WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS
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From: Tiffany Paige
To: City Clerk
Subject: "Public Comment - City Council Meeting”.
Date: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 11:50:04 AM
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Dear Beverly Hills City Council
I have been beside myself since discovering and seeing, in real time, these beautiful Ficus trees being aggressively cut down on Robertson Blvd. It really sparks an emotionally reaction, like you’re watching a crime take place. It is a crime.
You’ve taken a beautiful street, one of my absolute favorites, and turned it into just another street, desolate of anything living and flowing. All I see now are light posts with giant horizontal rods hanging off. I believe the residents and business owners of Beverly Hills would like to know why these trees are being taken down so quickly. I know things take time and maybe this process on the backend has been underway for awhile, and if that’s the case, why were the residents and businesses of BH not alerted that this will be taking place? Trees are a crucial, vital part of healthy city living. Why are 87 healthy, mature trees being quickly and radically taken down, similar to clear cutting, with NO emergency, no Environmental Impact Report and no proposed alternatives. I ask why?
The businesses on Robertson Boulevard are already feeling the affects of the trees that have been taken down. I even spoke to a security person who stands outside and now has no shade and we are in winter mind you. It was 57 degrees and the sun was beating down on him. What happens during the summer months when we have ongoing temperatures in the high 70’s to 80’s. Living in Beverly Hills we had rolling blackouts continuously. How do you plan to counteract that when you’re taking away natures shade, natures canopy cover, to keep the street and businesses cool. That along with natural air filtration to help with emissions and environmental pollution, as well as sound reduction for all these businesses. You have done a disservice to the community of Beverly Hills on Robertson Boulevard and in the surrounding area. I ask you to reconsider your decision, save what remains of the Ficus trees on
Robertson Boulevard and please stop cutting any more while we work to come up with a better solution.
Thank you,
Tiffany Paige
From: Patricia Princess
To: City Clerk
Cc: P. S.
Subject: SAVE OUR TREES
Date: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 10:57:13 AM
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Dear Beverly Hills,
PLEASE SAVE OUR TREES!
They help us, our wildlife and our
environment.
Thank you,
Patricia S.
, Beverly Hills
From: Jorge Rios
To: City Clerk
Subject: Public Comment - City Council Meeting
Date: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 10:52:25 AM
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Please read at 3/7 City Council meeting
Dear Beverly Hills City Council,
I work on Robertson Blvd and count on the shade of the Ficus tree in front of my store. I can’t even imagine not having this beautiful healthy tree.
I strongly disagree with the City of Beverly Hills' removal of nearly 100 mature, significant ficus street trees along Robertson Boulevard.
These trees provide innumerable benefits to our local climate, ecosystem, community members, and local businesses. More specifically, these trees prevent the urban heat island effect, provide critical shade and cooling, filter air pollution, absorb carbon dioxide, boost property values, and provide habitat for local wildlife species.
The City of Beverly Hills claims that the tree removals must be executed because the sidewalks surrounding some of these trees are uneven and pose a hazard to pedestrians. The City of Beverly Hills has created a false choice between saving mature trees and fixing sidewalks. The community knows and expects better from its elected representatives. Other cities in Southern California, including Santa Monica and Pasadena, have been able to successfully balance the needs of all community members, while preserving its precious tree canopies. This issue also must be considered in the environmental context of greater Los Angeles and Southern California. When one environmental disaster affects one community, it impacts us all.
The community is counting on its representatives to stand up for both the environment and local citizens and truly represent the opinion of the communities which elected them. The Robertson Blvd Special Task Force (RBSTF) looks forward to working on a beneficial solution for all parties involved.
Thank you for your consideration of this most urgent matter.
Sincerely,
Jorge R.
Jorge Rios | Manager, Discovery Shop II
American Cancer Society, Inc.
844 S. Robertson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Phone: 310.360.4894
cancer.org | 1.800.227.2345
Jorge Rios | Manager, Discovery Shop
American Cancer Society, Inc.
844 S Robertson Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Phone:
cancer.org | 1.800.227.2345
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From: Jesse Sanford
To: City Clerk; Lili Bosse; John Mirisch; 14-Sharona Nazarian; 13-Lester J. Friedman; 12-Julian Gold Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Public Comment - Please Halt the Robertson Boulevard Tree and Sidewalk Replacement Project Date: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 10:04:59 AM
CAUTION: External Sender
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Please read at 3/7 City Council meeting
Dear Beverly Hills City Council,
I strongly disagree with the City of Beverly Hills' removal of nearly 100 mature, significant ficus street trees along Robertson Boulevard.
These trees provide innumerable benefits to our local climate, ecosystem, community members, and local businesses. More specifically, these trees prevent the urban heat island effect, provide critical shade and cooling, filter air pollution, absorb carbon dioxide, boost property values, and provide habitat for local wildlife species.
The City of Beverly Hills claims that the tree removals must be executed because the sidewalks surrounding some of these trees are uneven and pose a hazard to pedestrians. The City of Beverly Hills has created a false choice between saving mature trees and fixing sidewalks. The community knows and expects better from its elected representatives. Other cities in Southern California, including Santa Monica and Pasadena, have been able to successfully balance the needs of all community members, while preserving its precious tree canopies. This issue also must be considered in the environmental context of greater Los Angeles and Southern California. When one environmental disaster affects one community, it impacts us all.
The community is counting on its representatives to stand up for both the environment and local citizens and truly represent the opinion of the communities which elected them. The Robertson Blvd Special Task Force (RBSTF) looks forward to working on a beneficial solution for all parties involved.
Thank you for your consideration of this most urgent matter.
Sincerely,
Jesse S.
From: Mark Elliot
To: City Clerk
Subject: Public Comment for study session item #2 SB 330 Date: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 2:38:29 PM
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________________________________
Dear Mayor Bosse and members of the city council:
I urge you to maximize the affordability of replacement units constructed pursuant to SB 330.
Please direct staff to ensure that at least half of all replacement units be deed-restricted and affordable to low-income households. That proportion of protected units would reflect the naturally-occurring affordable housing in our housing stock today and mitigate the loss of those affordable housing opportunities.
Second, direct staff to ensure that the balance of the replacement units be rent-stabilized. This way we preserve affordable housing though deed restrictions AND we ensure no-net-loss of rent-stabilized units. Deed-restricted units should transition to rent stabilization after the convenant expires.
Third, even better is to extend the affordability covenant beyond 55 years. That seems like an abstraction today but consider that time-horizon in the context of our existing rental stock. Had a covenant been in effect for our existing units and then expired in 55 years, most renting households would have lost protection around 1990. If rental housing can last a century, why expire the convenient at the halfway point? In conclusion, I believe that you have a responsibility to maximize the affordability of tomorrow's rental housing in Beverly Hills because today’s renting households will sacrifice our home to make way for it. Also I believe it is also a council responsibility because you have focused the production of new housing where my neighbors and I live.
Multifamily neighborhoods will shoulder the redevelopment burden.
However you have endeavored to protect single-family homeowners from Sacramento overreach. I’m referring of course to SB 9. The city's interim objective standards require that a second unit on a lot, if developed pursuant to SB 9, will be leased at a rent that is affordable to low-income households.
Either that is a poison pill to discourage the production of housing in single-family areas or it shows that council really cares about affordable housing. Either way it seems like a prudent approach to take with respect to SB 330 replacement units.
Thank you very much for your time and service.
Mark Elliot