On June 13, the Beverly Hills City Council Liaison OpenBH Design and Operating Standards Ad Hoc Subcommittee held its first Community Stakeholder meeting regarding the current and future design of parklets for outdoor dining in the city. The meeting is part of the first in a four-phase plan outlined in the OpenBH Design and Operating Standards Subcommittee’s work plan and focuses on facilitating conversation between business owners, residents, and representatives from Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA), the firm contracted by the city to help design guidelines. Rather than create a singular cookie cutter design for all businesses participating in OpenBH, LOHA is tasked with creating a set of design standards that are informed by public feedback and allow individual design variation. The meeting was the first of several that are planned over the course of the next six months.
While the meeting took place in person at City Hall, participants also had the option to join virtually. Stakeholders were divided into four smaller group workshops in the Council Chamber and on Zoom rooms, with about half a dozen people in each to discuss resiliency, design standards, and safety.
