Sky's the limit -- another high-rise comes to L.A.

The Los Angeles City Council today approved a 23-story condominium tower on the site of the vacant Spaghetti Factory restaurant in Hollywood, including two billboard-size signs on the building’s south and west sides. The 305-unit project was approved despite objections from neighborhood critics who argued that it had received too many exceptions to the city’s planning and zoning rules, from higher density to the location of the “supergraphics” –- signs stretched across vinyl on part the building’s exterior. Although the city’s code would have required 512 parking spaces, the developer was allowed to build 416, according to a report prepared for the council on the project. “This project is drastically under-parked,” said neighborhood activist Ziggy Kruse. “This area already has a recognized critical parking shortage.”... [read full story]