Members of the Beverly Hills City Council proposed limits on citizens’ ability to respond to developers or lobbyists during public hearings in order to streamline proceedings on Feb. 6, amid criticism from residents concerned about transparency and accountability in local government.
The changes to procedure were debated at the City Council’s most recent Study Session, and involve quasi-judicial proceedings heard by them or standing committees like the Beverly Hills Planning Commission. These can wind up deciding a wide variety of topics ranging from controversial zoning requests, to deadlocked labor disputes with unions representing city employees and more.
