The Beverly Hills City Council discussed a wildfire protection plan and a request for a Greystone Mansion flower exhibition during its June 9 Study Session.
Beverly Hills Fire Department (BHFD) Chief Gregory Barton and representatives from FlameMapper and Sure Fire Training and Wildfire Consulting presented the city’s first-ever Community Wildland Protection Plan. The plan is an effort to prepare the community’s response for properties located in high fire severity zones and comes in the wake of the Palisades and Eaton fires in January 2025.
Woody Bouska, president of Sure Fire Training, a subcontractor of FlameMapper, said the plan focuses on identifying specific wildfire vulnerabilities in the city, prioritizing mitigation actions, coordinating agencies and stakeholders in the event of a fire, and supporting funding for additional wildfire protection efforts. The plan identified possible risk factors and solutions for different parts of the city.
“The Hills have the greatest wildfire exposure directly because of the steep canyons,” Bouska said. “However, the Flats are also exposed due to ember intrusion, as evidenced in the hazard mapping, and then the South would be exposed with smoke impacts, traffic impacts and community disruptions during a significant wildfire event.”
Santa Ana winds combined with steep canyons can potentially channel wildfire spread toward the city, Bouska said.
The report includes extensive research on the history of wildfire risk in Beverly Hills, wind-driven fire dynamics, how wildfires could impact the denser parts of the city, and a comprehensive emergency notification plan and evacuation routes for every part of the city.
In addition to the protection plan, the city practices various wildfire protection measures, Barton said, including an automated weather station, regular brush clearance, evacuation routes, fire watch cameras that continuously monitor risk and community evacuation drills.
Councilmember Sharona Nazarian expressed resident concerns about potential wildfire spread from Franklin Canyon. BHFD is currently working with multiple agencies to clear brush from the canyon to reduce wildfire risk, Barton said.
“Franklin Canyon is very unique, and we’ve been researching it,” he said. “The people who oversee it are a state agency, but not really a state agency and above it is the [National Park Service]. What we’re looking to do … is to get a letter from the council to the state elected officials and also the federal elected officials to see what we can do and go that route to get it taken care of because it’s a very unique area to get that cleaned out, at least try to get it thinned.”
Barton said that the city is working with hillside residents who have wooden roofs to have them treated every five years to reduce wildfire risk, including residents who cannot afford to replace their roofs and owners of historic residences that cannot be altered.
Barton also said the most important thing residents can do to mitigate wildfire risk is to follow evacuation orders and not return if instructed to evacuate by BHFD. He added that clearing brush and altering homes with fire-resistant materials are essential.
Residents can contact BHFD to schedule one-on-one consultations on their property to identify fire mitigation measures, Barton added.
Vice Mayor Mary Wells called on the community to take part in the city’s efforts to protect against wildfire risk in every way it can.
“For all the work we do and all the investment we make in these resources, which are incredible and it’s comprehensive, it is a partnership with our community, and the community also needs to be a partner in our safety and preparedness,” she said. “We have ‘Just In Case’ events, we have the evacuation drill. It’s such an important thing we’re doing, and I know we’ll continue to do it.”
In other business, the council discussed a request from Fleurs de Villes and the Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau to be the exclusive partner for a flower exhibition at Greystone Mansion from Oct. 28 through Nov. 4 and to have permit waivers of $213,981.
The exhibition will construct floral mannequins of characters from HBO’s “The Gilded Age” for public viewing as the only Southern California stop of the exhibition. The collection will feature a curated designs by local florists, interpreting the series’ distinct characters and opulent style.
The city will be paid 20% of net ticket sales in exchange for the exclusive venue host investment. With $33 daytime tickets and separate ticketed evening events, the city would receive approximately $67,200 from “conservative guest estimates,” according to the staff report. If the tickets sell out and the maximum 2,500 guests attend over the eight-day event, the city will receive $112,000.
Councilmembers shared concerns about how the agreement would benefit the city and how much money the city would actually gain.
Nazarian expressed concerns about the city’s profit share from the tickets, adding that the city has to have strong reasons to provide taxpayer money for private events.
Councilmember Lester Friedman said the agreement should be amended to mandate that Fleurs de Villes hire businesses within the city of Beverly Hills to assist in the floral design to further show the benefit the event has for the city’s business community.
Corman also expressed concerns over the city’s actual profit shares from the event, including “potential earned media.”
“If you flesh out the sponsorships, I don’t see a large amount of money coming to the city as a result of sponsorships,” he said. “The earned media values from HBO and Fleurs de Villes, it seems that that is probably where the rubber meets the road, I don’t know what the value is. We’ve been told it’s hundreds of thousands of dollars. I don’t know.”
In addition to not closing down Greystone Mansion so the venue remains accessible to the public during “The Gilded Age” exhibition, Corman also advocated for shuttle buses to be used to transport patrons.
However, Corman also said he hopes the event will be successful and become “the start of a beautiful friendship” between Beverly Hills and Fleurs de Villes.
The City Council also discussed the proposed operating and capital improvement budget for fiscal year 2026-27 at a June 10 Special Study Session. The budget allocates $109 million to the capital improvement program across 72 distinct projects.
The proposed budget also allocates $189 million to public safety, the city’s greatest expense, including $124.9 million to the Beverly Hills Police Department, a 6.8% increase from the previous fiscal year, and $64.1 million to the Beverly Hills Fire Department, a 0.2% increase.
A projected $10 million deficit over the next two years is going to be made up by a $19 million estimated surplus from last year, Corman said.
Corman suggested amending the proposed allocation for renovating the Beverly Hills Police Department facilities, which includes an $18 million placeholder in 2028-29 to help fund a new locker room. He said he hopes to have a more in-depth conversation on the renovation and determine the allocation at a later time.
“The operating budget is how we pay for the here and now but the CIP is really paying for the future,” Mayor Craig Corman said. “This is a roadmap for the future. It maintains all the infrastructure and all the beautiful things in the city and it plans for upgrades and things we want to do in the future.”
