1715-1721 North Wilcox Conditional Use / ZA-2023-3542-CUB-CUX

2025061311

City of Los Angeles

NOE - Notice of Exemption

6/27/2025

6/27/2025

Dylan Larence

City of Los Angeles / Department of City Planning

City Planning associate

Lead/Public Agency

200 N Spring st
Los Angeles, CA 90012

(213) 978-1182

dylan.lawrence@lacity.org

Michael Gonzales

Gonzales Law Group APC

Representative

Project Applicant / Parties Undertaking Project

707 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 4350
Los Angeles, CA 90017

(213) 279-6965

mike@gonzaleslawgroup.com

34°6'8.9"N 118°19'53"W

1715 Wilcox Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028 and Hollywood blvd

90028

Categorical Exemption

Section 15301 - Class 1

The project site is located at 1715-1721 North Wilcox Avenue, within the Hollywood Community Plan. The project site is 0.47 acres and is currently improved with the Whisky Hotel, a hotel featuring 132 guest rooms that received a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (No_ 205767-1) on March 3, 2025. The proposed project includes the sale and dispensing of a full line of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption in conjunction with a 1, 722-square foot ground floor indoor restaurant with hours of operation from 11 :00 a_m_ to 2:00 a.m., daily; a 528-square foot outdoor patio with hours of operation from 11 :00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., daily; a 1,080-square foot indoor rooftop restaurant with hours of operation from 11 :00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., daily; a 3,210-square foot outdoor rooftop patio with hours of operation from 11 :00 a_m. to 12:00 a.m., daily; and a 2, 117- square foot hotel lobby, with hours of operation from 11 :00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., daily, along with access cabinets within 132 hotel rooms, in an existing hotel. It also includes live entertainment and amplified music within the 1, 722-square-foot ground floor restaurant, with hours of operation from 11 :00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., daily. The project site is zoned both (T)(Q)C2-2D-SN-CPIO and [Q]R5-2D-CPIO. The hotel is located in the (T)(Q)C2-2D-SN-CPIO portion of the site, which spans the area between Wilcox Avenue and Hudson Avenue. The project site is designated for Regional Center Commercial and High Density Residential land uses in the Hollywood Community Plan. As shown in the case file, the project is consistent with the applicable Hollywood Community Plan designation and policies and all applicable zoning designations. The subject site is wholly within the City of Los Angeles, on a site that is approximately 0.47 acres. The surrounding area is characterized by lightly sloping topography, improved streets, and commercial and multi-family residential developments. Abutting properties to the north of the subject property are zoned [Q]R5-2D-CPIO and are improved with multi-family residential uses ranging from nine (9) to 18 dwelling units. Properties abutting the project site to the south are zoned C2-2D-SN-CPIO and are improved with retail uses. The property to the east, across Wilcox Avenue, is zoned C2-2D-SN-CPIO and is improved with the historic Warner Brothers Hollywood Theater (no longer in use). The properties to the west,abutting the site and across Hudson Avenue, are zoned C2-2D-SN-CPIO and are improved with retail and multi-family residential uses. The site is partially located within the Hollywood Signage Supplemental Use District. It is also located in a Special Grading Area, an Adaptive Reuse Incentive Area, a Transit Priority Area, the Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area, an Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone, the Los Angeles State Enterprise Zone, the General Restaurant Beverage Program Eligible Area, Fire District No. 1, the Alquist-Priolo Fault Zone, the Los Angeles Promise Zone, the Hollywood Entertainment Business Improvement District, and is located 0.55 kilometers from the Hollywood Fault zone. The proposed project includes the permitting of an existing building for alcohol sales and live entertainment. As such, the proposed project would not contribute to a cumulative impact. As noise is a localized phenomenon and decreases in magnitude as distance from the source increases, only projects and ambient growth in the nearby area could combine with the proposed project to result in cumulatively considerable noise impacts. With the implementation of the Regulatory Compliance Measures mandated by the City of Los Angeles Noise Ordinance, the project would not result in significant impacts related to noise. Additionally, the applicant submitted a Supplemental Noise Analysis prepared by Acoustical Engineering Services, dated March 7, 2025. This analysis provides additional detail on the nature of each component of the project, as outlined below: • Ground floor indoor restaurant: amplified sound system for live entertainment and ambient background music when live entertainment is not operational with a maximum noise level of 100 dBA (Leq) at 15 feet from the face of the loudspeaker. The interior ground floor restaurant will operate from 11 :00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., daily. Either ambient background music or live entertainment will occur during all operational hours • Ground floor lobby: this area will include ambient background music from 11 :00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., daily. • Ground floor restaurant outdoor patio: this area will include outdoor ambient background music from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., daily. • Rooftop indoor restaurant: this area will include ambient background music from 11 :00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., daily. • Rooftop outdoor restaurant: this area will include outdoor ambient background music from 11 :00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., daily. The noise levels of both the