New Commissioners

The Council unanimously voted to appoint three new City commissioners: Lisa Kay Schwartz, Sharona Nazarian and Terri Smooke. Each will be appointed for an initial two-year term.

Schwartz will join the Traffic and Parking Commission, with her term beginning on July 1, 2021. She will replace outgoing Commissioner David Seidel, whose term ends June 30, 2021.

Nazarian will join the Public Works Commission beginning on Jan. 1, 2021. She will replace outgoing Commissioner Jerrold S. Felsenthal, whose term ends Dec. 30.

Smooke will join the Design Review Commission on Jan. 1, 2021. She will replace outgoing Commissioner Mahnaz Sharifi Ardani, whose term ends Dec. 30.

Beverly Hills Creative Offices

The Council voted unanimously to approve an agreement between the City and California-based environmental firm Dudek for a purchase order in the not-to-exceed amount of $472,626 for consulting services to prepare environmental documentation for the proposed Beverly Hills Creative Offices Specific Plan Project. All associated costs will be paid for by the project applicant, Beverly Hills Land Company, LLC.

The project proposal is for 11 new office buildings that range from three to four stories in height on a former railroad right-of-way parcel that runs parallel to North Santa Monica Boulevard (9220 N. Santa Monica Blvd.) and is commonly referred to as “Lot 12.” The proposed project would require a General Plan Amendment, a Zoning Map and Zone Text Amendment, the adoption of a new Specific Plan, the approval of a Vesting Tentative Tract Map, and a Development Agreement. In moving forward, the project applicant is also proposing to transfer ownership of a second parcel (Lot 13) to the City to use for the public benefit.

Brian Goldberg Case

While the federal court may have ruled this month in favor of the City with respect to former Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education President Brian Goldberg’s civil action against the City brought in 2016, it was not without cost. “We did spend a fair amount of money on this case,” stated City Attorney Larry Wiener. Over the course of five years, Wiener said the City spent $308,000 in its efforts to prevail.

Goldberg had claimed that he was falsely arrested and his Constitutional rights violated related to his 2015 arrest on misdemeanor battery chargers. At the time of Goldberg’s arrest, he had been vocal in his capacity as Board of Education president in tying then Police Chief Dave Snowden to a Conflict of Interest scandal involving private security company Evidence Based, Inc., which had a contract with BHUSD.

More Legal Fees

The Council agreed to authorize a change purchase order to pay an additional $170,000 to Dapeer, Rosenblit & Litvak to provide legal services related to the prosecution of municipal code violations. The additional appropriation of funds increases the total amount to be paid to the law firm to $770,000.

“Due to greater than expected costs of prosecuting municipal code violations in Fiscal Year 2019/2020, primarily as a result of civil cases regarding party houses, AIRBNB-type rentals, unlicensed drug rehabilitation facilities, and lobbyist prosecutions, a change purchase order is required,” states the July 21 staff report, which was authored by City Attorney Larry Weiner.

Helping Hotels

The Council unanimously voted to defer payment of the municipal surcharge by hotels, similar to what it previously voted to do with respect to the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) paid by hotels. The municipal surcharge at hotels is in addition to the TOT. The decision was made in an effort to help hotels, which are suffering financially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the July 21 staff report, which was authored by Budget and Revenue Officer Don Harrison and Management Analyst Arlene Veluz, hoteliers originally believed that the municipal surcharge was deferred under the same terms as the TOT.

In voting to adopt the resolution ratifying the Director of Emergency Services Order No. 3, hotels can defer payment of the municipal surcharge for the months of February, March and April in the same manner as the City Council deferred TOT payments for those three months. In order to qualify for the deferral, the hotel must enter into a written payment agreement with the City as follows: the February 2020 and March 2020 municipal surcharge shall be paid in six equal monthly installment payments by the first of each month beginning Oct. 1 through March 1, 2021. The April municipal surcharge must be paid by Aug. 30.

“The fiscal impact of this item would be a loss of investment revenue of about $2,000 derived from development agency fees/municipal surcharges for the months of February 2020 and March 2020,” states the staff report.

Legislative Support

The Council voted to accept recommendations codified by Policy and Management Analyst Cynthia Owens to take a position on a variety of federal and state legislative bills. The recommendations mirror what was agreed upon by the Beverly Hills City Council Liaison Legislative/Lobby Committee of Vice Mayor Bob Wunderlich and Councilman John Mirisch.

Among the bills the Council voted to support were two dealing specifically with the COVID-19 pandemic, including: Assembly Bill 1436 (Chiu) – Tenancy: Rental Payment Default: State of Emergency: COVID-19; and Senate Bill 1410 (Caballero) – COVID-19 Emergency: Tenancies. With respect to AB 1436, the City would face a potential decrease to business tax revenue from property owners due to potential deferral of rental payments for the duration of the pandemic. SB 1410 would prohibit the landlord from serving a notice terminating the tenancy during the state of emergency.

The Council also voted to take a stand opposing two bills, unless amended, including a bill dealing with housing: Senate Bill 902 (Wiener) – Planning and Zoning: Housing Development: Density. The bill would authorize a local government to pass an ordinance, notwithstanding any local restrictions on adopting zoning ordinances, to zone any parcel for up to 10 units of residential density per parcel, at a height specified by the local government in the ordinance, if the parcel is located in a transit-rich area, a jobs-rich area, or an urban infill site. “While this bill does not require a local jurisdiction to increase the amount of units that may be built on a residential parcel, it does grant a local jurisdiction the ability to override a voter approved initiative on zoning. This would not necessarily be in the best interest of the City,” states the staff report, which was authored by Owens.

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Water Bond Refinancing

The City is poised to sell $68 million in water revenue bonds next week with the formal closing to occur on Aug. 12. The Water Revenue Bonds Series 2020A and Water Revenue Refunding Bonds Series 2020B will be used to finance and refinance certain improvements to the City’s Water System. 

As identified in the City’s Fiscal Year 2019/20 Capital Improvement Budget, $32 Million worth of improvements and upgrades will be made to the Beverly Hills Water system. Such improvements include upgrades to the City’s Foothill Water Treatment Plant, the construction of groundwater wells, and the acquisition of related equipment to enhance the City’s water supply reliability.

“This is an excellent time to be going into the market with near record low interest rates. Assuming no major changes in the market and with our AAA rating, we anticipate the final results will be even better than our relatively conservative estimates this evening,” Director of Finance Jeff S. Muir told the City Council at the July 14 formal session.

According to Muir, the Water Revenue Bonds Series 2020A will be new debt issued to support the Water Enterprise Plan and water system improvements and will increase the City’s outstanding debt by an estimated $32 million. The Water Revenue Refunding Bonds Series 2020B will refund the 2012 Water Revenue Bonds and result in $5.6 million in gross savings ($4.6 million net) for the City.

The plan to issue new debt and refund existing debt was brought to the City’s Audit and Finance Committee on June 19, where it received consensus to proceed to the full City Council.

“To be able to refinance these bonds and get this level of savings, I am all in,” said Councilwoman Lili Bosse.

Transparency in Elections

The Council unanimously supported expanding the City’s current regulation on Ballot Measure Committees to also include Independent Expenditure Committees. Following direction by Council members, staff will draft an ordinance for a vote at a future City Council meeting.

Per the July 14 staff report authored by City Attorney Larry Friedman, “Independent Expenditure Committees are not subject to the City’s contribution limitations because, according to the United States Supreme Court, they do not pose a significant risk of corrupting a candidate and therefore there is not a compelling purpose to limit the First Amendment rights of donors to these Committees.” Mayor Lester Friedman had requested Council consider expanding the current regulation in response to a discussion which originated with the Sunshine Task Force. In the wake of the March 2020 election, the Council fielded significant criticism after the political action committee (PAC) named Beverly Hills United to Support Bosse and Gold for Council 2020 flooded the community with a high-end advertising campaign in anticipation of the March election, despite each candidate having committed to a voluntary cap on campaign spending. Numerous donors to that PAC each contributed $10,000. Both Councilman Julian Gold and Councilwoman Lili Bosse, who were reelected last March for a third term to City Council, disavowed any connection to the PAC.

In moving forward with an ordinance which requires Independent Expenditure Committees to fulfill the same requirements as Ballot Measure Committees, there will be several new protocols in place. Most meaningful, within 72 hours after a payment is made of at least $250, the independent committees will soon be required to file a form with the City Clerk that includes the name and address of the committee, the Fair Political Practices Committee (FPPC) identification number, and the name of the treasurer of the committee. Such information would be in addition to the campaign reports required by the FPPC. In addition, the committees will also be required to file additional reports with the City Clerk for the period that ends 30 days before the election, and also for the period that ends 10 days before the election. In the last 10 days before an election, committees will be required to file a report on the next business day upon receiving a contribution of at least $1,000.

With respect to advertising, the ordinance will require committees to print the names of all of those who have donated at least $10,000 on all material as well as state that more information regarding contributions may be found on the City’s website (www.beverlyhills.org).

“The City tightly regulates individual election contributions to eliminate the role of money in local politics. This proposal would serve that purpose,” Mark Elliot wrote in a letter to the City Council concerning the agenda item.

Solid Waste Rate Increase

Beverly Hills residents and businesses will see solid waste service rates increase beginning on July 1, 2021. The five-year plan to increase rates starting next year will mark the first time in a decade that the City has increased the associated fees.

The Solid Waste Enterprise Fund relies solely on revenues generated by fees to cover the costs of residential and commercial solid waste removal and processing and the proposed five-year phase-in rate adjustment uses reserve funds to minimize the impact on ratepayers.

In forecasting customer rates, Director of Public Works Shana Epstein said that a single-family home on an 11,000-square-foot lot which now pays a bi-monthly rate of $114.40, would begin to pay $124.12 on July 1, 2021. That rate would gradually increase annually until July 1, 2027, when such customers would pay $182.50 bi-monthly. Rates for multifamily units are expected to double from the existing bi-monthly rate of $36.62 to $72.87 on July 1, 2027.

The City’s new Solid Waste Franchise Agreement with Athens Services will start on April 1, 2022, with a 61 percent contract rate increase. After the eight-year contract term, the City has the option to extend for up to 24 additional months until March 31, 2032. In tandem with the additional fees, Athens will provide two new services for commercial customers: a separate 65-gallon organics cart service and implementation of a Sunday service surcharge. Organics collection is already offered to residents as part of the current agreement.

In presenting a trio of options to the City Council for consideration, including starting the rate increase on Jan. 1, 2021, Epstein advised Council that staff would need time to proceed with the Proposition 218 public notice process for implementation of Solid Waste rate adjustments. As part of the public outreach process, there will be two town halls as well as multiple public meetings in order to allow for significant public outreach.

While none of the Council members favored a rate increase, particularly in light of the financial impacts of COVID-19, all members agreed that delaying any rate increase for as long as possible was the best option.

“January seems too soon to me given everyone’s economic reality in the months ahead,” said Councilwoman Lili Bosse.

In delaying the rate increases by six months, Epstein said the City could realize $500,000 in savings by removing a planned street resurfacing expenditure from Fiscal Year 2020/21. However, Councilmembers were not in favor of setting that precedent.

The post City Council Round-Up appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“This is really not a sales tax increase. It’s a revenue protection measure,” said Councilman John Mirisch at the July 14 City Council Study Session.

The upcoming ballot measure, which requires a majority of the vote to pass, would only be levied if a sales tax initiative for either Los Angeles County or a Special District qualifies for an upcoming election and is approved by Los Angeles voters. In the absence of such a measure, county agencies would be able to take money that would otherwise go to Beverly Hills.

Of the current  9.5 percent sales tax on all purchases made in the City, 8.5 percent goes to the state, Los Angeles County, and other special districts (such as Metro for Measure M), while the remaining one percent is returned to the City. If the proposed additional 3/4 cent sales tax does go into effect, the City would retain the entire increase as general fund revenue.

In forecasting out potential revenue from the 3/4 cent sales tax increase, the July 14 staff report authored by Policy and Management Analyst Cynthia Owens forecast a $15.9 million increase for Fiscal Year 2020/21. The total potential revenue to the City from sales tax, if the measure passes, would be $37.6 million. In making that forecast, Owens compared that to the total potential revenue from sales tax the City would have realized for FY 2018/19, which would have been $65.5 million. The FY 20/21 revenue includes a “realistic” predicted decrease due to COVID-19, according to Owens.

“It should be noted that the maximum sales tax rate increase in Beverly Hills could decline in future years below the 3/4 cents currently available due to other future county sales tax measures,” Owens warned the City Council.

Given that the maximum tax rate allowed under the law in L.A. County is 10.25 percent, Owens characterized the proposed upcoming Beverly Hills ballot measure as a safety protection measure in order to allow the City to keep those potential sales tax revenues for local purposes.

While the City Council was united in its direction to staff to prepare the measure in time for the November ballot, all five Council members expressed displeasure with having to bring a tax to the voters. Particularly given how impacted everyone’s finances are as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Council members underscored the importance of effectively crafting the ballot measure language.

“In my mind this is unfortunate,” said Vice Mayor Bob Wunderlich, who criticized the public policies that had placed Beverly Hills in this position. “Only the people who don’t take this protective measure will be bearing the burden for others.”

Of the 88 cities in Los Angeles County, Owens said that 31 cities have approved sales tax rates above the Los Angeles County base amount of 9.5 percent, with 25 of those having approved increases up to the maximum amount of 10.25 percent. Most recently, on July 6, the West Hollywood City Council voted in support of placing a 3?4 cent sales tax initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot.

“I think the appetite for that 3/4 cents in sales tax is going to be very high from any of the districts that surround us. Now it doesn’t protect us from the state, but certainly it does protect us from the county and Metro, and anybody like that. I think this is a good idea,” said Councilman Julian Gold.

The Council is expected to vote on the ballot measure language later this month in order that it can be ready by the Aug. 7 county deadline to qualify for the November ballot.

The post Beverly Hills Voters Could Find Sales Tax Measure on November Ballot appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The proposed 57-unit project, which is in the City of Los Angeles, was originally scheduled to be heard by the Department of City Planning on July 22. However, City Planning Associate Michelle Carter told the Courier that the hearing is being postponed.

“The date of the hearing will be sometime in mid-August with the correct amount of assisted living units, which is 15,” said developer Leonard Rosenblatt, a Beverly Hills resident for over 50 years who helms the Beverly Hills-based Rosenblatt Properties founded by his father. “There will be another notice given out with the 500-foot radius when the date is certain.”

When heard, it will mark the second time the proposed senior living facility goes before the department according to Rosenblatt, who told the Courier the previous iteration had just one assisted living care facility.

“We have changed this thing considerably,” he said. “It’s more of a higher-end senior housing project. In my opinion, this is going to be the nicest senior housing project.”

As listed on the now defunct “Notice of Public Hearing” letter sent to property owners and occupants within a 500-foot radius of the project, the proposed facility had a total of nine assisted living care units and 48 units for independent living.

The 73,500-square-foot proposed high-end senior facility, which will include a multiplicity of amenities, including a pool, solarium, gardens and yoga studio, will take over four parcels currently occupied by four existing two-story residential buildings, each with four units. “I call it an island. It’s the only undeveloped site on that corner,” Rosenblatt said.

Beverly Hills resident Sandy Richman, who has lived near Roxbury Park for the past 17 years, credits the neighborhood’s residents with having stopped the project last time it went before the Planning Department in August 2019.

“People view it as one neighborhood,” described Los Angeles resident Cheri Lewis, who has lived two blocks from Roxbury Park since 2004.

“It’s a heavily trafficked area and this would add hundreds more people who are coming here on a daily basis,” Lewis told the Courier. “When the City of Los Angeles wants to encourage elder care facilities, this is not what they want to do. It’s not appropriate for this neighborhood. It’s too big for this neighborhood. He just wants to push it through under the guise of saying it’s good for old people.”

After getting the approval of both the SORO Land Use Committee and the entire Board the last time he tried to develop the project, which now includes 113 parking spaces on-site, Rosenblatt said the City denied the project and subsequently denied it on appeal.

Both Lewis and Richman said there was staunch neighborhood opposition.

“It is unfortunate, but only residents 500 feet of the project are notified of the proposed hearing,” Richman told the Courier. “The consequences of this construction and ultimate impact of the project will affect many more residents and they too should be able to have a say in the decision.”

While Beverly Hills doesn’t have jurisdiction to govern the project’s development, City Planning Ryan Gohlich said the City may once again submit a letter to the City of Los Angeles about the project identifying areas of study or concern, as it has done in the past.

“We generally do not take strong decisions on projects unless directed to do so by the City Council,” he told the Courier. “We monitor projects that are in surrounding areas around Beverly Hills and depending on the scope of the project we do submit comments.”

Rosenblatt downplayed the concerns of neighbors, stating: “Mostly it’s negative because they don’t like change.”

“I’m looking to do something really beautiful that maybe my wife and I will move into one day,” added Rosenblatt, who last developed a senior housing project in Encino 40 years ago with his father.

The post Residents Oppose Proposed Senior Housing Facility Near Roxbury Park appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

For the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (The Wallis) in Beverly Hills, which took steps to curate a list of artists who offer online performances, classes and talks in the weeks following March’s Safer at Home order, the impacts of COVID-19 have been dramatic.

“I think everybody in the arts world is struggling at the moment,” The Wallis’ Artistic Director Paul Crewes told the Courier. “Community for me, in the arts, has always been about sharing experiences.”

While the shared moments of awe, communal laughter and wonderment intrinsic to live performances, both for the audience and performers, may be on an extended intermission, The Wallis is actively working on innovative ways to bring content to audiences. Available online (https://thewallis.org/Streaming) are a bevy of performances created by artists who continue to produce works remotely.

“People are coming up with very interesting and unique ways to create the works,” Crewes described. “They want to share the work that they’ve created, and we help to share.”

The bounty of offerings for people to enjoy include musical and theatrical performances, podcasts, and virtual dance classes.

For Crewes, “The Encounter,” which was available on demand for free through The Wallis from May 15 to May 25, showed just how powerfully performing arts can also translate digitally. The original production by Simon McBurney, the star and creator, was mounted during Crewe’s first season with The Wallis at the 500-seat Bram Goldsmith Theater.

“It was brilliant in both formats,” Crewes described of the one-man show.

On July 12, The Wallis will live stream “Hershey Felder, Beethoven” from Florence, Italy. It will mark the second time the multi-talented performer will do a ticketed live stream event which will benefit The Wallis during this time of quarantine. All other programmed offerings from The Wallis since the shutdown began have been free.

Directed by Joel Zwick, Felder’s dramatic journey into the great German composer’s life will include a bounty of music by Ludwig van Beethoven, including excerpts from “Moonlight Sonata.” Felder, a talented pianist, is known for his nuanced portrayals of composers. Tickets ($55 per household) include access to the live performance which begins at 5 p.m. and an additional 72 hours of on-demand viewing access.

Crewes estimated that The Wallis sold around 550 tickets to Felder’s previous live stream performance when he took on the role of Irving Berlin this past Mother’s Day. “So, it was a full house,” he said.

In tandem with creating a new calendar of performances from January 2021 and beyond, Crewes said The Wallis is continuing to explore virtual avenues that engage the audience. Particularly given that no one knows quite how long the restrictions – and inherent dangers of COVID-19 – will sustain, Crewes said that figuring out the best ways to share content is of increasing importance.

One of the more novel offerings recently launched at The Wallis is “Fairyland Foibles,” which premiered June 27. Produced by The Wallis Studio Ensemble, which is part of GRoW at The Wallis, the digital soap opera/radio play offers a unique twist where the audience gets to have a say on how the plot develops. For 24 hours after each episode premieres on YouTube, viewers can vote on Facebook about how the fairy tale continues for the next two or three chapters. The 20-minute episodes air on Saturdays at 7 p.m. through Aug. 9.

“We felt very strongly that that was a piece we were missing,” said Madeleine Dahm, director of The Wallis Studio Ensemble. “Hopefully this creates more of a sense of connection for audiences to the work. For us it was really about trying to find this sense of connection.”

After the first episode, viewers were asked to determine which of the characters ended up in the dungeon. Dahm said the choice came down to one vote and then the Ensemble had less than a week to prepare the second episode.

“Essentially we have no idea. And then the writers have to rewrite that section or write it from scratch…and the actors quickly learn lines and have a rehearsal,” she told the Courier. “It’s a very tight process, particularly for the actor who has to take on a part and they’re not quite sure what they’re going to get.”

For more information or to check out a bounty of online performing arts offeringsvisit thewallis.org.

The post Virtual Programming Draws Audiences to The Wallis During COVID-19 appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“Given that we are in a prolonged state of emergency, the City will likely have reduced revenues for the next 18 to 24 months, which will impact continued levels of service,” City Auditor Eduardo Luna wrote in his staff report. “In this environment, the City Auditor should be more forward looking, as opposed to auditing programs that operated in previous fiscal years.”

In making his presentation on Tuesday to the liaison, which including Mayor Lester Friedman and Vice Mayor Bob Wunderlich, Luna proposed undertaking two to three audits for the coming fiscal year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Luna said his office had only been able to complete four of eight performance audits as identified in July 2019.

According to Luna, his office has 4,400 available audit hours to conduct performance audits, monitor outside audit engagements and oversee the Trust & Innovation Portal for Fiscal Year 2020/21, all of which will be done in-house given the current budget situation. He recommended undertaking performance audits which could center around allegations of potential fraud, waste and abuse in City operations, in addition to researching suggestions for improving City government.

Wunderlich proposed that Luna’s office focus on zero-based budget reviews to identify cost-cutting opportunities given that that pandemic has forced the City to rethink operations. Secondary to that, he suggested taking a look at the higher ticket budget items, including the City’s use of contractors. “Are we getting the right amount of output for the right amount of dollars that we’re spending?” he posited.

The third avenue Wunderlich suggested the City explore centered around the “non-dollar amount” of operating budget success in meeting objectives, such as enforcement in a number of different arenas.

Maximizing cost-savings opportunities is primary for the Council right now, particularly given that its new operating budget represents a decrease of $30.3 million from the previous fiscal year.

While a high-ticket item, Mayor Friedman advocated not shifting the number of Police Department take-home vehicles during the department’s “transition period” to a new chief. City Manager George Chavez estimated that approximately 35 to 40 Police Department vehicles, out of 100, are take-home vehicles.

“I’m concerned that we’re going to be asking the Police Department to come up with some savings for the budget, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be coming by way of personnel and time spent on the job,” Friedman said in asking Chavez if it would be possible to delay cuts to the department related to its stock of vehicles. “I just don’t know where we’re going to get that.”

Chavez said the real savings opportunities would come in terms of how the City structures the department, including eliminating certain positions. Throughout the City, he estimated that between 35 to 40 employees would participate in the early retirement incentive program. In total, the City employs approximately 1,000 people, including both full time and part time.

“We’re going to be facing a significant amount of employee reductions right now with the voluntary separation program,” Chavez said. “The question becomes, are we going to restructure the organization to continue to deliver services? Looking at audits for things that we have done traditionally in the past, I don’t know if that’s the best use of Eduardo’s team’s time at the moment. The question becomes, once we get settled in, are we doing it right?”

While no one knows just how long the pandemic will last and how long Beverly Hills’ “virtual City Hall” will continue to operate, Luna said that now is the time to consider best practices.

Chavez said that completing last year’s audits, including the real estate audit, would also be helpful in further realizing savings.

“I think the opportunity that we have is that we’re in this phase right now where there are some efficiencies that we may have been able to discover that are a result of us telecommuting in this pandemic era,” Mayor Friedman said. “How do we carry those over in a post-pandemic era?”

The post Beverly Hills Looks To Maximize Operations Efficiency appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

While L.A. County beaches will reopen on July 6 at 5 a.m., Newsom said the indoor closures would continue for at least the next three weeks, devastating news for many Beverly Hills businesses. 

“This will be the nail in the coffin for more businesses than we’d like to think,” Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Johnson told the Courier. “I had a lot of restaurants who called and said they may close. I think a lot of restaurants were on the edge, and this could be what puts them over the edge.” 

While patio dine-in, delivery and curbside pick-up is still permitted with County Health guidelines and safety protocols in place, just over 70 establishments in Beverly Hills offer outdoor seating and dining according to Marketing and Economic Sustainability Manager Laura Biery. 

“It was obviously a very sudden announcement,” Biery told the Courier, underscoring how restaurants had been reopened for just a month for indoor dining before Gov. Newsom ordered their closure again this week. “It’s obviously very, very challenging.” 

Héritage Fine Wines over Jordane Andrieu, who opened his French bistro and wine bar at the corner of Little Santa Monica and Canon six years ago, told the Courier he was considering closing again as a result of the latest mandate. Andrieu had initially closed Héritage in March and only recently reopened following the county’s directive that inside dining could resume on May 29. However, with just five tables outside, he didn’t believe it would be sufficient to justify remaining open. 

“Everyone is very frustrated and overwhelmed,” he told the Courier, underscoring how challenging it was for his staff to work in these conditions of uncertainty. “It’s frustrating for everyone to see how the decisions are taken with immediate action.” 

As a small business owner, Andrieu expressed sympathy with his fellow restaurateurs with much bigger operations who had been exponentially impacted by the immediate shutdown order. 

In an effort to help restaurants adapt to operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City recently launched the OpenBH program (www.BeverlyHills.org/OpenBH), which helps retailers and businesses access additional outdoor space. According to Biery, the City has issued nine OpenBH permits and received applications for an additional eight locations. 

Johnson said that many restaurants had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to transform their facilities to a level that’s acceptable and safe for customers and staff. 

“We were expecting another round, but we really thought it was going to be in the fall or the winter,” he said. 

While there is no way to yet know just how long Gov. Newsom will extend this renewed closure, Johnson predicted that it would depend on the number of COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks. In two weeks, the County will likely see the impacts of just how people choose to behave during the Fourth of July weekend. 

And while the renewed closures will assuredly negatively impact Beverly Hills businesses and City revenue, at the moment, there is nothing the City can do to get around the rules, even with all the precautions in place. 

“It’s obviously a big setback, but peoples’ safety is the number one priority,” Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau CEO Julie Wagner told the Courier. “We have to do what we have to do. It’s unfortunate for the restaurants because we have a huge amount of restaurants and people were really ramped up.” 

The post Indoor Dining Ceases in Beverly Hills, Again appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Councilman John Mirisch, the single “no” vote, said he did not support the budget given that it failed to reimagine operations in a more efficient way. 

The new operating expenditure budget represents a decrease of $30.3 million from the 2019/20 operating expenditures of $449.1 million (including interfund transfers). The operating budget for the fiscal year 2019/20 included total revenues of $515.2 million. 

While the current operating budget, which draws more revenue than the total amount budgeted to expend, may give the appearance of relative fiscal prosperity, the City’s Capital Improvement Budget, which will be considered for adoption in July, will use a great portion of the apparent surplus. In addition, the City’s General Fund provides a more accurate glimpse into the City’s need to draw its purse strings tighter. 

The City’s General Fund, over which the Council has discretion, is one of several City funds, each of which must be used for specific purposes. General Fund revenues, which are expected to decrease by 17.1 percent (not including interfund transfers) over the adopted FY 2019/20 budget according to Budget and Revenue Officer Don Harrison, have been particularly impacted by the COVID- 19 pandemic. Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) is slated to decrease by $20.1 million; sales tax is forecast to drop $13.7 million; and business tax is projected to decrease $12.3 million. 

“We are in uncharted territory. This is something that we haven’t experienced,” said Mayor Lester Friedman. 

This year’s proposed General Fund expenditures of $221.1 million (excluding interfund transfers) represent a $25.1 million decrease from the 2019/20 budget. In fact, according to Director of Finance Jeff Muir, the City had originally expected to increase this year’s General Fund fiscal budget before the pandemic hit. 

Staff worked with the COVID-19 Ad Hoc committee to develop a strategy of using multiple avenues for reducing expenditures. In addition to transferring $6 million from the infrastructure Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) fund to the General Fund, such measures include an eight percent budget reduction in departments’ supplies and services accounts, implementing a hiring freeze for non-critical positions, and suspending charges and replacements of various vehicles and equipment. 

Even with the anticipated $19.9 million budget balancing measures, the Council still needed to decide during its June 29 meeting how to alleviate a forecasted $4.2 million General Fund budget deficit. 

While the Council stopped short of taking specific measures to address the budget deficit, which the Council learned just before the vote would increase millions as a result of higher annual insurance renewals, members were united in passing a balanced budget. The Council also agreed to allocate an additional $100,000 to its Nurse Practitioner Program as well as $418,000 to enhance its stockpile of extra emergency food and water supplies. 

“At the end of the day, I think the budget that we approve has to be balanced,” emphasized Councilman Julian Gold, the first member of the City Council to comment on the proposed budget. He emphasized that in moving forward with budget talks in the coming months, Council and staff should consider how to best replace services that had been taken from the budget. “I do think that we have to be mindful of the fact that we are moving money around to balance our budget.” 

The budget passed by Council included all salary and benefit increases approved through MOUs since the previous budget adoption as well as $5 million to pay down the City’s unfunded PERS liability. To alleviate the forecasted $4.2 million General Fund budget deficit, the Council agreed to increase the amount required to be reduced from employee costs by $2.1 million and allow $2.1 million to be funded through its Budget Stabilization Reserves. 

Harrison projected the City would realize a $2.4 million net savings this year if 25 employees avail themselves of an early retirement offer. There also may be the opportunity to realize more savings by carving further into funding for Capital Improvement Projects. 

“Given the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden and unforeseen economic impacts, along with the disruption of normal City operations resulting from the recent protests, consideration of the Capital Improvement Budget has been separated from the operating budget and will be brought to the City Council for consideration and adoption in July,” stated the June 29 staff report, which was authored by Harrison and Muir. 

In anticipation of approving the budget, the Council also unanimously voted on June 29 to approve agreements with three business partners that help the City thrive. The agreements included: $148,000 to the Rodeo Drive Committee for marketing purposes (up $18,000 from the previous year); $304,000 to the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce for business attraction and retention (down $43,000 from the previous year); and $2.7 million to the Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau (CVB) to promote the City (down $1.9 million from the previous year). 

CVB CEO Julie Wagner told the Courier that after learning the City was projecting a 40 percent decrease in TOT revenue, the CVB’s board and staff “hunkered down” to proactively shave 40 percent from its budget. 

“Everything we’ve done we’ve done voluntarily,” Wagner told the Courier. 

In addition to furloughing seven employees on April 2, the CVB cancelled most of its international endeavors and asked its vendors to pause. In addition, the CVB cancelled all sales missions and trade shows, while still working on avenues to help keep Beverly Hills forefront in people’s minds. 

Wagner said the CVB was preparing to launch a new campaign later this summer entitled “Something to Feel Good About,” which centers around safety, self-care, shopping local, and simple pleasures. 

“I just think it’s going to be a hard six to 12 months,” Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Johnson told the Courier. “We always look forward to collaborating and working with the City on different projects that they deem necessary. We will deliver our continued excellence while working through this incredibly challenging and yet opportune time that we’re all facing.” 

The post City Council Approves $418.8 Million Budget for Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

In the wake of the rising numbers of those infected with COVID-19, over 105,000 in Los Angeles County, including 247 locally, the City of Beverly Hills is poised to begin issuing monetary citations for those who flout the law.

“We are in an unprecedented time now as the numbers continue to climb. The City is ready to issue citations if there isn’t compliance,” City spokesperson Keith Sterling told the Courier. “While we are always willing to educate the community first, what we want to get across is the numbers are rising and our primary focus continues to be the health of our community. We do have the option of citation and we will use that option.” 

The penalty for not wearing a face covering when within six feet of others not in the same household is an administrative citation which carries a fine of $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second offense, and $500 for the third and subsequent offenses. Beverly Hills Code Enforcement Officers, Rangers and Police are all authorized to issue the citations. 

“As we continue to see the number of cases rise, it’s critically important that we all work together to promote public health,” Mayor Lester Friedman told the Courier. 

While education continues to be the priority, Sterling said that the City is preparing to move forward with beginning to issue citations to those who fail to comply with the new City law, which went into effect on April 21. The City originally issued an order requiring people to wear some type of face covering in an effort to promote public health and reduce the spread of COVID-19 on April 10, but subsequently amended it to include a potential monetary fine. 

According to Human Services Administrator Jim Latta, Rangers average 1,140 face coverings enforcements per week in Beverly Hills parks. 

“Enforcement includes education about the face covering requirement, an offer of a mask, and then (if still failing to comply) individuals are given the option of leaving the park or receiving a citation,” Latta told the Courier. “For the most part they disperse and if someone doesn’t have a mask, we provide them a mask.” 

“Providing masks have proven to be an effective tool to encourage compliance,” he added, noting that compliance in City parks has jumped from 70 percent to 98 percent in the past two-and-a-half months. “Initially, in April there was a great deal of push-back as people tested the limits, but with increased police presence in the parks and staff handing out masks to patrons, compliance was achieved.” 

Since April 17, Latta said that Rangers have passed out 1,280 masks, around 103 per week. In that same time frame, Rangers have educated people about social distancing 2,798 times, around 254 times per week. 

A key piece of that education component is helping people understand that while face coverings are an inconvenience, they do save lives and work to curb the spread of the coronavirus. 

“It’s unbelievable that people won’t wear them. Social distance and wear a face covering, it doesn’t get more simple than that,” Director of Emergency Management, Resilience and Recovery Pamela Mottice- Muller told the Courier, underscoring the importance of good hygiene habits as the third prong to help curb COVID-19 infections. “Why are people not wearing face coverings when it’s life and death? That is the question.” 

Throughout the City, and particularly in the Business District, there are signs advising people to practice social distancing and wear a face covering. In addition to recently increased signage, the message has also been affixed to the ground. “So it’s not that people don’t know,” Mottice-Muller said. 

“I think it’s irresponsible not to wear a mask when you go out,” Dr. Lee Hilborne, M.D., UCLA Health Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine told the Courier. “We know that facial coverings reduce transmission considerably. These public health measures are all that we have right now.” 

While people refuse to wear masks for a variety of reasons ranging from hubris to willful ignorance, he noted that it wasn’t necessarily someone’s Constitutional right to refuse to wear a mask. 

“At some point people say, ‘I have a right.’ But I think you don’t have a right to make other people sick,” said Hilborne, a Health and Safety Commissioner. “You have a right to stay home, but if you want to be in the community, you have a responsibility to protect the community as a whole.” 

Fellow Health and Safety Commission Dr. Kirk Chang, M.D., a Cedars-Sinai cardiologist, speculated that wearing a face covering is likely “the most effective way to prevent disease transmission.” 

“You just have to assume that everybody you meet could possibly be carrying,” he advised. In addition, you might be carrying the disease and risk transmitting it, unintentionally, to others. “When I put on a mask, it is my way of demonstrating that I acknowledge that other people may see me as potentially spreading the virus.” 

Given that COVID-19 is likely something that everyone must contend with for the next year, Chang said that it was in everyone’s best interest to get used to wearing masks. 

“It would certainly be nice to try to stimulate the public to want to wear the face mask,” he told the Courier. “As a society we are doing the best we can. I don’t know if it’s the best.” 

The post Beverly Hills Prepares to Issue Fines to Achieve Face Covering Compliance appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“We have some of the best historic resources in Beverly Hills,” Cultural Heritage Commission Chair Noah Furie told the Courier. “Both of the properties are iconic and will be outstanding additions to the Register of Historic Properties.” 

In the eight years since its creation, the Cultural Heritage Commission has already helped 42 properties receive an historic property designation. 

The 78-year-old Pendleton – Evans Residence at 1033 Woodland Dr. is a single-family residence located in the City’s Hillside Area on a 1.4-acre through lot spanning from North Beverly Drive to Woodland Drive. Originally built for prominent interior designer and art dealer James Pendleton and his wife Mary Frances, the home was most recently owned by motion picture producer Robert Evans (“Chinatown”) from the 1960s until his death in 2019. 

David and Pam Zaslav subsequently acquired the Woodland estate and have stated that they intend to fully restore the property. 

“We’re excited about the opportunity to preserve and restore this extraordinary property,” said David Zaslav, the president and CEO of Discovery Inc. “You get a sense that the house is alive.” 

The custom home was designed in Woolf ‘s signature Hollywood Regency architectural style. Populated with gardens, fountains, potted plants, and a wealth of trees (including eucalyptus, sycamore, and cypress), the landscaping plan was designed by Tommy Tomson. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Tomson designed landscapes for Hollywood’s elite, in addition to landscaping the Beverly Hills Hotel, the infield at Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia and the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal. 

“The Woodland property overtly emphasizes those elements that define architect John Woolf and his association with the Hollywood Regency idiom, including the mansard roof, symmetry, elegance, and classic design principles,” states the resolution passed by the commission. 

In keeping in line with the commission’s task to help preserve the City’s historic legacy, landmarking the MCA/ Litton Headquarters Complex at 360 – 375 North Crescent Dr. will complete a quadrant where all four corners are landmarked. Neighboring landmarks include the Beverly Hills Post Office (The Wallis), City Hall, and the Union 76 Service Station.” 

“It’s a great opportunity for tourism and our commission and the City in general,” stated Commissioner Kimberly Vinokur Reiss. “This is a very iconic structure. What’s not to love about it?” 

The buildings embody the distinctive characteristics of the Classical Revival style, including monumental symmetrical facades, brick cladding, paneled doors with decoratively carved wood, and applied classical ornamentation such as pilasters. Nicknamed the “white house” by MCA employees, the two buildings are separated by a landscaped courtyard off of North Crescent Drive designed by landscape architect Phil Shipley. The courtyard features two narrow, concrete rectangular pools with limestone coping set in the center of the long, rectangular walkway paved with red brick laid in a herringbone pattern. 

“[Iconic] is actually a high bar,” noted Commissioner Craig Corman. “This is one of the buildings in Beverly Hills that definitely meets the definition of iconic.” 

Set back at the intersections of North Crescent Drive, Santa Monica Boulevard, and North Rexford Drive, the two-acre site was heralded as a way to upgrade the area when the original north complex was constructed in 1937 as the headquarters for the Music Corporation of America (MCA). Williams also later designed the south building in the same Georgian Revival style, constructed in 1968, when the site became the headquarters for Litton Industries. Today the complex is the headquarters for Platinum Equity.

“It is very unusual to have all four corners with landmarks as we will have at City Hall,” said Furie, who will be leaving the commission at the end of this month having served on it since its foundation in 2012. “Our Historic Preservation Ordinance has allowed the City to protect and safeguard the most important historic resources in our City.” 

The post Beverly Hills Poised To Add Two New Landmarks by Master Architects appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

In initially enacting a temporary moratorium on eviction for non-payment of rent “due to substantial financial impacts related to COVID-19” on March 16 (Ordinance No. 20-O-2805), the City allowed commercial and residential tenants a year to repay forborne rent sans penalties. The provision was intended to serve both as an affirmative defense for a commercial eviction as well as curb potential vacancies. 

Per the amended ordinance, most commercial tenants must now repay their forborne rent by Sept. 1 to avoid paying interest or late fees, unless they work out a payment plan with their landlord. Any negotiated payment strategy takes precedence over the ordinance. 

“I think the fact that we’ve narrowed the time frames has sent a signal that we expect people to start paying rent, and I think that’s kind of a good thing,” stated Councilman Julian Gold at the June 18 hearing. “I’m sure we’re going to have unhappy people on both sides. But I think this is a balance. I think this is a fair balance.” 

Nothing in the ordinance relieves any commercial tenant of liability for the unpaid rent. 

Beginning on Sept. 1, at the end of the “amnesty period” for small commercial tenants, landlords may charge half the amount of either the late fee or the interest that is provided in the lease capped at five percent if all past due rent is not paid. All past due rent and late fees/interest must be paid by Jan. 1, 2021. 

With respect to large tenants (businesses with over 100 employees or annually grosses more than $15 million), all forborne rent and late fees are due on Sept. 1. As part of the revised ordinance, the Council set an amnesty date of Aug. 1 for large commercial tenants to repay the forborne rent without accruing penalties. 

Very large commercial tenants (businesses that employ over 500 employees, a Fortune 1000 company, or a publicly traded entity) are not subject to the ordinance and must pay rent according to their rent schedule or agreed upon terms.

“I don’t think either side would say this is a win,” Councilwoman Lili Bosse said at the June 18 City Council meeting. 

At the crux of the revised urgency ordinance is the mandate that landlords and their commercial tenants work together during this time of emergency to make a “good faith attempt” to develop a rent payment strategy. 

Excluding large commercial tenants, the ordinance states that to ensure that landlords and commercial tenants “meet,” landlords must “notice” any commercial tenant who has not agreed to a payment strategy via a method which provides written evidence of receipt. Following notice, the tenant has 10 days to arrange a meeting and meet with the landlord within 45 days to discuss a payment strategy. 

“If the tenant fails to do that…the tenant will owe the forborne rent on Oct. 1. On the other hand, if the landlord doesn’t send the notice, or the landlord is unwilling to meet, then the tenant’s obligation to pay back the forborne rent will not happen until July 1, 2021. And that is in a nutshell the process for small tenants,” clarified City Attorney Larry Wiener. 

After passing the original urgency ordinance, the Council fielded significant pressure from landlords who criticized the provision allowing commercial tenants up to a year after the pandemic crisis ends to repay missed rent sans interest. While the Council was united in its decision to reduce the 12-month rent forbearance period, members did acknowledge that in a sense they were backpedaling on a promise to tenants. “It is a bait and switch,” stated Councilman John Mirisch. 

According to Levin & Margolin trial attorney Elyse Margolin, who’s been a tenant at 8484 Wilshire Blvd. since 1980, working with her current landlord’s property manager has been fraught with difficulty. Margolin told the Courier she pays just under $20,000 a month to rent an office at the Douglas Emmett-owned building and thought “making a deal with these people is just impossible.” 

“I’ve never missed a payment until April,” she added, noting that she is now up to date on her rent payments. “I think [the new ordinance] is fair, but I don’t know what’s going to happen because there are so many more coronavirus incidents.” 

The post Council Revises Commercial Landlord Tenant Provisions of Urgency Ordinance appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

In this issue, the Courier is pleased to present the third of a four-part series by Mark Rios, FAIA, FASLA and John Lambert Pearson, ASLA. Rios is founder and Creative Director of RCH Studios, a multidisciplinary design practice based in Los Angeles. Rios launched the firm in 1985 with a singular vision: to imagine, design, and build complete environments. Under his leadership, RCH Studios has gained renown for its groundbreaking, multidisciplinary approach to commissions. John Lambert Pearson is Senior Project Designer at RCH Studios. He is known for combining his extensive horticultural expertise with an avid interest in the social and cultural factors of design to realize his client’s visions. In a recent collaboration on a significant residential landscape project, Rios and Pearson recognized that they had much to share with urban dwellers about how to shape their home gardens. This piece and others in the series convey their passion for the power of gardens and provide expert tips in transforming home gardens into beautiful and uplifting sanctuaries. 

“Omnia mirari etiam tritissima” was the motto of Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who formalized binomial nomenclature, the way we classify all living organisms using Latin names. We will get back to Carl in a bit, but for now we would like to focus on his motto, which means “find wonder in everything, even the most commonplace.” It is our job as landscape architects to help people find the wonder in the garden, and often that is achieved through vast shapes and colors of plant material. Yet, plants remain a mysterious and intimidating presence to many who have heard complicated Latin names like Eschscholzia, Syzygium, and Zantedeschia. We would like to help you understand that these Latin names tell a story about the specimens they identify, and that by learning these secret meanings, the world of plants will become infinitely more enchanting.
When you see the name of a plant at a nursery or botanical garden, you will often notice two names are given. The first is typically the common name, shown in standard text. Common names can be helpful, however they may only present a simple view of the plant and may be used to describe other species as well. The second is the Latin name, also known as the botanical or scientific name, and is in italics. It is the Latin name that holds the hidden tale about the plant’s origin, form, color, or growth habit. 

If you find Latin names too complicated to decipher, consider that Catnip (Nepeta cataria) was once called Nepeta floribus interrupte spicatus pedunculatis – “Nepeta with flowers in an interrupted pedunculated spike.” Fortunately, in 1753 Carl Linnaeus found these descriptive plant names far too long to memorize and developed the system of binomial nomenclature, in which two words are used to concisely describe a living organism. The first name is the genus or generic epithet. The genus is a collection of plants that is further qualified by the species name or specific epithet and is always capitalized. 

Chances are if you live in Southern California and know even a little about flowers and trees, you are already using Latin names and you might not even realize it! Agave, Ceanothus, Jacaranda, and Camellia are all botanical names we have come to use as common names. Learning Latin names can be slow at first, just like any foreign language. With a new language we start with something simple like “Hello. What is your name?” It is the same when learning the language of plants. You start by learning parts of words, like that “heli” means sun and “anthus” means flower. These fractured pieces eventually merge to reveal the reasoning behind the plant’s name, unlocking their story. 

We believe that culture proliferates via storytelling and we would like to ask you to become a storyteller. We would like to challenge you to learn the meaning behind the names of the plants in your backyard as ammunition for your next dinner party (read: Zoom happy hour). Delight your friends with a botanical story, make someone else take an interest in plants. Here are two that come to mind: 

The Toyon, a glistening dark green California native shrub, gets its Latin name, Heteromeles arbutifolia, from “hetero” meaning “different” and “malus” meaning “apple”, in reference to its tiny, red, apple- like fruits. The plant’s bright red berries and toothed leaves earned it the names California Christmas Berry and California Holly. When Harvey H. Wilcox purchased land in California, the hills were ablaze with the fruit of the California Holly, leading him to name his property “Hollywood.” The allure of the fiery crimson fruit was so great that the state of California had to ban collecting Toyon branches for Christmas in the 1920s. These days we rarely notice the “Holly” in Hollywood, but it is the flamboyant Toyon that we have to thank for the name. 

Bougainvillea spectabilis, commonly known by its scientific name, is named after French Navy admiral Louis Antoine de Bougainville, who circled the globe in 1763. But that is not the whole story. Philibert Commerçon, Bougainville’s botanist, was accompanied by an unrecognizable man on their voyage to Rio de Janeiro. Commerçon suffered a leg injury on this trip, and in his place, his mysterious partner ventured out into the jungle and returned with a new plant – Bougainvillea. It was later discovered that this man was in fact a young woman in disguise. Her name was Jeanne Baret and she was Commerçon’s lover and botanical assistant. At the time, women were banned from French navy ships and from studying botany altogether, and Baret had defied both to bring us the magnificent Bougainvillea in its kaleidoscope of colors. 

If when recounting your florid tales, you balk for fear of pronouncing the Latin name, rest assured that Latin is a dead language. Who is going to correct you? There is no definite way to pronounce plant names, but a good rule of thumb is to pronounce every letter you see in the name phonetically. Say it any way you want, just say it with conviction, say it powerfully. Just go for it. Try to learn the Latin name of every plant you come across. Plants are all around us – the more you look, the more you see. Each plant has a spirit and something to offer. It can be as simple as color, size, scent, shape, or even a personal association or memory. No matter what the reason, let us remember Linnaeus’ goal – to find wonder in everything, even the most commonplace. 

The post Plant Names Are Long, But Full of Spirit appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The high-speed rail project will continue its path through the City with the Wilshire/ Rodeo station set to open in 2025. 

As part of the federal government’s “Coronavirus Guidance for America,” transportation infrastructure is considered essential. As such, construction on Metro’s Purple Line Extension project, which will connect the Wilshire/Western station to Westwood in three distinct sections, has not been delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Purple Line Section One construction is progressing well, with construction of the first four-mile section now 62 percent complete. The project is on pace to begin revenue operations as forecasted. Section One of the project travels through some of the most complex underground conditions of the entire 9-mile alignment. Metro has now tunneled through three out of four miles of this challenging area already. We anticipate completing the last mile of tunneling to Wilshire/La Cienega in Beverly Hills this fall,” Metro Spokesperson Dave Sotero told the Courier. “Section Two is also progressing well.” 

According to Metro, its contractors are following safety precautions during the pandemic, including implementing social distancing when applicable and the use of masks and other PPE. 

Construction recently began on the tunnel eye at the east side of the Wilshire/La Cienega station, which will provide a stable gateway for the Tunnel Boring Machines to enter. The breakthrough is anticipated to occur in August. As part of the construction, there will be intermittent lane reductions on Wilshire and La Cienega Boulevards. This past Saturday, June 20, Wilshire was reduced to two lanes in each direction from Hamilton to San Vicente, with K-rail barriers now in place 24 hours a day through September. 

While the North Canon cul-de-sac is slated to remain in place at least through fall 2021 as construction continues on the Wilshire/Rodeo Station, South Reeves is expected to again reopen in August once Metro has finished installing steel beams and concrete deck panels near the future station entrance at South Reeves and 

Wilshire Boulevard. As part of the process, geotechnical instruments are being installed within the station box and along the tunnel alignment to monitor ground movement, settlement, and other geological conditions. 

According to Robert Welch, the City’s project manager for the Purple Line Extension, the recent expedited construction permitting on Wilshire Boulevard between Crescent Drive and El Camino for the Wilshire/Rodeo station, which resulted in the street being closed 24/7 from April 3 through June 15, proved to be a real boon for the community. 

“The amount of work that was done in that time period was quite substantial,” he told the Courier. During that time, Metro was able to install both piles and decking, both of which are particularly disruptive to residents. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the state’s “Stay at Home” order significantly diminishing the amount of vehicle traffic in Beverly Hills, the City Council voted to temporarily close the street to expedite the work, as opposed to just allowing work to continue during the weekends. “Since the beginning of the Purple Line extension project, the City has worked diligently to minimize the impacts to our community and this expedited construction supports those efforts.” 

Sotero said the ability to close a portion of Wilshire Boulevard and expedite work there allowed Metro to complete decking of the Wilshire/Rodeo Station site seven months ahead of schedule. “That is expected to help mitigate future construction impacts to local businesses,” he said. 

During that time, Metro relocated utilities, installed dewatering wells, installed piles and steel beams, and replaced the street surface on Wilshire between Crescent and El Camino with concrete deck panels. Excavation of the station box is slated to continue below ground over the next several months. Metro is predicting that the station excavation, which began in May, will continue through first quarter 2021 to a depth of about 100 feet. As a result, traffic closures may be required on Wilshire Boulevard during the nighttime (between 8 p.m. to 7 a.m., seven days a week) in order to remove the debris. 

The post Metro Purple Line On Track to Open in Beverly Hills in 2023 appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Following the Planning Commission’s unanimous vote on June 19 in support of a draft ordinance to create a mixed-use overlay zone in certain commercially zoned areas of the City, the Council will now consider signing the ordinance into law. The term “mixed use” is most commonly used to refer to a building or development that includes a mix of commercial and residential uses, with housing units generally located on the upper floors of a building. 

Per the resolution, the ordinance will “establish uniform standards for mixed-use developments in the City with the goals of providing flexibility for property owners who wish to build housing and commercial space, respecting adjacent residential communities, encouraging a mix of housing types in the city, and revitalizing commercial corridors in the City, especially those near transit.” 

City Planner Ryan Gohlich estimated that the draft ordinance would move to City Council for consideration in August or September. “The City Council is the ultimate approving authority to deny or approve this proposal,” underscored Senior Planner Timothea Tway. 

If approved by City Council, the proposed mixed-use standards would be included in the Beverly Hills Municipal Code as an overlay zone that would be applied to certain commercial areas in the city, including corridors near the two future subway station areas at Wilshire/La Cienega (La Cienega Station) and Wilshire/Reeves (Rodeo Station). While several existing mixed-use projects have been approved in the City via site-specific zoning, such as overlay zones and specific plans, the lack of established development standards for mixed-use projects has precluded the development of a more comprehensive approach to planning with known standards. 

In permitting multifamily residential units on certain commercially zoned arteries in the City, the draft ordinance limits mixed- use buildings to a height of 45 feet/three stories. However, a mixed-use development which avails itself to the State Density Bonus Program could amend that maximum to more than double the height in exchange for the provision of affordable housing units. 

Under California’s most recent Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), which occurred before the COVID-19 pandemic, pundits anticipated that Beverly Hills would need to add 3,100 new housing units over an eight-year period commencing in 2021, three-quarters of which would need to be some type of affordable housing. 

During the Planning Commission’s six-hour meeting, dozens of residents, developers and property owners used public comment to express differing viewpoints. From advocating that more areas in the City be included in the ordinance to asking the commission to be wary of placing developer interests ahead of residents’ quality of life, comments were mixed. 

The proposed streets (as shown in map above) included in the ordinance are all located in commercial areas of the City outside the Business Triangle. 

“The use of an overlay zone could be beneficial in that it would allow property owners to either comply with the regulations contained in the overlay zone or choose to comply with the underlying commercial use regulations. Landowners who do not want to develop a mixed-use project could pursue the development of conventional commercial projects that are compliant with the City’s existing regulations,” states the staff report, which was authored by Tway. 

Due to Commissioner Lori Greene Gordon having a potential conflict of interest and electing to recuse herself from participating in discussions regarding mixed-use on Robertson Boulevard or portions of Olympic Boulevard, the overlay zone language was divided into two ordinances. Gordon stated that while she believed that the intention of the ordinance was to increase the City’s vibrancy, she believed that the ordinance included “very, very little community input…and that troubles me greatly.” 

Vice Chair Peter Ostroff underscored that not only had the Planning Commission listened to numerous comments from the public, but there would be further opportunities for public comment as the ordinance moves through the City Council approval process. 

“It’s a dereliction of duty if they don’t hurry up this thing,” underscored Planning 

The post City Council to Consider Mixed-Use Ordinance appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Among those admitted COVID-19 patients who finished their course of treatment, 88 percent have been discharged to continue their recuperation, according to the hospital. 

“We attribute these results to our extensive experience treating complex cases, meticulous care in our ICUs, the use of new and experimental therapies and a manageable volume of COVID-19 patients,” said Richard Riggs, M.D., Cedars-Sinai senior vice president of Medical Affairs and chief medical officer. 

According to data recently released by the hospital, the 400-plus COVID-19 patients treated at Cedars-Sinai from the beginning of March through the beginning of June represented just five percent of the total number of hospitalized patients that Cedars-Sinai cared for at the medical center. During that same three-month period, Cedars-Sinai physicians and nurses treated more than 10,000 non-COVID-19 patients in the hospital. 

Through the beginning of June, nearly a quarter of hospitalized COVID-19 patients were transferred to Cedars-Sinai from skilled nursing facilities and other acute care hospitals because they required higher levels of specialized care. 

In an effort to protect patients and staff, almost immediately Cedars-Sinai implemented a bevy of safety protocols at its hospitals, offices and outpatient sites. Such continuing precautionary measures to ensure safety included: performing temperature checks for all who enter, including staff before the start of their shifts; rapidly identifying and isolating patients with potential COVID-19; requiring masks for all employees, physicians, patients and visitors; physical distancing in waiting and clinical areas; designating specific zones for COVID-19 patients and separating them from other patients as appropriate; increasing thorough cleaning and disinfection for all common areas and clinical spaces; and limiting visitors. Additionally, Cedars-Sinai has minimized the number of staff and patients in clinical settings to ensure physical distancing, while using telemedicine options, including video visits, to provide care remotely for many medical needs. 

Since the beginning of March, the hospital has administered more than 3,000 pre-procedure tests for COVID-19 for all patients before they undergo inpatient and select outpatient procedures. Less than one percent of asymptomatic patients have tested positive for the virus according to data released by the hospital. Additionally, since the beginning of May, Cedars-Sinai has tested all patients admitted to the hospital through the Emergency Department. Similarly, less than one percent tested positive for the virus. 

A spokesperson for Cedars-Sinai highlighted that these outcomes were particularly significant given that the medical center cares for a disproportionate share of severely ill and older patients who are vulnerable to COVID-19 because of underlying health conditions. 

“We urge members of the public not to delay important care they need, and we encourage anyone who is sick and in need of medical attention to contact their physician’s office. It is safe to visit Cedars-Sinai for care, whether as a patient staying in our hospitals or visiting our outpatient clinics, urgent care centers, emergency rooms or other care settings,” said Jeffrey Smith, M.D., executive vice president of hospital operations and chief operating officer. 

The post Cedars-Sinai Leads in Treating COVID-19 Patients appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

City Councilman John Mirisch, the lone “no” vote in ratifying Civil Emergency Order No. 6, which went into effect at 9:55 p.m. on June 13 as an emergency order, advocated that the Council adopt a sunset provision to reduce the exposure of the City to First Amendment challenges. The order is currently set to expire when the Council terminates the emergency declaration of May 30 related to the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. 

“Under the conditions of the disaster, it is deemed necessary in the interest of public peace, health, and safety to restrict the use of residential areas of the City during nighttime hours in order to enable residents to sleep,” states the newly passed ordinance. “There is a continuing threat that other protests will take place in the late night or early morning hours when many people would be ordinarily sleeping.” 

The emergency order was passed as a specific response to the group Occupy, that sought to loudly protest in residential areas during the previous two Friday nights. The ordinance specifically prohibits more than 10 people from gathering in a public right of way in a residential area between 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. for a common purpose or goal, excepting assemblies of silence and gatherings on private property. 

Mayor Lester Friedman characterized the ordinance as preventative, particularly given that the Occupy group specifically sought to cause a confrontation with Beverly Hills police. 

“They were wearing hard hats, they had helmets on, they had body vests, they had backpacks, and they had other types of protective clothing which was very unusual from the demonstrators we had peacefully brought in and out of town the last week or so. It was apparent from their rhetoric on the bull horns and the amplified sound devices that they were using that they intended to be confrontational and not peacefully march,” described Assistant Chief of Police Marc Coopwood of the June 12 interaction with approximately 100 people who identified themselves as members of Occupy. 

Eventually, the group began throwing objects at the police and pointing lasers in their faces and eyes, a crime in California. In response, after three times asking the group to disperse, Beverly Hills Police directed sponge projectiles towards protestors and ultimately deployed tear gas, precipitating the crowd to disperse. 

In anticipation of the Council’s vote on June 16, two people called in during public comment to voice concern about passing an ordinance which bans protests. 

“I understand that those protests were met with police brutality, including tear gas and sponge-tipped grenades. Frankly I’m horrified to know that there are police in our neighborhoods deploying these weapons. Nothing makes me feel more unsafe than a militarized police force so close to home,” said one resident who identified herself as Kayla. 

The second caller, Ron Richards, questioned the ability of the Council to even pass the ordinance and advocated that the Council include a sunset date. “Typically, a residential neighborhood is designated as a First Amendment zone and you really can’t have a blanket ban on protests in a First Amendment area,” he said. 

City Attorney Larry Weiner, who crafted the order, said that he thought if challenged, case law would uphold the ordinance. 

UCLA First Amendment Law Professor Eugene Volokh, who attended Beverly Hills High School in the 1970s, likewise told the Courier that it did not appear as though the City’s ordinance violated the First Amendment. 

“I think the interests in protecting residential privacy and quiet are sufficient to justify this kind of restriction,” he said, noting that the City’s order still allows people to demonstrate, it just essentially regulates the manner of speech and the time of the gatherings. “It is a restriction on speech, but it is a content neutral one.” 

Volokh cited U.S. Supreme Court case Frisby v. Schultz (1988), which determined that it was acceptable to impose mild content restrictions on speech. “It’s not okay to just totally ban it,” he said. 

Following passage of the emergency order last Saturday, people took to social media to voice both their support and disdain for the ordinance. “Is this legal?” asked one person. “The City of Beverly Hills clearly does not support justice protestors,” stated one person on Instagram. “It’s not a peaceable protest if they are using a bullhorn in a residential area at midnight,” responded another. “Thank you,” commented many others. 

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In addition to green lighting a variety of initiatives, the Council also fielded funding requests from the Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau, the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce and Civic Association, and the Rodeo Drive Committee at both its formal and study session meetings. 

At Home in the City 

The Council delayed potential discussion about a City-owned house for City Manager George Chavez. The agendized item amending Chavez’ employment agreement to reside rent-free at the property on the border of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles is now slated for a vote at the newly scheduled June 18 Council at 7:30 p.m., just after press time. According to the staff report, the City would not incur “increased costs” for Chavez to live in the property, although there would be “some opportunity cost” in not renting out the house. 

Buying in Bulk 

The City Council unanimously agreed to approve a request for blanket purchase orders (BPOs) for supplies and services at the not-to-exceed amount of $41.3 million for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. Per the staff report, a total of 104 vendors will service various City departments on an as-needed basis via the approved 24 agreements and eight amendments. The bulk of approved agreements pertain to Information Technology. 

Bidding Farewell 

In an effort to facilitate budget reductions, the Council considered moving forward with two voluntary separation options for employees.

The Council, which last month learned that the City was forecasting a total operating revenue of $211.7 million for the 2020/21 fiscal year ($38.8 million less than originally projected as a result of the COVID-19 crisis), must approve the upcoming fiscal year’s budget by the end of this month. 

Director of Finance Jeff Muir said that both the CalPERS early retirement option, or Golden Handshake, and the voluntary cash out incentive option for those separating from City service would be a “major piece” in achieving necessary budget reductions as a result of COVID-19. “This is one of the tried and true methods for cities to deal with situations such as ours,” said Councilman John Mirisch.

If 25 miscellaneous (non-sworn) employees were to take the “Golden Handshake,” Muir estimated the City would save $18.2 million over five years. For the voluntary cash out incentive option, if 25 miscellaneous (non-sworn) employees participated in the program, Muir estimated the City would save $2.7 million in the first year. 

“Depending on the participation in each program, the City will realize significant savings from the voluntary retirement or separation of employees,” stated the staff report authored by Muir. Following direction from Council, Muir will conduct a survey to gauge employee interest. 

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In reopening, the City will follow Los Angeles County safety protocols, including limited court use and reduced operating hours. To ensure that the guidelines are effectively followed, the City will initially launch the reopening as a two-week pilot program with established rules to ensure all safety protocols are maintained. The City will then return to regular operating hours, while continuing to follow safety protocols. 

Guidelines in place allow single-play only and require reservations, which must be made 24 hours in advance. Both facilities will begin accepting reservations on June 13 and there will be no drop-in play or same- day reservations. 

Face coverings are required upon check-in and while walking through the facility to the designated court. While face coverings are not required during play, a face covering must be worn at all other times. Each player must have their own tennis balls, initialed and handled only by them and a glove must be worn on the non-racket held hand. 

“This decision was made after L.A. County permitted the gradual re-opening of recreational opportunities with safety guidelines in place,” Beverly Hills publicist Dana Beesen said. 

To view operating hours and all guidelines, visit www.beverlyhills.org/tennisrules. For questions, call 310-285-6825. For reservations, go to beverlyhills.org/tennisrez. 

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“Most of the civil unrest that’s been going on have been peaceful protests honoring the life of George Floyd.

However, that particular evening, there was a lot of damage and destruction that did happen,” Director of Community Services Jenny Rogers said, noting that six public works of art had been vandalized, including Ringo Starr’s “Peace & Love” sculpture. 

