The Los Angeles planning department has approved real estate investment company TriWest Developments’ plans for a 128-unit affordable housing project at 1216 Menlo Ave in the Pico-Union neighborhood, according to a planning report this week. At the site, TriWest, which submitted its plans last summer, has planned a six-story development categorized as a Tier-4 project under the city’s Transit-Oriented Communities Incentive Program. The project sits within 750 feet of Metro 754 and Metro Local 30/330 stops near the intersection of Vermont Avenue and Pico Boulevard, qualifying it for Tier-3 status under the city’s TOC program, and it gets an additional boost for being 100 percent affordable.