Item F-1 Agenda Report — Beverly Hills City Council, January 23, 2024 (part 1 of 2)

AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: January 23, 2024
Item Number:

To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Masa Alkire, AICP, City Planner
Chloe Chen, Senior Planner
Subject: RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY

HILLS TO ADOPT A GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT TO REVISE THE
GENERAL PLAN LAND USE MAP; AND

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS AMENDING THE

MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO

RESIDENTIAL CONVERSION OF EXISTING COMMERCIAL

BUILDINGS TO MIXED USE BUILDINGS AND AN ADDENDUM TO AN

ADOPTED NEGATIVE DECLARATION (ND) FOR THE MIXED USE

OVERLAY ZONE AMENDMENTS
Attachments: 1. Draft Ordinance

2. Draft Resolution to Adopt General Plan Amendment (Exhibit A:

General Plan Land Use Map, Exhibit B: Addendum to Negative Declaration (ND))

3. Planning Commission Resolution No. 2039 (Exhibit A: General Plan Land Use Map, Exhibit B: Draft Ordinance, Exhibit C:

Addendum to ND)

4. Appendix C Excerpt from 2021-2029 Housing Element

5. City Council Staff Report – July 18, 2023 (Without Attachments)

6. Article 18.7 (Mixed Use Overlay Zone)

7. Adopted ND

8. Public Correspondence

RECOMMENDATION
Pursuant to the Planning Commission’s review and recommendation, staff recommends that the City Council adopt the resolution to adopt a General Plan Amendment to revised the General Plan Land Use Map, and move to waive the full reading of the ordinance and introduce and read by title only the ordinance entitled “AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY

OF BEVERLY HILLS AMENDING THE MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE REGULATIONS Meeting Date: January 23, 2024

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APPLICABLE TO RESIDENTIAL CONVERSION OF EXISTING COMMERCIAL

BUILDINGS TO MIXED USE BUILDINGS AND AN ADDENDUM TO AN ADOPTED

NEGATIVE DECLARATION (ND) FOR THE MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE AMENDMENTS”. The draft ordinance as recommended for approval by the Planning Commission is included in Attachment 1, and the amended General Plan Land Use Map is included as Exhibit A to the resolution in Attachment 2.

At their July 18, 2023 formal meeting, the City Council reviewed the progress of the implementation of the MU Overlay Zone thus far, and discussed whether the MU Overlay Zone regulations should be modified in the future. The staff report for this discussion is included as Attachment 6. As part of this discussion, staff identified an existing issue in the conversion section of the MU Overlay Zone regulations (Beverly Hills Municipal Code (BHMC) §10-3-1888). While the existing MU Overlay Zone allows conversion/adaptive reuse projects, in which an existing commercial building is converted to a mixed use project with both residential and commercial uses, it requires the residential density to be calculated based on the size of the property rather than the floor area of the existing building. The City Council provided direction to staff to draft a Zone Text Amendment (ZTA) for the City Council’s consideration to amend the MU Overlay Zone regulations, in order to allow the residential density for converted buildings to be calculated based on the floor area of the existing building and the minimum required unit size of 500 square feet (a standard that already exists for projects built pursuant to the MU Overlay Zone1) rather than the property size. The City Council has also directed staff to explore further changes to the MU Overlay Zone regulations that could help encourage more mixed use developments in the future, and staff will be returning in the coming months with additional mixed use topics for review by the Planning Commission and City Council, but did not want to hold up this discrete change pending any future revisions.

At their September 28, 2023 regular meeting, the Planning Commission reviewed the draft ordinance and General Plan Amendment (GPA) that would change the density calculation applicable to residential conversion (adaptive reuse) mixed use projects in the MU Overlay Zone. The Commission deliberated and noted that the conversion option for the MU Overlay Zone is an important component of the City’s MU Overlay Zone, and stated that this is a common-sense update to the density calculation in the MU Overlay Zone. One Commissioner expressed concern that the use of the updated density calculation in combination with the state density bonus law could result in projects that are larger than the existing building envelope. The Commission unanimously voted (5-0) to adopt the resolution recommending both the draft ordinance and GPA to the City Council.

1 See BHMC §10-3-1882 A.

Meeting Date: January 23, 2024

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DISCUSSION
This section provides an overview of the proposed GPA and ZTA, and how the proposed change would potentially affect a residential conversion project in the MU Overlay Zone.

In addition, the section provides information on some of the potential benefits of residential conversion projects.

Proposed Density Calculation Change
The MU Overlay Zone established development standards to guide commercial/residential mixed use developments along specific commercial corridors within the C-3 Commercial Zone. The regulations allow both the construction of new mixed use developments as well as the residential conversion of existing commercial buildings located within the MU Overlay Zone. A residential conversion (also known as adaptive reuse) project consists of the reuse of an existing commercial building into a building that includes both residential units and commercial uses. The MU Overlay Zone regulations set forth in BHMC Title 10, Chapter 3, Article 18.7 include a density calculation based on the lot area of the subject site, which allows a maximum of one dwelling unit per 550 square feet of lot area (or 79.2 dwelling units per acre). While this density would apply to a new mixed use development because it determines a density of development proportional to the site area, application of this density calculation to a residential conversion project would not take into account the situation where existing commercial buildings within the MU Overlay Zone that contain a greater amount of floor area and have a greater height than what is currently allowed under the MU Overlay Zone regulations.

This means that the density calculation currently allowed under the MU Overlay Zone regulations may result in a lower number of units than what could be reasonably developed within the building area of an existing commercial building.

The MU Overlay Zone regulations also set forth a minimum unit size of 500 square feet for an efficiency unit or a 1-bedroom unit, and a minimum unit size of 800 square feet for a 2-bedroom unit, and state that the average floor area of all residential units may not exceed 1,750 square feet. The proposed density calculation would be applied to a residential conversion project by taking the existing building floor area in square feet, minus the ground floor area, and dividing this by the minimum required unit size of 500 square feet. The existing floor area would be determined pursuant to the definition of nonresidential floor area in BHMC §10-3-100 and the ground floor area would not be included, as the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations generally require that this area is used for commercial uses only. Rather than applying the lot size density calculation to a residential conversion project, applying the minimum unit size of 500 square feet to calculate the maximum density would allow for a greater number of units to be constructed within the existing building envelope for residential conversion projects. As an example of how this may result in a different calculation, a theoretical scenario is provided below. This illustrates how the proposed density calculation would allow for a greater number of units for a residential conversion project than the current lot area density calculation.

Meeting Date: January 23, 2024

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TABLE 1. EXISTING COMMERCIAL BUILDING DATA
Total Existing Floor Area 49,000 SF
o Existing First Floor Area 9,800 SF
o Net Existing Floor Area 39,200 SF
Lot Area 12,000 SF
Height 6 stories (65’)
TABLE 2. DENSITY CALCULATION COMPARISON

DENSITY CALCULATION SCENARIO DENSITY

CALCULATION
TOTAL
UNITS
Lot Area Density Calculation
(Lot Area / 550) 12,000 SF/550 SF 22 units
Residential Conversion Density
Calculation
(Net Floor Area / 500)
39,200 SF/500 SF 79 units
NET DIFFERENCE 57 units
Existing Lot Area Density Calculation
Density = 1 dwelling unit per 550 SF of lot area
• 12,000/550 = 22 units maximum
Meeting Date: January 23, 2024

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Proposed Building Floor Area Density Calculation (for Conversion Projects Only) Density = Existing building floor area / unit size
• 39,200 SF existing floor area
• Min. unit size 500 SF
• 39,200/500 = 79 units maximum within existing building As shown in Table 2, the application of the residential conversion density calculation would result in an additional 57 units that could be constructed within the existing building, which would otherwise would not be captured by using the lot area density calculation. Thus, the change would help incentivize conversions of existing commercial buildings to include residential units.

Proposed Change to the General Plan Land Use Map
This proposed change to the density calculation also necessitates a clarification on the General Plan Land Use map and therefore, requires a General Plan Amendment (GPA).

This map is incorporated into the General Plan within the Housing Element and the Land Use Element, and as such, both of these elements would be updated with this GPA. Since the General Plan Land Use Map notes the applicable densities for the various land use designations in the City, including the density for the MU Overlay Zone, this map will need to be updated as a result of the proposed density calculation change. The maximum density on the map is measured by dwelling units per acre (DU/acre), and as part of this update to the map, a correction will also be made to the MU Overlay Zone density, which allows a maximum of 79.2 DU/acre (this was previously noted incorrectly). The proposed change to this map related to the proposed density calculation change for conversion/adaptive reuse projects will be to add a note to the MU Overlay Zone density that reads: “The maximum density for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone may vary for residential conversion/adaptive reuse projects, calculated pursuant to BHMC Section 10-3-1888”.

Please note that this wording on the map is slightly different from the version presented to the Planning Commission at their September 28, 2023 meeting; the wording has been shortened and clarified.

Meeting Date: January 23, 2024

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Potential Benefits of Conversion Projects
In addition to furthering Policy 2.5 of the General Plan Housing Element, which calls for the promotion of adaptive reuse (residential conversion) projects, there are several benefits that may result from residential conversion projects in particular as compared to new construction developments. These benefits include the following:

Potential for Historic Preservation
 Existing buildings in the City that were constructed in the time period in which greater heights were permitted (around the 1950s-1970s) may also be considered potentially historic structures. The conversion of these structures and the ability to request relief from certain MU Overlay standards could help preserve historic building facades, and the historic fabric of the City. In addition, if buildings are deemed historic landmarks, they may utilize an entitlement called a Historic Incentive Permit to request further deviations from the code standards if needed.

Historic buildings may also be eligible for certain tax incentives, such as the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentive, CA Historic Tax Credit, Mills Act, etc, and may be able to benefit from more flexible building codes.

Reduced Construction Impacts
 Since residential conversion projects utilize existing buildings and do not involve the demolition of an existing building and construction of a new building on a site there will be fewer impacts related to construction including length of construction, noise, traffic, vibrations, and dust. In addition, since the building already exists in the community, a conversion project would not change the built environment or alter the character of the area.

Sustainability Benefits
 Residential conversion projects may be more environmentally sustainable because they do not involve ground-up construction and thus, create less demand for new building materials, energy, and waste. Therefore, such projects may also create less of an impact with respect to greenhouse gas emissions. Many buildings that could be adaptively reused within the City of Beverly Hills are also located in close proximity to transit, which could help reduce transportation related greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, adaptive reuse projects result in more energy efficient buildings due to upgrades to windows, insulation, and HVAC systems.

Interaction with State Density Bonus Law
At the September 28, 2023 Planning Commission meeting, Commissioner Wolfe inquired how the proposed change to the density calculation would interact with state density bonus law. State density bonus law may be utilized by any qualifying development, and local laws cannot pre-empt the use of or contradict these regulations. Thus, a proposed conversion/adaptive reuse project may apply for a Development Plan Review (DPR) request to convert an existing commercial building in the MU Overlay Zone into a mixed use development, and would be able to use state density bonus law provisions to submit a concurrent Density Bonus Permit request. With the proposed density calculation change, a conversion mixed use development would be able to potentially achieve a greater base density under the MU Overlay Zone regulations, which would then be utilized to calculate the additional density (additional dwelling units) achieved through state density bonus law.

Meeting Date: January 23, 2024

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While it is difficult to anticipate the specifics of a particular conversion mixed use development (since the details and context for the site and proposal could vary widely), there are some physical and cost limitations that can provide an idea of what might be feasible for these types of projects.

The majority of buildings that have been identified by staff as suitable for conversion2in the draft amended Housing Element (Tab 2 of the Sites Inventory in Appendix C; excerpt of Appendix C is included in Attachment 4), were built as type 1 construction under the former Uniform Building Code (UBC), and may be classified as either type 1-A or 1-B construction under the current California Building Code (CBC), depending on the fire resistance rating of the building elements. The remaining buildings on this list were built as type 3 construction under UBC, and would be considered type 3-A or 3-B construction under CBC, depending on the fire resistance rating of the building elements. However, the type of construction of each building would need to be verified by a contractor in the field.

Type 1-A construction in most cases does not have a limit on the total number of stories, height, or floor area, and type 1-B construction does not have a limit on floor area, but has a limit of up to 12 stories depending on certain factors. Per the BHMC, the minimum type of construction in the City’s commercial zones is type 3-A, and type 3-A construction has a maximum allowable limit on floor area in the CBC (depending on the feasibility assessed under the CBC regulations), and a maximum limit of up to 5 stories and height limit of 85 feet for residential uses. The buildings identified on the conversion list in the Housing Element are between 4 and 10 stories in height. Feasibility of the addition of floor area and additional stories needs to be studied by the developer or owner from structural and geotechnical engineering standpoints. If justified, structural engineering can technically allow any addition of height or floor area, and additional height beyond the applicable zoning height limit may be requested through state density bonus provisions. While this means that the buildings on this list, in concept, may be allowed to construct additional stories or height if they are currently under the height limit per the applicable CBC based on construction type (or are allowed unlimited height), there are significant cost constraints that may also limit this possibility in practice.

First, it is important to consider the base cost of converting an existing commercial space (typically built for office and retail uses) into a mixed use residential project. At the minimum, this would likely involve upgrades to the mechanical (HVAC, duct work), plumbing, and electrical systems, and would require the addition of individual connections for various utilities into each residential unit (gas lines, sewer lines, water lines, etc.). For a conversion mixed use development, foundation and structural strengthening may be required depending on the proposed changes to the existing buildings. However, for the addition of new floor area or stories beyond the existing building envelope, the existing structure and its foundation needs to be analyzed and strengthened/retrofitted if needed for all gravity and lateral loads imposed on the building. if a building owner decided to retrofit and structurally reinforce the building, and this creates an opportunity to add more

2 These buildings have been identified with the use of filtering criteria (such as site or building conditions) that have been developed based on research of adaptive reuse trends and analysis of past adaptive reuse projects in other cities.

Meeting Date: January 23, 2024

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stories to the building, the cost generally increases exponentially with the addition of each story (there is not an economy of scale that would be achieved).

Although structural engineering makes any addition of height possible, the addition of further height and load becomes more costly and challenging with each additional floor, which makes this less probable in reality. It is also important to note that there are a multitude of factors that would likely be considered by the developer of this type of project related to cost, site-specific conditions, building-specific conditions, market conditions, carrying costs, debt/lending conditions, and the project proposal details (such as the development type, mix of market and affordable rate units, etc.). Thus, while it is not possible to account for all of the factors that a developer may need to assess in order to determine whether it is feasible to add height or floor area to an existing commercial building undergoing conversion, it is reasonable to assume that a conversion project is likely to add no more than one to three stories to an existing building if any, given the technical difficulties and cost. In addition, there are a number of constraints from the building and zoning codes that would make this unlikely, especially because there may be ramifications for alteration of nonconforming structures (which may be nonconforming with regard to zoning or building standards). Furthermore, it may be more likely that additional stories would be added to existing buildings of four to five stories to make them more competitive with higher-rise residential developments, for example by adding an updated penthouse unit. Additions adding height to existing eight to 10 story buildings may be less likely as there is a significant additional cost to add stories to these buildings and because these buildings are already capable of providing the amenities of a higher-rise development.

Although the aforementioned constraints may make the addition of several stories and floor area to an existing building less likely, a conversion project within buildings that have certain characteristics are still feasible. For example, minimum ceiling heights for commercial buildings are often higher than those required for residential buildings, and therefore, the ceiling heights in a commercial building would be advantageous for a residential conversion project. In addition, the discussion regarding conversion projects in Appendix C of the Housing Element (Attachment 4) details the characteristics of specific buildings in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone that make such buildings more appropriate for a conversion project. While it is true that only a portion of buildings in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone might be appropriate for conversion project, this presents a unique opportunity within the City to provide housing units in a development that would maintain the character of the built environment and potentially have fewer construction-related impacts.

Meeting Date: January 23, 2024

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PUBLIC OUTREACH AND NOTIFICATION
TABLE 3 – PUBLIC NOTIFICATION TABLE
Type of Notice Required
Period Actual Period Required Date Actual Date
Mailed Notice 20 Days 20 Days 1/3/24 1/3/24
Newspaper Notice1 20 Days 26 Days 12/29/23 12/29/23
Website Posting 72 Hours 72 Hours 1/20/24 1/19/24
Agenda Posting 72 Hours 72 Hours 1/20/24 1/19/24
1The item was noticed in the December 29, 2023, edition of the Beverly Hills Courier and the January 4, 2024 edition of the Beverly Hills Weekly and Beverly Press.

Public Outreach
Staff has sent notifications to the interested parties list for the topic of the Mixed Use Overlay Zone, and has sent a notification prior to the City Council meeting.

Public Comment
At the Planning Commission meeting of September 28, 2023, several comments were provided from members of the public, which are included in Attachment 8. These comments expressed concern about potential unintended consequences of the proposed code change, and requested clarification on a couple of related topics. In addition, one comment provided further information on the feasibility of converting office buildings to mixed use developments.

GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY3
The proposed GPA and ZTA are consistent with the objectives, principles, and standards of the General Plan because they further the goals and policies to promote greater housing opportunities in the City, while also providing housing that may further historic preservation and environmental sustainability goals as well. The proposed change to the General Plan Land Use map will ensure internal consistency amongst the General Plan and zoning ordinances, and will help provide greater clarity. The General Plan goals and policies with which the proposed project is consistent are described further below:

Housing Element
 Housing Element (HE) Goal 2 – Housing Supply and Diversity. Provide a variety of housing types and adequate affordable housing supply to meet the existing and future needs of the community.
 HE Policy 1.4 – Historic Preservation. Promote the preservation of historically and architecturally significant buildings and the quality of historic neighborhoods through land use, design, and housing policies.
 HE Policy 2.5 – Adaptive Reuse. Support innovative strategies for the adaptive reuse of residential and commercial structures to provide for a wide range of housing types.