“To see our artwork degraded like that, it was so upsetting. And for it to be put back to normal was so important,” said Arts and Culture Commission Chair Stephanie Vahn. Other vandalized public art works included: Barry Flanagan’s “The Drummer,” Tom Friedman’s “The Takeaway,” Robert Graham’s “Torso,” Roxy Paine’s “Erratic,” and Tony Smith’s “Playground.” 

While art conservators and restoration workers began the process of cleaning up the works of art that had been defaced on Sunday morning, Public Works worked from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 31 to address all the public facilities that had been defaced. 

“It was just a lot of anger toward established organizations like the police station or wealth. There was a lot of bad words,” Director of Public Works Shana Epstein told the Courier. After addressing public property, including City Hall, Epstein said staff likewise remove graffiti from roughly 30 businesses by pressure washing the graffiti or painting over it. 

The majority of private businesses proactively took measures to clean up, despite that fact that the City would provide the service for free. In addition, all businesses that did board up chose to do so independently, although the City did make recommendations. 

Xi’an owner Vicky Mense recalled the ferocity of the looters who took to plundering the adjacent restaurant, Caffé Roma. At the time, around 7 p.m., Mense said her restaurant staff was just finishing cleaning up after having finished the final take-out orders before the 8 p.m. curfew. 

“If I were closing 15 minutes earlier, I would have been looted,” she told the Courier. “It was ‘Wild Wild West.’ It was a scary rude awakening call.” 

Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Johnson underscored how quickly businesses reacted by proactively choosing to board up in the face of the civil unrest. 

“After what happened the first day we were not sure if there were going to be protests or what was going to happen so as a measure of precaution everybody agreed to board up,” Rodeo Drive Committee President Nicola Cagliata told the Courier. On June 10, the barricades along Rodeo Drive were removed and by Thursday morning most of the 75 retailers on the street were once again open. 

“Most businesses will be open if not this weekend, then by Monday,” Johnson told the Courier. “Now we can start building. I think we can be a much stronger community” 

To date, no additional instances of graffiti have been observed in the City. Residents who do notice instances of graffiti can call 310-285-2467 or email askpw@beverlyhills.org to facilitate its removal. 

The post Beverly Hills Cleans Up Remnants of Vandalism appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The newest reopenings slated for Friday include: gyms and fitness facilities; professional sports without live audiences; day camps; museums, galleries, zoos and aquariums; campgrounds, RV parks and outdoor recreation; music, film and television production; and hotels, lodging and short-term rentals for tourism and individual travel. 

“If at any time, the county’s rate of infection and other key metrics demonstrate a rapid acceleration of new cases that threatens to overwhelm the healthcare system, the Department of Public Health and the Board of Supervisors may need to limit future re-openings or close reopened sectors,” cautioned a press release issued by the county’s COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center. 

Just as is required for all activities outside the home, people must practice physical distancing and wear cloth face coverings throughout the entire county when in proximity to others. Still closed are nail salons, tattoo shops, bars and wineries, movie theaters, live performance theaters, entertainment centers, concert halls and venues, stadiums, arenas, gaming facilities, theme parks and festivals.

As people begin the process of transitioning back into this “new normal,” Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Johnson told the Courier that ensuring the existence of effective safety protocols would be critical. 

“What’s going to be most important is how safe people are going to feel when they go back out,” Johnson said. “The fact that our City promotes itself as being a very safe City, we can build on that.” 

Beverly Hills Marketing and Economic Sustainability Manager Laura Biery emphasized how expeditiously the City works to quickly and effectively communicate with businesses on how to best reopen. 

“It’s kind of a slow and gradual process,” she described. “Businesses are trying to ensure they’re doing it safely, not only for the customers but also for their employees.” 

For retailers, many of whom had just reopened or were on the precipice of reopening at 50 percent capacity when the civil unrest prompted scores of establishments throughout the City to board, the delay has allowed additional time to get proper protocols in place. 

“It’s in the great interest of all of us to follow all of these directions so we can keep COVID-19 at bay. It would be very detrimental to not follow the guidelines,” Rodeo Drive Committee President Nicola Cagliata told the Courier. “We make sure that every single one of our members is aware of the City’s guidelines.” 

He praised the City’s efforts in communicating “clear and very simple guidelines” to follow. 

“It is amazing the level of partnership, collaboration and unity that this City has been displaying in these last two or three months,” Cagliata said. 

While businesses are essentially tasked with enforcing the protocols, Biery said Beverly Hills Ambassadors and Code Enforcement officers are also walking the streets to ensure that safety measures are being upheld. 

“If businesses aren’t complying with protocols, they go in and do education,” she said. “Sometimes they just did not realize and they need a little bit of education to come into compliance.” 

For all businesses, that means PPEs and face coverings for employees. Patrons must also wear face coverings, except when eating or drinking. In addition, there is specific signage that must be posted. Biery said that while the City was focusing on the “education piece” right now, businesses could receive citations if they fail to comply. Additionally, residents and individuals can always contact the Department of Public Health or the City’s Code Enforcement division if they observe any violations. 

“I think if restaurants don’t follow guidelines, they’re going to get busted pretty quickly, either by the county or by residents,” Johnson said, noting that the “policing” of business compliance was not the primary issue. “We have to help businesses get ready. And safety will be primary. I think what’s going to happen is that Beverly Hills will be known for safety.” 

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Billed as “BOLD Beverly Hills Frieze 2021,” the proposed public art installation and storefront art activation project aims to engage institutions, galleries and local artists to convert vacant store fronts into curated artist spaces. Members of the Arts and Culture Commission predicted that the City would be able to capitalize on the prestigious Frieze Los Angeles art fair to energize Beverly Hills. 

“I think Los Angeles is probably the most exciting art scene happening,” said Director of Community Services Jenny Rogers, who underscored that the Beverly Hills art scene was just getting ready to emerge from its proverbial cocoon. “This moment in time is very important for our City.” 

To coincide with Los Angeles Frieze 2021, the commission advocated that the City spend $100,000 to purchase a series of three large-scale nine-foot sculptures that challenge notions of racial perception created by artist Genevieve Gaignard. Presented by Art Production Fund and United Talent Agency (UTA), the City would only be paying a portion of the total $450,000 cost to acquire the three monumental public sculptures, which would be installed next February pending approval by City Council. 

“What you’re getting to witness is something I think for generations to come will be celebrated as something that will be considered a monumental work,” predicted Arthur Lewis, Creative Director of UTA Artist Space. 

As the daughter of a black father and white mother, Gaignard, who earned her MFA at Yale, has often used her art to explore her own identity while challenging viewers to navigate their own roadblocks with intersectional identity. For this particular project, Gaignard plans to appropriate the heads of “mammy” figurines, inherently a disrespectful image of how blackness was portrayed in America, and place them on the bodies of dolls in dresses that have been repainted to become whimsical, freed from the stereotype. 

Gaignard told the commission that the reimagined figurines, made monumental, will be a tool “to talk about race and celebrate differences.” 

“All of my art [is] a tool to have the harder conversations in a way that welcomes you in a safe space,” she said. “The impact that I feel they would have in Beverly Hills is really outstanding.” 

The works, which will be designed to withstand rust and water damage, would be fabricated at Artscape Sculpture Studio in Sun Valley in laminated fiberglass over an internal stainless steel armature. 

“It’s so prestigious to have this in our City. It’s appropriate to have it in our City,” said Arts and Culture Commission Chair Stephanie Vahn. 

Envisioned to appear as if the sculptures are dancing together in a garden, their layout will ultimately be site-specific based on the location selected. The commission advocated installing the sculptures in a highly visible location, such as Beverly Gardens Park. 

Following the commission’s direction, City Council liaisons (Councilmembers John Mirisch and Lili Bosse) will meet to consider furthering both the public sculpture project as well as moving forward to create an art fair to coincide with Frieze 2021 in anticipation of bringing it to the full City Council for approval. 

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While both the price and number of participants may have dropped for the City’s virtual summer camp program, which began June 8, the quality of instruction remains with 13 online classes dedicated to helping students achieve their potential while having fun. 

“The kids are having a blast and the parents are happy that they have something that the kids are engaged in,” said Catskills West Director Christian Smith, now in his 15th year with the performing arts summer program. 

For over three decades, the City of Beverly Hills has offered a bevy of summer camps and classes for youth to adult, which this year started on June 8. And while this year’s 21 participants in Catskills West – about 25 percent of the number enrolled in previous years – may not be enjoying the picturesque environs of Greystone Mansion as in previous years, they are still having a very lively experience Smith told the Courier. 

Over the course of the four-week Catskills West program, which is divided into two three-hour programs (one for children ages five to 10 and the other for kids ages 11 to 14), participants learn all things musical performance, including acting, choreography, singing, dancing, costumes, and set and stage design. In addition, students also participate in various athletic exercises designed to physically engage them. 

Similar to what was originally planned for this year before the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the City to shift the camp online, Catskills West participants will perform “Annie.” However, Smith said that given the change in format, participants will learn a variety of material for the show and staff will then create a final video production of the kids acting, singing and dancing to “Annie” material. The program will conclude with 

a musical watch party at the end on Zoom. Like all programs offered through the City, students can join at any time for a prorated cost. For Catskills West, Smith said that campers have access to a website where they can access instructional videos to learn dances, participate in various art projects and enjoy other learnings. Both Catskills West and Camp Beverly Hills historically the two most popular camps according to Beesen, have created webpages for easy access for children to engage with the virtual programming as well as pre-recorded activity links.

Beesen told the Courier that the City may even opt to continue the virtual camps and classes once the pandemic-related restrictions are over. 

“We wanted to start out with the most popular ones that people seem to gravitate to,” she said. “We know this is different for everyone so we’re trying to get people on board.” 

Other online camps and classes include soccer, math, science, engineering, flag football, ballet, tap, yoga, pilates, and even “Bizzy Girls” entrepreneurship camp. Some camps, like Brit West Soccer Camp and Catskills offer more than one session each day to different age groups. 

Beginning next month on July 6, the City will also offer “Camp Create: Arts & Specialty Experiences” through its Arts & Culture Division. The new series of à la carte virtual classes (around 20) will explore the arts, nature and other specialty experiences online with the idea that courses can be bundled to create a series for a full camp session. From June 22 through July 3 Beesen said the City would offer free trials to provide exposure “as we are confident people will fall in love with the instructors and classes.” 

“These virtual summer camps provide kids a wonderful way to stay connected to their summer camp community and friends,” Director of Community Services Jenny Rogers told the Courier, underscoring that the programs are designed to keep people active, engaged, connected and nourished. “Whether kids engage in their favorite summer camps, or find new ones online, these virtual summer camps are interactive programs geared to providing fun, stimulating and inspiring experiences.” 

For more information, visit: www.beverlyhills.org/summercamps. 

The post Beverly Hills Summer Camps Go Virtual, For Now appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

As this issue becomes more apparent the longer we wear masks, renown surgeon and dermatologist Ronald Moy, M.D., of Roy, Fincher, Chipps on Rodeo Drive is seeing an increase in problems. Dr. Moy is the former president of the American Academy of Dermatology, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery and American Board of Facial Cosmetic Surgery. “I have been treating mask dermatitis and also acne aggravated from wearing masks,” Dr. Moy told the Courier. He recommends using 1 percent hydrocortisone cream over the counter and conventional acne treatments until it subsides. 

Dr. Moy also advises using a facial moisturizer under the mask for irritation, but for nurses and doctors he recommends padding the surgical grade masks. “I personally use a softer surgical mask under my N95 mask which makes it more comfortable to wear [for longer periods].” 

Another concern is the sun exposure issue and light from our tech devices. “Wearing a mask can protect the face from sun exposure but we’re still recommending our DNA sheer defense [cream] because it repairs old sun damage, pollution, and blue light skin damage coming from the phone.” 

Celebrity plastic surgeon Harry Glassman, M.D., located inside the Thibiant MediSpa on Canon Drive, is seeing more mask-related suffering from patients prone to acne or rosacea. Dr. Glassman has been practicing for over 40 years and also specialized in cosmetic medicine and body contouring. “This is a big issue from the sociological aspect. People are having problems emotionally and physically with the masks,” he told the Courier. 

“If you think about it, the mask is creating a moist, warm, oily environment and it’s a set up for inflammation,” he said. The other issue is friction, “The mask is abrasive, rubbing against your face when you’re talking and removing the outer layer of your skin plus dehydrating you.” 

To help combat this problem, Dr. Glassman recommends creating a barrier between your skin and the mask by applying a hydrating moisturizer every two to three hours during the day. “Because you are creating an unusual environment on the lower part of your face – especially if you are prone to rashes –you also have to wash your face with a mild cleanser. If you use soap or something too astringent, you will dehydrate your skin and make the problem worse,” he warned. 

A few important things to remember “Unless you are wearing a surgical mask, wear a mask made out of 100 percent cotton,” advised Dr. Glassman. “Avoid nylon, rayon and polyester as they are going to make you perspire more.” And, don’t even think about reusing your mask. “Wash it every day like you were washing your underwear. You wouldn’t wear a t-shirt day after day either, so buy a series of them to rotate.” 

While you might want to make a fashion statement with your mask, t-shirt material is actually one of the most desirable for a mask according to Dr. Glassman. Also avoid adhesives, fragrance and excess dye that are used in some of the more colorfully patterned masks on the market right now. 

Protective masks will be a way of life for the foreseeable future, so be sure to follow professional advice about purchasing and maintaining them. And seek professional help if skin discomfort develops or persists. 

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“Everyone was excited to get back,” Chabad of Beverly Hills Rabbi Mendel Shusterman told the Courier about the May 28 reopening. “Of course we do not let anyone in without a mask or who’s not feeling well or who’s been exposed to it. 

Los Angeles County’s updated Health Order issued on May 26 (No. 120295 of the California Health and Safety Code), allowed faith-based services to resume at 25 percent of the building’s capacity or a maximum of 100 people, whichever is lower. 

Last week’s reopening for Chabad came in tandem with the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. To celebrate, Rabbi Shusterman said the temple held four separate services with just a few chairs for each six-foot table, with only family members allowed to be in proximity to one another. In order to allow for social distancing, he said Chabad has also added additional services. In preparing to open, he said that congregants over the age of 65 were advised to stay home or speak with a doctor first before attending services. 

“We told people that if they feel any symptoms at all they should not come,” Rabbi Shusterman said. “If someone forgets their mask, we have extra masks, so we make sure everyone walks in with a mask.” 

While the precise timing for the reopening of other religious institutions throughout the City remains unknown, several are beginning to make preparations. 

Church of the Good Shepherd receptionist Penny Duffy told the Courier that staff was readying to implement protocols put out by the Archdiocese. “We’re going to open as soon as we have everything in place,” she said. 

Rabbi Jonathan Aaron with Temple Emanuel Beverly Hills told the Courier the longtime Beverly Hills synagogue, originally founded in 1938, was being particularly 

conservative when it comes to reopening. He said that there was no set date for reopening, largely given that many of the congregants are over age 65 and thus among the most vulnerable to COVID-19. 

“The most important thing is the safety and well being of our community and staff,” Rabbi Aaron told the Courier. “We really are trying to be extra cautious.” 

“To save life is the most important,” he added, underscoring the importance of abiding by the Jewish value of saving every soul and the importance of life. “When we feel like we can bring everyone together and when we will be the most safe, we will do that.” 

Since the pandemic began, the synagogue has been providing virtual experiences, which Rabbi Aaron said it would continue to do. In addition to conducting services online via Facebook Live and YouTube, where congregants can interact with each other via the comments feed, he said there are a host of activities and resources available online at JewItAtHome.com. The digital resource for Jewish life was created by dozens of clergy and staff from Temple Emanuel and other synagogues. 

Beverly Hills Synagogue Rabbi Pini Dunner told the Courier that his temple initially planned to reopen two week’s after the county allowed religious institutions to reopen. He said plans to reopen the sanctuary include implementing “very rigid” protocols about masks, social distancing and hand washing. Throughout the pandemic the synagogue has held both morning and evening services via Zoom. “We’ve really managed to maintain a sense of community even while this COVID-19 crisis has been going on,” he said. 

Once the synagogue does reopen, he anticipated that Shabbat services would be “trickier,” but that many other services could take place in someone’s backyard or tennis court. For all gatherings, he said, staff would take people’s temperatures, everyone would need to wear masks, no food would be served, and services would be truncated, in addition to other protocols. “We’re going 

to strictly observe the protocols to minimize the potential for infection,” he said. 

In light of the recent protests and riots, Rabbi Dunner said he had joined with nine other Westside rabbis in writing a letter to their communities taking a stand against the death of George Floyd. 

“What happened in Minneapolis was an utter disgrace,” he told the Courier. “These are Orthodox rabbis who generally don’t get political, but we felt it’s important that religious leaders take a stand. People are taking advantage of a social moment to loot stores and destroy buildings.” 

The letter states: “We stand alongside those who are lawfully protesting against racism that exists among some elements of law-enforcement and society-at-large.” 

Just outside of Beverly Hills, but the spiritual home of many residents, Wilshire Boulevard Temple is also working to safely reopen. 

On June 1, Wilshire Boulevard Temple Senior Rabbi Steve Leder was interviewed on the Today Show discussing how Americans will emerge from the crisis. 

“Most people in the world seek peace. 

Most people in the world are not haters, they are not violent, they want to be kind and loving and generous and that’s an important message for our children,” said Rabbi Leder, who has been with the Los Angeles-based temple for more than three decades. “Two wrongs do not make a right.” 

The post Religious Institutions Prepare to Reopen in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“Before this, we knew everyone in the City, and now every day, there’s a new face,” he told the Courier. 

As portions of the 70,000-strong transient population in Los Angeles County continue to pass daily through Beverly Hills, residents and businesses report an increase in the number of homeless. 

“I have been flooded with calls and messages telling me there are abundantly more transients during COVID-19 than ever before,” Human Relations Commission Chair Ori Blumenfeld told the Courier. “I remind our residents and business owners that being transient is not a crime and to feel free to contact Human Services or the Ambassadors if they are otherwise unsure. We have also gone to great lengths to assist so many homeless, including veterans recently.” 

While the precise number of transients passing though Beverly Hills in response to the global pandemic remains elusive, Latta told the Courier that between 2,000 and 2,500 transients pass through the City at any one time. 

One longtime local business owner who asked to not be identified told the Courier that since the pandemic began, he’d had to call Beverly Hills Police about transients five times, something he had not done for years. “We’ve noticed absolutely an increase in the amount of homeless,” he said. “We have had to call the authorities because they were in the planters, in the trash, and laying around the building. The police are always terrific when we call about sending people out. And unfortunately, we have had to call quite a bit, because we have noticed an increase.”

On average, the City conducts 10 needs assessments with transient individuals each day, Monday through Friday. Both City Rangers and Ambassadors, which patrol City parks and the Beverly Hills Business Triangle nonstop, are able to offer the assessment to individuals who appear they would qualify and who express an interest in getting help. As part of the interaction, individuals are informed what services are available when they’re ready for assistance, such as food, shelter, a shower, mental health services, physical health services and benefits. 

“Most of the folks we deal with are pretty severely mentally ill. What they really need is mental health treatment,” Latta told the Courier. 

While the pandemic may have prompted neighboring cities to close their parks and bathroom facilities, Beverly Hills has continued to keep its parks and restrooms open until 10 p.m. (Excepting this week’s curfews.) Many of the transients passing through the City avail themselves to the local parks and restroom facilities. 

Ranger Supervisor Daniel Hernandez, one of 20 Rangers with the City, told the Courier that he thought “addressing mental illness is the key” to helping transients. 

“With the pandemic, it’s actually given us the opportunity to help deliver people into housing,” he said. “Our goal is to make sure they get help.” 

In addition to helping transients find shelter through the County’s Winter Shelter Program, now extended through September in response to the pandemic, and the temporary Los Angeles City shelters at various recreation centers (including Pan Pacific, Westwood and Cheviot Hills), the City works with several other programs. This past fiscal year, the City funded roughly $1 million in grants for 20 different programs to help support transient populations and other vulnerable populations. 

Nearby at the Saban Clinic, which facilitates a wealth of medical, dental and other services for vulnerable populations, in part through a grant from the City of Beverly Hills, roughly 30 transients are afforded free showers each day. 

“Our relationship with Beverly Hills goes back for quite a number of years,” Saban Clinc Chief Marketing and Advancement Officer Adam Friedman told the Courier. “They support us financially every year to care for Beverly Hills residents that are uninsured or living at or below the poverty line.” 

Following a full intake session to ensure that the Saban Clinic is able to assess their needs, everyone who wants to avail themselves of the free shower program receives a 15-minute private shower. About eight months ago, private donors paid to remodel the shower area so that it resembles a spa. 

“It’s all about making that population feel that they’re cared for, that they’re loved. It’s all about building relationships,” Friedman said. 

The post Transients Move Through Beverly Hills Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

On Tuesday evening, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti urged all participants in the protests to get tested for COVID-19. 

“Please, please, please, everybody who’s been out there protesting, so beautifully around Los Angeles, make sure you get tested, and make sure you’re maintaining your physical distance, that you’re washing your hands, and wearing a mask,” Mayor Garcetti urged during his June 2 public announcement. “Imagine if these days lead to a spread that leads to things getting worse, and more people dying. Please, go to coronavirus.lacity.org/testing and get a test.” 

Protestors made their way into Beverly Hills on May 30, and a for a few days after that. “We know the physical distancing and the masks, and washing of the hands, are what’s most important to prevent the spread,” Beverly Hills Medical Advisory Task Force member Dr. Lee Hilborne told the Courier. “The problem we’re seeing is that many of the people that are out there protesting are doing so without masks and not maintaining the distance from each other. It is a risk.”

“It’s reasonable to anticipate there would be an uptick,” added Hilborne, a UCLA Health Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Health and Safety Commissioner for the City of Beverly Hills. “What we should be doing is testing the people who are out protesting three or four days after they’ve been out protesting.” 

In the wake of the civil unrest and the ensuing curfews, testing sites across L.A. County had restricted hours, with all COVID-19 testing centers in the City of L.A. closed May 30 due to 

safety concerns. Roughly half of the County’s testing facilities have remained closed into this week. Testing capacity continues to increase throughout the county, with around eight percent of the nearly 646,000 individuals tested having confirmed cases of COVID-19. 

Amidst the protests, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a statement that “everyone engaging in peaceful protest should always wear a face covering securely over their nose and mouth to protect others and keep six feet apart from people outside their household” due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of widespread transmission. 

“Because the incubation period for COVID- 19 is 14 days, if you think you’ve had a possible exposure to the virus because you’ve been in close proximity for 15 minutes or more with others who are not wearing face-coverings, please consider remaining away from all others for 14 days,” Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of Public Health for L.A. County, stated in a press release issued June 3. “If you have been exposed and have people in your home who are at greater risk of having serious illness from the virus because they are older or have underlying health conditions, it is very important to take all precautions to not expose vulnerable people. This includes staying at least six feet away and wearing a cloth face covering, even in your residence. If during the 14 days, you develop symptoms, please call your healthcare provider and consider testing.” 

As of June 2, L.A. County had a total of 57,118 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (139 in Beverly Hills), including 1,202 new cases. To date, 2,443 people in the county have died from the virus, including five in Beverly Hills. There are currently 1,422 people who are now hospitalized from COVID-19, 26 percent of whom are in the Intensive Care Unit and 17 percent of whom are on ventilators. Statewide, California has over 118,000 confirmed cases and 4,361 deaths. Worldwide there are over 6.5 million cases of COVID-19, including almost 400,000 deaths. 

The post Protests Trigger Fears of Uptick in COVID-19 Cases appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The current draft ordinance is intended to achieve higher density affordable units by expanding options and opportunities for property developers to create housing projects that would make fiscal sense according to Planning Commission Chair Alan Block. Mixed use is most commonly used to refer to a building or development that includes a mix of commercial and residential uses. 

“I think it’s something that’s really past due in Beverly Hills,” Chair Block said to begin commissioner comments. “We have very acute housing needs that have to be met and this will help us,” said Vice Chair Peter Ostroff. Commissioner Lori Greene Gordon recused herself from the discussion due to a minority interest in an LLC that would be directly affected by any zoning changes. 

The current proposal before the Planning Commission is to create a mixed use overlay zone to allow for one unit for every 550 square feet of property area in order to encourage smaller, more affordable units. 

The City’s current density standard is one unit per 900 to 1,700 square feet. Commissioners are also considering mandating an average unit size of 1,500 square feet per project. 

Tway underscored that there would be “multiple opportunities” for the public to comment on the draft ordinance as it continues moving forward for City Council review and possible adoption. “This is a long time coming,” she told the Courier. “This would allow a developer to more easily propose a development project with housing above commercial.” 

For years, the City has been talking about the idea of creating standard regulations for mixed use in certain areas of Beverly Hills to further incentivize development. In October 2018 the City Council advocated moving forward with a process to create a mixed use ordinance. At the direction of Council, the Planning Commission established an ad-hoc committee consisting of Chair Block and Vice Chair Peter Ostroff, which subsequently presented preliminary ideas to the Planning Commission in July 2019. 

Most recently, a City Council/Planning Commission Liaison was held on May 6, which included Mayor Lester Friedman, Councilmember Lili Bosse, Chair Block, and Vice Chair Ostroff. In addition to voicing general support of the draft ordinance parameters, the liaisons expressed a desire to have the Planning Commission explore allowing additional height for mixed-use projects in certain areas, and the expansion of the potential areas in which mixed use development would be allowed. 

“The biggest change is we don’t allow mixed use development in commercial zones,” Tway said. “It’s a change to how the City would look and feel in certain areas.” 

Per the Planning Commission report, areas within the City now being considered for a mixed use overlay zone include: properties fronting Wilshire Boulevard between San Vicente Boulevard and Rexford Drive; properties fronting Wilshire Boulevard on the southern side of Wilshire Boulevard between Rexford Drive and South Santa Monica Boulevard; properties fronting La Cienega Boulevard between the northern and southern borders of the City; properties fronting Robertson Boulevard between the northern and southern borders of the City; properties fronting South Santa Monica Boulevard located between Wilshire Boulevard and Moreno Drive; properties fronting Olympic Boulevard; properties fronting the 100 block of South Beverly Drive; and potentially the commercial parcels located on the 100 blocks of South El Camino and South Rodeo Drives. 

Several existing and in-development mixed use projects have all involved the approval of site-specific zoning, such as overlay zones and specific plans. Such projects include the “Friar’s Club project” at 9908 S. Santa Monica approved earlier this year, which will create 25 units above ground floor commercial space; the “Gardenhouse project” at 8600 Wilshire approved in 2007 and now under development to create 26 units over ground floor commercial space; and 9200 Wilshire approved in 2007, which created 54 units over ground floor commercial. 

Since adopting the current General Plan in 2010, Ostroff said the City has built a total of 56 new multifamily housing units. He told the Courier that number speaks volumes as to just how tremendously cost-prohibitive it is to develop multifamily housing in Beverly Hills. 

“Many people perceive that we have a regional housing shortage. Whether you want to call it a housing crisis or an affordability crisis, it doesn’t make any difference. There’s tremendous pressure to create more housing in our community, meaning Southern California,” Ostroff said. “We’ve got a lot of challenges in front of us…and we need community buy-in.” 

Under California’s most recent Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), the entire region will be mandated to add between 1 million to 1.5 million new housing units over an an eight-year period commencing in 2021. While the precise number has yet to be determined by the state, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) will ultimately decide how many new housing units each of its member cities will be required to create. Roughly 60 percent of the City’s 12,000 housing units are apartments. 

“Mixed use doesn’t displace anyone,” Ostroff said. “It seems to me we should do what we can do to maintain our unique characteristics while at the same time complying with our legal obligations.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, officials predicted that the City would be legally mandated to add potentially 3,000 new housing units over an eight-year time span, three-quarters of which would need to be some type of affordable housing. The RHNA number dictates that the new housing be a mix of market rate housing, moderate income housing, low income housing and very low income housing. According to Ostroff, market rate housing for a run-down 50-year-old unit in Beverly Hills would be about $3,000. By comparison, a very low income bedroom would rent for $1,100 a month he said. 

While the draft ordinance does not provide for an increase in height from current zoning, Block surmised that if a developer were to propose a project with affordable units, the project would most likely be permitted a height bonus under state law. 

In 2019, the ad-hoc committee recommended that the height and floor area ratio (FAR) for mixed use buildings be consistent with current C-3 zone Requirements, which would limit mixed use buildings to a height of 45 feet/three-stories and a 2:1 FAR. Per the recommendation, a developer could request to build affordable units in a mixed use development through the State Density Bonus Program, which would allow the developer to request additional height or floor area in exchange for the provision of affordable housing units in a project if these deviations from the development standards are necessary to construct the affordable units. 

“Although there are numerous combinations of incentives or code waivers that may be requested by a developer of affordable housing units, the most likely scenario expected to be proposed would be one additional story of height, 35 percent more residential units, and 35 percent more floor area as compared to base zoning allowances set forth in any mixed use ordinance adopted by the City,” the Planning Commission report states. 

The post Beverly Hills Readies To Adopt Mixed Use Ordinance appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The most recent County order (No. 120295 of the California Health and Safety Code), states that its intent is to “protect the public from the avoidable risk of serious illness and death resulting from the spread of COVID-19.” 

The County order, which governs the minimum standard at which businesses in Beverly Hills must practice safety measures including physical distancing, limited access, cleanliness and entry screening, also mandates that people throughout the County practice physical distancing and wear a face covering when in contact with others. 

“Our ability to reopen depends on a very high level of cooperation from the public,” L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl (who represents Beverly Hills) told the Courier. “If it weren’t for the public’s willingness to practice social distancing, wear face covers and take necessary precautions, we would not be in a position to begin to plan a reopening,” she said. 

Local businesses have slowly begun to reopen throughout the City. Nearby shopping malls will also be reopening again. The Beverly Center announced plans to reopen on May 29, with Westfield Century City planning to reopen on May 30. 

As Regional Manager for Jaeger Le Coultre, Cagliata said that his brand was now in the process of determining how many employees would be on site as well as the number of hours that the store will be open. 

“We are so happy,” said Cagliata. He added, “My guess is by Monday everyone is going to be ready to open with a big smile under their mask.” 

One Beverly Hills mainstay, GEARYS on North Beverly Drive, reopened its doors even sooner, on May 28. According to its CEO and President Tom Blumenthal, the 50 percent occupancy limitation was not expected to be problematic. 

“Our main store is 15,000 square feet and we’re allowed to have 250 people in our building. So that means 125 people under this rule. We will monitor it constantly. But we have plenty of room,” he told the Courier. 

In addition to taking the temperatures of GEARYS employees, all customers will also have temperatures taken by the store’s security detail. 

“We’ve been preparing for this for a couple of weeks,” said Blumenthal, noting that GEARYS had hired extra help to enforce health and safety regulations. “We’re totally ready to go.” 

The County order also allows faith- based services to resume at 25 percent of the building’s capacity or a maximum of 100 people, whichever is lower. Pools, hot tubs and saunas that are in a multi-unit residence or part of a homeowners association are allowed to reopen. Flea markets, swap meets and drive-in movie theaters may also resume operations. 

The County’s order came one day after Gov. Newsom announced on Memorial Day that retail stores could resume operations pending County directives. That same day, May 25, the Beverly Hills City Council also sent a letter to the Governor urging him to allow cities to exert local control in reopening non-essential retail and restaurant establishments by June 1. While multiple counties across the state have already resumed dine-in services, including Ventura County, L.A. County has not given its approval to a single one of its 88 incorporated cities. 

The Council’s letter was sent three days after it conducted a Special Session, during which dozens of local business owners made impassioned pleas for reopening. 

Bruce Meyer, one of the founders of the Rodeo Drive Concours d’Elegance, was the first to advocate that the City Council work to expeditiously reopen the City further. The world-famous car show, a Father’s Day tradition, was slated to mark its 27th year on June 21 before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I’m about to turn 80 next year,” he said, noting that his age alone placed him among the City’s most vulnerable population. “As a resident, business owner and property owner, I just feel compelled to speak on the restrictions.” 

“I’m really here to lobby for all Beverly Hills business, big and small. Especially for the many family-owned businesses, this situation is absolutely dire,” Meyer said. “It’s time to fight for what we want.” 

“We do want to write in support of our businesses,” Councilman Julian Gold, M.D., shared at the virtual meeting after hearing public comment. 

During the Special Session, Councilman John Mirisch questioned the appropriateness of sending the letter in support of businesses reopening, given that the City’s Medical Advisory Task Force had not weighed in on the safety concerns involved. He was the only member of the Council not to sign the letter. 

“While we appreciate all of your work on behalf of the State’s residents, we believe that further delay of the economic recovery will have lasting and devastating financial consequences to our local economy. As such, we urgently request that nonessential retail and restaurant establishments be allowed to safely reopen on June 1st with limited in-store shopping and indoor/outdoor dining capacity with all necessary health and safety protocols in place as determined by State and L.A. County medical experts,” stated the Council’s May 25 letter to Gov. Newsom. 

The post Beverly Hills Retail Reopens, Dine-In Restaurants and Salons Still Closed appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The issue of mental health took precedence at a Special Meeting of the Beverly Hills Health and Safety Commission on May 18 in tandem with Mental Health Awareness Month. 

“It’s important to understand that we’re also in the middle of an epidemic of fear and a mental health crisis that will likely only get worse,” incoming Health and Safety Commissioner Erica Felsenthal, PH.D., a licensed psychologist, said during a presentation to the Commission. “It’s easy to understand why many people are feeling overwhelmed, fearful and helpless. These feelings are normal and to be expected during this time. Stress is affecting nearly everyone on some level.” 

Significant social changes have affected how people function in today’s world and many of those changes are triggering depression and anxiety. 

In projecting out to the future, Courier Columnist Eva Ritvo, M.D. recommends being patient with yourself and others. 

“As we transition back out, our signal anxiety will raise as we are unsure where the danger lies. If anxiety is high, it is best to go back slowly. Start with what activities you feel are the safest, then return home so your anxiety can retreat. Living in constant anxiety can take a toll on our nervous system,” she told the Courier. 

According to the American Psychological Association, signs of anxiety include restlessness and irritability; difficulty concentrating, sleep problems and generally feeling on edge; persistent worry or feeling overwhelmed by emotions; and excessive worry about a number of concerns such as health problems or finances. According to the Association, signs of depression include a lack of interest and pleasure in daily activities; significant weight loss or gain; insomnia or excessive sleeping; lack of energy or an inability to concentrate; feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt; and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. 

With depression often leading to thoughts of suicide, Felsenthal underscored the importance of incorporating positive coping tools and evidence-based interventions into our lives in order to create resilience. She said that telephone calls to one Los Angeles-based suicide hotline had increased by 8,000 percent since the pandemic began with such calls up by 800 percent across the nation. 

“Paying attention to your mental health is crucial and just as important as paying attention to your physical health at this time. And in reality they aren’t separate,” she said. 

Following Felsenthal’s presentation, Maple Counseling Center CEO Marcy Kaplan illuminated how the half-century-old local resource for counseling services has shifted in response to the pandemic.

Currently, over 70 counselors and 15 supervisors are now fully online, providing affordable sliding scale counseling services. 

“We didn’t really see referrals coming to us until about two to three weeks ago,” she told the Commission. “We have people in the community interested in starting counseling. I think that may be because things are starting to stabilize a little bit and everyone in their own way is kind of accepting that this is going to continue indefinitely and reading and seeing that it is important to start getting the help that you need.” 

Locally, in conjunction with the Beverly Hills Department of Human Services and through various community partners, the City offers a wide safety net for seniors and those in vulnerable populations. Jewish Family Services continues to work with at-risk seniors as well as providing meal delivery service similar to Beverly Hills Meals on Wheels. In addition, Bet Tzedek provides pro bono legal service for seniors and tenants living in the City who meet certain criteria. The Department of Community Services also offers a particularly robust website (communitylifebh. org) featuring over 100 online resources, which serves as a virtual hub for community service programs, events and services, such as “Yoga at Greystone.” 

The post Mental Health Issues Take Precedence at Beverly Hills Health and Safety Commission Meeting appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“Our rent stabilization is a critical part of our financial structure,” incoming Commission Chair Lou Milkowski told the Courier. Once sworn in, Milkowski, who represents one of two “at large” members on the six-member advisory body, will help lead the Commission in selecting its Vice Chair. There are also three additional alternate Commissioners, one each to represent landlords, tenants and at large members. 

At the upcoming meeting, the new Commissioners will be advised of certain rules governing them as public officials as it pertains to the Brown Act and receive training on the RSO. At subsequent meetings, which are slated to take place the first Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m., the Commission will also be tasked with helping resolve residential landlord-tenant disputes triggered by the eviction moratorium as codified in the City’s Urgency Ordinance related to COVID-19. 

Currently, two appeals related to the Urgency Ordinance’s eviction moratorium are slated to be decided by City Council liaisons Councilman Julian Gold and Councilman John Mirisch. According to Deputy Director of Community Development for Rent Stabilization Helen Morales, those are the first two appeals the City will decide. 

“The at large members play, I think, the most significant role,” said Milkowski, who previously served on the City’s Traffic and Parking Commission alongside Councilwoman Lili Bosse and Councilman Gold. At large members cannot be landlords, tenants or property managers. 

Following the initial appointment of Milkowski as Chair, which was made earlier this year by the City Council, subsequent Chairs shall rotate between the two at large members. 

The Vice Chair, which the Commission is expected to select at Wednesday evening’s meeting, shall rotate between a landlord member and a tenant member. Landlords are defined as residents who own one or more multi-family residential buildings within the City. 

“We’re kind of the balancing factor,” Milkowski said of the at large Rent Stabilization Commissioners, who neither rent units within the City of Beverly Hills nor serve as landlords. “We have to present the arguments and advocate what is right, bringing fairness to both sides. We’re kind of the arbiters that will hopefully bring consensus to sides in a reasonable manner.” 

At Large Members include Milkowski (Chair), Donna Tryfman and Ryan D. Gurman (alternate). Landlord Members are Remmie Maden, Neal Baseman and Frances E. Miller (alternate). Tenant Members are Kathryn Cavanaugh, Gwendolyn Owens and Kathy Bronte (alternate). 

Milkowski underscored the importance of deftly mitigating landlord-tenant disputes, particularly in this time of extreme economic uncertainty. The City Council this month stated that it plans to amend its Urgency Ordinance to focus on commercial eviction protections in June. However, such changes are not expected to measurably impact the purview of the Rent Stabilization Commission, which is tasked with mitigating residential disputes. 

“Obviously you have to balance the tenant’s rights versus the landlord who also has his bill to pay,” Milkowski told the Courier. “We certainly don’t want to let any of our apartments be left to deteriorate.” 

The June 3 meeting will be virtual and broadcast on Beverly Hills Television (Spectrum Channel 10) and available at beverlyhills.org/live. 

The post Inaugural Beverly Hills Rent Stabilization Commission Meeting June 3 appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

As to just when that will happen remains a matter of consternation for Beverly Hills businesses who are vocally frustrated with the delays in opening. Nearby, Ventura County received state approval on Wednesday to reopen dine-in restaurants and shopping malls. City Spokesperson Keith Sterling told the Courier the City Council plans to petition Gov. Gavin Newsom in an effort to reopen Beverly Hills restaurants and other businesses before other Los Angeles County cities. To that end, the Council is scheduled to meet on May 22 

at 4:30 p.m. for a Special City Council meeting to review the language of a letter asking Gov. Newsom to let nonessential retail and restaurants open with limited capacity and safety protocols in place. To watch live, visit http://Beverlyhills.org/live. 

“There’s a sense of frustration. Being forced to be closed for this long is not helpful for any of them. But the reason they’re being mandated to be closed for this long is for the safety…in order to prevent the spread,” Beverly Hills Marketing and Economic Sustainability Manager Laura Biery told the Courier. 

She cautioned that L.A. County, which counts the highest number of positive COVID- 19 tests, 42,037 (including 126 in Beverly Hills), and deaths, 2,016, was unlikely to be among the first counties in the state to lead in easing restrictions.

Currently, Biery said, there are no exceptions to reopening for individual cities located within the state’s most populated county, including Beverly Hills. 

Beverly Hills has been a sanctuary of safety precautions during the pandemic, including enacting a mandatory face covering ordinance well before the City of Los Angeles followed suit. The City’s Urgency Ordinance related to COVID-19, which details a litany of safety measures undertaken, is now in its fourth iteration. 

In the wake of Gov. Newsom moving the state further into Stage Two of California’s five-stage reopening plan, the City’s Business Recovery Assistance Task Force keyed in on 12 specific issues that members thought warranted Council review, including outdoor dining. Other items included deferment of Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) payments, safety protocols, delivery commission caps and parking requirements. 

Under county guidelines, around 200 local businesses initially qualified to reopen for curbside pick-up on May 8, with all retailers not located in an indoor mall or shopping center allowed to likewise offer door-side, outside pick-up or delivery starting on May 13. 

Now in the second week following the reopening of retail for curbside pick-up, streets around Beverly Hills remained relatively quiet. Valentino General Manager Kathy Gohari, a member of the City’s Task Force and past president of the Rodeo Drive Committee, underscored how retailers are very much “looking forward to the next phase of private appointments.” 

Gohari highlighted the forthcoming eight-episode podcast series “Only On Rodeo Drive” slated to launch on May 29 as an exciting way to help reignite momentum for the City’s most famous street. 

“I think this podcast brings a lot memories back of what makes Rodeo Drive timeless and relevant,” said Gohari, who has spent her career working in retail along Rodeo Drive starting at the age of 17. On the podcast she recounts one of her most luxurious experiences on the street: meeting Bijan Pakzad when she was 20. “He told me, ‘Kathy, I sell a dream. I don’t sell clothes. I sell experience and my confidence. I don’t sell suits. I sell closets.'” 

Gohari highlighted how prepared the retailers on Rodeo Drive were to reopen further given that restrictions have already lessened in other parts of the world where the brands also have a presence. “Every company already has their roll-out plan of safety and operating procedures,” she said. 

Throughout the City businesses are anxious to open further, which for restaurants means the return of wait staff, all of whom will be wearing face coverings, in addition to other safety measures. 

In anticipation of giving restaurants the ability to expand to the street or occupy space in front of adjacent establishments, Biery said that staff would examine the City’s Outdoor Dining Ordinance to prepare recommendations for City Council. In order for restaurants to be able to serve alcohol within the expanded outdoor space, the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) would need to loosen its order, which it has already done in some ways, such as by now allowing for the purchase of alcoholic drinks to-go with curbside pick-up. 

The post Beverly Hills Business Recovery Begins Amidst COVID-19 appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Total operating revenue for the upcoming fiscal year is forecast to drop to $211.7 million, $38.8 million less than the City’s original projection, largely resulting from the negative fiscal impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), business taxes and sales taxes. Projected revenue for this current fiscal year, FY 2019/20, is just north of $268 million. 

“We have a community that deserves and requests a service level and I think that we have provided that. Everyone’s going to have to be a little bit more patient in the future because I don’t think we’re going to get that 110 percent anymore. We’re going to be back at about 100,” Mayor Lester Friedman said at the May 14 Special Budget Study Session. 

From suspending capital improvement projects to reducing ongoing departmental materials and supplies budgets to implementing a hiring freeze or even laying off employees, the Council is considering a bevy of budget cut recommendations to close the revenue gap precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I do think the framework is a reasonable one. It’s one that provides for broad cuts, wide-ranging across the City,” said Vice Mayor Bob Wunderlich, who together with Mayor Friedman worked with staff as part of the City’s Ad-Hoc Committee. 

Staff will continue to update the Council regularly with the understanding that the budget will be fluid and evolving. 

In making the presentation to City Council, Budget and Revenue Officer Don Harrison underscored that budget projections were “conservative” so as to not over-project revenue sources. Still, he acknowledged that the City was “looking at some pretty serious declines for next year” in terms of revenue. “Many businesses may not survive the shut down,” he said. 

Locally several hotels have closed temporarily but are likely to benefit once “staycationers” begin driving to locations as restrictions in the state lessen further. When restaurants do reopen, they will do so with social distancing in place, which will certainly challenge operations. The retail recovery will also likely be slowed due to the need for social distancing. 

“While it is still impossible to know today with any certainty what that ultimate impact will be, staff has continued to work with the Ad-Hoc Committee in developing a financial forecasting model,” stated the May 14 staff report authored by Harrison and Director of Finance Jeff Muir. “The forecast will continue to be a ‘work in progress,’ but the City must work towards adopting a budget for fiscal year 2020/21 in the midst of this uncertainty.” 

A previous Study Session on April 21 provided the Council with initial projections of the significant economic impact from the COVID-19 crisis with a projected shortfall of up to $10 million though the end of June. March and April numbers have since been updated, substantially improving the projected fiscal year-end results to a $500,000 surplus. 

Whereas for the coming year the City is now facing a projected 45 percent decrease in TOT hotel revenue down to $28 million, a 43.8 percent revenue decrease in sales and use tax down to $19.3 million, and a projected 26.6 percent decrease in business tax down to $38.2 million, property tax revenue is still in good shape – at least for this year. Harrison said he expected property tax revenue, which is projected to increase by 5.6 percent for FY 2020/21 to $80 million, will not be negatively impacted until the following fiscal year. 

Other miscellaneous revenue (including licenses and permits) are expected to decrease by 10.4 percent to account for $46.1 million of the City’s operating revenue. 

Staff will return with an abbreviated budget at a June Study Session during which time Councilmembers will be able to delve more deeply into the specifics of the proposed cuts. One potential cut that multiple Councilmembers voiced concern over was the proposal to delay a $420,000 annual expenditure to purchase emergency food and water supplies. 

Staff will also move forward in the coming weeks with a survey to gauge interest in early retirement/separation incentive options for City employees, the results of which will be known by the fall. 

The post Beverly Hills City Council Considers Cuts of $38.8 Million appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“What we’ve really done is we’ve shifted the playing field where it’s uneven for the tenant,” Mayor Lester Friedman said, noting that “some tenants have been taking advantage” of the ordinance to not pay rent when they are capable of doing so. “It was not our intention to have landlords be banks.” 

The Council was originally slated to vote on the revised ordinance during the formal City Council meeting later that evening. However, the item was subsequently pulled from the agenda in order to allow City Attorney Larry Wiener to incorporate changes before the Council moves to adopt a new ordinance. 

“What this ordinance should be doing… is ensuring that those who needed the help got the help and were not thrown out,” clarified Mayor Friedman. Both the mayor and Councilwoman Lili Bosse underscored that the ordinance was never intended to leave landlords in the position of “serving as banks.” 

Specifically how the revised ordinance pertains to the different categories of commercial tenants (office, retail, restaurants) is expected to be among a number of changes Wiener is tasked with making. Other provisions expected to be included in the revised ordinance include the length of time tenants will have to repay the forborne rent sans penalties as well as specific steps that must be taken prior to a landlord attempting to recoup losses in court. 

“The number one goal is to protect the tenants…we don’t want people to get evicted,” Bosse said. “Anybody who owns property right now is affected. And I don’t think it’s our intention to allow landlords to be banks.” 

The original ordinance adopted on March 16, No. 20-O-2805, defined emergency regulations related to residential and commercial tenant evictions, in addition to mandating measures to strengthen the City’s response to the outbreak of COVID-19, including closure of certain establishments. 

Since passing the ordinance, the Council has worked to finesse the relationship between commercial landlords and tenants. On March 31, the first replacement Urgency Ordinance, No. 20-O-2806, changed the notice a tenant provides to the landlord should they be unable to pay rent from 30 days to 7 days after the rent is due and established a moratorium on rent increases, in addition to other measures. The current ordinance, No. 20-O-2809, which on May 5 repealed and replaced its predecessor, Urgency Ordinance No. 20-O-2808, made modifications to what commercial tenants the ordinance applies to when allowing for the forbearance of paying rent should a person lack the funds as a result of COVID-19. 

The Council has fielded significant pressure from landlords following passage of the ordinance, which currently allows residential and commercial tenants up to a year after the pandemic crisis ends to pay back missed rent payments sans interest. 

Former Beverly Hills Mayor Tom Levyn, a real estate attorney, used public comment to voice his frustration with the Urgency Ordinance, which he characterized as unfairly disadvantaging landlords. 

“Which commercial tenants does the City want to protect?” he queried at the beginning of the Study Session on Tuesday. Levyn advocated that the City Council exempt the office category from the ordinance and let the landlord and tenant work out a deal. “My answer would be [protect] those in need of help.” 

Directly following Levyn, Beverly Hills attorney and resident Steve Mayer offered a contrasting view, stating that the process appeared to be “too influenced by one group: New York Stock Exchange listed landlords.” 

“Please go back to the simple Urgency Ordinance,” he asked. 

In the wake of the Council enacting the Urgency Ordinance, Douglas Emmett CEO Jordan Kaplan estimated that one-third of his office tenants were delinquent in rent payments. Many of those tenants, he said, were high net worth tenants taking advantage of the ordinance to withhold rent. 

“We’re going into a market that’s going to be very tough on landlords. Today we have 3,000 tenants and we have not signed a single deal with a tenant,” Emmett told the Council, noting that “all of them” have essentially taken a free loan by not paying rent. “Tenants just walk away when you try to make a deal because they already have the best you can get, which is zero.” 

Councilman Julian Gold questioned the logic of mandating rent forbearance given that courts are not allowing the eviction process to proceed. The ordinance currently in place allows tenants the opportunity to cure the default before they would face eviction proceedings. 

“I want that the ordinance requires landlords and tenants to come to a deal,” Gold said. “I think we have to force that and not assume that it’s happening.” 

Both Bosse and Councilman John Mirisch advocated lowering the amount of time tenants have to repay the forborne rent to between three to six months after the emergency ends. 

“Large corporations that are able to afford to pay rent (now) should,” Mirisch said. “We don’t want to get caught between commercial landlords and tenants.” 

The post Beverly Hills Looks to Amend Eviction Urgency Ordinance appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

BH SUMMER MARTINI

2 oz. Favorite Gin 2-3 pieces of basil 

2 slices of cucumber .75 oz. Lime juice

.5 oz. Agave syrup .25 oz. Orange liquor Garnish: Basil leaf 

In a mixing tin, muddle the cucumbers. Hold two basil leaves and your hand and clap them together (spanking the basil :). Add Gin, lime juice, agave syrup and orange liquor. Fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for 10 seconds. Strain cocktail into a chilled Martini glass and serve 

BH WHISKEY TIKI

2 oz. Bourbon

.75 oz. Lemon juice

.5 oz. Orgeat syrup

.5 oz. squeeze fresh orange juice

.5 oz. pineapple juice

3 oz. Ginger beer

2 dashes of bitters

Garnish: pineapple and cherry

In a mixing tin, muddle 2 chunks of fresh pineapple. If you don’t have fresh pineapple, use .5 oz. of pineapple juice. Add Bourbon, lemon juice, Orgeat syrup, Orange juice (if not fresh, just use from concetrate) and add bitters. Add ice and shake for 10 seconds, then strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. 

PERFECT BLOODY MARY

Drink expert Eric “ET” Tecosky, former bar manager at Jones Hollywood, has an interesting hack for making the perfect Bloody Mary. While you might think that olive juice is only for making a ‘dirty martini,’ it actually works well for everyone’s favorite brunch cocktail as well. 

“At Jones, we’ve been using [L.A. based] Dirty Sue Premium Olive Juice for years and it’s become kind of a ‘secret weapon’ for bartenders across the country for Bloody Marys. It provides an umami that enhances all the flavors of all the other ingredients. For people who like a squeeze of citrus in their Bloody, it cuts the astringency of the citrus without taking away any of the flavor.” 

THE DIRTY SUE BLOODY MARY

Home Recipe created by Eric “ET” Tecosky 

1 1/2 oz quality Vodka

1/2 oz Dirty Sue Premium Olive Juice

4 oz High Quality Tomato Juice

3-4 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1/2 oz Hot Prepared Horse Radish

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon Celery salt

1/8 teaspoon Season Salt

3 dashes Frank’s Red Hot Sauce or your favorite.

Preparation instructions:

1. Add all ingredients to a Collins glass*

2. Fill with ice

3. Pour into an empty pint glass

4. Pour back into Collins glass

5. Top with a couple ice cubes Garnish: 1 lemon wedge, 1 lime wedge and whatever is calling your name – cucumber spear, Dirty Sue Jalapeno Stuffed Olive, thick cut slice of bacon – treat yourself! 

*Glass – optional. Run the lemon wedge around the rim of the glass and roll into some Old Bay Seasoning. 

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Welcome Back Chief Rivetti 

The City Council unanimously approved the employment agreement with Dominick J. Rivetti to serve as the Interim Chief of Police until a permanent chief is selected. Given Rivetti’s status as a retired person under the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), in order to maintain his benefits, he cannot work more than 960 hours in any fiscal year. Rivetti will be paid an hourly rate of $126.50 an hour, which according to his contract equates to approximately $23,660 per month. Per the contract, Rivetti will not be eligible to receive any benefits, incentives or any other form of compensation in addition to the hourly rate. 

Rivetti takes over the position previously held by Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli for almost four-and-a-half-years, who retired earlier this month. This week’s appointment marks the second time Rivetti will take the helm of the Beverly Hills Police Department, previously having served as Interim Chief from August 2015 through early 2016 before Spagnoli was tapped for the position. Councilmembers Lili Bosse, Julian Gold and John Mirisch were all members of the Council last time Rivetti served. 

“We are very lucky to have you at the helm and we are thrilled to have you back,” said Bosse, who requested to make the motion to approve Rivetti’s contract. “You know our department, you know our City and you’re well positioned to step up. Thank you for your service,” Mirisch said. “We look forward to all that you’re going to bring to the City, yet again,” Gold said.

Memorial Day in Beverly Hills 

Beverly Hills Parks will remain open for Memorial Day, as opposed to closing as the City opted to due for both Mother’s Day and Easter in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The City Council advocated that there be additional patrols in the park to ensure that people continue adhering to rules, including appropriate social distancing and face covering usage. Park Ambassadors are expected to offer “friendly reminders” about the rules.

Condemning Holocaust Denial 

The City Council unanimously adopted a resolution condemning any attempts by the Lithuanian government to deny involvement in the Holocaust. A Committee of the Lithuanian parliament was drafting legislation in January 2020 declaring that neither the Baltic nation nor its leaders participated in the Holocaust, which included the murder of six million Jews. It is estimated more than 95 percent of about 250,000 Jews who lived in Lithuania when the Nazis invaded in 1945 were slain. 

Seventy-five years on, Holocaust revisionism continues to increase globally. The resolution states: “The City of Beverly Hills condemns any attempts by the Lithuanian government to deny their historical state-sponsored, and other official acts facilitating the murder of Jews and others during the Holocaust.”

Council Agrees to Delay TOT Repayments 

The Council agreed to extend deferred Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) payments. Hotels now have until on Oct. 1 to begin repayments for February, March and April, to be repaid over a six-month period. The City has thus far received $1.4 million of the $5.1 million it was due from hotels for February and March taxes. A joint letter authored by the hotel community to the City Council advocated for an additional extension of the repayment of 2020 TOT to the City. “This pandemic has been the most difficult challenge our City’s hotels have ever faced,” stated the letter of May 13, which was signed by Offer Nissenbaum (The Peninsula Beverly Hills), Sandy Murphy (The Beverly Hilton), Peter Humig (The Beverly Wilshire), Michael Bridges (Sixty Beverly Hills), Brittany Ruland (AKA Beverly Hills), Edward Mady (The Beverly Hills Hotel), and Vanessa Williams (Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills). 

Meal Delivery Service Providers Face Caps 

The Council agreed to further consider setting a 15 percent cap on delivery service fees for third party providers like Grubhub, Uber Eats, and DoorDash at its June 2 meeting. San Francisco, Washington DC, Seattle and New York have all enacted a 15 percent commission cap for third-party delivery services. City Attorney Larry Wiener is expected to draft an ordinance for the upcoming meeting. According to Beverly Hills Marketing and Economic Sustainability Manager Laura Biery, fees can range from five percent to 30 percent. 

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In fact, one of the most recognizable features of all 18 Ambassadors – their smiles – now remain hidden beneath masks needed to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

“Since the pandemic happening it’s been a drastic change,” Leon recently told the Courier. “We’re always keeping in mind to keep our distance. Just protect the community, and ourselves and them.” 

From educating those who are unaware of Beverly Hills Ordinance No. 20-0-2806, which mandates that people must wear face coverings when they have the potential of coming within six feet of someone else, to advising people to appropriately social distance, ambassadors made a total of 422 “social education” contacts in April according to Kris Zagyva, operations manager with the Ambassadors program. The biggest concentrations, he said, were happening in the City’s parks, along South Beverly, and on Rodeo Drive. 

“For the most part, we’re seeing a lot of people with masks and people are social distancing as best they can,” Human Services Administrator James Latta told the Courier. In addition to educating people about the City’s face covering mandate, Ambassadors will also provide people with surgical comfort masks. “We’re doing our best not to give citations. Everyone’s trying to adjust to this difficult time.” 

While Ambassadors are not empowered to issue citations for face mask violations, which carry an initial fine of $100 for the first offense, they have the support of the Beverly Hills Police. According to Lt. Elizabeth Albanese, no citations have yet been issued. 

On May 7, the Human Relations Commission recommended that the Ambassadors receive a raise. Ambassadors currently earn from $15.50 to $16.50 an hour, depending on how long they’ve been with the City. The Commission recommended an increase to $18, which will need to go before the City Council for deliberation. According to Zagyva, the program’s biggest challenge is retention, with many Ambassadors lured away to work for local businesses as security guards for significantly higher pay. 

“It is imperative that the City support the Ambassadors and recognize their tremendous efforts on behalf of our City,” Human Relations Commission Chair Ori Blumenfeld told the Courier. “We whole-heartedly recommend the City Council approve the increase to retain our beloved Ambassadors, whom provide necessary and essential services to our community as a whole.” 

In light of the dramatically diminished number of people on the streets, in place of dealing with a preponderance hospitality-related tasks, including interacting with tourists, Zagyva said the Ambassadors have been able to serve the City in other enhanced ways. They now more actively patrol the entryways of stores, in addition to being able to patrol the City’s parking lots 24/7, as opposed to just checking the structures in the evening. Latta said the City has about 1.8 million square feet of parking structures and the increased patrols help to curb camping, graffiti, vandalism, and even defecation. There’s also been a decrease in aggressive panhandling in the City, but an increase in the number of transients now coming into the City, which the Ambassadors deal with. 

“The best way to describe it is ‘rolling with the punches.’ The requirements are ever changing,” Zagyva said. 

The behind-the-scenes work has also changed for Ambassadors who must now have office briefings outdoors spaced eight- feet apart, in addition to limited access to the locker rooms so that not more than one person is inside. Latta said the Ambassadors are also being checked for symptoms of COVID-19, including having their temperatures taken at the beginning and end of each shift. 

“It’s really a change how we do things,” Latta said. 

To date, no Ambassador has tested positive for COVID-19, he said. 

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But like so many nonprofits which relied on in-person fundraising events to draw in needed donor dollars, the Friends of Robinson Gardens, the volunteer non- profit which supports the Gardens, will need to pivot their fundraising efforts this year. According to President of the Friends Patti Reinstein, Garden Tour plans are still evolving. 

“There’s definitely very real challenges that everyone is facing,” Tower Cancer Research Foundation Executive Director Linda David told the Courier. “Our gala is such an important fundraising opportunity for us.” 

Earlier this week, on May 12, the Beverly Hills-based foundation hosted its annual Tower of Hope Gala via Zoom, raising over $1 million. Unlike last year’s gala, which netted $1 million for Tower, there were virtually no expenses to hold this year’s “Stay Home Affair” and every dollar donated was 100 percent deductible. 

“We actually have the potential to do better this year,” David said. “There’s so many silver linings to this cloud for us. Having this kind of support really shows us that our mission resonates with our community.” 

The virtual gala itself included a Zoom call with scores of participants who toasted this year’s honorees, Dr. Barry Rosenbloom and Michele Kaplan. A virtual paddle raise on the day of the event, where a donor offered to match up to $100,000, kept funds coming in for research grants and patient support programs. In addition to the electronic fundraiser, Tower has also helped cancer patients and survivors by shoring up their online offerings, including posting classes online, free to its patient population. 

Even before the Stay at Home mandate was issued on March 19, UCLA Health Sciences began to take steps to shore up their digital offerings. In the days that followed, the organization created two COVID-19 funds to support UCLA Health’s immediate life-saving work, one devoted to research and education and the other focusing on patient care and healthcare provider protection. There’s also an opportunity for people to offer PPE and in-kind donations. 

For Giving Tuesday on May 5, UCLA Health allowed people to make online “Thank you” videos. And one family made a $250,000 donation to mark the day. The first two of three online lectures entitled “Your COVID-19 Questions Answered” each had over 500 people attend using Zoom and are now available online. 

“We started to really make strategies for how we would have engagement events, not knowing how long it will last,” Assistant Vice Chancellor of Development of UCLA Health Sciences Lindsay Williams told the Courier. The organization recently closed its $5 billion centennial campaign last December. “For us, we’ve been very engaged on how we engage our philanthropic community safely.” 

Before the pandemic began, the hospital’s board met just a few times a week with UCLA Health’s leadership. Now, the two cohorts meet weekly online. 

“This really gave us an opportunity for our board members and volunteers to engage directly with our leaders [and] provided us an opportunity for high engagement,” Williams said. No decision has yet been reached as to what will happen to the organization’s two major fundraisers this year. 

“The challenges are the challenges facing our nation. Both the physical distancing and the ways we conducted our engagement have to change,” she said. “People of all different wealths are feeling they want to contribute in some meaningful way. We as an organization really need to be able to accept philanthropy in all forms.” 

On May 2, at the start of Mental Health Awareness month, the Southern California Counseling Center (SCCC) held a virtual fundraiser to support affordable mental healthcare, bringing in over $100,000. The hour-long “e-vent” included entertainment, a silent auction, and a live comments feed. Michelle Becker, director of advancement for the organization, said that over 400 people watched the livestream on YouTube. 

“It’s a critical time for quality mental healthcare and people mobilized,” she told the Courier. “We were proud to have so many loyal friends tune into SCCC’s first virtual fundraising event. We really are like a family.” 

Last month the Women’s Guild Cedars- Sinai marshaled its board members to participate in the Women’s Guild Covid-19 Gift Card Relief Fund Campaign, raising over $100,000 over the course of two weeks. Shelley Cooper, president of the Women’s Guild, said the Guild would soon be distributing 4,500 $25 gift cards to the 4,300 hospital employees. 

“We are so proud and happy that we could give back to the hospital in this way. We’re not resting on our laurels, that’s for sure,” she told the Courier. “With their compassion, these frontline heroes continue to make Cedars-Sinai a pillar of hope by providing healthcare to all in need.” 

