A Los Angeles superior court judge ruled that the City Council’s attempts to approve new zoning for the stalled Hollywood Target site violated planning rules, in the latest blow to the troubled development.
The ruling means that Target will not be able to finish construction of its store, which has sat empty since 2014.
The judge said city officials failed to properly examine the environmental effects of the new zoning on the larger neighborhood, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Zoning for the Target site originally limited shopping centers to 35 feet in height, unless they incorporated housing. However, the city council voted in 2012 to allow Target an exemption to build a 74-foot-tall structure, saying the retailer would face “unnecessary hardship” if it complied with the height rules.
The decision marks the second time the courts have upheld the zoning rules. A judge previously invalidated the project’s permits in 2014. [LAT] — Subrina Hudson