3 Available online at https://www.beverlyhills.org/departments/communitydevelopment/longrangeplanning/generalplan/ Meeting Date: January 23, 2024

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 HE Policy 2.7 – Environmentally Sustainable Housing. Promote conservation of water and energy, use of sustainable building materials and drought-resistant landscaping to reduce the operating costs and carbon emissions associated with housing.
 HE Goal 4 – Reducing Constraints. Mitigate potential governmental constraints on the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, while maintaining community character.

Land Use Element
 Land Use (LU) Goal 2 - Community Character and Quality. A built environment that is distinguished by its high level of site planning, architecture, landscape design, and sensitivity to its natural setting and history.  LU Policy 2.1 - City Places: Neighborhoods, Districts, and Corridors. Maintain and enhance the character, distribution, built form, scale, and aesthetic qualities of the City’s distinctive residential neighborhoods, business districts, corridors, and open spaces.
 LU Policy 5.1 - Neighborhood Conservation. Maintain the uses, densities, character, amenities, and quality of the City’s residential neighborhoods, recognizing their contribution to the City’s identity, economic value, and quality of life.
 LU Policy 6.1 - Neighborhood Identity. Maintain the characteristics that distinguish the City’s single-family neighborhoods from one another in such terms as topography, lot size, housing scale and form, and public streetscapes.  LU Policy 6.2 - Housing Character and Design. Require that new, renovated, and additions to housing to be located and designed to maintain the distinguishing characteristics and qualities of the neighborhoods in which they are located, including prevailing lot sizes, building form, scale, massing, relationship to street frontages, architectural design, landscaping, property setbacks, and other comparable elements.

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
The City of Beverly Hills previously adopted a Negative Declaration (ND) for the adoption of the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations (Project). The City of Beverly Hills was the lead agency, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and was responsible for the preparation of the ND and related initial study. The previously adopted ND document is available at www.beverlyhills.org/environmental and is included as Attachment 7. If a digital copy cannot be obtained by an interested party, please contact the staff listed in this notice and alternate arrangements will be made. The previously adopted ND indicated that the Project would not result in significant impacts to Agricultural and Forestry Resources, Biological Resources, Mineral Resources, and Transportation/Traffic. The ND also indicated that the ordinance would result in less than significant impacts related to Air Quality, Cultural Resources, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Public Services, Recreation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities and Service Systems, and Meeting Date: January 23, 2024

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the Mandatory Findings of Significance. The ND found that there was either no impact or less than significant impacts on certain environmental issues related to Aesthetics, Geology and Soils, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Noise, and Population and Housing.

An addendum to the previously adopted ND for a proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone has been prepared (Exhibit B to Attachment 2), pursuant to California Code of Regulations, Title 14, §15164. The proposed GPA and ZTA will include a clarification regarding the calculation of maximum density allowed for residential conversion projects under the MU Overlay Zone, and a change to the General Plan Land Use map noting this clarification. As discussed in the addendum, since these changes consist of clarifications of existing regulations, and relate to potential conversions of existing buildings, the Project will not result in significant impacts to the areas of study in the adopted ND, and none of the conditions in California Code of Regulations, Title 14, §15162 have occurred, the City Council will consider recommending adoption of the addendum to the previously adopted ND to the City Council. Since the adoption of the ND in 2020, the environmental issue areas of Energy and Wildfire have been added to the CEQA checklist. The addendum analyzed these issue areas and found that no impact would result from the Project, and therefore, no significant effects would result from the additional areas of study.

FISCAL IMPACT
No fiscal impact to the City is anticipated as a result of adopting and implementing the GPA and ZTA. Due to the unknown nature of any future development, longer term fiscal impacts are difficult to quantify at this time.

Michael Forbes, AICP
Director of Community Development
Approved By
Attachment 1
Draft Ordinance
B0785-0009\2892676v2.doc
ORDINANCE NO. 24-O-____

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS

AMENDING THE MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE

REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO RESIDENTIAL

CONVERSION OF EXISTING COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS TO

MIXED USE BUILDINGS AND AN ADDENDUM TO AN

ADOPTED NEGATIVE DECLARATION (ND) FOR THE

MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE AMENDMENTS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

Section 2. On September 28, 2023, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing to review a proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations to amend the residential conversion density calculation, after which it adopted Resolution No. 2039 recommending that the City Council amend the Beverly Hills Municipal Code to adopt the revisions (collectively, the “Amendments”). On January 23, 2024, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing, received public testimony, and thereafter introduced this Ordinance.

B0785-0009\2892676v2.doc
Section 3. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) the City Council considered a Mitigated Negative Declaration (ND) for the creation of the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations, including all comments submitted to the City regarding the ND, and found, in its independent judgment and analysis, that there was no substantial evidence that the Mixed Use Overlay Ordinance would have a significant impact on the environment, and adopted the ND. The City of Beverly Hills was the lead agency, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and was responsible for the preparation of the ND and related initial study.

Section 4. An addendum to the previously adopted ND for a proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone has been prepared, pursuant to California Code of Regulations, Title 14, §15164. The proposed Amendment to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations, and the related General Plan land use map amendment, will include a clarification regarding the calculation of maximum density allowed for residential conversion projects under the MU Overlay Zone, and a change to the General Plan Land Use map noting this clarification. As discussed in the addendum, since these changes consist of clarifications to existing regulations, the Project will not result in B0785-0009\2892676v2.doc
significant impacts to the areas of study in the adopted ND and would not result in a measurable increase in environmental impacts over what was previously analyzed in the adopted ND. There are no changes with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken that will require revisions to the adopted ND, and none of the conditions in California Code of Regulations, Title 14, §15162 have occurred. Since the adoption of the ND in 2020, the environmental issue areas of Energy and Wildfire have been added to the CEQA checklist. The addendum analyzed these issue areas and found that no impact would result from the Project, and therefore, no significant effects would result from the additional areas of study. Therefore, the City Council hereby adopts and approves the addendum to the previously adopted ND to make minor technical changes and add information.

Section 5. The Amendments are consistent with the objectives, principles, and standards of the General Plan. General Plan Housing Element (HE) Goal 2 – Housing Supply and Diversity encourages housing of all types and adequate supply of housing to meet the existing and future needs of the community. General Plan HE Policy 1.4 – Historic Preservation promotes the preservation of historically and architecturally significant buildings and historic neighborhoods through land use policies. General Plan HE Policy 2.5 – Adaptive Reuse calls for strategies that support adaptive reuse of existing structures to provide housing opportunities. General Plan HE Policy 2.7 – Environmentally Sustainable Housing promotes the creation of sustainable buildings to reduce carbon emissions. General Plan HE Goal 4 – Reducing Constraints calls for the mitigation of governmental constraints on the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing. General Plan Land Use (LU) Goal 2 – Community Character and Quality promotes a built environment distinguished by a high level of design and sensitivity to the setting. Similarly, General Plan LU Policy 2.1 – City Places: Neighborhoods, Districts, and Corridors encourages the B0785-0009\2892676v2.doc
maintenance of qualities that distinguish the City’s unique residential and business areas, including aesthetics of the built form and scale of residential neighborhoods. General Plan LU Policy 5.1 - Neighborhood Conservation calls for the maintenance of the uses, densities, character, amenities, and quality of the City’s residential neighborhoods, recognizing their contribution to the City’s identity, economic value, and quality of life. General Plan LU General Plan LU Policy 6.1- Neighborhood Identity calls for the maintenance of characteristics that distinguish the City’s single-family neighborhoods from one another in such terms as topography, lot size, housing scale and form, and public streetscapes. Similarly, General Plan LU Policy 6.2 - Housing Character and Design calls for requiring new, renovated, and additions to housing to be located and designed to maintain the distinguishing characteristics and qualities of the neighborhoods in which they are located, including prevailing lot sizes, building form, scale, massing, relationship to street frontages, architectural design, landscaping, property setbacks, and other comparable elements.

Amending sections of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code to promote residential conversion projects will help to provide greater housing opportunities and preserve the character of the community, as such projects may be created within existing structures. The Amendments will also reduce governmental constraints and promote opportunities for adaptive reuse of commercial structures in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone. Further, the Amendments are consistent with the objectives, principles, and standards of the General Plan as set forth above.

Section 6. The City Council hereby amends section 10-3-1888 of Article 18.7 of Chapter 3 of Title 10 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code, to read as follows:

B0785-0009\2892676v2.doc
“10-3-1888: CONVERSION OF COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS:

A. Existing commercial buildings may obtain a development plan review permit to convert to a mixed use building if located in the MU Overlay Zone.

Such a project may request relief from the following mixed use standards, if it is not physically feasible to comply with these standards. To determine feasibility, the commission shall evaluate whether the site is physically constrained, with regard to depth and width, whether the existing commercial building does not conform to mixed use standards, and/or whether the existing commercial building would be rendered structurally defective by providing such features.

1. Parking requirements;

2. Loading facilities;

3. Outdoor living space;

4. Commercial-residential transitional setbacks, if such buildings have legally nonconforming setbacks; and

5. Height limits, if buildings have legally nonconforming heights.

B. Notwithstanding the density calculation in section 10-3-1881, the maximum density permitted for a mixed use development that is also a conversion project shall be calculated by dividing the existing building floor area, excluding floor area on the ground floor of the existing building, by the minimum allowed unit size of 500 square feet. Existing building floor area shall be determined B0785-0009\2892676v2.doc
pursuant to the definition of non-residential and multi-family floor area in section 10-3-100 of this chapter.”
Section 7. Severability. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or place, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the final decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Ordinance shall be and remain in full force and effect.

Section 8. Publication. The City Clerk shall cause this Ordinance to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the City within fifteen (15) days after its passage in accordance with Section 36933 of the Government Code, shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance, and shall cause this Ordinance and her certification, together with proof of publication, to be entered in the Book of Ordinances of the Council of this City. //
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B0785-0009\2892676v2.doc
Section 9. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall go into effect and be in full force and effect at 12:01 a.m. on the thirty-first (31st) day after its passage.

Adopted:

Effective:

JULIAN A. GOLD, M.D.

Mayor of the City of Beverly Hills,
California
ATTEST:
_________________________(SEAL)

HUMA AHMED
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
___________________________ _____________________________ LAURENCE S. WIENER NANCY HUNT-COFFEY
City Attorney City Manager
Attachment 2
Draft Resolution to Adopt General Plan
Amendment (Exhibit A: General Plan
Land Use Map, Exhibit B: Addendum to
Negative Declaration (ND))
RESOLUTION NO. R-24-____

RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF

BEVERLY HILLS TO ADOPT A GENERAL PLAN

AMENDMENT TO REVISE THE GENERAL PLAN LAND USE
MAP
The City Council of the City of Beverly Hills does hereby find, resolve, and determine as follows:

Section 1. On July 18, 2023, the City Council of the City of Beverly Hills reviewed and discussed the City’s progress implementing the Mixed Use Overlay Zone (MU Overlay Zone) regulations. The Council whether the MU Overlay Zone regulations should be modified in the future, and explored ideas regarding potential changes to the regulations. As part of this discussion, staff identified an existing issue in the conversion section of the MU Overlay Zone regulations (Beverly Hills Municipal Code (BHMC) §10-3-1888). While the existing MU Overlay Zone allows conversion/adaptive reuse projects, in which an existing commercial building is converted to a mixed use project with both residential and commercial uses, it requires the residential density to be calculated based on the size of the property rather than the floor area of the existing building.

The City Council provided direction to staff to draft a Zone Text Amendment (ZTA) for the City Council’s consideration to amend the MU Overlay Zone regulations, in order to allow the residential density for converted buildings to be calculated based on the floor area of the existing building and the minimum required unit size of 500 square feet (a standard that already exists for projects built pursuant to BHMC §10-3-1882 A.) rather than the size of the lot.

Section 2. On September 28, 2023, the Planning Commission reviewed a draft ordinance and General Plan Amendment to change the density calculation applicable to a residential conversion (adaptive reuse) mixed use project in the MU Overlay Zone. The proposed change to DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 B0785-0009\2780832v2.doc
the BHMC would utilize a density calculation of existing building floor area (minus the ground floor square footage) divided by 500 square feet (the “Amendments”). The proposed General Plan Amendment amends the General Plan Land Use Map, in order to note the density calculation that would be applicable to a residential conversion (adaptive reuse) mixed use project in the MU Overlay Zone. The Commission deliberated and noted that the conversion option for the MU Overlay Zone is an important component of the City’s MU Overlay Zone, and stated that this is a common-sense update to the density calculation in the MU Overlay Zone. The Commission unanimously recommended the draft ordinance and the associated amendment to the City’s General Plan Land Use Map.

Section 3. The Amendment to the General Plan Land Use Map is consistent with the goals and policies of the General Plan because the amendment furthers the goals and policies to promote greater housing opportunities in the City, while also providing housing that may further historic preservation and environmental sustainability goals as well. The proposed change to the General Plan Land Use map will ensure internal consistency amongst the General Plan and zoning ordinances, and will help provide greater clarity. Specifically, the Amendment is consistent with the following:
 Housing Element (HE) Goal 2 – Housing Supply and Diversity, which calls for a variety of housing types and adequate affordable housing supply to meet the existing and future needs of the community;
 HE Policy 2.5 – Adaptive Reuse, which encourages supporting innovative strategies for the adaptive reuse of residential and commercial structures to provide for a wide range of housing types;
DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 B0785-0009\2780832v2.doc
 HE Goal 4 – Reducing Constraints, which calls for the mitigation of potential governmental constraints on the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, while maintaining community character;
 Land Use (LU) Goal 2 - Community Character and Quality, which envisions a built environment that is distinguished by its high level of site planning, architecture, landscape design, and sensitivity to its natural setting and history; and  LU Policy 5.1 - Neighborhood Conservation, which encourages the maintenance of the uses, densities, character, amenities, and quality of the City’s residential neighborhoods, recognizing their contribution to the City’s identity, economic value, and quality of life.

Section 4. Staff prepared an addendum (attached hereto as Exhibit B) to the previously adopted ND for a proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone has been prepared, pursuant to California Code of Regulations, Title 14, §15164. The proposed whole action includes a clarification in the City’s zoning ordinance regarding the calculation of maximum density allowed for residential conversion projects under the MU Overlay Zone, and a change to the General Plan Land Use map noting this clarification. As discussed in the addendum, since these changes consist of clarifications of existing regulations, and relate to potential conversions of existing buildings, the Project will not result in significant impacts to the areas of study in the adopted ND, and none of the conditions in California Code of Regulations, Title 14, §15162 have occurred, the City Council will consider recommending adoption of the addendum to the previously adopted ND to the City Council. Since the adoption of the ND in 2020, the environmental issue areas of Energy and Wildfire have been added to the CEQA checklist. The addendum analyzed these issue areas and found that no impact would result from the Project, and therefore, no significant effects would result from the additional areas of study. Therefore, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15164, DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 B0785-0009\2780832v2.doc
the City Council hereby adopts the Addendum to the previously adopted ND setting forth minor technical changes. The City Council hereby directs staff to file a Notice of Determination for the project, pursuant to the provisions of the State CEQA Guidelines, 14 Cal. Code Regs. 15075(a).

The records, documents, and other materials related to the environmental review are available at the City of Beverly Hills Community Development Department, 455 N. Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90210.

Section 5. The City Council does hereby adopt the General Plan Amendment to adopt a revised General Plan Land Use Map, attached hereto in Exhibit A, and which will be incorporated into the Land Use Element and Housing Element.
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DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 B0785-0009\2780832v2.doc
Section 6. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage, approval, and adoption of this resolution, and shall cause this resolution and this certification to be entered in the Book of Resolutions of the Council of the City.

Adopted:

JULIAN A. GOLD, M.D.