Through the Guild, a bevy of additional donations have come to Cedars-Sinai during this time, including 500 Velvet t-shirts for nurses, 1,100 Bandolier cross body cellphone cases, and 7,800 hot meals for frontline employees from Barbara Thornhhill. The Women’s Guild Simulation Center for Advanced Clinical Skills is proving particularly helpful during this time, with over 2,300 professionals having used the simulation center to deal with the pandemic. 

The Guild elected to postpone this year’s annual gala, which would have taken place on May 5. Plans for its upcoming Women’s Guild luncheon in the fall are still in abeyance. 

“It’s very difficult to plan anything, as Dr. (Anthony) Fauci has so eloquently put it every day,” Cooper said. 

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“Fraudulent medical testing can give consumers a false sense of hope. A false sense of hope can contribute to the spread of the virus,” Head Deputy District Attorney Stanley Williams told the Courier. 

On May 1, City Attorney Mike Feuer and L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey jointly filed a case against Beverly Hills- based Applied BioSciences Corp. on Wilshire Boulevard for unlawfully advertising and selling an in-home COVID-19 antibody blood test that had not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The complaint, which seeks an injunction, restitution to consumers and civil penalties, marked the first joint filing by the County and City in a COVID-related consumer action. 

“There are a lot of individuals and businesses that are trying to take advantage of 

people’s fears during this time,” Supervising Deputy City Attorney Christina Tusan told the Courier. “The problem is pretty significant given that this is new and emerging.” 

The investigation by Lacey and Feuer revealed that Applied BioSciences allegedly marketed their antibody test to homes, schools, hospitals, law enforcement, military and public servants, with the claim the $35 tests could diagnose COVID-19 with “96.3 percent accuracy” in just “15 minutes” from a single finger prick of blood, according to the complaint. 

The case marks the third civil lawsuit filed by the City Attorney’s office against companies that advertise and sell at-home exposure and immunity test kits for the virus that haven’t been approved by the FDA. In addition to having issued a number of cease and desist letters, Tusan said the City Attorney is also looking at additional cases. 

“It’s really important that the antibody test be done by a medical doctor or an approved establishment,” said Williams. 

There are currently two types of COVID- 19 tests, the PCR (molecular) swab test to detect the coronavirus that causes COVID- 19, and the antibody (serology) test, where blood is collected to determine if a person has been exposed to, and recovered from, COVID-19. 

While L.A. County now performs more than 10,000 swab tests a day, the antigen test is more difficult to come by. As of May 11, the FDA had conferred emergency use authorization (EUA) to 12 antibody tests, with an additional 200 antibody tests currently the subject of a pre-EUA or EUA review according the FDA. 

Beverly Hills Medical Advisory Task Force and Health and Safety Commissioner member Dr. Lee Hilborne, M.D., a UCLA Health Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine listed four places offering reliable tests: Cedars-Sinai, UCLA Health, Quest Diagnostics, and LabCorp. 

He explained that the antibody tests are useful for public health purposes. 

“We don’t even know if this antibody confers immunity, although we think it does,” he told the Courier. “At this point, it is important for our health leaders to know the percent of people with antibodies, and the rate with which antibody prevalence is increasing.” 

Beginning the week of May 18, One Medical in Beverly Hills will offer free antibody testing for residents working with LabCorp using a test authorized by the FDA. One Medical District Director Jason W. Chirichigno, M.D., told the Courier that locals can access the normally subscriber-based practice’s services free for a month using the code BEVHILLS30 and will not be auto-enrolled or billed a membership fee at the end of the 30-day period. The primary care practice, which usually charges a $199 annual fee for patients, integrates on-demand 24/7 virtual care with in-office and lab services. 

“Widely available COVID-19 testing is crucial for getting Beverly Hills residents back to work and school,” Chirichigno told the Courier. “We’re pleased to make this essential service more widely accessible to Beverly Hills residents during this time of need.” 

For weeks now, One Medical has been offering PCR testing at a designated open-air testing site in Century City. Patients who want an antibody test should first book a remote visit before going to the Beverly Hills lab to have their blood drawn. 

As restrictions continue to relax and testing becomes more widely available, Pamela Mottice-Muller, Director of Emergency Management, Resilience and Recovery for the City of Beverly Hills, underscored the importance of not letting “our guard down.” 

Earlier this week Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the stay-at-home order would be extended indefinitely and that data would be fundamental to lifting it. 

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“It’s exciting,” Beverly Hills Marketing and Economic Sustainability Manager Laura Biery told the Courier. “To really see that retail appetite come back, that ability to pick it up same day is really exciting. That is a welcome site.” 

While pedestrian activity on Rodeo Drive still remains light and most of the people using curbside pick-up are choosing to make use of the alley ways, on Tuesday there was a steady stream of cars waiting along Dayton Way for Louis Vuitton parcels to be safely placed inside trunks via white-gloved employees. And just four days after opening, nearly all of the window displays had been set up once again and the store interiors remerchandised. Other areas of the City have similarly reopened with refreshed window displays and signage alerting patrons to the pick-up process. 

“We’re doing what we can, but at the same time we’re staying safe,” Nicola Cagliata, Rodeo Drive Committee President and Regional Manager for Jaeger Le Coultre, told the Courier. “We’re definitely moving in the right direction. There’s a lot of excitement. A lot of the stores are organizing. Clients are calling in orders and preparing to pick-up.” 

Among the keys to prosperity in the future, according to Kathy Gohari, general manager of Valentino and past president of the Rodeo Drive Committee, will be the ability of people to get creative. 

“I think this is a great time for brands to find ways to recreate themselves. I think what it gives us, is an opportunity to learn from these past couple of months and be able to do things better. It allows us all to be more creative and think outside of the box,” she told the Courier. 

Gohari, who has worked at Valentino for 18 years, emphasized that much of the luxury retail market is about relationships. 

“Believe it or not, I think with a certain group, [our relationships have] gotten stronger,” she said. “We check on each other. It’s almost like a family member where we care about each other and we check on each other and if we don’t hear from each other we get concerned.” 

Opening just in time for Mother’s Day this past Sunday proved a real boon for local flower shops and shoppers in need of the perfect gift. 

Just hours after reopening, Twigs and Thyme owner Nancy Ohanessian said the telephone wouldn’t stop ringing with people calling in orders for curbside pick-up or delivery. 

“We love it. We’re finally out of the house,” she told the Courier. “The phones are off the hook and we can’t even answer them fast enough.” 

“We’re so happy to be open that we could boost people’s morale and spirits during this unfortunate period that we’re going through,” Muguet Florist owner Mehdi Arya told the Courier. 

As the state continues to allow more specific industries to reopen, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health will subsequently determine how that will happen and when it will take place. In anticipation of the phased reopening continuing, Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Johnson underscored how important it was to rebuild the community together as a team. 

“The Chamber welcomes a limited reopening of some businesses in Los Angeles County and Beverly Hills in particular,” he told the Courier. “We are looking forward to working with the business community during this process and into the future stages of recovery from this crisis.” 

Marketing and Economic Sustainability Manager Laura Biery said that businesses were actively reaching out to the City for guidance on how to best open safely and learn what protocols need to be in place. 

“Our business community wants to reopen, but they want to reopen safely,” she said. “This is a brand new experience for everyone. None of us has lived through a global pandemic before.” 

Not everyone is completely enthused with the protocols now in place, however. “It’s useless. Curbside pick-up is the same things as online ordering,” Harry Harris Shoes owner Andy Harris told the Courier. The children’s shoe store has been in its same location on North Canon Drive for 72 years. “The optics of curbside service for the essence of a symbolic gesture doesn’t do any good.” 

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“At the end of the day, these are meaningful modifications (to the Stay at Home order),” he said, underscoring that the decision came in response to a flattening of the curve related to COVID-19 infections. “The guidelines we’re focused on today are extending opportunities in the retail sector, the manufacturing sector and the logistics sector, all with adaptations, all with modifications, but all with an eye on turning the page and moving into a new phase in terms of our economic recovery.” 

The majority of businesses poised to reopen, including toy stores, florists, book stores, music stores, clothing stores, sporting goods stores and car dealership showrooms, will only open initially for curbside pick-up. 

To facilitate curbside pick-up in Beverly Hills, the City plans to convert parking meters to free five-minute customer loading meters exactly as it has done for restaurants and pharmacies that remain open during this time. 

“Rodeo Drive looks forward to welcoming clients to our curbsides for contactless pick-ups,” Rodeo Drive Committee Vice President and manager of Valentino Kathy Gohari told the Courier. “We hope this leads our community in the right direction towards post-COVID business revitalization. 

During this time, our Rodeo Drive community is ready to receive you with utmost care while practicing social distancing guidelines. We take the health and safety of our community very seriously.” 

Both the governor and Los Angeles County representatives continue to emphasize that if there is a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, then the state will need to curtail these less restrictive measures. 

“This by no stretch of the imagination is over. We want to contain the spread,” Gov. Newsom said. “We are making real progress in the state because you all practiced physical distancing and you abided broadly by the Stay at Home order. But we are not out of the woods.” 

As of press time, California had a reported 60,614 cases of the virus, including 28,644 in Los Angeles (116 in Beverly Hills). Statewide over 2,500 people have died from COVID-19, more than half of whom (1,367) resided in Los Angeles County. 

Per the governor’s specific guidelines, before reopening all facilities must: perform a detailed risk assessment and implement a site-specific protection plan; train employees on how to limit the spread of COVID-19, including how to screen themselves for symptoms and stay home if they have them; implement individual control measures and screenings; implement disinfecting protocols; and implement physical distancing guidelines. Available on the state’s website are further specific guidelines for various industries. 

In advance of the detailed guidelines being released, on May 6 the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health unveiled a five-stage recovery roadmap based on brush strokes Gov. Newsom initially provided on Monday on how some businesses could reopen as long as they adhere to specific modifications. In making that announcement he said that local officials would have more flexibility to move further into reopening cities. 

“[The county] is really the guidance for us in Beverly Hills,” Marketing and Economic Sustainability Manager Laura Biery told the Courier. “We’re all very excited about Friday and the opportunity for businesses to start doing some of these transactions that previously they had not been able to do.” 

Following Wednesday’s announcement by the county, the City immediately began notifying local businesses, including information that further details would be made available once the safety protocols are published by the governor and the county. According to Biery, roughly 200 businesses in the City’s business tax system fall within those categories listed by the county that qualify to reopen. 

Beverly Hills Mercedes Benz General Manager Frank Murphy, who will oversee the reopening of the dealership on May 8, told the Courier that his business was primed, particularly given that the auto repair portion had remained open throughout the pandemic as an essential business. 

“Most of the car dealers in the Los Angeles area have been ahead of the curve,” he said, noting that Mercedes Benz had installed special plexiglass shields in the service area. “We’ve been at the forefront of making sure our employees and customers are safe.” 

In addition to requiring employees to wear a mask and gloves, Murphy said that they were disinfecting all cars and would be using special steering wheel and seat covers. 

“There’s nothing like seeing a car. Buying a car is a very personal experience,” he said. “To have our showrooms back open, I think it’s a testament to the job the people of Beverly Hills and the people of California have done so we can reopen.” 

The post Beverly Hills Retailers Prepare to Reopen for Business appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Landlords will likely get a reprieve when an amended ordinance is taken up at the May 19 City Council meeting. The revised ordinance is expected to include additional provisions related to commercial tenants and the eviction moratorium. It will also address rent forbearance for certain commercial tenants and clarify a rent repayment schedule for all tenants. 

“Please don’t put the City in a position of picking winners and losers,” urged Douglas Emmett CEO Jordan Kaplan, one of the largest property owners in Beverly Hills. Emmet, who estimated that one-third of his office tenants were delinquent in rent payments, was among eight people who called in to voice their opinions on the matter at the study session. “Many high net worth office tenants are taking advantage of this ordinance to withhold rent even though they can obviously afford to make the payment.” 

While the City’s ordinance was not intended to relieve tenants of their obligation to pay rent, landlords have been vocal that the ordinance’s provision to restrict an owner’s ability to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent has proven problematic. Multiple landlords have stated that the unintended consequence is that tenants are choosing to simply not pay rent, despite the ordinance’s mandate that a tenant must demonstrate that the failure to pay is due to financial impacts related to COVID-19. Landlords are further concerned that once the state of emergency is no longer in effect, tenants will simply choose to forgo paying past rent and move out of the space entirely. 

“It was never the intention of myself, or I think any of my colleagues, that this was going to be a free rent for anyone that needs it,” said Mayor Lester Friedman. 

“Our intent always has been that people should pay what they have an ability to pay,” Vice Mayor Bob Wunderlich emphasized. 

The Council was united in its commitment to reduce the amount of time that commercial tenants now have to repay their forborne rent from 12 months to between three to six months. The Council was also united on its commitment that tenants should pay what they are able to pay during this time. 

Property owner Steve Gordon, chairman of Domino Realty, argued that many of his high net worth office tenants, including venture capital firms, banks, and hedge funds, were “taking advantage” of the ordinance to withhold rent even though they could afford to make payments. He estimated that over one-third of his rental income was delinquent. 

Melanie Brandman, whose eponymous Brandman Agency has its office in the Douglas Emmett-owned office building at 8484 Wilshire Blvd., and who has not paid rent since the moratorium went into effect, told the City Council that 95 percent of her business had been lost as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “All of our clients have said they will return, it’s really just a matter of when,” she said. 

The revised ordinance will also differentiate retail tenants from office and restaurant tenants. 

“I do believe we’re trying to find a way to make this work as best as possible for everyone,” Councilwoman Lili Bosse said. 

The post Commercial Landlords and Tenants at Odds Over Urgency Ordinance appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“The virus has taken a dramatic toll on our community and has changed lives forever,” Mayor Lester Friedman stated at the beginning of Monday’s Joint Special Meeting of the City Council and the Health and Safety Commission in conjunction with the Medical Advisory Task Force. 

While the number of infected in Beverly Hills, 116 (0.3 percent of the population), may not ostensibly appear to be staggering, the City has one of the highest rates of infection in the county according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. As the City begins to reopen, the number of people coming into this town of 35,000 residents is expected to gradually increase toward the 250,000 average daily population before the pandemic prompted the governor to issue the Stay at Home mandate on March 16. 

In looking to reopen the state, on April 28 Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted the fundamental importance of having the ability to monitor and protect communities through testing, contact tracing, isolating, and supporting those who are positive or exposed, which he characterized as the first key indicator that would guide his decision in reopening the state. The Council did not advise staff to devote more resources toward COVID-19 testing and contact tracing by the close of Monday’s meeting. 

“In order to meet this indicator, the state and Los Angeles County need to be prepared to test everyone who is symptomatic and to have the ability to identify the close contacts of those who are positive to reduce further transmission,” stated a staff report authored by Policy and Management Analyst Cindy Owens, which was presented to City Council on May 4. The county does not currently provide information on who is positive nor inform cities of the number of deaths that have occurred in their jurisdiction, according to the report. 

Currently, L.A. County is performing approximately 10,000 swab tests a day to determine if people are infected with the virus. Countywide, there are 35 official testing sites, the closest of which are at Cedars-Sinai and the Veteran’s Hospital, in addition to offerings available at local healthcare providers and urgent care facilities. The Beverly Hills Fire Department’s Nurse Practitioner Program also has the capacity to perform tests. Approximately 10 percent of those tested at the Cedars-Sinai location are residents of Beverly Hills according to Owens. 

Beverly Hilton General Manager Sandy Murphy used the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting to urge the City Council to explore setting up testing facilities in Beverly Hills. According to Owens’ report, if the swab is tested on site, a positive detection can be made in as little as five minutes. A negative test can take up to 15 minutes. 

“As we look to start to bring back employees, the issue of testing is paramount,” Murphy told the council, highlighting her concern about the availability of testing and access. Being able to test employees for COVID-19 will be paramount to ensuring the safety of both staff and hotel patrons. 

Officials believe that the number of people in the population who are infected with COVID-19 is significantly higher than what is being reported due to under-testing, a fact which Health and Safety Commissioner Lee H. Hilborne, M.D. highlighted during the meeting. 

“Going forward we are likely to have a resurgence,” predicted Medical Advisory Task Force Member Dr. Jonathan Fielding, a professor in UCLA’s School of Medicine. As the City reopens, he suggested that measures be put in place so that everyone who enters an office building has their temperature taken and is asked a series of questions. 

“Testing is absolutely critical, both for diagnosis and for surveillance and if we don’t get that in large quantities, we’re still going to be asking these questions months from now and that’s terrible,” Fielding said. 

Health and Safety Commissioner Kirk Chang, M.D., who is also a member of the City’s Medical Advisory Task Force, likewise underscored the importance of prophylactic measures to curb the spread of the virus. 

“It’s important to note that these screening questions and temperature checks were developed and refined in Asia after the SARS outbreak in 2003,” he said. “One of biggest impacts on the public was that if people knew they would be screened at work, in a restaurant or at the movies, than they were that much more likely to just stay home and not go out if they weren’t feeling well.” 

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Revising the Urgency Ordinance 

In addition to adopting a resolution ratifying the proclamation of the existence of a local emergency, the Council approved several substantive changes to the City’s Urgency Ordinance (No. 20-O-2805) related to COVID-19, which was adopted on March 16. The Council approved adding language to the ordinance that would mandate the closure of local parks on Mother’s Day, similar to what both the City and County of Los Angeles elected to do in order to encourage social distancing. With respect to the moratorium on evictions of residential and commercial tenants, the Council agreed to expand the exemption from the eviction moratorium to commercial tenants which are subsidiaries of large companies, giving them until May 15 to repay rent that was forborne. The Council also approved amending the ordinance to further accommodate expanded loading zones in order to facilitate curbside pick-up associated with Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement that he would be moving forward with phase two of reopening the state on May 8. 

New Life at Gibraltar Square 

The Council voted 5-0 to approve an ordinance which changes the direction of the alley directly north of the forthcoming 154-room hotel at 9111 Wilshire Blvd. to a two-way traffic operation. The proposed project involves the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the existing Gibraltar Square Tower and Banking Hall as a boutique hotel with restaurant and ancillary uses. The change is expected to mitigate and improve any potential traffic impacts. 

More Parking 

The City added two additional parking structures to its portfolio. The new additions, which are located at 9333 West 3rd St. and 450 North Crescent Drive, bring the total parking structures owned by the City to 18. In passing the ordinance, which goes into effect on June 5, the Council further amplified prohibited activity in a parking structure in order to enable greater enforcement of the municipal code. 

Water Well 

The City Council approved a $7.2 million contract for MNR Construction Inc. to install a raw water transmission main from the future well site in the 1900 block of Chariton Street to the water treatment plant at 345 Foothill Road. The project is key in the City’s effort to expand its local water supply, which it currently derives entirely from imported water. 

For the Record on Elective Surgery 

At the May 4 Joint Special Meeting of the City Council and the Health and Safety Commission in conjunction with the Medical Advisory Task Force, Mayor Lester Friedman reprimanded Councilmember John Mirisch for spinning an “erroneous” narrative related to the 4-1 City Council vote on April 28 to allow elective surgeries to resume in Beverly Hills. Mirisch had been the sole “no” vote to a decision which allowed previously prohibited medical surgeries such as heart valve replacements, angioplasty and tumor removals to resume in the City. The mayor detailed how after the vote, which was taken just before midnight, his colleague subsequently used “inflammatory, crass descriptions” to entice various media outlets to run various stories that Beverly Hills had approved cosmetic surgeries. Mirisch denied that he had overtly reached out to the media. “The action taken was in response to Gov. (Gavin) Newsom’s announcement that the state of California is allowing certain elective surgeries. The governor specifically noted procedures such as purely aesthetic cosmetic surgeries were not included,” Friedman clarified. 

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“I think the path that he is outlining is the appropriate path,” Beverly Hills Mayor Lester Friedman told the Courier. “I think the economic impact is going to be significant. I think we’re going to see several businesses that are not going to reopen and that’s unfortunate. I just think that we need to be proactive in supporting our businesses.” 

Predicated on what appears to be a stabilizing of both the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19, Newsom said the state would soon begin to lift restrictions on lower risk workplaces, in addition to reopening childcare facilities and schools. 

He described the stabilization with some measure of “cautious optimism,” noting that California never experienced the surge of cases like other parts of the nation. He cautioned that if the state does reopen too soon, there could be a second wave that could potentially prove more deadly than the first, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 1,800 people statewide, including over 1,111 in Los Angeles County. 

“Because of your good work on physical distancing, social distancing, because you have overwhelmingly abided by the stay-at- home order, you bought us time,” Newsom said during Tuesday’s press conference on the state’s COVID-19 response. He underscored that the reason that the state is even able to consider such modifications is a direct result of people having abided by the stay-at- home orders. “If we pull back and we modify our stay-at-home too early…then we have to have the ability to fix it…in terms of our capacity to deliver on the promise of what we’re promising today for this roadmap in reopening.” 

The phased approach to reopening California, which begins with lessening restrictions around businesses, schools and childcare, relies on business and education leaders, including those on the front lines, to ensure that the virus does not spread. 

As outlined, the four-phase approach starts now with businesses planning the workflow and focusing on the supply chain, in addition to understanding the physical and environmental factors that will come into play in keeping the virus at bay by instituting protections for workers and customers. As part of this phase, hospitals are expected to continue to build up capacity and supplies of protective equipment. 

The second phase, which Newsom said he expected would happen in the coming weeks, will be the reopening of “lower-risk” businesses, including retail stores with curbside pick-up, manufacturing and offices. “Phase two is really the phase that is upon us we believe in the next few weeks and perhaps the most important, we believe, in getting everybody’s attention and focus so we can at least prepare for it in real time,” he said. 

Although Newsom has yet to define precisely what stage two will look like or how the state will roll it out, the reopening of various businesses is expected to come gradually in stages in order to allow the lower risk sectors to adapt and reopen in a way that best aligns to the new normal. In anticipation of reopening schools for the next fall term, Newsom underscored the importance of enacting various safety measures, including effective social distancing protocols.

“We recognize that there’s been a learning loss because of this disruption,” he said. As a result, Newsom said that officials are now considering starting the new school year as early as late July or early August, as long as there is not a resurgence of COVID- 19 cases.

The third phase would be the reopening of “higher risk” businesses, like those centering around personal care, including gyms, spas and nail salons. Movie theaters and religious institutions would also fall in this phase. 

Following in the final phase would be the reopening of “highest risk” activities and venues, including conventions, concerts and various larger entertainment venues with crowds. 

Newsom had previously detailed six Indicators that the state was using to help determine when to lift restrictions, including the availability of sufficient coronavirus testing. As of April 28, the state had conducted over 578,000 tests and had the ability to test more than 20,000 people a day. Newsom said the state would “shortly” have the capacity to test between 60,000 to 80,000 people a day for COVID-19. 

“We believe we are weeks, not months away, from making meaningful modifications,” Newsom said. 

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“I’m confident this task force will provide valuable insight as we rebuild our local economy following this unprecedented event,” said Mayor Lester Friedman. “We know the phrase ‘going back to normal’ is not something that is going to be in our vernacular.” 

“I think there’s a world of strategies out there. Our goal is to hear what people say,” Councilman Julian Gold said at the beginning of the virtual meeting. 

Beginning with this week’s decision by City Council to allow elective surgeries to resume, Beverly Hills will continue to open up further in a phased approach as defined largely by government. 

Just hours before the meeting began, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state would begin to lift restrictions on the stay-at-home order in a matter of weeks. 

Comprised of all five Council members and City Treasurer Howard Fisher, the task force also includes the following business and community leaders: Tom Blumenthal, CEO of Gearys Beverly Hills; Giacomino Drago, chef and restaurant owner; Kathy Gohari, general manager of Valentino and past president of the Rodeo Drive Committee; Russell Goldsmith, CEO of City National Bank; Todd Johnson, CEO of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce; Sabaa Kamal, owner of Kamal Beverly Hills; Sandy Murphy, general manager of the Beverly Hilton Hotel; Offer Nissenbaum, general manager of the Peninsula Hotel; Sunny Sassoon, executive chairman of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; Debbie Quick, attorney with Morgan Lewis LLP; Julie Wagner, CEO of the Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau and Bill Wiley, property director for Two Rodeo. 

The task force is expected to make specific recommendations to City Council to help propel the economy forward. The City is asking people to share their expertise and knowledge of various activities and programs that can help by contacting Laura Biery, Economic Sustainability Manager, at lbiery@beverlyhills.org. 

“Now is the time to think about things that we’ve never thought about to ensure our success and ensure that the future is going to be really very bright for Beverly Hills,” said Councilwoman Lili Bosse. 

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The decision, which amends portions of the City’s March 16 urgency ordinance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to prohibit all elective medical, dental and surgical procedures, makes Beverly Hills one of the first cities in the nation to reopen medical and dental practices for delayed medically necessary procedures. 

“I think we ought to align our ordinance up with state and county guidelines,” Councilman Julian Gold, M.D. urged before the Council vote. Those guidelines do not prohibit elective procedures, but rather encourage their suspension. “I think the time has come to relax our restrictions. Forcing people to delay necessary healthcare is of itself irresponsible.” 

Prohibited elective surgeries had included items such as heart valve replacements, angioplasty and tumor removals as well as key preventive care services like colonoscopies. 

Councilman John Mirisch, the lone ‘no’ vote, said he was against amending the urgency ordinance to allow elective surgeries to resume in Beverly Hills because he feared unintended consequences. Beverly Hills currently has the fourth highest COVID-19 infection rate in the county according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. 

“I would not want to see somebody get sick because they went in and had a boob job or a butt job,” Mirisch said. “To suggest we’re just going to open it up to everything, that’s irresponsible.” 

Councilwoman Lili Bosse, who like Mirisch said she too did not want people getting sick as a result of choosing to have a surgery, underscored the importance of not postponing health issues. 

“I think it’s more important not to lose the few things that we think should happen that might have been restricted…than to allow the few things that we think might not be appropriate to actually happen,” Vice Mayor Bob Wunderlich said. 

Postponing elective procedures and routine visits since mid-March has proved helpful in limiting the opportunity for transmission or exposure of the virus, according to Beverly Hills Policy and Management Analyst Cynthia Owens. In recent days the number of new coronavirus cases has continued to slow in California. 

Owens highlighted the effective steps the state took to limit the transmission and impact of the virus by implementing shelter in place orders. Experts had expected a surge of COVID- 19 patients and sought to preserve resources and capacity of hospitals as the pandemic touched down locally. 

“To date, the ‘Safer at Home’ and ‘Stay at Home’ orders issued respectively by the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health and Governor Newsom on March 19, have been instrumental in preventing a surge of COVID-19 patients from overwhelming the state’s health care system,” a staff report authored by Owens stated. 

In tandem with the reopening of California’s health care system, the California Medical Association is in the process of codifying several steps that will be instrumental to ensuring the ongoing safety of patients and the health care workforce, including new safety protocols. 

A UCLA Health spokesperson told the Courier its hospitals and clinics already have in place comprehensive, effective infection prevention practices, in addition to adequate supplies of face masks and other personal protective equipment to safely provide care. Patients, staff and visitors are all screened for fever and symptoms and provided a face mask before entering facilities. In addition, all patients are tested for COVID-19 before being admitted to the hospital and most are tested before coming in for an outpatient procedure. 

“While maintaining capacity and readiness if the number of COVID-positive patients significantly increases, UCLA Health is carefully planning the return of essential surgeries and procedures – focusing on those postponed over the past seven weeks because of the pandemic and those that have become time-sensitive for the patient’s condition,” the spokesperson said. 

In anticipation of the meeting, the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce voiced its support of the City Council expanding the scope of medically necessary care to match the guidelines put forth by the county and state. 

“Medical services are a critical component of our economy. We support expanding the scope of medically necessary procedures as long as they can be conducted under property safety guidelines,” Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Johnson wrote in a letter dated April 27. 

The City Council stopped short of defining precisely what constitutes “elective surgery.” Currently a doctor is tasked with defining what constitutes an elective surgery. 

Prior to the discussion, Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Lawrence M. Koplin, M.D. sent the Council a letter urging them to help define what is considered “elective” relating to medical procedures and surgeries. 

“This definition will be seminal in the process and will save everyone grief and confusion in the aftermath,” Dr. Koplin wrote. “My malpractice carrier, my surgery center accreditation organization and our professional organizations have all stated that this decision is best made by the medical professionals themselves and that we will have support and malpractice coverage throughout this process. What they do emphasize is full preparation and safety compliance in reopening, including office sterilization, personal protective equipment for both staff and patients, and signage describing this process to the patients as well as consent forms.” 

Koplin underscored that his office was prepared to reopen as a “haven” of safety. 

“The medical and dental community of Beverly Hills is a top-notch and responsible one, and I am certain that other offices will be following similar protocols in preparing to take care of their patients,” he stated. 

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All movie theaters closed on March 16, with a future reopening date likely still months away. According to Nielsen, the data analytics company, media consumption has significantly increased among home-bound consumers. 

“The Academy firmly believes there is no greater way to experience the magic of movies than to see them in a theater. Our commitment to that is unchanged and unwavering. Nonetheless, the historically tragic COVID-19 pandemic necessitates this temporary exception to our awards eligibility rules,” Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson stated in a release issued by the Academy. 

When theaters reopen in accordance with federal, state and local specified guidelines and criteria, the exemption will no longer apply. 

Before the pandemic, the Academy required that a film be shown in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County for at least seven consecutive days with at least three daily screenings in order to qualify as a contender. For the 2021 Oscars, films with a previously planned theatrical release that pivoted to release via these other modes due to COVID-19 may qualify in the Best Picture, general entry and specialty categories as long as the film meets all other eligibility requirements. 

The Academy will expand the number of qualifying theaters beyond Los Angeles to more easily meet theatrical exhibition requirements once theaters reopen and the exception is no longer in place. 

In addition to allowing films that debut in these two non-traditional ways to compete in 2021, the Academy announced that it will combine the Sound Mixing and Sound Editing awards into one category. 

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“[The COVID-19 pandemic] is going to have a very significant economic impact on the City,” Director of Finance Jeff Muir told the City Council at the April 21 afternoon study session.

“We’re anticipating revenues to drop by 15 to 20 percent by next fiscal year.” 

If the Council fails to take action to reduce expenditures, a presentation using “pessimistic assumptions” predicted that the City would need to solve an approximate $104 million gap over the next six years. A more dire projection increased that figure to $125 million. 

“This recession is very different from any recession we’ve ever had,” Muir emphasized, referring to the fact that it is related to public health. COVID-19 has infected almost 3 million people worldwide. On April 21, California clocked its highest one-day rise in new cases and there are currently over 17,500 cases in Los Angeles County, including 102 in Beverly Hills. 

Muir said he anticipated that the City would begin to slowly reopen starting this summer, with certain businesses and activities coming online once again in late June and early July. 

“The source of the economic issues here are strictly attributable to the travel restrictions, temporary business closures, and other social distancing requirements to ‘bend the curve’ of COVID-19. At some point, these restrictions will begin to be lifted and the economy will begin to function again. What we don’t know is when and what the recovery period will be, and what the permanent changes might be as a result of this,” stated the City staff report presented to Council on April 21. 

Given the significant impacts to three of the four major tax revenue steams infusing Beverly Hills’ General Fund, namely Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT), business taxes and sales taxes, Muir said it would take years for the City to return to the healthy fiscal state it was in before the pandemic hit. Also concerning is the fact that the travel industry will take some time to really rebound and the brunt of the sales tax loss will not even be seen until next year. Other funding sources taking a hit are related to a diminishment of licenses, permits and charges for various services, in addition to a decrease in parking and moving violations. 

“With significant impacts to TOT, business taxes and sales taxes, we’re going to see some ugly numbers,” Muir cautioned. “We’re living in unprecedented times with a lot of uncertainty still remaining.” 

In order to begin to address the anticipated budget shortfalls, the Council agreed to implement multiple short-term options recommended by an Ad-Hoc Committee which had spent the previous weeks evaluating perceived fiscal impacts in order to develop and provide recommendations for City Council consideration. 

“It’s undeniable that there’s going to be significant hits to our revenue,” said Vice Mayor Bob Wunderlich, who together with Mayor Lester Friedman worked with staff as part of the City’s ad-hoc. “We will be able to get through this and keep what are the essential services.” 

Such short-term options include: reducing existing General Fund financed Capital Improvement Projects (CIP); eliminating vehicle/equipment/facility replacement charges and replacements for one year; institute ongoing reductions to departmental operating and maintenance accounts; maintain all existing vacancies unfilled other than the most critical and keep most future vacancies unfilled; seek voluntary workforce reduction through retirement/separation incentive for certain positions; and reduce or eliminate some future CIP transfers. Perhaps the most costly CIP on the horizon set to be delayed will be the plan to renovate La Cienega Park, which was estimated to cost more than $125 million. 

City Manager George Chavez said that there would be funds available to refresh the existing community center at La Cienega Park.”The community should feel no significant impacts,” he said. 

While no decision was made with respect to the longer-term options discussed, the Council is expected to further explore those and other options at the upcoming budget study session scheduled for May 5. “As the City was two-thirds of the way through the fiscal year before the COVID-19 crisis hit, any shortfall this year can be addressed by some of the one-time measures listed previously. The more significant reductions will need to take place during the upcoming Fiscal Year 2020/21,” the staff report states. 

Such longer-term options include: requiring reductions to overtime costs, which are approximately $12 million; voluntary or involuntary reductions to personnel costs; reductions to City-sponsored events; and use of City reserves. 

Councilman John Mirisch stressed the urgency of releasing the specifics about what the City decides to the public as soon as possible, in addition to making sure that the Council is receiving “constant updates” about the City’s financial situation. 

“Yes, we can and should use our reserves,” Mirisch said. “We should also create policies to make sure those reserves are quickly built up to these levels.” The City’s most recent audited financial statement, as of June 30, 2019, stated that its General Fund reserves were $203.8 million. 

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“These are really difficult times and we are trying to make the best of it together,” said Mayor Lester Friedman. 

Fines for Not Wearing Face Masks 

People within the City of Beverly Hills will now face potential monetary fines for failing to wear a face covering if they have the potential of coming within six feet of someone who is not part of their household following passage of a revised urgency ordinance concerning COVID-19. The revised ordinance, which repeals its predecessor (Ordinance No. 20-0-2806), makes five substantive changes to the urgency ordinance originally passed on March 16, including adding a section on face coverings. 

On April 10 the City issued an order requiring people to wear some type of face covering, such as a mask, scarf, bandana or cloth in an effort to promote public health and reduce the spread of COVID-19. The order originally mandated that everyone, including essential workers, wear face coverings when they leave their place of residence, including for walks through the neighborhood. The revised order now in place has it so that people must only wear masks when they have the potential to come within six feet of someone other than a member of their household. The penalty for not wearing a face covering is an administrative citation which carries a fine of $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second offense, and $500 for the third and subsequent offenses. 

“There is widespread lack of compliance. It is really clear that maybe half the people out there are not complying with the mask ordinance,” said Councilman Julian Gold, M.D. 

Both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Los Angeles Department of Public Health recommend wearing face masks when out in public to help prevent the spread of droplets that might be infectious. “It is absolutely critical that the City does everything possible to slow the pace of community spread and avoid unnecessary strain on our medical system,” states the revised ordinance, which passed with a 5-0 vote. The ordinance contains several exceptions for face coverings, including an exemption for children under the age of two from having to wear them. 

Additional Health-related initiatives 

Beginning the week of April 26, the City’s Nurse Practitioner Program will be able to test people exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 while at home. “If anybody has symptoms, we’ll be able to do that and we’ll be doing that through our Nurse Practitioner Program,” confirmed Beverly Hills Fire Chief Greg Barton. Since the outbreak, all EMS callers are screened for signs and/or symptoms of COVID-19. Throughout the City, signs affixed to approximately 200 pedestrian pushbuttons at intersections instruct pedestrians to “not push the button.” 

Rodeo Drive Podcast 

The Council approved an expenditure of $40,000 to create a podcast series entitled “Only On Rodeo Drive.” The eight-episode podcast series will launch in tandem with the reopening of Rodeo Drive boutiques. Each 30-minute episode will explore luxury and fashion on Rodeo Drive. Rodeo Drive Committee past president Kathy Gohari told the Council the podcast series will help support efforts to revitalize Rodeo Drive once the street re-opens for business by bringing in new interest and customers to the stores and the City. 

Walking in the Street 

A proposal by Vice Mayor Bob Wunderlich to repurpose travel lanes for walkers and bicyclists in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing guidelines failed to gain traction with his fellow Councilmembers. According to a staff report, Los Angeles drivers are averaging speeds 12 percent faster during this time, with some driving as much as 25 percent faster. “Repurposing some traffic lanes would allow greater distance between the people who are walking,” Wunderlich said. “This is to take advantage of an opportunity that we have in front of us and to mitigate some of the problems we have with the speeding cars.” 

Other members of the Council voiced concern that further opening up the streets to pedestrians and bikers would send a “mixed message” that in turn might create more congestion for active transportation modes. “My concern is that we’re going to encourage more people to come out,” Councilwoman Lili Bosse said. 

Fiber to the Premises 

Roughly 20 percent of the City is set to get faster Internet after the Council unanimously agreed to move forward with its Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) Project. Work had already begun on the project last year, but the Council needed to approve additional contracts valued at $4 million in order to continue the work. Contractors will lay an estimated 100 miles of fiber optic cable, linking homes and businesses using both aerial and underground construction. “Aerial construction phases will take approximately 12-14 months. With 9 to 11 aerial phases remaining, implementation may take five to 12 years,” the staff report states. A Council ad hoc committee had recommended that work stop on the FTTP project immediately due to the fact that the alpha phase was already beyond budget and given the lengthy timeline. A suggestion by Councilman Julian Gold to further review the project in a study session before proceeding did not find support. Before the vote, Assistant City Manager Nancy Hunt- Coffey said: “The project is shovel ready. We’re ready to go as soon as funding becomes available.” 

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But what happens when an owner gets sick? 

“We know from past experience in emergencies that people don’t want to leave their pets behind,” said Julie Castle, chief executive officer for Best Friends Animal Society. “With everything shut down, oftentimes the only people you can turn to are those close by. That community structure is going to be what gets us through this crisis.” 

Castle emphasized that while there are many levels of preparedness outside of individual control, as pet guardians there are a host of steps people can do to prepare for the possibility of personally be touched by the crisis by having a solid “Pet Preparedness Plan” in place. Additionally, an effective plan is especially vital to support seniors, as they may be the least able to go to the store for pet supplies and are most vulnerable to the virus. 

Items on the plan should include a two- week supply of pet food, medications and additional necessities, such as cat litter, a carrier for small animals or special diet-related treats and supplements, updated vaccination records, a medication schedule (if relevant) and contact information for your veterinarian’s office.

The plan should also include detailed pet care notes, including feeding and walking routines and important notes about your pet’s behavior. 

Amanda Foundation President Teri Austin highlighted several additional “common sense” tips to help people prepare in case they do become sick and might need to make arrangements for their pet. 

“It is important to identify a family member or friend who can care for pets if someone in the household becomes too ill to care for pets,” she told the Courier. 

In addition to having supplies on hand for relocation of pets if necessary, Austin emphasized the importance of keeping all animal vaccines up to date and having copies of those records available in the event that boarding becomes necessary. In addition, she said that including a veterinarian’s prescription in your pet’s to-go bag was also important for pets who require medication. 

“Pets should have proper identification, a collar with ID tag and a microchip with current, up-to date contact information,” she added. 

In response to the mandated Safer at Home order and the closure of all non-essential businesses, the format of how people foster and adopt animals has significantly changed. Unlike the Amanda Foundation and Los Angeles Animal Services, which allow potential guardians to meet animals in person following a series of steps designed to reduce the potential for COVID-19 infection, Best Friends Animal Society only allows prospective adopters to virtually meet the animals. 

Best Friends PR Manager Michelle Sathe, who fostered a five-year-old chihuahua named Sugar before the dog found her forever home, described the virtual process as revolutionary. Sathe detailed how she transferred ownership of Sugar after engaging in a virtual meet-and-greet with the woman who came to adopt Sugar. The woman was able to digitally see how sweet Sugar was as well as how comfortable the dog was in a home environment. Sathe anticipates that virtual interactions will become increasingly common in the future given the global changes. 

“Now we can really empower fosters to be the person who gets the animals into homes,” she said. 

In order to help owners deal with any unforeseen issues with pets at any time, Best Friends Animal Society launched a “Vet Access” veterinary consultation app shortly after the pandemic hit the U.S. Castle said the app, which has had 993 downloads since launching on March 13, is intended to help people feel confident that if they have to go to the hospital, their pets are in good hands. 

“This is part of a community fabric that we’re trying to build now where people know they can rely on their neighbors and friends,” she said. 

Sathe said the most valuable aspect of the app, which can be found by typing in “Best Friends Vet Access,” is that it gives the user 24-7 access to a veterinarian. 

“To be able to consult with a vet in real time is really beneficial to put your mind at ease,” she said. Consultations are free for the first month of app use, and $12.99 monthly after that. 

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An urgency ordinance, which went into effect on April 1, placed an eviction moratorium on residential and commercial properties while the declared State of Emergency remains in place. The ordinance does not ultimately relieve tenants of their obligation to pay rent.

“I would say 100 percent are saying we know that we are going to have to pay this back and we want to pay this back,” Deputy Director of Rent Stabilization Helen Morales told the Courier. “It’s very, very traumatic for both sides and we want to be the middle voice here.” 

While residential and commercial tenants welcome the reprieve, property owners are facing challenges. The ordinance recognizes that many commercial tenants who operate within the City may have to close their businesses in response to emergency orders, which will substantially decrease or eliminate their income. Moreover, the businesses that are permitted to remain open are also likely to experience a significant loss of income while the emergency orders are in effect. 

“In the interest of public peace, health and safety, as affected by the emergency caused by the spread of COVID-19, it is necessary for the City Council to exercise its authority to issue these regulations related to the protection of the public peace, health or safety,” states the ordinance, which was initially passed on March 15 and amended on March 31. 

The ordinance restricts an owner’s ability to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent if the tenant can demonstrate that the failure to pay is due to financial impacts related to COVID-19. In addition, the ordinance restricts no-fault evictions unless necessary for the health and safety of tenants, neighbors or the landlord. “No-fault eviction” refers to any eviction for which the notice to terminate tenancy is not based on alleged fault by the tenant, according to the ordinance. 

“As a result of the public health emergency and the precautions recommended by health authorities, many tenants in Beverly Hills have experienced or expect soon to experience sudden and unexpected income loss,” the ordinance states. 

There are strict requirements for tenants to prove that they have experienced financial impacts related to COVID-19. Those impacts “include, but are not limited to, lost household income or extraordinary expenses as a result of any of the following: (1) being sick with COVID-19, or caring for a household or family member who is sick with COVID-19; (2) lay-off, loss of hours, or other substantial income reduction resulting from business closure or other economic or employer impacts of COVID-19 including for tenants who are salaried employees or self-employed; (3) compliance with a recommendation from a government health authority to stay home, self-quarantine, or avoid congregating with others during the state of emergency; (4) extraordinary out-of-pocket medical expenses related to COVID-19; or (5) child care needs arising from school closures related to COVID-19.” 

In order for tenants to avail themselves to the ordinance’s protections, a landlord must receive written notice of the tenant’s inability to pay full rent due to COVID-19 within seven days after the rent is due. In addition, within 30 days after the rent is due, the tenant must provide written documentation to support the claim using a form provided by the City both to the landlord as well as to the City’s Rent Stabilization office. The ordinance further states that because some residential tenants may not be aware of this ordinance’s provisions, the Deputy Director of the Rent Stabilization may extend the seven-day deadline for notifying the landlord for up to 30 days. If a landlord has any disagreement with the information provided by the tenant, the landlord has 10 days to notify the tenant of the disagreement in writing, in response to which the tenant has 10 days to file a written appeal to the City on a form provided by the City. The Rent Stabilization Commission is charged with then making a final determination of the dispute.

Nothing in the ordinance relieves the tenant of liability to repay the rent, which is required to be paid in full, less penalty fees, upon one year after the emergency ordinance is cancelled. No fee for the late payment of the rent can be charged by the landlord during the emergency or for one year after the end of the emergency. The ordinance further emphasizes that nothing in the ordinance alters the date of annual rent increases in future years. 

According to Morales, 14 complaint forms have been filed with the City by residential tenants unable to pay rent due to COVID-19. She said she anticipated the number of tenants availing themselves to the ordinance’s provisions to increase, noting that as of April 14 the department had received 346 emails or phone calls related to COVID-19 from residential and commercial landlords and tenants. 

“The City recognizes this is a very difficult time for so many families in our community. We are working to provide timely information to those affected by the devastating impacts of COVID-19 and will continue to be a resource in the months ahead,” she emphasized. 

The ordinance underscores that with further anticipated economic impacts, tenants could be vulnerable to eviction without City- mandated protections. It reads, in pertinent part, “During this local emergency, and in the interest of protecting the public health and preventing transmission of COVID-19, it is essential to avoid unnecessary housing displacement, to protect the City’s affordable housing stock, and to prevent housed individuals from falling into homelessness.” 

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Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS) Public Information Director Agnes Sibal-von Debschitz told the Courier that as a result of the “amazing response” from people willing to adopt and foster shelter pets in the wake of the pandemic, the department had added staff to process the applications faster. 

LAAS reported that last month over 2,232 animals made it out of county shelters, including 919 (258 cats, 20 kittens, 585 dogs, and 56 rabbits) that found new homes. Amanda Foundation President Teri Austin told the Courier that adoptions at the Beverly Hills-based rescue were up by 20 percent. 

“There’s no shortage of dogs that need to be adopted,” she said. “I have to say, the dogs are loving people being at home.” 

“It’s a silver lining type of thing because we have gotten so many wonderful foster offers. Many of them have actually ended up adopting their fosters so that makes it easier for us to take in other dogs” said Ellen Ballon Dante, Executive Director of Deity Animal Rescue on Doheny Drive. 

Pet Rescue Pilots CEO Julian Javor underscored how extraordinary it is that a life-threatening virus was able to catalyze people’s willingness to foster/adopt a pet during this time. Until the Safer at Home Order went into effect last month, Javor, who also chairs the Beverly Hills Parks and Recreation Commission, had spent the past two-and-a-half years flying pets out of California kill shelters to the Pacific Northwest and into Canada during weekends in his Cessna 414. He has helped save 531 dogs, cats and even a goat, including two dogs he adopted, during the course of his rescue flights. 

“What I think we’ve all learned here is that it is in fact pets that give us companionship,” Javor told the Courier. “It’s sad that it’s taken a virus for us to realize their value.” 

In addition to helping stave off feelings of loneliness, pets offer a bevy of health benefits. 

“Studies have shown that the bond between people and their pets can increase fitness, lower stress, and bring happiness to their owners,” Sibal-von Debschitz said. “Some of the health benefits of having a pet include lowering blood pressure, decreasing feelings of loneliness, increasing opportunities for exercise and outdoor activities, and increasing opportunities for socialization.” 

She further underscored that at this time there is “no evidence” that pets become ill with COVID-19 or that they spread it to other animals or humans. 

Austin said that while there appeared to potentially be cross-contamination with cats, “there hasn’t been any documented cases of any person getting the disease from a dog or cat.” A tiger at the Bronx Zoo did test positive for COVID-19, in addition to reports of two cats in Belgian testing positive for the virus. 

Austin emphasized that this is a singular time, in that owners are at home and able to take multiple walks a day with their dogs. She recommended that people keep in mind what will happen when the stay-at-home order is lifted. 

“We want people to realize even if they’re going to be home 24-7 for the next two to three months, the dog’s not going to understand that they’re going to be gone from their home eight to 10 hours a day in the future,” she said. “A dog is like a small child. You can’t get them used to something and then abruptly change it.” 

Austin said the fostering situation works particularly well for animals that are sick, nursing mothers, or those who are recuperating from surgery. She highlighted her newest office mate, Hamlet, a handsome well-mannered 18-year-old diabetic cat not yet ready to “shuffle off this mortal coil” who could prove a welcome companion. In addition, with kitten season on the horizon, she said that shelters would be in need of those willing to take them in. For animals with special needs, Austin said that the foster parents receive all needed medicines. 

Sibal-von Debschitz said that LAAS was actively looking for people to foster or adopt medium and larger dogs.

Given the social distancing protocols now in place, the pandemic has completely changed how people adopt and foster animals, with appointments now required, in addition to various other safety measures to keep staff and the public from getting exposed to the virus. In fact, on April 13 LAAS closed its West Valley and North Central Animal Services Centers, although its four other facilities remain open. 

At the Amanda Foundation, which is also a full service hospital, after the would-be new owner has interacted with the animal in the foundation’s front yard, a staff member will then perform a virtual home safety check (as opposed to in-person) and an in-person yard check while wearing a mask and gloves. “Since we’re only doing outside the home, it’s very easy for us to practice social distancing,” Austin said. 

“When everything happened with the quarantine, it really made us realize that there couldn’t be a better time,” said Danny Carney, who together with his wife Maura Sullivan adopted a Cavapoo (Poodle/Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) named Wink (for his one eye) on April 15 from the Amanda Foundation. 

“To me they’re like a match-maker,” Mark Hess said in describing the Amanda Foundation, which helped pair him and his wife, Miriam, with Koda, a petite five-year- old German Shepherd. “They make sure that a dog is a good match for the family.” 

Those looking to adopt or foster, can visit available animals online at: 

www.laanimalservices.com/adopt

www.amandafoundation.org 

The post Thousands of Shelter Pets Find Homes Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“Our dispatchers are the critical lifeline between reported emergencies and life-saving resources. Without them, we would not receive essential information on how to respond to calls for service,” said Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli. “They are the voice of calm, in chaos.” 

Beverly Hills dispatchers field over 130,000 non-emergency calls and 38,000 9-1-1 calls each year for Police, Fire, EMS and parking-related matters. In Beverly Hills, 9-1-1 calls are routinely answered in under 15 seconds, according to the BHPD. 

Spagnoli emphasized the critical role that dispatchers play in ensuring public safety and aiding police officers in maintaining a less than three-minute response time to emergency calls. 

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“Sitting at home, you do feel really helpless [and] we felt compelled to do something,” described Beverly Hills resident Ronit Stone, who launched the initiative last week together with a group of close-knit group friends, all of whom have long supported various community endeavors and local schools. 

Already the group has collected several N-95 face masks in addition to over $2,500 in donations. Stone said the group plans to donate what they received to local hospitals, starting with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital. 

“Staying home can be isolating, but being part of a community giving project helps connect us to others we don’t know and who need our help, and that feels good,” Stone told the Courier.

Inspired by the New York Times article, “How Two Very Different Los Angeles Hospitals Are Facing Coronavirus,” Stone said the group banded together with the intention of providing donated masks and money to the two featured hospitals. 

While the distinction of affluence between the two hospitals is very real, the article pointed out that both were in need of masks to meet the upcoming crisis. Those looking to donate unused N-95 masks to local hospitals in support of the healthcare workers who put themselves at risk everyday will find a collection box set up at 805 Cinthia St. 

Alternatively, those who prefer to donate for the purchase of masks can do so through masksformankind.org/donate, a project of LEARN, a 501(c)(3) California nonprofit corporation. “This is a very direct way to give and to help these healthcare workers,” Stone said. “There’s so much need on so may levels and if someone just does one little thing, collectively, that will be a lot of things.” 

For more information, contact tamara.learn@gmail.com. 

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The upcoming City Council meeting on April 21 is poised to confront some of the financial ramifications for Beverly Hills, given that virtually everyone in the county is confined to their residences, including roughly three-quarters of City staff. 

“A report from the City’s Finance Department next Tuesday will begin to analyze the short and long-term fiscal impacts of COVID-19,” City spokesperson Keith Sterling told the Courier. “With a majority of the City’s retail establishments, hotels and restaurants temporarily closed, a significant impact to the City’s revenues is expected.” 

Given the momentous societal shifts created by the pandemic, the City’s projected total resources for Fiscal Year 2019/20 of just north of $515 million, including $220.2 million in taxes, will need to be adjusted. The anticipated $51 million in Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT) for the fiscal year will be meaningfully impacted, given the unprecedented losses of Beverly Hills hotel guests who aren’t traveling in response to COVID-19. Several hotels have temporarily closed, while those that do remain open report sub-10 percent occupancy. 

At the previous City Council meeting earlier this month, the Council agreed to defer the TOT remittance due date for the months of February, March and April by four months following the month in which the tax was originally slated for collection. 

The City had also anticipated $35.4 million in sales tax revenue for the current fiscal year. But all non-essential businesses, including retail stores, are closed. Projections for next year’s revenue sources will thus be heavily impacted. 

Sterling told the Courier that while the City has committed to paying all of its roughly 1,000 employees through April 24, that could change following the upcoming City Council meeting. 

“While we are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are aware of the long-term fiscal impacts upon our businesses and residents,” Mayor Lester Friedman told the Courier. “As we prepare for the future, City Council is beginning to address the anticipated financial shortfalls we will face. The Council will examine strategies to maintain the fiscal health of our City while cognizant of the service levels our community expects and deserves.” 

The post City Council to Discuss Financial Welfare of Beverly Hills on April 21 appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

While vehicular traffic may have dramatically diminished since L.A. County began observing the Governor’s Safer at Home directive on March 19 to curb the spread of COVID-19, construction projects throughout Beverly Hills continue mostly unabated. 

In fact, according to City Building Official Raj Patel, the City is actually experiencing a steady flow of new permits. In March Patel said the City issued approximately 400 building permits, which represented a slight decrease from February. However, he noted that it was too early to tell if it’s reflective of future construction activity or is due to the mid-month transition from the permit center at City Hall to a virtual platform. 

“To be honest we really haven’t seen a slowdown in terms of construction,” he told the Courier. “For us inspection is going on as usual with the exception of the means and methods.” 

Deemed essential by Gov. Gavin Newsom and County officials, in addition to such trades as plumbing and electrical, building construction continues to forge ahead amidst the global pandemic, with some proprietors even taking advantage of the forced shutdown of non-essential businesses to make property renovations. 

“It’s a pretty savvy group of businesses in Beverly Hills,” Patel opined. “A lot of businesses are using it as an opportunity to do renovations.”

From Chanel pulling permits to renovate its Rodeo Drive Boutique to the City Council’s decision to temporarily close portions of Wilshire Blvd and Beverly Blvd to expedite construction on the Metro Purple Line Extension, Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Todd Johnson underscored how important it is to support endeavors that bring life and vibrancy to the City. 

“Hats off to the City for saying, ‘Let’s try to get as much done as we can during this downtime,'” Johnson told the Courier. “I think we’ve all come to grips there’s a good chance we’re going to be like this until at least June. I think we’ll be lucky to see businesses open in June.” 

Patel estimated there were over 1,000 active building permits for projects at various stages now underway around Beverly Hills. While some projects await only a final inspection certification and others have just filed the initial permit with the City, residents throughout Beverly Hills can easily witness ongoing construction. 

While the majority of construction is for single family properties, large-scale construction likewise continues. Patel estimated there were roughly 60 workers alone involved at the mixed-use condominium project at 9200 Wilshire. 

To help educate property owners and contractors, Patel said the City emailed over 3,000 individuals and companies “COVID- 19 Construction Safety Guidelines,” which are based on recommendations put forth by the Los Angeles County Department of Health on what is currently known about the virus. Available on the City’s website, Beverly Hills building inspectors are also handing out the guidelines upon arriving at all job site inspections. 

The City is also now requiring contractors to follow a list of supplemental construction safety guidelines recently issued by the County of Los Angeles, many of which were previously detailed in the County’s guidelines for all essential businesses. Businesses are tasked with taking a multiplicity of precautions, which include social distancing at least six feet and providing access to hand washing facilities with soap and water or hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. In addition, businesses are encouraged to adopt risk mitigation strategies such as educating workers to effectively maintain social distancing; identifying and monitoring high risk closed-in areas to ensure social distancing is maintained; staggering workers to reduce density; providing personal protective equipment (PPE) as appropriate; cleaning and disinfecting equipment before and after use; requiring anyone on the project to stay home if they are ill; and having employees inform their supervisor if they live with anyone that has COVID-19. 

“As inspectors navigate the City, they visually spot check ongoing construction sites to monitor compliance and share best practices for safety as recommended by health professionals. City inspectors also follow up on COVID-19 concerns related to construction sites received from residents and the general public,” Patel said. “Our building inspectors are also advised to use the latest best practices while making field inspections, including the use of face coverings, gloves/hand sanitizer, and safe distancing.” 

He said that the City receives multiple calls each day from residents voicing concerns about various construction projects, which the City responds to by dispatching an inspector to follow up on the matter. In addition, Patel said that Beverly Hills Ambassadors, Code Enforcement officials and Police Officers further act as the City’s “eyes and ears” in helping to monitor that work is done according to the proscribed standards. 

“I think all of us are doing our best to make sure that all of us are educating people,” he said. “If we notice something on the site that’s questionable, we’ll let the superintendent know that this is a concern that they need to take care of.” 

As construction projects move ahead, Patel emphasized how the City has adapted to allow for digital plan review. 

“One thing that’s amazing is that we’ve gone from a walk-in permit center to a 100 percent virtual center,” he said, noting that email traffic has doubled or tripled since the “Safer at Home” mandate. “I want people to realize that we are open and we’re busy. We’re here to help everybody. If people have concerns, we will address them. We’ll do everything we can to make the quality of life for residents as good as possible.” 

The post Construction Continues in Beverly Hills Amidst COVID-19 appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“I’m very proud of the level of service we continue to provide to Beverly Hills,” Mayor Lester Friedman told the Courier. “In the midst of a public health crisis, City employees from across all departments remain committed to the critical functions our community depends on.” 

Indeed, the City Council has held multiple virtual meetings via Zoom since the Countywide “Safer at Home” mandate, even its annual mayoral installation ceremony last week. 

Following a 2006 directive by the Federal Government that cities write a pandemic plan, Director of Emergency Management, Resilience & Recovery Pamela Mottice- Muller said the City not only authored its own, but also performed practice exercises over the years. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City continues to update its business plan to stay ever-responsive, in addition to also planning how to respond in case another disaster hits. She underscored the importance of maintaining the City’s capacity to provide critical and essential services while also keeping the government running, no matter what Beverly Hills may encounter. 

“We’ve always planned for this. The structure and everything we have in place, we have planned for and practiced for,” Mottice-Muller told the Courier. “It is amazing how quickly the City mobilizes. There is really a commitment from the City and the Council and staff to support this community. And I think that’s the key. It’s more than the Police Department and the Fire Department. It’s everybody, and all the departments are working hard to make sure that we can respond.” 

In addition to Beverly Hills Police and Fire, employees operating in the real world include those in Public Works, the Office of Emergency Management, IT, Code Enforcement, Rangers and Ambassadors, among others. The City also provides frequent updates to the community via a comprehensive webpage dedicated to COVID-19 (beverlyhills.org/coronavirus) as well as through various social media channels, public signage and direct mail, while the Human Services Division continues to reach out directly to the City’s seniors and most vulnerable. City Spokesperson Keith Sterling, who told the Courier that “in an event like this, we cannot communicate enough,” said that trash continues to be picked up regularly with its service provider getting to alleys at least once a week and spot checking all alleys frequently given that people are doing a lot of “cleaning out” right now. 

Twice daily roughly 45 to 55 people participate on virtual briefings via the City’s Emergency Operations Center, which allows representatives from all City departments to come together to respond to various developments and constantly evolve planned responses. 

Mottice-Muller estimated that between 250 to 300 City employees come to work each day to provide the essential services to keep the City up and running, further supported by hundreds of employees working remotely. Sterling told the Courier that Beverly Hills is committed to paying all of its roughly 1,000 employees through April 24, after which time that might change. To date, no employees had been furloughed or put on reduced pay with the exception of the City’s “on-call” employees that didn’t have a regular number of hours they worked. The City Council will be meeting on April 21 and is expected to discuss the fiscal outlook moving forward. 

On April 5, City staff were informed that they needed to adhere to a bevy of directives in order to maintain a safe and healthy workplace for employees and the community. In addition to self-monitoring and tracking themselves for symptoms of COVID-19, the common cold and Influenza, City employees are asked to take their temperature before and after work and if an employee has a fever 100°F or higher, cough, trouble breathing or other symptoms of the common cold or Influenza, they are being told to not report to work, in addition to contacting their supervisor. 

While the City cannot disclose personal health information, Sterling told the Courier that he was aware of one City employee who had tested positive for COVID-19. “The City notified those who may have been in close contact with the employee and has taken all necessary and appropriate steps to ensure the continued safety of all employees,” he said.

On April 3, roughly a week before the City mandated that all persons, including essential workers, must wear protective face coverings in public starting April 10 when they leave their homes, even to take a walk, City employees received an email that recommended they wear their own face coverings “out of an abundance of caution.” Staff was told they could wear solid colored bandanas, neck gaiters, homemade face coverings, and scarves. 

“Because of new scientific information that raises concern for possible transmission of COVID-19 while people are asymptomatic, it seems advisable at this time to wear cloth face coverings while in public to protect others,” stated the email from Director of Human Resources Shelley Ovrom. “We are expecting official guidance from the CDC as they review and consider the evidence, so our recommendations are subject to change. Wearing a face covering can reduce the release of infectious particles into the air when you speak, cough, or sneeze, and protects the people near you.” 

While no one knows definitively when the number of COVID-19 cases will peak locally, Mottice-Muller emphasized that it was critical that for the next two weeks people stay home as much as possible, particularly given the disease’s long incubation period where those who are infected are often asymptomatic. Beginning April 11 at 6 p.m. through April 13 at 6 a.m., all City parks, fields, sports courts and other recreational facilities will be closed, with the exception of public restrooms which will remain open during normal hours. 

“The biggest thing is you’ve got to stay home,” she said, “and wear these face coverings and do not touch your mouth, your nose, your face.” 

The City’s Fire Department personnel remains on the front lines in responding to patients experiencing symptoms of the virus. 

Beverly Hills Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli told the Courier that a decrease in the City’s overall crime in the wake of the pandemic “has been really helpful” as far as freeing up officers to spend time patrolling the City. In addition, she said that the incoming 911 calls were “significantly” down to generally 80 to 100 calls a day now, with a marked diminishment in Priority 1 calls. For example, on April 7 she said there were zero Priority 1 calls. 

“We want to make sure we have the visibility our community expects. We want to have a visible presence in the community so that people know they are safe,” Spagnoli told the Courier. “We continue to make sure that we’re responding in less than three minutes to Priority 1 calls.” 

While Beverly Hills Police officers continue making traffic stops and arrests, she said they were being proactive in their approach to safety by taking appropriate precautions, including using gloves, a mask and glasses. However, they often find themselves giving people warnings to practice social distancing, an edict that is too often not adhered to in the local parks, she said. 

“We’re seeing a lot of violations in the parks,” Spagnoli said, noting that the department continues to educate people against violating the rules of social distancing as opposed to ticketing them. “People should not be getting together in large groups.” 

The post Beverly Hills City Government Adapts to COVID-19 appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“As the COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, many people are feeling anxious and isolated. One of the most pressing challenges is the lack of information. But even in these uncertain times, there is an opportunity for us to join forces to stop COVID-19 together,” states the website https://stopcovid19together.org. 

