Community members loudly sang the praises of Lynn Hoopingarner on Monday as she was reappointed to the West Hollywood Planning Commission, nearly two years after the former chairwoman’s sudden resignation.
“Whether I have agreed or disagreed with Lynn’s decisions, I have never doubted her intention or motivation,” resident Kathy Blaivis said during public comment. “Decisions were made with conviction to what she felt was best for the community and the residents, period. I never questioned her motivations, and I’m more inclined to question the motivation of those who do.”
The high bar Hoopingarner set for development projects seeking the commission’s approval won admiration from homeowners and neighborhood advocates while often drawing the ire of developers like Faring Capital.
Faring’s Jake Stevens wrote to City Council urging them to stop Hoopingarner’s return to the commission. He argued that the rationale for her resignation two years ago — a remark about the size of Persian weddings — still disqualified her from city service, and he refers to Hoopingarner as “a disgraced, anti-Persian racist.”
Councilmember Lauren Meister rose to her defense, lambasting the letter.
“An unintentionally insensitive comment does not make someone a racist,” Meister said. “Lynn has paid a price and has learned from this experience.”
“The apparent attempt to set up Faring as a perennial victim will not work,” Meister continued. “They seem to have forgotten that Lynn voted to approve Robertson Lane, voted to approve the French Market, and voted to approve the Iranian American Jewish Center residential project. If there are any victims here, it is the residents of this city waiting for Robertson Lane to be built, waiting for the Factory to rise from the dead, and waiting for the French Market to be anything other than a magnet for transients, homeless, or drug addicts.”
“It is a rare person who can fill the role of Planning Commissioner in a way that meets my expectations,” Meister said. “Although sometimes it seems like a thankless task, I speak for many when I say we appreciate your service.”