and Land Use Management Committee continued item to a date to be determined.
  • 2023-09-08 Planning and Land Use Management Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on September 19, 2023.
  • 2023-04-18 Planning and Land Use Management Committee continued item to a date to be determined.
  • 2023-04-07 Planning and Land Use Management Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on April 18, 2023.
  • 2023-02-28 Time Limit has been reinstated pursuant to the Mayor's Executive Directive No. 1 issued on 12/16/2022.
  • 2022-03-01 Planning and Land Use Management Committee continued item to a date to be determined.
  • 2022-02-18 Planning and Land Use Management Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on March 1, 2022.
  • 2021-12-02 Time Limit has been tolled pursuant to the Mayor's Public Order issued on 3/21/2020. (Original Time Limit: 12/29/2021)
  • 2021-11-30 Area Planning Commission (APC) / Central document(s) referred to Planning and Land Use Management Committee.
  • 2021-11-24 Document(s) submitted by Area Planning Commission (APC) / Central, as follows:Central Los Angeles Area Planning Commission report, dated November 23, 2021, relative to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Appeal for the project located at 6415-6419 West Selma Avenue.

Documents (44)

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