Part of #TeamLA, the project, which includes a survey created by UCLA Health, aims to collect information that will increase understanding of the pandemic in an effort to stop it. 

The website provides a variety of tools, including the “Coronavirus Risk Assessment.” The self-check tool prompts respondents to answer several yes/no questions about their symptoms, age and other factors. Based on the responses, the tool then recommends next steps. 

“Every individual can and should contribute, and by doing so will be joining our team effort to collect necessary data to stop the pandemic,” the website states. 

Beverly Hills residents should be further advised that starting April 10, all persons must wear face coverings in public. The recent City mandate mirrors that issued by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti who ordered all residents to wear face coverings when visiting essential businesses starting April 10. The World Health Organization can help you do this safely by visiting https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks. The Surgeon General has also posted a helpful video on how to create masks:

Pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding can find answers to many questions at https://connect.uclahealth.org/2020/03/05/what-pregnant-women-should-know-about-novel-coronavirus-covid-19/. Parents with questions on how COVID-19 impacts kids can get more information by visiting https://connect.uclahealth.org/2020/03/19/ covid-19-how-the-virus-affects-children-and- those-around-them/. 

The post UCLA Study Seeks to Enhance Understanding of COVID-19 appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“One of the things I really look forward to is working with my colleagues,” Friedman told the Courier following his swearing-in. “There is nothing that any one individual can do unless the team is there with you. In the short run, we know we need to meet all of the challenges that the coronavirus has brought us. But right around the corner … we will deal with the post COVID-19 crisis.” 

Friedman spent the previous year serving as Vice Mayor alongside John Mirisch, who completed his third term as mayor as part of Tuesday’s virtual reorganization meeting. 

Unlike Mirisch, who continued to go into City Hall amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, often finding himself alone on the fourth floor where the mayor’s office is situated, Friedman said he didn’t plan to continue that part of his predecessor’s legacy. 

“I think what we need to do is set an example for the community and I think that example is showing that we are following all of the social distancing rules,” he said. 

In anticipation of Friedman’s originally planned swearing-in ceremony, which was slated to take place on April 6 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences before the pandemic forced its cancellation, the new mayor had planned to elaborate on his vision for the coming year. 

Friedman told the Courier he had still yet to fully flush out the platform, called “Beverly Hills Together.” He envisions it will integrate the schools, businesses and senior population for the betterment of the community.

Starting with a meeting on April 1 the day after he was sworn in to lead the City Council, which included discussions on the newly formed COVID-19 Business Recovery Assistance Task Force, Friedman’s mayorship will be marked by the City’s immediate response to the pandemic, subsequently followed by how to help lead the City back to prosperity. 

“We had a great economy in our City before this thing struck,” he noted. “It’s really nice that we have the reserves and that we’ve been fiscally prudent over these years so we are not going to be in as much trouble as some of the other cities.” 

Per the City’s audited financial statements of June 30, 2019, its General Fund reserves were $203.8 million, approximately $167 million of which has been committed by the Council for various purposes. 

“The crisis means a reorienting of what all of us had been thinking,” Vice Mayor Wunderlich told the Courier following the swearing-in ceremony. “Our thoughts in the coming weeks are dominated in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Probably the highest priority is that we have to do what we can to protect the health of our population. We have to do what we can do to help stem the spread of the virus.” 

As the City more deeply understands the impacts of the pandemic on its population, businesses and finances, Wunderlich anticipated that the City would move forward in crafting a plan for economic recovery. 

“As we move forward, we will need to expand protections to help residents and businesses,” he said. “There are a lot of decisions that are going to have to be made over the coming weeks. We will have to have an emphasis on what we can do to help our community recover.” 

Before the swearing in the new Mayor and Vice Mayor, City Clerk Ahmed certified the March 3 election, which resulted in incumbent Councilmembers Dr. Julian Gold, M.D., and Lili Bosse being reelected for a third term to the City Council. 

“Really what’s on my mind first and foremost is the health and safety of our community and the health and safety of our world,” said Councilwoman Bosse, who received 5,367 votes (38.48 percent of the vote). “Although we are physically apart, we need each other now more than ever.” 

“What I do want to tell our Beverly Hills family is that we are going to get through this and we are going to get through this even stronger,” she added. “We are resilient, we are ‘Beverly Hills Healthy City,’ and we are a family.” 

Councilman Gold, who received 3,922 votes (28.12 percent of the vote), likewise reaffirmed his commitment to the City’s success after Ahmed swore him in. 

“As I was taking the oath, the part that struck me was the piece that said, ‘To defend against all enemies foreign and domestic. And right now we are in fact in a fight with an enemy that we cannot see,” he said. “It is an enemy that I think we will be able to conquer and I think we will be able to conquer it together. And as your newly elected Councilmember I vow that I am going to do everything I possibly can to protect the health of safety of this community.” 

The post Lester Friedman Becomes Beverly Hills Mayor, Bob Wunderlich is Vice Mayor appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

COVID-19 Update 

As part of an update on state and local requirements related to COVID-19, the Council discussed various testing possibilities for the community and employees. There are now more than 4,045 cases of the Novel Coronavirus in L.A. County, including 45 in Beverly Hills and 68 in West Hollywood. 

“The health crisis continues to evolve and change,” Policy and Management Analyst Cindy Owens told the Council. Worldwide, over one million people have contracted the virus with more than 53,000 already dead as a result of COVID-19. While there is currently no possibility of local testing, Owens said it was imperative that people stay inside for 72 hours after they are fever-free and at least seven days from the first onset of symptoms. 

With over 100 elderly and vulnerable residents receiving meals through various programs, the City is also looking at the possibility of taking over one of its shuttle buses to ramp up home delivery. City staff also continues to take actionable measures to assist the City’s senior population.

Hotels To Defer TOT Remittance 

With Beverly Hills hoteliers experiencing unprecedented losses of guests due to COVID-19, the Council approved deferment of the Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT) remittance due date for the months of February, March and April. As a result, the hotels have the option to wait an additional four months (following the month in which the tax is supposed to be collected) to remit taxes to the City. 

Several hotels have temporarily closed as a result of the pandemic, including Avalon Hotel, the Beverly Wilshire, Luxe Rodeo Drive, and Montage Beverly Hills. Those that do remain open are operating well below 30 percent occupancy (compared to an average annual range of about 75 percent to 90 percent over the past seven years), with several reporting five percent to 10 percent occupancy. 

Over the past year, TOT revenue has generated on average $4 million per month for the City. “The loss of TOT revenue is also devastating to the City as it must continue to provide vital services even as revenues drastically decrease,” a City staff report stated.

Wilshire Boulevard to Close for Metro Construction 

On April 2, portions of Wilshire Boulevard closed for three months in order to expedite work on the Metro Purple Line Extension project. As part of the closure of Wilshire Boulevard between Crescent Drive and Beverly Drive and Beverly Drive at Wilshire Boulevard, and adjusted hauling hours for the Metro Purple Line Extension Wilshire/ Rodeo Station construction, a spokesperson for Metro agreed that the street could reopen at any time as long as there is a five-day notice given before the proposed time of reopening. The Council agreed to the closure due to the reduced vehicular and pedestrian traffic throughout the City because of the COVID-19 emergency. 

“This is truly a unique circumstance that will allow for minimal disruption in our City,” said Mayor Lester Friedman. The work will include new hauling hours between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. All other authorized work hours and days will remain in effect. For more information, visit www.beverlyhills.org/purpleline.

Rent Stabilization Commission Shapes Up 

The City Council approved appointments for nine members to the newly established Rent Stabilization Commission. The following applicants were selected for the three groups that will be represented in the commission: “Landlord” will be Remmie Maden, Neal Baseman and alternate Frances E. Miller; “Tenant” will be Kathryn Jacoby, Gwendolyn Owens and alternate Kathy Bronte; and “At Large” will be Lou Milkowski, Donna Tryfman and alternate Ryan D. Gurman. 

In tandem with approving the new members, the Council appointed Lou Milkowski, the only member who has previously served as a commissioner, to serve as the commission’s inaugural chair. 

West Hollywood Poised to Lease Log Cabin 

The City is now in negotiations to lease the Beverly Hills-owned property at 617- 621 N. Robertson Blvd., which includes the iconic “Log Cabin,” to the City of West Hollywood. Following a declaration to reclassify the parcel as “surplus land,” the Council approved a short-term commercial lease agreement with an option to purchase for the price of $5.75 million with the City of West Hollywood. The base rent for the entire lease term is $1. The decision concludes a contentious fight to preserve the facility after the City sent a letter to the Lions Club of West Hollywood, which had allowed dozens of recovery meetings each week to take place inside the structure for the past several decades despite not having a lease agreement in place, to vacate the premises by March 31. Going forward, the West Hollywood Recovery Center would manage the Log Cabin. 

City May Ticket People Who Gather 

With people continuing to gather in public, despite the “Safer at Home” directive issued on March 20 by the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health to control the spread of COVID-19, the City Council explored the prospect of ticketing people who disobey the social distancing mandate. 

“We haven’t issued citations yet, but we’re getting close to a point where we probably need to consider that,” City Manager George Chavez told the Council. 

City Attorney Larry Wiener said there were multiple options afforded to the City, including ticketing people $100 for a first offense, $500 for an infraction or $1,000 for a misdemeanor. After noting that people had been playing soccer at Roxbury Park, Councilman John Mirisch stated: “People who are willfully ignoring this, they deserve quite frankly to be ticketed. I really think we need to be vigilant.” 

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“It’s critical that everyone practices social distancing,” said L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “The actions you take today to stay six feet away from others and limit all nonessential activities outside your home are the best way for us to slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives.” 

Beverly Hills’ tight-knit community of 35,000 residents will spend the coming 

months weathering a new reality unlike anything over the past 100 years. Last week the City ordered the closure of all non-essential retail stores to the public, with the exception of drug stores, pharmacies, grocery stores and restaurants for delivery or take-out. Like all streets throughout the business triangle, Rodeo Drive is now mostly devoid of pedestrian traffic, all pricey retail stores closed until further notice. 

Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli told the Courier that the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) has a solid plan in place to continue protecting the community, while also preparing for the unknowns of the future. BHPD is also actively working with the business community to make sure businesses follow best practices in crime prevention, such as removing items from shop windows. 

“Our priority is safety in the community. And we vet through all the intelligence and plan for any potential threats. From an overall safety perspective, we feel that primarily the priority is for citizens to remain at home to reduce the spread of the virus,” she said. 

For Beverly Hills residents, many of whom are above the age at which people are strongly advised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to observe at-risk protocol and self-isolate, ensuring good health has never been more critical. 

As of Thursday, 253 people had been hospitalized for COVID-19 in L.A. County. According to Beverly Hills spokesperson Keith Sterling, the City is not aware of any cases of COVID-19 among City employees, including police officers and firefighters. 

While HIPAA laws prohibit the Beverly Hills Fire Department from sharing the number of COVID- 19 related calls coming in, EMS Coordinator Sean Stokes confirmed that the department had “been on many calls that have been potential cases.” 

“The highest priority of the Beverly Hills Fire Department is the health and safety of the community,” Fire Chief Greg Barton told the Courier. “This is an unprecedented and fluid situation. However, the Beverly Hills Fire Department will always continue to provide the highest level of service to the community it serves.” 

Barton said that BHFD has 27 firefighters on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To limit exposure to the virus, he said the department has implemented stringent measures, including screening each employee before he or she is allowed to come into the station. In addition, responders wear personal protective equipment on all calls to limit exposure to the virus. 

Spagnoli said BHPD is currently “gently enforcing” the Safer at Home mandate in an effort to obtain voluntary compliance. 

In addition to increasing BHPD visibility in the residential community and the business district, Spagnoli said the department has instituted best practices, including social distancing, in order to keep the community safe as well as ensure that officers and civilian staff stay healthy. 

“As a department we’re standing with our community during this time. We’re committed to keeping them safe and having high visibility in the community,” she said. “We’re here, 24/7 we’re available. And remember in Beverly Hills we get there in less than three minutes, and nothing changes with our response time.” 

As developments with the Novel Coronavirus continue to evolve, residents can visit www.beverlyhills.org/novelcoronavirus for the latest information. 

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In addition to helping support the City’s elderly population, the Human Services division is also assisting those with special needs, low income residents, and those who are disabled or homeless. Of paramount importance is encouraging all residents to follow the Safer at Home directive, said Human Services Administrator James Latta. 

“We’re finding that a lot of our seniors really just don’t get the Safer at Home mandate,” Latta told the Courier. “That’s a struggle.” 

Many seniors in the City don’t understand the urgency of staying at home, with many continuing to go out shopping. Latta characterized the special senior shopping hours at markets as a “confusing message.” 

“It’s really a deadly issue,” he said. “If you get this virus and you’re at risk, you’re really in trouble.” 

With a sizable percentage of Beverly Hills residents susceptible to complications related to COVID-19, the Human Services division is urging them to contact the department to speak with a social worker at 310-285-1078 or email humanservices@beverlyhills.org. Someone is available to speak from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

From helping people control their problems with anxiety to facilitating access to food, medication and other services (which can be a real challenge for those who don’t use the Internet) the City’s Human Services department is working to positively impact as many lives as possible. 

Latta told the Courier that the City has been in contact with Menorah Housing to ensure that the residents at 225 N. Crescent Dr. are safe and practicing social distancing across its 150 units. In addition, the department is continuing to work closely with Jewish Family Service ( JFS) for seniors who need immediate assistance. 

The City is also working with Roxbury Community Center, Beverly Hills Meals on Wheels and JFS to deliver food to approximately 70 seniors isolated at home. 

In the past week, Los Angeles County has taken over a multitude of recreation centers at local parks and converted them into pop-up shelters with beds spaced six feet apart, police presence and even a nurse on site. Nearby there are shelters at the recreation centers in Cheviot Hills, Westwood and Pan Pacific parks. In line with the County’s effort to help bring the homeless population (an estimated 60,000-plus people) off the streets in order to curb the spread of COVID-19, Latta said that Beverly Hills is likewise encouraging homeless people to take advantage of these shelters. 

“We’re trying to do our best as a division and as a City to help encourage our homeless population to get into these shelters,” Clinical Program Coordinator Rachel Evans told the Courier. 

The City is actively looking for volunteers to help serve Beverly Hills’ most vulnerable communities, whether it be by reading to people over the phone, so they feel less isolated or going shopping for groceries. 

Those looking to help others in ways beyond Beverly Hills’ local effort are also encouraged to donate blood through the American Red Cross (www.redcrossblood.org) or connect with Project Angel Food, an organization that prepares and delivers meals to chronically ill and immunosuppressed individuals in need, by contacting volunteers@angelfood.org or calling 323- 845-1816. 

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On March 16, the Beverly Hills City Council declared a local emergency in response to COVID-19 at the start of a televised eight-hour-long Emergency Public Session meeting. 

Mayor John Mirisch was the only member of the City Council physically present for the meeting at City Hall with the other four City Council members participating via teleconference. 

“We are in absolutely unprecedented times,” underscored Assistant City Manager Nancy Hunt-Coffey when presenting a report about public health to the Council just before the unanimous vote. “It is very important at this time that people continue to self-isolate in their homes as much as possible.” 

Those facing the greatest risk for COVID-19 complications are people over the age of 65, those with chronic conditions, and pregnant women, all of whom are strongly urged to self-isolate. Those who are sick also need to stay home in order to not infect others and become well. Emergency services continue to be available. 

Beverly Hills City Hall is now closed to the public and operating as a “Virtual” City Hall. Many City services may be accessed at www. beverlyhills.org or by calling 310-285-1000. And the City has announced that residents in need of immediate assistance (for example, with groceries or medication) can call the Human Services Division at 310-285-1078. 

In voting to declare a local emergency, the Council also approved allocating $1.7 million from the General Fund reserve to respond to COVID-19. The City further adopted an urgency ordinance directing the closure of non-essential retail stores to the public. Drug stores, pharmacies and grocery stores are still permitted to remain open, with City restaurants now limited to delivery or take-out only. 

In addition, all movie theaters, live performance venues, gyms ,and businesses providing physical health and beauty services that do not provide medical care are closed to the public. La Cienega Tennis Center, Roxbury Park Tennis courts and Greystone Mansion and Gardens are also closed. Local schools are closed and all activities of the City’s Recreation and Parks Division have been canceled. 

The City Council also approved the temporary suspension of utility shutoffs and the temporary suspension of certain parking regulations. Further, the Council approved a moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent by residential tenants and businesses impacted by COVID-19. 

Residents can visit www.beverlyhills.org/novelcoronavirus for the latest information on the COVID-19 crisis. 

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“The Police Department will continue to monitor the public safety issues impacting Beverly Hills and the surrounding region,” Spagnoli wrote. “We understand the community concerns related to safety and have taken proactive measures during this time to keep Beverly Hills safe.” 

In addition to implementing new procedures designed to safeguard the community, the department has also taken proactive steps to maintain the health of police employees and limit the exposure to officers. BHPD has also increased high visibility patrols and modified the handling of non-emergency calls. 

“The Police Department will maintain our less than three-minute response times to crimes in progress and life-threatening emergencies,” Spagnoli pledged. 

While the front lobby of the Police Department has been closed to the public, for emergencies, BHPD can be reached immediately by calling or texting 911. The non-emergency line is 310-550-4951. 

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“This is an opportunity for Beverly Hills to do what we do best, care for one another,” said Mayor Mirisch. “We encourage members of our community to call their friends and loved ones, develop networks and support neighbors. By offering assistance in a safe and responsible way, we demonstrate our resilience as a community and will prevail healthier and stronger.”

“Now more than ever we are ‘Community’ with a capital ‘C,’ and we will get through this together as a community,” Mirisch added. 

The Task Force will assist seniors and the City’s most vulnerable populations. Experts anticipate the pandemic will persist for months and recommend self-isolation for people over age 65, with compromised immune systems or those who are pregnant. 

“We need to help other people when we can lend a hand [and] lean on others when we need support. The best thing that we can all do now is to call and check in on the elderly and most vulnerable. Even the smallest acts of kindness resonate in all our lives,” said Human Relations Commission member Annette Saleh, whose five-member Commission will be tasked with helping spearhead the task force. 

“Nothing makes me prouder than being part of a community that acts fast to help those in need during such trying and unprecedented times,” added Human Relations Commission Chair Ori Blumenfeld. “We are a true example of a community of one and we will get through this based on the overwhelming support of our community and partners.” 

Councilman Julian Gold, M.D., underscored the critical importance of keeping the City’s at-risk and elderly population safe from unintended infection by people who may unknowingly be carrying the COVID-19 virus. 

“We have to be careful of asking people to knock on doors … for both sides,” he said, also recommending that the task force operate primarily on a virtual level. 

Mayor Mirisch stated that best practices would be put in place going forward as established by experts. 

“At the end of the day, seniors need to eat and get their medicine,” he said, further recommending that the task force operate primarily on a virtual level. 

Currently, the City’s social services division is looking at ways to best feed people in the wake of seniors no longer receiving meals at Roxbury Park following community-wide shutdowns. From reading to people and offering various forms of virtual support to offset loneliness to actually going shopping for others, the City is only just beginning to figure out the best patterns to put in place for the coming months. 

“We have many vulnerable residents and seniors in our community who are going to require various forms of help,” Mirisch said. “I know as a community that we are strong and that this is something we can do to help.” 

“We do have an opportunity to remind ourselves of the importance of kindness and now more than ever let’s not make COVID-19 contagious, let’s make kindness contagious,” he added. 

Those interested in becoming a member of the COVID-19 Kindness Task Force can email Public Information Manager Keith Sterling at ksterling@beverlyhills.org. 

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“The loans can be helpful to people because they’re interest free. It’s not a predatory loan. It’s access to clean capital that people can use for whatever they need,” JFLA Executive Director Rachel Grose told the Courier. “We’ve had a lot of requests in the last week. It’s probably a 100 percent increase in the last week. I do expect it to continue to increase.” 

Loans can be turned around in a matter of days and JFLA is equipped to handle applications and process loans electronically and telephonically, not requiring an in-person interview. Historically, Grose said that JFLA has made hundreds of loans to Beverly Hills residents on an annual basis. 

For over 115 years JFLA has offered interest-free loans on a non-sectarian basis to individuals and families whose needs are urgent and who may not qualify through normal financial channels. Those in need of assistance during this time may fill out applications at jfla.org. 

“As Chair of the Human Relations Commission (HRC), I want to make sure our residents know of every opportunity that is available to assist them financially,” Ori Blumenfeld told the Courier. “With parents out of work and at home taking care of their children,all financial help should be made available to them.” 

Blumenfeld said he first encountered JFLA as a law student needing assistance to repay his tuition. As HRC Chair, Blumenfeld said he renewed contact with the association after it applied for Community Assistance Grant Funding in order to help the association raise more funds to make more emergency loans. The HRC, along with the City’s Charitable Solicitations Commission, will review JFLA’s application for funding recommendations. 

“It is so important that during this time that these loans reach as many people as possible that require them while they are out of work, whether or not they are caring for their children,” Blumenfeld added. 

Those in need of extra assistance can also avail themselves of the Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN), which has launched an emergency relief program. It can be accessed at IsraelUSA.org/help. 

“We’re here to help the community,” said ICAN Chief Advocacy Officer Dillon Hosier. “ICAN can connect you to resources that may be able to provide short-term assistance for food, housing or small businesses.” 

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“It’s an issue that is extremely important to our entire community,” Mayor John Mirisch said to the almost three dozen people at the meeting. “We intend to remain a healthy City.” 

Now at almost 135,000 COVID-19 cases worldwide and over 5,000 dead from the virus, including Los Angeles County’s first fatality this week, the World Health Organization finally declared the outbreak a pandemic. 

Last week the state and county both declared a State of Emergency, and while there are just over two dozen confirmed cases now in L.A. County – a number that is expected to dramatically increase – events are being canceled or postponed throughout the region and institutions are closing their doors. The sports world has gone dark and all major performing arts institutions have cancelled upcoming performances. 

On March 12, just hours after L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled a bevy of safety measures designed to curb the spread of COVID-19, including limiting public gatherings at city facilities in excess of 50 people, the happiest place on earth, Disneyland, closed. (More details on page 18-19.) 

Most local private schools and universities have closed their classrooms to transition to online instruction and Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) may follow suit after the district’s upcoming Spring Break holiday.

“We are very fortunate that we have a spring break that starts Friday,” BHUSD Superintendent Michael Bregy told those in attendance at the March 11 meeting. “We can then properly assess what our next steps will be.” 

“We are going to be asking our students to take their materials home with them,” he added. 

Out of an abundance of caution, Mayor Mirisch said the City had begun the process of encouraging social distancing, including postponing certain events, such as the mayor’s upcoming planned “Sing- a-long,” the City’s forthcoming Sunday morning Farmers Markets and its public library. 

On March 11, less than 20 hours before the Chamber of Commerce was set to hold its annual event at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Innovate Beverly Hills, its president alerted attendees that the event was being postponed to promote community health. The next day, Executive Director of The Wallis Rachel Fine announced the theatre would be postponing or canceling all programming through the end of the month. 

“As a major performing arts center and cultural hub that depends on audience participation, community gatherings, and social events for its survival, The Wallis feels it has a critical responsibility to prioritize the safety and health of its patrons, artists, staff, friends, colleagues, clients, and partners at this time and be proactive in its efforts to prevent the spread of this unpredictable virus,” Fine wrote. 

On March 11, All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills Rev. Janet Broderick (sister of actor Matthew Broderick) tested posted for the virus. And that same day news broke that Hollywood power couple Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson had tested positive for the Novel Coronavirus. 

“Like everyone else, I’m very concerned with what’s going on,” Beverly Hills Alma Ordaz resident told commissioners at the meeting. “I think it’s important that we adapt to our new reality.” 

“There are a lot of things that we can do right now in terms of mitigation that I just don’t see happening in public buildings,” added Ordaz, who worked as a medical practice administrator for 30 years. 

Building on the efforts of the City’s Pandemic Planning Committee, Mayor Mirisch used the meeting to announce the creation of a COVID-19 Advisory Committee to help inform City policy and help prevent the disease from spreading. The City has already eliminated all non-essential work related travel for its 1,000 employees and is actively looking at various forms of telecommuting. 

Beverly Hills Fire Chief Chief Greg Barton assured those in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting that the City continues to work closely with the Los Angeles County Department Public Health to determine when and if urgent action is required. 

“The City is ready to expand its local response … if directed to do so by public health,” he said. “On the Fire Department side, we are very prepared.” 

According to the Department of Public Health, to avoid the virus from spreading, people are urged to practice effective personal hygiene, which includes thoroughly washing hands, in addition to not touching the face and avoiding handshakes and hugs. People are also urged to stay home when sick, even when mildly ill, and prepare today for more extensive social distancing and needing to stay home. 

Director of Emergency Management, Resilience and Recovery Pamela Mottice- Muller recommended that people have food, water and supplies on-hand for seven to 14 days. 

Primary symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath and malaise. Those exhibiting such symptoms are advised to immediately telephone their primary care physician before leaving their residence to seek treatment or testing.

Following an informative presentation on the spread of the disease, Cedars- Sinai Medical Center Special Pathogens Coordinator Jennifer Garland assured the Commission the hospital was prepared to handle patients with the disease and was in fact “many steps ahead of many hospitals in the surrounding communities.” 

Residents are advised to sign up to receive notifications by visiting beverlyhills.org/emergencynotification or texting BEVHILLS to 888777. For additional information about COVID-19, visit the publichealth.lacounty.gov or cdc.gov. The City of Beverly Hills Office of Emergency Management can be reached by dialing 310-285-1021. In addition, the City has set up a dedicated website at http://www.beverlyhills.org/novelcoronavirus and is currently in the process of setting up a telephone Hotline. 

“We do need to come together as a community,” stated Commission Chair Daniel Nazarian. 

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Roughly 24,000 vehicles traverse the residential thoroughfare connecting the Valley to the Westside every day Monday through Friday, creating a host of safety concerns for the hundreds of residents living along the one-mile stretch through Beverly Hills between Beverly Drive and Monte Cielo Drive. When not mired in traffic congestion along the 10.3-mile route connecting North Beverly Drive to the San Fernando Valley, cars frequently travel the windy two-lane road in excess of the 30-mile per hour speed limit, often using the center turn lane to illegally pass fellow drivers. 

“I feel in Beverly Hills, we have an ethical decision to make. What is the most important for us? Is pass-through traffic and speed and decreased congestion our priority? Or is it going to be safety and the feeling of the community?” queried Commissioner Sharon W. Ignarro at the March 5 meeting of the Traffic and Parking Commission (TPC). 

In striving to balance the residential quality of life with the need to allow traffic flow along this major artery, while also allowing emergency access and preserving an evacuation route via Cherokee for the residents of Trousdale, consultants from Crain and Associates presented a bevy of ideas at the recent TPC meeting. 

From putting up stop signs and introducing more signal lights (both of which consultants recommended against) to installing more signage and introducing delineators in the center lane to deter motorists from using it outside of making left-hand turns or turning into it from one of the 105 resident driveways, commissioners considered a multiplicity of ideas on how best to improve safety. 

Other ideas considered, but also recommended against by the consultants, included installing road bumps, reflectors on trees and rumble strips across the entire roadway. 

The City is now committed to replacing signs that aren’t reflective or the right size within the next 30 days, in addition to moving forward with installing delineators as a test at five locations in the center median to deter vehicle passing. 

“The reason we’re sitting here is because people are not abiding by existing laws. People are passing. People are speeding,” Vice Chair Nooshin Meshkaty said during the three-hour TPC meeting. “There are people that break rules, everyday. But for us to implement measures depending on whether there are going to be a handful of people breaking rules or not, that’s not something I can [support] our consultants as a way of finding solutions.” 

The Commission underscored the importance of piloting additional short-term infrastructure improvements in anticipation of implementing a comprehensive plan in tandem with moving forward with the water main replacement project. 

Following water line replacements of aging water distribution mains from six to 14 inches in diameter made on San Isidro Drive and Loma Vista Drive, in a few months the City is anticipated to begin the process of replacing 7,300 feet of water main on Coldwater Canyon Drive (from Beverly Drive to the City limit), which will involve significant reconstruction of the roadway. 

“That will be a good time to start fresh,” opined Deputy Director of Transportation Aaron Kunz. 

Already, enhanced enforcement by Beverly Hills Police starting at the end of last year seems to be helping, with a significant increase in the number of ticketed speeding violations. 

“I notice a difference in terms of traffic speed when I drive up and down Coldwater,” said resident Anne Ostroff, who has twice been rear-ended on Coldwater Canyon Drive. 

With plans afoot for the Beverly Hills courthouse to once again consider traffic violations, insiders predict that the number of traffic tickets given will increase even more as police officers will no longer need to travel across town for court appearances. 

However, while increased police presence in tandem with more signage may help to reduce speed, residents voiced concern that the traffic causes them constant difficulty when leaving their homes and genuine fear about crossing the street on foot. California Vehicle Code does not prohibit pedestrians from crossing Coldwater Canyon Drive as long as they cross with due regard for their safety. 

Resident Ellie Yadegar emphasized the peril of actually crossing the street, sharing how the previous week a neighbor’s dog got out and it took her five minutes to simply cross the road to retrieve the dog with her “praying the dog didn’t run out into the road” the entire time. That same week she noted how two cars were involved in an accident and three weeks ago a car crashed into a tree outside her neighbor’s house. Another neighbor’s two dogs were killed after being hit by a car, she said. 

“I’m scared I’m going to get hit by a car,” she said. “This is a residential street and what I’m afraid of is that Craine and Associates kind of don’t understand what our problem is. We live on that street and we don’t feel safe walking our kids down that street.” 

In addition to highlighting that children don’t feel safe even walking on the sidewalks, Resident Navid Yadegar underscored the daily problem he faces when leaving his home. 

“It’s a significant undertaking to get my car onto Coldwater,” he said. “When you’re trying to come out of your driveway and there’s no break because there are no lights, we can’t come out. And so it takes two minutes, three minutes. Sometimes you have to inch your car forward. Some of the cars will go around you as though you have no right to be alive.” 

“We hope that the City and the consultants will get together and come up with a solution where we can live safely, enjoy the neighborhood safely, while the City can balance out the safety features being identified by the Police Department and the Fire Department and everybody can coexist together,” he added. 

Orly Shabboui, who echoed the concerns voiced by her neighbors, identified her residence as the site where a motorist crashed into the tree out front. 

“I have two kids (a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old)…and we bought here to be near the park,” she said. “But I wouldn’t dare to walk to it.”

Given that the preponderance of collisions often are unreported to BHPD, the number of traffic accidents in the Beverly Hills along that stretch of Coldwater Canyon Road, which is reported to be roughly 20 in the past decade, is likely significantly higher. 

Shabboui, like her other neighbors, advocated the installation of stop signs and cross walks in order to create more protective crossing opportunities for pedestrians, in addition to slowing down speeding drivers and creating breaks to allow her to turn onto Coldwater from her driveway. Currently she estimated that it can take her five minutes to make the turn safely. 

In addition to widening that center lane to at least seven feet (residents suggested 10 feet), consultants presented the Commission with the possibility of alternatively removing the center lane and creating two lanes of dedicated parking on both sides of the street. Curb to curb the roadway is 40-feet wide with a six-to-6.5-foot-wide center lane, which is considered a sub-standard width for a two-way left turn lane. 

While failing to suggest an option that would include parking on just one side of the street, the consultants recommended against creating two lanes of parking, given that motorists would be encouraged to illegally make use of those lanes to drive. Further, if a car were parked beside where a motorist had stopped to make a left-hand turn, it could quickly create a traffic jam. 

“Within a minute the queue could extend 500, 600 feet,” predicated Craine consultant Diane Skidmore. “Another issue is … it would sort of be promoting illegal behavior.” 

Skidmore emphasized that currently, however, the center lane does not adequately protect vehicles waiting to make a turn. 

During a Jan. 21 meeting of the TPC, several residents suggested removal of the center lane and the addition of parking on both sides of the roadway with the expectation that passing in the center lane would be eliminated and parked cars curbside would slow traffic. However, representatives from both Beverly Hills Police and Fire advocated keeping the center lane. Other ideas generated from the initial discussion included adding flexible delineators in the center median, traffic signals, speed tables and additional signage. 

Resident Peter Ostroff, currently Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, questioned whether consultants were actually even necessary to help the City create an effective solution to the problem. He noted that the two measures set to imminently be implemented, namely putting in delineators and prominent “No Passing” signs, did not emerge from consultant recommendations. 

“What we need is not just a bunch of reasons why we can’t do things,” he said. “We need to have some things that we can do.” 

Like Ostroff, TPC commissioners advocated piloting various possibilities in anticipation of the impeding major construction. 

“We do have a chance to run an experiment,” emphasized TPC Chair David Seidel, noting that they were likely to have just a “few months” to conduct those experiments. “I’d like to look at something now to be able to put in place.” 

All TPC commissioners expressed support for adding the delineators and additional signage. 

The City currently plans to refresh lane markings and add yellow reflective pavement markers, in addition to replacing and adding (where appropriate) “No Parking” and “No Stopping” signs and installing additional speed limit signs and “chevron alignment” signs to provide additional guidance to drivers approaching the curves, with work slated to be completed by the end of this summer. 

“I do know that people need a safe haven to get into their homes. People need a safe haven to get out of their homes. So the protections as much as we can implement them, we should be implementing them,” said Commissioner Jake Manaster. “I’m sorry that the bucolic nature of Beverly Hills has changed dramatically over the decades and this is one example of a particularly out of control situation.” 

Other options to pilot, such as adding traffic lights or rumble strips, were estimated to take more time, given the amount of citizen input required. 

Residents are currently invited to share their thoughts with the City by emailing Askpw@beverlyhills.org in anticipation of the formulation of a more action-oriented strategy proceeding. Depending on what staff decides, the TPC may once again review recommendations; otherwise, the issue will proceed directly to City Council for deliberation. 

The post Safety Concerns on Coldwater Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills Abound appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“Overall the City has done very well in its first 10 years of trying to be sustainable,” Environmental Compliance and Sustainability Programs Manager Josette Descalzo told the Courier. Descalzo is currently in the midst of presenting the updated plan to the City’s 11 active commissions in anticipation of bringing it forward to City Council in June. 

Designed to represent the aspirations of the community to become more sustainable, the plan provides a list of potential programs and the foundation on which the City can build a unified sustainability strategy. A Task Force completed the new draft, which codifies the City’s updated goals, objectives, policies and implementation strategies using the guiding principles that were adopted in the 2009 Sustainable City Plan. Following input from City commissioners about their visions for the City’s future, staff will subsequently incorporate comments in the final draft. 

“Sustainability is a necessity and an opportunity to enhance lives in Beverly Hills by having a healthy local and regional environment, a resilient economy and a vibrant community that embraces innovation,” the plan states. “Sustainability in simple terms is the ability to maintain or improve standards of living without damaging or depleting natural resources for present and future generations.” 

In recent years, the City has adopted or is in the process of adopting several plans that touch on sustainability, such as the Water Enterprise Plan, the Draft Completed Streets Plan, and the Urban Forest Management Plan. Other current sustainability initiatives include the development of the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) and single-use plastic and styrofoam ban time schedule. 

By using resources in an efficient and effective manner in concert with innovative technologies, the plan aims to help the City protect the environment, achieve a resilient economy, and enhance livability. 

A key element of the plan is the reduction of the number of sustainability factors from nine in 2009 to six, which are comprised of the following: Community Education & Civic Participation; Resource Conservation (Energy, Water, Materials & Waste, Climate Change & Air Quality); Land-Use, Transportation & Open Space; Environmental & Public Health; Sustainable Local Economy; and Social Equity. 

Another change is the introduction of scoring and reporting criteria, which was not developed in the 2009 Sustainable City Plan. As a result, the new plan found it “difficult to quantitatively assess the City’s progress towards sustainability.” However, the Task Force was able to compile 150 programs and projects that stemmed from the suggested 63 implementation strategies listed in the original plan. 

Going forward, the draft plan proposes to monitor the progress of the implementation strategies via a bi-annual “report card” which will be presented every two years to the City Council. 

For example, in an effort to engender “Resource Conservation,” the plan proposes to reduce overall community consumption of non-renewable and non-recyclable materials, water and energy, in addition to reducing overall Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. With policies designed to achieve carbon neutrality Citywide by the year 2050, the draft plan paints broad brush strokes in order to achieve that objective. 

“We’re always looking to be a more sustainable City and it’s critically important to examine and reduce our carbon footprint and be a wonderful place for future generations to live,” Mayor John Mirisch told the Courier. 

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Held at Santa Monica Boulevard between Crescent Drive and Canon Drive between the hours of 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. using a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety Administration, a total of 1,172 cars passed through the checkpoint during that time, of which 266 vehicles were screened. Of the two DUI investigations conducted, just one resulted in a DUI arrest. In addition, four drivers were screened for failing to have a driver license in their possession, two of which were cited and arrested for operating a vehicle unlicensed or with a suspended/ revoked license. 

“We are committed to traffic safety and working in partnership with the Office of Traffic Safety to bring traffic enforcement and education to Beverly Hills,” said BHPD Chief Sandra Spagnoli. 

Drivers caught driving impaired in Beverly Hills and charged with a DUI can expect the impact of the arrest to be approximately $13,500. This includes fines, fees, DUI classes, license suspension and other expenses, not to mention possible jail time. BHPD will also make DUI arrests for those driving impaired from sources other than alcohol. Prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, can impair one’s driving ability and result in a DUI. Marijuana can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs. 

Last year the Beverly Hills Police Department investigated 29 DUI injury collisions that killed three people and injured others. 

BHPD plans to conduct another DUI/ Driver’s License checkpoint and/or DUI Saturation Patrol in the near future as part of its ongoing commitment to take suspected impaired drivers off City streets and highways, ultimately lowering the risk for deaths and injuries. DUI Checkpoints are placed in locations based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests. 

The post Beverly Hills DUI / Driver License Checkpoint Yields One Arrest appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Worldwide there are almost 96,000 cases of infection and nearly 3,300 dead from the virus, with clusters of infected continuing to balloon across the globe. 

California now has more than 50 confirmed cases and on Wednesday a Los Angeles International Airport worker tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number in L.A. County to six. 

“Currently there is no known threat of Novel Coronavirus to Beverly Hills,” states the City of Beverly Hills’ webpage (http:// www.beverlyhills.org/novelcoronavirus) dedicated to updating the community about the current outbreak, which was first identified in Wuhan, China. 

However, it’s only a matter of time before those infected with the virus do make their way through Beverly Hills, cautions Director of Emergency Management, Resilience and Recovery Pamela Mottice-Muller. 

In anticipation of that moment, the City is actively working in partnership with local, state and federal health officials to receive guidance and coordinate response. The Beverly Hills Pandemic Planning Committee is also preparing for any potential impacts from COVID-19 with an eye toward reducing transmission and minimizing illness among City employees, the community and City partners, while also maintaining critical operations and services, minimizing social disruptions and economic impacts, and coordinating response and care. 

COVID-19, which is the newest coronavirus to be identified in a family of viruses that spreads primarily through respiratory droplets, appears to mostly affect the elderly and vulnerable populations (those with weakened immune systems). 

In addition to practicing good hygiene and remaining vigilant, Mottice-Muller underscored the importance of residents using this time to prepare emergency supplies – not just in anticipation of a possible local COVID-19 outbreak which would require people to self-isolate, but also in the event of an earthquake or other disaster. 

“We owe it to our ourselves, our family, our neighbors, and our community to prepare for any emergency or disaster including a pandemic where we would have to isolate or social distance,” Mottice-Muller told the Courier. “I am often amazed by the lack of basic preparedness. [Residents should do their] part to mitigate the spread and to prepare for social distancing and potential isolation in our homes. It takes a community: the City, our business and our residents to mitigate, prepare, respond and recover.” 

The City recommends having the following supplies on hand in order to best prepare for an emergency: food (including favorite foods), canned goods, produce, foods to freeze, dry goods (rice, pasta, beans, oats), water, drinks with electrolytes, favorite drinks, household supplies, laundry detergent, comfort items (chocolate, coffee, tea, etc.), hygienic products (soap, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, tissues, feminine care products, diapers), prescription medications including flu and cold medicine, over the counter medications (pain relievers, cough and cold medications), first aid and medical supplies, thermometer, contact lenses, hearing-aid batteries, books, games and small bills. In addition, residents are urged to plan for their mental health, the needs of their pets, and to always keep their gas tank at least half full. 

Mottice-Muller noted how the fear of COVID-19 touching down locally has helped with overall preparedness by prompting people to actually gather supplies. In light of the current threat, she said it would be wise for people to have food, water and supplies on-hand for seven to 14 days. 

Across the world, countries are taking various measures to stop the disease from spreading, including quarantines. Just this week the Louvre Museum in Paris, France closed in response to the pandemic and discussions are now ongoing about cancelling the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. 

As the world continues to shut down, instances of panic buying and hoarding increase. Runs on face masks and hand-sanitizer mean that local shops now find themselves at a loss to provide patrons with those items. And opportunists are taking to the internet to price gouge items at many times their value, further feeding the frenzy. 

As a result, the demand for face masks is making it hard for even healthcare providers to get what they need; or those who truly are most at risk, such as stage four cancer patients getting treatment. Or even those who are already sick and want to protect others. 

“I’m getting 50 calls a day easy for these N95 masks,” Pioneer Hardware Store Manager Ryan Hudson told the Courier. “Like most everyone else, we are incredibly out of stock on the N95 face masks, [which] we sell them most of the time for construction workers. We’re doing everything we can to get them back in stock.” 

Hudson said the depletion was now at the manufacturer level. As a result, he said that distributors have put limits on individual retailers. Currently, Pioneer has standing orders with distributors for face masks and hand sanitizer (essentially a combination of alcohol and aloe vera gel). A case of sanitizer that came Monday night was completely sold out by Tuesday morning, he said. 

Beverly Hills Market owner Shawn Saeedian told the Courier he had been trying to order Purell hand sanitizer for the last two weeks, but hadn’t been able to get any. “Our hope is we’re getting it soon,” he said. 

“Basically anytime someone mentions something, then there tends to be a run on it and we don’t have enough of it,” observed Jeff Gross, co-owner of Mickey Fine Pharmacy chains. “I think that people are over-reacting.” 

Gross said Mickey Fine ran out of Purell hand sanitizer at the end of last month but is expecting more soon. However, he’s not expecting a new shipment of N95 face masks before late March. The latest “hot” item flying off the shelves, he said, is Cold-eeze, a zinc lozenge that shortens the cold. 

“When you’re in a shortage situation, maybe just play nice in the sand box,” Gross suggested, underscoring how the shortage on face masks was penalizing those who truly needed them. “We went through similar things with Anthrax, SARS, Avian Flu, Swine Flu … and maybe this one will be bigger. But we really don’t know. Or is it going to fizzle out?” 

In the absence of a vaccine, something that experts predict will take at least a year to create, the world may well be dealing with not just its annual influenza outbreaks but also the Novel Coronavirus, which has a mortality rate three times that of the flu. 

Mottice-Muller told the Courier that the Dept. of Public Health has asked cities to push out three messages: practice personal hygiene (wash hands, don’t touch face, avoid handshakes and hugs); stay home when sick, even mildly (the most important strategy according to Public Health); and prepare today for more extensive social distancing and needing to stay home. 

“We really need to be responsible and do these things and take care of ourselves and take care of our neighbors by not going out [when sick] and take care of our colleagues by not going work [when sick],” she said. “If you’re not doing it for yourself, do it for others. Even infecting someone with a cold … you could be putting them in jeopardy and not even knowing it.” 

Residents are advised to sign up to receive notifications by visiting beverlyhills.org/emergencynotification or texting BEVHILLS to 888777. For additional information about COVID-19, visit publichealth.lacounty.gov or cdc.gov. The City of Beverly Hills Office of Emergency Management can be reached by dialing 310-285-1021. 

The post Residents Urged to Prepare for Coronavirus in California appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

This spring she plans to convene an arts and culture symposium involving all major arts organizations, non-profits and for-profits in an effort to catalyze greater synergy, which will transitively benefit the community. 

“Often what I’ve found in the past is that a lot of those organizations have never been in the same room before,” she told the Courier. “A lot of the arts organizations have similar challenges and the City has a strong role to play in support and advocacy, but we can’t do it all by ourselves. And so, bringing everybody together really multiplies our capacity to tackle some of the challenges.” 

In tandem with moving forward on the City’s arts and culture expansion, Rogers is soliciting input from the community at large. A survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BHartsandculture) is now active and she encourages everyone to participate in order to engender a robust community response. 

In addition to helping grow arts and culture in the City, in tandem with the newly reformatted Arts & Culture Commission, Rogers will oversee the department’s divisions of Administrative Support, Human Services, Library, and Recreation and Parks – comprised of 254 part-time individuals and 71 full-time employees. She will also direct the development and implementation of innovative programs to enhance the community, cultural, educational, leisure and library services. 

“I really believe that the creation of community is alchemical, that what we do in a Community Services department is literally to collaborate with the local citizens,” she said. “We are creating community together and that is a process I’m incredibly passionate about.” 

Rogers’ formative years were spent growing up in a small town in Nebraska. Her mother worked in social services, giving the young Rogers a firsthand look at how meaningful and transformational community service could be. She still recalls vividly watching her mom help people transition from a life of homelessness into one with a job. 

“I saw the power of what she was doing and how she helped people and I think that was something that was very impactful,” she recounted. 

After graduating Magna Cum Laude from Brown University with a BA in Art and Semiotics, Rogers moved out to San Francisco where she began to professionally cultivate her “deep and abiding passion” for community service working for the City of San Francisco. Tasked with supervising the facilities at Boeddeker Park in the Tenderloin neighborhood and spearheading its programing, Rogers said she instantly fell in love with public service as a career path. 

After obtaining her MFA in Fine Art from Pennsylvania State University, Rogers returned to the San Francisco to work in the division of Culture and Arts. While moving forward with implementing a model to bring high-end arts into the community, Rogers said she got to know virtually every neighborhood in San Francisco and was involved with all of its 25 large community centers. 

In tandem with her professional career in community service for the past 25 years, Rogers has continued to also cultivate her artistic passions. A trained videographer ( jennyrogers.com), Rogers also serves as Artistic Director for Trick Saddle, a theatre company where she does set design and direction for theatrical productions.

Most recently before coming to Beverly Hills to fill the role vacated by former Director Nancy Hunt-Coffey, who was named Assistant City Manager last year, Rogers worked for the City of Mill Valley as its Director of Arts & Recreation. She also recently helped develop the Marin County Arts & Culture Master Plan. 

Rogers underscored how excited she is to support Beverly Hills’ arts and culture expansion via community outreach and engagement. Particularly given the small-town community of Beverly Hills and its illustrious past, Rogers said she anticipated there would be a wealth of local talent to mine from within the City’s own residential stock. She envisions, for example, local talent using the newly renovated theatre at Greystone Mansion to perform. 

“My hope is to really support that [arts and culture expansion] effort so that when we come out of the chrysalis of our cocoon that everyone feels that this has been their process and they feel that this is an amazing transformation that they can be really proud of,” Rogers said. 

“I’m as passionate about community recreation as I am about the arts. It’s just something that I think impacts peoples’ lives in a way like no other. It’s this incredible democratizing thing when you have community services because it’s something that people can access from the cradle … all through their lives,” she added. 

The post Beverly Hills Director of Community Services Jenny Rogers Talks Future appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Since its launch in 1988, Spotlight has afforded young artists the opportunity to develop their performance abilities, learn about careers in arts management and receive valuable college preparedness and workforce readiness skills to pursue their dreams in the performing arts. This year, nearly 1,400 teens representing more than 260 schools, 198 cities and eight counties auditioned for the prestigious program. 

Both Moon, a Beverly Hills High School junior, and Boghosian, a sophomore at Marlborough, were named semifinalists in ballet. There are a total of seven categories, which also include acting, non-classical dance, classical voice, non-classical voice, classical instrumental and jazz instrumental. 

“Spotlight is a prime example of The Music Center’s commitment to deepen the cultural lives of all, in this case empowering young, aspiring artists with the skills and tools to explore their potential,” said Rachel Moore president and CEO of The Music Center. “This year-long journey has the added benefit of helping these students develop critical life skills that can set them on a path to success, whether or not they pursue a career in the arts.” 

Semifinalists receive a rare opportunity to attend a special master class in their genre with highly regarded artists who share their expertise on performance technique, training and professional life. The experts also provide students with highly valuable feedback on their performances. 

As part of the competition, each semifinalist will audition again before a new panel of judges, who will then select the top two finalist performers in each category for a total of 14 Grand Prize Finalists. Judges will also name an Honorable Mention in each category. 

Both Grand Prize Finalists in each category receive $5,000 scholarships, with one Honorable Mention in each category receiving $1,000. Semifinalists each receive $300. The Grand Prize Finalists will perform at The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre in the Spotlight Grand Finale Performance on May 30. 

“Spotlight is so much more than just a scholarship program, it’s an opportunity for young performers to discover their full potential and push themselves to continue to achieve their goals,” said Jeri Gaile, director of The Music Center’s Spotlight program. “What makes this program so unique is not only the amazing talent that goes through the Spotlight process, but also the individuals who discover a new passion for the arts off stage or behind the scenes.” 

Beverly Hills residents Sophia Boghosian and Bradley Moon are among the 113 Southern California high school students named as semifinalists in The Music Center’s 32nd Annual Spotlight Program. The nationally recognized arts training and scholarship program offers young artists a career path in the arts and access to more than $100,000 in scholarships annually. 

Since its launch in 1988, Spotlight has afforded young artists the opportunity to develop their performance abilities, learn about careers in arts management and receive valuable college preparedness and workforce readiness skills to pursue their dreams in the performing arts. This year, nearly 1,400 teens representing more than 260 schools, 198 cities and eight counties auditioned for the prestigious program. 

Both Moon, a Beverly Hills High School junior, and Boghosian, a sophomore at Marlborough, were named semifinalists in ballet. There are a total of seven categories, which also include acting, non-classical dance, classical voice, non-classical voice, classical instrumental and jazz instrumental. 

“Spotlight is a prime example of The Music Center’s commitment to deepen the cultural lives of all, in this case empowering young, aspiring artists with the skills and tools to explore their potential,” said Rachel Moore president and CEO of The Music Center. “This year-long journey has the added benefit of helping these students develop critical life skills that can set them on a path to success, whether or not they pursue a career in the arts.” 

Semifinalists receive a rare opportunity to attend a special master class in their genre with highly regarded artists who share their expertise on performance technique, training and professional life. The experts also provide students with highly valuable feedback on their performances. 

As part of the competition, each semifinalist will audition again before a new panel of judges, who will then select the top two finalist performers in each category for a total of 14 Grand Prize Finalists. Judges will also name an Honorable Mention in each category. 

Both Grand Prize Finalists in each category receive $5,000 scholarships, with one Honorable Mention in each category receiving $1,000. Semifinalists each receive $300. The Grand Prize Finalists will perform at The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre in the Spotlight Grand Finale Performance on May 30. 

“Spotlight is so much more than just a scholarship program, it’s an opportunity for young performers to discover their full potential and push themselves to continue to achieve their goals,” said Jeri Gaile, director of The Music Center’s Spotlight program. “What makes this program so unique is not only the amazing talent that goes through the Spotlight process, but also the individuals who discover a new passion for the arts off stage or behind the scenes.” 

The post Two Beverly Hills Students Named Music Center Spotlight Semifinalists appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“We are thrilled to welcome Belinda and are confident she will build on the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s long history of providing our members with networking, business development, education, advocacy, and community service opportunities,” said BHBA President, Michael R. Sohigian. “We are especially excited to have her join us as we expand our services to meet the changing needs of the legal profession, including by providing technology and workspace solutions to our members.”

Macauley comes to BHBA after more than two decades practicing law and serving in the senior management of national nonprofit organizations. She began her career as a deputy district attorney in northern California at the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office and continued practicing law in Washington, DC, including as deputy legal director of NARAL Pro-Choice America, a national advocacy organization. She later served as vice president of Kinsella Media, LLC, a litigation consulting firm, and spent the last five years as vice president of development and senior counsel at a leading legal nonprofit, the American Constitution Society. 

“I am delighted to join an organization that does so much to help its members and the greater Los Angeles region,” said Macauley, who grew up in California before receiving her B.A. from the University of Washington and J.D. from The George Washington University Law School. “I look forward to continuing BHBA’s legacy of offering its members opportunities to network, expand their expertise, grow their client base, and serve those who can’t otherwise access justice. I am grateful for the chance to lead such a distinguished and enthusiastic association of lawyers who deeply value serving both our profession and our community.” 

The post Belinda Macauley Named Beverly Hills Bar Association’s New Executive Director appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Once again, the two candidates the Courier chose to endorse, incumbent Council members Lili Bosse and Julian Gold, M.D., proved themselves knowledgeable and informative in their responses. 

“Community is everything,” emphasized Councilwoman Bosse, who spoke at length about BOLD, housing and safety. The daughter of Holocaust survivors, Bosse grew up in Beverly Hills, attending its public schools and later sending her two sons to them as well. After becoming deeply active within the PTAs and the Beverly Hills Education Foundation, Bosse went on to serve on the Traffic and Parking Commission and then as a member of the Planning Commission before being elected to City Council nine years ago. 

“What we need to focus on is housing for our seniors to make sure you can age in place and to bring the young generation and the families to stay in our community. We need to make sure it’s a safe City,” she told the roughly four dozen attendees at the recent forum.

“Our goal has to be able to create an environment where seniors can age in place. Certainly that would be my goal, to be able to stay here forever and have a City which supports that and allows that to happen,” said Councilman Gold, who served on both the Traffic and Parking Commission and the Recreation and Parks Commission before being elected to City Council in 2011 along with Bosse. 

Dr. Gold, an anesthesiologist for 40 years, highlighted the recently expanded Nurse Practitioner Program, which he helped bring to life, as a novel method in which the City supports its residents and particularly its senior population. 

Lori Gordon, a member of the Planning Commission since 2015, likewise offered thoughtful potential solutions to help improve the City. One suggestion made by Gordon, who grew up here and attended the local public schools, as did her two daughters, was to provide residents with parking passes that would make it free for them to park in Beverly Hills during the evenings in order to incentivize locals to patronize local establishments, like restaurants. Gordon also recommended dramatically revamping the Planning Department and moving forward with a mixed-use ordinance. 

Write-in candidate attorney Aimee Zeltzer, whose name voters will actually have to write on the ballot, was consistent with her previous entreaties that the City prioritize closing the Pico Oil Refinery and keeping open the City-owned “Log Cabin” in West Hollywood. Closer to home, Zeltzer, who served as a board member of the South Robertson Neighborhood Council before moving to Beverly Hills this past November, advocated creating an auxiliary police force. Currently, Beverly Hills does have a small reserve police force (the term for “auxiliary police force” on the west coast), consisting of seven volunteer officers. 

Technologist Robin Rowe emphasized his plan to build two 70-story towers in Beverly Hills and for the first time during a debate, refrained from mentioning his plan to build a gondola in the sky as a solution for the City’s traffic woes. For the third time during a debate, he also misstated the City’s current housing obligation, incorrectly saying that Beverly Hills had been tasked to build thousands of units over the past recent years. 

Rabbi Sidney Green continued with his push to allow marijuana dispensaries and warehouses to operate in the City of Beverly Hills. However, unlike in previous candidate forums where he occasionally elicited laughter from the audience with seemingly playful suggestions, such as adding a kosher ice cream shop as the solution to declining business tax revenue, Green went on the offensive, even asking the incumbents to drop out of the race at one point. 

Items discussed at length included cannabis, housing, nightlife, safety, security, and the forthcoming subway. 

“The most important thing you can do is vote,” said former Mayor Les Bronte, who moderated the forum. 

Registered voters can vote now through March 3 at two locations in Beverly Hills, as well as at any active vote center around the county. 

Local voting locations are currently open from8a.m.to5p.m.(7a.m.to8p.m.on Election Day) at City Hall and the Beverly Hilton. On Feb. 29, the Beverly Hills Women’s Club will also open its doors to accept absentee ballots as well as give voters the chance to use the brand-new Voting System for All People (VSAP), a touchscreen computerized ballot-marking device. 

As of Feb. 26, 259 residents had voted in-person at a Vote Center and 1,668 vote-by-mail ballots had been returned. There are a total of 21,856 registered voters in Beverly Hills. However, people can register to vote at a Vote Center through Election Day, March 3, in order to have their vote count in the election. 

Those who do vote in person will need to hit the “more” button on the City Council race in order to see all candidates listed on the ballot. 

“Don’t hit ‘next’ until you hit ‘more,'” recommends City Clerk Huma Ahmed. 

The post March 3 City Council Election Countdown Continues appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

In fact, the City’s entire projected current fiscal year revenue stream of $265.7 million is still less than its total known unfunded pension liabilities, which represents the City’s obligations in paying the pensions of its employees. 

“It’s a big number,” stated Director of Finance Jeff S. Muir at the Feb. 18 City Council study session during a discussion on paying down the liability. 

In reviewing a trio of strategies to pay down the projected debt, Muir based his presentation on the most recent actuarial valuation provided by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) on June 30, 2018, which was $280.8 million. Strategies considered by the Council ranged from paying off the debt by 2035 to having the final payment occur in 2043. 

The discussion represented an initial meaningful step in moving forward with a plan to pay off all future liabilities before 2043, as is currently budgeted, which would translate to a total repayment of $541 million (including $255 million in interest). 

The discussion built upon work done by the Blue Ribbon Committee on unfunded liabilities, which was established by prior Mayor Julian Gold. At that time, City Treasurer Howard Fisher led the Committee to review the City’s long-term pension and benefit unfunded liabilities, as well as study what other entities are doing. At the conclusion of the Committee’s work, Fisher proposed that the City incorporate regular savings or investment to serve as an unfunded liability reduction. 

“I think we need to be as conservative, and in this case that means dynamic, about paying off the unfunded liability, but also in stopping the hole from getting worse,” said Mayor John Mirisch. 

According to Muir, the City stands to save $97 million by accelerating amortization of the unfunded pension liability over a 15-year period, a move supported by Council. 

Using CalPERS assumptions, Muir projected the City’s balance would be $286.1 million on June 30. If the 15-year plan is adopted, he projected that it would drop to $275.7 million in 2021. Otherwise, if the current payment plan remains in place, Muir’s presentation showed the balance dropping to just $284.7 million next year. 

Statewide, California Pension Tracker estimates the total pension debt at over $308.5 billion. Pension Tracker, a project out of Stanford University, ranked Beverly Hills as the City with the sixth highest market pension debt per household. 

By using existing, dedicated resources to make additional contributions to CalPERS, such as funds within the Section 115 Trust and the budgeted $5 million additional pension contributions, (which are poised to begin annually this year following last month’s vote by the City Council to incorporate the payments into future budgets), the City stands to more expeditiously divest itself of its onerous unfunded liability obligation. The Post-Employment Benefits Section 115 Trust, which currently has $23 million, allows the City to pre-fund a portion of its pensions obligation. 

As outlined in Muir’s presentation, the City could increase its current budgeted payment of $20.7 million for this fiscal year to $29.4 million as an initial step toward paying off its obligation in the next 15 years. That additional $8.7 million injection, as proposed, would be funded by the $5 million additional budgeted pension contribution and $3.7 million from the 115 Trust. 

As part of the proposal, the City would continue to allocate an additional $5 million from the General Fund to its planned pension contributions for 10 years, at which point the need for the additional money would cease as well as any financial injections from the 115 Trust, which would at that point be depleted. At that time, in 2030, the City would subsequently be paying markedly less than its projected current payment schedule for the remaining five years. 

The post Beverly Hills Faces $286M Unfunded Liability appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“We have found that overdue fines prevent young patrons from checking out books and other materials and we are here to encourage people to use library services, not obstruct them from doing so,” said Library Administrator Karen Buth. “We want our materials to be returned on time but understand that children are not able to come to the library without their caregivers, and we hope this new policy provides the flexibility they need.” 

After looking at the numbers, library staff found that overdue fines comprised less than one percent of the library’s operating budget and in fact cost more in staff time to collect than what was received. 

In addition to actually costing the library money, Buth said that overdue fines seemed to prevent children from checking out books and other materials from the library. 

In tandem with the new policy, the library also cleared all current youth accounts, eliminating any existing fines so that all youngsters now have a clean slate. 

While fines are eliminated, fees for books not returned after 30 days will continue to be assessed as lost and billed accordingly. Patrons will then have 30 more days to pay the bill or return their books. 

“While we don’t want late fees to deter people from using our services, we value our collection and will continue to charge for lost books so they can be replaced and to ensure our collection remains complete,” Buth said. 

Among the newest additions to the library’s collection are 160,000 materials of TV and radio broadcast history once housed by the Paley Center for Media, which recently closed its Beverly Hills location. 

The library also instituted another new policy of not charging patrons to place a reserve on books or other materials. Patrons are allowed up to 10 reserves or requests per account and once the item is reserved, it is held for seven business days. 

For more information about the new policy, visit www.beverlyhills.org/library-fines or call 310-288-2222. 

The post Beverly Hills Public Library Eliminates Fines for Youth appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“While the overall risk associated with Novel Coronavirus remains low according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the City continues to prepare for this and all emergencies,” Director of Emergency Management, Resilience and Recovery Pamela Mottice-Muller told the Courier. “And as the City does its part to prepare, we ask our residents to remain vigilant, prepare emergency supplies, practice good hygiene and make healthy choices.” 

Touted as a global silent pandemic, given the virus’s long asymptotic incubation period – around 83,000 people have been infected all over the world – countries continue to take active measures, each in different ways. In Italy, for example, which until last week had just a handful of cases before ballooning to 650 this week, some 50,000 people in 11 cities are now on lockdown. In China, which is now reporting just under 78,500 cases and 2,800 deaths, tens of millions of people have been on lockdown throughout the country for weeks. 

And while quarantining a city may seem like a preposterous notion in modern day U.S., experts say that such draconian measures may in fact be the only way to successfully contain an outbreak. Like all respiratory viruses, COVID-19 appears to spread predominately from close person-to-person contact within six feet. 

While it is unlikely that the City will be forced to imminently go on lockdown, it is not outside the realm of possibility that such a need may arise one day in the future. City spokesperson Keith Sterling told the Courier that any such decision involving a citywide quarantine would not be unilateral and would involve both the CDC and the County. 

To prevent contracting COVID-19, or any other virus, Mottice-Muller underscored the importance of staying healthy. Such measures include: eating well and practicing good hygiene such as frequently washing your hands and utilizing hand sanitizer; keeping a distance between anyone who is coughing or sneezing; avoiding touching the face; and staying home if you feel unwell. 