Mayor of the of the City of Beverly Hills,
California
ATTEST:
(SEAL)

HUMA AHMED
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:

Laurence S. Wiener Nancy Hunt-Coffey
City Attorney City Manager
EXHIBIT A: General Plan Land Use Map
EXHIBIT B: Addendum to Adopted Negative Declaration (ND) for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 B0785-0009\2780832v2.doc

EXHIBIT A
General Plan Land Use Map
DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966

BEVERLY BLVD

CINTHIA ST

N ORLANDO AVE N ORLANDO AVE
SAN

YSIDRO DR

SAN YSIDRO DR

S ROBERTSON BLVD

D EV O N AVE
LO

M A V SI TA DR

LARRABEE

N DOHENY
DR

W SUNSET BLVD

C OL DWATER

CANYON DR

COLDWATER CANYON DR

S BEVERLY DR

W PICO BLVD

WILSHIRE BLVD WILSHIRE BLVD WILSHIRE BLVD

WILSHIRE BLVD

SANTA MONICA BLVD

CRESCE NT DR

WARNALL AVE
W 3RD ST

SAN VICENTE BLVD

S CAMDEN DR

SUNSET BLVD

MORENO DR

N OAKHURST DR

N PALM DR

N MAPLE DR N MAPLE DR

S BEDFORD DR

BENEDICT C ANYON DR

FOX HILLS DR

CENTURY
PARK

N LE DOUX RD

LAKE DR

N HAMEL DR

BENECIA
AVE

SCHUMACHER
D
R

HOLLOWAY
ALFRED

DOHENY RD

N ROXBURY DR

N BEDFORD DR

N RODEO DR

BEVERWIL

S WOOSTER ST

REEVES ST

GLENVILLE DR

CARDIFF AVE
CLUB
VIEW
DR

LAUREL WAY

N CROFT AVE

S DOHENY DR

S P ALDING DR

SPALDING DR

BRIER DR

EASTBORNE AVE

ANGELO DR

W OLYMPIC
BLVD

HARTFORD WAY

KEITH AVE

N SIERRA DR
N
CANON
DR

PECK DR
TOWER
RD

N CRESCENT
DR
N

CRESCENT
DR

MELROSE

VIDOR DR

DAYTON WAY

SHERWOOD

S ALFRED ST
W 4TH ST

DURANT DR

ALPINE DR
ALPINE
DR

HILLC REST
RD

HILLCREST
RD

MELROSE AVE

LLO YD PL

WHITTIER
DR

SUM MIT DR

CARMELITA
AVE

CHEROKEE LN

FOOTHILL
RD

PARK WAY

N REXFORD
DR

N REXFORD DR

N DOHENY DR

N WETHERLY DR

CIVIC CENTER DR

N LA PEER DR

N SWALL DR

N CLARK DR

LOMITAS
AVE

DICKS ST

BLACKBURN AVE

S HAMEL DR

TRENTON DR

ALTA DR
KINGS

N CROFT AVE OLIVE

RANGELY AVE

DORRINGTON AVE

K NI GS
N ELM
DR

S CANON DR

S OAKHURST DR

S WETHERLY DR

S ELM DR

AL F RED

S SWALL DR

WALDEN DR

S ALMONT DR

S CLARK DR

S PALM DR

REEVES DR

ELCAMINO DR

S MAPLE DR

S CRESCENT DR

MCCARTY DR

S LINDEN DR

S REXFORD DR

S ROXBURY DR
BONNER

LAKE FRANKLIN DR

S CORNING ST

N BEVE R LY
DR

N LINDEN DR

S GALE DR

ARDEN DR

ROBERT LN
KINGS
N
PALM
DR

N CARSON RD

FE R R ARIDR
N
MAPLE
DR

HEATH AVE

N STANLEY DR

EDRIS DR

STANLEY
HILLS
DR

CLARK ST

FOOTHILL RD

EVELYN PL

REXFORD DR
ENSLEY
AVE

PALM AVE
MARILY
N DR

N OAKHURST DR

S ORLANDO AVE

BRIGHTON WAY
MGM DR

HOLT AVE

MOUNTAIN DR

N ELM DR

N ALMONT DR

HILL CREST
DR

NORWICH

N HAMILTON DR
W
O
O
DLAND
DR

CO VE WAY

BEVERLY
PK

CHALETTE DR

RI DGE M ONT DR

N LA CIENEGA BLVD

GREGORY WAY

OLYMPIC BLVD OLYMPIC BLVD OLYMPIC BLVD

S RODEO DR

S LA PEER DR

WHITWORTH DR

S SHENANDOAH ST

S BEDFORD ST

S SHERBOURNE DR

S HOLT AVE

S LA CIENEGA BLVD

OLYMPIC BLVD

CHALMERS DR

OAKHURST DR

CANFIELD AVE

S CREST DR

LIVONIA AVE

S LA JOLLA AVE
ALVIRA
ST

GALAXY WAY

S BEVERLY DR

AVENUE OF THE STARS

CONSTELLATION BLVD

CENTURY PK W
THAYER

AVE HOLMBY AVE

S BEVERLY GLEN B L VD
S

BEVE RLY

GLEN BLV
D
CO
MSTO
CK AVE

VIRGINIA

SMITHWOOD

DANIELS AVE

CASTELLO
MOORE

WILLAMAN DR

MARYLAND
W 5TH ST

DREXEL AVE

COLGATE AVE

N ROBERTSON BLVD

N ARNAZ DR
W 3RD ST

ALDEN DR
W 3RD ST

ALDEN DR

BURTON WAY
S SAN

VICENTE
BLVD

OAKWOOD AVE

BEVERLY BLVD

ASHCROFT AVE

ROSEWOOD AVE

N PALM DR

ROSEWOOD AVE

WESTBOUR NE

WESTMOUN T

WEST KNOLL

N DOHENY DR

N CAMDEN DR
N

BEVERLY DR

CARMELITA AVE

ELEVADO AVE

SUNSET BLVD

N SANTA MONICA BLVD

S SANTA MONICA BLVD

PANDORA
AVE

N ROXBURY DR

N CRESCENT
DR

N BEVERLY DR
N
REXFO
RD
D R

S CH U YLER
RD

WALLACE RID GE HILLC
REST R
C
D

ARLA RI DGE

LOMA VIS TA DRARKELL DR

C ARLA RIDGE

CASTLE PL

TRO USDA L E PL

MAR TI N LN
HAYNES

CALL E V

SI T A DR

LAGO V I STA
DR
SUM

MI T DR

SA N YSIDRO DR

TO WER RD
T

OW ER G
ROV E
DR
SU

MMIT RIDG
E DR

LAUREL WAY

FRANKLIN CAN YO N
D
R

W ONDERLAND AVE

L O OKOUT MOUNTAIN AVE
BL U

E JAY WAY

RISING GLEN R
D

WALNUT DR

RIDPATH DR

KIRKW O O D DR

G R A ND VIE W

APPIAN WAY

NIGHTIN G ALE DR
KINGS

Q UEENS RD

SUNSE T PLAZA DR

T HRA S HER
SIERRA
A LTA
WAY

N DOHEN Y D R

HILLDALE

HAMMOND ST

HANCOCK AVE
N
DOHENY
DR

SUNS E T PL A Z A

LON D ONDERRY

N WETHE R L Y D R

R U G BY PL

A PPIAN WAY

S UNSET CREST

HILLGREEN DR LASKY DR

HACIENDA
A

FOUNTAIN AVE

LTA LOMA

WEST KNOLL

CLINTON AVE

CHARLEVILLE BLVD

W PICO BLVD

CHARLEVILLE BLVD

LOMITAS AVE

N BEVERLY
DR
S

BEVERLY DR

HUNTLEY

N LA CIENEGA BLVD

BURTON WAY

CLIFTON WAY
SHA D

OW HIL L WAY
LO MA
LIND
A DR
SP
SP
SP
SP
General Plan Land Use Designations - City of Beverly Hills Legend
Single family residential
Low density
Medium density
High density
Multi-family residential
Very low density
Low density
Low medium density
Medium density
High density
Commercial
Low density general
Low density general or medium
density retail
Low density general or medium
density retail
Medium density commercial
Low density general and
municipal
Mixed use
Mixed use #2
Mixed use #3
M-PD-5 overlay zone
Specific plan - hotel uses
Specific plan - Beverly Hills
Gardens
Specific plan - 9900 Wilshire
Specific plan - Beverly Hilton
Overlay specific plan - One
Beverly Hills
Mixed use overlay
Parks and quasi-public uses
Parks
Public buildings
Public schools
Railroad
Maximum
density
(DU/Acre)
Maximum
height
(feet)
1 4
6 22
40 40
45 50
33 - 45
30 40
60 60

2.0 (FAR)

5.0 (FAR)

3.6 (FAR)

1.5 - 2.0
(FAR)

4.0 (FAR)

Map produced by: City of Beverly Hills - IT - GIS
455 N. Rexford Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90210
December 04, 2023
SP
SP
SP
SP

79.2* refer to mixed-use
overlay zone map
E
0 970 1,940
Feet
1:19,500

2.5 (FAR) 47
* The maximum density for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone
may vary for residential conversion/adaptive reuse projects, calculated pursuant to BHMC Section 10-3-1888
DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 B0785-0009\2780832v2.doc

EXHIBIT B
Addendum to Adopted Negative Declaration (ND) for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966

ADDENDUM
TO

NEGATIVE DECLARATION
Project Title
Beverly Hills Mixed Use Overlay Zone Update
Lead Agency and Address
City of Beverly Hills
Community Development Department
455 N. Rexford Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Contact Person and Phone Number
Chloe Chen
Senior Planner
Community Development Department, City of Beverly Hills (310) 285-1194
Project Location
The City of Beverly Hills is bordered by the City of West Hollywood to the east, the City of Los Angeles neighborhoods of Carthay to the south, Century City to the west, and Holmby Hills and Brentwood to the northwest and north. The City is 5.7 square miles and is home to a resident population of approximately 35,000 people.

The project involves an update to the City’s existing Mixed Use Overlay Zone, which allows mixed use development (residential and commercial uses in the same structure) on certain commercial properties in the City. The parcels upon which the overlay zone is applied are located throughout the City, mostly along major commercial thoroughfares including commercially zoned parcels:
• fronting Wilshire Boulevard between San Vicente Boulevard and Rexford Drive • fronting Wilshire Boulevard on the southern side of Wilshire Boulevard between Rexford Drive and South Santa Monica Boulevard
• fronting La Cienega Boulevard between the northern and southern borders of the City • fronting Robertson Boulevard between the northern and southern borders of the City • fronting Olympic Boulevard located between the eastern border of the City and Rexford Drive to the west
• fronting the 100 block of South Doheny Drive
• fronting San Vicente Boulevard between Wilshire Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard
• fronting South Santa Monica Boulevard located between Wilshire Boulevard and Moreno Drive
DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 Addendum to Negative Declaration
January 18, 2024
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• fronting the 100 block of South Beverly Drive
Background
This document is an Addendum to the Initial Study/Negative Declaration (IS/ND) that was prepared for the original general plan amendment and zoning amendments that enabled mixed use development in certain commercial areas, and the creation of an overlay zone in the Beverly Hills Municipal Code (BHMC) to allow mixed use development, which was adopted by the City of Beverly Hills on November 10, 2020 (the “original Project”) per City Council Ordinance No. 20- O-2825 and Resolution No. 20-R-13319. The IS/ND document, inclusive of exhibits, is hereby incorporated by reference, and is available at www.beverlyhills.org/environmental.

The IS/ND for the original Project studied the potential environmental effects on Aesthetics, Agricultural and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology and Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population and Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Transportation/Traffic, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities and Service Systems, and Mandatory Findings of Significance. The previously adopted ND concluded there were not significant impacts in any of the studied issue areas listed above.

The City is now proposing a change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations to allow the use of the minimum unit size (500 square feet) and the building’s existing floor area above the ground floor to calculate the maximum density allowed for residential conversion projects, rather than a calculation based on lot area as would be otherwise required. The proposed change to the density calculation for residential conversion projects also necessitates an update to the General Plan Land Use map for consistency. These changes are proposed to bring the density calculation for residential conversion projects in line with the original intent of the adopted Mixed Use Overlay Zone Ordinance. This addendum to the adopted IS/ND addresses the minor technical changes that will be made to the General Plan Land Use map and the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations in the BHMC (the “Amendments”), which will be considered for adoption by the City Council.

Statutory Requirements
Section 15164 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines allows for a lead agency to prepare an addendum to an adopted negative declaration or environmental impact report (EIR) if only minor technical changes or additions are necessary or if none of the conditions described in Section 15162 calling for the preparation of a subsequent EIR or negative declaration have occurred. Pursuant to CEQA Section 15162, no subsequent negative declaration shall be prepared for the project unless the lead agency determines, on the basis of substantial evidence in the light of the whole record, one or more of the following:
(1) Substantial changes are proposed in the project that will require major revisions of the previous negative declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 Addendum to Negative Declaration
January 18, 2024
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(2) Substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous negative declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; or, (3) New information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the previous EIR was certified as complete or the negative declaration was adopted, shows any of the following:
a. The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR or negative declaration;
b. Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR;
c. Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative; or
d. Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative.

This Addendum evaluates the Amendments and demonstrates that these revisions do not necessate addition of environmental information of substantial importance, and instead necessitate only minor technical changes to the previously adopted ND, and therefore, do not meet any of the requirements set forth in Section 15162. This Addendum will be considered by the decision making body in conjunction with consideration of the Amendments.

Project Description
The Mixed Use Overlay Zone established development standards to guide commercial/residential mixed use developments along specific commercial corridors within the C-3 Commercial Zone.

The regulations allow both the construction of new mixed use developments as well as the residential conversion of existing commercial buildings located within the Mixed Use Overlay Zone. A residential conversion (also known as adaptive reuse) project consists of the reuse of an existing commercial building into a building that includes both residential units and commercial uses. The Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations set forth in BHMC Title 10, Chapter 3, Article

18.7 include a density calculation based on the lot area of the subject site, which allows a maximum of 1 dwelling unit per 550 square feet of lot area (or 79.2 dwelling units per acre). While this density would apply to a new mixed use development because it determines a density of development proportional to the site area, it would not make sense to apply this density calculation to a residential conversion project because there are existing commercial buildings within the Mixed Use Overlay Zone that contain a greater amount of floor area and have a greater height than DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 Addendum to Negative Declaration
January 18, 2024
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what is currently allowed under the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations. This means that the density calculation currently allowed under the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations may result in a lower number of units than what could be reasonably developed within an existing commercial building. However, the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations also set forth a minimum unit size of 500 square feet for an efficiency unit or a 1-bedroom unit, and a minimum unit size of 800 square feet for a 2-bedroom unit, and states that the average floor area of all residential units shall not exceed 1,750 square feet. Rather than applying the lot size density calculation to a residential conversion project, applying the minimum unit size of 500 square feet to calculate the maximum density would allow the maximum number of units that could fit within the existing building envelope to be constructed within a residential conversion project. The proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations would be to clarify that a residential conversion project may calculate maximum density by using the existing building floor area (as defined by the BHMC, less the ground floor footprint floor area) above the ground floor and divide this by the minimum unit size of 500 square feet to determine the number of dwelling units permitted within the building. The ground floor footprint area would be excluded from the existing building floor area used to calculate the density because the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations require that the first forty feet (40’) of depth of any façade facing the street on the ground floor be reserved for nonresidential uses, which will likely result in the majority of the ground floor being used for commercial purposes. In addition, the General Plan Land Use map would be updated for consistency to note that the maximum density for a residential conversion project may vary across the buildings/properties within the Mixed Use Overlay Zone area, and would be calculated pursuant to existing building floor area above the ground floor divided by 500 square feet. As detailed in this section, the Amendments consist of minor changes and revisions, as well as the addition of new information to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations and General Plan Land Use map.

Review of Environmental Impacts and Determination
An analysis of the Amendments, changes in circumstances, and any new information since the certification of the previous IS/ND has been completed to determine if any new environmental impacts could occur. The environmental analysis and conclusions provided in the IS/ND remain current and applicable to the Amendments. All potential impacts in the CEQA Appendix G Environmental Checklist Form were considered during the preparation of this Addendum, and it has been determined that no new impacts would result from the minor revisions made to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations and the General Plan Land Use map. Nothing in the Amendments will result in greater impacts to the Aesthetics, Agricultural and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology and Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population and Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Transportation/Traffic, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities and Service Systems, and Mandatory Findings of Significance topic areas studied in the project’s IS/ND. Furthermore, since the adoption of the ND in 2020, the environmental issue areas of Energy and Wildfire have been added to the Appendix G checklist DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 Addendum to Negative Declaration
January 18, 2024
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for CEQA analysis. This additional analysis is included below:

ENERGY
Would the project:

Question CEQA Determination
a) Result in potentially significant environmental impact due to wasteful, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy resources, during project construction or operation?
No Impact
b) Conflict with or obstruct a state or local plan for renewable energy or energy efficiency?
No Impact
a) No Impact. The Amendments do not result in potentially significant environmental impacts due to the wasteful, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy resources during project construction or operation. The adopted Mixed Use Overlay Zone already allows residential conversion mixed use developments to be constructed, and the Amendments would simply change the density calculation applicable to these types of projects. Therefore, the potential environmental impacts for these types of projects has been previously assessed within the adopted IS/ND. The Amendments would potentially increase the maximum number of units that may be created within a residential conversion mixed use development, however, these units would still be contained within the existing building envelope. Thus, a residential convension project would likely require the use of fewer building materials and resources to construct it, as compared to a new mixed use development that could involve both the demolition of an existing building and construction of a new building. A residential conversion project would also be required to comply with applicable energy efficiency standards and code requirements, and would likely result in the upgrading of the existing building’s energy infrastructure, which could lead to greater energy efficiency overall.
b) No Impact. The Amendments do not conflict with nor obstruct a state or local plan for renewable or energy efficiency. Any mixed use development constructed pursuant to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone would comply with all applicable renewable or energy efficiency development standards and code requirements. In addition, a residential conversion mixed use development may be more energy efficient because it utilizes an existing structure and therefore, eliminates the need to demolish and rebuild a structure. A residential conversion project would also likely result in upgrading of the existing building’s energy infrastructure.

WILDFIRE
If located in or near state responsibility areas or lands classified as very high fire hazard severity zones, would the project:

DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 Addendum to Negative Declaration
January 18, 2024
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Question CEQA Determination
a) Substantially impair an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan?
No Impact
b) Due to slope, prevailing winds, and other factors, exacerbate wildfire risks, and thereby expose project occupants to, pollutant concentrations from a wildfire or the uncontrolled spread of a wildfire?
No Impact
c) Require the installation or maintenance of associated infrastructure (such as roads, fuel breaks, emergency water sources, power lines or other utilities) that may exacerbate fire risk or that may result in temporary or ongoing impacts to the environment?
No Impact
d) Expose people or structures to significant risks, including downslope or downstream flooding or landslides, as a result of runoff, post-fire slope instability, or drainage changes? No Impact
a) No Impact. The Amendments would not substantially impair an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan because the Amendments would only apply a different density calculation to residential conversion mixed use developments. The Mixed Use Overlay Zone is located along several commercial corridors within the City, and these areas may be accessed by several public right-of-ways in the event of an emergency response or evacuation. A residential conversion mixed use development would also be located within an existing commercial building and therefore, would not result in a change to the development pattern of the City and would be served by existing emergency response plans and emergency evacuation plans.
b) No Impact. The Amendments would apply to residential conversion mixed use developments in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone, which is located along several commercial corridors in the City. These commercial corridors are located in the area of the City that is fully built out and in which there are minimal slopes and no natural hillside topography.

While there is a designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) in the City north of Sunset Boulevard, the Mixed Use Overlay Zone is not located within this area nor in close proximity to it. The areas included within the Mixed Use Overlay Zone are fully built out and are easily accessible to emergency responders and other emergency infrastructure. The Mixed Use Overlay Zone is distributed along corridors that run both east-west and north-south throughout the southern portion of the City. Therefore, there are no environmental impacts due to slope, prevailing winds, and other factors that would exacerbate wildfire risks, and thereby expose project occupants to, pollutant concentrations from a wildfire or the uncontrolled spread of a wildfire. c) No Impact. The Amendments would not require the installation or maintenance of associated infrastructure (such as roads, fuel breaks, emergency water sources, power lines or other utilities) that may exacerbate fire risk or that may result in temporary or ongoing impacts to the environment. The Amendments would only help to facilitate the residential DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 Addendum to Negative Declaration
January 18, 2024
- 7 -
conversion of an existing commercial building to a mixed use development, and such existing buildings would already have infrastructure in place for the building’s operation.

