The Sensational South

On Sunday March 22, I attended a town hall meeting of residents mostly of the southeast led by Noelle Batista and Isabel Hacker. (See page 6). The specific focus was on the Metro and the large number of multifamily residential projects proposed for the City that exceed our zoning limitations. More generally, they wish to establish a group of residents who will advocate the interests of the “south” defined as everyone south of Santa Monica Blvd.

At the same time, a group of residents, led by Renee Strauss and Janet Fox, have galvanized very substantial opposition to the proposal for a 26 story luxury condominium project proposed for 8844 Burton Way. This proposed development, rejected by the Planning Commission, was before the City Council on March 24.

The City Council, on a vote of 5-0, approved the application to build this vastly oversized project. All five Council Members said that they wanted to reject the application but that California required approval and the jeopardy to the City if it was denied was simply too great. They explained that there was a possibility of very substantial fines and the re-opening of the Builder’s Remedy “window” if a court ruled in favor of the applicant. The Council imposed a number of conditions on the approval that were intended to address residents’ concerns.

Quite apart from these very important issues, I am hopeful that these community leaders going forward will seize the momentum that they have created to form a residents’ association to represent specifically the interests of the Sensational South, (my term). Ideally, they would join with the established south west group run for many years by Ken Goldman.

Ideally, they would have a dues paying membership and elected officers and directors with term limits.

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Metro

At long last, the subway is coming to Beverly Hills as service to the Wilshire/

La Cienega station will commence on Friday, May 8.

What does this mean?

Let me start with some opinions/predictions and follow up with some facts.

I predict that the subway will be a generally positive thing for the City and that BHPD and other first responders will handle security issues very well. I am concerned that, for a number of reasons, including lack of preparation, our residents will not be able or willing to take full advantage of what the subway has to offer.

Now for some fact details.

The subway from La Cienega will offer trains every few minutes that will take passengers through important parts of the city to downtown LA in a little over twenty minutes at very low cost (and allow them to save the $50/day or so for parking anywhere in the central core).

Importantly, the Beverly Hills stations will have entrance and exit barrier gates that will preclude fare evaders from getting into and out of the stations. This assumes that passengers will be required to “tap in” and “tap out” with a card used to pay the transit fee. This is critical as almost all of the crime and other unpleasantness that can occur on public transit is committed by fare-evading passengers.

The installation and activation of such barriers is mission critical. While I have received inconsistent information, we must insist that the barrier gates are always programmed to require both tap in and tap out.

Metro is responsible for security inside the trains and on the stations. We are told that the City has an agreement with Metro that requires that Metro dedicate a police sergeant and two police officers exclusive to the Beverly Hills stations. I’ve not received any explanation of how this will work, who this will be or where they will be posted (and Metro does not have a police force of its own) and I am very dubious that this will happen. But barrier gates are key as strong fences make good neighbors.

There will be a Beverly Hills security building on the station plaza on the NE corner of Wilshire and La Cienega. This is not a police substation or a “kiosk”. It will be a building to be constructed by Metro and paid for by the City of approximately 470 sf. The City will reimburse Metro for costs of construction and, in exchange, the

City will have the right to use it for five years. It will be staffed by Community Service Officers, not BHPD. Initially I was told that the estimated costs of construction would be approximately $1 million.

Now, I am told that Metro may claim that the costs of construction are substantially higher. There is no cap on the

City’s obligation to “reimburse” Metro so the City may have to pay substantially more than $1M if it wishes to proceed with this security building.

Unfortunately, the security building will not be ready when operations commence on May 8. The current estimate is that it will be completed in August. The

City blames the delay on Metro but, in my experience and observation, Metro cannot be relied upon for anything and we should always have contingency plans. As an interim measure, the City has leased ground floor space on a building adjacent to the plaza to the east. But it is predictable that this building, even if the City proceeds with it will be delayed well beyond August, 2026.

While the City has properly focused on security, very little has been done to encourage or even facilitate use of the subway by Beverly Hills residents.

There are no restroom facilities (Metro does not provide toilets on the trains or in the stations), there is little parking nearby and no provision has been made to provide for residents’ transportation to and from their homes to the stations.

Some suggestions:

Metro has installed a “Throne” system of portable bathroom structures at a number of stations. They seem to be attractive and can be well serviced on a contract basis and, therefore, are clean.

We should arrange for one or more at the Beverly Hills stations.

Public Works has worked on and off for several years on a so-called “first mile/last mile” transportation system to take residents from their homes to the stations. This is important. As an experiment, I timed a drive from my home in the Hillside area to the City parking lot under the tennis courts on La Cienega and then a walk to the station. It took 25 minutes. The time would be similar for anyone living north of Sunset. At least two expensive and poorly conceived programs were presented by Public Works to the City Council and rejected.

I suggest consideration of a subsidized on demand service dedicated to taking residents to and from the stations. Without that, the subway will be very difficult for residents to use.

For parking, there seems to be some excess space at the lot underneath the tennis courts that I used. Currently, we allow two hours free but that would not be sufficient for a commuter who may need eight hours or more. We could provide for a reasonable fee a “Park and Ride” space for some number of commuters.

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Andrew Kole

When soliciting answers to questions from the candidates for the City Council, I mis-addressed my solicitation and followup directed to Andrew Kole and, therefore, received no contribution from him.

He contacted me and I apologized for my error.

Mr. Kole has submitted the following responses:

Qualifications:

Prior to Beverly Hills, I lived in Aspen and was very involved in the city government. Iserved on a special affording housing committee and was Chairman of the Commercial Core Lodging Commission which focused on everything in the downtown core including events, hotels, tourism, and outdoor dining. My unique perspective and creative approach to solving problems while always getting the input from the public is my strength.

Why:

Because I believe it’s the little things that count. The answer to your question is a much longer story, but what inspired me to run was when the current council almost destroyed the Pickleball program voting to raising fees 200% to 600% without any public input. I then began writing emails weekly and basically badgered Community Services and members of City Council until they realized they made a serious mistake. At a recent public meeting, the city announced they were going to revoke the previous “insane” fees and decided on a 20% increase. Ironically, the suggestion I made in September 2025.

What I’d Like to Change:

First, the attitude. I want the city to seek our public input. I want the city to do their homework and the “math” when making decisions that will affect the public and their bottom line. I want to do away with insane regulations. Example:

It took three months and thousands of dollars in fees and presentation materials to get approvals for two tables and six chairs in front of a small coffee shop on South Beverly Drive.