As clusters of infected continue to balloon across the globe, such as the recent explosion in South Korea, pundits caution that the U.S. is woefully under-prepared to even assess the number infected. Currently, the CDC only allows testing for those who have recently been to China or have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus. However, up to 40 state public health labs could soon begin testing for COVID-19. Just three states, including California, have the capabilities to test now. 

To prepare for the virus potentially showing up locally, the City is actively working in partnership with local, state and federal health officials (including the CDC and L.A. County Department of Public Health) to receive guidance and coordinate response. In addition, the Beverly Hills Pandemic Planning Committee, active since 2006, has been meeting, along with City leaders, to prepare for any potential impacts from the Novel Coronavirus or any other emerging disease. 

Mottice-Muller said that City staff has been trained to deal with Novel Coronavirus and are capable of responding to any emerging disease and implementing appropriate healthcare protocols. In addition, she said the City would continue to operate normally if it does arrive here. 

“The City has robust business continuity plans in place for all departments and services to ensure the continuing operation of City government,” stated the Office of Emergency Management, which is currently in the process of developing an informational pamphlet to share with the community. 

To prepare for the spreading of the virus and the potential need to stay home, the City recommends that residents should stock up on food, water, medicine and other necessities for at least seven to 14 days and continue to monitor City communication channels and local media. While the CDC does not recommend routine use of a face mask or respirator, the City recommends including face masks as part of a personal emergency kit. 

At this time, the CDC recommends that people avoid all nonessential travel to mainland China and South Korea. Travel advisory updates can be found by visiting travel.state. gov. According to the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, there are no restrictions on large public gatherings and there is currently no need to cancel school or social events. 

Residents are advised to sign up to receive notifications by visiting beverlyhills.org/emergencynotification or texting BEVHILLS to 888777. For additional information about COVID-19, visit publichealth.lacounty.gov or cdc.gov. The City of Beverly Hills Office of Emergency Management can be reached by dialing 310-285-1021. 

The post Beverly Hills Takes Steps to Educate Community on Brink of Coronavirus Pandemic appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Fresh from a heated debate in Beverly Hills with USC Professor of Political Science Robert Shrum on Feb. 17, the Courier connected with Dershowitz this week for an exclusive interview in which he delves further into his stance that there is no such crime as abuse of power. 

BHC: You were quite vocal in your opposition to the impeachment of President Trump. You even wrote a book about it. Now that it came to pass and he was acquitted, what lessons do you think the country has learned? 

Alan Dershowitz: I don’t think they’ve learned any lessons. I don’t think anybody has changed their minds. We live in an extremely divided atmosphere. I would have hoped that the lesson would be that you don’t impeach a president unless there’s strong bipartisan support and unless there’s overwhelming support in the country. That would be the appropriate lesson. That’s the lesson that Alexander Hamilton and James Madison wanted impeachment to serve. But the democrats have decided to weaponize it for partisan purposes. Just like the republicans weaponized it back when Bill Clinton was impeached. So, I don’t think Americans are in the mood these 

days to learn lessons. They just stick by their entrenched views and everything that happens just reinforces those views. We live in very, very dangerous times. People aren’t open minded. People just don’t want to hear opinions or change their minds or listen to the facts. They just go with their prejudices on all sides. 

Do you feel that his acquittal will be tainted by the fact that there were no witnesses? 

No. Absolutely not. There should have never been witnesses because there was never an impeachable allegation. That is, none of the allegations against him were constitutionally impeachable. There’s no such impeachable offense as abuse of power, obstruction of justice. So no matter how many witnesses were called, it would have still been unconstitutional to impeach him under those grounds. 

During the Clinton impeachment you argued that no underlying statutory crime was required for an impeachment. But you argued the opposite for Trump. What changed your mind in the interim? 

No. I still don’t think there’s an underlying statutory crime that was required. I think criminal type behavior akin to treason or bribery is required. I didn’t think that back in 1998, or whenever it was, because that wasn’t the issue. The issue in those days was whether or not Clinton’s perjury was a high crime. And so I didn’t focus on that then. I did the research. That’s what scholars do, they do more research and they change their views. 

And I changed my mind, the way many scholars did. I don’t change my views according to anything partisan. I change my views because I know more and I learn more and there’s more scholarship and more research. I think now you need criminal type behavior akin to treason and bribery. That doesn’t have to be a statutory crime, but it has to be criminal-like behavior. It can’t be anything like abuse of power or obstruction of Congress, I’m convinced of that. 

Can you expand on what you said at trial, that a president acting in good faith for the good of the country can’t be liable for abuse of power? 

I didn’t say that. If you read what i said, I said, as long as he acts legally. If he does anything unlawful, he can be charged. There’s no such crime or impeachable offense as abuse of power. It’s just not in the Constitution. 

When is a President’s abuse of power an impeachable offense? 

Never. Abuse of power is simply never an impeachable offense. Never. No matter what. You have to charge a crime or a criminal type behavior. So abuse of power is never [that]. Forty of our 45 presidents have been accused of abuse of power and I said that on the floor of the Senate. 

Can you clarify exactly what is you said on the Senate floor and share the precise now infamous quote? 

What I said was, the only thing that would make a quid pro quo unlawful is if the quo were in some way illegal. In other words, if it’s illegal, then a quid pro quo would be unlawful. That if there were corrupt motives, or a kick-back, then that would be impeachable. But abuse of power, that in and of itself is not a constitutionally permissible criteria for impeachment. 

At last night’s debate, Professor Shrum said, “I think what the President did to the Ukrainians was exactly extortion.” Do you agree with that and if so would that be sufficient grounds for impeachment? 

No of course not. They should have charged him with it. If they had charged him with extortion, that would have been an impeachable offense. Then we’d have a very different process. But the democrats in the house did not charge him with extortion. They charged him with abuse of power. You can’t just change it because Bob Shrum thinks it’s extortion. It’s not technically extortion under the law, but the more important thing is they didn’t charge him with extortion. Had they charged him with extortion, the whole debate would have been different. That would be an impeachable offense, extortion. Or bribery. Or perjury or anything of that kind. But you can’t impeach a president because you think he’s abused his power. Every president virtually has been accused of abusing his power. 

President Trump admitted he sent Rudy Giuliani, acting as his personal attorney, to Ukraine to negotiate a deal just days after the Senate voted to acquit him. How do you reconcile this? 

There’s nothing to reconcile. You have to charge a president with an impeachable offense. If they had charged him with an impeachable offense, then the evidence would be relevant. But when you don’t charge him with an impeachable offense… Let’s assume that they charged you with the crime of not being nice. There’d be no evidence. It’s not a crime not to be nice. You are nice. But it’s not a crime not to be nice. You have to charge an impeachable offense, that’s the key. And abuse of power is not an impeachable offense. It’s not in the Constitution. It wasn’t contemplated by the framers and it would be unconstitutional. It was unconstitutional to charge him for abuse of power. The House of Representatives acted unconstitutionally by charging him with abuse of power. That’s not an impeachable offense. That’s like charging him with not being nice. 

Was there anything wrong with him having sent Giuliani to negotiate a deal? 

That’s not the issue. That’s something you should vote on. If you think there’s something wrong, you should vote against him. If you don’t think there’s something wrong, well that’s for voting. That’s not my expertise. My expertise is, was it an impeachable offense? And abuse of power is not an impeachable offense. 

How important is the character of a president to a nation? 

A character of a president is very important in deciding who to vote for. But it’s utterly irrelevant in terms of impeachment. It’s very important to a nation, and that should be a factor in everybody’s decision of who to vote for. But it’s not relevant to the criteria for impeachment. 

Many who have followed your career have seen you change from a civil libertarian to a conservative outside the mainstream. 

Absolutely not. I’m one of the few civil libertarians left. All my positions are civil libertarian positions. What’s changed are many people on the left no longer care about civil liberties. They no longer care about due process or free speech. I haven’t changed one bit. I’ve taken the same position with regard to the impeachment of Richard Nixon, the impeachment of Bill Clinton and the impeachment of Donald Trump. Now you can criticize me for not changing, but I haven’t changed one bit. I’m still a liberal civil libertarian. 

How important is adhering to the Constitution to the continued prosperity of this county? 

I’m not so interested in the continued prosperity of the county, that’s up to the economists and others. I’m interested in the continued liberty of the country and the Constitution is critical to the liberty of the United States and to civil liberties and to due process. As I started my speech in the Senate, I’m here because I love my country and I love the Constitution and I’m not here on behalf of any particular individual. I’d be making exactly the same speech if it were Hillary Clinton or any other liberal democrat. 

How much of a threat to our civil liberties is the divisiveness that we’re now witnessing in the country? 

I think the divisiveness is very dangerous. I think today the people on the left pose at least as great a danger to civil liberties as people on right. People on the left today have neglected free speech, due process and open dialogue and the Constitution. They see the ends as justifying the means and I don’t believe that. 

Is truth an important value? 

Truth is an absolutely important value. Truth and consistency. And I’m appalled at how the democratic leaders lie about my speech. They distorted it and had me saying things the opposite of what I said. I don’t believed a president can do anything to get reelected. I think there were a lot of lies told on the floor of the senate by democrats. Particularly about my speech, they deliberately and willfully distorted what I said for their own partisan act. I heard lies from the democrats and it hurt me because I’m a democrat. 

What kind of damage do you think an impeachment proceeding brings to the country? 

I think it’s terrible damage. I think it weaponizes impeachment. It normalizes impeachment. It turns it into a partisan weapon. I think we will suffer the consequences of this impeachment for a long time. It never should have happened. 

With the people that you’ve represented, and you’ve described some of them in pretty harsh terms, how do you reconcile that within yourself? 

All clients are troubling. The First Amendment says every defendant has the right to a lawyer and I believe in that strongly and I will continue to represent the most controversial, the most despised people. And that’s required by our Constitution, and I support that. 

Who’s been your favorite client of all times or most interesting client? 

Natan Sharansky. Sharansky was a Soviet dissident who I defended when he was in Russia. He’s the one I most closely identified as a human being. Because he was a dissident. We could have easily exchanged places. He could have been the American lawyer and I could have been the Russian dissident, the Soviet dissident. 

Anything else you would like to share with Beverly Hills Courier readers? 

Yes. I hope everyone will ask themselves would they have passed the shoe on the other foot test. Would they be taking the same positions on impeachment, did they take the same positions on impeachment when Bill Clinton was impeached? What I demand is a single standard, a single standard for civil liberties, a single standard for justice, a single standard for impeachment. Today my civil liberties come out in favor of Trump. If Hillary Clinton had been elected, and she was getting impeached, I would be doing everything on her behalf and then people on the left would love me and people on the right would hate me. But that’s what it means to be a civil libertarian, you maintain the same position regardless if the person being impeached is a liberal or conservative or a republican or a democrat. 

The post An Interview with Alan Dershowitz appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Originally approved by the Planning Commission in 2018, the 13,000-square-foot project includes the development of a 25-unit luxury condominium project over one story of commercial retail and restaurant uses with a total building height of 47 feet, with three levels subterranean parking. 

“I so want to make a motion, because we finally have movement,” said Councilwoman Lili Bosse, who, together with Mayor John Mirisch, sat on the liaison to negotiate the Development Agreement and fine tune other details of the project. 

As part of the extensive Development Agreement, the developer is required to pay the City a $5 million “Public Benefit Contribution.” In addition, the developer also retains the right to sell, assign or transfer the property with all terms, covenants and conditions of the agreement continuing on with any successors. 

The Council unanimously voted to approve the Development Agreement, with Mirisch representing the single opposing vote to a resolution creating a General Plan amendment to establish a residential overlay zone in order for the mixed-use project to be developed in a commercial zone. 

The Feb. 19 votes came two weeks after a trio of City Council votes on Feb. 4, where the Council voted 4-1 (Mayor Mirisch dissented) to certify the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Project, introduced an ordinance approving a Zone Text Amendment and Zone Change (Mirisch dissented), and unanimously introduced an ordinance approving a Development Agreement for the project. 

The City Council had continued the project’s public hearing to Feb. 18 in order to allow the Peninsula Hotel time to consult with its ownership group regarding the condition to reduce construction noise effects on the hotel in the morning hours between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. In the interim two weeks, the Peninsula, which unsuccessfully appealed portions of the Planning Commission’s original decision in September 2018, requested additional modifications to the agreement, including a request to install a barrier along the roof of the planned project to prevent views into the Peninsula Hotel and that there be restrictions contained in the CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions) that would prohibit short term rentals. 

Immediately after shepherding the Friar’s Club project through its final major hurdle in City Council chambers, the Council turned its consideration slightly north to the unified 17-acre project helmed by the Beverly Hilton. “The proposed application for a unified project is forthcoming,” City Planner Ryan Golich told the Council. The unified project will fuse the nine-acre site anchored by the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills hotels and the eight-acre site of the former Robinsons- May department store. “They believe that the extensions are important in order to ensure their lenders and investors of the viability of the project site.”

The Council unanimously decided to give the developers the option to hold off on developing the combined property until 2026, provided they pay $2 million a year to extend the current two development agreements in place. 

“We are talking about the western gateway of our City,” described Councilwoman Lili Bosse. “However this will be imagined, I believe will be world-renowned. As much as Beverly Hills is on the map, I think it’s going to take us to a whole new stratosphere.” 

The applicant (Oasis West Realty, LLC and a subsidiary company) had submitted requests to amend the length of time to extend the two development agreements currently in place by five years. 

“I suspect you don’t actually want to build what these entitlements allow you to build, but by the same token, I recognize that your financial backers want to have some assurance that you can build something,” opined Councilman Julian Gold. “But I do think there’s a balance here.” 

The development agreement for 9876 Wilshire Blvd. (The Beverly Hilton) was originally approved in 2008 and is owned by Oasis West Realty LLC. Before the vote, the agreement allowed the developer to pay a fee of $750,000 per one year extension through May 2022. 

The development agreement for 9900 Wilshire Blvd. (the former site of the Robinsons-May department store), which was most recently approved in 2016 as the One Beverly Hills Project, was acquired in 2018 by BH Luxury Residences, an affiliate of Oasis West Realty. Until the vote on Feb. 18, the agreement allowed the developer to pay a fee of $1 million per each year of extension, 

giving them until June 2022 to develop the site. The Planning Commission had advised the Council to both raise the fee for extensions to the Beverly Hilton specific plan to $1 million (the same as what was in place for 9900 Wilshire) and lower the limit of requested extensions to three additional years. The City Council offered a compromise, granting the owners the ability to extend both development agreements for an additional four years, at a fee of $1 million for each one year extension, up until June 30, 2026.

“The opportunity to have a unified project at this site is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Vice Mayor Lester Friedman said. 

The post Friar’s Club Project Advances, United Beverly Hilton/One Beverly Hills Project to Return appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Moderated by Rabbi David Baron and former 9th Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski, the evening debate on Feb. 17 was particularly lively. The two professors traded a bevy of onstage digs, both characterizing the other as a McCarthyist at one point, while the audience, many wearing pro-Trump items, enthusiastically voiced their support for Dershowitz, a Harvard Law School professor, emeritus, and disdain for Shrum, a USC professor of Political Science and director for the Center for the Political Future. 

A self-described “liberal democrat,” Dershowitz has spent his legal career representing some of the nation’s most notorious individuals, including O.J. Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. Most recently he made headlines as a member of President Donald Trump’s impeachment defense team. 

“My job is to represent the most despised, the most unpopular, the people who have very great difficulty getting a lawyer,” Dershowitz told the audience, who filled practically every available seat in the first floor of the Saban Theatre. “I’m trying to defend the Constitutional rights of all Americans.” 

Put on by the Republican Jewish Coalition, the vast majority of those in attendance were quick to applaud and cheer at almost any positive mention of Trump, and conversely, offer a profusion of boos for liberal points of view or the mention of democrats, like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or Rep. Adam Schiff. 

“Please, let’s have some civility,” Judge Kozinski told the audience following one instance of fierce booing after Shrum predicted that Schiff would be reelected to Congress. “We are here to listen and learn.” 

Perhaps the most raucous round of applause came when Dershowitz asked the crowd: “Should I sue CNN?” 

Widely quoted as having made the argument that a president can do anything in the Senate impeachment trial of Trump, Dershowitz told the audience that CNN had left out a key element of what he had said. Namely, the first three words of the sentence, “I don’t believe a president can do anything.” 

“I do not believe the First Amendment protects a willful, deliberate, malicious, doctoring of a tape to make somebody say something the exact opposite of what he said,” Dershowitz said. 

Shrum, who received his J.D. degree from Harvard University, subsequently advised: “Don’t sue them. You’ll lose.” 

He then reiterated to the audience the widely cited “exact quote” that Dershowitz said on the Senate floor: “If a president does something which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment.” 

Just days after the Senate voted to acquit him, President Trump said that he had sent Rudy Giuliani, acting as his personal attorney, to Ukraine to negotiate a deal, ostensibly undermining his testimony. 

“I think what the president did to the Ukrainians was exactly extortion,” Shrum said. “If Congress has appropriated money that is supposed to go to Ukraine for its military defense, and the president withholds that money [and] the signals are sent to the Ukrainians that they’re not going to release [it] until there’s an investigation of Robert Hunter Biden, I think that’s an impeachable offense.” 

Dershowitz, who also spoke in the Senate in defense of President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, and campaigned on behalf of Hillary Clinton four years ago for the presidency, underscored his strong opposition to Trump’s impeachment. 

“For me, impeachment is never and should never be a partisan issue,” he said, emphasizing that presidents should only be removed from office when there is broad-based consensus and bi-partisan support. 

“I think if abuse of power is not an impeachable offense, than democracy in this country is in terrible, terrible trouble,” Shrum opined. “I think Donald Trump is the single worst most dangerous president in American history.” 

Broken into three parts, which ultimately seemed to bleed into each other, after Dershowitz and Shrum spent the first part of the debate voicing their thoughts on the politics of impeachment, Rabbi Baron replaced Judge Kozinski as moderator to delve briefly into the Me Too movement and ultimately the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. 

“We have to learn what our differences of opinion are on a whole range of subjects and how we can create common ground so that we can communicate with one another and how we are best able to reach one another in this very stratified and divided society we live,” Rabbi Baron said. 

The post Dershowitz, Shrum Talk Politics of Impeachment at Saban appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Issues such as traffic, health, safety and development remained at the forefront, with a couple of candidates ramping up the heat as they sought to clarify potentially misleading comments made by fellow contenders. 

Locals have the opportunity to vote for two candidates on the March 3 ballot, including incumbent City Council members Lili Bosse and Julian Gold, both of whom have served two terms as mayor. 

“What we love most about our community and what we love most about Beverly Hills is that we’re a City that has a tremendous amount of heart and a tremendous amount of humanity,” stated Councilwoman Bosse at the BHHS Student Candidate Forum, which was run by Teen BHEF and Interact. 

While both Bosse and Gold have already spent the past nine years on City Council demonstrating to residents and the business community precisely what they are about, outside of Planning Commissioner Lori Greene Gordon, who was appointed in 2015, the community has had virtually no opportunity to understand just what it is the other candidates truly might bring to the City. 

Rabbi Sidney Green, identified as an “Educator” on the mail-in ballot, espouses a platform centered around opening medical marijuana dispensaries in Beverly Hills, creating more services for the City’s senior population and uniting the City’s religious institutions. 

Robin Rowe, who continued this week to inaccurately state that the City had been required in its previous Regional Housing Needs Assessment to build hundreds of housing units when in fact the total cumulative requirement from October 2013 through October 2021 was three, has a very clear vision for how Beverly Hills can add affordable housing: build two 70-story residential towers with a combined total of 3,100 units. His other novel idea is to build a gondola in the sky as a solution to the City’s traffic problem. 

Zeltzer, who moved into Beverly Hills in November 2019 and qualified as a write-in candidate on Feb. 3, is most focus on issues beyond the City’s borders – namely, closing the Pico Oil Refinery and keeping open the City-owned Log Cabin in West Hollywood. 

Unlike last week’s candidate forum hosted by the Municipal League of Beverly Hills on Feb. 3 at City Hall, both of this week’s forums were comparatively less well attended. Fewer than three dozen students were in attendance at the Feb. 12 forum, including its hosts and those from the BHHS student-run television station KBEV broadcasting the forum. 

The Feb. 11 forum proved to be particularly lively at times. 

Traffic and Parking Commissioner Nooshin Meshkaty, a former member and president of the Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education, specifically asked how Gordon would “run the schools if you’re sitting in City Council,” referencing previous comments Gordon had made that she’s a champion for schools and planned to increase the JPA. Before answering the question, Gordon stated that Meshakty, who will be co-hosting a coffee for Bosse on Feb. 19, was “clearly an advocate” for Bosse. 

In response, Bosse stated: “Wait. Stop. She is not an advocate for me … This is not a question that is coming from my campaign. Please, do not put forth, again, facts that are not true.” During both debates, Bosse responded to all questions with her typical poise, providing responses that were extremely effective and informative in explaining the Council’s record. She also elaborated on her successful programs and initiatives, as well as her plans for the future. 

Gordon, a BHUSD alumna and mother of two alumnae, who once ran as a candidate to join the BHUSD Board of Education at the age of 19, subsequently responded to Meshkaty’s question: “Back in 2008 when I advocated for the increase in the JPA, I knew that the important relationship between our City and our schools is something that has to be championed. … I will tell you right now that there is nothing more important than public education. Because public education is what this country is based on.” 

Southwest Homeowners Association President Kenneth Goldman raised some eyebrows with his moderating style. He cut off audience questions and even grabbed the microphone away from a young man who arrived midway through the forum and spoke out of turn. 

At both forums, Councilman Gold was very informative and well reasoned. On Feb. 12, Gold advised students to avail themselves to the various communications systems offered by the City, such as Nixle and Neighborhood, in order to stay connected and safe. 

“We are actually now looking at all of the forward-facing Internet-based systems we have to see if we can integrate them better in order to communicate with people better,” Gold told the students. “In the end, we are all responsible for each other.” 

Voters will next have an opportunity to hear the candidates on Feb. 24 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. at Roxbury Park at a forum hosted by the Beverly Hills Active Adult Club. 

The post Beverly Hills City Council Candidates Debate appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Titled Voting System for All People (VSAP), the new touchscreen computerized ballot-marking devices will allow L.A. County voters to cast their vote at any center in the county, with some centers opening as early as Feb. 22. However, the touch screens also carry the risk of harboring live bacteria if not properly sanitized. 

The L.A. County Registrar did not respond to multiple attempts by the Courier to ascertain just how the touchscreen devices inside the polling places would be cleaned in between users. Beverly Hills City Clerk Huma Ahmed told the Courier that she had also inquired about how the county planned to take care of cleaning the kiosks, but had yet to hear back. 

Dr. Irving Posalski, an infectious disease specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, underscored the importance of good hygiene when voting in person in order to minimize the risk of getting sick, particularly during the current flu season. And while in-person exchanges are the most risky when it comes to contracting a virus, if at all possible, Dr. Posalski said it would behoove touchscreen voters to clean the surfaces before using them, just as one should do to the tray tables inside airplanes. 

“If you’re going to go into a voting booth and you’re going to touch screens … I’d make a mental note that I’m not going to touch my face until I wash my hands or use a hand sanitizer,” he told the Courier. “I’m not that worried about the coronavirus. I’m more worried about the influenza virus, especially in flu season.” 

Posalski characterized this year’s flu season as “a little worse” than average. 

While understanding continues to grow about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, which was first identified in Wuhan, China, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a “public health emergency” for the new coronavirus, despite the fact that the current risk to the American public remains low. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed a total of 15 cases in the U.S., as of press time, including one in California. Worldwide, over 60,000 people have been infected with the disease and more than 1,300 people have died from it in China. 

But outside of this new outbreak, currently rare in the U.S., the possibility to contract a virus while voting in person is very real. Posalski said that fomites, surfaces that carry germs, such as a doorknob or a touchscreen, can potentially serve as a way to transmit diseases. Cleaning the surface with a disinfectant or sanitizer, however, will kill the germs. 

“The way you catch a cold or coronavirus is that someone sneezes and the droplets get carried through the air and you inhale it,” he described. “The other way is they cough, and they have their hands up to their mouth, and they have a little bit of moisture particles on their hands, and you shake hands.” 

A 2018 study conducted by Metro, a newspaper in the United Kingdom, based on research done by Dr. Paul Matewele, a senior lecturer at London Metropolitan University, found harmful bacteria, including fecal matter, on 11 newly installed McDonald’s touchscreen kiosks in London and Birmingham – the totality of all touchscreen machines swabbed in the study. 

“Seeing Staphylococcus on these machines is worrying because it is so contagious,” Dr. Matewele is quoted as saying in the Metro article. 

For those voting in-person in the nation’s most populous county in the March 3 election, all polling stations offer voters the option of using hand-marked paper ballots. L.A. County voters also have until Feb. 25 to request a vote-by-mail ballot. (https://www.lavote.net/home/voting-elections/voting-options/vote-by-mail/ apply-to-vote-by-mail) 

Voters then have three options on how to return their ballot: by mail (no postage is necessary); in person at any Vote by Mail drop box location; or at any Vote Center in L.A. County. 

The post Touchscreen Voting in the Coronavirus Era appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“The spirt of said response is to visit residents before they reach the emergent medical state in which 911 is called,” said BHFD Chief Gregory W. Barton. He noted that multiple government and healthcare entities were currently evaluating the components of Beverly Hills’ program, which via its integration into the Fire Department is having a multifaceted impact on patients’ healthcare. “It is becoming more evident that programs akin to the NPP (Nurse Practitioner Program) will become a standard response for Fire Departments.” 

As part of the NPU’s proactive approach, in addition to treating patients “in the field” and providing them services that they would otherwise receive at urgent care facilitates, the program is 

structured to facilitate preventive care. With each home visit, the NPU provides a comprehensive assessment, identifies current and potential future medical ailments, and gauges health risks. Subsequently, the NPU communicates with the patient’s primary care provider, specialists, ancillary medical providers, and medical networks for follow-up treatment. The NPU also follows up with patients referred from Cedars-Sinai Health System. 

“The Beverly Hills Nurse Practitioner program is an innovative approach to support the health of our community,” said City Councilman Julian Gold, M.D., former co-chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at Cedars-Sinai. Gold helped pioneer the program by working with the Fire Department to refine the concept and add the element of proactive care. “By treating patients at home and keeping them out of emergency rooms, we will improve the care to some of our most vulnerable residents, at the same time reducing overall healthcare costs.” 

Longtime Beverly Hills resident Ronee Berns, who moved to Rodeo Drive in 1978, praised the NPU’s response to an accident in December 2019 where a neighbor sideswiped her while she was getting out of her car. 

“I’m lucky I’m still alive,” Berns told the Courier, underscoring that she was “bleeding profusely” before Nurse Practitioner Theresa Simmons bandaged her up. “I didn’t even have to go to the hospital because of them.” 

Beverly Hills Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Administrator Sean Stokes told the Courier he estimated the program would be operational seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting in late March. The program currently operates four days a week with a nurse practitioner and a firefighter paramedic (FF/PM), but will add two additional nurse practioners and an additional FF/PM as it expands. 

Since launching in January 2019, the NPU has made over 300 patient contacts, and provided approximately 700 hours of healthcare in the field according to a staff report. Stokes told the Courier that of the approximately 8,000 calls to 911 last year, around 5,000 were EMS related. About 45 percent of those EMS calls were for patients age 65 and older and 75 percent were for patients age 45 and older. 

“We have such a large senior community,” said Simmons, who has been with the program since its launch. “[The program] has allowed us to identify a lot of of patients who have chronic needs in our community … people who are borderline unsafe. … We’re finding that our proactive approach will be the greatest benefit to the community safely aging in place.” 

Currently, there is no charge to residents who utilize the NPU, although that may change in the future, Simmons said. 

The post Beverly Hills Expands Innovative Nurse Practitioner Program appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Dressed in white jeans, a light blue designer jacket over her white blouse, Benny was certain she looked elegant. A very small straw fedora with a narrow brim and white trim completed the look – and that hat, as it turned out, happened to be the offending culprit to an enjoyable lunchtime experience at the Polo Lounge. 

“The first thing I thought of was Jackie Kennedy with her little pill box hat, she always looked perfection,” Benny recounted to the Courier. “Can you imagine? Jackie Kennedy going to the Polo Lounge and being asked to take off her hat!” 

Born in 1934, daughter of famed vaudevillian Jack Benny and actress Mary Livingstone, Joan Benny moved to Beverly Hills as a one-year-old child, the family initially taking up residence on Beverly Drive in a house that belonged to Charlie Chaplin. 

Benny told the Courier she had been coming to the Polo Lounge since she could remember. Indeed, the iconic gathering spot has hosted countless luminaries and others since it first opened in 1941, in an era when men and women often donned hats as a normal part of their wardrobes. 

“There was a time when a hat completed your outfit and you didn’t ever take your hat off until you got home,” Benny recalled. 

While the Polo Lounge staff offered no explanation as to why the policy was in place, they did inform Benny, she said, that it was relatively new at two months old. And ultimately, the manager did allow her to sit down to lunch with her outfit intact, although cautioning that next time she would need to dine sans chapeau. 

While speaking with the manager about the policy, Benny recounted that another women with a little black beret arrived and was seated without incident. “He told me it wouldn’t have been fair to have asked her to remove her hat when I was going to be allowed to keep mine on,” she said. 

A spokesperson for the hotel told the Courier that policy had “always” been in place, but the restaurant had been “strictly” enforcing it now for over a year. 

A simple search on Instagram revealed multiple photographs of people wearing a variety of hats seated in the Polo Lounge over the course of the previous months. 

“We do allow hats for religious purposes,” the spokesperson wrote the Courier, noting that women’s dress hats were allowed. 

The Polo Lounge webpage on the Dorchester Collection website displays a “Dress Code” policy which reads: “We kindly ask our guests to adhere to a smart casual dress code when dining in the Polo Lounge. The following items are not permitted: hats, athletic wear, swimwear, tank tops and flip flops (including rubber and plastic thongs). Shorts are not permitted after 11 a.m.” 

The post Beverly Hills Hotel Polo Lounge Nods to Changing Times by Enforcing “No Hat” Policy appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

From the surprise inclusion of attorney Aimee Zeltzer as the sixth contender, who just that morning qualified for the ballot as a write-in candidate for one of two open seats in the March 3 election, to the marijuana/ cannabis-advocating Rabbi Sidney Green, to technologist Robin Rowe’s emphasis on creating a people mover (gondola) in the sky to solve traffic woes and his suggestion of building two 70-story residential towers to solve the City’s housing problem, the evening was certainly never dull. 

Incumbent Councilmembers Lili Bosse and Dr. Julian Gold, as well as Planning Commissioner Lori Greene Gordon, all referenced their voting records during the forum. 

Following candidate opening statements, Municipal League moderators asked a series of seven questions, ultimately finishing the forum with audience questions. Below are excerpts from the questions and candidate responses. 

Municipal League: What plans do you have to enhance the City’s revenue in light of the continuing loss of retail business to the internet and as further evidenced by the departure of Barneys, Nike and all the vacancies on South Beverly Drive as well as elsewhere throughout the City? 

Zeltzer: Well I’ve given this quite some thought and actually I’ve noticed that a lot of the businesses that are in Beverly Hills are catered to a lot of people that have a lot of money. And that’s a beautiful thing, but not every single person in Beverly Hills wants to spend $200 for a dinner. So, I would love to encourage local businesses and for people to keep those businesses. 

There has to be tax credits. There has to be the people saying what they want, which is not necessarily going to the most expensive places every single night. I noticed that there’s not a laundromat here. I noticed that there’s not a store, like a bodega, to get things. I’m just saying, you don’t always want to spend $200, plus you have to go somewhere. And like another candidate said, I don’t mind having places where there could be a cannabis shop. There has to be education and it should be limited, definitely nobody under 25. But that’s again, another type of a local business. I’m very supportive of local businesses, local pharmacies and other small businesses and supporting them. 

Gold: Clearly retail is under pressure, but I think retail will survive. It just has to reinvent itself and it has to become more experiential. People want more than just shopping. They want things to do. They want a reason to be there beyond just buying something. So I think we have to work with our landowners and our merchants to help create experiential places here. 

I think our efforts to make it easier for our restaurants to be in business (via the recent emergency ordinance amending the in-lieu parking fees) … I think that was a big step forward. We see that fitness and health are big things people are interested in today, I think we have to find ways to allow for those uses within some buildings. And we have to find ways within the context of our ordinances to allow big buildings to be subdivided.

Gordon: The most important thing to me in terms of increasing revenue here is really a new paradigm for how we have businesses here in Beverly Hills. We in the Planning Commission are working on a mixed-use ordinance for the City of Beverly Hills that will enable us to accomplish two goals: continue to have businesses as well as continue to develop new housing units. 

The importance of mixed-use is, what I call, creating the villages within our village, because this accomplishes a lot of goals. It solves some of those transportation problems. It does not decrease our business stock and still increases our residential stock. I would like to reform the Planning Department so that we can be sure we welcome new businesses. 

Green: If we would have medical marijuana stores, the City would get thousands of tax dollars as well. We have eight kosher restaurants here in Beverly Hills, what we need in addition is a kosher deli and a kosher ice cream store. 

Bosse: The general managers of all hotels called an emergency meeting with me when I was mayor saying that they needed help, that they were sending everybody out of our City because there was nothing to do in the evening. Stores were closed (and) restaurants were closed. In partnership with the Rodeo Drive Committee, the Chamber, the CVB (Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau), a unanimous City Council, we got ahead of that. And it wasn’t just Rodeo Drive. We now have promoted the Southeast. We have promoted all the streets of our City. It’s an evolving vision. Because our world is changing. Shopping is changing. And I feel that we have been visionary. That is what we have been built on as a City and that is what we’re continuing to do. I agree mixed-use is a definite part of our future. I also believe that in terms of the planning process, we need to have a specific timeline. That when somebody opens in the City, they need to know within a certain amount of weeks they can open up, have a permit, and get going. We are on the cusp of a new beginning in business in our community.

Rowe: We had a City Council meeting in December where an urgent law was passed to revise our zoning so that we could have more restaurants. As a result of that, more restaurants are coming into Beverly Hills. (Note: Rowe is referring to an Urgency Ordinance passed by the City Council on Dec. 10, 2019 to lower parking requirements by amending the City’s in-lieu parking program.) But the question that I asked was, ‘Why did it take until the eve of the election to revise a law from [1976] in an emergency?’ When I joined the technology committee, I was taken aside and told, ‘Just understand Robin, don’t get excited, everything takes 10 years to do in Beverly Hills.’ I would change that. 

Municipal League: Traffic in the City is a nightmare. How do you propose to mitigate the congestion, control illegal double-parking on Canon, Beverly Drive and Rodeo, as well as sports car enthusiasts from speeding on the residential streets. 

Rowe: For traffic we need to do something about housing. Ninety-four percent of people who work here do not live here. So that creates a tremendous traffic burden that we have to address with affordable housing. (Note: Rowe was specifically told by the Municipal League to speak to the question “other than the gondola.”) 

Bosse: The reality is, we are always going to have traffic. I do think we are working to find some solutions to that. We definitely have beefed up our enforcement. We have put cameras throughout our City. We have been working with the Police Department and the residents to try and make it loud and clear that people have to be safe when they are driving. I also think that we’re trying to enforce a more walkable City. I think we have to work with different parts of our City to do traffic calming measures to make sure that cars don’t impact the residential streets. 

Green: The question implies that for the last 10 years, the City Council has not solved this problem. I don’t know that I’m going to solve it either. 

Gordon: I’m on the Board of Advisors for the Luskin School of Public Policy at UCLA, which has some of the most brilliant minds relating to traffic. I have had a lot of discussions with them regarding this particular issue and I would love to partner with the Luskin Center. I would also like to explore the option of turning certain streets into one- way streets to get the traffic moved through our City more quickly. I also do think the idea of walkability is essential … and I think that anything we can do to make this more walkable is something that I advocate. 

The post Beverly Hills City Council Candidates Compete for Votes at Municipal League Debate appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“We need affordable housing. We need a lot of it,” Mayor John Mirisch said just before the unanimous vote to require inclusionary housing for multifamily developments with five or more units.

The approved interim oridinance also amends the public noticing requirements for certain planning entitlements. 

In the coming decade, Beverly Hills will likely be tasked with building around 3,000 new housing units under State Housing Law. The precise number of units as identified via the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) will be determined later this year by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). 

City Planner Ryan Gohlich previously told the Council that in recent years only a “very small” number of housing units had been built in Beverly Hills, averaging 10 to 20 units a year, with some years seeing the creation of none at all. The interim ordinance, which was originally slated to expire on Jan. 31 before it was extended, is expected to be replaced with a permanent one prior to its expiration in 10 months. 

The City Council initially approved a 45-day urgency ordinance on Dec. 17, 2019 prohibiting residential development projects that failed to comply with the City’s inclusionary housing requirements in anticipation of Senate Bill 330 (the Housing Crisis Act of 2019) going into effect on Jan. 1. 

As part of the ordinance, an applicant may provide the required inclusionary units on a different site within Beverly Hills. In addition, the ordinance enhances the public noticing requirements as well as requires developers to hold informative neighborhood meetings. 

Developers may pay an affordable housing fee in-lieu of providing the units for 

projects with between five and 10 housing units. However, those projects with more units do not have the ability to pay an in-lieu fee. Any multifamily housing project with fewer than five units would be exempt. The in-lieu fees would be calculated per square foot of development at a rate of $58 for a five-unit building; $70 for a six-unit building; $82 for a seven-unit building; $93 for an eight-unit building; and $105 for a nine-unit building. 

Of the approximately 30 Planning Commission level projects that have been submitted but not yet been deemed complete, just one project, a six-unit condominium building located at 457 N. Oakhurst Dr., was subject to the ordinance’s requirement to provide inclusionary housing. The other projects in the pipeline were either commercial developments or single family homes. Six people used public comment to advocate that the Oakhurst condominium project be exempt from having to comply with the ordinance’s inclusionary housing provision. 

Attorney for the project Murray Fischer said the project had been in the application process for over 18 months, including delays that had been the result of City staff errors. The developer, Babak Nassir, is building the project to house his family in one unit and his parents in a second unit, with plans to sell the additional four units. 

“We’ve done everything the City has asked for [and] it’s now become financially economically impossible to build a six-unit project on this particular situation because of the additional dollars that this will cost,” 

Fischer told the Council, noting that an offer made to Golich to add two to three additional stories to the project in order to create two units (one story) of affordable residences was declined. 

Fischer said his client would need to pay a $1 million in-lieu fee if subject to the ordinance. 

The City Council all agreed to exempt the project as long as the application is deemed complete within 120 days. 

Said Councilman Julian Gold: “I would be okay exempting them considering the City delays and the fact that they’re so far along and the fact that (it’s the) only one that already has a tract map. It sounds like there’s no real reason not to.” 

The Interim Ordinance changes several provisions of the municipal code related to housing development, including requiring 10 percent of units in multifamily projects with 10 or more units to be restricted for affordable housing. Projects that enter into a development agreement with the City are not subject to the inclusionary housing regulations. 

The ordinance (No. 19-0-2797) states: “As the demand for housing continues to exceed available housing units, the City’s housing market is becoming increasingly expensive, jeopardizing residents’ ability to find and retain affordable housing. Continued residential development that does not meaningfully address the City’s affordable housing needs threatens to deplete existing affordable housing resources, compounding residents’ housing difficulties and exacerbating the statewide housing emergency recently declared by the California Legislature.” 

The post Beverly Hills Shores Up Inclusionary Housing Ordinance appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The vote followed a robust discussion during the study session earlier that day about how to best protect residents and homes in the very high fire hazard severity zone (VHFHSZ) as designated by the California Department of Forest and Fire Prevention. To reduce fire risk in the VHFHSZ, the City plans to provide a widely accepted standard of keeping flammable trees no closer than 30 feet from structures. 

“This is our first step,” said Beverly Hills Fire Chief Greg Barton, who emphasized that the 30-foot “industry standard” clearance was meaningful. “I think this shows that the City has taken the proactive step to be the leader in a meaningful way.” 

The Council also voted to find the project exempt from further review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The estimated cost for the removal of the trees is $2.1 million. 

Director of Public Works Shana Epstein said the first phase of removing approximately 560 trees would begin in April and that the entire process was expected to take 12 months to complete. In conjunction with removing the trees, she said the City will actively work to preserve the urban canopy by looking at replacement trees that are less flammable. However, she noted that the replacement strategy was unlikely to be one-for-one. 

“The fuel management project really defines defensible space,” Epstein said. “Fuel modification is any manipulation or removal of fuels to reduce the likelihood of ignition or the resistance to fire control.” 

The City has already removed 11 Aleppo pine trees in Trousdale after City arborists assessed 188 trees along Carla Ridge and adjacent streets last month and identified 13 trees which they deemed unstable or unhealthy. In addition to dealing with the City-owned trees north of Sunset Boulevard, all five Council members were vocal about the importance of also ensuring the health and maintenance of privately owned trees. 

Environmental consulting firm Dudek, which prepared the City’s Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP), estimated that of the 40,000 to 70,000 privately owned trees north of Sunset Boulevard, roughly 25 percent of them exhibited higher flammability. 

“My recollection is there are a significant number more of private trees than there are public trees and for the most part the private trees are not in as good a condition as the public trees, so they actually pose a greater general risk,” said Councilman Julian Gold. “I think we need to do whatever we need to do to get processes in place that give us the authority to manage those trees.” 

“My concern is that we should be equally as aggressive on the private trees,” said Councilwoman Lili Bosse. “I think it is important that we let the residents know that we are going to be addressing their private trees.” 

City Manager George Chavez said that staff would return to City Council with a plan on how to best deal with both private and public trees, in addition to educating the community, in anticipation of developing an ordinance that would give the City authority over at-risk private trees. 

“A tree doesn’t care whether it’s a private owned tree or a public owned tree so we need to move forward,” said Mayor John Mirisch. 

The post Beverly Hills to Remove 1,200 Trees to Combat Fire Risk appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

At the “Log Cabin” in West Hollywood, 29 meetings each week offer those searching for sobriety or reaffirming their commitment to a sober life a place to gather and grow stronger. However, that may soon end following a demand by the City of Beverly Hills, which owns the land, that those who use the property vacate it by the end of March. 

“We currently have a situation in which we have a building that we don’t have a responsible party dealing with it,” said City Manager George Chavez in reference to the fact that there is no lease agreement in place. “Our primary concern is the safety within the building.” 

Built sometime between 1928 and 1939 at 621 N. Robertson Blvd. in rustic log cabin architectural style for the Boy Scouts of America Troop 27, the property eventually became home to the Lions Club of West Hollywood.

For decades, the Lions Club allowed recovery meetings to take place inside the building. However, the last time the Lions Club had a lease with the City was 45 years ago, Chavez said. 

City spokesperson Keith Sterling said the City has offered to meet with the Lions Club to provide alternative locations for meeting space, but the Club has yet to request a meeting. He said that negotiations for the City of West Hollywood to purchase the property proved unsuccessful. 

A Jan. 13 joint press release issued by the cities of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood stated that they were in discussions to determine a “shared approach” to the property. 

At the Jan. 28 Beverly Hills City Council meeting Study Session, dozens of people used public comment to urge the Council to take action to preserve the Log Cabin and allow it to continue to be used as a meeting place for groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous that help people recover from addictions. 

“The Log Cabin is an iconic facility that has saved countless thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people,” said Beverly Hills Merrill Lynch Senior Vice President Kenny Lombino, who counts 37 years sober. “I would urge the City of Beverly Hills to do everything it could to come to an agreement that could benefit everybody.” 

Immediately following the study session, the Council met in closed session with the West Hollywood Recovery Center about the possibility of them taking over the lease and continuing services there. 

Sterling told the Courier that discussions continue but would not elaborate further as to what the City Council discussed in its closed session meeting which followed the study session. 

A change.org petition to save the Log Cabin had gathered over 25,000 signatures as of press time. The petition states: “Losing the Log Cabin would be a detriment to the Public Health and Safety of the Beverly Hills and West Hollywood communities because it serves as a safe space for sobriety and recovery groups.” 

Brent Bolthouse, a successful event producer who helped start the petition and counts 33 years sober, addressed the City Council during public comment. 

“What makes the Log Cabin really special…is that you can go to a meeting there, all day and all night,” he said. “My friend Sia, the Grammy-Award winning artist, says, ‘Hey Beverly Hills (and) West Hollywood, I’m happy to pay for upgrades to the Log Cabin to bring it up to code and also start the process of declaring it an historical landmark. It saved my life. It’s the least I can do.'” 

At the Jan. 28 Council meeting, West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran advocated on behalf of the West Hollywood Recovery Center securing a lease at the Log Cabin to run meetings. The Recovery Center, which is located across the street from the Log Cabin on Robertson, currently offers 70 meetings a week at that property. 

“We’re fully capable of doing the same thing at the Log Cabin should you wish us to,” said David Van Der Velde, President of the Board of the Recovery Center. 

Local businessman Robbie Anderson, whose great grandmother Margaret Anderson built the Beverly Hills Hotel, advocated on behalf of the Log Cabin. He characterized the building (and the work that transpires inside) as life-saving, noting that he had been attending meetings there for 40 years. 

“I would really appreciate it if you give the West Hollywood Recovery Center a lease for 10 years at $1 a year,” he said. “I hope you do the right thing.” 

The post Local Sobriety Community Rallies To Save Log Cabin appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

In response to an increase of anti-Semitic attacks across the county, including last month’s anti-Semitic vandalism at Nessah Synagogue in Beverly Hills, the Council reaffirmed its commitment to take meaningful measures to ensure that its actions reaffirm the promise of “never again.” 

“We need to take as strong a stance as we possibly can against this,” said Mayor John Mirisch who had asked City staff earlier this month to return to the City Council with a formal proposal. “We should not tolerate any kind of Jew hatred [and] I do think it’s up to us to set an example.” 

Following a robust discussion at the Jan. 28 Study Session, the Council unanimously moved to adopt the definition used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). That definition states: “Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” 

In formulating its decision, the Council considered various definitions of anti-Semitism, including IHRA’s working definition, which has been adopted by over 30 countries including Israel. The World Jewish Congress has advocated for all IHRA members to adopt the definition in full and representatives from the Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) urged the Council to adopt IHRA’s definition. 

Other definitions considered by the Council included that of the Anti-Defamation League and the succinct definition provided by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 

“Too often anti-Semitism is considered discrimination on the basis of religion without taking into account discrimination that Israelis or others experience on the basis of national origin, especially if they’re from the world’s only Jewish state,” said ICAN Chief Advocacy Officer Dillon Hosier, who shared that he has often experienced discrimination, despite not being Jewish or from Israel. “When you look at the tangible examples of how that (IHRA) definition is applied, it does take into account national origin discrimination that many experience as a result-of anti-Semitism and not just the religious aspects. Also, it includes discrimination against those who may not be Jewish but advance Jewish causes or Israeli causes. I think the IHRA definition is the most comprehensive.” 

There are currently two legislative bills now being considered in the House and Senate that would adopt the IHRA definition, neither of which has found a co-sponsor by a member of the California Congressional Delegation. Hosier underscored that the Beverly Hills City Council would be “taking a strong leadership position” by adopting IHRA’s definition.

“It’s a tool for prosecutors, for law enforcement, for judges, for educators, etc., to understand what anti-Semitism is because we know it’s rising, and if we can’t define it and how complex it is and from its different sources, we won’t be able to proactively fight it,” said Holly Huffnagle, Assistant Director for AJC in Los Angeles. “We actually hope that other cities will follow Beverly Hills’ model in adopting a definition of anti-Semitism.” 

Vice Mayor Lester Friedman, who characterized the lack of co-sponsors from the California Delegation as “shanda” (shameful in Yiddish), suggested that the City take steps to encourage a co-sponsor from California. In response, Mirisch suggested drafting a letter to Rep. Ted Lieu advocating that the congressman co-sponsor the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2019 (H.R. 4009). 

The City of Beverly has a history of condemning anti-Semitic behavior, including passing a resolution in October 2016 to oppose the United Nations Resolution to deny Jewish historical and religious claims to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Additionally, the City passed a resolution that same year to support AB 2844, combatting the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) of Israel Act 2016. 

This past year has seen an uptick of anti-Semitic events in the United States, including the vandalism of Nessah Synagogue on Dec. 14, 2019. A report from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, found that anti-Semitic hate crimes in Los Angeles were poised to reach an 18-year high. 

“Recently we have seen a rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes in Los Angeles with 58 occurring in the first 10 months of 2019. In comparison, there were only 29 in the first 10 months of 2018,” said Beverly Hills Policy and Management Analyst Cynthia Owens. 

Owens cited the Anti-Defamation League’s audit of anti-Semitic incidents at colleges and universities, which showed an 86 percent increase over a two-year period from 108 incidents in 2016 to over 200 incidents in 2018. 

“Our department is proud to have a City Council that leads with conviction and is an example to municipalities around the world,” Beverly Hills Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli told the Courier. “As demonstrated in our comprehensive police response to the Nessah Synagogue Hate Crime, we stand with our Council and community in solidarity, to protect and serve, and commit to keeping Beverly Hills a safe place to live, work and worship.

Mirisch advocated that the City Council urge UCLA, USC “and all of our universities here” to accept this definition and to act on it. Councilman Julian Gold strongly echoed Mirisch’s suggestion, underscoring how important it was for universities to demonstrate a strong stance against anti-Semitism. 

“I feel defined by this,” said Councilwoman Lili Bosse, whose mother was a survivor of Auschwitz. “When I spoke to my mom when I was child growing up and I asked her, ‘Where was God during the Holocaust and where was everybody?’ And she said people didn’t speak. People didn’t speak up. We are speaking up. We hear ‘Never again.’ ‘Never forget.’ ‘Never give up.’ It is more than words. It is action. It’s definitely a statement to the world that it won’t happen again and we won’t allow it to happen again because we will speak up. We will not be silent.” 

The City Council plans to further memorialize its adoption of the definition by resolution at its next meeting on Feb. 4. 

The post Beverly Hills City Council Adopts Formal Definition of Anti-Semitism appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The site originally functioned for 40 years as the flagship office location for Gibraltar Savings and Loan until U.S. federal regulators seized its assets in 1989. The 10-story office building has continued to house various tenants since that time, but in recent years, several floors have been vacant, as has the ground floor restaurant space formerly occupied by Kate Mantilini. 

“It’s going to revitalize the area [and] I think it’s a good use for this area,” Planning Commission Chair Alan Robert Block said immediately following positive comments by all four of his fellow commissioners. “It certainly seems you have the whole community behind you.” 

Given the property’s historic designation, the project does not require approval by City Council in order to be adaptively reused. However, the City Council will need to vote on transforming the adjacent alley to a two-way. 

The Commission unanimously voted to grant a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and an Historic Incentive Permit (HIP) to establish the 10-story hotel within the former Gibraltar Square bank tower located at 9111 Wilshire Blvd. The property was formally designated as a historic resource on the City’s Local Register of Historic Properties in 2016 and is being developed by the Charles Company, which is owned by brothers Arman and Mark Gabay. 

A spokesman for the Charles Company, Rich Lichtenstein, told the Courier that Culver City-based architect Office Untitled had been hired to oversee the renovations. A hotel operator has yet to be identified, although discussions with various companies are currently ongoing, he added. 

The proposed project involves the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the existing Gibraltar Square Tower and Banking Hall, designated as Landmark No. 30, as a boutique hotel with restaurant and ancillary uses. The project also calls for the reintroduction of a restaurant tenant in the space formerly occupied by Kate Mantilini. 

As proposed, the project will not increase the height or floor area of any existing on-site structures, thereby maintaining the site’s bulk and mass. Per the City’s Municipal Code, hotels developed outside of the business triangle area are restricted to a 

maximum height of 45 feet and four-stories, hence the need for the project’s waiver. A HIP is available to properties that have been designated as a local historic landmark by the City of Beverly Hills. 

“I think this is a terrific project [and] I’m very happy that they’re saving the building,” Commissioner Andy Licht said of the property originally designed by Pereira and Luckman in the 1950s. “It’s a beautiful building that’s going to be made more beautiful and it’s going to add a lot of life to the area.” 

The proposed adaptive reuse of the site would include a bar on the ground floor of the hotel and a café/restaurant on the third floor that would lead to the rooftop of the hotel lobby lounge, which would be improved as an outdoor terrace with a pool and cabanas.

On the basement level, the project would have restrooms, two meeting rooms, and mechanical and storage spaces. The mezzanine would be converted to a spa and fitness area. The project also includes a five-story parking garage containing 138 parking spaces. 

Under the CUP, the applicant also received approval for the use of an off-site parking garage located at 140 S. Doheny Dr. that will provide additional parking spaces. 

Prior to the Jan. 23 meeting, City staff reported that they had received one inquiry by email with questions on the proposed project and three emails in support of the proposed project. 

At the meeting, two residents spoke up in support of the project, with one neighbor voicing concern that the project would prove disruptive during construction and worrisome to the well-being of her teenage daughter upon opening. 

Commissioner Lori Greene Gordon sought to allay those concerns, stating: “It’s a beautiful project. I think that you will find this to be something that you will be happy in time to have next to your home.” 

Gordon also noted that the hotel would fit a needed niche within the City given that the developers sought to create a three-and-a-half or four-star hotel. At the beginning of the discussion, Vice Chair Peter Ostroff voiced concern that the project, which he supported, would not have the opportunity to be adaptively reused into housing. 

The current entitlement process makes it prohibitive for the project to have been transformed into housing. Lichtenstein confirmed that the developer had considered doing a residential project at the site. 

“This is a beautiful place for residential and it’s just to me a very sad thing that we are not yet in a position to provide a relatively expeditious trip through the entitlement process if someone wants to do residential in a place like this,” he said. “I think it’s a very sad lost opportunity for the City and the region that we could have housing and we won’t. And that’s because of us, that we have not enacted a mixed-use ordinance.” 

Commissioner Farshid Joe Shooshani expressed similar thoughts, noting: “I would have loved for this to be housing.” 

The five people who went on record to support the project (outside the Commission) all noted how the new hotel would enhance the area. 

“For too long this historic property has been in need of repurposing and now the owners have found the perfect adaptive reuse,” wrote Alex Richmond. “The approval of this project will go a long way to improving the Eastside of the community.” 

The post Former Gibraltar Square Office Tower Will Soon Become A Hotel appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Five candidates are running for two open seats, including incumbent Councilmembers Lili Bosse and Julian Gold. Other candidates include Planning Commissioner Lori Greene Gordon, technologist Robin Rowe, and Rabbi Sidney Green, who was unable to participate in the debate following the tragic death of his daughter just days before the scheduled forum. 

Organized by the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Committee and moderated by longtime Chamber Board Member Mark Egerman, the candidates were provided with the eight questions in advance of the debate, which primarily centered on the business community. 

Between the forthcoming subway stations, the changing retail landscape and the City’s impending need to likely add 3,000 new housing units in the next decade, the decisions made by the City Council will be critical to ensuring a prosperous future for Beverly Hills residents and businesses. 

“The next four years is really going to affect the generations to come,” stated two-time former Mayor Bosse, who in 2018 received the Chamber’s Fred Hayman Visionary Award. 

For the first time in Beverly Hills’ history, voters can vote in the upcoming March 3 at any L.A. County polling place. That in tandem with having the presidential primary on the ballot is expected to bring an increase in voter turnout. Vote by Mail ballots will be mailed out by L.A. County on Monday, Feb. 3. 

The new voting procedure, which allows in-person electronic voting to begin 10 days before the election, is not without controversy. Egerman did not shy away from highlighting two-time former Mayor Gold’s apparent disadvantage in the upcoming election, which allows just four candidate names to appear on the first screen for the City Council race. 

“By the bad luck of the draw, Dr. Gold’s name is on the second screen,” he said. 

Starting with a brief opening statement, the four participating candidates quickly shared who they were with the roughly 60 people in attendance. All participants appeared to be very pro-business. 

Bosse emphasized her committed push to make Beverly Hills a “Healthy City.” Gold highlighted his experience in helping businesses as a Councilman, such as being on the City’s inaugural Small Business Task Force. Commissioner Gordon characterized herself as the only person with business experience currently running for City Council, noting her 40 years of experience in running a business. And Rowe styled himself as a visionary innovator. 

Much has changed over the course of the nine years that Gold and Bosse have been on the Council – and a lot of those changes have been a result of various City meetings. When Bosse and Gold were first elected to City Council in 2011, neither City Council meetings nor City Commission meetings were televised, which meant that anyone wanting to know what was going on would have to attend the meeting in person. Today, all those meetings are televised, with video recordings available online on the City’s archive. 

However, Bosse noted that the City had not yet gone far enough in its efforts to make City governance more transparent 

“What I’m proposing is all meetings at City Hall will be televised,” she said. “Nothing should be hidden from public view.” 

With the City facing the prospect of needing to build 3,000 new housing units in the next decade, Gordon, Gold and Bosse all touted mixed-use as being an essential part of the solution. The City currently does not have a provision in its General Plan for mixed-use developments, which would allow the combination of various types of real estate uses (residential, commercial or cultural) within one project. Mixed-use projects (of which there are three in the City) must now get a General Plan amendment from City Council in order to proceed. 

Last year the Planning Commission created a draft mixed-use ordinance which has since languished in abeyance having yet been slated for discussion at a City Council study session or liaison meeting. 

“From my perspective, I think mixed-use should be in all parts of our City,” Bosse said. With commercial vacancies throughout the City, all four candidates were particularly critical of the current permitting process that challenges new businesses to open. “We know that we can streamline permits,” Gold said, underscoring that the layers of impediments to having new businesses open expeditiously has contributed to the vacancies across the City. 

On a deeper level, Gold noted how the empty buildings spoke to a disconnect between landlords challenged to fill the vacancies and tenants challenged by prohibitive rent prices. 

“We have to find some way to work with our landlord community and our merchant community to come together and find an understanding,” he said. 

The permitting challenges and the changing retail landscape that has more consumers going online to shop are not the only impediments to helping the City maintain a robust business community to fill vacant properties throughout Beverly Hills. 

Bosse, whose BOLD (Beverly Hills Open Later Days) initiative has helped enliven the City during evenings, emphasized the need to create innovative experiences to draw people to the City beyond 6 p.m. 

“We need to let people know that they’re welcome and that they’re wanted,” she said. “We want to provide experiences during the day and the night.” 

Rowe said he’d like to create something “better than BOLD.” He suggested creating “world class events,” such as car shows where local dealers can showcase their new automobiles and various pop-up experiences. 

Following the Chamber’s pre-planned questions, attendees spent nearly an hour asking the candidates questions. 

In response to a question posited by local real estate titan Dar Mahboubi about the City’s willingness to change the General Plan so that new projects wouldn’t need to get an amendment in order to exceed that City’s current three-story height limit, candidates were quick to agree that the General Plan is currently flawed. 

“The height limit and density limits are definitely outdated,” said Gordon, who underscored that revising the plan would make it more fair for new projects coming before the City Council. 

“There are elements of our existing code that are outdated,” Bosse said. “If I were the mayor, I would put it on the agenda tomorrow.” 

“I think everybody needs to know what the rules are,” Gold said. 

In response to House of Bijan owner Nicholas Bijan’s question about the forthcoming Beverly Hilton renovation project and the creation of the LVMH Hotel on Rodeo Drive, candidates were unabashedly enthusiastic about the two concepts, despite having yet seen the plans for the projects. 

“It’s an opportunity we’ll never see again,” Gold said of Beny Alagem’s 17-acre luxury property at the western gateway of the City. “Done correctly, I think it will redefine Beverly Hills.” 

Voters will next have an opportunity to hear candidates speak on, Feb. 3, when the Municipal League of Beverly Hills holds its City Council Candidate Forum at City Hall. Just over a week later, the Southwest Beverly Hills Homeowners Association will hold its forum at City Hall on Feb. 11. 

Beverly Hills High School will hold a forum for students on Feb. 12. And on Feb. 24, the Beverly Hills Active Adult Club will host the final planned candidate forum at Roxbury Park starting at 1 p.m. 

The post Beverly Hills Chamber Hosts First City Council Candidates Forum appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Director of Public Works Shana Epstein said City arborists determined that the trees slated to be removed were “unstable or unhealthy.” 

“We have a process, so that’s good. And I know there may be frustrations that we’re not moving fast enough, but we’re trying to do this in an orderly fashion,” Epstein told the Courier. “We’re removing those trees [that] we don’t think are thriving.” 

She estimated that the trees would be removed later this month or in early February by West Coast Arborists, which entered into a contract with the City last month. 

The City began taking steps to remove those trees in Trousdale deemed most at risk, starting with the week-long assessment process which began Jan. 13, in response to last month’s City Council Study Session. At that meeting on Dec. 17, 2019, 11 residents of Trousdale voiced their concerns in anticipation of a discussion on the City’s Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP), which prioritized Wildfire Hazard Evaluation and Mitigation.

“This is very much being done in response to the community’s concerns in Trousdale,” Epstein said. “The preliminary phase is for Carla Ridge and then there will be a next phase that we’re still developing.” 

At the meeting, Councilmembers Lili Bosse and Julian Gold were particularly vocal about the urgency surrounding the removal of higher flammability trees. 

“I view this as an emergency and urgent,” Bosse said. 

“We should move forward as quickly as we can to ensure the safety of Trousdale and Carla Ridge and all the areas,” Gold said. 

Epstein said that the City mailed out notices on Jan. 22 informing residents in the area about the impending tree removal. The 13 specific residences adjacent to the trees slated for removal would also be noticed via hand delivery by the end of the week she said. 

The City Council provided clear direction to City staff at its Dec. 17 meeting that removing the more at-risk trees was to take precedence over having a plan to simultaneously replant replacement trees in tandem with removal. 

“Replacement will come later for this area,” Epstein confirmed.

The City’s Community Development department is now working with Beverly Hills Fire and the City Manager’s office to determine the best course of action for subsequent areas in Trousdale following the tree removals on Carla Ridge, which is an important evacuation route. 

In addition to assessing other areas within Trousdale, subsequent to the removal of the 13 Carla Ridge trees, Epstein said the City would need to best figure out how to address those trees on private property. She said that addressing those trees might prompt the City to have to amend at least one ordinance. 

“It’s easier to deal with City-owned trees,” she noted.

Environmental consulting firm Dudek, which prepared the UFMP, estimated that of the 40,000 to 70,000 privately owned trees north of Sunset Boulevard, roughly 25 percent of them exhibited higher flammability. The City is responsible for the care and maintenance of approximately 25,000 trees citywide, including around 7,600 street trees north of Sunset Boulevard, about half of which exhibit higher flammability, according to Dudek’s report. 

“We have a significant amount of trees or urban forest north of Sunset,” Epstein said. “We’re trying to have a very measured approach that really can hold the test of time.” 

The post “At-Risk” Trees in Trousdale Slated for Removal appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Following its recognition of the successful Jan. 12 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the North Canon mural “Thousand Regards/ Shape of Color” by Tomokazu Matsuyama, the Commission spent much of the meeting discussing the slate of artistic opportunities in store for locals and visitors in the coming year. 