While it is possible that upgrades to existing infrastructure or additional infrastructure such as power lines or utilities may be required, these would be located within a fully built out area of the City. Any changes to infrastructure would be assessed for compliance with applicable safety code requirements. In addition, since the original IS/ND included analysis of the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations that already allowed residential conversion mixed use developments, the totality of potential development under the Mixed Use Overlay Zone has already been assessed and determined to have no significant impact. A residential conversion mixed use development would likely result in a lesser impact than a new mixed use development, since it would be contained within an existing building envelope. The Amendments would only change the applicable density calculation for residential conversion mixed use development, and therefore would not exacerbate fire risk or result in temporary or ongoing impacts to the environment. d) No Impact. The Amendments would only result in a change to the applicable density calculation for a residential conversion mixed use development that could be constructed within the Mixed Use Overlay Zone area. The Amendments would not expose people or structures to significant risks, including downslope or downstream flooding or landslides, as a result of runoff, post-fire slope instability, or drainage changes because the Mixed Use Overlay Zone area is located along commercial corridors in an area of the City that does not have a significant slope or hillside topography. While there is a designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) in the City north of Sunset Boulevard, the Mixed Use Overlay Zone is not located within this area nor in close proximity to it. A residential conversion mixed use development would be located within this area and within an existing commercial building in a fully built out area that is easily accessible to emergency responders and other emergency infrastructure. A residential conversion mixed use development would not likely result in significant changes to the existing infrastructure and development pattern and therefore, would not expose people in such projects to significant risks.

Further, the modifications proposed to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone and General Plan Land Use map are minor and none of the conditions outlined in CEQA Section 15162 have occurred as explained below, specifically:
(1) No substantial changes are proposed in the project that will require major revisions of the previous negative declaration due to the involvement of new, significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects.

The Amendments include only minor technical changes and the addition of further information to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations and General Plan Land Use map.

The proposed change is a minor clarification in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations to allow the use of the minimum unit size and the building’s existing floor area above the ground level to calculate the maximum density for a residential conversion project. In DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 Addendum to Negative Declaration
January 18, 2024
- 8 -
addition, the General Plan Land Use map will be updated for consistency with the change to the density noted for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone. The Amendments do not include modifications to development patterns or changes in the pattern of land uses established in the General Plan, and do not include changes that affect where mixed use developments are allowed to be constructed in the City. Although the change to the density calculation for residential conversion projects may result in a higher density than is currently allowed under the lot area density calculation, it does not allow for more intense development because a residential conversion project would only allow the creation of residential units within an existing building. A residential conversion project would likely involve only rehabilitation and remodeling of an existing structure, and would likely not consist of more intensive and impactful construction activities typically associated with the demolition of an existing building and subsequent construction of a new building. The Amendments also do not propose or contemplate specific development projects. The adoption of the Amendments to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone and General Plan Land Use map will not result in any direct changes to the physical environment. Therefore, the project would not involve new, significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects, as the adopted IS/ND also did not identify any significant environmental effects.
(2) No substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous negative declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects.

It has been determined that no substantial changes have occurred with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken, and thus no major revisions of the previous negative declaration are necessary. The Amendments include only minor technical changes and the addition of information to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations and the General Plan Land Use map, and will not cause any significant effects to the environment. Since the proposed change to the density calculation applicable to residential conversion projects in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone would simply allow the creation of residential units and a mixed use development within an existing commercial building in the City. The proposed change would not expand the area in the City to which the Mixed Use Overlay Zone applies, and does not allow more development area than what was previously contemplated under the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations. The Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations currently allow new mixed use developments and residential conversion projects, and the proposed ordinance only clarifies the density calculation applicable to residential conversion projects. The proposed density calculation applicable to residential conversion projects would apply the existing minimum unit size standard for mixed use developments in order to allow the creation of residential units within an existing building envelope. The proposed change to the General Plan Land Use map would simply clarify the density calculation applicable to residential conversion projects in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone. In addition, no circumstances have significantly changed within the DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 Addendum to Negative Declaration
January 18, 2024
- 9 -
Mixed Use Overlay Zone since the adoption of the original project, and thus, no significant changes have occurred since adoption of the IS/ND for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone. (3) New information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the negative declaration was adopted, shows any of the following:
a. The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR or negative declaration;
Analysis of the Amendments indicates that there is no new information of substantial importance, which was not known at the time the IS/ND was adopted in November 2020 that shows the project will have significant effects on the environment, or effects that will be substantially more severe than shown in the IS/ND. The additional evaluation included in this addendum concludes that there are no significant effects on the environment as a result of Energy or Wildfire or conflict with a state or local energy plan. These are two new environmental issue areas added to the Appendix G checklist since the 2020 publication of the IS/ND.
b. Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR;
No significant effects were previously identified in the previously adopted IS/ND and no EIR was previously prepared.
c. Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative; or
No significant or potentially significant effects were identified for the previously adopted IS/ND. The Amendments do not include changes to the development potential, or land uses originally contemplated for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone, as the original project allowed both new mixed use developments and residential conversion mixed use projects. Although the proposed change to the density calculation could result in a greater number of residential units that result from a residential conversion project in an existing commercial building that contains greater floor area and height than permitted under the current Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations, the building is existing in the City and thus would not result in new construction activities or impacts.

The proposed change would simply change the calculation formula for the maximum number of residential units allowed within an existing commercial building that is being converted to a mixed use development. In addition, the proposed change to the General Plan Land Use map would add information to clarify the density calculation for residential conversion projects, consistent with the proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations. As a result, no significant impacts would result, and no additional mitigation measures or alternatives are or were necessary.

DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 Addendum to Negative Declaration
January 18, 2024
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d. Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative.

The previously adopted ND indicated that the Project would not result in significant impacts to Agricultural and Forestry Resources, Biological Resources, Mineral Resources, and Transportation/Traffic. The ND also indicated that the ordinance would result in less than significant impacts related to Air Quality, Cultural Resources, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Public Services, Recreation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities and Service Systems, and the Mandatory Findings of Significance. The ND found that there was either no impact or less than significant impacts on certain environmental issues related to Aesthetics, Geology and Soils, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Noise, and Population and Housing. No significant effects were identified for the adopted IS/ND, therefore, no mitigation measures were previously identified in the adopted IS/ND. In addition, since the adoption of the original IS/ND, Energy and Wildfire were added as environmental issue areas required to be included in the CEQA checklist. As analyxed in this addendum, there are no significant effects related to these additional environmental issue areas. The Amendments do not include changes to the development potential of the Mixed Use Overlay Zone, which already permits both new mixed use developments and residential conversion of existing commercial buildings into mixed use developments. The proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations would allow the use of the minimum unit size to calculate the maximum density allowed within a residential conversion mixed use project. The use of this calculation would not in itself increase the height or physical size of the existing building, but would only allow the creation of residential units within an existing building envelope. Although the proposed change to the density calculation could result in a greater number of residential units that result from a residential conversion project in an existing commercial building beyond what would otherwise be permitted utilizing a lot area calculation, the building is existing in the City and thus would not result in new construction activities or impacts that are typically associated with the construction of a new building. The proposed change to the General Plan Land Use map would bring this map into consistency with the proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone density calculation for residential conversion projects. As a result, no significant impacts were identified, and no mitigation measures or alternatives were necessary.

Conclusion
Given the analysis presented in this Addendum, it is therefore found that the Amendments to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone and General Plan Land Use map would not result in a measurable increase in environmental impacts over what was previously analyzed in the adopted IS/ND for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone There are no changes with respect to the circumstances under which DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 Addendum to Negative Declaration
January 18, 2024
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the project is undertaken that will require revisions to the previous IS/ND. . In addition, as discussed in this addendum, there are no significant impacts in the issue areas of Energy and Wildfire, two issue areas added to the CEQA Appendix G checklist after the adoption of the 2020 IS/ND.Therefore, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15164, an Addendum to the IS/ND is appropriate and has been prepared to document the minor technical changes and addition of information that have been included in the Amendments to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone and the General Plan Land Use map.
____________________________ January 18, 2024

CHLOE CHEN, SENIOR PLANNER
DocuSign Envelope ID: F5BC5759-5EB2-4E99-9555-E55C94663966 Certificate Of Completion
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455 N. Rexford Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
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Attachment 3
Planning Commission Resolution No.
2039 (Exhibit A: General Plan Land Use
Map, Exhibit B: Draft Ordinance, Exhibit
C: Addendum to ND)
1 RESOLUTION NO.

A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE

CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS RECOMMENDING THAT THE

CITY COUNCIL ADOPT AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE

MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE REGULATIONS APPLICABLE

TO RESIDENTIAL CONVERSION OF EXISTING

COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS TO MIXED USE BUILDINGS

AND A GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT TO UPDATE THE
GENERAL PLAN LAND USE MAP; AND AN ADDENDUM TO

AN ADOPTED NEGATIVE DECLARATION (ND) FOR THE

MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE AMENDMENTS
The Planning Commission of the City of Beverly Hills hereby finds, resolves, and determines as follows:

Section 1. At the July 28, 2023 City Council formal meeting, the City Council reviewed the City’s progress implementing the Mixed Use Overlay Zone, and discussed potential changes to the regulations. As part of this discussion, the City Council provided direction to amend the regulations pertaining to residential conversion of existing commercial buildings in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone, in particular a change to the density calculation applicable to residential conversion projects. The proposed change would allow the use of the minimum unit size of 500 square feet to calculate the maximum density allowed for residential conversion projects, rather than the current density calculation that is based on the lot size. The calculation would use the existing building floor area determined pursuant to the definition of non-residential and multifamily floor area in section 10-3-100 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code, minus the ground floor footprint floor area. This change allows a residential conversion project to maximize the number of dwelling units that can be created within an existing building envelope. The change also requires 2 the General Plan Land Use Map in order to bring it into consistency with the change to the density calculation for residential conversion projects.

Section 2. On September 28, 2023, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing to review a proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations to amend the residential conversion density calculation, and a clarifying change to the General Plan Land Use Map to make the density calculation for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone consistent with the proposed change. The Planning Commission adopted this Resolution No. recommending that the City Council amend the General Plan and the Beverly Hills Municipal Code to adopt the permanent regulations (collectively, the “Amendments”).

Section 3. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) the City Council considered an addendum to the Negative Declaration (ND) adopted in conjunction with the initial adoption of the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations, including all comments submitted to the City regarding the ND, and found, in its independent judgment and analysis, that there was no substantial evidence that the project will have a significant impact on the environment , and adopted the ND for the ordinance. The City of Beverly Hills was the lead agency, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and was responsible for the preparation of the ND and related initial study. The previously adopted ND indicated that the Project would not result in significant impacts to Agricultural and Forestry Resources, Biological Resources, Mineral Resources, and Transportation/Traffic. The ND also indicated that the ordinance would result in less than significant impacts related to Air Quality, Cultural Resources, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Public Services, Recreation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities and Service Systems, and the Mandatory Findings of Significance. The ND found that there was either no impact or less than significant impacts on certain environmental issues related to Aesthetics, Geology and Soils, 3 Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Noise, and Population and Housing.

Section 4. An addendum to the previously adopted ND for a proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone has been prepared, pursuant to California Code of Regulations, Title 14, §15164. The proposed General Plan Amendment and Amendment to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations will include a clarification regarding the calculation of maximum density allowed for residential conversion projects under the MU Overlay Zone, and a change to the General Plan Land Use map noting this clarification. As discussed in the addendum, since these changes consist of clarifications to existing regulations, the Project will not result in significant impacts to the areas of study in the adopted ND and would not result in a measurable increase in environmental impacts over what was previously analyzed in the adopted ND. There are no changes with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken that will require revisions to the adopted ND, and none of the conditions in California Code of Regulations, Title 14, §15162 have occurred.

Since the adoption of the ND in 2020, the environmental issue areas of Energy and Wildfire have been added to the CEQA checklist. The addendum analyzed these issue areas and found that no impact would result from the Project, and therefore, no significant effects would result from the additional areas of study. Therefore, the Planning Commission recommends the approval of the addendum to the previously adopted ND to the City Council to make minor technical changes and add information.

Section 5. The Amendments are consistent with the objectives, principles, and standards of the General Plan. General Plan Housing Element (HE) Goal 2 – Housing Supply and Diversity encourages housing of all types and adequate supply of housing to meet the existing and future needs of the community. General Plan HE Policy 1.4 – Historic Preservation promotes the 4 preservation of historically and architecturally significant buildings and historic neighborhoods through land use policies. General Plan HE Policy 2.5 – Adaptive Reuse calls for strategies that support adaptive reuse of existing structures to provide housing opportunities. General Plan HE Policy 2.7 – Environmentally Sustainable Housing promotes the creation of sustainable buildings to reduce carbon emissions. General Plan HE Goal 4 – Reducing Constraints calls for the mitigation of governmental constraints on the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing. General Plan Land Use (LU) Goal 2 – Community Character and Quality promotes a built environment distinguished by a high level of design and sensitivity to the setting. Similarly, General Plan LU Policy 2.1 – City Places: Neighborhoods, Districts, and Corridors encourages the maintenance of qualities that distinguish the City’s unique residential and business areas, including aesthetics of the built form and scale of residential neighborhoods. General Plan LU Policy 5.1 - Neighborhood Conservation calls for the maintenance of the uses, densities, character, amenities, and quality of the City’s residential neighborhoods, recognizing their contribution to the City’s identity, economic value, and quality of life. General Plan LU General Plan LU Policy 6.1- Neighborhood Identity calls for the maintenance of characteristics that distinguish the City’s single-family neighborhoods from one another in such terms as topography, lot size, housing scale and form, and public streetscapes. Similarly, General Plan LU Policy 6.2 - Housing Character and Design calls for requiring new, renovated, and additions to housing to be located and designed to maintain the distinguishing characteristics and qualities of the neighborhoods in which they are located, including prevailing lot sizes, building form, scale, massing, relationship to street frontages, architectural design, landscaping, property setbacks, and other comparable elements.

Amending sections of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code to promote residential conversion projects will help to provide greater housing opportunities and preserve the character of the community, as 5 such projects may be created within existing structures. The Amendments will also reduce governmental constraints and promote opportunities for adaptive reuse of commercial structures in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone. Further, the Amendments are consistent with the objectives, principles, and standards of the General Plan as set forth above.

Section 6. The Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City Council the adoption amend the General Plan related to the conversion density allowance substantially as sown in Exhibit A and adopt an ordinance as amended approving and enacting the proposed Amendments substantially as set forth in Exhibit B, which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
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6 Section 7. The Secretary of the Planning Commission shall certify to the passage, approval, and adoption of this resolution, and shall cause this resolution and his/her Certification to be entered in the Book of Resolutions of the Planning Commission of the City.

Adopted: September 28, 2023
Gary B. Ross
Chair of the Planning Commission of the
City of Beverly Hills
Attest:

Masa Alkire, AICP
Secretary of the Planning Commission
Approved as to form: Approved as to content:

David M. Snow Masa Alkire, AICP
Assistant City Attorney City Planner
Community Development Department
EXHIBIT A: General Plan Land Use Map
EXHIBIT B: Draft Ordinance
EXHIBIT C: Addendum to Adopted ND for Mixed Use Overlay Zone EXHIBIT A - General Plan Land Use Map

BEVERLY BLVD
CO

WILSHIRE BLVD WILSHIRE BLVD WILSHIRE BLVD
N DR
DO E

ANGELO DR
HA
N
TR

ROB RT LN
UNT

GREGORY WAY GREGORY WAY OLYMPIC BLVD OLYMPIC BLVD OLYMPIC BLVD N
M
E
L
L N
R

CHARLEVILLE BLVD CHARLEVILLE BLVD

BURTON WAY
Y
SP
SP
SP
SP
General Plan Land Use Designations - City of Beverly Hills Legend Single family residential Low density Medium density High density Multi-family residential Very low density Low density Low medium density Medium density High density Commercial Low density general Low density general or medium density retail Low density general or medium
density retail Medium density commercial Low density general and municipal Mixed use Mixed use #2 Mixed use #3 M-PD-5 overlay zone Specific plan - hotel uses Specific plan - Beverly Hills Gardens Specific plan - 9900 Wilshire Specific plan - Beverly Hilton Overlay specific plan - One Beverly Hills Mixed use overlay Parks and quasi-public uses Parks Public buildings Public schools Railroad Maximum
density
(DU/Acre) Maximum
height
(feet) 1
4 6
22 40
40 45
50 33 - 45
30 40
60 60

2.0 (FAR)

5.0 (FAR)

3.6 (FAR) 1.5 - 2.0
(FAR)

4.0 (FAR)

2.0 (FAR) 45
85 100
92 45
60 61
This map is for informational purposes. The City of
Beverly Hills makes no representations or warranties
of any kind with respect to the accuracy of the
information or data furnished herein. Map produced by: City of Beverly Hills - IT - GIS 455 N. Rexford Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90210
September 20, 2023
SP
SP
SP
SP

79.2* refer to mixed-use overlay zone map
0 970 1,940Feet 1:19,500

2.5 (FAR) 47
* The maximum density for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone
may vary for residential conversion/adaptive reuse projects, but shall not exceed existing building floor area divided by 500 square feet, pursuant to BHMC Section 10-3-1888
EXHIBIT B – Draft Ordinance
[DRAFT] ORDINANCE NO. 23-O-____

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS

AMENDING THE MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE

REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO RESIDENTIAL

CONVERSION OF EXISTING COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS TO

MIXED USE BUILDINGS AND AN ADDENDUM TO AN

ADOPTED NEGATIVE DECLARATION (ND) FOR THE

MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE AMENDMENTS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:

Section 2. On September 28, 2023, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing to review a proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations to amend the residential conversion density calculation, after which it adopted Resolution No. recommending that the City Council amend the Beverly Hills Municipal Code to adopt the permanent regulations (collectively, the “Amendments”). On ___________, 2023, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing, received public testimony, and thereafter introduced this Ordinance.

