Two land use activists have filed a lawsuit to halt the 62-foot-tall mixed use Palm Project at 9001 Santa Monica Boulevard. Jeanne Dobrin and Allegra Allison contend that by patch-fixing the City’s general plan to increase maximum height from 45 feet to 62 feet, the West Hollywood City Council engaged in "spot zoning," an illegal practice.

Even Councilmember Jeffrey Prang seemed uneasy with the act. "While I like the project," he said. "In approving it, we opened up about 49 other properties to increased height of 62 feet. We didn’t increase zoning, per se, but we expanded density potential with no independent review, debate, or public process."

Consequently, those properties have an unfair advantage over other applications which must still conform to the original 45 foot limit. This could have been avoided if taller height districts had been implemented instead, but this would have required more time and local input.

The pair bringing the suit have hired John B. Murdock to represent them. Murdock was also involved in Playa Vista and the Lincoln Place (Santa Monica) land use suits.