The Commission enthusiastically agreed to work with the Beverly Hills Historical Society (beverlyhillshistoricalsociety.org) to provide “listening tour” presentations, accessible via one’s smartphone, throughout the City. 

“It’s a natural fit, and we want to work with you,” said Commission Vice Chair Carolyn Hiller following a presentation by the Society’s president Phil Savenick.

The Historical Society currently offers two enhanced walking virtual tours on its website; one on Rodeo Drive and its architecture and history and the other on where all the old movie stars lived.

Easily accessible from the website’s homepage, the two walking tours offer route maps, videos, photographs and a bounty of stories. One such story talks about how former famed local Fred Astaire would promptly arrive at the Beverly Hills Post Office daily at 3 p.m. to pick up his mail, and if it was not ready, the Golden Age film star would tap on the floor until it was. “Basically our mandate is to try to entertain in an educational way,” Savenick said. “We have all these assets. We’d love to figure out ways to work with the community.” 

Following Savenick’s presentation, the Commission reaffirmed its commitment to moving forward with the creation of Art Walks brochures, which will feature around 70 art works in the City. 

The Commission detailed how its work to rehab “Hymn of Life Tulips” by Yayoi Kusama in Beverly Gardens Park is currently underway. 

As far as actually gaining possession of what the Commission characterized as “one of the finest pieces of our art collection” – namely, the original sculpture “Iron Root” from world-renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, the work is still in China. A victim of the tariffs imposed under Section 301 Trade Remedies on China, the City is now being charged $135,000 more to import the sculpture, which represents a 15 percent tariff on the $900,00 purchase price. The Commission confirmed that it had already made its first payment for the artwork, however, noted that City staff had directed the Commission to wait until there was further clarity surround the specific amount of the tariff. 

On Dec. 20, 2019, Mayor John Mirisch wrote a letter to Rep. Ted Lieu seeking the Congressman’s help in obtaining a product exclusion from the Office of the United States Trade Representative. 

During the Commission meeting, the director of the Ai Weiwei-designed UTA Artist Space (http://utaartistspace.com), which opened in 2018 on Foothill Road in Beverly Hills, shared with the Commission the gallery’s plans for involvement in the upcoming Frieze Los Angeles. The Space’s current exhibition “Emerging Artists Subvert Black Narratives in ‘Disembodiment'” runs through Jan. 25. 

Tufenkian Fine Arts (www.tufenkianfinearts.com) director Peter Frank also shared with the Commission that Beverly Hills ceramicist Andrew Frank and contemporary artist Diane Holland would be featured in the Glendale gallery’s upcoming show, “That Layered Look: Theme and Variations.” The opening reception is Jan. 18 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with the closing reception set for Feb. 23from3p.m.to6p.m. 

“This Commission is one of the reasons why I was so excited to apply for my position,” the City’s new Director of Community Services Jenny Rogers told the Commission, marking her second day in the position. “This is just an incredibly exciting and innovative time, arts and culturally, for the City of Beverly Hills.” 

The post Beverly Hills Arts and Culture Commission Continues Expansion appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“We want to make sure that our residents are being represented as well as our businesses,” Deputy City Manager Gabriella Yap told the Courier. “It’s the voice that the City has to give input on the legislation.”

In an effort to ensure that the City of Beverly Hills is effectively positioned to advocate for its best interests, on Jan. 9 the City Council crystalized Beverly Hills’ 2020 Legislative Platform, asking Owens to include additional key initiatives into the executive summary, including minimizing food waste and issues with mental health and sustainability. The updated platform is expected to return to the City Council for formal approval on Jan. 28.

The platform, which outlines policies to enable staff and lobbyists to effectively respond to and influence legislation by taking a stand for or against a bill, is intended to provide clear direction for the City’s legislative advocates and City staff to secure initiatives locally, as well as in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

According to Owens, as long as a bill falls within the parameters of what the City has already taken a stance on, City staff can craft a letter of support or opposition. In the absence of adopting a legislative platform, she said that every single bill would have to go to City Council in order for the City to take a formal position.

“It allows us to respond very quickly when things are moving in Sacramento and at a very swift pace,” Owens told the Courier. “I can’t tell you how many times our lobbyists tell us how helpful these letters are.”

The primary legislative focus includes protecting local government control, maintaining local government revenue, pursuing homeland security funding, obtaining funding for environmental sustainability, transportation, recreational, technology and infrastructure improvements.

Proposed additions for 2020 include opposing state legislation and guidelines issued by the Bureau of Cannabis Control over the sale and distribution of cannabis and supporting the Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Act.

While recreational cannabis is legal statewide thanks to Proposition 64, with marijuana dispensaries scattered throughout Los Angeles, the Beverly Hills City Council wants to keep it out of the City. State law does allow residents to grow up to six marijuana plants in their homes in compliance with state law. The City has enacted strict regulations to maintain its local control, prohibiting everything within its power with the exception of the delivery of medical cannabis. Earlier this year, the City sued the state to prohibit the delivery of recreational marijuana into Beverly Hills.

The upcoming crime reduction initiative, slated for the November ballot, would expand the list of violent crimes for which early release is not an option. The initiative, which Beverly Hills fully supports, is in response to Proposition 47, Proposition 57 and Assembly Bill 109, which made some prisoners eligible for early parole by reclassifying certain offenses as non-violent crimes. Owens characterized some of those reclassified crimes as “literally jaw-dropping.” Currently, the State of California no longer considers raping someone who has been drugged or human trafficking of a child to be serious crimes.

“We’ve been told our City punches above its weight class in Sacramento,” Owens said in reference to City’s population of fewer than 35,000 residents. “[The legislators] want to know how we stand on the issues because we speak for the residents who are ultimately their constituents.”

The post City Council Shores Up 2020 Legislative Platform appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Heading into the new year, the California Department of Public Health stated that influenza activity had reached “widespread” levels and was continuing to increase. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now estimates that so far this season there have been at least 9.7 million flu illnesses, 87,000 hospitalizations and 4,800 deaths from flu. Compare those numbers to the 171.7 million doses of flu vaccine that have been distributed, according to the CDC, which states: “The best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated every year.”

Medical Director of Hospital Epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai Jonathan Grein, MD, told the Courier this week that the hospital had witnessed “a sharp uptick in influenza activity” over the last two to three weeks, which he said was in line with what’s being reported nationally.

“It’s still not too late to get the flu vaccine if you haven’t already, since peak flu activity may last for several more weeks and the season could last for several more months,” he said. “If you do develop flu symptoms, stay at home to rest and don’t come into work, which will help to prevent spreading it to others.”

In addition to getting vaccinated each year, to prevent contracting the seasonal flu the CDC recommends an array of good health habits, such as washing your hands, to help stop the spread of germs. Other recommendations include: avoid close contact with people who are sick; stay home when sick; cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing; avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth; clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces; and practice self-care, making sure to get plenty of sleep, fluids, nutritious foods, and physical activity.

“Most people who get the flu will recover on their own at home, but call your doctor if you have other medical conditions, such as heart disease or a weakened immune system, which can increase your risk of flu-related complications,” Dr. Grein advised.

Cedars in general recommends rest and taking a Tylenol as a home-remedy for the flu. If more serious symptoms develop, then you should seek medical attention immediately.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is now cautioning families to be vigilant when it comes to taking “natural” supplements, emphasizing that over-the-counter supplements claiming to reduce flu symptoms can be especially dangerous for children.

One of the most recent such home remedies to make headlines, which CHLA advises against taking, is elderberry syrup. Derived from the elderberry plant and commonly found in “natural” over-the-counter supplements, the syrup is marketed to treat or lessen the effects of cold and flu symptoms.

“The word remedy is typically a red flag for doctors. It’s not a medical term,” explained Dr. Michael Smit, Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control at CHLA. “With remedies, we often don’t know what’s inside of them. And in the case of elderberry, some users have unknowingly ingested cyanide–a poisonous chemical that can be deadly.”

CHLA Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Vikram Arnand recommended using honey to soothe a sore throat, either taking it on its own or putting it in a warm tea.

“Sleep. Lots and lots of sleep and staying hydrated should help you feel better sooner,” said Dr. Anand.

The post 2020 Flu Season Looking Painfully Bad appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

According to Gary Clifford, Executive Vice President of Athens Environmental Services, which last November was awarded an eight-year contract extension to provide single stream commercial and multi-family garbage services for the City, Beverly Hills is on track to divert at least 60 percent of what is collected from landfills. 

“We really have to promote using less,” the City’s Director of Public Works Shana Epstein told the Courier. From educating people to reducing their usage of plastic water bottles (Epstein highlighted that the water that comes from taps in Beverly Hills is “perfect” for drinking) to encouraging businesses to move away from single-use plastics, Beverly Hills continues to move forward in helping residents and businesses to take steps that actively support environmental sustainability. 

The City currently has an integrated approach for refuse collection services including trash, green waste and recycling. Black (or blue) containers are used for all household refuse including recyclables, and green containers are used for yard clippings, in addition to food and compostables like soiled pizza boxes. All mixed waste from the black (or blue) containers is sorted at the material recovery facility in Sun Valley while the yard clippings are sent to a composting facility. 

Since switching to a two-stream collection system in 2004 and having recycling separated out at the material recovery facility in Sun Valley, which Athens now operates, Epstein said the City has taken active steps to streamline waste collection, foster awareness within the community and ensure that its waste services providers are effectively routing recyclables from landfills. Epstein said the City’s recycling rate increased after allowing people to throw everything (outside of green waste) into one bin and using a facility to sort out the recyclables from the waste. Prior to switching from a three-stream collection system, in 2003 the City had a diversion rate of 38 percent, a City staff report found. 

According to a City staff report, in 2018 Beverly Hills had a per capita diversion rate of 62 percent. Epstein said the City continues to exceed the 60 percent overall rate, which is Athens’ contractual commercial diversion rate, and continues to build the program to be even better. 

“We’re trying to find the best fit for our community and we believe we’ve done that,” Epstein said. “I think people want to do the right thing. You just need to provide them the information and make it easy for them.” 

In tandem with increased educational programs – the City will be launching a trio of sustainability workshops starting this month – Clifford said the Sun Valley Material Recovery Facility effectively processes waste via its workforce of around 250 people and two robots to ensure that 60 percent of what is collected does not wind up in landfills. Green waste, he said, goes to an organic composting farm in either Victorville or Lamont. 

The City’s upcoming sustainability workshop series (www.beverlyhills.org/ sustainabilityworkshop) launches Jan. 30 with Dr. Woodrow Clark speaking on the topic of Circular Economics (sustainability and economics.) On Feb. 12, Bernadet Silva- Garcia, MPH, will speak on the topic of food waste reduction and options. On March 11, attorney Caryn Mandelbaum will speak on water resources. All workshops, which will be held from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Municipal Gallery at City Hall, are free and open to the public. 

“Once we get people on board, then we can do a policy change,” explained Epstein. 

The post Beverly Hills Ramps Up Recycling Efforts appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

At least 150 guests and customers have received free parking and a charge since the program started according to the Peninsula’s PR Manager Jonathan Mattis. Everyone who visits the hotel for a spa treatment, to dine or to spend the night has access to the free valet services, if driving the right vehicle. 

“A lot of our guests do drive them [and] we just really wanted to thank the guests who choose to drive these cars because it really does help the environment in so many ways when you commit to drive these vehicles,” Mattis told the Courier. 

With $52 for overnight parking, the savings can add up quickly, particularly for those who stay long-term. The Peninsula even counts one electric zero emissions vehicle in its inventory of BMWs available for guests to use – the BMW i8; all of which are free to use for guests who book a suite. Mattis said that once the hotel received that specific car, as part of its two-year-old partnership with BMW, the Peninsula began to “pay attention to that technology specifically.” 

Like many hotels in Beverly Hills, the Peninsula is actively taking steps to become more environmentally friendly. 

From the $45 ENVi environmentally sustainable waterless car wash to help address the California water shortage, where a portion of every sale is donated to water.org, to shifting away from single use plastic water bottles to glass (saving 20,000 plastic bottles per year), Managing Director Offer Nissenbaum said the hotel has made a conscientious commitment to be good stewards of the environment. 

“At The Peninsula Beverly Hills, our priority is to deliver the highest standard of luxury in a sustainable and responsible way,” Nissenbaum said.

The Peninsula Beverly Hills also partners with Clean the World (cleantheworld.org), an organization that collects and recycles used soaps and bottled amenities. In addition, many of the ingredients used by Peninsula Executive Chef David Codney are locally sourced or taken directly from the hotel’s new rooftop garden. 

While the Peninsula appears to be the only hotel currently offering complimentary valet parking for zero emissions vehicles, it is not alone in its commitment to cultivating green initiatives. 

At the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, the hotel donates old linens and soap to a third party vendor and has reduced plastic water bottle use in the lobby, according to a spokesperson for the hotel. A LEED-certified property, the Waldorf also uses reclaimed water from the hotel to meet its onsite landscaping needs. And like the Peninsula, the Waldorf also offers free charging on-site for zero emissions vehicles. 

The Beverly Wilshire similarly is increasing its environmental friendly efforts with green initiatives such as “Think Eco-Logical at Beverly Wilshire.” From switching to plastic-free to-go packaging to donating excess food, old linens and uniforms, to engaging employees in a variety of volunteer opportunities, a hotel spokesperson highlighted a multitude of sustainable practices that the Beverly Wilshire chooses to do to help conserve natural resources and reduce environmental impacts. 

The post Peninsula Hotel Patrons With Zero Emissions Vehicles Can Valet for Free appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Just days into the new decade, construction workers piped in the first concrete for the 83,000-square-foot Maintenance and Storage Facility (MSF) facility, which will serve as the control center for the 2.25-mile elevated electric train system. Comprised of four Bombardier train cars that will stop at six stations to transport travelers in and out of the LAX central terminal area every two minutes during peak hours (for an end-to-end 10-minute ride), the APM is the centerpiece of Los Angeles World Airports’ $5.5 billion Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP). 

“It’s going to completely transform this airport and how people access it,” LAX’s Director of Communications for LAMP Stephanie Sampson told the Courier. “The whole point is high frequency and high capacity, really getting people in and out.” 

Sampson said the expectation was that the people mover would initially transport roughly 30 million of the 87.5 million passengers who fly into and out of LAX annually. 

“It’s more of getting people to change their transportation patterns and getting them to use the train,” she said, noting that the people mover could transport 10,000 people per hour. 

The APM will feature three stations within LAX which connect to the terminals via elevated pedestrian walkways, and three stations outside the central terminal area. The stations outside the terminal will connect a new off-site parking facility for 4,300 cars, Metro’s new 96th Street/Aviation Blvd. transit station (which will connect to both the LAX/Crenshaw and Green Lines), and a Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility (ConRAC), all three of which are slated to open in 2023. 

The developer on the project, LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS), began demolition at the site in May 2019 followed by rough grading and utility work. LINXS’s $4.9 billion 30-year contract – which tasks the developer with building and maintaining the APM as well as turning it over as a “new” system – is the largest contract “ever awarded” in the history of the City of Los Angeles, Sampson said. The MSF is slated to be complete in 2021 in anticipation of the first APM train deliveries.

In keeping with the sustainability goals for the project, LINXS is seeking Envision Certification for the system as a whole. Sampson said the MSF will be built to LEED Gold standards and will incorporate several sustainable design elements, including a solar photovoltaic generation system capable of generating up to one megawatt of energy, which equates to the energy capable of powering 190 homes at any given time. 

“Our team has been hard at work to bring an Automated People Mover to LAX that is befitting of a world-class airport, and sustainability is integral to that commitment,” said Sharon Gookin, Project Director at LINXS. “Starting with concept and carrying through design and construction, the project has incorporated innovative and forward-thinking solutions that address some of the area’s most pressing issues, including the urgent need to remain mindful of the long-term environmental impact of our built environment.” 

Scheduled to open for passenger service in 2023, the APM is expected to relieve congestion at LAX term and in turn the surrounding thoroughfares, thereby reducing emissions and vehicle miles traveled. 

The post Construction on LAX People Mover Train on Track for 2023 Opening appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

In the wake of these attacks, on Dec. 31 Beverly Hills Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli assured the community that BHPD was doing everything possible to protect the City. 

“I wanted to let you know … that your safety and security remain our highest priority,” Spagnoli wrote in a Nixle alert. 

“The Beverly Hills Police Department has directed significant resources to enhancing security at all of our religious institutions and schools,” Spagnoli emphasized 

In addition to conducting high visibility patrols, security checks and foot patrols, Spagnoli wrote that the BHPD also offers security assessments and safety training to mitigate threats as part of the City’s crime prevention efforts. 

Following the attack in the rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York, on the seventh night of Hanukkah, Simon Wiesenthal Center Dean Rabbi Marvin Heir called on the president to instruct the FBI to create a special task force on anti-Semitism. Hier established the international Jewish human rights organization in the Pico-Robertson district in 1977 to combat hate and anti-Semitism around the world. 

Spagnoli said the BHPD Intelligence Unit remains in close contact with Federal and community partners, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Federation, to stay connected and respond appropriately when there is a threat. 

“We are committed to continue to work closely with our faith-based institutions on crime prevention, security assessments and safety,” she said. 

Anton Nathaniel Redding, 24, was arrested and charged with the Dec. 14 vandalism at Nessah Synagogue where after 

breaking in and ransacking the building, he damaged Jewish relics and holy books. He plead not guilty during his arraignment and is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 30 Grafton E. Thomas, 37, was arrested and charged in connection with the stabbing attack of five Hasidic Jews in the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, roughly 36 miles north of New York City, on Dec. 29. He pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary. His next court date is set for Jan. 13. 

Keith Thomas Kinnunen, 43, opened fire in the West Freeway Church of Christ in Fort Worth, Texas on Dec. 29, killing two people before being shot dead by Jack Wilson, the head of the church’s volunteer security team. 

“As demonstrated in our comprehensive police response to the Nessah Synagogue Hate Crime, we stand with our community in solidarity, to protect and serve, and commit to keeping Beverly Hills a safe place to live, work and worship,” Spagnoli wrote the community. 

Residents are encouraged to report any suspicious activity directly to 911, the City’s non-emergency line at 310-550-4951 or text “TIP BEVHILLSPD” and an anonymous message to 888-777. 

BHPD Sgt. Matt Stout can be contacted for questions related to a security assessment or training at 310-285-2192. 

The post Beverly Hills Police Increase Vigilance After Hate Crimes appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Staff recommendations for “Potential Projects to be Funded from the General Fund Available Balance” include: $7.5 million for the La Cienega Park Project; $7.5 million for the Subway Portal Project; $5 million for Property Acquisition; and $3 million for the Section 115 Pension Trust. Precisely, $1.123 million would subsequently remain undesignated in the fund’s balance if all item allocations were to get approved as recommended in the Dec. 17, 2019 report. 

“We are fortunate that our local economy remains strong,” said City Manager George Chavez. “As economic forecasts can always change, we continue to remain fiscally prudent while focusing on City Council and community priorities.” 

Total General Fund operating revenue for 2018/19 increased by 3.5 percent (up $9.2 million) to $270 million compared to the previous fiscal year. 

At the City Council’s final Study Session of the year on Dec. 17, the General Fund balance of unallocated funds decreased slightly to just over $24.1 million after the Council unanimously voted to spend $290,000 to expand the successful Nurse 

Practitioner Program (NPP). The staff report entitled “Fiscal Year 2018/19 General Fund Results and Available Balance Allocation; and Appropriation of Funding Fiscal Year 2019/20 for the Nurse Practitioner Program the amount $290,225,” was originally agendized to be reviewed on Dec. 10. 

The item on the unallocated funds, as set forth on the Study Session agenda both times, was slated to include “a discussion about how City Council would like to allocate the General Fund available balance as of June 30, 2019.” The item will once again be placed on the agenda for the next Study Session, on Jan. 9 at 2:30 p.m., confirmed City Spokesperson Keith Sterling. 

The report, which was prepared by Budget and Revenue Officer Don Harrison and Director of Finance Jeff Muir, states that the available General Fund monies would only “earmark” the dollars for a particular item. 

“The appropriation of funds would occur when a specific item returns to Council for approval at a later time,” states the report. 

The report concluded that “the prudent practice of conservatively budgeting revenues” allowed the City to achieve a total General Fund operating revenue which exceeded the original budget. While growth rates may have slowed in the major revenue categories, all revenue categories exceeded the previous years. 

“Overall the revenues performed strongly again FY 2018/19, although there are some signs of slowing,” stated the report. “The City is fortunate to have operating revenues that exceed operating expenditures.” 

The post Beverly Hills City Council to Decide Fate of $24 Million in Unallocated Funds appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Here’s a look: 

The City Council Election 

Whether the City Council remains exactly the same should Beverly Hills voters decide to elect incumbent Councilmembers Lili Bosse and Julian Gold for a third term, or the mix shifts, 2020 is set to bring forth an abundance of contracts, ordinances and special meetings for various projects that will shape the direction of the City for years to come. 

To see what candidates they prefer in the upcoming election on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, residents will have the opportunity to attend two City Council Candidate Forums at City Hall. The first, put on by the Municipal League of Beverly Hills on Monday, Feb. 3, will take place on the same day that the Vote by Mail ballots are set to be mailed out by L.A. County. Just over a week later, on Feb. 11, the Southwest Beverly Hills Homeowners Association will hold its forum. 

Both evenings, the time frames for which have yet to be set, will take place in the Council Chamber. The forums are intended to be “impartial,” with candidates having the opportunity to respond to questions about important civic issues.

Two-time Mayor Bosse, whose push to make Beverly Hills a “Healthy City” with the concept of “healthy people, healthy government, healthy business,” is known for her ability to connect deeply with residents. As part of her candidacy, Bosse has the created the BOSSE Plan: Budget accountability; Open government; Safety and security; Strategic planning; and Education. 

Two-time Mayor Gold, who earlier this year stepped down as chair of Cedars- Sinai’s Department of Anesthesiology, is likewise known as a staunch advocate for health, having helped lead the way in passing a powerful ordinance against vaping/ smoking. Gold’s five-point plan centers on: Health, Safety, Strategic Planning, Open Communication and Fiscal Management. 

Lori Greene Gordon, a member of the Planning Commission for the past four years, has a plan to “champion smart development while protecting our residential neighborhood” while simultaneously streamlining the planning process, reducing “excessive” council expenditures, providing new commercial opportunities, decreasing “outrageous” fees such as residential parking, and supporting the City’s quality of life. 

Robin Rowe, who became the fifth and final candidate to file to run in the election, told the Courier he is a former Navy research scientist whose mission is “to make Beverly Hills the most innovative City, yet retain its charm and character.” 

Rabbi Simchah Green, who was ordained as a rabbi at Yeshiva University, is running with the mission of bringing marijuana to the people as well as serving as a voice for seniors. He wants the City to pass legislation that will allow medical marijuana stores and institutions within City limits. 

Complete Streets 

While multimodal transportation alternatives may not include Bird and Lime and other such similar types of electric scooters as the City moves forward on implementing a “Complete Streets” plan to reduce traffic in 2020, there are certain to be numerous other transportation technologies and shared mobility devices as part of the plan. 

In an effort to make Beverly Hills a more mobility friendly City in tandem with construction on the City’s forthcoming subway stops – Wilshire/La Cienega in 2023 and Wilshire/Rodeo in 2025 – the plan prioritizes infrastructure projects intended to make navigating the City easier across all modes: bicycling, walking, taking transit and driving. 

A Town Hall earlier this month revealed that the City needed to better facilitate resident buy-in. Another Town Hall type of special meeting of the Traffic and Parking Commission (TPC) on the Complete Streets Plan is slated to take place in January, followed by a TPC meeting on the plan in February before it ultimately makes its way to City Council for a vote, likely in April. 

Digital copies of the 170-page Complete Streets plan can be found online at beverlyhills.org/completestreets. 

Metro’s Mural 

While North Cañon Drive may no longer be accessible to vehicular traffic at Wilshire Boulevard at least through 2021 as 

construction work on the Metro Purple Line continues, motorists and pedestrians can at least enjoy an artistic 20-foot sound wall. 

Commissioned by the City of Beverly Hills, the colorful mural by artist Tomokazu Matsuyama, “Thousand Regards/Shape of Color,” is intended to be photographed and shared by users of Instagram and other digital media platforms. 

A City-sponsored “Ribbon Cutting” for the North Canon Mural is planned for Jan. 12, 2020 at 1 p.m. To RSVP to attend, email- canonmural@beverlyhills.org. 

Affordable Housing 

Following last week’s unanimous City Council approval for a 45-day interim ordinance to prohibit residential development projects that fail to comply with inclusionary housing requirements, City officials pledged to pass in a permanent Inclusionary Housing ordinance to replace it by mid-February. 

Later this year, Beverly Hills will learn from the Southern California Association of Governments just how many new housing units the City will be required to create under California’s most recent Regional Housing Needs Assessment. Multiple sources have told the Courier that number is likely to be in the thousands. 

As part of the temporary ordinance, developers of certain projects can pay an “in lieu” fee instead of providing the units on site. Further, depending on what gets passed in the final ordinance, developers will also have the option to provide the required affordable housing units at another site in Beverly Hills, as opposed to being forced to have the units be part of the project. 

New Restaurants 

With Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura slated to open on Rodeo Drive early next year, haute cuisine is poised to rise to a whole new level of elite. The forthcoming Osteria marks the second such restaurant for Gucci. The first Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura opened in 2018 in Florence and just received its first Michelin Star for the 2020 Italian Michelin Guide. 

Re-opening this year, likely in summer, will be Nate’n Al’s at 443 N. Canon Dr. Established in 1945 on Beverly, the beloved Nate’n Al Delicatessen will be adding both an “s” to its name (as Nate’n Al’s), as well as enhancing its menu to further consider the vegan and gluten free set. Irving and Shelli Azoff purchased the restaurant from the Mendelson family earlier this year. 

Further bolstered by changes to the City’s In Lieu Parking Ordinance, which makes the cost of opening a restaurant in Beverly Hills less prohibitive, there are indications that additional restaurants will be coming. One source tells the Courier it is unlikely that the former Bouchon spot at Beverly Canon Gardens will remain vacant much longer. 

Courier to Celebrate 55 Years 

Don’t stop the presses for this piece of important news, but Beverly Hills’ longest running newspaper, the Beverly Hills Courier, is set to celebrate 55 years in 2020. Stay tuned throughout the year for announcements about the upcoming celebration and ways to engage with this beloved community newspaper. 

The post Looking to 2020 in Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The Mills Act Program (Government Code Section 50280) is regarded by the state’s Office of Historic Preservation as “the single most important economic incentive program in California for the restoration and preservation of qualified historic buildings by private property owners.” Administered and implemented by local governments, a Mills Act Preservation Agreement allows the owner to receive a reduction in property taxes in exchange for the property owner’s commitment to repair, restore, rehabilitate, and/or maintain the historic property. 

There are currently just six properties in Beverly Hills that take advantage of the Mills Act, which the City has operated as a pilot program since 2011. The permanent Mills Act program will go into effect at midnight on Dec. 31 and will continue in effect without expiration. 

“It’s about time that we made this a permanent program,” said Mayor John Mirisch, who was instrumental in helping to create the Cultural Heritage Commission. 

Following the City Council vote to approve a permanent Mills Act Program with revised limits, the City is likely to see an increase in the number of multifamily renovation projects that take advantage of the the Mills Act, predicted Cultural Heritage Commission Chair Noah Furie. 

“This council is totally committed to historic preservation by the action they took. This will make a meaningful difference,” said Furie, a founding member of the Commission who is now serving his third term as chair. “This will increase the number of landmark properties in our City and allow them to be restored back to their original grandeur.” 

As part of the permanent program, the potential limits on tax revenue loss for the City now increase to $500,000 per year and $400,000 per year for the Beverly Hills School District. In addition, property valuation limits will increase to $8 million for a single-family property or residential condominium or residential stock cooperative; $10 million for a multi-family (for-rent) property; and retain the existing valuation limit of $7.5 million for commercial properties. 

Before the vote, the pilot program limited the overall annual impact of tax revenue loss at $100,000 to the City (or $1 million over 10 years) and $80,000 to the Beverly Hills Unified School District (or $800,000 over 10 years). 

Currently, the cumulative Mills Act Contract commitments in Beverly Hills amount to approximately $70,000 per annum in tax reduction to the City, and approximately $62,000 to the BHUSD. 

The staff report states that with a formal program in place, more owners of historic properties may be interested. Further, utreach efforts will continue to encourage the designation of eligible historic resources which may take advantage of the Mills Act in the rehabilitation and restoration of multifamily structures within the City. 

“The preservation and rehabilitation of historic properties enhances the character of Beverly Hills by retaining the City’s sense of place and continuity with the community’s past,” states the resolution passed by the City Council. “By encouraging property owners to maintain and restore historic buildings and landscapes, the City is preserving its heritage and supporting the local economy.” 

Furie touted the preponderance of “incredible” homes from the 1920s and 1930s found throughout Beverly Hills, in addition to the multitude of midcentury modern masterpieces. 

“We have been very selective and have been very limited during the pilot,” Furie said, underscoring that with the sizable increase in available funds, apartment buildings would be a wonderful route to go in the City’s effort to preserve its stock of multifamily housing. “What a wonderful opportunity for our tenants to be able to live in these properties that have been restored. Tenants could go to their landlord and say, ‘Let’s do this.'” 

The post Beverly Hills Council Votes For Permanent Mills Act Program appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

As a successful hotelier currently at the forefront of a meaningful brand expansion, Harkham understands deeply the inherent possibility of business – and it’s a journey he wants to share with others. 

“From one light, you can light another candle, and it does not take away from the original light,” he philosophizes. 

Part memoir, part practical business how-to guide, Harkham’s first book, “Living the Luxe Life,” which was co-written by Mark Bego, offers an authentic entry into this Beverly Hills resident’s true rags to riches American Dream story. 

From setting daily goals to “living” his four-step process at each interaction (Listen; Acknowledge; Elaborate; Repeat), Harkham developed a way of being that allowed him to make connections and foster relationships. Published by Skyhorse Publishing, the book also offers the brush strokes for building a successful business. 

Next month, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020, at the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, Harkham will celebrate the book launch with 

the community starting at 6 p.m. Proceeds from the sale of “Living the Luxe Life” will be donated to the Hark Angel Foundation, which builds schools in impoverished countries. 

Shy and outwardly private, with a drive to make the world a better place, Harkham said he used his 60th birthday as a catalyst to share his life story, including what he has done via the expanding Luxe Collection. 

Today, Harkham’s boutique hotel sales and marketing company represents a collection of over 70 hotels around the world, including the recently branded Luxe Rose Garden Hotel in Rome. The forthcoming Luxe Life Hotel is slated to open early next year in mid-town Manhattan, New York. 

“I got the hospitality bug [and] I realized that hospitality was my calling,” Harkham told the Courier. 

A child of the Middle East who was born in Israel five years after his parents left Iraq for Israel in 1951, hospitality runs through Harkham’s blood. His father, who passed away this year, met Harkham’s mother on a pilgrimage to see the tomb of the prophet Ezra. Harkham’s parents fell in love sometime between his father’s arrival in Al-Uzair, a city in Iraq located on the western shore of the Tigris, and his father’s soon-to-be bride serving him tea, the daughter of the family tasked with taking care of the tomb. However, it wasn’t until Harkham purchased his first hotel property at the age of 27 that he truly began to live his legacy. 

Following success in the fashion industry in both Australia and Los Angeles, which made him a millionaire by the age of 21, in 1983 Harkam purchased both a home in Beverly Hills and the Bel-Air Sands Hotel, which he later renamed Luxe Sunset Boulevard. After opening the Luxe Rodeo Drive 25 years ago, Harkham became steadily more active in the community. 

In addition to having now been a member of the Rodeo Drive Committee for a quarter of a century, Harkham has also spent the past decades forming partnerships with local schools and charities. And for the past 15 years the Luxe Sunset Boulevard ballroom has served as a polling place, with Harkam offering complimentary yoga, sustenance and other amenities to make it one of the preferred voting spots. 

“Happiness is a big deal. There is no stopping a happy employee,” he said. “Hospitality is contagious.” 

For more information or to RSVP to attend the upcoming local launch next month, email Sarah Clark at sarah.clark@ luxehotels.com. Reception begins at 6 p.m. with a presentation set for 7 p.m. 

The post Living the Luxe Life With Efrem Harkham appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The ordinance comes in tandem with a state-mandated requirement that Beverly Hills must build hundreds of new housing units in the next decade under the State Housing Law. The precise number of units will be determined by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) in 2020. 

“The question is, what can we do to preserve some sort of affordability so that we have a balance,” posited Mayor John Mirisch, who has consistently touted the City’s desire to institute a robust inclusionary housing program with linkage fees. “When you get to what percentage that should be, that is an economic and a financial decision, but it is a philosophical one as well.” 

California currently ranks 49th in the nation for the number of housing units per capita, with market rate housing in Beverly Hills essentially translating to luxury housing. 

According to Assistant Director of Community Development Ryan Gohlich, the City has a built a “very small number of units” in recent years. 

“We tend to average fewer than 10 to 20 units a year and some years we don’t have any units,” he said. 

Per the ordinance, which went into effect at midnight on Dec. 18, developers of multifamily residential projects will now be required to include affordable units in new projects or pay an affordable housing fee in-lieu of providing the units depending on the size of the project. Any multifamily housing project with fewer than five units would be exempt. 

Longtime resident and developer Lenny Rosenblatt was the only member of the community to speak out against the ordinance during public comment. 

“To me, this ordinance is horrible,” he said, noting that it could discourage developers to undertake new projects. “It should be for certain projects. If I build a building by-right, you shouldn’t take my right away.” 

The ordinance states that multifamily housing projects with five to nine units would be required to provide one affordable housing unit. For projects with 10 or more units, the City will require 10 percent of units to be restricted for affordable housing. For projects that will be required to provide one affordable unit, it can be for low income, very low income or moderate housing. For projects needing to provide two or more affordable units, the units can alternate between the different affordability types. 

Projects with fewer than nine units will have the option to pay an in-lieu fee instead of building an affordable housing unit onsite; however, those projects with more units do not have the ability to pay an in-lieu fee. 

The in-lieu fees would be calculated per square foot of total development at a rate of $58 for a five-unit building; $70 for a six-unit building; $82 for a seven-unit building; $93 for an eight-unit building; and $105 for a nine-unit building. 

City Council members lacked consensus about the in-lieu fees, but agreed they could amend those fees for the permanent ordinance that they will pass next year. Likewise, the Council didn’t agree on the percentage of affordable housing units that would ultimately be required in the permanent ordinance but stopped short of making any changes to the interim ordinance. 

The City chose to move forward with an interim ordinance in anticipation of Senate Bill 330 going into effect on Jan. 1, 2020. SB 330, known as the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, is designed to speed up housing construction in California. 

As part of the ordinance, an applicant may provide the required inclusionary units on a different site within Beverly Hills. In addition, the ordinance enhances the public noticing requirements as well as requires the developer to hold informative neighborhood meetings. 

“I think this is an important, historic first step for us. We have never had inclusionary housing requirements,” Mirisch said. 

The post Beverly Hills Adopts Interim Inclusionary Housing Ordinance appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“Everyone agrees that the trees in Trousdale are not appropriate for the neighborhood. If one of them goes, all of them go, and the whole neighborhood will burn down in a massive fire,” voiced resident Karen Platt, noting that the City had been talking about the area’s wildfire hazard “for decades” but had yet to take action. “Because it’s a fire, it will jump. After Trousdale, the fire would roll down to the flats.” 

After hearing from residents, the Council directed City Attorney Larry Wiener to determine what CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) implications there would be to move forward with removing approximately 600 pine trees along Carla Ridge, an important evacuation route that is rife with highly flammable pine trees. 

Wiener told the Council he estimated that all the trees could be removed within one to five months if the City decided to later “deal with the consequences” of removing healthy trees on a large scale. 

A presentation by environmental consulting firm Dudek characterized the entire area north of Sunset Boulevard as a “very high fire hazard severity zone” and recommended beginning the process of removing Carla Ridge pine trees in 2020. 

The Dudek study showed there to be a preponderance of higher flammability trees in the area – an estimated total of 3,500 in the public areas (25 percent of the total trees north of Sunset) and between 9,600 to 17,000 on private properties (45 percent of the total trees north of Sunset). 

The tree types of greatest concern are pines, palms, eucalyptus, cypress, cedar and juniper. Those type of trees under City-control are concentrated along Coldwater Canyon Road, within Trousdale Estates on Loma Vista Drive and Carla Ridge, along Doheny Road, Lexington Road, southern Benedict Canyon Drive, and at the Greystone Mansion. 

While the City is taking a longer-term approach to thoughtfully curate a sustainable urban forest that will endure over the next century, consensus from City Council members was that immediate measures to address the threat of wildfires needed to be taken. 

“I view this as an emergency and urgent,” said Councilwoman Lili Bosse. “We have an emergency.” 

“I do think we should move forward as quickly as we can to ensure the safety of Trousdale and Carla Ridge and all the areas,” said Councilman Julian Gold. He noted that the City would need to take an “aggressive posture” to ensure that it could likewise take effective steps to deal with fire safety mitigation risk on private property. 

During public comment, several members of the Trousdale Homeowners Association voiced support for taking immediate action to minimize the opportunity for trees and landscape to facilitate a fire spreading. 

“The challenge is that we’re at a crossroads, and there’s no containing a fire,” said Association member Shahram Melamed, who previously served on the Beverly Hills Planning Commission. “If we catch fire, within five to 10 minutes, the rest of the City is going to be on fire. So we’re the first line of defense.” 

While the Beverly Hills Fire Department already performs annual inspections to help ensure that trees are pruned and maintained on both public and private areas, the threat of a wildfire igniting and spreading north of Sunset remains an ever-present danger. And while the City-managed trees are “highly maintained” according to the Dudek study, maintenance levels of trees on private properties varies, with more dense, uninterrupted landscaping that can fuel fires. 

Further, the Dudek study found that the City’s current maintenance programs minimized risks of tree-related fire or downed branches. Of particular concern was that the structural integrity of the pine trees on Carla Ridge could cause them to collapse, blocking egress from the area and effectively curtailing an essential evacuation route. 

“Safety has to be our highest priority as members of City Council,” said Councilman Bob Wunderlich, who characterized the Carla Ridge pine trees as “ticking time bombs.” 

“I certainly am greatly concerned about the fire hazard,” he added. 

The Dudek study recommended increased maintenance and crown thinning on evacuation corridor trees, as well as increased inspections on trees to reduce the risk of failures. 

During public comment, resident Lester Trout was among several people who advocated that the City immediately remove all the pine trees on Carla Ridge. 

“I don’t think a fire makes exceptions [and] I don’t think there’s anything like a healthy pine tree in the case of a fire…so remove them all,” he said. 

Resident Patrick Fogarty likewise inquired during public comment as to why there would be any question about moving forward with removing the hazardous pine trees that are prone to ignite, particularly because the City doesn’t even allow residents to plant new ones. 

“I don’t think we should kick the can about removing them,” he said. “I think it’s hypocritical that we’re even talking about removing them when residents aren’t even allowed to plant them.” 

“Something needs to be done more quickly than we have done going forward,” said Vice Mayor Lester Friedman. “I think this as an overall plan being presented to us is sound.” 

Bosse advocated action without delay. 

“My recommendation is to remove the trees and then go through the public process of what trees there should be to replace them,” Councilwoman Bosse said. 

Mayor John Mirisch took a different view to the process of tree-removal. 

“We need to go on a tree-by-tree basis,” he said. “I do think we need to replace the trees. I’m not suggesting we wait, but we should do it in tandem (with replacement) and have a plan.” 

“We talk about global warming and so if we don’t replant the trees, then we’re just contributing to global warming,” he added. 

Concurrent with Wiener’s inquiry into the CEQA implications, the City is also conducting further tree failure risk assessments on evacuation corridors as well as moving forward with a more stringent corridor tree maintenance and inspection program. 

The post Beverly Hills to Address Tree Fire Hazard North of Sunset appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

As the push to revitalize the southeast part of Beverly Hills continues to gain momentum, the City is actively taking steps to position the area for success. 

“We have an amazing opportunity to create a renewed sense of place in this region of the City,” Mayor John Mirisch told the Courier. “A cultural renaissance with a vibrant Arts and Theater District along with a reinvigorated Restaurant Row are all exciting possibilities that should be explored.” 

In addition to the ongoing series of monthly meetings on how to best reinvigorate the area – the Dec. 9 task force meeting focused on augmenting arts and culture – two recent real estate acquisitions attest to the City’s commitment to acquire properties in key areas for future parking and economic development purposes. 

Last month the City purchased the Clock Market building on Wilshire Boulevard as well as a South Robertson parcel which the City intends to use to create a parking structure. 

According to The Schaffel Group Chairman Sy Schaffel, who represented the City for over three years in the challenging quest to locate and acquire a parcel for parking on South Robertson, the purchase of the 13,744-square-foot property for $10.1 million at 327-335 S. Robertson Blvd. is significant. 

“This is a long time coming,” he said, underscoring that finding sellers who had a large enough parcel or who were willing to sell was very limited. “We’ve always needed additional parking.” 

Schaffel said he anticipated the City would raze the current 6,000-square-foot building in 2020 in order to move forward with construction on a parking lot. The building currently houses six business tenants who lease on a month-to-month basis. 

City spokesperson Keith Sterling told the Courier that at this moment, just one month after the City acquired the property, there were no specific plans for the site. 

“The City could develop the site to help meet parking demands or other economic goals,” he said. “The City could also develop interim plans for use of the site, while longer- term development options are evaluated.” 

Future use of the Clock Drive-in Market building at 8423 Wilshire Blvd., which the City paid $16.5 million to acquire, has yet to be determined. Sterling said the property, which is adjacent to where the Wilshire/La Cienega subway station is slated to open in 2023, could one day be utilized in conjunction with future parking or transportation infrastructure in the area. 

“The City is undergoing a public process via the Strategic Planning Committee/ Southeast Task Force, which could better inform community goals and potential development opportunities via City investment and/or public-private partnerships,” Sterling said. 

As to just what will greet the eyes of those who emerge from the subway station into Beverly Hills remains to be finalized, but general consensus of task force attendees appears to be that the area needs more foot traffic in order to help engender business success. 

“Until you’re bringing in more people, I don’t think businesses can survive,” one participant said, noting that given the low foot traffic, businesses that open on Wilshire continue to struggle.

“I think the City has to find a way to make people more engaged,” added another attendee. 

With the expansion of the Fine Art Commission to the Arts and Culture Commission this past June, the City is clearly supportive of enhancing the arts throughout Beverly Hills. 

Although fewer than two dozen people attended last week’s task force meeting – which several people in attendance characterized as low attendance the consensus appeared to be that the area already naturally lent itself to having a greatly enhanced arts scene. 

“I guess when I think about Wilshire, I think about theaters,” said one resident. 

“You got them, use them,” noted another resident. 

While the days of the dollar double-feature movie have long since slipped into the annals of time, residents noted that there was potential to truly reinvigorate the arts scene in the area. However, in the wake of the closure of Laemmle’s Beverly Hills Music Hall last month, residents voiced concern about the continued viability of the success of theaters in that area. 

“If there really is no appetite for theaters, then I think we need to look elsewhere,” said City Councilman Julian Gold, who presided over the meeting. 

A statement on Laemmle’s website reads: “There is a distinct possibility of a renaissance, and movies and moviegoers will return to 9036 Wilshire Blvd., but if it happens it will be after a hiatus and with different operators.” 

When looking to the possibility of drawing in art galleries to the area – which participants appeared to favor – several attendees noted that the high rental costs made the possibility prohibitive. 

Once again, as in previous task force meetings, the notion of allowing for higher density building in an effort to enliven the area came up, this time with a suggestion that a portion of the street-level space could be devoted to art galleries. 

Of course, from South Robertson to La Cienega, the character of the neighborhoods is distinct, and the area’s entire evolution will ultimately be impacted with the opening of the subway portal at Wilshire and La Cienega in 2023. 

“I think it’s important that we do things that resonate with our community,” said Chair Architectural Commission Chair Sharon Persovski. “We need to visualize where we want things to go and start defining the area.” 

The City is actively encouraging interested parties to attend the series of monthly Task Force meetings in an effort to gather as much community input as possible in moving forward to revitalize the Southeast part of the City. 

As rents have continued to increase, the area has seen a marked diminishment in the number of mom-and-pop stores that line the streets. And with that loss, the flavor of the area has definitely changed. The future, of course, will be up to those who write it. 

The post City Eyes Enhancing Culture of Southeast Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Combining elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis, pickleball is played on a badminton-sized court with a net set at 34 inches over which players use solid paddles to hit a perforated polymer ball. 

The first known pickleball tournament was held in 1976, less than a decade after the game was created. 

“The reception has been incredible,” said Recreation and Parks Commissioner Judie Fenton about the City’s efforts to move forward in bringing pickleball to the community. “I don’t know how to play it, but I’m going to try.”

“I used to play tennis and I’m just not as agile as I was when I was younger, but I’d like to play pickleball because I think that it’s less strenuous,” Fenton added. “I think that the community is really excited about it.” 

That Beverly Hills is even getting into the game of pickleball at this time is thanks to Planning Commissioner Andy Licht. After a conversation with a friend of his who asked what could be done to resolve the lack of pickleball courts in Beverly Hills, Licht decided to attend the June 25 Recreation and Parks Commission meeting and bring it up for discussion as a non-agendized item. 

“I thought it was important for the City to enter the pickleball era,” Licht said. “I’m so happy the Recreation and Parks Commission is introducing pickleball to the City.” 

According to the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA), which was founded in 1984, the sport is “exploding in popularity” with the number of places to play having more than doubled in the past decade. 

In addition to offering a low-impact and social exercise opportunity, pickleball is a great way to have fun while maintaining physical health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only half of adults get the physical activity they need to help reduce and prevent chronic diseases. Benefits of physical activity for children and “healthy aging” are likewise manifold according to the CDC and include helping to delay the onset of cognitive decline. 

The sport was invented one summer afternoon in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington. A state congressman, Joel Pritchard, and his friend Bill Bell, had just finished a round of golf and returned home to find a brood of children in need of some outdoor adventure, according to the USAPA. Using ping pong paddles, a badminton net and a ball to create a lively and healthy backyard game, the families evolved pickleball (named for the Pritchards’ dog Pickles) over the subsequent months, creating new rules, while keeping in mind the game’s original purpose: “To provide a game that the whole family could play together.” 

Beverly Hills plans to kick off the pickleball pilot program on Sunday, Jan. 12, from 9 a.m. to noon at La Cienega Park. Following the kick-off, pickleball play will take place at both La Cienega Park and Roxbury Park, but only La Cienega Park will have open play because more courts will be available for pickleball. The Beverly Hills Center at La Cienega Park will have a total of 8 courts (including four for drop-in play). Roxbury Park will have two courts, including one for reserved court play. For more information or to reserve a court, visit: www.beverlyhills.org/pickleball. 

The post City Plans to Serve Up Fun in the New Decade with Pickleball appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The Council voted 5-0 on Tuesday to pass an urgency ordinance that addresses in-lieu parking requirements and parking standards in the City, making it financially more feasible for restaurants to open without being held to overly onerous standards. The biggest change to the 43-year-old ordinance is that the City will now calculate parking requirements for restaurants based on the total square feet of the tenant space, as is done for all other commercial businesses. 

“[It’s] an excellent ordinance that really will help the businesses in the City now and in the future,” said former Beverly Hills Mayor Mark Egerman just before the Council’s unanimous vote. 

As part of the changes, the in-lieu parking fee for all restaurants has been lowered to approximately $12,000 per space, which represents a significant reduction when compared to the prior fees of $30,000 to $50,000 per space depending on location. The City’s in-lieu parking program has historically allowed businesses in specific locations to pay fees in lieu of providing all required parking spaces on-site, which are collected into the in-lieu parking fund. Around 930 parking spaces have been approved since the fund’s inception in 1976. 

Other primary changes include: the City will no longer calculate parking for restaurants using “bar and dining area” and will instead make the calculations based on the total square footage of the tenant space, just like other commercial uses; all restaurants in the Business Triangle, regardless of size, will now be required to provide one parking space for each 350 square feet of development, just like general commercial properties; and all restaurants located south of the Business Triangle on the south side of Wilshire Boulevard (between Lasky Drive and Rexford Drive) will also be required to provide parking at a rate of one space for each 350 square feet. 

In addition, restaurants located in other commercial areas of the City will now be required to provide one space for each 350 square feet for the first 3,000 square feet of floor area (not just bar and dining), with any square footage beyond 3,000 square feet required to provide parking at a rate of one space per 100 square feet. 

Restaurant spaces that still require additional parking, even with the new lower parking requirements, will be allowed to fulfill these requirements by leasing spaces within 1,000 feet of the restaurant. In order to fulfill this requirement, the business will need to show proof of a lease that provides for the required parking between 6 to 10 p.m. on weeknights and during restaurant hours on weekends.

“These changes should help to eliminate some of the competitive disadvantages that exist today,” said Ryan Gohlich, the City’s Assistant Director of Community Development who helped craft changes to the ordinance. 

Tuesday evening’s vote at the City Council formal meeting followed a lengthy study session discussion earlier that afternoon. Before the Council discussed the proposal, 13 people advocated for the changes during public comment. In fact, the urgency ordinance that passed Tuesday evening was even more restaurant-friendly than what was proposed during the study session. 

“I think staff has done a great job but I think we need to be even further proactive and visionary in planning,” advocated Councilwoman Lili Bosse, who successfully pushed to allow businesses to be able to lease parking spaces further out than the 750-foot radius that was initially presented to the Council. “I think by having that as our boundary, we have given an impediment to allowing the restaurants to use our in-lieu program.” 

“I’m trying to make our City be the city that everyone knows is the best city in the world to open a business,” she added. “We really have the opportunity to change the future to what the community really has been longing for.” 

Architect Hamid Gabbay emphasized the importance of the urgency ordinance, characterizing it as a game-changer in the City landscape. He said he is actively working with two restaurants – yet-to-be named – that will now be moving forward to open on N. Canon Drive following passage of the emergency ordinance. 

“What happened yesterday was unprecedented in the history of our City and that is thanks to the vision of Lili Bosse and Dr. Julian Gold,” Gabbay told the Courier after the Council’s vote. Councilmembers Bosse and Gold had requested that the item be discussed with urgency, which it was at the Council’s previous study session on Nov. 19. 

Golich said he was aware of multiple restaurants in the pipeline that the City is reviewing as well as several others that brokers or landlords are working with to open. 

The urgency ordinance passed Tuesday will be valid for 45 days, as required per state law. However, Golich said that staff would be returning to the City Council prior to the 45-day expiration to extend the ordinance until staff has collected additional data from studies and is able to develop a more permanent ordinance to replace it. 

Director of Community Development Susan Healy Keene emphasized: “We wanted to make sure that potential restaurants coming in had surety that this would be the new parking standard that they would need to comply with.” 

Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Johnson said that every single member of the Chamber was supportive of the new ordinance. 

“We are extremely excited the City Council is moving in this direction,” he said. “We are confident this will both help our existing businesses and attract new ones.” 

The post Beverly Hills City Council Passes Parking Urgency Ordinance appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The liaison consisted of Vice Mayor Lester Friedman, City Councilman Julian Gold and Recreation and Parks Commission Chair Alissa Roston and Vice Chair Julian Javor. The four discussed possible means of funding the capital costs of the center, the next steps for developing an actual design for the building and substantiating potential operating costs for the new center. 

“After months of community outreach and stakeholder participation, the City now has a good sense of the programs we would like to see at the new La Cienega Park Community Center,” Gold said. “We now need to work with our finance team to determine the best way to fund this. While bond funding may be part of the answer, it is too early in the process to make any firm decisions.” 

In addition to discussing tax revenue options and various bond measures, including a possible general obligation bond or a lease-revenue bond, the liaison also discussed the potential of a general tax. However, staff has yet to determine the viability of having any measure on the upcoming March ballot. 

The community has taken an active role over the past year in providing input as to how the La Cienega Park and Recreation Complex should be transformed in the coming years. Scores of people filled the community center back in September for a Town Hall that offered a first look at how the site could look following extensive community feedback. 

At the heart of the renovation will be the replacement of the existing 23,000-square- foot Community Center with a new 172,000-square-foot center. Current plans include the creation of two pools, 16 tennis courts and a pre-school, in addition to a host of athletic amenities. 

The liaison also decided to issue an RFQ (Request for Qualifications) to solicit bids from various architects who may wish to move forward. Now I’m hearing very loud and clear that everybody will still have a job and perhaps a better job and better benefits. That makes me feel more comfortable in the labor element.” 

Alvarez remains skeptical, however. 

“We hope that the Council will hold Athens to this commitment that the workers won’t lose their jobs. We have to make sure that the language about employee retention is strong enough to support the workers,” he tells the Courier. 

Competitive Bidding 

The lack of competitive bidding also received a great deal of attention at the Dec. 10 hearing. But after taking into account industry consolidation and other dynamic market factors, as well as previous responses to RFPs, the general consensus, in the words of Councilman Robert Wunderlich, was that it was “unlikely that we would get a better pricing structure than this.” 

Bosse explained that her feelings on the topic of competitive bidding had shifted. “This meeting has been very important in terms of getting a lot of clarity. Intuitively, when you think of giving a 10-year no bid contract, it appears that we’re not being fiscally responsible and we’re not thinking long term. However, in understanding all the moving parts to this, I see it very differently now,” she said. 

Shana Epstein, Director of Public Works for the City of Beverly Hills, felt it a misnomer to ever refer to the agreements in question as “no-bid.” 

“The contract was let out for an RFP in 2016. We’ve been negotiating ever since,” she told the Courier. 

“In the end, we got a great deal and the Council chose to be a leader in sustainability,” Epstein added. work on the project going forward, including current project architect Johnson Favoro. 

Following the meeting, Assistant City Manager Nancy Hunt-Coffey told the Courier that staff is now actively researching an array of options related to funding the La Cienega Master Plan. She underscored that nothing has been put forward or decided about funding yet. 

“City staff is researching possible funding options for the project. Once this information is gathered, it will go back to the Recreation and Parks City Council Liaison before taking recommendations to City Council,” Hunt-Coffey said. “While this is an expensive project, the community has expressed the desire to enhance the park and build for the future, with the intention that this park will serve the community for the next 50 or more years.” 

The post Beverly Hills Could Fund La Cienega Park Renovation Through New Bond Measure appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The 5-0 City Council vote followed a 3-1 vote by the Traffic and Parking Commission (TPC) to recommend the two-way street conversion to the Council. 

“We need to do this,” said Councilwoman Lili Bosse. “I think this is urgent and I think we need to do this. The goal is to make it so people can use the businesses in the area.” 

Even before Metro Purple Line construction work forced the creation of the North Canon Drive cul-de-sac at Wilshire Boulevard for an anticipated three-year period this past fall, Beverly Hills businesses around the area had been requesting the conversion for that one block in order to access the 9631 Dayton Way City-owned parking garage from Crescent Drive. Following the Canon closure, the urgency became greater, with merchants citing resulting negative impacts to their businesses. 

Beverly Hills Market & Deli owner Shawn Saeedian estimated that his business dropped by 20 percent following the closure. 

“Since Canon has been closed at Wilshire, businesses on the surrounding streets have felt that access to their stores has been affected,” said TPC Chair Jay Solnit. “By opening Dayton two ways, we hope this will help alleviate the problem.” 

City staff used traffic forecast modeling software to determine that there would be a delay of several minutes at the intersection of Dayton Way and Canon Drive from the conversion, with very little predicted delay at the other intersections. A more detailed study conducted by Fehr & Peers showed that “vehicle delay would be much higher than currently occurs” with the two-way conversion. The study also showed that removing the pedestrian scramble would reduce vehicle delay. 

“The two-way conversion would provide additional circulation opportunities, including improved access to the City-owned parking garage,” states the Fehr & Peers report. 

However, the study also found that the conversion “would result in substantial additional delay during the PM [sic] peak hour at the N. Canon Drive and Dayton Way intersection.” 

The study estimated that during peak evening traffic times, making Dayton a two-way street, in tandem with the Canon closure, would significantly augment traffic delays at the N. Canon Drive and Dayton Way intersection, with an anticipated delay time of 340 seconds (over five-and-a-half minutes.) 

“The combination of the capacity reduction on eastbound Dayton Way (one through travel lane in comparison to two lanes currently) and the new signal phase required for the westbound approach would result in vehicle demand exceeding the intersection capacity,” according to the study. 

The Fehr & Peers study notes that vehicles are likely to change their travel path when the delay is high. 

Before the vote, TPC Commissioner David Seidel, the Commission’s one dissenting vote on the two-way conversion, told the Council: “I think the argument that the businesses are suffering a life and death existential crisis because they can’t access the driveway off of Dayton is not correct and I don’t believe there’s data to support that.” 

As part of the conversion, the City is slated to do the following: remove the existing lane lines to install new double yellow centerline striping on Dayton Way; remove a total of two parking spaces on Dayton Way to widen the travel lanes and improve traffic flow; upgrade traffic signal equipment at Canon Drive/Dayton Way and Crescent Drive/Dayton Way; and replace parking and traffic signage. 

While removing the pedestrian scramble is expected to offset some of the anticipated delays associated with making that stretch of Dayton Way a two-way street, it does come with an associative risk for pedestrians. Councilman Julian Gold, who said he would only create the two-way street if the scramble was removed due to the significant expected 340-second delay, insisted that staff monitor the impacts. Further, he said it was imperative that there be a re-evaluation of the decision to remove the scramble if the City sees any uptick in pedestrian injuries. 

The Public Works Department estimated that that it would take two to three months to implement the conversion at a cost of approximately $150,000. 

TPC Commissioner Nooshin Meshkaty, who recused herself from the TPC vote, told the Council she hoped Metro would “pick up the cost because this is associated with a problem that they’re causing in our City.” 

The post City Council Votes To Convert Dayton Way to Two-Way Street appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

A polymath with a penchant for delving deep into whatever fascinates him, Hansen found himself engrossed with a white fungus threaded within the newly cut tree stump, and then he went much, much deeper. 

“I began reading about the way these mycelial networks function, taking in and redistributing nutrients and information to nearby vegetation in ways that seem to anticipate the internet. Some articles even jokingly called it the Wood Wide Web,” he said. “These mycelium visually resemble neural networks, as well as models of the universe. They transfer data at the quantum level, via neurotransmitters made up of tiny particles. Quantum entanglement therefore can be said to be the basis of all communication.” 

The result of this inquiry is a series of large-scale “paintings.” While not the typical kind of paintings that one might think of – those created using actual paint – Hansen’s works of hand-dyed wools woven together to create contemporary masterpieces are anything but simple. Vibrant pinks, purples, greens and chartreuse are interwoven with a vast range of browns, greens and reds. The stitches are inconsistent and varied, with the variety of textures and colors ostensibly appearing entirely random, even though the random patterns have been deliberately contrived. Evocative of works by Wassily Kandinsky or Joan Miró in their colorful playfulness, Hansen’s paintings, although similarly abstract, generate their own draw in an entirely new way. 

On view through Jan. 4, 2020, Hansen’s latest body of intricately knitted works reveals a deep commitment to process. From preparing and dyeing the raw fleece, then spinning the fiber into yarn to working with a chemist to create dyes that match the colors of his garden (he uses a spectrometer to measure a flower’s wavelength), Hansen’s artistic process is totally unique. To compose the woven paintings, Hansen uses algorithms – this particularly one is based on growth patterns that structure fungus, neurons, and the distribution of galaxies – to generate patterns which are then knitted and stretched over a frame. Changes in color, pattern, stitch and shape are all dictated by the computer algorithm he authored. 

“A lot of artists just go to the paint store and they start painting and there’s not that whole world where there’s just the craft,” described gallery owner Marc Selwyn. “Most artists focus on one aspect. He is focusing on both, which makes his art very exciting.” 

For this series, Hansen even built mistakes into the algorithm, whereby during the creation process he would occasionally be directed to move a pattern over or drop a stitch. 

“It becomes a bit like a Fluxus scene,” Hansen described, highlighting his grandfather’s participation in the Fluxus movement of the 1960’s (essentially, a Dada-inspired anti-art group). 

After the initial network of loops and knots of yarn have been executed via his algorithm, Hansen then superimposes a woven Feynman diagram over the painting. Nobel Prize winning quantum physicist Richard Feynman developed a pictorial representation to describe the behavior of subatomic particles, which are known as Feynman diagrams. 

The result of Hansen’s intricate process is captivating, challenging notions of certainty in colorful vibrancy and provoking us to ponder just how connected everything truly is in this universe. It’s also the perfect exhibit to visit on a chilly winter day, given how cozy everything looks when knitted in yarn. 

The post “Entanglements” Now on View at Marc Selwyn Fine Art appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“It’s just a draft plan,” emphasized Traffic and Parking Commissioner Nooshin Meshakty, who together with her fellow four commissioners on the Traffic and Parking Commission (TPC) presided over Tuesday’s special meeting. “As a concerned city, we should consider, how do we want to deliver this city to the next generation?” 

More than half of the 16 people called for public comment after Director of Community Development Susan Healy Keene offered a high-level view of the plan were residents concerned with how the current 170-page plan appeared to prioritize bike lanes at the expense of resident needs.

“You can see, and you certainly will see more tonight, people who live here who do not agree with the plan’s recommendations,” said Thomas White, Chairman of the Municipal League of Beverly Hills. “The heart of why we don’t have a full chamber of Beverly Hills residents protesting this, [is] because it’s called the Complete Streets Plan, not the Bicycle Utopia Plan or the Bicycle-centric Plan for Beverly Hills, as it should be.” 

A core concern voiced by several speakers was that the creation of dedicated bike lanes on residential streets will create additional traffic that will impact the safety and convenience of the residents who live there. 

Former Mayor Jimmy Delshad characterized the plan as a “Trojan horse,” in reference to the potential consequences that could enfold from removing car lanes and parking lanes in favor of bike lanes. The current plan designates various residential streets throughout the City, such as South Roxbury, which stand to lose half of its parking in order to create dedicated bike lanes. 

“Why would we already designate streets without input from the public, input from residents?” questioned former Mayor Robert Tannenbaum, who currently serves as president of the Beverly Hills North Homeowners Association. “We care about maintaining the residential integrity of our streets, that matters to us.” 

Keene said the City planned to do “extensive outreach” to those neighbors who would be impacted. 

At last week’s meeting for the Sunshine Task Force – a task force which was established to study measures to advance greater transparency and public involvement in local government operations – community members criticized the City for failing to adequately inform a larger swath of residents about this week’s meeting to discuss the Complete Streets Plan. 

In addition to establishing a comprehensive bike lane network that connects the City to its neighbors, the plan prioritizes infrastructure projects intended to encourage people to rely less on automobiles as their primary mode of transportation. It also takes into account evolving technologies (such as automated vehicles) and the two forthcoming subway stops – Wilshire/ La Cienega in 2023 and Wilshire/Rodeo in 2025. 