Section 3. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) the City Council considered a Mitigated Negative Declaration (ND) for the creation of the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations , including all comments submitted to the City regarding the ND, and found, in its independent judgment and analysis, that there was no substantial evidence that the Mixed Use Overlay Ordinance would have a significant impact on the environment, and adopted the ND . The City of Beverly Hills was the lead agency, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and was responsible for the preparation of the ND and related initial study.

Section 4. An addendum to the previously adopted ND for a proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone has been prepared, pursuant to California Code of Regulations, Title 14, §15164. The proposed Amendment to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations, and the related General Plan land use map amendment, will include a clarification regarding the calculation of maximum density allowed for residential conversion projects under the MU Overlay Zone, and a change to the General Plan Land Use map noting this clarification. As discussed in the addendum, since these changes consist of clarifications to existing regulations, the Project will not result in significant impacts to the areas of study in the adopted ND and would not result in a measurable increase in environmental impacts over what was previously analyzed in the adopted ND. There are no changes with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken that will require revisions to the adopted ND, and none of the conditions in California Code of Regulations, Title 14, §15162 have occurred. Since the adoption of the ND in 2020, the environmental issue areas of Energy and Wildfire have been added to the CEQA checklist. The addendum analyzed these issue areas and found that no impact would result from the Project, and therefore, no significant effects would result from the additional areas of study. Therefore, the City Coucncil hereby adopts and approves the addendum to the previously adopted ND to make minor technical changes and add information.

Section 5. The Amendments are consistent with the objectives, principles, and standards of the General Plan. General Plan Housing Element (HE) Goal 2 – Housing Supply and Diversity encourages housing of all types and adequate supply of housing to meet the existing and future needs of the community. General Plan HE Policy 1.4 – Historic Preservation promotes the preservation of historically and architecturally significant buildings and historic neighborhoods through land use policies. General Plan HE Policy 2.5 – Adaptive Reuse calls for strategies that support adaptive reuse of existing structures to provide housing opportunities. General Plan HE Policy 2.7 – Environmentally Sustainable Housing promotes the creation of sustainable buildings to reduce carbon emissions. General Plan HE Goal 4 – Reducing Constraints calls for the mitigation of governmental constraints on the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing. General Plan Land Use (LU) Goal 2 – Community Character and Quality promotes a built environment distinguished by a high level of design and sensitivity to the setting. Similarly, General Plan LU Policy 2.1 – City Places: Neighborhoods, Districts, and Corridors encourages the maintenance of qualities that distinguish the City’s unique residential and business areas, including aesthetics of the built form and scale of residential neighborhoods. General Plan LU Policy 5.1 - Neighborhood Conservation calls for the maintenance of the uses, densities, character, amenities, and quality of the City’s residential neighborhoods, recognizing their contribution to the City’s identity, economic value, and quality of life. General Plan LU General Plan LU Policy 6.1- Neighborhood Identity calls for the maintenance of characteristics that distinguish the City’s single-family neighborhoods from one another in such terms as topography, lot size, housing scale and form, and public streetscapes. Similarly, General Plan LU Policy 6.2 - Housing Character and Design calls for requiring new, renovated, and additions to housing to be located and designed to maintain the distinguishing characteristics and qualities of the neighborhoods in which they are located, including prevailing lot sizes, building form, scale, massing, relationship to street frontages, architectural design, landscaping, property setbacks, and other comparable elements.

Section 6. The City Council hereby amends section 10-3-1888 of Article 18.7 of Chapter 3 of Title 10 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code, to read as follows:
“10-3-1888: CONVERSION OF COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS:

A. Existing commercial buildings may obtain a development plan review permit to convert to a mixed use building if located in the MU Overlay Zone.

1. Parking requirements;

2. Loading facilities;

3. Outdoor living space;

4. Commercial-residential transitional setbacks, if such buildings have legally nonconforming setbacks; and

5. Height limits, if buildings have legally nonconforming heights.

B. Notwithstanding the density calculation in section 10-3-1881, the maximum density permitted for a mixed use development that is also a conversion project shall be calculated by dividing the existing building floor area, excluding floor area on the ground floor of the existing building, by the minimum allowed unit size of 500 square feet. Existing building floor area shall be determined pursuant to the definition of non-residential and multi-family floor area in section 10-3-100 of this chapter.”
Section 7. Severability. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or place, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the final decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Ordinance shall be and remain in full force and effect.

Section 8. Publication. The City Clerk shall cause this Ordinance to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the City within fifteen (15) days after its passage in accordance with Section 36933 of the Government Code, shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance, and shall cause this Ordinance and her certification, together with proof of publication, to be entered in the Book of Ordinances of the Council of this City. //
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Section 9. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall go into effect and be in full force and effect at 12:01 a.m. on the thirty-first (31st) day after its passage.

Adopted:

Effective:

JULIAN A. GOLD, M.D.

Mayor of the City of Beverly Hills,
California
ATTEST:
_________________________(SEAL)

ADDENDUM
TO

The project involves an update to the City’s existing Mixed Use Overlay Zone, which allows mixed use development (residential and commercial uses in the same structure) on certain commercial properties in the City. The parcels upon which the overlay zone is applied are located throughout the City, mostly along major commercial thoroughfares including commercially zoned parcels:
fronting Wilshire Boulevard between San Vicente Boulevard and Rexford Drive fronting Wilshire Boulevard on the southern side of Wilshire Boulevard between Rexford Drive and South Santa Monica Boulevard
fronting La Cienega Boulevard between the northern and southern borders of the City fronting Robertson Boulevard between the northern and southern borders of the City fronting Olympic Boulevard located between the eastern border of the City and Rexford Drive to the west
fronting the 100 block of South Doheny Drive
fronting San Vicente Boulevard between Wilshire Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard
fronting South Santa Monica Boulevard located between Wilshire Boulevard and Moreno Drive
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fronting the 100 block of South Beverly Drive
Background
This document is an Addendum to the Initial Study/Negative Declaration (IS/ND) that was prepared for the original general plan amendment and zoning amendments that enabled mixed use development in certain commercial areas, and the creation of an overlay zone in the Beverly Hills Municipal Code (BHMC) to allow mixed use development, which was adopted by the City of Beverly Hills on November 10, 2020 (the “original Project”) per City Council Ordinance No. 20- O-2825 and Resolution No. 20-R-13319. The IS/ND document, inclusive of exhibits, is hereby incorporated by reference, and is available at www.beverlyhills.org/environmental.

Statutory Requirements
Section 15164 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines allows for a lead agency to prepare an addendum to an adopted negative declaration or environmental impact report (EIR) if only minor technical changes or additions are necessary or if none of the conditions described in Section 15162 calling for the preparation of a subsequent EIR or negative declaration have occurred. Pursuant to CEQA Section 15162, no subsequent negative declaration shall be prepared for the project unless the lead agency determines, on the basis of substantial evidence in the light of the whole record, one or more of the following:
(1) Substantial changes are proposed in the project that will require major revisions of the previous negative declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; Addendum to Negative Declaration
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(2) Substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous negative declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; or, (3) New information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the previous EIR was certified as complete or the negative declaration was adopted, shows any of the following:
a. The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR or negative declaration;
b. Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR;
c. Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative; or
d. Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative.

18.7 include a density calculation based on the lot area of the subject site, which allows a maximum of 1 dwelling unit per 550 square feet of lot area (or 79.2 dwelling units per acre). While this density would apply to a new mixed use development because it determines a density of development proportional to the site area, it would not make sense to apply this density calculation to a residential conversion project because there are existing commercial buildings within the Mixed Use Overlay Zone that contain a greater amount of floor area and have a greater height than Addendum to Negative Declaration
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what is currently allowed under the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations. This means that the density calculation currently allowed under the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations may result in a lower number of units than what could be reasonably developed within an existing commercial building. However, the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations also set forth a minimum unit size of 500 square feet for an efficiency unit or a 1-bedroom unit, and a minimum unit size of 800 square feet for a 2-bedroom unit, and states that the average floor area of all residential units shall not exceed 1,750 square feet. Rather than applying the lot size density calculation to a residential conversion project, applying the minimum unit size of 500 square feet to calculate the maximum density would allow the maximum number of units that could fit within the existing building envelope to be constructed within a residential conversion project. The proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations would be to clarify that a residential conversion project may calculate maximum density by using the existing building floor area (as defined by the BHMC, less the ground floor footprint floor area) above the ground floor and divide this by the minimum unit size of 500 square feet to determine the number of dwelling units permitted within the building. The ground floor footprint area would be excluded from the existing building floor area used to calculate the density because the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations require that the first forty feet (40’) of depth of any façade facing the street on the ground floor be reserved for nonresidential uses, which will likely result in the majority of the ground floor being used for commercial purposes. In addition, the General Plan Land Use map would be updated for consistency to note that the maximum density for a residential conversion project may vary across the buildings/properties within the Mixed Use Overlay Zone area, and would be calculated pursuant to existing building floor area above the ground floor divided by 500 square feet. As detailed in this section, the Amendments consist of minor changes and revisions, as well as the addition of new information to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations and General Plan Land Use map.

Review of Environmental Impacts and Determination
An analysis of the Amendments, changes in circumstances, and any new information since the certification of the previous IS/ND has been completed to determine if any new environmental impacts could occur. The environmental analysis and conclusions provided in the IS/ND remain current and applicable to the Amendments. All potential impacts in the CEQA Appendix G Environmental Checklist Form were considered during the preparation of this Addendum, and it has been determined that no new impacts would result from the minor revisions made to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations and the General Plan Land Use map. Nothing in the Amendments will result in greater impacts to the Aesthetics, Agricultural and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology and Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population and Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Transportation/Traffic, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities and Service Systems, and Mandatory Findings of Significance topic areas studied in the project’s IS/ND. Furthermore, since the adoption of the ND in 2020, the environmental issue areas of Energy and Wildfire have been added to the Appendix G checklist Addendum to Negative Declaration
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for CEQA analysis. This additional analysis is included below:

ENERGY
Would the project:

Question CEQA Determination
a) Result in potentially significant environmental impact due to wasteful, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy resources, during project construction or
operation?
No Impact
b) Conflict with or obstruct a state or local plan for renewable energy or energy efficiency?
No Impact
a) No Impact. The Amendments do not result in potentially significant environmental impacts due to the wasteful, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy resources during project construction or operation. The adopted Mixed Use Overlay Zone already allows residential conversion mixed use developments to be constructed, and the Amendments would simply change the density calculation applicable to these types of projects. Therefore, the potential environmental impacts for these types of projects has been previously assessed within the adopted IS/ND. The Amendments would potentially increase the maximum number of units that may be created within a residential conversion mixed use development, however, these units would still be contained within the existing building envelope. Thus, a residential convension project would likely require the use of fewer building materials and resources to construct it, as compared to a new mixed use development that could involve both the demolition of an existing building and construction of a new building. A residential conversion project would also be required to comply with applicable energy efficiency standards and code requirements, and would likely result in the upgrading of the existing building’s energy infrastructure, which could lead to greater energy efficiency overall. b) No Impact. The Amendments do not conflict with nor obstruct a state or local plan for renewable or energy efficiency. Any mixed use development constructed pursuant to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone would comply with all applicable renewable or energy efficiency development standards and code requirements. In addition, a residential conversion mixed use development may be more energy efficient because it utilizes an existing structure and therefore, eliminates the need to demolish and rebuild a structure. A residential conversion project would also likely result in upgrading of the existing building’s energy infrastructure.

WILDFIRE
If located in or near state responsibility areas or lands classified as very high fire hazard severity zones, would the project:

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Question CEQA Determination
a) Substantially impair an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan?
No Impact
b) Due to slope, prevailing winds, and other factors,
exacerbate wildfire risks, and thereby expose project
occupants to, pollutant concentrations from a wildfire or the uncontrolled spread of a wildfire?
No Impact
c) Require the installation or maintenance of associated infrastructure (such as roads, fuel breaks, emergency
water sources, power lines or other utilities) that may exacerbate fire risk or that may result in temporary or ongoing impacts to the environment?
No Impact
d) Expose people or structures to significant risks, including downslope or downstream flooding or landslides, as a
result of runoff, post-fire slope instability, or drainage changes?
No Impact
a) No Impact. The Amendments would not substantially impair an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan because the Amendments would only apply a different density calculation to residential conversion mixed use developments. The Mixed Use Overlay Zone is located along several commercial corridors within the City, and these areas may be accessed by several public right-of-ways in the event of an emergency response or evacuation. A residential conversion mixed use development would also be located within an existing commercial building and therefore, would not result in a change to the development pattern of the City and would be served by existing emergency response plans and emergency evacuation plans. b) No Impact. The Amendments would apply to residential conversion mixed use developments in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone, which is located along several commercial corridors in the City. These commercial corridors are located in the area of the City that is fully built out and in which there are minimal slopes and no natural hillside topography. While there is a designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) in the City north of Sunset Boulevard, the Mixed Use Overlay Zone is not located within this area nor in close proximity to it. The areas included within the Mixed Use Overlay Zone are fully built out and are easily accessible to emergency responders and other emergency infrastructure. The Mixed Use Overlay Zone is distributed along corridors that run both east-west and north-south throughout the southern portion of the City. Therefore, there are no environmental impacts due to slope, prevailing winds, and other factors that would exacerbate wildfire risks, and thereby expose project occupants to, pollutant concentrations from a wildfire or the uncontrolled spread of a wildfire.

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c) No Impact. The Amendments would not require the installation or maintenance of associated infrastructure (such as roads, fuel breaks, emergency water sources, power lines or other utilities) that may exacerbate fire risk or that may result in temporary or ongoing impacts to the environment. The Amendments would only help to facilitate the residential conversion of an existing commercial building to a mixed use development, and such existing buildings would already have infrastructure in place for the building’s operation. While it is possible that upgrades to existing infrastructure or additional infrastructure such as power lines or utilities may be required, these would be located within a fully built out area of the City.

Any changes to infrastructure would be assessed for compliance with applicable safety code requirements. In addition, since the original IS/ND included analysis of the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations that already allowed residential conversion mixed use developments, the totality of potential development under the Mixed Use Overlay Zone has already been assessed and determined to have no significant impact. A residential conversion mixed use development would likely result in a lesser impact than a new mixed use development, since it would be contained within an existing building envelope. The Amendments would only change the applicable density calculation for residential conversion mixed use development, and therefore would not exacerbate fire risk or result in temporary or ongoing impacts to the environment.
d) No Impact. The Amendments would only result in a change to the applicable density calculation for a residential conversion mixed use development that could be constructed within the Mixed Use Overlay Zone area. The Amendments would not expose people or structures to significant risks, including downslope or downstream flooding or landslides, as a result of runoff, post-fire slope instability, or drainage changes because the Mixed Use Overlay Zone area is located along commercial corridors in an area of the City that does not have a significant slope or hillside topography. While there is a designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) in the City north of Sunset Boulevard, the Mixed Use Overlay Zone is not located within this area nor in close proximity to it. A residential conversion mixed use development would be located within this area and within an existing commercial building in a fully built out area that is easily accessible to emergency responders and other emergency infrastructure. A residential conversion mixed use development would not likely result in significant changes to the existing infrastructure and development pattern and therefore, would not expose people in such projects to significant risks.

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(1) No substantial changes are proposed in the project that will require major revisions of the previous negative declaration due to the involvement of new, significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects.

The Amendments include only minor technical changes and the addition of further information to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations and General Plan Land Use map.

The proposed change is a minor clarification in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations to allow the use of the minimum unit size and the building’s existing floor area above the ground level to calculate the maximum density for a residential conversion project. In addition, the General Plan Land Use map will be updated for consistency with the change to the density noted for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone. The Amendments do not include modifications to development patterns or changes in the pattern of land uses established in the General Plan, and do not include changes that affect where mixed use developments are allowed to be constructed in the City. Although the change to the density calculation for residential conversion projects may result in a higher density than is currently allowed under the lot area density calculation, it does not allow for more intense development because a residential conversion project would only allow the creation of residential units within an existing building. A residential conversion project would likely involve only rehabilitation and remodeling of an existing structure, and would likely not consist of more intensive and impactful construction activities typically associated with the demolition of an existing building and subsequent construction of a new building. The Amendments also do not propose or contemplate specific development projects. The adoption of the Amendments to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone and General Plan Land Use map will not result in any direct changes to the physical environment. Therefore, the project would not involve new, significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects, as the adopted IS/ND also did not identify any significant environmental effects.
(2) No substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous negative declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects.

It has been determined that no substantial changes have occurred with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken, and thus no major revisions of the previous negative declaration are necessary. The Amendments include only minor technical changes and the addition of information to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations and the General Plan Land Use map, and will not cause any significant effects to the environment. Since the proposed change to the density calculation applicable to residential conversion projects in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone would simply allow the creation of residential units and a mixed use development within an existing commercial building in the City. The proposed change would not expand the area in the City to which the Mixed Use Overlay Zone applies, and does not allow more development area than what was previously contemplated under the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations. The Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations currently allow new mixed use developments and residential Addendum to Negative Declaration
September 21, 2023
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conversion projects, and the proposed ordinance only clarifies the density calculation applicable to residential conversion projects. The proposed density calculation applicable to residential conversion projects would apply the existing minimum unit size standard for mixed use developments in order to allow the creation of residential units within an existing building envelope. The proposed change to the General Plan Land Use map would simply clarify the density calculation applicable to residential conversion projects in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone. In addition, no circumstances have significantly changed within the Mixed Use Overlay Zone since the adoption of the original project, and thus, no significant changes have occurred since adoption of the IS/ND for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone. (3) New information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the negative declaration was adopted, shows any of the following:
a. The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR or negative declaration;
Analysis of the Amendments indicates that there is no new information of substantial importance, which was not known at the time the IS/ND was adopted in November 2020 that shows the project will have significant effects on the environment, or effects that will be substantially more severe than shown in the IS/ND. The additional evaluation included in this addendum concludes that there are no significant effects on the environment as a result of Energy or Wildfire or conflict with a state or local energy plan. These are two new environmental issue areas added to the Appendix G checklist since the 2020 publication of the IS/ND.
b. Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR;
No significant effects were previously identified in the previously adopted IS/ND and no EIR was previously prepared.
c. Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative; or
No significant or potentially significant effects were identified for the previously adopted IS/ND. The Amendments do not include changes to the development potential, or land uses originally contemplated for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone, as the original project allowed both new mixed use developments and residential conversion mixed use projects. Although the proposed change to the density calculation could result in a greater number of residential units that result from a residential conversion project in an existing commercial building that contains greater floor area and height than permitted under the current Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations, the building is existing in the City and thus would not result in new construction activities or impacts.