ground floor and rooftop outdoor areas remained the same as those identified in an adopted Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) that was prepared for the original construction and operation of the hotel (Environmental Case No. ENV-2016-2264-MND, dated November 7, 2017). This includes noise associated with people speaking in raised voices and the amplified sound system; the outdoor ambient background music, which was approved for the ground floor under the original grant; and the proposed amplified sound system for live entertainment at the ground level indoor dining area. The estimated noise levels from proposed changes to the original hotel project were found to be less than significant. In addition, the estimated noise levels from the outdoor uses (including the amplified sound system for live entertainment at the ground level indoor dining area) were found to be consistent with the estimated outdoor uses noise levels for the original MND. Operation of the proposed restaurants with alcohol sales and dispensing, and live entertainment would result in similar daily operational noise as the original project and would remain below the significance thresholds. Operational impacts would be less than significant, similar to the original project. The site is previously disturbed and surrounded by development and therefore is not, and has no value as, a habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species. Furthermore, the project does not propose the removal of any trees. Note, no street tree or protected tree may be removed without prior approval of the Board of Public Works/Urban Forestry (BPW) under LAMC Sections 62.161 62.171. At the time of preparation of this CE, no approvals have been given for any tree removals on-site or in the right-of-way by BPW. The project will be subject to Regulatory Compliance Measures (RCMs), which require compliance with the City of Los Angeles Noise Ordinance, pollutant discharge, dewatering, stormwater mitigations; and Best Management Practices for stormwater runoff. These RCMs will ensure the project will not have significant impacts on noise and water. Furthermore, the project does not exceed the threshold criteria established by LADOT for preparing a traffic study. Therefore, the project will not have any significant impacts to traffic. Interim thresholds were developed by DCP staff based on CalEEMod model runs relying on reasonable assumptions, consulting with AQMD staff, and surveying published air quality studies for which criteria air pollutants did not exceed the established SCAQMD construction and operational thresholds. The project site will be adequately served by all public utilities and services given that it involves continued use of an existing building. As mentioned, the project proposes the sale and dispensing of a full line of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption, and the operation of a portion of the site for live entertainment within an existing hotel with 132-guest rooms. Alcohol sales and dispensing are proposed for a 1, 722- square foot ground floor indoor restaurant with hours of operation from 11 :00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., daily, with 62 indoor seats; a 528-square foot outdoor patio with hours of operation from 11 :00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., daily, with 20 outdoor seats; a 1,080-square foot indoor rooftop restaurant with hours of operation from 11 :00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., daily, with 30 indoor seats; a 3,210-square foot outdoor rooftop patio with hours of operation from 11 :00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., daily, with 50 outdoor seats; and a 2,117-square foot hotel lobby, with hours of operation from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., daily, with 47 indoor seats; along with access cabinets within 132 hotel rooms, in an existing hotel. The project also includes live entertainment and amplified music within the 1,722-square-foot ground floor restaurant, with hours of operation from 11 :00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., daily. The project proposes to utilize 86 on-site parking spaces for valet parking service. The proposed project will not be unusual for the vicinity of the subject site, as its proposed uses are consistent with the types of uses on surrounding properties. Thus, there are no unusual circumstances which may lead to a significant effect on the environment. As it relates to development along a Scenic Highway, the only State Scenic Highway within the City of Los Angeles is the Topanga Canyon State Scenic Highway, State Route 27, which travels through a portion of Topanga State Park. State Route 27 is located approximately 15 miles to the west of the subject property. Therefore, the subject site will not create any impacts within a designated state scenic highway. In regards to Hazardous Waste sites, according to Envirostor, the State of California's database of Hazardous Waste Sites, neither the subject site, nor any site in the vicinity, is identified as a hazardous waste site. As such, the project would not be located on a site identified as a hazardous site pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code. The project site has not been identified as a historic resource by local or state agencies , and the project site has not been determined to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, California Register of Historical Resources, the Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Register, and/or any local register. Based on this, the project will not result in a substantial adverse change to the significance of a historic resource and this exception does not apply. Therefore, the project meets all of the Criteria for Section 15301 {Class 1 ). As the project has been found to be categorically exempt from CEQA, the project is not anticipated to have a negative effect on the environment and no mitigation measures are required.