Local cycling enthusiast Mark Elliot, a frequent blogger on betterbike.org who was once struck by an automobile while cycling in Beverly Hills, praised the plan for making safety “a top concern.” 

Commissioner David Seidel said that prior to the meeting, the commission had received 70 email responses, 63 of which supported the plan, as well as 22 online comments, all of which endorsed the plan. 

“I guarantee you, this is not set in stone,” said TPC Chair Jay Sonit. 

Another Town Hall type of special meeting led by the TPC on the Complete Streets Plan is slated to take place in January, although the date has yet to be set. After that, Solnit said the commission would meet in February to discuss the issue again with a revised plan likely going to City Council in April. 

The post Residents Voice Concern for a Complete Streets Plan that Prioritizes Bike Lanes appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Originally built in 1929 as a drive-in market with a large apartment (later turned office space) upstairs and a small standalone gas station at its southeast corner, the Spanish Colonial Revival style building, designed by C.W. Wilson and Sons, was listed on the Beverly Hills Register of Historic Properties in 2016. The L-shaped one-story and two-story building of brick and frame cost roughly $32,500 to build according to the original permit. The two- story portion is dominated by a monumental square shape clock tower, which gave the building its name. 

A phenomenon throughout Southern California born in the mid-1920s in tandem with the prevalence of automobiles, drive-in markets were essentially early mini-malls tailored to the mobile shopper. The departments within the Clock Market originally provided baked goods, meats, fruits, vegetables and other groceries. 

By the late 1930s, the character of the street had changed, and the usage of the structure changed as well, becoming an automobile showroom. In more recent years, the property operated as an Audi and Porsche dealership until 2015 when Beverly Hills Porsche moved to West Los Angeles. It is currently leased to O’Gara Coach through June 30, 2027 and the lease was assigned to the City as part of the sale. The tenant has options to extend the lease through as late as June 30, 2037, according to City spokesperson Keith Sterling. 

“The plans are to continue to lease the property at this time,” Sterling said. “The Strategic Planning Committee/Southeast Task Force had previously identified this property as an opportunity site given its proximity to the future La Cienega Station. Any plans would be subject to further evaluation and public discussion.” 

According to records from the Los Angeles County Assessor, the property contains approximately 19,300 square feet of land area and is contiguous with the westerly boundary of the Metro staging area. 

“Upon expiration of the lease, the property could one day be utilized in conjunction with future parking and/or transportation infrastructure in the area,” Sterling predicted. “The property’s existing layout combined with other future improvements to the surrounding streetscape could make the property suitable as a public gathering space near La Cienega Station that serves nearby restaurants, retailers and entertainment-oriented businesses.” 

The post City of Beverly Hills is New Owner of Clock Market Building on Wilshire for $16.5M appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The program, which was started in 1976, is outdated according to Councilwoman Lili Bosse, who along with Councilman Julian Gold had requested that the City Council take up the issue in order to make it more amendable to businesses.

“I think that our parking standards are old and I think we need a holistic view of parking in the City,” Gold said. 

“When we put this program in place, the City was a completely different place,” Bosse said. “I think this is an emergency and I think this is urgent. We are losing or have lost incredible opportunities because of what we have in place.” 

The City’s in-lieu parking program currently allows certain businesses in specific locations to pay fees in lieu of providing all required parking spaces on-site, which are collected into the in-lieu parking fund. This fund is intended for the acquisition, development, operation and maintenance of off-street parking facilities. The program fund maintains approximately $12-$13 million, and 930 parking spaces have been approved since its inception. 

The current in-lieu fee varies based on location and type of use or development. For new construction or reconstruction the fee is $49,576 on Rodeo Drive, $39,661 on Beverly Drive, and $29,830 on all other streets within the established in-lieu parking district. For restaurant expansions the fee is $12,095; however, in order to receive this lower fee a restaurant must already be in existence. 

Six years ago the City piloted a lease program intended for restaurants whereby businesses could lease in-lieu parking spaces rather than paying the full cost of in-lieu parking spaces. The annual lease payment was set at half of the 10-year amortization rate for a full-cost in-lieu parking space. But with just one participating business, which ultimately went out of business after describing the associated in-lieu parking lease fee as “burdensome,” the pilot was clearly not a success. 

A 2014 in-lieu parking study carried out by Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates found that there was an oversupply of parking in the Business Triangle area and that the program had “contributed to the creation of a vibrant commercial area in the Business Triangle.” In response, the City Council subsequently expanded the in-lieu parking district. 

However, the current regulations are not without limitations and are particularly prohibitive for larger new construction projects. Under the current program, properties larger than 16,000 square feet are only allowed to participate in the program if the project consists of museum uses or the adaptive reuse of historic buildings. And given the built-up nature of the City’s commercial areas and the high cost of land, new commercial developments often must consider projects in excess of 16,000 square feet in order to make sound financial sense. 

“The costs really are deterrents,” said local attorney Murray Fischer who represents clients that have been unable to move forward with developing projects as a result of the onerous costs associated with providing adequate parking. 

At last month’s study session, Community Development Director Susan Healy Keene shared several potential changes to the City’s in-lieu parking program. Such changes include amending the program to allow sites greater than 16,000 square feet to participate in the program; reducing in-lieu parking fees for new restaurants; charging one in-lieu fee for any restaurant use (at a rate consistent with the more affordable restaurant expansion in-lieu fee); and changing the parking requirement for restaurants to be consistent with the general commercial rate of one parking space per 350 square feet of floor area.
In anticipation of Tuesday’s upcoming meeting, the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce sent out a letter this week urging its members to voice their support of the proposed changes. By lowering parking requirements for certain businesses and making other adjustments to the City’s in-lieu parking system, Chamber Vice President of Economic Development and Government Affairs Blair Schlecter wrote the changes would “make it easier to open and maintain a business in Beverly Hills.” 

“Our number one recommendation is that the City lower parking requirements for new and existing businesses in the City,” Chamber President and CEO Todd Johnson wrote in a Nov. 26 letter to the City Council. 

“The upcoming study session is scheduled to take place at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10, at City Hall. 

The post Beverly Hills City Council Will Consider Urgency Ordinance to Lower Parking Requirements appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

However, while visitors may love spending a night or two in a residential neighborhood, sometimes paying significantly less than the cost of a hotel room, neighbors aren’t always so keen to have a revolving door of visitors with no vested stake in the City coming and going. 

Throughout the country, and even internationally, cities are cracking down on short-term rentals with new rules and restrictions. Beverly Hills Marketing & Economic Sustainability Manager Laura Biery told the Courier she plans to share a comprehensive report in Q1 2020 as a preliminary step for the City to take action similar to what Santa Monica accomplished. Malibu, West Hollywood and Los Angeles have all passed ordinances tightening restrictions on how short-term rentals can operate and Biery said she is looking at all of them, and others, in order to craft her report. 

“Hotels would like to see an ordinance with more stringent parameters. A good example is what is being done in Santa Monica, where the owner has to be present during the rental,” said Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau (BHCVB) CEO Julie Wagner. “I think short term rentals are extremely disruptive to the hotel industry, and of course, one of the biggest attractions in our city is our iconic hotels.” 

While Airbnb, which was founded in 2008, may be the biggest name around town, it is certainly not the only one. Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO), OneFineStay, booking.com, and even the TripAdvisor- owned FlipKey are among the most popular players in the market when it comes to renting a room or home via the World Wide Web. 

A recent report via AirDNA, which tracks short-term rentals, for 90212 showed hundreds of local rentals, with an average daily rate $663 – an amount which Wagner said is keeping in line with local hotel price averages. 

“What people give up when they choose a short term rental is certainty,” Wagner described. “When you go to a hotel, you know it’s going to be secure and that your every need will be anticipated. It’s a true getaway.” 

In addition to removing needed housing stock from the long-term rental market, the preponderance of short-term rentals is also having a direct impact on local hotels.

“I do think that one of the biggest threats to the hotel industry in Beverly Hills, to all hotels, is the expansion and the trend of Airbnb, vacations.com, (and other) luxury home rentals. The ability for people to just be able to rent homes for any amount of time and moving their business away from luxury hotels is a real concern, and we have to do something about it,” said Peninsula General Manager Offer Nissenbaum, who served as the president of the Board of the BHCVB for FY 2018/19 where he actively sought to address the issue by educating the City about the threats of short-term rentals. “As we move forward, it’s now a bigger and bigger issue that has to be addressed.” While the specific amount of money that the City of Beverly Hills is losing out on due to short-term rental websites is indeterminate, Wagner estimated the tax loss to be in the millions. For the previous fiscal year, 2018/19, the City collected just north of $100,000 in Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) from short-term rentals. By comparison, TOT collected from hotels for FY 2018/19 was $50 million.

“There’s a lot of collaboration going on about what can we do,” Biery said. “We want to find something that’s successful for hotels and residents.” 

Santa Monica’s current regulations governing short-term rentals are among the strictest in the nation. In addition to prohibiting rentals of whole homes to travelers for less than 30 days – Beverly Hills now allows two “short-term” rentals of up to six months per year in single family housing zones – hosts can only rent rooms to tourists and must be present throughout the stay. 

Earlier this year Airbnb and Expedia Group’s HomeAway lost their case in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to the City of Santa Monica with the court upholding the ruling that short-term rental companies are liable for illicit rentals on their sites. Short-term rental websites typically put the onus on the property owners using the site to observe the rules that govern the specific cities. 

“Just as we’ve done with dozens of cities across Southern California, we stand ready to work with city leaders and community members on fair, balanced regulations that preserve the benefits of short-term rentals and protect quality of life for Beverly Hills residents,” Airbnb spokesperson Mattie Zazueta told the Courier. 

The post Beverly Hills On Track to Limit Short-term Rentals in 2020 appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“I really feel that Complete Streets is the most important project the City will ever have. It presents goals and policies that will change the infrastructure of the City for bicycling, walking, taking transit and driving. We urge everyone to come to our Dec. 3 meeting to help finalize the plan before we present it to Council,” said TPC Chair Jay Solnit. 

At the crux of the plan, which has been in development for nearly two years, is the intention to make Beverly Hills a more mobility friendly City that inspires people to not rely solely on automobiles as their primary mode of transportation. The recent draft plan, which was unveiled at a TPC liaison meeting earlier this month, provides a framework for programs, policies and infrastructure projects intended to make navigating the City easier across all modes: bicycling, walking, taking transit and driving. 

“Through implementation of the Complete Streets Plan, the City aims to transform Beverly Hills from an auto-dominated community to one that embraces all modes of travel, reduces vehicle trips on our streets, and can be truly considered a world class bicycling city,” states the plan. 

The proposed network significantly augments the City’s stock of bike lines, in addition to recommending additional support infrastructure like more bike parking and “encouragement programs” such as Safe Routes to School and open streets events. 

The plan also calls for pedestrian improvements including streetscape upgrades to commercial corridors, a new crosswalk policy to guide the installation of new, uncontrolled pedestrian crossings, and even recommends events like “pedestrian only” days to encourage walking. 

At Monday evening’s Sunshine Task Force meeting, more than half the meeting was devoted to an unagendized discussion on the upcoming TPC meeting after multiple community members used public comment to voice their frustration with the noticing process that appeared to have neglected to inform the bulk of the community. 

“It seems to me we should have a Citywide public hearing in City Hall,” stated former Mayor Robert Tannenbaum, who noted that he was concerned that there might be a “drastic restriction on use of our own property” with the implementation of the plan, which dramatically enhances the existence of bike lanes throughout the City. 

Municipal League member Fred Fenster similarly voiced his concern about the City choosing “to just notify people who are in the immediate vicinity” instead of reaching out to the broader community of residents about the impending “major change.” 

The plan recognizes that implementing bike lanes and protected bike lanes will “require a robust discussion of tradeoffs with the community during plan implementation to build consensus on the best design for each corridor.” Further, given that existing bikeways in Beverly Hills do not currently provide direct access to the future Metro Purple Line stations at Wilshire/La Cienega and Wilshire/Rodeo, the plan prioritizes creating a comprehensive network of bikeways to connect with the future subway stations. 

Councilwoman Lili Bosse, who presided over Monday’s Sunshine Task Force meeting, said she “absolutely” agreed that the upcoming TPC meeting needed to be more widely noticed and instructed staff to “notify everyone as best we can.” 

“We have ample time to get those notices out,” she said. 

An updated version of the City’s Draft Complete Streets Plan, which will be presented at Tuesday’s meeting in the Municipal Gallery at City Hall, is available online at beverlyhills.org/completestreets. Hard copies of the 170-page Complete Streets Plan and supplementary 16-page action plan are also available in the City Clerk’s office and the Library. 

Director of Community Development Susan Healy Keene said staff would make responsive changes to the plan after Tuesday’s meeting before bringing the amended Complete Streets Plan to the full City Council in January. 

For more information or questions, call 310-285-1128 or email transportation@beverlyhills.org. 

The post Community Invited to Weigh in on Complete Streets Plan appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The liquidation sales at Barneys New York stores across the country began almost immediately after licensing company Authentic Brands Groups (ABG) purchased Barneys brands and other intellectual property for just north of $271 million on Nov. 1. B. Riley Financial purchased all assets within the seven Barneys stores that are closing, which a B. Riley spokesperson valued at an estimated $500 million. 

However, while the sale advertisements in red, yellow and black in the windows and throughout the 125,000-square-foot local Barneys store, which opened 25 years ago in Beverly Hills, may presage steep discounts with promises that “everything must go,” the deals inside primarily hovered around 10 percent off until this week when the Black Friday weekend sale began. 

“Shoppers can expect to see discounts progressively deepen throughout the course of the sale as inventory sells out,” a spokesperson for B. Riley Financial told the Courier, noting that the sale was expected to continue through the end of the 2019 holiday season. 

“Barneys is unique in that it has historically catered to an ultra-exclusive, high-end luxury buyer. So this is a ‘first-of-its-kind sale’ in many ways. The Barneys sale is offering discounts on merchandise which rarely get discounted below full price,” B. Riley’s spokesperson added. “We often get asked for insider tips on how to shop these sales. It’s important to understand that every last item will be sold. Discounts will deepen over time, but if there is a particular item you’re eyeing, it’s best to purchase it before it sells out.” 

B. Riley’s spokesperson said that customers could expect an average of 30 to 35 percent off luxury items throughout this weekend, with additional promotions for customers who shop in-store. 

Saks Fifth Avenue, which first opened in Beverly Hills in 1938, is now ABG’s exclusive Barneys New York retail and eCommerce partner, for both Barneys.com and BarneysWarehouse.com, in the U.S. and Canada. 

An ABG release said the company plans to reboot Barneys New York on the fifth floor of Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship New York City boutique before then launching “shop-in- shops” in key Saks markets in the U.S. and Canada. ABG has yet to elaborate about its plans for Barneys in Beverly Hills. The two department store brands are adjacent to each other on Wilshire Boulevard. 

“Through this acquisition, ABG enhances its luxury footprint and makes its foray into experiential luxury and entertainment,” stated an ABG release. “ABG is committed to preserving the legacy of Barneys New York while positioning it for long term growth through key partnerships that will expand its global presence as a lifestyle brand and luxury retail experience.” 

As currently zoned, the property Barneys now occupies in Beverly Hills, which is owned by an LLC that represents multiple families in New York, can only be used for a department store. 

“Barney’s will always be known as a brave and trailblazing institution in fashion and retail, and its pending closure is a profound loss to all. It does, however, hail a new order, in which Rodeo Drive – one of the most glamorous retail destinations and an unparalleled hub for luxury and fashion – remains at the forefront,” said Nicola Cagliata, president of the Rodeo Drive Committee. “At a moment when Los Angeles is emerging as the new global cultural capital, Rodeo Drive is enjoying a period of growth and vitality.” 

The post Barneys New York Poised to Disappear From Beverly Hills Landscape as Sales Expand appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Channeling grief into purpose, Setian has spent the past years helping young people make good choices through the Vahagn Setian Charitable Foundation. On Sunday morning, Dec. 1, the charity’s largest (and only) fundraiser, the Vahagn Setian Memorial Run, will return to Beverly Hills for its ninth year–this time with rockers Steve Cooke and Frank DeVille performing Led Zeppelin hits throughout the race. Entry is free, although donations are welcome. Prizes for winners include a stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel and a Petrossian caviar dinner. 

“At the end of the day, my message is to make sure they can come and learn what happened,” Setian said of his desire to have as many student participants as possible. “It’s not about my pain, it’s about the lives we can save.”

A key supporter of the powerful “Every 15 Minutes” program at BHHS, which first began less than two years after Vahagn’s death, the foundation’s mission is to help young people build healthy and productive lives, one decision at a time. The foundation also provides annual scholarships to select BHHS students who make wise decisions, in addition to purchasing musical instruments for students in honor of Vahagn, who played the guitar, saxophone and piano, and was in the BHHS band. With no salaried employees, Setian said all donations made to the foundation go directly back to the community and all contributions to the foundation are tax-deductible. 

Onsite registration begins at 7:30 a.m. in the lower section of the Police Department’s outdoor “boat court,” with the 5K beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the northeast corner of Rexford Drive just south of N. Santa Monica Boulevard. 

For information, to make a donation or to register, visit VahagnFoundation.org. 

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Despite the City’s recent efforts to increase educational outreach via signage, with over 100 new signs across the business district alerting people to the fact that there’s no vaping or smoking in most of Beverly Hills, the number of in-person “contacts” made by BH Ambassadors actually increased by 20 percent from the 597 contacts made in October 2018. Last month, BH Ambassadors made 714 contacts in the business district, primarily related to traditional cigarettes, according to Beverly Hills Management Analyst Michael George. 

“I think the most important factor between last October and now is that we have all of these signs up,” Michael said at this week’s Health and Safety Commission meeting, noting that the City now has access to a year’s worth of data for the first time and thus can begin to do year-on-year comparisons.

Missing from the contact data, however, is a notation about whether the person resides in Beverly Hills. 

“I still believe that the bulk of the people who are violators are … tourists, workers, etc.,” said Commissioner Myra Demeter. “We have a very small smoking population here.” 

When the Ambassadors observe someone violating the smoking ordinance in three or more instances, the Ambassadors refer the file to Code Enforcement. As of Oct. 23, 21 cases had been referred and one citation had been issued. There is also a residential component where residents can similarly report violations to Code Enforcement without the use of Ambassadors. But the education piece – and continuing to treat Beverly Hills visitors with respect – remains key. 

Following the initial installation of 25 signs this past August, 103 additional signs were installed throughout the business district with the aim of educating people on the City’s current smoking regulations. 

Residents can expect to be reminded that smoking in town is hugely restrictive with a new round of targeted mailers slated to go out in early 2019. Anti-smoking banners are also poised to replace the BOLD holiday banners once the season ends. 

Beyond informing people of the rules that govern smoking in Beverly Hills, such as that people must be actively walking while smoking and cannot smoke in a parked car, one of the challenges in educating the public at large is helping people understand that vaping is just another form of smoking; and in fact one with its own set of negative consequences. 

“There are people who vape, who do not think they’re smoking,” said Health and Safety Commissioner Cathy Baker. 

“Vaping products for the most part do contain the highly addictive nicotine, as well as other chemicals which when heated become very toxic to the human body and to others breathing the second hand smoke,” she added. 

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health continues to issue warnings about the use of vaping and e-cigarette devices as potentially harmful to proper lung function. As of Oct. 3, 2019, there have been a total of 21 reported cases of serious vaping-associated pulmonary injury and one death associated with e-cigarettes in L.A. County. Approximately two-thirds of those cases reported are in individuals age 25 and younger. In fact, one of the reasons the City Council cited when passing last year’s flavored tobacco ban was its intent to restrict the unscrupulous marketing of flavors, like bubble gum, to young people. 

At Monday’s Health and Safety Commission meeting, Board of Education Member Rachelle Marcus voiced her concern about the vaping epidemic in local schools, characterizing it as “the horrible situation that seems to be getting worse.” 

“It’s something that is starting to trickle down and getting into the lower grades, which is very, very disturbing,” she added. 

The City’s ban on flavored tobacco products became effective on Dec. 21 last year. It followed 2017’s smoking prohibition in multi-family housing, the public rights-of-way, and within 20 feet from open air dining, which went into effect as of Jan. 1, 2019. Smoking has long been banned in public areas, beginning with the 1999 no smoking policy in City parks and later by 2007’s no smoking policy in public and private open-air dining areas and within five feet of those dining areas. And the City continues to look for more avenues to inspire residents and workers to kick the habit entirely. 

Last November the City launched a free-of-charge smoking cessation program hosted by Cedars-Sinai, which has been used by a total of eight patients. The City is currently looking to partner with the American Lung Association to offer classes through the Parks and Recreation Department next year. 

The Commission also considered potentially hiring a third Ambassador to focus on educating people smoking near outdoor dining areas during the evening hours for at least three months. 

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“This is no different than any other act of Anti-Semitic behavior,” said Councilman Julian Gold, underscoring that the labeling was in effect a boycott. “We find this behavior abhorrent and we will continue to point it out and call people to task who participate in it.” 

Beverly Hills has a history of condemning Anti-Semitic behavior, including passing a resolution to oppose the United Nations’ resolution to deny Jewish historical and religious claims to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall in Jerusalem, and three years ago passing a resolution to combat the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Israel Act of 2016. Further, in 2015 the City of Beverly Hills and the State of Israel jointly entered into a declaration to promote and strengthen bilateral collaboration, economic development, cultural relationships, and educational opportunities.

Mayor John Mirisch had requested the Council pass a resolution opposing the EU’s recent ruling. 

“I find this whole discriminatory labeling so offensive that as an EU citizen I’m ashamed,” said Mirisch, who is also a citizen of Sweden. “I think we can and should make a strong statement.” 

Before passing the resolution with a 5-0 vote, all five Council members advocated that the resolution be strongly worded. 

The approved resolution states: “The City of Beverly Hills finds that this action is abhorrent for singling out Israel based solely on religion. It constitutes government-sanctioned Anti-Semitism and is equivalent to a boycott.” The resolution further calls upon the EU “to reconsider and revise the 2015 guidelines as they are discriminatory and Anti-Semitic in nature.” 

In 2015, the EU issued guidelines to its members to label products identifying their origin to be from territories occupied by Israel. France became the first EU country to implement the guidelines. 

Given the uptick in Anti-Semitism around the globe, Mirisch queried whether it might be possible for the U.S. to label products from EU countries that participate in the “discriminatory labeling” so that American consumers are aware of the level of Anti- Semitism in that country. For example, according to France’s interior ministry, there were 541 Anti-Semitic incidents in France in 2018. 

“This is discriminatory treatment,” Councilman Bob Wunderlich said of the EU’s behavior. “Israel is held to a different standard and Israel is being singled out.” 

“There are dozens of disputed territories throughout the world, yet it’s only Israel that’s being forced to have this labeling,” Mirisch added. 

While Israel considers Gaza to be self-governing and the West Bank as disputed territory, Palestinians view those areas to be part of the Palestinian Nation, as do many countries. Recently, the U.S. took an unequivocal step away from that belief with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declaring on Monday that the U.S. no longer considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be a violation of international law. 

The EU’s Nov. 12 ruling involved a West Bank winery named Psagot, which together with a French-Jewish advocacy group appealed a decision in France in 2016 to implement the guidelines adopted by the EU in 2015 stating that food products generated from Israeli settlements be identified as such. 

“I find this mortifying and quite disgusting,” Councilwoman Lili Bosse said of the EU Court’s decision. 

The City plans to inform all the cities in L.A. County about the Beverly Hills resolution, in addition to advocating for the state and federal government to do whatever they can to get this policy reversed by putting pressure on the EU. 

“Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East and this is clearly, clearly discriminatory and as strong a statement as we can possibly give, we should give,” said Vice Mayor Les Friedman. 

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Moderated by millennial activist and writer Cleo Wade at the Beverly Wilshire, the evening offered a stark reminder for women of the critical importance of shifting a patriarchal narrative. 

“Parents are responsible for helping children become who they already are,” Steinem explained, underscoring that oftentimes children are pressured to live out their parents’ unfulfilled dreams. So too, the family is the soil for nurturing behavior and action. 

“To transform inequality in the world, we have to start in the home,” Steinem writes in her most recent book, “The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off.” 

A revolutionary figure and a leader of the feminist movement, Steinem co-founded New York Magazine and Ms. Magazine, along the way inspiring a generation of women to follow their dreams. 

At 85 years young, with an easy smile and inspiring prose, it’s hard to imagine Steinem ever considering that she might have chosen to lead the life of dutiful “housewife.” 

However, she shared, in the 1950s, that had always been her expectation given that the world had indoctrinated her to believe that her “real life” wouldn’t even really begin until she began to take on the persona of her husband’s wife. Fortunately, the women’s liberation movement came along and swept up Steinem in its wake, where she began to understand that she could live her life however she chose to do so. 

“You can only live in the present fully, you can’t live in the future,” she said. 

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A key tenet of festivus, which falls on Dec. 23, is eschewing consumerism during the holiday season – inherently ironic given the $3.1 million the City of Beverly Hills is now spending for the 2019 BOLD Holiday programming to support retail businesses. 

In addition to criticizing the flippant nature of festivus, Mirisch’s fellow Council members told the mayor that the inclusion of the festivus pole in the lighting celebration could be deemed “sacrilegious.” 

Mayor Mirisch had brought forth a proposal for the City to host a Menorah Lighting Event on the Crescent steps of City Hall. 

During the event – the date for which has yettobeset–amenorahwouldbelitina non-religious ceremony commemorating the historic battle for religious freedom while a Christmas tree and a festivus pole were also on display. Mirisch’s proposal called for the menorah, Christmas tree and festivus pole remaining on display in the second floor foyer of City Hall for the remainder of the holiday season. 

The City of Beverly Hills has historically displayed both a menorah and Christmas tree around the Lily Pond at Beverly Gardens Park. 

All Council members were supportive of having the ceremony proposed by Mirisch sans the inclusion of festivus. 

“I think it’s important to celebrate historic events that represent religious freedom, so I think it’s very appropriate for us as a community with strong ties to Israel and a large Jewish population to do this,” Mirisch said. 

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Established in 1945 on Beverly Drive, the beloved Nate’n Al Delicatessen will be moving to the former Wolfgang’s Steakhouse space at 443 N. Canon Dr. and re-opening in 2020 with an added “s” in its name. 

“I finally just decided to add the ‘s’ to make it Nate’n Al’s, because it is Nate’n Al’s to everybody I know,” said Shelli Azoff, who 

together with her husband Irving bought the restaurant from the Mendelson family earlier this year. 

At the Nov. 20 meeting, the Commission approved facade modifications with an outdoor dining area, in addition to discussing the business identification sign. Azoff told the Courier she hopes to open the new Nate’n Al’s next June. Further, she is hoping to open in the new location as swiftly as possible after next year closing the original location on Beverly Drive in order for the staff to seamlessly transition. 

“While we are keeping the tradition and what it is, we’re going to also add,” she said. 

“I’m such a believer in the old school and the comfort, but we are also trying to adapt to what people want now.” 

Among those adaptations will be the addition of gluten free and vegan elements to the menu. However, don’t expect the “energetic, comfortable neighborhood feel” to go away – that’s one element the Azoffs are determined to maintain. 

The Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura plans to open in the luxury boutique at 338 N. Rodeo Dr. early next year and will be the second such restaurant for Gucci. The first Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura opened in 2018 in Florence and just received its first Michelin Star for the 2020 Italian Michelin Guide. 

The Commission stopped short of approving Gucci’s request for a revised business identification sign and construction barricade style graphic, instead giving its conditional approval pending Gucci returning to the City’s urban designer, Mark Odell, for final review and approval. 

“I’m not really comfortable with the fact that you constantly change the barricade graphics,” said Architectural Commission Chair Sharon Persovski, who estimated that Gucci had been before the Commission eight times to make a change. “Even if it’s temporary, it will still create an impact.” 

The planned construction barricade will be fuchsia-toned and spotlight the coming Osteria. 

“It’s attention grabbing,” opined Architectural Commission Vice Chair Sheri Hirschfeld. 

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PHOTOS BY ALEX BERLINER/ AB Images

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“It’s always exciting to see democracy in action,” City Clerk Huma Ahmed told the Courier Tuesday afternoon at the close of the first official day for candidates to file to run. “We look forward to the busy months ahead as the election season moves into full swing.” 

Candidates have until Friday, Dec. 6, at 5 p.m. to file the extensive form to become a City Council candidate with the City Clerk’s office. 

Gold began the morning at Kelly’s Coffee & Fudge Factory just outside City Hall where a bevy of supporters turned out to sign his nomination form. 

“I support him because I trust him,” said Judie Fenton, who has known Gold for 30 years and is once again helming the incumbent’s efforts to be elected for a third term. “I think that he’s done a remarkable job. I don’t think that being a City Council member is an easy job. I’d like to see him reelected to City Council.” 

Just two blocks away, Councilwoman Bosse drew almost 200 supporters to Alfred Beverly Hills where her reelection campaign manager, Human Relations Commissioner Annette Saleh, who is helping run Bosse’s campaign with her husband Marc Saleh, diligently worked to collect signatures for the incumbent’s nomination form for a third term. 

“Lili’s willingness and enthusiasm to step up for another term is an incredible gift that benefits our entire community,” Annette Saleh said. 

Said Bosse: “Our community is my passion. I love Beverly Hills with all my heart and soul. The next four years are full of important opportunities for our City as well as many complex challenges. I believe that our community values my accessibility, work ethic, grasp of the issues and level of preparation. I am looking forward to working together on behalf of our beloved City to ensure a beautiful future we all want and love.” 

Like Fenton, the Salehs are serving as campaign chairs for their candidate for a third term. Notably, both Bosse and Gold ran unopposed for their second terms on City Council. 

Commissioner Gordon, who invited supporters signing her nomination papers for breakfast at a residence on Crescent Drive, is the only official candidate so far who has not spent the previous eight-plus years serving on the Beverly Hills City Council. 

Said Gordon: “After 40 years in business and nearly five years on our Planning Commission, I know I have the knowledge and experience to meet the internal and external challenges that face our great City. I’m running for Beverly Hills City Council because I want to help the City plan for and envision an even better future. It is time for a change, and I have the background and passion for this City to help lead it into the 2020s and beyond.” 

“I’m supporting Lori because I think she’s great for the job,” said Linda Brown, who’s running Gordon’s campaign together with her husband Ed Brown. “She has the knowledge and experience to do a great job.” 

As of press time, just three candidates had filed papers to run for two available seats on the Beverly Hills City Council. 

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Keenly insightful about the power of an Instagram post as a marketing tool, the Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau is bringing an interactive photography pop-up experience directly to Rodeo Drive in tandem with this year’s BOLD Holidays (Beverly Hills Open Later Days). 

“We are certain that this will be such a popular installation that will bring even more visitors to our City,” predicted CVB Chief Executive Julie Wagner.

Produced by The Scenario Studio at 262 N. Rodeo Dr., the photography pop-up will be open throughout the BOLD holiday season (Dec. 21), seven days a week, only closing for Thanksgiving Day. 

With five photo opportunities, from a lemon yellow “upside down” room where visitors appear to be dancing on the ceiling in a nod to Fred Astaire in “Royal Wedding” to a detailed homage to “It’s a Wonderful Life” where visitors can decorate the Christmas Tree, pretend to play the piano or even make a toast with a pair of coupe glasses, opportunities to capture a striking image – and post it online – abound. There’s also a scenario set in Santa’s workshop, one featuring a koi pond where visitors can dress in attire to blend in with the scene, and another with a vintage photograph of Palm Drive that sets the stage for visitors (in living color) to look like they’re in an old film or TV show. 

The key to a perfect photograph, according to John Ganun, the man behind Scenario Studio, is lighting. 

“The end result is the photo looks almost magazine quality,” Ganun says of the process he developed about a year ago. “What I find amazing about it is the average person can learn how to do it.” 

Very low-key and approachable, Ganun is actually one of the most sought-after photographers for A-list celebrities, recently capturing the 40th birthday bash of John Legend, who just this week was named People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” in 2019. 

Presented by the City of Beverly Hills in partnership with the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, the Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau and the Rodeo Drive Committee, BOLD Holidays 2019 kicked off yesterday evening, Nov. 14, with a captivating lighting celebration along Rodeo Drive, fireworks, and a performance by Broadway star Matthew Morrison, in addition to other activities. 

BOLD Holidays continues throughout the holiday season with special programming – from impromptu music and acrobatics to dance at popular crosswalks of Rodeo Drive – every Friday and Saturday night through Dec.21 from 5p.m. to 8 p.m. For detailed event information, visit: http://lovebeverlyhills.com/boldbh. 

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As a penultimate step before the Council votes on the plan, likely at the first City Council meeting of 2020, a community Town Hall is tentativley slated to take place Dec. 3 during the evening at the Municipal Gallery inside City Hall. City staff is currently working to finalize the details. 

“[The plan] really identifies a vision for a transportation network that considers goals and policies for all modes of travel,” Director of Community Development Susan Healy Keene said of the 170-page Complete Streets Plan and supplementary 16-page action plan. “I think it will help inform transportation policies as we move forward, particularly as we’re going to have two subway stops here.” 

By taking a “complete streets” approach that includes a comprehensive analysis of pedestrian, bicycle and street networks, and emerging transportation modes and technologies (such as automated vehicles) in anticipation of the arrival of the City’s two subway stops – Wilshire/La Cienega in 2023 and Wilshire/Rodeo in 2025 – Beverly Hills leaders intend to harness the opportunity of change to create a better, safer City. 

“Through implementation of the Complete Streets Plan, the City aims to transform Beverly Hills from an autodominated community to one that embraces all modes of travel, reduces vehicle trips on our streets, and can be truly considered a world class bicycling City,” the current plan states. 

Once adopted, a variety of transportation planning projects aim to bring the City up to current best practices, help prepare for emerging technologies, prioritize first/ last mile improvements to the Metro Purple Line stations, and increase grant funding eligibility. 

“I think the plan has all the right language and all the right things,” said local cycling enthusiast Mark Elliot at this month’s Beverly Hills City Council / Traffic and Parking Commission liaison meeting. “I think it’s a really solid stepping off plan.” 

As a result of meaningful changes since the plan’s last iteration in Spring, the liaison decided to have a Town Hall to further engage residents before bringing the plan to the full City Council. 

Following the upcoming Town Hall, Keene said that City staff would be making changes to the plan before bringing it forward to City Council for approval. 

Keene said she expected it would take five years to implement the entire plan. 

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However, beauty can often come with an edge; specifically, a loud revving engine that can shatter the calm of an evening in the residential streets of Beverly Hills. 

Exhibitioning, as in exhibiting a vehicle or exhibition racing, continues to be an issue that plagues the neighborhood. 

“Every day at all hours, morning, noon, night, middle of the night, dawn, twilight, it doesn’t mater, they will use our community as a racetrack,” said Rosanna Grabel, who has lived on South Clark Drive since 1988. “It’s very jarring. There’s not only the speed factor, there’s also the noise factor. These drivers rev up the car on purpose to make noise.” 

Last month, the City installed a series of speed bumps on South Clark as a deterrent, but Grabel said the problem continues to persist. She estimated that she hears a loud revving engine at least seven times a day. 

“I understand that they pick the quietest streets because they want to hear the noise, but they’re making the community unpleasant by disturbing the peace,” she said. “You call the police and they say they can’t do anything about it, because they have to catch them doing it.” 

In an effort to do just that, this summer Beverly Hills Police Department Traffic Lieutenant Gio Trejo help spearhead a task force to address the issue. 

As a result, during the course of a weekend, he estimated that BHPD would give out anywhere from 50 to 60 citations for violations such as loud exhaust, speed, tinted windows or the absence of license plates. On Saturday, Sept. 21, for example, in the span of five hours from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., BHPD gave out 26 citations, issued five warnings and impounded two vehicles for expired registrations. 

“It’s very seasonal, we only see a spike in this type of activity, and it’s usually toward the end of summer,” Trejo said, emphasizing that the majority of the vehicles confined themselves to the business district. “Some of these drivers are simply opportunists. It’s the middle of the night and there’s no one around, and they just go for it.” 

From the wayward donut to the loud revving of an engine and swift bursts of speed, displays of the prowess of luxury vehicles on Beverly Hills can readily be found online. “They make money off it,” explained Traffic and Parking Commissioner Jake Manaster, who has observed firsthand people gathering on Rodeo Drive during non-business hours in order to exhibit their fancy cars. 

“They’re using our streets as a way to behave badly.” 

Manaster said that as a member of the commission he has received a multitude of complaints about the issue from residents. Trejo emphasized that it was important for residents and business owners to reach out to BHPD in order for police to investigate both disturbances and safety issues.

“I would ask people, if something is happening on their street, and they need the police to investigate, they need to call us,” he said. “We need to know about these things if they are endangering lives.” 

The non-emergency BHPD telephone line is 310-550-4951. 

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The red-carpet luncheon kicked-off with a silent auction featuring fine jew- elry and designer handbags, followed by three elyse walker runway fashion shows showcasing her new jewel-toned silky pantsuits and dresses during the awards ceremony. Shelley Cooper (Women’s Guild President), along with co-chairs Jody Lippman and Linda Lippman were on hand along with honorary co-chairs Atoosa Nehorai and Pary Mosenifar. 

For more than 60 years, the Women’s Guild has supported world-class health- care through research and innovation. Women’s Guild members have raised nearly $50 million in support of Cedars- Sinai’s most critical work, including the Women’s Guild Chair in Gastroenterology, Women’s Guild Simulation Center for Advanced Clinical Skills, Women’s Guild Lung Institute, Saul and Joyce Brandman Breast Center–A Project of Women’s Guild at Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, and the recently announced Women’s Guild Neurology Project. 

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Kindness is King 

The Beverly Hills City Council awarded its “Kindness Recognition” to Rev. Rosey Grier. The multitalented Beverly Hills resident has had a fascinating career as an athlete, singer, actor, author, minister and humanitarian. 

“We are grateful to Rosey Grier for his unwavering commitment to making a difference and spreading messages of kindness and compassion,” Mayor John Mirisch said. 

Deeply committed to improving the lives of others, particularly in the inner cities, Grier co-founded American Neighborhood Enterprises and founded Giant Step, which connects at-risk youth with job training, employment and affordable housing. Together with his wife Cydnee, Grier recently launched the Rosey Grier Giant Step Foundation to support organizations that provide mentorship to disadvantaged youth who want to work in the sports industry. 

“Because of people like all of you, working together, we can make the world a better place,” Grier told the Beverly Hills community after accepting his award.

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Emergency Preparedness 

The City Council weighed in on the finalized “Community Guide to Public Alert and Warning.” Created by the Office of Emergency Management, Resilience and Recovery, with assistance from various City departments, the guide is intended to be a resource for the community to understand what tools the City possesses in regards to both communication as well as alert and warning and how these tools may be used in emergencies and disasters. 

“I’m exceedingly concerned…that people have no idea what to do if there’s an emergency,” Councilmember Lili Bosse said, noting that she had done a “poll” of 104 people she knew and that none of them knew where to go in the event of an emergency. 

Director of Emergency Management, Resilience and Recovery Pamela Mottice Muller responded to Bosse’s concern by sharing that the best response for residents in the case of an emergency would be to stay at home until receiving further instructions. 

“If you’re at home, you need to evaluate your situation and you need to stay there,” Mottice Muller said. 

It is critical that residents take measures to ensure they have enough supplies, particularly water, to weather out an emergency. 

Mayor John Mirisch suggested that Muller’s office take steps to provide residents with basic “what-to-do” informational material, such as refrigerator magnets, in order for people to know what to do in various emergency instances from a fire to a thermonuclear war. 

“People tend to panic,” he observed. “But if they knew what to do, that would help.” The report will soon be available on the City’s website. 

Golden Shield 

The City Council unanimously approved awarding the first three inaugural Golden Shield recognition plaques. 

The new award is the result of several years’ work after the Cultural Heritage Commission first tasked staff in 2016 to study additional methods by which the Commission could recognize important contributors to the City’s cultural history. The City Council approved the new award this past April. 

The recipients include: the site of the Doña Maria Rita Valdez de Villa Homestead (Sunset Boulevard and Alpine Drive); the original location of Lawry’s Restaurant (North La Cienega Boulevard); and the original Giorgio Beverly Hills Boutique (Rodeo Drive). Each of the three recipients were selected for being culturally significant within the City’s landscape. 

Each of the bronze plaques, which will be mounted to the sidewalk, tells information about the importance of the site. 

“It really takes another step toward fulfilling the charge of the Cultural Heritage Commission, which is not only preservation of buildings, but doing things to preserve and recognize and raise awareness about the cultural heritage and history of our City,” said Cultural Heritage Commissioner Richard Waldow.

The Housing Crisis Act of 2019 

The City Council took an initial look at the available options related to Senate Bill 330 (“The Housing Crisis Act of 2019”), which Beverly Hills must comply with by Jan. 1. Signed into law on Oct. 9, SB-330 will be effective from Jan. 1, 2020 through January 2025. 

The new bill amends the Permit Streamlining Act and the Housing Accountability Act. It also aims to address the housing shortage by “suspending” local restrictions on housing development and expediting the permitting process. 

“I don’t expect you’re going to see a lot of people who are excited about this, but time alone will tell,” opined Councilman Julian Gold. 

Key provisions of SB 330 include: requiring checklists; creating a new preliminary application process; creating judicial remedies; imposing a five-hearing limit on certain projects; prohibiting the City from approving a housing development project that does not replace pre-existing dwelling units, including rent-controlled units; chasing the general plan, specific plan or zoning ordinance to less intensive use; and prohibiting a moratorium on housing. 

The City is currently in the midst of creating a thoughtful affordable housing strategy in order to augment its housing stock, and the Council has yet to make a final determination on just how to best comply with SB 330 by Jan. 1, 2020. Staff is now continuing to work on checklists for the Jan. 1 effective date and will bring back relevant items to Council as needed for discussion.

Bullet Before Breakfast 

Beverly Hills resident Vera Markowitz used the public comment period to criticize the Beverly Hills Police, and specifically, Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli, for the inadvertent firing of a gun at Beverly Vista school on Sunday, Oct. 27, around 7 a.m. 

“Who gave them authorization to invade the Beverly Hills neighborhood on a peaceful Sunday morning?” questioned Markowitz. 

“As a department, we do conduct law enforcement training at various places throughout the City, including our campuses and we do that because it’s important for our new officers to learn about the schools and how they’re set up. These critical, onsite trainings really prepare our officers for the unexpected, with the ultimate goal of our residents and children being safe in this community,” Spagnoli subsequently told the City Council, noting that it was a training for five brand new police officers. “On behalf of the department, I do sincerely apologize for the concern that this may have caused.”

Autonomous Vehicles 

City Council members were particularly impassioned when it came to the future of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) in Beverly Hills. Three years after the City Council passed a resolution declaring support for AVs, the City is knee-deep in its efforts to change the way people move through Beverly Hills, with a pilot project poised to launch in the second quarter of 2020. 

To reach this point, staff and the Autonomous Vehicle Committee have conducted over 100 meetings with AV manufacturers, academics, and technology companies to determine the current “state of the art” for autonomous vehicles, and to formulate plans on the role of AV’s within the larger public transportation environment. 

An upcoming workshop on various alternatives is slated to take place later this year prior to further consideration by the City Council. 

“For our City, I think we’re looking at it as a form of public transportation,” described Mayor John Mirisch, noting that there are also concerning ways the technology could be harnessed. “It’s point-to-point on-demand mobility.” 

The forthcoming Beverly Hills AV Pilot program will include a safety driver. 

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The 111-year-old leader in child and family welfare services in West Los Angeles has grown from being the first cottage-style orphanage in Southern California to an innovator in helping families and children. 

“Vista is unparalleled in its stature in providing adoption services. It’s amazing,” said Vista board member Doug Warner, who co-chaired this year’s Rocktober fundraiser together with Eden Alpert. “One of the unique features of Vista is that it never gives up on a child. When children feel that the world is not safe, Vista makes their world safe.” 

The 18-acre Joyce & Stanley Black Family Campus at the heart of Vista includes a K-12 school, an outpatient clinic, adoption services, a group home, and a wealth of therapeutic services. 

The Eden Alpert Therapeutic Music Program, a gift of the Herb Alpert Foundation, helps students nurture compassion and well-being, while providing them with a safe space to explore their creative potential and develop a greater appreciation for the arts. Next year, the Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center and corresponding therapeutic dance curriculum will optimize Vista’s ability to continue rendering unique life-enhancing programming for the community. 

In addition to Seal, comedian Preacher Lawson likewise delivered a passion-filled performance to the sold-out audience of generous patrons at Rocktober. 

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“Tatiana’s installation at Gagosian is highly poetic and engaging,” described Deborah McLeod, Director at Gagosian. “We hear visitors gasp when they enter. One first experiences disorientation; the artist swapping indoors for out, memory for reality, the natural world for the man-made. This disruption to the real world creates a surreal dream state experience that reveals the uneasy intersection between humanity and the natural world.” 

A highlight of the exhibition is the initial large-scale installation titled “The Shaman,” a patinated bronze sculpture that is cast from an oak tree in Naples, with water coming out of 26 fountains attached to the tree. It’s this unique piece that rests amidst the ruptured concrete floor, partially submerged in a pool of water and sheltering the muddied tangle of roots and a limp stack of patterned cushions carved in marble, granite, and onyx resting tranquilly in the water. In the corner nearby, a small cast-bronze transistor radio sits beside a manhole cover. These objects, though benign, are portals to unseen worlds–the sewers and the airwaves, here and elsewhere, in startling contrast to the room’s tectonic disruption. 

The show’s title, “On the Eve of Never Leaving,” is a translation of “Na Véspera de Não Partir Nunca,” the title of a poem by Álvaro de Campos, one of the many heteronyms of the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935), who was known for his many hymns to the existential void. 

In Trouvé’s large-scale drawings, installed in a freestanding metal armature, which itself functions as a linear drawing in three dimensions, Trouvé assesses the relationship between memory and material in this hauntingly beautiful series, pitting the ceaseless flow of time against the remarkable endurance of common objects. Combining fragments from both natural and constructed ecosystems, she creates ethereally familiar realms in which forest, street, studio and dreams coalesce. 

To make one of the series of drawings, “Les dessouvenus,” Trouvé first plunges large sheets of colored paper into bleach, then allows the unpredictable, caustic boundaries of each stain to provide a loose structure for complex “environmental dramas” that she draws in pencil. In another series, “The Great Atlas of Disorientation,” she uses watercolor to recreate the bleached effects in Les dessouvenus, the results recalling smoke, halos, ghosts or mushroom clouds. 

According to the gallery, “The Great Atlas of Disorientation series thus underscores the impossibility of replicating a succession of chance events.” 

On view through Jan. 11, 2020, this uncanny exploration of a collapsing past and future is open to the public Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

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“Men’s health is in crisis and we need to take action,” said Greg Oliva, Community Development Manager for the Movember organization. “Too many men are suffering in silence because they think that it’s not manly to talk about health. We want to help men take a more active approach to their health.” 

Money raised by the organization during the Movember campaign specifically funds programs and research in the areas of prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. 

On Nov. 9, the Movember organization will host its inaugural “Undie Run” in Los Angeles, commencing at 10 a.m. at The Waterfront Venice. According to Oliva, the 2K Run/Walk event is exactly like it sounds it will be – a group of Movember supporters running in their undies in support of men’s health. 

According to the Movember organization, statistics related to the men’s health crisis are startling. In addition to men dying on average six years earlier than women, and for largely preventable reasons, the organization predicts that prostate cancer rates will double over the next 15 years, with testicular cancer rates having already doubled in the last 50 years. More than 174,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer annually in the U.S., with more than 3 million men now living with the disease. Worldwide, the organization found that one man dies by suicide every minute of every day, with males accounting for 75 percent of all suicides. 

“We like to say men are often times suffering in silence,” Oliva said. “We want to really empower men. We want men to know that it’s okay to not be okay.” 

By using the “ALEC” model (Ask, Listen, Encourage, Check-in), Oliva said the organization is all about helping men live longer, healthier lives. 

Since its inception in 2003 – 2007 in Los Angeles – the organization has raised over $911 million and funded 1,250 initiatives globally. Last year’s Movember raised $638,573 in Los Angeles alone. And all funds raised (less roughly 27 percent for organization costs) go toward tackling the concerning men’s health statistics head- on with the goal of reducing the number of men dying prematurely by 25 percent by 2030. 

In addition to growing a moustache, the organization encourages people to get involved by hosting events, making donations, or committing to “Move for Movember” by running or walking 60 hours during the month of November in honor of the 60 men per hour who take their own lives worldwide. Nationally, about 36,000 men die by suicide annually. For more information, visit: https://us.movember.com/. 

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Below is a brief round-up of some of the highlights at Tuesday’s City Council meeting:

Model Behavior 

The City recognized longtime residents Ray and Donna Flade with its newly established “Kindness Recognition” for their bounty of acts of kindness within the community. Said Mayor John Mirisch: “Ray and Donna care deeply about our community and have always offered their help whenever needed.” Thanks to their extraordinary efforts to protect the welfare of local animals, over the course of the past 20 years, Mirisch said that the Flades had rescued hundreds of cats or kittens, and not once had an animal been put to sleep. Both of the Flades, who count two sons and five grandchildren, are members of the first graduating class of CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and are currently involved in Beverly Hills CPR. “The City is a wonderful place to live and we’ve madeitasgoodaswecangetit for now,” said Ray Flade. 

The City named newly employed Beverly Hills Procurement Specialist Sharmin Allidina, who joined the City’s finance division four months ago, as the 2019 Embrace Civility Award winner. Allidina is the eighth recipient of this annual award created by the Human Relations Commission to honor the “unsung heroes” of the community who act as role models of positive behavior. Born in Pakistan, following a six-year stint in Canada, Allidina immigrated to the United States earlier this year. She volunteers weekly at her community center, at Best Buddies and as a Census Goodwill Ambassador. “I feel the need to contribute to my community to make it my own,” Allidina said. “I hope that I can continue to make a difference in our community,” she added. Earlier this week, the Commission unveiled a newly minted plaque at City Hall where all recipients of the award are listed.

Fired Up To Help 

Beverly Hills Fire Chief Greg Barton provided the Council with an update on his department’s efforts to help in the recent slate of fires. The Beverly Hills Fire Department (BHFD) sent two battalion chiefs and an engine company to help in Sylmar’s Saddle Ridge Fire on Oct. 10 where the team spent 48 hours straight working to help combat the fire. On Oct. 21, BHPD sent a battalion chief and an engine company to help with the Palisades Fire. And on Oct. 24, the department sent a battalion chief and an engine company to help with the Tick Fire in Canyon County, where the team worked to help for 48 hours straight before taking a brief rest period and driving up to help with the Kincaid Fire in Sonoma County. The team continues to help combat the Kincaid Fire. 

Following the update, Chief Barton reminded Beverly Hills residents about the importance of brush clearance. “We do brush inspections every year,” he said, “but the thing is, it’s a year-round responsibility and what we’re asking is the community to help us so we can help them. By clearing the brush and protecting your structure, that’s the best way for a structure to survive and it allows the fire fighters to put themselves between the fire and your structure to help try to save it.” Following an inspection this past summer, Barton said that almost 98 percent of structures inspected North of Sunset passed inspection, which he called “outstanding.” 

Residents are invited to attend next Thursday’s upcoming community meeting on the City’s Urban Forest Management Plan from 6-7:30 p.m., Nov. 7, at City Hall. 

Changing The Plan 

The Council unanimously voted to approve amending the Beverly Hills Municipal Code with respect to the assignment of Planning Agency functions. The ordinance, which received zero Council discussion on Tuesday evening, designated the City Council as the planning agency for the purposes of reviewing acquisitions and dispositions of real property for conformity with the City’s General Plan. The City staff report stated that the change “could help to streamline real property transactions.” 

Before the vote, Planning Commissioner Lori Greene Gordon approached the Council to express her “concern” with the consent item. “I really do think that you should think twice before you take the responsibility of vetting [something] being in accordance with the General Plan out of the hands of the Planning Commission and putting it into your own hands,” she said. 

The City report, prepared by Policy and Management Analyst Logan Phillippo, stated: “The purpose of the general plan conformance review is to ensure that consideration is given to the policies and goals of a jurisdiction’s general plan when real estate is bought or sold by a government agency. This is meant as a safeguard to prevent jurisdictions from purchasing property that may be in a location, or have characteristics that make it a poor investment of public funds, or disposing of property that could be of future use to the jurisdiction.” 

The policy change shifts the purview of ensuring compliance with the General Plan from the Planning Commission to the City Council. 

“Because of the often fast-paced nature of real estate transactions, the City has limited ability to quickly act when a suitable property becomes available. The Ordinance would streamline City processes by allowing City Council to conduct review of future real property acquisitions (or dispositions) concurrently with approval of purchase and sale agreements,” stated the City report.

Commissioner Reappointments 

The Council unanimously approved reappointing three commissioners for a second term of four years each through Dec. 31, 2023. Peter I. Ostroff was reappointed to the Planning Commission; Charles Alpert was reappointed to the Public Works Commission; and Judie Fenton was reappointed to the Recreation and Parks Commission.

A Study Session staff report was presented to the City Council on Oct. 22 in anticipation of this week’s vote.

Plugging the Beverly Hills Oil Well 

The City Council voted to continue forward in support of its declaration that the public interest and necessity requires certain work be performed without competitive bidding when it comes to managing how the City’s final oil well site is mitigated. The City is managing the project on behalf of the Beverly Hills Unified School District to properly secure and plug 19 oil wells located on district property adjacent to the high school. “The project’s objectives are to ensure the long-term well-being and safety of the high school and surrounding areas and to properly plug all oil wells located at the site,” the staff report states. 

The City has agreed to pay a maximum of $11 million to help plug the oil wells and remediate the site. Current estimates peg the total project cost north of $35 million.

Affordable Housing 

The Council continued its nascent policy discussion on an affordable housing strategy on Tuesday. In the coming decade, Beverly Hills will be required to build hundreds of new housing units as mandated by State Housing Law. In anticipation, the City is taking proactive steps to ensure the creation of affordable housing units. There are currently around 100 such units in the City. 

“I would argue we don’t need more luxury housing. We do need more affordable housing,” stated Mayor John Mirisch. 

Following an initial report by Keyser Marston Associates, Inc. entitled “Summary: Affordable Housing Development Process,” the Council engaged in thoughtful commentary with the aim of moving forward in crafting an effective Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. 

“Clearly we have an affordability problem,” said Councilman Bob Wunderlich. “Clearly, we’re not going to resolve anything tonight,” added Councilman Julian Gold. “It seems to me a very artificial construct in order to achieve a certain goal.” From requiring developers of new luxury housing to pay an “in-lieu” fee instead of building an affordable housing unit or two to adopting an affordable housing linkage fee, the Council is still in the initial stages of determining just what the ordinance will look like in order to ensure that its policy decision isn’t overly onerous so as to discourage developers from building in the City.

“Luxury housing creates an additional need for new affordable housing,” said Mayor Mirisch. “If we don’t charge enough to actually cover the additional need created by market rate housing, not only will we be failing to address the problem as a whole, we’ll actually be digging a hole by allowing market rate housing.” 

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“This donation of ‘Peace and Love’ by Ringo Starr is another reminder of what we stand for, and what we aspire to be,” said Mayor John Mirisch, who will join a throng of City leaders and residents at the park for the Nov. 2 unveiling ceremony. “The City is so proud to accept this beautiful sculpture from a true icon and proud Beverly Hills resident.” 

The eight-foot-tall replica of Starr’s hand displaying the national hand sign for peace is a gift from Starr to the City. Starr and his wife, Barbara Bach, have been Beverly Hills residents since 1992. 

Originally slated to be installed on the grounds of City Hall, the placement of this iconic homage to peace met with some community opposition once it became known that it would be at the corner of Rexford Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard. In anticipation of tomorrow’s unveiling, the sculpture is now wrapped in white within a temporary orange enclosure in Beverly Gardens Park between Crescent Drive and Canon Drive. 

The legendary musician, also known as Sir Richard Starkey, is expected to attend the public unveiling along with his wife, Lady Starkey. 

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As Assistant City Manager, a role she has held since June, philosophically what she does now is not that different than the fundamentals of library science. 

“A lot of the work that I think both [City Manager George Chavez] and I do is translation. We listen to what is important to the [City Council] and try to translate that into reality by working with the departments,” she explained. 

Hunt-Coffey is tasked with helping support Chavez to ensure that City operations run smoothly, in addition to providing oversight to select departments and working closely with the City Council. 

Beyond organizing information to create reports (she keeps a list of “Council meeting follow-up” which she turns into actionable plans), tracking projects or fielding a bevy of questions from residents, staff, commissioners and members of the City Council, Hunt-Coffey is constantly working to help people expeditiously achieve the outcome they want by linking them with the relevant resources. It’s a skill she honed while earning her Master’s degree in Information Studies from UCLA and later while working for the City of Glendale in a variety of roles before being named its Director of Libraries. 

“A lot of what librarians do is they interact with patrons [and] frequently when you have someone who comes in, they have an information need, but they don’t always know how that translates into the resource that they’re looking for,” she described. “A lot of times you end up talking with people and then you take all that input and within a few minutes, you’re supposed to come up with a resource that meets that need. I think it’s an incredible training ground for someone that’s in a position like this. A lot of what I do is connecting the dots, people with the information they need.” 

City Manager George Chavez described her as “deeply committed to public service and to Beverly Hills.” 

“Her years of experience leading the complex Community Services Department have prepared her well for the strategic work that lies ahead,” he told the Courier. “She is a terrific partner with a passion for public service and I am thrilled to have her by my side.” 

Hunt-Coffey’s calm demeanor and drive to be helpful no doubt influenced her career path with the City. However, her path has not been entirely smooth – she was recently named as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by a former employee accusing her of age discrimination. 

As Hunt-Coffey’s role as Assistant Director expanded and her responsibilities grew, she eventually became the Director of Community Services in 2016 where she was responsible for leading the City’s Recreation and Parks, Library, Human Services and Administrative Support divisions. 

“I quite frankly thought I’d reached the pinnacle of my career as community services director,” she said. 

She counts “being allowed to create great, beautiful, meaningful spaces for the community” as her greatest accomplishment with the City thus far. From leading the Beverly Gardens Park renovation project to helping build the new Roxbury Community Center and the new Children’s Library, to helping with the fine art installations around the City, Hunt- Coffey is deeply gratified by what she has been able to accomplish. 

Throughout her tenure with the City, Hunt-Coffey has gotten to know areas of the City deeply and is now learning about the breadth of the City and its operations on a much more profound scope. Under Chavez’ direction, she has oversight over Community Services, Public Works, IT and Community Development, in addition to overseeing staff working on economic development and legislation. She also closely monitors legislation that can impact Beverly Hills, such as affordable housing, pension costs and pension reform. 

She is currently helping spearhead the La Cienega master planning process, which the City Council is expected to weigh in on at its upcoming meeting on Tuesday. 

“So far it has been a great process gathering public feedback and trying to turn that feedback into reality and trying to design something that truly the community has said they want,” she described. Another larger project Hunt-Coffey is currently involved with is “Beverly Hills Fiber,” wherein the City will provide high-speed broadband fiber services to residents and businesses.

“There’s always been this dream for decades of having such high-speed internet that you could do all kinds of things from the home,” she described, highlighting telemedicine, where doctors and patients can have interactive sessions. She adds that the service would enhance the City’s ability to draw high-tech professionals who can work from home. 

Ensuring that Beverly Hills remains a full-service city for a population of 35,000 residents – a number which swells to 250,000 people on a daily basis – is no small task. With 747 full-time employees and 378 part-time employees, the City of Beverly Hills has an extraordinarily high ratio of employees to residents. 

“I’m constantly blown away by the services and the range of things that are available to people in this community,” she said. 

From the “little things” like an outstanding City-run farmer’s market where City employees have the ability to verify that the produce is truly organic to the amazing service offered by the Beverly Hills Fire and Police departments, Hunt- Coffey emphasized how extraordinary the City is. 

Of course, there’s constant change and the City strives to adapt to those changes. There is no shortage of important issues and projects confronting the City in its near future. Among those issues are an increase in the City’s homeless population along the transportation corridor; two new subway stops and the impact they will have on the large retailers struggling along Wilshire Boulevard; the One Beverly Hills mixed-use project; and the possible new luxury hotel by LVMH in the former Brooks Brothers space on Rodeo Drive. 

One of the most “interesting facts” Hunt-Coffey said she didn’t know before she started working here is that 60 percent of housing stock is multifamily, and more recently, that the last census found that the better part of 10 percent of residents are living at or below poverty line and that the better part of 20 percent of single parent households are living at or below the poverty line. 

“I think it’s important to recognize that the perception that a lot of people have of Beverly Hills of being the lives of the rich and famous is true to a certain degree, but there is also another portion of our community that struggles, and I think a lot of folks are here because they’re looking for better lives for their kids,” she said. 

“My favorite thing about Beverly Hills is the people,” added Hunt-Coffey, who lives within walking distance to her office together with her husband and two children. “People here are really interesting and involved and smart and they keep you on your toes. It may be conflicting views, but they’re dedicated to what they feel is the best for the community. It’s like a small town. People are really involved and they really care.” 

She adds: “I think you can’t overemphasize kindness as a foundation of civilized society and that’s what public service is all about at the end of the day. It’s about serving people. It’s helping people rise up and meeting people’s needs so they can go do their good work. Because it does have a ripple effect.” 

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By creating a distinct design flavor within the area, the southeast has the opportunity to transform into an iconic section of the city. From aesthetics to architecture and commercial signage and green space, the most recent task force meeting touched on a variety of elements that can define an area. While the group did not reach consensus as to what the area might come to feel like – such as a village like Larchmont or its own entertainment district – what really evoked passions was the prospect of raising the density in the area to better support businesses. 

“Unless you allow for higher density building…you’re not going to revive that area,” suggested one attendee. 

However, with little support on the part of the City to ease height restrictions or encourage Transit Oriented Development projects around the forthcoming subway portal at Wilshire and La Cienega, set to come online in 2023, a deeper discussion on increased density is currently moot. 

Director of Community Development Susan Healy Keene highlighted seven elements that most successful areas have: things for all ages; comfort; activity; a sense of enclosure; a comfortable temperature and protection from the elements; a sense of surprise, play or wonder; and places to linger. 

While no one in the room wanted to create another Rodeo Drive – arguably Beverly Hills’ most iconic street – there was nary a voice of dissent about the desire to create a memorable neighborhood. Senior planner Timothea Tway said that by simply regulating signage, an area could change its character. For example, she said that by requiring all signs to look similar via a template, which the city can require businesses to use – be they cutesy, neon or historic – an area like Robertson could quickly start to feel like a pedestrian oriented village. 