The proposed change would simply change the calculation formula for the maximum Addendum to Negative Declaration
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number of residential units allowed within an existing commercial building that is being converted to a mixed use development. In addition, the proposed change to the General Plan Land Use map would add information to clarify the density calculation for residential conversion projects, consistent with the proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations. As a result, no significant impacts would result, and no additional mitigation measures or alternatives are or were necessary. d. Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative.

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Conclusion
Given the analysis presented in this Addendum, it is therefore found that the Amendments to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone and General Plan Land Use map would not result in a measurable increase in environmental impacts over what was previously analyzed in the adopted IS/ND for the Mixed Use Overlay Zone There are no changes with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken that will require revisions to the previous IS/ND. . In addition, as discussed in this addendum, there are no significant impacts in the issue areas of Energy and Wildfire, two issue areas added to the CEQA Appendix G checklist after the adoption of the 2020 IS/ND.Therefore, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15164, an Addendum to the IS/ND is appropriate and has been prepared to document the minor technical changes and addition of information that have been included in the Amendments to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone and the General Plan Land Use map.
____________________________ September 21, 2023

CHLOE CHEN, SENIOR PLANNER

STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS.

CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS )
I, KAREN MYRON, Recording Secretary of the Planning Commission of the City of Beverly Hills, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of Resolution No. 2039 duly passed, approved and adopted by the Planning Commission of said City at a meeting of said Commission on September 28, 2023, and thereafter duly signed by the Secretary of the Planning Commission, as indicated; and that the Planning Commission of the City consists of five (5) members and said Resolution was passed by the following vote of said Commission, to wit:

AYES: Commissioners Wolfe, Demeter, Ostroff, Vice Chair Kaplan, Chair Ross NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: None
________________________________

KAREN MYRON
Recording Secretary of the
Planning Commission
City of Beverly Hills, California
Certificate Of Completion
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Attachment 4
Appendix C Excerpt from Revised 2021-
2029 Housing Element
City of Beverly Hills General Plan
2021-2029 Housing Element
C-11| Page
Table C-2
Approved Mixed Use Projects
Address Number
of Units
Residential & Commercial
Floor Area Total
Units per
Acre
55 N. La Cienega Blvd 105
9908 S. Santa Monica
Blvd.
25 90,005 SF 30
8600 Wilshire Blvd. 23 47,781 SF 39
9200 Wilshire Blvd. 54 157,630 SF 57
Source: City of Beverly Hills, 2021
Furthermore, the sites contained in Exhibit A include a significant number of vacant sites or sites used only as surface parking lots, as well as parcels that are partially occupied by surface parking lots. In the previous Housing Element planning period (2014-2021), there were a total of 190 multi-family units approved. Already since the beginning of this current Housing Element planning period (2021-2029), there are a total of 407 housing units proposed in multi-family or mixed use projects either currently under review in the entitlement process, or in concept review (239 units currently under review and 168 units in concept review). This demonstrates that there is significant interest in the current market in multi-family housing development, and that the City’s regulations are not precluding this type of development, but are encouraging such projects. In addition, there are already more multifamily residential projects under review now than during the past planning period.

Tab 2: Adaptive Reuse / Conversion Sites
Currently, the Mixed Use Overlay Zone allows any existing commercial building within the overlay to be converted (or adaptively reused) into residential housing units, which was not previously allowed prior to the creation of the Mixed Use Overlay Zone in 2020. The conversion regulations also allow a conversion application to request relief from certain mixed use standards if it would not be physically feasible for the existing commercial building to comply with such standards. The standards from which relief may be granted by the reviewing authority include requirements for: parking (which may not apply in cases where state law pre-empts the City from imposing or requiring minimum parking requirements), loading facilities, outdoor living space, commercial-residential transitional setbacks (if the building has legally nonconforming setbacks), and height limits (if the building DRAFT
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2021-2029 Housing Element
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has legally nonconforming heights). The City will also consider a Zone Text Amendment by the end of 2023 to allow the maximum density for an adaptive reuse/conversion in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone to be calculated with the minimum unit size of 500 SF (with no upper limit on density resulting from this calculation), rather than a calculation based on the lot size. This calculation will be based on the existing building square footage available for conversion, instead of the currently applicable calculation based on the lot size. This calculation is more appropriate for an adaptive reuse/conversion project because it would help determine the maximum number of units that can reasonably fit within the existing building envelope, rather than basing the maximum density on the size of the lot when the building has already been developed on such lot.

Adaptive Reuse / Conversion Criteria
In the conversion (adaptive reuse) category (Tab 2) of the sites inventory, certain existing properties within the Mixed Use Overlay Zone have been selected based on the criteria listed below. A list of these properties with more detailed descriptions of why they have been selected has also been provided in the next section. Properties with existing buildings and improvements that met at least 4 out of the 6 criteria have been kept in this category and allocated units as described.
• Criteria 1 – Age of Building: This list only includes buildings that were built on or before 1970 – at least 53 years or older. At this point, older offices may be less desirable than newer buildings with more updated amenities and office spaces. This
approach eliminates office buildings from 1980s-1990s that may have larger floor plates as this was an era when the use of fluorescent lighting became more widespread and allowed the use of larger floor plates without window access for every area of the building. Buildings constructed prior to this era were designed to have narrower corridor spans so that sufficient natural lighting is provided to all areas of the building. • Criteria 2 – Existing Building Height: Buildings that are 6 or more stories and/or have a height that is 1 or more stories above the currently permitted height limit met this criteria because these are legally nonconforming heights that may not be easily achieved again under current code regulations. This means the building is potentially more valuable as an existing asset and would not be as likely to be redeveloped (because the DRAFT
City of Beverly Hills General Plan
2021-2029 Housing Element
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same height would not be able to be achieved), and therefore may be more likely to be contemplated for alternative uses such as a conversion from commercial to residential/mixed use as a way to preserve the asset.
• Criteria 3 – Qualifying Building Shape: H, O, C, U, L, or oblong rectangle (rectangles that are narrow and have longer sides than they are wide) shapes – these buildings have increased window access and narrower interior spaces so there is not a lot of wasted space once units are created inside. In contrast, buildings that are square shaped will have more interior space without windows that will not be as easy to convert to a residential use. While it is possible for developers to create interior courtyards or lightwells (such as was done in the case study discussed in the NY Times article “How to Solve a 25-Story Rubix Cube”), this adds cost and may not be as feasible for structural reasons etc. and may depend upon the site-specific conditions. Square/cube shaped buildings may be suitable for conversion as long as the depth of the floor plate is not any greater than 60 feet (assuming that units are 40-50 feet deep) because this would allow for the use of most of the interior building space. Any building shape in which there is a narrower width is generally more suitable for residential conversion because this means that there is less interior space that does not have windows.
• Criteria 4 – Window Access: This criteria was applied if the building facades are comprised of windows on at least two sides of the building. Windows along facades are important features that allow conversion to residential more easily because this means that the building will already have
windows for residential units. In particular, windows with three different types of patterns are especially suitable for conversion: curtain walls (where the entire façade is made of windows), punched in windows (where there are slightly
recessed windows with only borders separating them) and ribbon windows (where there are rows of windows separated by horizontal borders), according to an informational study performed by the Gensler Research Institute (“Design
Parameters for Urban Office to Residential Conversion”). These types of windows may be more easily modified to become
operable, or converted to balconies.

DRAFT
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2021-2029 Housing Element
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Source: Gensler Research Institute (“Design Parameters for Urban Office to Residential Conversion”)
• Criteria 5 – Building footprint < 30K: and/or maximum building dimension of 75 FEET - Unit depths typically will have a maximum depth of 40-50 feet, and therefore, conversion of the building into residential is more feasible if the narrowest width of the building does not exceed 90 to 100 feet. A similar measure of this is the building footprint, which is correlated to the building floor plate size. A building footprint for an oblong rectangular shaped building of no more than 30,000 square feet would mean that if the maximum width dimension is not greater than 100 feet, that the remaining length is
approximately 300 feet – or other combinations thereof – which are reasonable dimensions for a residential building. The 100- foot width can accommodate a double loaded corridor with units facing out on both sides of the building and a common interior hallway, and a length of 300 feet can accommodate approximately 15 units (with a depth of 20 feet), for a total of 30 units per floor. In order to be more conservative with these criteria, the City has only identified buildings that both have a maximum building footprint of 30,000 square feet and a
maximum width (on the narrowest side) of 75 feet.
• Criteria 6 – 20+ Years Since Significant Renovation: This criteria was met if the building has not undergone a significant DRAFT
City of Beverly Hills General Plan
2021-2029 Housing Element
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renovation (as noted in CoStar and checked against City records) within the last 20 years. If no renovation was on file, then the years defaulted to the original building date. This particular criteria indicates a lack of recent, significant investment into the building, which could indicate that potential redevelopment of the site is more attractive. Buildings that have not undergone significant renovations could also become a liability if the building has not been update to accommodate ADA access. This criteria also indicates that the building could be less desirable for its current uses, as the amenities and features are more outdated and must compete with newer buildings for tenants.
• Calculation of Potential Units in Conversion Projects: The existing Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations (BHMC section 10- 3-1888), currently allow the conversion or adaptive reuse of existing commercial buildings to a mixed use development project. However, the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations currently calculate density based on the area of the lot, allowing a maximum density of 1 dwelling unit per 550 square feet of lot area (or 79.2 dwelling units per acre). The current density calculation is proportional to the lot size, rather than allowing an existing commercial building to create units within the existing building envelope. To address this, the City will be bringing forth a change to the density calculation applicable to conversion/adaptive reuse projects in September 2023, which will allow these types of projects to calculate maximum density based on a minimum unit size of 500 square feet of floor area. This calculation would take the existing building floor area above the first floor of the building (as that area is reserved for commercial uses per the Mixed Use Regulations) and divide it by 500 square feet (the minimum allowed unit size) to determine the maximum density allowed. The Planning
Commission has recently reviewed this proposed change to the density calculation at their meeting of September 28, 2023, and adopted a resolution recommending the proposed
change to the City Council, and this will be scheduled for review by the City Council by the end of 2023.

As such, the maximum density allowed for the list of conversion buildings have been calculated based on the proposed
density change, however, in order to ensure that these
calculations are more realistic, the existing building floor area is reduced by approximately 20% of the total floor area to DRAFT
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account for common spaces, hallways, and
elevators/stairwells or other non-rentable areas. In addition, instead of utilizing the minimum unit size of 500 square feet, which would provide the maximum density (and which will be allowable per the proposed change to the regulations), the maximum number of units on each property uses a unit size of 850 square feet, in order to account for the fact that differently sized units may be provided within a project. This figure of 850 square feet is also consistent with the unit sizes of recently proposed mixed use projects. The reduction of the floor area and the increase in the unit size used to calculate the maximum density and number of units allocated to each site provides a more conservative and realistic calculation of how many units might be able to “fit” within the existing building, though the maximum density would technically result in a greater number of units (once the proposed change is
adopted).
• Affordability Level Unit Allocation: The potential units calculated for the list of conversion sites have been allocated to either the lower income or moderate/market rate income categories based on the following. For sites that are greater than ½ acre, state law allows the total number of units to be allocated to the lower income category because the
underlying density exceeds the default density required by the law. For the sites that are greater than ½ acre on this list, a maximum of 100 lower income units have been allocated, with the remainder of units allocated to the moderate/market rate income category. This allocation is intended to reflect a mix of levels of affordability of units that might be provided within a mixed use project. The City’s existing inclusionary housing requirement requires 1 deed restricted affordable unit for projects with 5 to 9 total units (or the payment of an in lieu fee), and 10% of the total units are required to be deed restricted affordable units for projects with 10 or more total units. The lower income unit allocation for sites that are less than ½ acre on this list reflects the inclusionary housing requirement calculation, and is noted in the “inclusionary less than ½ acre” column.

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List of Buildings Identified for Potential Conversion (Adaptive Reuse) from Commercial to Mixed Use
The City has compiled a list of buildings that have been identified as potential candidates for conversion from commercial uses into mixed use developments, which meet criteria identified as supporting the likelihood of redevelopment and adaptive reuse into mixed use developments. These criteria are supported by research and previous adaptive reuse projects in the City or the greater Los Angeles region.

The below list provides more details on each of the properties in order to support the likelihood of redevelopment into adaptive reuse projects.

CoStar Ratings8 - According to CoStar, the 5-star rating system used in their data is designed to be a more universal rating system that assesses properties based on several features, including: architectural features, structural and systems specifications, amenities, site and landscaping treatments, third party certifications and detailed property type specifics. This information is collected by CoStar Research and is utilized across their national database of properties.

This rating system is intended to provide a better comparison and understanding of building/property quality across markets, in contrast to the Class A, B, or C ratings, which may be more localized within the market region (comparative within the local market). Thus, the below list provides the CoStar 5-star rating, as well as the Class rating, in order to provide a more accurate picture of the property conditions.

8 http://buildingratingsystem.com/
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144 S Beverly Drive
• Built: 1962
• Renovated: N/A
• Class Rating: Class B
• Floor Area: approximately 35,235 SF
• Parcel Size: 6,069 SF
• Existing tenants: a law firm, investment firm, architectural firm, skincare company, and entertainment company, fashion
brand, and bank.
• CoStar Rating: 2-stars out of 5 stars
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• Other conditions: this building is narrow and is an oblong rectangular shape, with a regular window pattern, and
appears to have rooftop outdoor space and balcony areas that could become amenities for residential uses
291 S La Cienega Blvd
• Built: 1956
• Renovated: 1990
• Class Rating: Class B
• Floor Area: approximately 35,248 SF
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• Existing tenants: law firms, investment firms, a talent agency, a design firm, an insurance agency, and an acupuncture office. • CoStar Rating: 3-stars out of 5 stars
• Other conditions: this building is a trapezoidal shape, but has an undulating, organic form on the first floor that provides a distinctive separation from the rest of the building. The upper floors have horizontal separations with setback windows, which lends to the conversion of these areas to balconies or open space. The building has good window coverage, with windows on several sides. The building is located in very close proximity to the proposed La Cienega/Wilshire metro station, which may help spur redevelopment.
132 S Rodeo Drive
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• Built: 1962
• Renovated: 1994
• Class Rating: Class B
• Floor Area: approximately 42,000 SF
• Vacancy Rate: approximately 26% of the total building area • Existing tenants: law firms.
• CoStar Rating: 3-stars out of 5 stars
• Other conditions: This building has a narrow, oblong
rectangular shape, and has windows along all sides that are not abutting another building. The vertical window pattern is a ribbon window, which has been identified as a window pattern by Gensler Research as one that is apt for residential uses. 8383 Wilshire Blvd
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• Built: 1971
• Renovated: 1993
• Class Rating: Class B
• Floor Area: approximately 426,106 SF
• Existing tenants: various professional and service uses, such as a charitable foundation, an exercise studio, entertainment companies, law firms, financial investment firms, real estate management firm, an insurance company, and a business
management firm.
• CoStar Rating: 4-stars out of 5 stars
• Other Conditions: This building has been identified as potentially historic, which means that it may qualify for use of tax incentives and more flexibility with zoning and building code requirements. The building has an unusual shape, which DRAFT
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is similar to a “Y”, with three equal length arms that extend from the center. Although the building is large, the shape provides extensive window coverage on all sides of the building. In addition, there are open areas on the property that can be easily converted into private open space or other amenities for the building.

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8447 Wilshire Blvd
• Built: 1963
• Renovated: 1963
• Class Rating: Class B
• Floor Area: approximately 96,355 SF
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• Existing tenants: talent agencies, entertainment companies, a real estate development firm, real estate agencies and
investment firms, and a marketing agency.
• CoStar Rating: 3-stars out of 5 stars
• Other Conditions: This building has a shape that jogs along the front façade, with one portion protruding further towards the street. The window pattern is similar to a punched window or curtain wall, and there is extensive window coverage on the majority of the building. There also appears to be open rooftop areas that could be converted into private or shared open space.
8500 Wilshire Blvd
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• Built: 1963
• Renovated: 2008
• Class Rating: Class A
• Floor Area: approximately 210,021 SF
• Existing tenants: a construction company, a cosmetic spa, a dental office, an audiologist office, and medical offices. • CoStar Rating: 3-stars out of 5 stars
• Other Conditions: This building has been identified as potentially historic, which means that it may qualify for use of tax incentives and more flexibility with zoning and building code requirements. This building is a podium style, with ground story retail spaces along the entirety of the property area, and podium parking areas above, and an office tower with a
narrower footprint. The office tower is in the shape of a “T”, which provides more window coverage, and opportunities for the addition of balconies on the corner spaces. The podium is uniquely helpful for conversion into residential uses because the areas on top of the podium can be used for open space DRAFT
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amenities, including a pool area, gym, lounge, etc. In addition, the podium parking will provide sufficient parking resources for residents.
8530 Wilshire Blvd
• Built: 1959
• Renovated: 2002
• Class Rating: Class B
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• Floor Area: approximately 47,872 SF
• Vacancy Rate: approximately 33% of the total building area • Existing tenants: a law firm, a permanent makeup service, a visa application service, and medical offices.
• CoStar Rating: 3-stars out of 5 stars
• Other Conditions: This building has been identified as potentially historic, which means that it may qualify for use of tax incentives and more flexibility with zoning and building code requirements. This building has a narrow, oblong
rectangular shape, with a regular window pattern on all sides not directly abutting another building. The building has an attractive façade with the windows projecting slightly, which could allow these areas to be converted into balconies. 8671 Wilshire Blvd
• Built: 1964
• Renovated: N/A
• Class Rating: Class B
• Floor Area: approximately 50,596 SF
• Vacancy Rate: approximately 44% of the total building area • Existing tenants: an architectural firm, a mortgage company, a real estate investment firm, various retail companies, an insurance company, a marketing agency, and a radiology
laboratory.
• CoStar Rating: 2-stars out of 5 stars
• Other Conditions: This building has been identified as potentially historic, which means that it may qualify for use of tax incentives and more flexibility with zoning and building DRAFT
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code requirements. This building is very narrow with a
rectangular shape, and has residential characteristics, with an attractive tiled façade facing Wilshire Blvd. The building has three levels of podium parking, with offices above. The podium area could be used to provide parking for residents, or could also be converted to additional residential and shared
amenities. There is sufficient window coverage, and areas that could potentially be converted to balconies.
8730 Wilshire Blvd
• Built: 1963:

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• Renovated: 1985
• Class Rating: Class C
• Floor Area: approximately 56,903 SF
• Existing tenants: law firms, a radiologist office, a water generator business, entertainment companies, non-profit organization offices, and a brokerage company.
• CoStar Rating: 3-stars out of 5 stars
• Other Conditions: This building has been identified as potentially historic, which means that it may qualify for use of tax incentives and more flexibility with zoning and building code requirements. This building’s window pattern is a ribbon window pattern, which has been identified as a window
pattern that is favorable for residential uses, and provides extensive window coverage along multiple building sides. The building is generally a narrow rectangular shape, with a curved end along the façade facing Wilshire Blvd. In addition, this building is located adjacent to a surface parking lot, which could be acquired and consolidated to create a unified
development.

