Robert Silverstein, who fought city hall over Hollywood development and won, dies at 57

For two decades, attorney Robert Silverstein has struck fear — and in some cases, loathing — into the establishment of sanctuary architecture.

During the legal battle, Silverstein convinced a judge to stop construction of the brick on Leanset Boulevard, even though work on the three-story project was underway. In another, he decided to shoot the city’s reception of the Millennium Project, a pair of 39- and 39- and 35-story skyscrapers that were planned near the Capitol Record Building.

In yet another case, Silverstein, working as part of a larger legal team, helped convince a judge to strike down the City Council’s revision of the Hollywood Community Plan, called Transit Corridors. The City Department spent nearly a decade rewriting the plan.

Silverstein died Nov. 13 at age 57, according to a family member. He is survived by his wife and three children, his mother and two brothers. The cause of his death has not been disclosed.

Silverstein’s former clients praise him for his meticulous attention to detail — and for taking on cases against big, wealthy adversaries.

“He’s been saying he’s trying to stick it to the little guy in government,” said Doug Haines, a Hollywood resident who worked with Silverstein on more than 10 projects. “That was the focus of everything, and he meant it.”

The son of a Rabbi, the Silversteins handle cases across California, arising from what they consider to be violations of design plans, historic preservation laws and prominent environmental law, known as its CEQA, or you see. Silverstein represents clients in Baldwin Park, Culver City, Glendora, Palmdale, Pasadena, Santa Ana and other communities.

However, nowhere did he have a greater impact than in Hollywood, where he burst to victory during the blockade of two other mayors – Antonio Villaraigosa and Eric Garcetti.

In 2012, Silverstein overturned a decision that overturned a permit for a 20-story condominium at Hollywood Boulevard and Gower Street. The judge concluded that the city had violated CEQA by failing to make a parking analysis available for review until the day after the city’s project renewal.

Two years later, Silverstein persuaded a judge to reduce the building permits that had increased by 299 In that case, the judge found that the developer wanted by the City to preserve the 1924 restaurant building, but failed to do so. (The company once built a replica instead, saying the original structure was too dilapidated.)

Silverstein’s aggressive concerns have prompted real estate companies and the City Department to be more specific about their filings, said Jerry Neuman, a state attorney who has represented several of Silverstein’s attorneys. But the high legal stakes also had a chilling effect on economic development in Hollywood, he said, with national production companies pursuing projects elsewhere.

“It helped drive money away,” he said.

Some of Silverstein’s critics accuse him of using simple charges as a delaying tactic, forcing real estate developers to use or risk huge financial losses.

Fran Offienhauser, the founder of the historic group Hollywood Hellywood, said that those pictures were inaccurate.

“He didn’t take a case unless the case was worth it,” said Offenhauser, who worked with Silverstein on several cases. “He was saying, ‘I’m not going to take it unless you find me a specific violation of a specific law.'”

Silverstein was born on Oct. 24, 1968. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA in 1990 and a law degree from UC Hastings, now known as UC Law San Francisco, six years later.

Silverstein opened his law office in 2005, taking on clients who had serious Evelio challenges, a process used by government agencies to acquire private property from owners who don’t want to sell.

Haines was confirmed by Silverstein for defeating the Los Angeles Unified School District’s plan to acquire and demolish several homes along the 101 freeway in Hollywood. The district ultimately rejected the request, he said.

“He saved the community from losing all these houses, and people being evicted,” Haines said.

Silverstein also represented Robert Blue, whose luggage store had become the target of Everension Domain information by the City Agency.

City officials are seeking the site of the Hollywood and Vine project, which included a 300 percent hotel and hundreds of residential units.

Silverstein challenged the Redevelopment agency’s vote on the law, arguing that the area and surrounding area were irrelevant. ” Finally, the regeneration officials reached an agreement with the blue so that the project was built around his property business, which his family had owned since 1946.

Silverstein also represented Molly’s Burgers on Vine Street, which the city’s redevelopment agency wanted to turn the site into an eight-story office building.

The Times reported in 2010 that the agency began planning to spend $120,000 to move the burger joint. After Silverstein challenged the trial, the reconstruction agency and developers agreed to provide the owner with 1.1 billion.

“Robert was an old-school lawyer,” said Bill Delvac, who represented the developer in the Burger standoff case. “If his client wanted to fight, he would fight. If his client wanted to settle down, he would stay.”

In the target law, Silverstein succeeded in showing that the city had allowed the construction of a 74-foot building on a site where such projects were built at 35 feet. Land projects along that section of Sunset Boulevard would be tall if they included housing.

Target went through a new approval process, and the project was finally completed and opened.

While working on the challenge in Hollywood’s Plan, Silverstein found purpose in the rhetoric the city used to explain its push for long-term, residential development. The city, in its plan to find growth in Hollywood, depends on the estimate made in 2004 by the Southern California assn. to governments.

Silverstein argued that the environmental analysis should have included the 2010 American data, which shows that the population of Hollywood has decreased in the last decade. The judge woke up last time, striking the show.

“Robert’s dedication ensured that the community’s concern for environmental accuracy was taken seriously, and his work set a high standard for how the city planned this town, one of the three groups challenging the Hollywood plan.

Eveloff said Silverrein’s legal defeat required more attention in accordance with laws governing access to public meetings, the release of public documents and comprehensive development.

“When they knew he was going to be involved, they had to pay more attention,” he said. “They knew they had to do it right.”

Silverstein continued to fight city hall following the election of Mayor Karen Bass, representing Eveloff’s party as it challenged his emergency order on homelessness. The group called the Declaration a “gross and illegal expansion of the powers of Mayors,” one that unfairly ends the bidding and leasing processes.

A superior court judge disagreed, concluding that the ordinance did not comply with city or state laws, and the home improvement later appealed. Bass canceled his order last month.