“I think it could become another Larchmont, if it’s done well,” one resident opined about the stretch of Robertson, which already possesses a distinctly quaint urban feel. “It has all the possibilities.” 

Similarly, requiring a specific type of signage on Wilshire – or even encouraging ground floor commercial use – could swiftly change the way buildings and sidewalks interface. 

“You want to be able to get out of the station and say, ‘I’m in Beverly Hills,'” Tway suggested. 

Of course, if the area is dormant, as are many swaths along Wilshire now, businesses will be hard-pressed to survive with quasi zero foot traffic. But with revitalization, comes the prospect of encouraging more spillage from business into public space. 

“You can have the nicest designed building, but if no one’s shopping there or working there, it’s all for nothing,” noted one resident who highlighted the importance of activating the area. 

“We want to make it walkable, we want to make it pedestrian friendly, how do we do that?” queried another attendee. 

While discussions on building design may not immediately contribute to an active environment, they are a necessary first step. And the city does have a lot of power at its disposal to do things like require private developers to create small public spaces in new developments. 

Of course, changing the urban design is just one of a multiplicity of avenues the city can take to create a more pedestrian friendly area. In fact, the hour-long strategic meetings, which are held on the second Monday of the month and highlight specific areas of concern, are intended to bring about changes that will encourage new businesses to open, augment safety and entice visitors to walk around an area that has long been considered to have yet to achieve its potential. Next month’s meeting is slated to discuss arts and culture. 

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Founded by Beverly Hills residents Meira and Shaul Massry in 1996 to recognize outstanding contributions to the field of biomedical sciences and the advancement of health, this year’s Massry Prize Laureates, Professor Ryszard Kole and Dr. Stanley T. Crooke, will be feted on Saturday, Oct. 26, at a special program and presentation beginning at 9 a.m. at City Hall. The 2019 Massry Laureates, who will share a $200,000 stipend, were instrumental in creating a new class of pharmaceutical agents, known as antisense drugs. 

“This field has opened new horizons in the use of genetics in therapy. It really allows treatment of diseases which you couldn’t treat before,” said USC Keck School of Medicine Professor Emeritus Shaul Massry, a pioneer in the field of biomedical sciences who holds 14 honorary degrees in medicine from prestigious institutions around the globe. 

By creating a new class of pharmaceutical agents to attack disease, the 2019 Massry Laureates pioneered targeting RNA molecules by creating “antisense” strands to either alter the function of the proteins they encode or eliminate the offending molecules entirely. 

“Therapeutically, this may be the most exciting area over the next 10 years,” predicted Massry Prize Committee member Clive Svendsen, who heads up Cedars-Sinai’s Svendsen Laboratory specializing in regenerative medicine. “This technology is a tool to modify the output of any gene.” 

Svendsen is one of the six members of the Prize Committee who pared down this year’s eight finalists to Kole and Crooke. Each year after selecting a field that is at the forefront of medical research and finding the leaders in the field, the committee is tasked with determining the prize recipients. 

“It’s a new era of therapeutics,” Svendsen said of the antisense therapeutics, which have the potential to treat brain disease, heart disease or any type of cancer by effectively using the technology to target cells. 

When the idea was first talked about 40 years ago, the scientific community was skeptical given that RNA molecules were known to be remarkably unstable. However, Kole and Crooke persevered to overcome these issues and drive the field forward. 

In diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy there are errors in how specific proteins are made from the RNA. Kole discovered that short segments of new RNA added to a cell could avoid these errors and produce the normal protein. He was able to take these findings from his laboratory and into clinical trials and subsequent approval of a number of drugs by the FDA. 

At the same time another pioneer in this growing field, Dr. Crooke, had been working on similar approaches to using antisense oligonucleotides as drugs. Building on Kole’s work and extending it to other diseases, Crooke similarly realized he needed to create a company to move forward to develop “antisense oligonucleotides” as therapeutical drugs to further create a new sector of the pharmaceutical industry. Using the technology, Crooke founded Ionis to develop antisense medicines and has been able to create an entirely new class of therapeutics. 

“Drs. Kole and Crooke are both extraordinarily creative scientists and classic entrepreneurs; they are outstanding examples of scientific creativity and ingenuity clearly deserving of the 2019 Massry Foundation Prize,” stated the team responsible for selecting the recipients. 

Now in its 23rd year, the upcoming Massry Prize program at City Hall will include welcome speeches by USC Keck School of Medicine Dean Laura Masqueda and UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine Dean Kelsey Martin, in addition to presentations about their work by Kole and Crooke. 

Three-time Beverly Hills mayor Vicki Reynolds recalled how she was approached by Dr. Massry during her second term as mayor in the 90s with the prospect of having the awards ceremony take place at Beverly Hills. 

“We were delighted to do it,” recalled Reynolds, who along with her husband, Murray Pepper, are on the Massry Prize Honorary Committee. “[Dr. Massry] was looking for prestige from the city and it’s come to be that the city derives prestige from the prize. It was mutually meaningful.” 

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“Perhaps she’ll tell you,” the eponymous gallery owner Marc Selwyn tells the Courier. “She won’t tell me.” 

When later asked, Stuart, who was born in Los Angeles in 1933, immediately starts laughing. It’s a question “everybody” asks her. 

“It is a photographic method, but it’s playing with light,” she says simply. “I just started playing, and that’s what happened. Last year I was doing these experiments and I came upon this method, where you take [light] away, then you diminish it, then you accelerate it.” 

The result of these playful pursuits is a series of powerful botanical works presented as diptychs where something has been noticeably shifted to highlight extinction. The works have proven to be timely, although Stuart pointed out that she’s been producing extinction-themed artworks for years, as have other artists and writers for decades before she began. 

“I’ve been doing work on extinction since the beginning of the 90’s, and nobody’s paid any attention,” she mused. “It’s really something that people want to shove under the table.” 

But perhaps bolstered by having a U.S. president who denies that climate change is happening and the increasing recognition that the changes are progressively “dire,” Stuart surmised that her work on extinction is now being viewed with a nuanced degree of respect. 

“The best I can hope for is to draw attention to the climate crisis,” she said. 

Known for her rich and diverse practice, including site-specific earth works, frottage, drawings, paintings, sculpture and photographs, Stuart’s work has always centered around her lifelong interest in mankind’s relationship to the natural world. In addition to the lumigrams, the current exhibition now in Beverly Hills features several of Stuart’s works on paper from the 1970’s. Those works, displayed in Selwyn’s main gallery, are all of rubbings of the earth, in which the landscape and paper support combine to create an image and a record of the site where they were made while revealing the subtleties and textures of the land. 

“Her big contribution was she merged drawing and the landscape,” Selwyn said. “In a way it’s like a primitive photograph of the earth.” 

A pioneering figure in the Land Art movement – and one of the few women artists actively involved in making outside art when she first began working in the 1960’s – Stuart’s career has always centered on the landscape. Her rubbings of the earth’s surface, where she would grind earth or asphalt or other natural media onto muslin backed handmade paper, are each unique. They capture a moment in time, be it the trail from the recent jaunt of a squirrel or how the wind has scattered the sand. One of the most powerful pieces in the exhibit, “16D – Off Route 28, 1974,” where the blackness of the rubbing is punctuated by misshapen white dots, presumably little rocks upon the earth, is reminiscent of the night sky. Indeed, Stuart has always been captivated by the cosmos. 

“I had the land, I didn’t have the moon,” she said of her desire to draw the moon’s surface. 

Growing up in California was a profound source of inspiration for Stuart. She recalled traveling in the desert with her father, “back when you got out to nowhere pretty fast,” to go hiking and being very moved by the landscape. After graduating from art school, she worked for a time as an assistant to Diego Rivera in Mexico, in his older age, helping craft murals, before moving to Europe. She eventually settled in New York, where she has spent the bulk of her adult life. 

A lifelong environmentalist and avid collector of botanical specimens with an unflappable interest in the cosmos and extinction, Stuart is actively working on creating new lumigrams, in addition to a memoir. Currently, she said she is working on a large photographic piece about space and time. 

“We’re so lucky to have art,” she said. “Art has the power to do everything.” 

The post Michelle Stuart Highlights Extinction at Marc Selwyn Fine Art appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

At this past Thursday’s “State of the City” address in the Greystone Mansion’s formal gardens, Mirisch, who grew up in Beverly Hills, was unabashedly proud of the city and his role on the council. From busting out the ukulele at the Centennial singalong during his first term as mayor in 2014 to his push to revitalize the Southeast part of the city to helping create the Historic Preservation Commission seven years ago to his recent emphasis on strengthening arts and culture in the city, Mirisch is clearly passionate about the city and his role in it. 

“In an increasingly impersonal, faceless and cold world, it is our sense of place, the feeling of home and the ideal of community and how we are all connected that makes life bearable and that gives it meaning,” Mirisch told the 350 people in attendance at last week’s State of the City event. “Community is what all of us should always be focused on.” 

Presented by the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, this year in partnership with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Beverly Hills and Kennedy Wilson, the annual event is always a festive opportunity for residents and members of the business community to get to know Beverly Hills commissioners, city employees and elected officials. In addition to Mirisch’s formal address, this year’s event also honored the city’s first responders. 

Among a plethora of accomplishments during his 180-day tenure as mayor, Mirisch highlighted the tobacco ban; honoring residents with the Legacy Resident and Kindness Recognition awards at City Council for “those who go above and beyond with acts of love, kindness and loving kindness;” last week’s sing-along at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts; the recent summer BOLD activities; navigating work by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on the Purple Line, including the recent closing of North Canon at Wilshire to vehicular traffic; the in-progress Complete Streets project which the council is slated to discuss in a few months; and the creation of additional affordable housing in Beverly Hills. 

A significant portion of Mirisch’s speech dealt with creating more housing in the city. After taking aim at Sacramento, Mirisch expanded on the city’s plan to develop additional senior supportive affordable housing and create a robust inclusionary housing program with linkage fees. 

“We need housing solutions that are dynamic, livable and sustainable, that celebrate urban humanism, our ability to make choices for ourselves and our belief that ‘one-size-fits-all’ doesn’t work well in America,” he said. 

With just under two-thirds of Beverly Hills residents living in multifamily dwellings, the true complexion of Beverly Hills is clearly not defined by wealthy elites living in multimillion dollar single family homes. But the perception of complete affluence within the 90210 zip code still persists. Perceptions not withstanding, all residents in Beverly Hills truly do have access to the enviable police and fire departments that continue to make the city so desirable. 

Rising housing costs have made the city’s new Rent Stabilization Ordinance and Rent Stabilization Commission critical to the continued health of the city. And while the commission has yet to have its first meeting, the ramifications of the new ordinance, which was passed by City Council earlier this year, are being felt acutely by property owners and tentants. 

“We continue to put a great deal of thought and discussion into our new rent stabilization program,” Mirisch said. “We recognize this has been a lengthy process and sincerely appreciate the cooperation of all who have participated.” 

While still not a reality, the Complete Streets project is expected to help make the city more healthy by encouraging people to get out of their cars and walk or bicycle. Two years in the making, largely thanks to the efforts of the Health and Safety Commission, the council is expected to weigh in on the project in the coming months. In addition to demarcating more bike lanes, the project also incorporates the possibility of autonomous vehicles. 

“You’ll be hearing more in the coming year about ways we plan to ensure our streets are user-friendly for all modes of transportation,” Mirisch promised. “We continue to look to develop a Municipal Autonomous Shuttle System, not only to provide solutions for the new Beverly Hills subway stations, but also to encourage residents to leave their cars at home. Our goal is to develop a data-driven system that will provide on-demand, point-to-point mobility within Beverly Hills and to work towards a system of public transportation that people actually use because they want to, not because they have to.” 

Now midway through the process of implementing a citywide ban on smoking and vaping – in addition to outlawing sales of all tobacco products – the city continues to pioneer when it comes to engendering a healthy environment. During Mirisch’s speech, he reminded those in attendance of the city’s milestone and sought to inspire them to do more. 

“We’ve made history together by becoming the first city in America to pass a ban on the sale of all tobacco products,” he said. “Now that we’ve taken action, we call on other cities to follow suit and do something about the 480,000 tobacco related deaths in America each year.” 

In addition to sharing with attendees about how the city is moving forward on renovating La Cienega Park (the proposed first phase development will create two swimming pools as part of the $125 million renovation), Mirisch also noted that thanks to the city’s help, the Beverly Hills High School oil well will be plugged by next summer. Mirisch also highlighted the city’s recent effort to improve local government and ensure transparency with the launch of the Trust and Innovation Portal (TIP), which can be used to confidentially report suspected cases of improper activity, in addition to being used to help foster innovation. 

To round out his speech, Mirisch invited everyone to participate in the ongoing work of the city’s Sunshine Task Force, which is slated to next meet on Oct. 28 at 5 p.m. at City Hall. 

“I firmly believe that community is an extension of family and home,” he said. “And it is precisely because local government is a reflection of community, that when done right, it is the absolute best form of democracy.” 

The post Mayor Mirisch Touts Community in State of City appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Currently, the city is actively recruiting applicants for upcoming vacancies on the following six commissions: Arts and Culture, Cultural Heritage, Health and Safety, Human Relations, Public Works, and Traffic and Parking. 

“I would recommend this for anyone who takes pride in our city or wants to have an impact on local government. It’s a unique opportunity to put your imprint on one of the greatest cities in the world,” said Health and Safety Commission Chair Gary Ross, who will complete his six-year term on the commission at the end of the year. 

Like many commissioners, Ross went through the city’s Team Beverly Hills program. The program, which almost always has a wait list according to City Clerk Huma Ahmed, is designed to create an environment that engenders leadership, participation and responsibility by the city’s citizenry. Not only do participants get a flavor for each of the commissions through this intensive “City Hall 101” program, they also get to observe the inner workings of the city in addition to deeply understanding the myriad issues, opportunities and challenges facing the city. 

Joining a commission “is the next level,” according to Ahmed, who emphasized that commissions offer residents a deeper way to engage with the community. “[Commissions] are advisory groups helping shape the city’s future.” 

For Ross, whose commission was instrumental in the recent tobacco ban, being part of the process to help Beverly Hills become measurably healthier was incomparable and powerful. 

“We’ve gone very far, almost farther than any other city, to limit and ban the purchase of tobacco and smoking and vaping in our city,” he said. “It was transformative. It was us being a leader and an example to others to really be a healthy city and to promote health over some important but narrow business interests.” 

The 2019 citywide ban on the sale of tobacco (currently midway through a two-year implementation process), followed the 2018 ban on the sale of flavored tobacco and 2017’s ban on smoking in multifamily dwellings. From sifting through hundreds of letters from residents, businesses, medical people, clergy, movie stars even, in addition to holding multiple open forums, the commission worked diligently to fairly balance concerns by local businesses with health concerns, he said. 

While the amount of time commissioners must devote varies both according to the specific commission as well as whether there is a particularly hot topic that the commission must contend with, most commissioners spend at least several hours a week in support of their commission’s efforts, although there are those who only spend a few hours one week a month around the time the commission meets. With the exception of a few commissions, the majority meet once a month. 

For Traffic and Parking Chair Jay Solnit, now midway through his six-year commitment to the commission, interacting with the public and trying to come up with solutions is “fascinating.” 

“What surprised me is how efficient the city really works,” said Solnit, who went through Team Beverly Hills together with his wife, Lanna, before being inspired to join a commission. “We actually accomplish things every single month.” 

For the past two years, Solnit’s commission has been actively working on the Complete Streets plan, which recommends infrastructure, programs and polices to make the streets of Beverly Hills better for everyone.

“The plan is done. We’re just refining it now and will send it to council in a few months,” he said, noting that the plan reflects significant input from community members as wells as data studies. “I’m hoping that we get people out of cars and into secondary transportation, definitely bicycles. And I’m hopping that we get more bike lanes in the city.” 

The Traffic and Parking Commission, which is one of the ones that residents are invited to apply to join now, is right now at the center of trying to mitigate the negative impacts to businesses associated with the street closure at Wilshire and Canon in the wake of the Purple Line expansion project. 

The initial term of office for all commissions is for two years, but commissioners may be reappointed to a second term of four years at the discretion of City Council. 

Application forms for the commissions, along with a description of the duties of a commissioner and filing details are available for pickup in the City Clerk’s Office, Room 290, 455 N. Rexford Dr. or online at www.beverlyhills.org/applyforacommission. Prospective applicants can also call 310-285-2400 to receive an application and information by mail or by email. The deadline for filing applications for these six commissions is Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 5:30 p.m. Note, applicants can only apply to one vacancy per application cycle. 

“The work that happens on our commissions is critical to our decision making on the council,” said Mayor John Mirisch during his recent “State of the City” address. “It’s volunteerism at work and such volunteerism is an important part of creating Community with a capital ‘C.’ 

The post Beverly Hills Residents Can Deeply Impact City Through Service on Commissions appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“If you didn’t have breakfast this morning, how can you be expected to do well on your math test?” asks Stephanie Silberman, Development and Communications Manager for Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA). The 30-year-old nonprofit gives underserved kids an equal chance to succeed through a comprehensive array of after-school academic, arts, athletics, and wellness programs. 

The charity’s work resonates deeply with Barneys New York’s Beverly Hills location, which hosted its eighth annual fundraising shopping event this past week. Silberman estimated that last year’s Barneys shopping event, where a percentage of proceeds went to HOLA, translated to an approximately $100,000 donation. 

“Some of Barneys’ values are similar to what Heart of Los Angeles stands for, so it’s been a great opportunity for our students to participate on a much larger scale,” Silberman says, noting the wealth of performance opportunities offered to the students in conjunction with Barneys partnership support. “It’s a great opportunity for kids to see how their artistic talents can then lead to a future career possibility.” 

From creating large-scale window installations on Wilshire in previous years to offering in-store jazz concerts, HOLA students have been particularly adroit about sharing their talents. At this year’s kick-off fundraiser dinner, which was held last Friday at the Montage Beverly Hills, two HOLA student cellists performed for attendees. 

Serving more than 2,200 students each year, ranging in age from six to 24, HOLA strives to empower the youth it services to become productive, caring and responsible citizens. Based in the Rampart district where the median household income is just above the federal poverty threshold and the neighborhood is L.A. County’s second highest densely populated area HOLA is slated to open a newly constructed building on Saturday, Dec. 7 in Lafayette Park. The new building, made from a combination of repurposed shipping freight containers and traditional architecture, is expected to increase the number of students HOLA helps annually to almost 4,000, according to Silberman. 

All of HOLA’s programs, which are offered at no cost to the families served, are heavy on academics, in addition to offering a plethora of enrichment programs, including a dynamic music and youth orchestra program, a sophisticated visual arts department, sport leagues and clinics, counseling services, and alumni support and scholarships, as well as parent and family resources. More than 95 percent of HOLA’s high school seniors graduate and go on to post-secondary education. 

Indeed, with HOLA’s wealth of programs and counseling services, students are taught the core tools of how to not just empower themselves, but to also empower others.

“We’re here to serve the community [and] we really believe in representing the whole child,” Silberman says. “They learn healthy cooking and then they become advocates.”

“[HOLA] does affect the family and then it affects the community as a whole,” she adds. “Every child deserves a chance to reach their dreams.” 

The post Barneys Fundraiser for Heart of Los Angeles appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

As we age, becoming evermore aware of our own mortality and the importance of living a meaningful life, we witness more of our loved ones slip away to death or to illness. So too, we witness the manifestation or disintegration of our dreams for success, family, happiness and all the secret desires within our hearts. For observant Jews, now is an opportunity to look at ourselves truthfully and choose to enhance what we did well and improve where we were deficient, all the while knowing that change and repentance are possible. 

Embedded within the High Holidays and the process of repentance is the core ask to God for tshuva, which literally means “return.” As part of the human condition, we are constantly making mistakes and committing acts of wrong-doing, be they intentional or otherwise. In our darker moments, many of us give into the need to fill our internal vacancies in ways that do little to nourish our souls–from addictions to smart phones to overeating to slipping into an opioid addiction. 

At Beit T’Shuvah, a residential addiction treatment center that saves lives through a comprehensive program of Jewish spirituality, psychotherapy, and the 12-Steps in a caring, community setting, this holy time of repentance is actually a moment of celebration, according to Rabbi Mark Borovitz. 

“We change the whole world when one person changes,” he tells his congregation during the most recent Friday night service where a golden-voiced cantor who once lived at Beit T’Shuvah leads everyone in song. Congregants include “graduates” of the recovery program and their families, those in recovery, and people searching for spirituality. Friday night services can sometimes attract 300 people, all of whom cannot help but leave inspired after being a part of this community of hope. 

Founded in 1987 by Harriet Rossetto on Beverly and Alvarado, Beit T’Shuvah began as a transitional home for Jewish inmates. Rossetto met Borovitz a few years after its founding while he was incarcerated at the L.A. County Jail, a transitional stop along his prison sentence for white collar crimes including forgery. She had been working as a “Jewish jail lady,” in her words, for years after having responded to an advertisement for a Jewish social worker who visited Jews in prison before she went on to found Beit T’Shuva. The meeting proved fortuitous for this woman who described herself as a “nice Jewish girl” with a penchant for “bad boys” and today the two count 29 years of marriage. 

“I found a bad boy and he became a rabbi,” she explained to the Courier. 

“I’m still a hustler, but I hustle for good,” Borovitz added. 

Sporting a fedora hat, pinstripe jacket, jeans, a pair of tennis shoes and a dress shirt with colorful cuffs, which he rolls up over the edges of his coat sleeves, his finger nails colored with black nail polish that matches the color painted on his wife’s nails, Borovitz is definitely not your typical rabbi. He is a rabbi that has transformed thousands of lives directly, helping break the cycle of addiction and empowering people along the lifelong process of recovery – all the while presiding over Friday night services with a rock concert flare. (Earlier this year he handed over the reigns and is now delivering his inspiring sermons just once a month.) 

“At its core, addiction is a spiritual malady,” he said. “It’s a hiding from oneself.” 

“Addiction by definition is the abnegation of choice,” added Rossetto, noting that the key to healing an addiction is connection of community and ensuring that an addict doesn’t substitute one fix (such as drugs) for another (like food).

Since 1999, Beit T’Shuva has been located on Venice, just a few miles south of Beverly Hills. The facility has space for 140 residents, and there is almost always a wait to join the program. Most who join remain from six to nine months, but there are those who stay longer. There is also an alternate sentencing unit where those with addictions can stay and receive treatment in lieu of serving a prison sentence for their crimes, although the waitlist to get in is lengthy. 

Rossetto said that five years after leaving Beit T’Shuva about 65 to 75 percent are still addiction free. And roughly 80 percent of the 110-person staff went through the program. 

“If you don’t come to visit, you’ll come back to live, and it’s proven true,” she said. 

Most people currently in the program are there for opioid and heroin addictions. But the facility accepts everyone who has an addiction of any kind, such as addictions to fentanyl, alcohol, gambling and even video games. Today, Rossetto said, they’re even seeing a whole new group of people which she characterized as “failure to launch,” given that hyper-parenting has made it almost impossible for them to function autonomously in society. 

“The population has become much more affluent in the last 15-20 years,” she said. 

Broken up into two stages, starting with an intensive six- month primary therapeutic program and then transitioning to an extended care program where participants can slowly step back into society and navigate the work world, Beit T’Shuva offers a wealth of extracurriculars, including meditation, theater and acupuncture, to name a few. 

And given that creative individuals are more susceptible to addiction, Beit T’Shuva has created a number of avenues for people in the program to work to their strengths, such as by doing marketing for Cedars- Sinai, Tower Cancer Research Foundation, Stephen Wise Temple and other nonprofits. “The whole mission of Beit T’Shuva is, how do we find our passion and purpose in life?” explains one Beit T’Shuva employee, who first came to treat her own addiction at the age of 18. “Passion and people, that’s the wholeness of Beit T’Shuva. What Beit T’Shuva has is community.”

Since its inception, Rossetto said that the mission of the program has been tied to love, acceptance and belonging, and how that transforms people through an integrated psycho- spiritual approach to healing. At its core, she emphasized, is the importance of community and giving people a sense of belonging. Although most go through the program are Jewish, everyone is welcome. 

“We call this the real world and that’s the world of illusion,” she said of the world outside Beit T’Shuva where people must navigate judgment and lies. “The community is the bonding agent.” 

And particularly during this time, Borovitz said he was very aware of how meaningful the High Holidays are. 

“This is the time of endings and beginning,” he said. “And through repentance, through tsuhva, we can atone. Here at Beit T’Shuva we are engaged in tshuva all year long, so Yom Kippur becomes a day of celebration. What tshuva actually does is it repairs, it changes and it gives you hope.” 

The post Beit T’Shuvah Offers Life, Hope and Healing appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

On Tuesdays at Roxbury Park, the “Beverly Hills Treble Makers” perform from 1:30-3 p.m. as an offshoot of Music Mends Minds. Only smiles abound on the faces of those suffering from cognitive decline, any thoughts of impairment driven away by the power of music. Maracas shaking, drumsticks beating against each other, hands pounding on bongos or the arms of caregivers, ebullient singing, the swaying of bodies in seats, wheelchairs or walkers, even dancing at times – such are the hallmarks of the Tuesday afternoon performances of the Beverly Hills Treble Makers. 

“It’s so powerful and therapeutic and it’s a perfect match for Beverly Hills,” explained Myra Lurie, the Beverly Hills Rotarian who helped launch the program in February 2018 during her time as president of the Rotary Club of Beverly Hills, in conjunction with fellow Rotarian Steven Weinglass. “It’s just everything we wanted it to be and more.” 

A collaboration between the City of Beverly Hills and the Rotary Club of Beverly Hills, the local Music Mends Minds programs is one of two dozen that have now launched globally. Started by Carol Rosenstein five years ago in Brentwood after observing firsthand the transformative power of music on her husband Irwin, who suffers from Parkinson’s and dementia, Music Mends Minds is all about healing. Roughly 70 people attend the weekly program in Beverly Hills, three of whom are over 100 according to Lurie. 

Carol recalled the moment everything clicked for her in 2014 – her husband had been having a particularly rough period and was not responding well to medication when he suddenly began playing the piano one day and sprang to life, becoming more energetic and aware. Irwin had spent his life playing the saxophone and the piano, but Carol said she was shocked at how resurrected her husband became once he began playing the piano keys while in the throes of the debilitating effects of his disease. 

“I could see when he was playing the piano he would reconnect,” she described. “In the moment of music, he’s whole and healthy.” 

Shortly after that revelation, Carol made a series of phone calls and soon had 30 people over to “launch” some type of musical therapeutic group. Within 10 minutes, four people in the group were performing, one on the sax, one on a drum kit, another on a harmonica, and her husband on the Steinway. It was the birth of the “5th Dementia,” which now meets twice a week at the Brentwood Presbyterian Church on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:30- 3 p.m. 

“People walk out of here changed,” Carol said, adding that several Music Mends Minds participants have actually been able to lower their dosage of antidepressant medication as a direct result of being a part of the therapeutic music group. In fact, studies increasingly support how music can enhance cognitive functioning and neural processing and that it can actually ease discomfort and improve mood. 

The 501(c)(3) non-profit Carol subsequently founded creates musical support group bands for patients with neurodegenerative diseases as well as traumatic brain injury, stroke and PTSD. In addition to various support efforts, Music Mends Minds has a list of recommended songs they distribute globally every week, but the band leader really decides what the group will perform. 

In Beverly Hills, those decisions come down to Weinglass, who has a lifetime of experience as a professional musician. While the Beverly Hills Treble Makers perform roughly 20 songs on any given Tuesday – the lyrics to which are projected on one wall in large text to make the experience a sing-along – Weinglass said he has arranged a catalogue of around 100 upbeat songs for the group, most of which are 1950’s rock n’ roll. 

“I want to get people who are suffering from these things to show their musical attentiveness when they’re there,” he explained to the Courier in between sets at the piano. “I want them to sing, but I want them to also feel the energy of having everyone singing with them. I keep it upbeat and lively with solid beats.” 

Indeed, it’s hard to spot anyone who’s not clapping along or tapping their leg – or an instrument – in rhythm to the music, which includes songs like “Pennies from Heaven,” “All of Me,” and “Fly Me to the Moon.” Weinglass says that the element of inclusiveness is key to keeping attendees engaged, and one of the reasons it’s been so successful and truly, the positive energy in the room is infectious. 

For Aimee and Bill Young, the impact of Music Mends Minds in their lives is palpable. 

“When he comes here, he just turns into a different person,” said Aimee Young, whose husband Bill transforms from his normally subdued self into a passionate singer with a voice like Sinatra when he attends Music Mends Minds in both Beverly Hills and Westwood. 

“This band (BH Treble Makers) and the other band (The 5th Dementia) has just been a remarkable transformation for him.” 

Everyone is welcome, although those under age 18 and those who require a caregiver must be accompanied to the weekly free event in Beverly Hills. 

“I invite people to dream,” said Carol Rosenstein of the Music Mends Minds bands. “Just like a plant that is dry and withered, give it water; give it music and it will bounce back. This is high-powered medication where the only side effect is happiness. It’s just pure joy.” 

An upcoming benefit concert on Saturday, Oct. 12 in Cheviot Hills for Music Mends Minds will feature Millicent Gappell on the piano and bass-baritone opera singer Michael Dean. For more information, contact info@musicmendsminds.org.

The post Music Mends Minds Repairs Hearts, Families and More Tuesdays at Roxbury Park appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“Our art show is a beloved experience in our city. It brings out what we love most about our community–a sense of family, creativity, connection and fun,” said City Councilwoman Lili Bosse. 

Beverly Hills artSHOW manager Karen McLean said she was particularly excited to have seasoned artist, Nick Scalisi, and the youngest artist, Justine Manesh, both from Beverly Hills, join the show for the first time this year. 

“We are also happy to have Beverly Hills resident and Jewish-American artist, Judy Zimbert, return this year after being in the show twice before,” she said. 

Held each May and October, the free show features original works by artists who exhibit and sell their work in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, watercolor, photography, mixed media, ceramics, jewelry, drawing and printmaking. 

Local artist Judy Zimbert (https://judyzimbert.com), who has lived in Beverly Hills since 

1995 in a home art studio she converted out of one of the few remaining carriage houses (with stalls) left in the city, is a prolific creator of evocative, colorful works made from the application of multitudinous layers of paint. 

“I have spent most of the last twenty-plus years in my studio,” Zimbert notes in her artist’s statement. “Life goes in and out of it, but the tone of the work, the mark-making, as such, doesn’t change that much. It juxtaposes differently, assumes more complex positions in space and shows new colors. She aims to translate the emotional quality of everyday and current events and to weave a visual narrative for her viewer, inviting that viewer to immerse himself or herself into a shared emotional experience.” 

Inspired by the post-war angst of such painters as Lucien Freud and Frank Auerbach and the German Expressionist art movement, Zimbert said her paintings use symbolism to evoke meaning and human traits. Through her own complex artistic process of removing and restoring layers of paint, Zimbert attempts to capture the ambiguous nature of existence and infuse each piece with emotion while expressing intensity, place and mood. 

Born in Italy, Nick Scalisi (www.saatchiart.com/nistka) travelled extensively across the globe before settling down in Beverly Hills. 

“The Beverly Hills artSHOW has been around for a long time and considered one of the premiere art shows,” he says. “What better way for me to connect with art lovers and enthusiasts and other artists. I’m inspired by my connections to people and their stories.” 

After studying at the Accademia Di Belle Art and La Sapienza in Rome, Italy and Boston University, in Boston, Massachusetts, in the early 1980s Scalisi moved to Australia where he produced several paintings for private collectors and began work in fashion design. His abstract work, influenced by Australian Aborigine art, was key to his fashion label, Cheap Thrill, which proved to be a hit in the new wave/punk era. Subsequently, Scalisi’s clothing was featured in movies and television shows and worn by stars including Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Adrian Brody, with his line carried by stores including Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Nordstrom and Fred Segal. 

Photographer Justine Manesh (www.justinemanesh.com), the youngest artist in the upcoming show, has been passionate about photography since she purchased her first camera at the age of 12. Her discerning eye enables her to capture powerful portraits and images from the street, along with landscapes. 

“My photographs that will be in the Beverly Hills artSHOW were mostly taken in Havana, Cuba, where I traveled to in July and was stunned by the optimism and resilience of the Cuban people, despite their current governmental circumstances,” says Manesh (Beverly Hills High School Class of 2012), noting that she is motivated to bring a voice to humanity and to highlight the preciousness of life itself. “In my work, it was my goal to authentically shed light on the life there without judgement or the biased eyes of an outsider.” 

Amid the upcoming artist displays and demonstrations, which will run along Santa Monica Boulevard from Rodeo Drive to Rexford Drive, the free artSHOW will also feature food trucks, a wine garden, a beer garden, family art projects, and live music. Parking is available in city lots just south of Santa Monica Boulevard, adjacent to the show site. 

For more information, visit www.beverlyhills.org/artshow. 

The post Beverly Hills ArtSHOW Returns To Beverly Gardens Park This Month appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

While the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has yet to determine just how many new units Beverly Hills must build by October 2029, let alone the allocations for the 190 other cities the planning organization represents, the City Council is actively moving forward on a path to augment its stock of affordable housing in tandem with creating new units. 

“We’ve been a very stable community and that’s actually a good thing. Growth is not always a good thing,” said Mayor John Mirisch, who has made affordable housing a priority since taking the reigns as mayor. “When there is development in our city, we can and we should look to mitigate the impacts. I think that it makes sense that if someone builds luxury condos, we should be able to look to that development and say to the developer that they need to fulfill these other needs.” 

One such action a luxury property developer might take in the future, if adding an affordable unit or two to a project isn’t feasible, would be to pay an in-lieu fee which would go into a fund that could be used to build affordable housing or maintain existing units. 

In anticipation of adopting an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance and an Affordable Housing Development fee, Beverly Hills is undertaking a multiplicity of studies to help ensure that the process is done thoughtfully. Last month the City Council unanimously approved a consulting agreement with Keyser Marston Associates, Inc., in addition to unanimously voting in favor of an ordinance to amend the occupancy priority rankings for affordable housing units built in the city. 

Keyser Marston Associates’ contract includes a residential inclusionary housing study, which would evaluate potential requirements that developers include affordable units or pay a fee in-lieu of providing units, in addition to a residential and commercial nexus study, which is intended to help understand the potential for adopting an affordable housing linkage fee to generate funding for affordable housing. 

“It’s time we had an inclusionary housing policy in the city, so I’m glad we’re moving forward with this,” said City Councilman Bob Wunderlich. 

Keyser Marston Assoc. Managing Principal Kathe Head is expected to return to City Council on Oct. 29 to continue the conversation with the council in tandem with moving forward on the study. 

Senior Planner Timothea Tway said she anticipated that the City Council would review the results of the consultant’s finding early next year in anticipation of city staff preparing a draft ordinance that would be sent to the Planning Commission, before ultimately returning to City Council for a vote. 

Mirisch, aware that it is unlikely that he would still be mayor when the council votes on the actual ordinance, told the Courier he was gratified that he would still be on the council when it comes before them in its final form. 

In August, after the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) sent a letter to SCAG informing the organization that its member municipalities would be required to build a total of 1,344,740 new units, as per the state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), Mirisch sent a letter to SCAG’s RHNA subcommittee finding fault with the allocation methodology. Whatever number SCAG ultimately lands on, which will be decided by October 2020, Beverly Hills will be told precisely how many new units to build of a variety of housing types, including moderate, low-income and very low-income. 

“The City (of Beverly Hills) is entirely built out, with almost no vacant land upon which to construct new housing and has experienced very little population and employment growth over the last few decades. Due to these factors, almost any new multi- family units that are constructed would be displacing existing residents, most of whom are in rent controlled units,” Mirisch wrote in his letter dated Aug. 23, precisely one day after HCD informed SCAG of the total number of units the agency would be required to produce collectively. “The City of Beverly Hills believes RHNA allocation numbers should link new housing production with job production in order to ensure that existing jobs/housing imbalances are not further exacerbated.” 

Almost a month after Mirisch’s letter to SCAG, the organization sent its own letter to HCD formally objecting to the state’s housing determination. Tway told the Courier that HCD’s number was hundreds of thousands above what SCAG was expecting, perhaps by as much as double. The 10-page letter from SCAG cited multiple “technical shortcomings in HCD’s analysis of regional housing needs,” in addition to characterizing the replacement need as “arbitrary.” 

“From our review, HCD’s data and use of data is not current,” writes SCAG Executive Director Some Ajise to HCD Acting Director Doug McCauley. “Some of the social conditions upon which the determination is based will be eight years old” when the next cycle of RHNA is slated to begin, in October 2021. 

The RHNA, which quantifies the need for housing within each jurisdiction during specified planning periods, is slated to begin its sixth cycle in October 2021, which will go through October 2029. While not designed to specifically encourage or promote growth, the assessment is intended to help communities anticipate growth. 

Clearly the region is in the midst of housing crisis, as are a multitude of municipalities throughout the state. 

“We’ve talked a lot about affordable housing in recent years because of the affordable housing crisis in the state,” Tway tells the Courier. “What we’re doing now is we’re studying the environment in Beverly Hills to see what our (inclusionary housing) program would look like.” 

Approximately 63 percent of the housing units in Beverly Hills are located in multi-family buildings, with the majority now subject to rent stabilization, following passage of the Rent Stabilization Ordinance earlier this year. However, according to Tway, there are just over 100 affordable housing units in the city, with the majority situated in the Menorah Housing Facility, which offers low income senior housing. 

The newly passed ordinance concerning priority rankings makes housing for seniors (62 years and older) a priority, with seniors displaced from a site at the top of the priority list. 

While Beverly Hills’ inclusionary program is still in the initial stages of being formulated, Tway said that the city was looking to its neighbors with robust programs, like West Hollywood, to help serve as models. Some cities, by comparison, require developers to build 20 percent of new multifamily projects as affordable housing – a challenging prospect in Beverly Hills, given the high price of land. 

Keyser Marston Assoc. is slated to look at the economics of the area and development standards as part of its contract with the city.

“What you don’t want is to have regulations that are so stringent that you get no development and therefore no units. So it’s a balance,” Tway said, adding that the key to a successful program is figuring out how to leverage development and understanding what direct things the city can do now to provide affordable housing. “The consultant will do all the number crunching – here’s what the market will bear; here’s what you can do as in-lieu.” 

“It might be controversial,” she added upon projecting out to the creation of the ordinance. “We obviously understand this is a huge problem.” 

Discussions leading up to this moment have been ongoing for years. In 2017, the Planning Commission recommended that the City Council amend portions of Title 10 (Planning and Zoning) of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code to refine the occupancy priority list for affordable housing units built in the city. And the city’s last Housing Element update six years ago, which is required by the state in tandem with the start of a new RHNA cycle, states that Beverly Hills will explore inclusionary housing. However, it wasn’t until Mirisch took over as mayor this past March that the city began taking steps to move forward on that pledge. 

“I think it’s very smart of us to do this resolution because I think there are other instances where I wish we had been as proactive as we are today,” Councilwoman Lili Bosse said at the most recent City Council meeting. 

The post Beverly Hills Plans to Increase Number of Affordable Housing Units in City appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

While experts do not necessarily agree on the course of action municipalities should take to ensure their long-term viability in the face of predicted water shortages, Beverly Hills is on track to diversify its water portfolio by looking more to its own resources. The city is now planning to once again capture and treat portions of its own water supply with the expectation that roughly 20 percent of its water will derive from the city’s water wells beginning in 2021 with the reopening of the Foothill Water Treatment Plant. 

By comparison, Santa Monica has declared it will be 100 percent water self-sufficient by 2023. Los Angeles claims that the county’s main treatment facility will be able to fully recycle 100 percent of the water it treats by 2035, including making some of it potable. 

“More likely than not, the future is going to be drier than the past has been,” predicted City Councilman Bob Wunderlich, who served on the MWD Board representing Beverly Hills for a decade before he joined the council. “I don’t think we’re going to regret efforts that we make to improve our supply. Regionally increasing water that we get from our groundwater is the responsible thing to do.” 

According to Director of Public Works Shana Epstein, Beverly Hills will begin deriving between 15 to 20 percent of its water in-house with the reopening of the Foothill Water Treatment Plant. Once the city builds a few more water wells in the ensuing years, she said that amount would rise to around 30 percent. 

“We don’t have unlimited water and we have to learn how to use it in the most efficient and effective way possible so that we all are more able to be in a sustainable situation,” Public Works Commission Chair Sandra Aronberg tells the Courier. 

The city’s treatment plant, which opened in 2003 on Foothill Road between Alden Drive and Third Street and handled approximately 10 percent of the city’s water until it was closed for repairs in 2015, sends the treated water to Sunset Reservoir where it is subsequently distributed. Before the Beverly Hills treatment plant was built, the city last supplemented its water supply by treating its groundwater in 1976. 

Not everyone agrees with the city’s plan for best capturing and treating its water. Former Public Works Commissioner Steven Weinglass told the Courier that while he supported a more diverse water portfolio, he was concerned about the city choosing to operate the plant and recommended that Beverly Hills outsource its maintenence operations. 

“The question still lingers, should we be in the water business?” Weinglass queried. “The plant has hardly worked two out of the past 10 years and trying to operate the plant internally has proved to be a non-profitable arrangement.” Recently the Public Works Commission took a field trip to the Hyperion Water Treatment Plant in lieu of its normally held venue at City Hall. One of the largest wastewater treatment plants in the world, Hyperion now receives on average 260 million gallons of water a day, including the 9 million gallons it receives daily from Beverly Hills. Currently, 71 million gallons of the water Hyperion receives are recycled and used for agriculture. The remainder of the treated water is then dumped miles out into the ocean. Earlier this year, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced an ambitious $2 billion plan to allow the plant to fully recycle all of the water it receives by 2035.

At Foothill, the captured groundwater is treated in a two-step process by which it is first disinfected and then filtered. By comparison, the wastewater being treated at Hyperion, which has at times contained everything from automotive parts to body parts, is extensively treated to remove disease-carrying pathogens through a biological process before it is deposited in the Pacific Ocean or used for irrigation purposes.

“The technology is very impressive,” Aronberg observed during the tour, underscoring “the eye-opening sophistication about what has to be done in order for it to be usable.” 

Currently, the design of the Foothill Water Treatment Plant pre-treatment system is underway, with city staff searching for sites to develop more water wells. 

“It’s like an insurance policy,” Wunderlich says of Beverly Hills’ plan to diversify its water portfolio. 

City Council has twice postponed a presentation giving an update on the Foothill Water Treatment Plant. 

The post Beverly Hills Plans to Derive 20 Percent of its Water Supply In-House in 2021 appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Cognizant of the negative impacts of closing that intersection while the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) builds out the Wilshire/Rodeo subway station, the city is now working to help mitigate ensuing consequences. 

“The first day (after the street closed), business was down 15 to 20 percent,” said Beverly Hills Market & Deli owner Shawn Saeedian, who has lived in the city for more than three decades, in addition to having his business on Crescent for 31 years. 

Saeedian was one of several local merchants in attendance at last Thursday afternoon’s Beverly Hills City Council / Traffic and Parking Commission liaison who said that their businesses had been negatively impacted following the closure. During the meeting, he presented the liaison with a petition signed by 400 residents and patrons advocating their support of converting Dayton Way to a two-way street between Crescent Drive and Canon Drive. 

While the expectation by the businesses is that the conversion will enable patrons to better access the city’s parking facility on Crescent, where people park to visit the Beverly Hills Market and other retailers, a study presented by Deputy Director of Transportation Aaron Kunz showed that the conversion might come with its own set of additional drawbacks. 

The city’s analysis found that traffic delays could jump to a whopping 340 seconds at the intersection of Dayton Way and N. Canon Drive if the city were to convert Dayton from a one-way street for that one block. With the Canon closure, the delay at that intersection is currently 117 seconds, according to the study. 

“The closure of Canon Drive to Wilshire Boulevard for a proposed two to three years will cause major traffic jams and standstill traffic during peak hours. It is critical that traffic patterns be adjusted,” wrote Jeff Hyland, president of Hilton & Hyland, who sent a letter to Vice Mayor Lester Friedman addressing the traffic congestion in lieu of attending last Thursday’s meeting. 

The liaison consists of Friedman and Councilman Bob Wunderlich from the city side together with Traffic and Parking Commission Chair Jay Solnit and Commissioner Jake Manaster. 

Hyland, whose new building on Canon opened earlier this year, offered four suggestions for the liaison – none of which were publicly shared during the meeting. Among his suggestions, which included the possibility of converting Dayton Way into a two-way, was the alternative to put a green arrow going east on Dayton to speed traffic along. 

Despite the meeting being relatively packed – it was standing room only, with almost a dozen people on their feet – Wunderlich said it was “troubling” that the meeting was not widely noticed and directed city staff to ensure that business owners from a broader radius were solicited to attend the next meeting on the issue. 

“We do need to protect our business owners,” Friedman emphasized. “People are going to get frustrated (with six-minute wait times) and it’s going to create a negative business environment.” 

Beverly Custom Cleaners owner Margaret Kevorkian, who has owned her business on Crescent Drive for 38 years, tells the Courier that her customers are dwindling as a direct result of the Canon closure and those who do come to drop off or pick up their dry cleaning are frustrated. Several, she added, have told her that they’ve parked in the Whole Foods parking lot in an effort to navigate the parking and traffic challenges. 

“Really, it’s a hell for us right now,” Kevorkian said, underscoring her ardent support of making Dayton two ways. Three weeks after the closure, she said one day of sales grossed her less than a quarter of what her daily business was a month before. “I don’t think the [city] management cares about us.” 

The city is now in the process of installing a signal at Clifton Way, which is slated to remain even once the subway station opens. Manaster said the MTA- funded signal cost around $200,000, but didn’t elaborate on its expected benefits. 

“The Clifton signal is going to stay, and I’m baffled by that,” he said. “I already have a problem with how the future is going to look.” 

As far as just what the future will look like for the affected merchants, that remains to be seen. The next venue in which the issue will be discussed is the Nov. 7 Traffic and Parking Commission meeting. 

“I’m not really sure we’re at the point today where we can make a recommendation on what to do going forward,” Wunderlich said. “We’re trying to avoid negative impacts on the businesses… and we obviously want to do what’s best for the community as a whole.” 

The post Beverly Hills Merchants Ask City For Help in Wake of Three-Year Canon Closure appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The City Council had approved a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Metro in February for the design-build of the Wilshire/Rodeo Station in Section 2 of the Purple Line Extension project, which included holiday moratorium dates in which no work is permitted. 

“We negotiated the deal the way we did to protect our community,” Mayor John Mirisch underscored just before the council voted. 

Metro had submitted a request to the city to waive the 2019 holiday moratorium between Thanksgiving Day through New Year’s Day to allow the Rodeo Station piling work to continue. 

During the holiday moratorium, Metro is required to maintain all traffic lanes on Wilshire Boulevard, therefore requiring the removal of the K-rail used during piling activities. 

“I don’t see a compelling reason to do it,” Councilman Julian Gold said. “But I do think there is a compelling reason not to do it, in that this holiday season coming is critical to our businesses and we want to make sure we do everything we can to make that successful.” 

The post City Council Denies Metro Request To Work During Holiday Season appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

“TIP enhances trust by safeguarding public monies and resources and holding city officials and employees accountable as stewards,” states the city’s TIP website, which went live on Tuesday. 

In addition to serving as a vehicle to hold city staff accountable, TIP is also intended to encourage residents and employees to share ideas. 

“I think people in the city will really appreciate having this,” Councilman Julian Gold said at the Sept. 17 City Council Meeting. 

The site is managed by the newly created Office of the City Auditor, which is helmed by City Auditor Eduardo Luna. During the hearing, Luna stated that his office would investigate all complaints of improper activities and depending on the nature of the issue could report findings to city management or law enforcement. 

“I really want people to feel that when they reach out to this portal, they’ll be heard,” said Councilwoman Lili Bosse, who underscored the importance of having the office respond to everyone who reaches out. “I think people want to feel like there’s going to be action.” 

Luna said that everyone who reached out would receive a response. 

“My plan is to investigate all complaints of improper activities,” Luna said. In addition to the website, the public can submit tips or ideas by phone at 310-288-2TIP or by emailing tip@beverlyhills.org. 

The post City of Beverly Hills Looks to Improve With Trust and Innovation Portal appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The ordinance, No. 84-0-1937, was created in 1984 and established regulations for hotel development in the city, including the prohibition of building more than 1,000 new hotel rooms. Today, the city is edging close to the limit that was created 25 years ago. 

There are approximately 2,300 hotel rooms in the city. 

Tuesday’s vote followed the July 25 Planning Commission public hearing where the commission unanimously recommended the draft ordinance removing the 1,000-limit cap move to the City Council for consideration. 

“This does follow the direction that we gave,” Councilman Bob Wunderlich said before the council’s 5-0 vote in support. “We spoke about the old number being arbitrary and changing with the economic times. We always can deal with the number of rooms changing with a conditional use permit. I support this.” 

The post City Council Votes to Waive Hotel Room Limit appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

The warm summer nights provided the perfect accompaniment to two extraordinary galas held this month at Beverly Hills’ first estate, the historic Virginia Robinson Gardens. Built in 1911, the onetime residence of Virginia and Harry Robinson contains a breathtaking array of gorgeous flora stretching across six acres that once provided the backdrop for elegant soirees where Hollywood stars like Fred Astaire, Sophia Loren and Charlie Chaplin sipped champagne well into the wee hours of dawn. This past Saturday the Friends of Robinson Gardens, which are dedicated to continuing Mrs. Robinson’s legacy of helping children, held their annual Patron Gala to the theme of “Rick’s Café Américain” á la “Casablanca.” The previous weekend, El Nido Family Centers held its fifth annual Garden Gala on the property, honoring international law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP with the Community Impact Award. Founded in 1925 by the National Council of Jewish Women, today El Nido helps over 12,000 Los Angeles County youth, families and children each year to break the cycle of poverty, child abuse, violence and academic failure.

 

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After years of conversations on just how to enliven the southeast part of the city, the community is poised to start to see a discernible change in the area by the time Metro starts transporting millions of riders through Beverly Hills. Such changes are expected to encourage new businesses to open, augment safety, and entice visitors to walk around an area that has long been considered to have yet to achieve its potential. 

“Vibrant amenities would give people a reason to get off the Metro and walk around,” predicted Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau CEO Julie Wagner, underscoring how adding beauty on the street would greatly serve to enhance the city’s brand. 

Wagner was among the two dozen attendees at Monday’s meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee / Southeast Task Force, the fifth such monthly meeting since Mayor John Mirisch combined the two entities. Those in attendance to discuss the future of just how the area might take shape in the coming years included residents, business owners and other interested parties, as well as city staff, the mayor and Councilman Julian Gold. 

In concert with the evolution of La Cienega Park – an active process in which the community is invited to participate at a Town Hall on Sept. 25 – the community is likewise being tasked to influence just how the city’s southeast area can be improved. 

The hour-long strategic meetings, which are held on the second Monday of the month, are each designed to highlight specific areas of concern. Past meetings have focused on parking and mobility, residential issues and commercial issues. This week’s meeting focused on pedestrian amenities, with urban design slated to be discussed at next month’s meeting. 

Staff will subsequently be taking the recommendations from the meetings to City Council in order that the five elected officials can determine what needs to be done, such as hiring a consultant to spearhead the process. 

Founded in 2011, the Southeast Task Force lost much of its momentum over the years until Mirisch reinvigorated it earlier this year to help continue the work of the Strategic Planning Committee started last year under Gold’s mayorship. Conveniently, Gold’s committee was just poised to start delving into what could be done in the southeast area of the city when Mirisch was sworn in.

A 2012 city staff report codified a multitude of recommendations brought by the members of the Task Force after nine months of meetings. Primary themes that developed included parking constraints, the need for business attraction and retention efforts, the need for programming of events and activities to enliven the area, and the need to enhance mobility. In the intervening years since that report was presented to City Council, those recommendations continue to resonate. Building on previous studies and meetings, this week’s strategic planning meeting for the southeast area brought forth a variety of new ideas and ones that have yet to be implemented. Such ideas included creating a mobility hub; adding diagonal parking on Robertson; establishing decorative crosswalks or ones that look 3D; adding better lighting; transforming the landscape to include trees that don’t uproot the sidewalks or ones that add shade; and adding branded pedestrian elements including benches and tables for people to linger. 

Gold was particularly keen on creating measures that would enhance pedestrian safety, such as installing 3D crosswalks. 

“I think those are forwardthinking and different and we should investigate,” he said. “If it looks like you are coming up on a solid impediment, it will in fact slow you down.” 

Over the past few years, Robertson has gotten a bit of added luster, partly from the introduction of the city’s BOLD initiatives, such as the addition of dynamic and bright holiday lighting throughout the street. Additionally, there was significant support to add more light to the area to enhance safety, with Mirisch advocating the exploration of photoluminescent lighting. 

“It almost creates a magical feeling at night and doesn’t require a lot energy. And that’s worth looking at,” he said. 

Next month’s meeting is slated for Oct. 14 at City Hall at 5 p.m. and everyone is invited to attend and contribute to the discussion. 

The post City Makes Moves to Enliven Southeast Part of Beverly Hills appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Starr and his wife, Barbara Bach, have been Beverly Hills residents since 1992. Starr’s gift to the city is set to be installed in the park this fall. 

Originally slated to be installed on the grounds of City Hall, the placement of the 5’8″ homage to peace met with some community opposition once it became known that it would be at the corner of Rexford and Santa Monica Boulevard. 

“Placing the sculpture in Beverly Gardens Park between Crescent Drive and Canon Drive is ideal,” said Arts and Culture Commissioner Deborah Frank. “It’s in an excellent location where it will be visible from Santa Monica Boulevard. There will be ample room for visitors and local residents to engage with the artwork, and of course it’s perfect for Instagram.” 

The post Ringo Starr’s ‘Peace and Love’ Sculpture Finds Home In Beverly Gardens Park appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

On Wednesday, the California State Senate voted to approve Assembly Bill 44. If Newsom signs the bill into law, as his record indicates he will, California will become the first state in the nation to ban the sale of new fur products. 

“Given the industry’s reliance on practices that are inherently cruel, and with so many alternatives to the use of fur, there is no place for fur in a sustainable and humane future,” said Assemblymember Laura Friedman (DGlendale), the bill’s sponsor. 

AB 44 makes it unlawful to manufacture, sell, offer for sale, display for sale, trade, give, donate or otherwise distribute a fur product in the state. 

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“For all of us, the events of September 11, 2001, will forever live in our memories and we come together this evening to commit to never forget,” Fire Chief Greg Barton said to the more than 100 people in attendance at the somber ceremony. 

A more intimate commemoration with first responders, city officials and a handful of residents began the day at the cusp of sunrise, marking the time when the first tower fell. 

In addition to traditional elements such as the laying of the wreath, an honor guard presentation, the ringing of the bell, the playing of bagpipes and alternating buglers playing “Taps,” Fire Engineer Chad Beery sang songs in musical tribute to the fallen. 

“We have a deep gratitude to those brave public safety officers and citizens, many of whom perished that day, for their strength and determination that still inspires us,” said Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli. “We also have a responsibility to teach the next generation the history of this day.” 

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Councilmember Lili Bosse has yet to publicly declare whether she will join Gold in running for a third term on the Beverly Hills City Council this election cycle. 

This election marks the second time that Shooshani has made a run for City Council; the last time was over 20 years ago, for the March 1997 election. 

“I see challenges coming to the city that as a businessman I think I can solve,” Shooshani tells the Courier. “I want to keep our quality of life and we have to make sure that that we can handle the challenges and make them opportunities.” 

For the past two decades, since his unsuccessful first run for City Council, Shooshani has been actively involved in the city, includi helping to campaign for a multitude of candidates both at the local and state level. He counts his support for former Mayor Jimmy Delshad’s successful City Council run in 2003 as one of his proudest moments. Delshad became the first, and thus far only, Persian to serve on the Beverly Hills City Council. 

Shooshani, who emigrated from Iran in 1976 at the age of 17, said that Beverly Hills represented the pinnacle of dreams. Forty-three years later, Shooshani still sees the city as an aspirational paradise. 

“Beverly Hills is an extremely special place. It has a dream, and it is a dream and I would like to maintain it and make it better,” he said. “This place is the dream of the American Dream.” 

After graduating from Team Beverly Hills in 2004, Shooshani went on to serve on the Public Works Commission for six years (2008-13), where he helped save the city millions of dollars in waste disposal fees. For the past five years, he has served on the Planning Commission, where he has worked to facilitate some of the city’s most complex projects. 

Shooshani said his most significant moments on the Planning Commission transpired during his time as chair. Namely, when he helped negotiate the unprecedented $60 million developer fee from Wanda (the largest developer fee ever achieved in the city), as well as when he worked to help defeat Beverly Hilton owner Beny Alagem’s referendum to transform an already-approved project on his property into a 26-story high-rise condominium tower by going directly to the voters. 

“I’m very pro-business and prodevelopment, but this development would have been very detrimental for the city,” he said, underscoring how important it is for developers to follow the city’s prescribed development rules. “I’m proud to have helped defeat the referendum.” 

After graduating with a degree in political science from Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles, Shooshani went on to carve a career in business and real estate development. In addition to developing several projects across the region, in 1980 he took over Bobco Metals LLC, one of the oldest metal companies in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Avid, have two young adult children, daughter Diba and son Aaron. 

Shooshani believes he can make a difference on a number of key issues. Among them: reigniting the city’s brick and mortar retail economy in the face of online shopping; helping to solve the city’s roughly $280 million unfunded pension liability; and figuring out creative solutions to the recent Regional Housing Needs Assessment dictating the creation of scores of affordable housing units in the next eight years. He also advocates adding more hotel rooms to the city’s inventory as well as studying whether the millions of dollars to produce BOLD is “money well spent.” 

“My first aim is to keep the quality of living in our city,” added Shooshani. “Cities are businesses. We have to run a tight ship. We have to look for opportunities.” 

The post Planning Commissioner Farshid Joe Shooshani Announces City Council Bid appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

Beverly Hills residents are being asked to weigh in on the scope of the environmental review process for the Westside Purple Line Rodeo Station North Portal on Thursday, Sept. 19. 

The two-hour meeting, slated to commence at 6 p.m. in the Municipal Gallery at City Hall (455 N. Rexford Dr.), is an opportunity for public comment on the proposed project at the north side of Wilshire Boulevard, which is classified as the second entrance for the Wilshire/Rodeo Station. 

Construction on the station began in 2018, but the scoping period for the north portal kicked off yesterday. Comments can be submitted via email to northportal@beverlyhills.org through Oct. 7. 

For more information, visit: 

www.beverlyhills.org/northportal. 

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“Captain Hoshino has served a long and distinguished career,” said Chief Sandra Spagnoli. “He has been instrumental in the success of our department and the close connection we have with our community. We congratulate him on his retirement and wish him the very best.” 

After joining BHPD as a Police Cadet in 1986, Captain Hoshino was later sworn in that same year as a police officer on Dec. 15. 

Over the course of his distinguished career, he steadily worked himself up the ranks from Sergeant to Lieutenant to Captain. During his tenure, Lincoln has worked in the Bike Unit, as a Field Training Officer, 

as a member of the Special Response Team, as a Range Master Instructor, as a Defensive Tactics Instructor and in the Professional Standards and Intelligence Units, to name a few of his roles. 

Additionally, Hoshino served as Staff Advisor for the Police Foundation and the Charitable Solicitations Commission. He is also the recipient of the 1995 Rotary Club Officer of the Year, the 1999 Allen H. Karlin Memorial Award and the 2018 Rotary Vocational Award. 

The post Beverly Hills Police Capt. Lincoln Hoshino Retires After 33 Years appeared first on Beverly Hills Courier.

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The beloved community park is slated to undergo a substantial renovation in the coming years and the community has already been taking an active role in determining how the transformation takes place. 

The upcoming Town Hall meeting, slated to begin at 6 p.m. at the La Cienega Community Center, located at 8400 Gregory Way, will give attendees a first look at how resident ideas and feedback have already been incorporated into a conceptual design for the planned $125.5 million phase one redevelopment of La Cienega Park & Recreation Complex. 

“The city has taken great effort to involve our community members in developing the master plan for La Cienega Park & Recreation Complex,” said Recreation and Parks Commission Chair Alissa Rosten. 

“The commission was pleased with the public engagement process done by independent consultant, David Ceppos of Sacramento State, Consensus and Collaboration Program,” she added. “It was imperative that we had substantial community input from the beginning and we look forward to having their continued input as the process moves forward. We want to be sure that all stakeholders have a voice in this exciting new project.” 

The 17-acre complex at the Southeast entrance into Beverly Hills, which was established in 1928, has evolved significantly over time. It now has a multitude of athletic facilities, including three baseball diamonds, a perimeter jogging track and an outdoor pavilion featuring exercise equipment. The park also serves as a gathering space for leagues and families, with several picnic tables and barbecue grills, while the park’s Community Center offers a variety of recreational classes for youth, adults and seniors. 

At the heart of the renovation will be the replacement of the existing 23,000-square-foot Community Center with a new 172,000-square-foot center. 

A spokesperson for the city stated that the multi-year transformation is expected to get underway in two years, pending myriad approvals. Plans will allow for the creation of everything from two pools to 16 tennis courts to a preschool and recreation center, in addition to all the athletic amenities the community has come to expect at La Cienega Park. 

The upcoming Town Hall will give residents an opportunity to view renderings, construction phasing options and preliminary costs, in addition to providing further insight into the park and its buildings, fields and programming. 

For more information, questions or to provide feedback, interested parties can email the City at lacienegaproject@beverlyhills.org. 

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To commemorate 9/11 and honor the fallen, Beverly Hills will be holding two intimate ceremonies on Wednesday for the community to join together and honor those that lost their lives. 

“We’re coming together for a cause that is far greater than any of us,” said Deputy Fire Chief Joe Matsch.

The City invites all uniformed personnel to gather in front of Fire Station-1 and begin lining up at 6:45 a.m. with the ceremony beginning promptly at 6:57 a.m. and concluding at 7:01 a.m. Matsch described previous morning ceremonies as very solemn, intimate events with first responders and those wanting to participate, including a dozen or so residents. 

The morning ceremony will conclude with a moment of silence following the ceremonial ringing of the bell (three sets of five chimes) at 6:59 a.m. to mark the time when the first of the two Twin Towers fell. 

The evening ceremony, from 5:30- 6 p.m., will likewise take place outside the Beverly Hills Fire Department, with traditional elements such as the laying of the wreath, an honor guard presentation, the ringing of the bell, and a musical tribute. In addition to the haunting sounds of bagpipes, alternating buglers will play “Taps” on top of the Library and Fire Station buildings. 

“Every year this is a focal point for the community to come together,” Matsch said of the meaningful 9/11 sculpture that is displayed just outside the fire station. 

“We have something in the community where we can grieve together and also celebrate,” he added. 

Both community events are free and open to the public, with two-hour free parking available next to the Beverly Hills Public Library. 

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