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8820 Wilshire Blvd
• Built: 1952
• Renovated: N/A
• Class Rating: Class B
• Floor Area: approximately 28,217 SF
• Existing tenants: a bank, a commercial real estate agency, a fashion brand, a public relations firm, a marketing agency, and entertainment companies
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• CoStar Rating: 3-stars out of 5 stars
• Other conditions: This building has an L-shape, with surface parking on the remainder of the property. The window pattern is similar to a punched window, which has been identified as a pattern that is favorable to residential uses. The L-shape provides opportunities for other uses to be developed on the surface parking area, including open space amenities, such as a courtyard, a swimming pool, and landscaped areas. In
addition, the L-shape allows more window coverage along each of the sides of the buildings, and allows for potential additions of balconies.
9171 Wilshire Blvd
• Built: 1968
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• Renovated: 1997
• Class Rating: Class A
• Floor Area: approximately 111,806 SF
• Vacancy Rate: approximately 53% of the total building area • Existing tenants: a real estate agency, a financial investment firm, an accounting firm, an entertainment company, an
escrow company, an engineering firm, and a travel agency. • CoStar Rating: 3-stars out of 5 stars
• Other Conditions: This building has been identified as potentially historic, which means that it may qualify for use of tax incentives and more flexibility with zoning and building code requirements. This building has a U-shape, which starts after the 3rd floor. This shape provides extensive window coverage on each side of the building, and also allows for the re-use of the interior space for open space amenities, and other building amenities. The interior areas could also be developed with private open space and balconies, and it appears that the rooftop also has available space for
amenities. The façade provides a regular ribbon window
pattern, which has been identified as a pattern that is favorable to residential uses. The building’s first floor has a sunken retail space, which could easily be converted into other commercial uses.

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9350 Wilshire Blvd
• Built: 1957
• Renovated: 1999
• Class Rating: Class B
• Floor Area: approximately 61,032 SF
• Vacancy Rate: approximately 23% of the total building area • Existing tenants: an escrow company, a bank, a real estate investment firm, various business offices, a jeweler, a media and production company, a law firm, and a therapist office. • CoStar Rating: 4-stars out of 5 stars
• Other Conditions: This building has an L-shape, with an open space area above a portion of the first floor in the interior area DRAFT
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of the “L” and surface parking areas. The L-shape provides extensive window coverage on each side of the building, and the interior areas of the L-shape can be repurposed for open space amenities and other building amenities. The surface parking areas could also be redeveloped with further
amenities or could be used to create a “U” shaped building to provide additional housing and building area. The façade is attractive, and has a window pattern similar to a punched window, which can be converted easily into residential style windows.

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9454 Wilshire Blvd
• Built: 1971
• Renovated: 1989
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• Class Rating: Class A
• Floor Area: approximately 174,490 SF
• Existing tenants: a bank, an escrow company, law firms, a marketing agency, a plastic surgeon’s office, a real estate agency, a weight loss company, and a mortgage company.
• CoStar Rating: 4-stars out of 5 stars
• Other Conditions: This building has been identified as potentially historic, which means that it may qualify for use of tax incentives and more flexibility with zoning and building code requirements. This building has a residential character, and has a regular window pattern. There is extensive window coverage on multiple sides of the building with a ribbon window, which is favorable to residential uses. The building appears to have some rooftop open space amenities, which could be used for residential purposes.
9460-9470 Wilshire Blvd
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• Built: 1959
• Renovated: 1990
• Floor Area: approximately 94,586 SF
• Class Rating: Class B
• Existing tenants: a bank, an entertainment company, a financial investment firm, an auto dealer’s office, a cosmetic spa, and a talent agency.
• CoStar rating: 3-stars out of 5 stars
• Other Conditions: This building has been identified as potentially historic, which means that it may qualify for use of tax incentives and more flexibility with zoning and building code requirements. This building is a podium style, with a onestory structure across the entire footprint of the property, and a tower structure with a narrower footprint. The podium is uniquely helpful for conversion into residential uses because DRAFT
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the areas on top of the podium can be used for open space amenities, including a pool area, gym, lounge, etc. In addition, the podium parking will provide sufficient parking resources for residents. There are three tower portions, with one taller rectangular portion in the middle, and two slightly shorter rectangular portions on each side. This provides ample window coverage along each side, and could also allow the addition of balconies at the corners of the buildings. One portion of the tower also appears to have open space amenities on the
rooftop area. The windows have a ribbon window pattern, which has been identified as favorable to residential uses. 9536-9560 Wilshire Blvd
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• Built: 1935
• Renovated: 1984
• Class Rating: Class A
• Floor Area: approximately 181,711 SF.
• Vacancy Rate: approximately 67% of the total building area • Existing tenants: a marketing agency, luxury retailers, a financial advisory firm, a capital investment firm, and a jeweler. • CoStar Rating: 3-stars out of 5 stars
• Other Conditions: This building has been identified as potentially historic, which means that it may qualify for use of tax incentives and more flexibility with zoning and building code requirements. This building has a residential character to its façade, with existing retail stores on the first floor, and office spaces above. The building has an oblong rectangular shape, which provides greater opportunities for window coverage.

The windows are similar to a punched window pattern, and have extensive windows along each side. There is one portion of the building that has a shorter height than the rest, which creates a valley feature on the rooftop. This area could be repurposed for open space amenities and other building
amenities.

Support for the Adaptive Reuse / Conversion Trend
While there are many factors that may contribute to a decision for a property to either redevelop a property or adaptively reuse it, there are some distinct conditions that may make adaptive
reuse/conversion projects more attractive options. These factors are briefly discussed below.

Legally Nonconforming Height - One reason that conversion or adaptive reuse of an existing commercial building might be an attractive option for a property owner is that there are many existing buildings in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone that have legally nonconforming heights, especially on Wilshire Boulevard. Since the current code regulations would not permit these building with legally nonconforming height to be built to the same height if they were to be redeveloped, there is a built-in incentive for the conversion of these buildings since they may be more valuable to maintain rather than demolish and re-build.

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Potentially Historic Buildings- Additionally, some buildings constructed during the time period in which greater heights were permitted (around the 1950s-1980s) may be considered potentially historic structures. The conversion of these structures and the ability to request relief from certain Mixed Use Overlay standards could also help preserve historic building facades, and the historic fabric of the City.

In addition, if buildings become historic landmarks, they may use an entitlement called a Historic Incentive Permit to request further deviations from the code standards if needed. Historic buildings may also be eligible for certain tax incentives, such as the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentive, CA Historic Tax Credit, Mills Act, etc, and may be able to benefit from more flexible building codes.

Construction Impact – Since adaptive reuse does not involve the demolition of an existing building and construction of a new building on a site, but rather utilizes an existing building for a new use, there may be fewer impacts related to construction. These impacts could include length of construction, noise, traffic, vibrations, dust, etc, which may be diminished depending on the extent of rehabilitation needed for the conversion. In addition, since the building already exists in the community, there could likely be less opposition to a project from neighbors or those who may be impacted by
construction.

Sustainability – Adaptive reuse projects may be more environmentally sustainable because they do not involve ground-up construction and thus, create less demand for new building materials, etc. Many buildings that could be adaptively reused within the City of Beverly Hills are also located in close proximity to transit, which could help reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions related to work commutes and other vehicle trips. In addition, adaptive reuse projects might result in the rehabilitation of existing buildings to upgrade certain systems such as window systems, insulation, and HVAC, which could result in a more energy-efficient building.

Market Conditions
• Office demand: The market conditions are ripe for conversions of existing commercial buildings, especially with the reduction of demand for commercial office space after the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, in the Beverly Hills market, office vacancy trends have shown significant increases in the past few years amongst all different types of office buildings: from 2018 to the present, vacancy rates for Class A office buildings have increased 6 percentage points, from 11% to 17%, and rates for Class B office buildings have increased 10 percentage DRAFT
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points, from 6% to 16%. However, vacancy rates for Class C office buildings have mostly remained steady in this period at 7-8%.
o In a CoStar report from August 2023 with statistics for the Beverly Hills submarket, the current office average
vacancy rate is at a record level of 17.2%. The
submarket also presently has 3.2% of its office space
available for sublease, above the 2.7% metrowide
average. For 4-5-star rated buildings, the vacancy rate is 17.1%, for 3-star rated buildings, the vacancy rate is

19.2%, and for 1-2-star rated buildings, the vacancy rate is 11.3%. Occupancy losses continue to be
considerable, with the past 12 months experiencing net
absorption of -88,000 SF. Additionally, the percentage of office space available for sublease in the submarket is above metrowide averages. Vacancy rate changes
have historically been around a 10.2% average,
however, the forecasted average vacancy rate is

20.8%, and the submarket vacancy rate is expected to
rise further in the next several years.
• Effects of remote work: In addition, physical office occupancy as a whole in the US has been low since the start of the pandemic in 2020, with only a gradual return to 47%
occupancy by November 2022. According to a study
published November 27, 2022 called “Work from Home and the Office Real Estate Apocalypse” that looked at the pandemic’s effect on the commercial office sector, the increase in remote working during the pandemic led to significant decreases in lease revenues, occupancy, lease renewal rates, and market rents. The study looked at lease-level data for 105 office DRAFT
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markets throughout the US from January 2000 to May 2022, and showed a 16.89% decrease in lease revenue between
December 2019 to May 2022, and the quantity of newly-signed leases dramatically dropped from 253 million square feet per year before the pandemic to 59 million square feet in May 2022. The results also showed a direct correlation between a company’s work from home policy that results in a lower demand for office space. The study also found that higher quality office buildings were somewhat buffered from the decrease in demand for commercial office space, while lower quality office buildings are becoming potential asset risks.

Beverly Hills Mixed Use Development Trend
In addition to the mixed use development trend data for other similar jurisdictions, the City has a history of mixed use developments along Wilshire Boulevard and towards the western edge of the City prior to the adoption of the Mixed Use Overlay Zone. The following projects were approved through an extensive entitlement process, which consisted of a multi-year approval review process, legislative amendments, and costs (environmental document (EIR) preparation, entitlement application fees, etc). These projects show that even before mixed use developments were permitted uses, property owners were interested in developing mixed use projects that are consistent with the densities and heights currently permitted under the Mixed Use Overlay Zone. This supports the likelihood that a property owner would take advantage of the Mixed Use Overlay Zone because the creation of these regulations now allows a quicker and less costly review process for these types of projects. The projects include:
• 9908 S Santa Monica – 4-story, 17-unit mixed use (condo) building and ground floor commercial (under construction) • 8600 Wilshire – 5-story, 18-unit mixed use building including 2 moderate rate income units and ground floor commercial
(constructed)
• 9200 Wilshire – 6-story, 54-unit mixed use building with ground floor commercial (constructed)
Blu Apartments Adaptive Reuse Case Study – As a case study example that supports the adaptive reuse of commercial office buildings to residential uses is the Blu Apartments located at 8601 Wilshire Boulevard. This project was required to apply for several entitlements that would allow the conversion of an existing legally nonconforming DRAFT
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office building, the project was approved by the Planning Commission and the City Council in 2003.

The project converted an 11-story office building totaling approximately 44,550 square feet into 37 residential rental units, with a ground floor retail space of approximately 650 square feet on a 12,920 SF lot. The Blu Apartments adaptive reuse project has a residential unit density that is higher than the current mixed use density (calculated based on lot area), which would yield 23 units. The City is currently processing a Zone Text Amendment to instead base residential unit density on the existing floor area of a building being converted. The conversion density that was reviewed by the Planning Commission in September 2023 and will be reviewed by the City Council in 2023 would yield 63 dwelling units on the Blu Apartments site. Even under the density used for the Blu Apartments project, the project is proof that conversion projects will yield greater residential unit density on project sites in the MU Overlay Zone, and are financially feasible given that this density exceeds that which was constructed in this project. Therefore, the MU Overlay Zone will allow (upon City Council adoption of the proposed change) a density of units in adaptive reuse/conversion mixed use projects that is greater than the density allowed for this project. This project shows that conversion of existing commercial buildings may be an attractive option for property owners, and that this can be a financially feasible undertaking within the City of Beverly Hills, given that the density that will be allowed for adaptive reuse/conversion mixed use projects will exceed the density allowed in this completed project.

Downtown LA Adaptive Reuse Case Study – Since 1999, the City of Los Angeles has allowed adaptive reuse projects in the downtown area.

This program has largely been considered a success, as about 1/3 (12,000/37,000 units) of the new housing units created in Downtown LA were created through adaptive reuse. This program allowed buildings constructed before 1974 to be converted through a ministerial approval process. The maximum number of units were calculated through the use of a minimum unit size of 450 square feet, and an average unit size requirement of 750 square feet, with no upper density limit. In addition, there were no parking requirements, an additional story of height was allowed by-right (to allow the use of rooftop space, etc), mezzanine floors that did not exceed 1/3 of the floor area of the space below were allowed by-right, and flexible interpretations of building codes were applied. In order to further incentivize adaptive reuse projects in LA, the Planning Department is currently in the process of updating the adaptive reuse ordinance, which proposes certain changes, including: extend eligibility for DRAFT
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adaptive reuse to buildings constructed before 2008, to remove the minimum unit size and average unit size requirement, to allow the expansion of rooftop space and the use of basement area to be exempted from FAR limits, and to expand the scope of reuse building typology such as the use of parking structures for conversion. • Other Site and Building Conditions
o Other notable conditions that can help make an
existing site more suitable for an adaptive reuse project would be existing open space areas or areas that are
not built up and can be converted to open space,
existing balconies or rooftop areas that can become
amenities for tenants, and potentially historic status, which can be helpful if the building can qualify for tax incentives or a Historic Incentive Permit (HIP) that allows for deviations from code regulations if the building is a local landmark.
o Another helpful condition is podium parking in which the first few above ground levels of the building are
constructed for parking. These levels can also be
converted into residential uses (there is nothing in the BHMC that would preclude the use of the conversion
section to apply to parking areas as well – including that there would be no parking required for many sites
located in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone due to AB 2097),
and have been counted towards the floor area
conversion calculations if the parking areas were known from building permit records.
o The majority of buildings on this list also have either a Class A or B rating. Since these buildings currently have the highest office vacancy rates in the Beverly Hills
submarket, this quality makes them more likely to be
redeveloped. Class C office vacancy rates may remain
more stable due to the fact that these have lower
leasing rates. However, Class C buildings in the long term may have higher vacancy rates as compared to Class
A or B buildings, given that they are older buildings with less modern amenities or located in less desirable
locations (are not as close in proximity to amenities).

