I have some good news.

Approximately 18 months ago, in a referendum in which only a very small % of the City’s registered voters participated, the approvals granted by the City, after an extensive review process, for a beautiful LVMH Cheval Blanc Hotel were rescinded.

Not only would the Cheval Blanc Hotel have been a jewel in the crown of our City, but also the City lost the substantial and sorely needed revenues that the hotel would have generated, principally through Transient Occupancy Taxes (“TOT”) a uniquely substantial revenue source paid by hotel visitors. It also would have generated substantial revenues for BHUSD.

But that is water under the bridge and, as you may know, I do not spend time crying over spilt milk. (If you would like a few other cliches, just call me.)

The lamentable result of the referendum, which was characterized as “tragic” by former Mayor Julian Gold, left us with two periodically vacant properties that are central to our Golden Triangle, the former Brooks Brothers building on the corner of Rodeo Drive and Santa Monica Blvd and the art museum on the corner of Beverly Drive and Santa Monica Blvd. Both are owned or controlled by LVMH which spent untold amounts (more than $500M?) to acquire the 1.5 acre site. It spent much more on its efforts to design and obtain approvals for what I believe would have been one of the most magnificent hotels in our hemisphere.

This rescission of the permits for the Cheval Blanc Hotel left the question of how LVMH would react.

LVMH could have attempted to redesign the hotel in a way that would have satisfied those who thought that the Cheval Blanc proposal was too ambitious and supported the referendum. LVMH made clear that was a non-starter.

Another possibility would have been simply to dispose of the property (anyone up for a modest all-suite hotel) and slowly withdraw from other LVMH enterprises on Rodeo Drive. Anyone who thinks that would be an unlikely response need only to look at the conditions in Westwood north of Wilshire Blvd. Its deterioration over recent decades has largely been caused by NIMBYs who have mindlessly put obstacles in front of any and all efforts to invest in the area.

Fortunately, I can tentatively report that, notwithstanding the Cheval Blanc experience, it appears that LVMH is moving forward with a project that, while it will never replace the benefits promised by the Cheval Blanc Hotel, could be a very good one for the City.

I can’t tell you about the project in much detail. Nothing has yet been filed with the City that describes the project and LVMH representatives have refused to comment (even to me) until that happens.

What I do know is promising but by no means assured.

The City’s Legislative Advocate Ordinance (Municipal Code Sections 1-9-101 and the following) require that anyone who proposes to engage in efforts to advocate action by the City (for example to grant approval to a development) register as an advocate with the City Clerk within ten days or commencing such activities or is engaged to do so. The registration must disclose a description of the action that will be the subject of the advocacy.

As a result of this requirement, which is unusual if not unique, we can sometimes learn a bit about a development before any part of an application or proposal has been filed or otherwise publicly disclosed.

All that I know is what is stated or what can be inferred from the Legislative Advocate forms that have been filed for the project.

There have been approximately thirty such forms filed during the first week of November.

The clients (developers) identified by all of these Legislative Advocates are LVMH Moet Hennessey/Anish Melwani; and Louis Vuitton USA Inc.

All of these forms pertain to what would have been the site for the Cheval Blanc Hotel, 456 and 458 North Rodeo Drive, 449-455 North Beverly Drive and 461-465 North Beverly Drive.

The forms have been filed by Dennis Ferrazzano and Deborah Quick, lawyers for LVMH, fifteen members or employees of Gehry Partners, LLP (including world renowned architect, Frank Gehry), three employees of Gruen Associates, an architecture firm, and six members of Cumming Management Group, Inc. a construction management firm.

The involvement of so many professionals means that this is a very serious project in which LVMH will invest heavily.

The project will include “retail, exhibition, dining and related” uses. That means that there will be no housing and thus will not implicate the state density bonuses that would allow more intense development or the need to provide “affordable housing”. It also means that there will be no hotel which would provide TOT revenues.

My best guess is that this will be a very high end shopping and dining venue. Perhaps something along the lines of Two Rodeo Drive.

As with most things in life, there are pluses and minuses.

This will not and cannot replace the revenues that the City lost when a small minority of residents financed by a hospitality industry union rescinded the permits for the Cheval Blanc Hotel. While there will be sales taxes, business taxes and increased property taxes that the new project will generate, it will not generate any TOT revenues. This is significant because the City gets approximately 14 to 19% of every $ spent on hotel services from TOT, while sales taxes generate only 1% for the City from every $ spent.

There is, however, a potential for great benefits.

For me, the most important reason for optimism is the involvement of Frank Gehry, the architect for the iconic Disney Hall which has become one of the faces to the world of the Los Angeles region. Mr. Gehry and his team have created some of the world’s most imaginative projects.

Further, the retention of Mr. Gehry, who is Jewish, should put to rest the scurrilous, irresponsible and baseless claims of the supporters of the referendum to rescind the Cheval Blanc approvals that LVMH was anti-semetic.

Mr. Gehry’s designs include the Guggenheim Museum in Spain that has transformed the city of Bilbao, and other flamboyant buildings such as the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris and the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle.

All of these architecturally striking buildings have been important landmarks that have become symbols of their communities as did the Sydney Opera House or the Arch in St. Louis.

An extraordinary design could do the same for Beverly Hills.

I strongly urge the LVMH team to reach for the extraordinary.

Peter Ostroff is a retired attorney and former Beverly Hills Planning Commissioner.