DRAFT
APN Year
Built
CRITERIA 1:

Age of
Buildings
CRITERIA 2:

Existing
Building
Height
(stories)
Existing
Building
Height
Height
Over
Permitted
Building Shape

CRITERIA
3:

Qualfying
Building
Shape

CRITERIA
4: Window
Access
CRITERIA 5:

Building
Footprint <
30K
Building
Width (on
narrowest
side)
Maximum
Building
Dimension
Last
Significant
Renovation
CRITERIA 6:
20+ Years
since
Significant
Renovation

CRITERIA
MET
Meets 4/6
Criteria?
Other Site
Conditions/
Exceptions
Total
Building
Square
Footage
Building
Footprint SF
Building SF
Less Building
Footprint
Final Net
Building
SF
Conversion
calc with 850
SF
Inclusionary
less than 1/2
acre
Lower
Moderate /
Market
Rate
# Dir. Address Parcel Size
(sq.ft.)
Height Limit
(stories) per
Mixed Use
Overlay
Zone
4331001038 1962 61 Y 6 2 OBLONG
RECTANGLE Y N Y 62 Y 1962 61 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Y 35,235.00 5,844.89 29,390.11 23,512 28 3 3 25 144 S BEVERLY DR 6,069 4 4333027001 1956 67 Y 4 1 TRAPEZOIDAL N Y Y 120 N 1990 33 1, 2, 4, 6 Y Proximity to
Metro station -
less than 1,000'
48,300.00 8,641.07 39,658.93 31,727 37 4 4 33 291 S LA CIENEGA BLVD 9,538 3 4328032005 1962 61 Y 6 2 OBLONG
RECTANGLE Y Y Y 65 Y 1994 29 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 Y 42,000.00 6,954.96 35,045.04 28,036 33 3 3 30 132 S RODEO DR 7,050 4 4334022081 1970 53 Y 10 5 Y SHAPE Y Y N 100 N 1993 30 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 Y open space areas 398,800.00 44,855.95 353,944.05 283,155 333 100 233 8383 WILSHIRE BLVD 102,024 5 4334021060 1962 61 Y 6 1 SQUARE N Y Y 100 N 1997 26 1, 2, 4, 6 Y 96,978.00 16,562.00 80,416.00 64,333 76 8 8 68 8447 WILSHIRE BLVD 18,247
5 4333027028 1964 59 Y 10 7 OBLONG
RECTANGLE Y Y Y 65 - 75 Y 2008 15 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Y 205,367.00 26,401.32 178,965.68 143,173 168 100 68 8500 WILSHIRE BLVD 27,272 3 4333027014 1959 64 Y 6 3 OBLONG
RECTANGLE Y Y Y 75 Y 2002 21 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Y 54,458.00 10,583.34 43,874.66 35,100 41 4 4 37 8530 WILSHIRE BLVD 13,202 3 4334012055
1964 59 Y 5 2 OBLONG
RECTANGLE Y Y Y 56 Y 1964 59 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Y

PARKING

PODIUM FLOORS
1-3
25,886.00 7,228.00 18,658.00 14,926 18 2 2 16 8671 WILSHIRE BLVD 7,620 3 4333017006 1962 61 Y 6 3 OBLONG RECTANGLE Y Y Y 60 Y 1985 38 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Y ROOFTOP SPACE 56,903.00 9,833.00 47,070.00 37,656 44 4 4 40 8730 WILSHIRE BLVD 11,863 3 4333008001 1952 71 Y 4 1 L SHAPE Y Y Y 55 Y 1952 71 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 Y 48,156.00 9,219.78 38,936.22 31,149 37 4 4 33 8820 WILSHIRE BLVD 18,848 3 4342032029 1959 64 Y 5 2 U SHAPE (PLUS
PODIUM) Y Y Y 68 Y 1997 26 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 Y
podium for
parking 107,780.00 29,200.91 78,579.09 62,863 74 74 0 9171 WILSHIRE BLVD 30,650 3 4331008001 1957 66 N 4 -1 L SHAPE (PLUS
PODIUM) Y Y Y 67 Y 1999 24 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 Y podium for
parking 63,982.00 19,234.95 44,747.05 35,798 42 42 0 9350 WILSHIRE BLVD 24,347 5 4331001049 1968 55 Y 10 5 OBLONG
RECTANGLE Y Y Y 110 N 1989 34 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Y 186,022.00 23,685.26 162,336.74 129,869 153 100 53 9450 WILSHIRE BLVD 48,671 5 4328033001 1959 64 Y 8 3
OBLONG

RECTANGLE (PLUS

L SHAPE PODIUM)
Y Y Y 75 Y 1990 33 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Y
Podium for
parking or
commercial,
open space
105,698.00 23,908.41 81,789.59 65,432 77 77 0 9460 WILSHIRE BLVD 33,752 5 4328027016,
4328027001 1935 88 Y 6 1 OBLONG RECTANGLE Y Y Y 120 N 1984 39 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 Y potentially historic 171,360.00 36,184.23 135,175.77 108,141 127 100 27 9536, 9550 WILSHIRE BLVD 36,451 5 note that 9550 Wilshire is
developed with this parcel
TOTALS 1288 31 625 663
Tab 2: Potential Sites for Conversion
DRAFT
Attachment 5
City Council Staff Report – July 18,
2023 (Without Attachments)

AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: July 18, 2023
Item Number:

To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Masa Alkire, AICP, City Planner
Subject: AT THE REQUEST OF MAYOR GOLD, AN UPDATE ON THE

MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE AND DISCUSSION ON

WHETHER THERE IS ANY DESIRE FOR MODIFICATIONS TO

THE ZONE
Attachments: 1. Mixed Use Development Standards (Article 18.7)

2. Mixed Use Overlay Zone Map

3. Public Correspondence

RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council discuss the current status and implementation of the Mixed Use Overlay Zone and provide direction to staff on potential options for future modifications to the Overlay Zone.

INTRODUCTION
On November 17, 2020, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 20-O-2825 to create the Mixed Use Overlay Zone (MU Overlay Zone) to establish development standards to guide future commercial/residential mixed use development proposals along specific commercial corridors within the C-3 Commercial Zone. The mixed use regulations became effective on December 18, 2020 and have been in place for approximately twoand-a-half years. The City Council previously reviewed the implementation of the Ordinance at their meetings on May 13, 2021 and January 4, 2022. The Planning Division is returning to the City Council to provide: 1) an additional update on implementation of the Ordinance; 2) information on pending projects under review, and; 3) potential options for future modifications to the MU Overlay Zone.

DISCUSSION
The following paragraphs are intended to provide information on current projects proposed in the MU Overlay Zone, a summary of applicable development standards, and options that are available to the City Council should there be interest in modifying the MU Overlay Zone to encourage additional mixed use development. For the Council’s reference, a brief history of the MU Overlay Zone, including its overall intent and objectives, is provided at the end of the Discussion section.

Meeting Date: July 18, 2023

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Pending and Approved Mixed Use Development Projects
As of the writing of this report, the Planning Commission has approved one mixed-use project (the “Stinking Rose” site at 55 North La Cienega Boulevard) with three other project applications that will be reviewed by the Commission at future meetings, as outlined in Table 2 below. All four projects were designed utilizing the state density bonus law and requested deviations from applicable development standards in exchange for providing deed-restricted affordable units to lower income households. The deed-restricted affordable units provided as a result of the use of state density bonus law also satisfy the City’s local inclusionary housing requirement, which is one affordable unit for projects with 5-9 units, and 10% affordable units for projects with 10+ units, though there are also in-lieu options available instead of actually providing the affordable unit on the project site in some cases. Each State density bonus project is also entitled to a certain number of incentives/concessions or waivers from applicable development standards. The mixed use projects that have been submitted to the City have typically requested additional height and stories in order to accommodate the total number of units. The additional height/story requests are listed in Table 1 below:

Table 1: Current Mixed-Use Development Projects
Address Status Total Units Affordable Units Additional
Height/Stories
8800 Burton Way Under review 25 3
(very low income)
+ 13’-0”
+ One story
55 N. La Cienega
Boulevard
Approved by Planning
Commission 105 11 (very low income)
+ 21’-6”
+ Three stories
8811 Wilshire
Boulevard Under review 42 5 (very low income)
+ 37’-2”
+ Three stories
9229 Wilshire
Boulevard Under review 56 6 (very low income)
+ 29’-11”
+ Four stories
Since the adoption of the MU Overlay Zone, and as evidenced in Table 1, there has been consistent interest in the development of mixed use projects and the City continues to see an increase in the number of projects submitted for review. Such projects are an indication that the current program is effective for encouraging mixed use development but the Council may wish to consider options to make it more effective to ensure continued interest and to further encourage development in these areas while balancing the needs of the commercial and adjacent residential areas.

Development Standards
In order to implement the objectives of the MU Overlay Zone, the City Council adopted a number of development standards to ensure that future development maintains compatibility with the city’s existing built form and to maintain appropriate transitions from the overlay zone to adjacent residential neighborhoods (Attachment 1). The development standards provide opportunity for both the redevelopment of vacant and underutilized parcels, as well as developed sites through a conversion process. These development standards were written to encourage and ease development of mixed-use projects as much as possible.

Table 2 below provides a general outline of the existing development standards that are applicable to a project in the MU Overlay Zone.

Meeting Date: July 18, 2023

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Table 2: MU Overlay Zone Development Standards
Density One unit per 550 square feet (SF) of site area / 79.2 dwelling units per acre Height
Varies depending on location in MU Overlay Zone:
 Three stories (45’)
 Four stories (45’)
 Five stories (55’)
Minimum Floor Area of
Dwelling Units
Efficiency and one-bedroom units: 500 SF
Two or more bedroom units: 800 SF
(Average floor area of all residential units shall not exceed 1,750 SF) Parking
Commercial uses: as required for the use
Residential units (required per unit):
 Efficiency: 1 parking space
 One-bedroom: 2 parking spaces
 Two bedroom: 2.5 parking spaces
 Three/four-bedroom: 3 parking spaces
 5+ bedroom: 4 parking spaces
Residential guest parking: One parking space for each four dwelling units.

Setbacks As established for the underlying zone (only applicable for commercial projects located adjacent to residential properties)
Modulation As established for the underlying zone (only applicable for that portion of a mixed use project that is located in the R-4 Zone).

Outdoor Living Space 200 SF per unit
Conversion of Existing
Commercial Buildings
May request relief from following standards:
 Parking requirements
 Loading facilities
 Outdoor living space
 Commercial-residential transition setbacks*
 Height limits*
* Only if existing buildings are legally nonconforming
It should be noted that Assembly Bill (AB) 2097 prohibits local agencies from imposing or enforcing minimum parking requirements on certain residential projects located within a half-mile radius of a major transit stop, as defined in California Government Code Section 21064.3. For Beverly Hills, major transit stops include the three planned Metro subway stations in the vicinity (two in Beverly Hills and one in Century City) and the bus stops located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard, as the bus routes have qualifying “major transit stop” frequency of service.

AB 2097 has started to result in reduced parking being provided in new commercial or residential projects in the city. However, the law does not prohibit developers from providing parking, which may often be provided, even if none is required, due to marketability concerns (e.g., the project may be less marketable without a certain amount of parking provided), but possibly at a lower amount than what would otherwise be required. This law would likely apply to a majority of projects located in the MU Overlay Zone due to the zone’s proximity to transit resources and may mean that parking may not be provided at the level that was previously required by the MU Overlay Zone development standards. However, to date, all mixed use project applications that have been submitted to the City provide some amount of parking for both the commercial and residential uses.

Meeting Date: July 18, 2023

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Options for Future Modifications to the MU Overlay Zone There are various options that the City Council could consider if there is a desire to increase interest in developing mixed use projects in the MU Overlay Zone. These options are summarized below, and the Council may wish to provide direction to staff on further exploration of all or some options. Depending on Council direction, staff can return to a future meeting with a more detailed analysis on preferred options.

Expand Area
Currently, the MU Overlay Zone is located in the C-3 Commercial Zone and primarily along the major commercial boulevards. The current concentration of the MU Overlay Zone along major commercial boulevards was intended to allow mixed use projects to be located near the two future subway station in the city at Wilshire/La Cienega (La Cienega Station) and Wilshire/Reeves (Rodeo Station); as well as the frequent Metro line bus service that exists on these corridors. Notably, the MU Overlay Zone does not extend into the Business Triangle, that portion of South Beverly Drive located south of Charleville Boulevard, the C-5 Commercial Zone, and a handful of C-3 properties located on local streets south of Wilshire Boulevard (i.e., Lasky Drive, South Rodeo Drive, and El Camino Drive). The Council may want to consider expanding the MU Overlay Zones into other commercial areas in the C-3 and C-5 Commercial Zones if there is a desire to provide more locations as options to locate additional housing in the city.

Two primary reasons that the MU Overlay Zone was not added into the Business Triangle was to 1) retain the City’s commercial core for businesses, and 2) such area is generally a place where businesses can operate into the evening without otherwise disturbing residents in the City’s single-family and multi-family residential neighborhoods.

However, there is also a history of providing housing in the Business Triangle, such as on the Maybourne Residences located between North Beverly Drive and North Canon Drive, and Beverly Hills Senior Housing (operated by the Menorah Housing Foundation) on North Crescent Drive. The City’s Planning Division has also had meetings with various developers who have identified the Business Triangle as a desirable place for mixed use development, and the Council may wish to consider if certain streets are more suited for mixed use development than others in this area.

Increase Density
The maximum allowable density in the MU Overlay Zone is one unit per 550 SF of site area, or approximately 79.2 dwelling units per acre (du/ac). This density is considerably higher than adjacent densities in multi-family residential areas, which typically range from 40 du/ac to 50 du/ac as outlined in the City’s Land Use Element of the General Plan. However, as evidenced by recent project submittals, developers are seeking to construct projects with a density increase by as much as 50% (the maximum allowable under state density bonus law) and City staff has heard from developers that additional density is required in order for many mixed use projects to be financially feasible.

Additionally, staff intends to bring forward a Zone Text Amendment to the Planning Commission to clarify the applicable residential density calculation for the conversion of existing commercial buildings into a mixed use commercial and residential project (generally referred to as “adaptive reuse”). Currently, all projects in the MU Overlay Zone are subject to a maximum residential density that is calculated based on the area of a site. However, a residential density calculation that is based on an existing building’s floor area is a more relevant calculation for adaptive reuse projects, as the number of units that can fit within an existing structure is directly related to the building’s floor area and the site area of an existing building has little relevance to the number of units that can fit within the existing building. A Zone Text Amendment clarifying that the residential Meeting Date: July 18, 2023

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density calculation is based on existing building area for adaptive reuse projects would allow a greater number of residential units to be constructed in the MU Overlay Zone without increasing the City’s built environment and would be consistent with the original intent of the density calculations for such project types.

Increase Height
The height limits in the MU Overlay Zone range from three stories (45’) to five stories (55’), based on the following proximity to residentially-zoned neighborhoods:
 Projects adjacent to single-family zones or three-story (33’) multi-family zones are limited to a maximum height of three stories (45’). This limit is also consistent with the maximum allowable height for the underlying C-3 Commercial Zone.  Projects adjacent to a four-story (45’) multi-family zone are limited to the same.  Projects adjacent to a five-story (55’) multi-family zone are limited to the same.

However, through the use of the state density bonus law, developers are entitled to certain incentives/concessions and/or waivers from development standards in exchange for the provision of deed-restricted affordable housing units. As previously discussed, every mixed use project under review by the City has utilized the state density bonus law and has requested additional height and stories as part of their project.

Overlay Zone-specific Incentives
The aforementioned options may also be considered in the context of creating an overlay-specific incentive program in order to encourage additional development in the MU Overlay Zone. This type of program, often referred to as a menu of incentives, could allow the City the opportunity to identify specific incentives offered in exchange for the provision of a certain percentage of affordable units. Such incentives could be based on development standards (e.g., height, density, open space, etc.) or regulatory requirements (e.g., streamlined discretionary review, option for ministerial review, reduced and/or waived fees, etc.). The creation of an incentive program for the MU Overlay Zone may be an option to provide certainty to both the community and developers as to the types of projects that would be constructed in the city.

One specific type of incentive that the Council may wish to consider is a regulatory incentive for the conversion of existing buildings into mixed use projects. Currently, the BHMC identifies specific development standards from which a project may seek relief if it is not physically feasible to comply with the standards (e.g., parking requirements, loading facilities, outdoor living space, and commercial-residential transitional setbacks and height limits, if such buildings have legally nonconforming setbacks and height). In order to encourage the conversion of existing buildings, which could limit the type of construction concerns that may otherwise be experienced with the construction of a new building, the Council could consider creating a ministerial process for building conversions under the MU Overlay Zone. Such an incentive would result in time and cost savings for developers, would encourage a type of development that may have fewer impacts on adjacent neighborhoods than a newly constructed building, and could maintain the existing scale and massing of buildings located adjacent to residential neighborhoods.

History of the MU Overlay Zone
The MU Overlay Zone (Article 18.7 of Title 10, Chapter 3 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code (BHMC)) was established to provide areas of the city where mixed use development (i.e., residential units located above commercial uses) is allowed. The intent of these regulations is to encourage vibrant, walkable neighborhoods while increasing the availability of housing in the city, preserving the vitality of existing Meeting Date: July 18, 2023

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commercial corridors, and minimizing displacement of existing residents in the city’s established multi-family residential neighborhoods. This is because the redevelopment of multi-family property can result in situations where existing tenants are required to vacate their existing home and find other housing. The construction of new residential units as a part of mixed use development in areas that were previously occupied only by commercial uses results in net new residential units in the city and this sort of development does not displace existing residents. Furthermore, the creation of net new housing units is paramount for the City to meet its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) for the 6th cycle of the Housing Element, which covers the period from 2021- 2029, and requires that the City plan for an adequate number of new residential units at various levels of affordability.

Properties included in the MU Overlay Zone are located in a majority of commercial areas zoned C-3 outside of the Business Triangle (Attachment 2). The MU Overlay intentionally excluded the Business Triangle to preserve that area primarily for commercial uses. Additional consideration was also given to placing the overlay zone on corridors that are in close proximity to future Metro D Line (Purple) subway stations at Wilshire and La Cienega Boulevards (“La Cienega Station”) and Wilshire Boulevard and Reeves Drive (“Rodeo Station”). The MU Overlay Zone extends along major commercial corridors that traverse the entire city boundaries from east to west and north to south, and are also located in high resource areas, with access to amenities and services such as grocery stores, schools, and parks, as well as other transit options. This was another important consideration because of the requirements to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing within the 2021-2029 Housing Element for the 6th housing cycle, which requires planned housing units to be located in close proximity to a variety of amenities and resources, while being geographically distributed throughout the city.

Height limits ranging from three stories (45’) to five stories (55’) apply to various properties included in the MU Overlay Zone. For properties in the MU Overlay Zone that are located adjacent to a multi-family residential neighborhood, the maximum height correlates directly to the maximum height limit for the adjacent multi-family neighborhood. For properties in the MU Overlay Zone that are located adjacent to a single-family residential neighborhood, the City’s existing three story (45’) height limit for commercial buildings remains applicable.

Zone Objectives
As memorialized in BHMC 10-3-1872, the MU Overlay Zone contains a number of objectives that are intended to help guide development and to ensure that each mixed use development project is designed and reviewed in a manner that will help advance the goal of the zone. Those objectives are as follows:

A. Expanding the options and opportunities for certain commercial property owners and developers by allowing for combinations of commercial uses, and multifamily residential uses subject to specific standards, rules and procedures; B. Creating the potential for more intensive development in certain neighborhoods, while maintaining realistic buffers between commercial and residential zones to ensure there is harmonious development in the area;
C. Expanding housing options for diverse socioeconomic populations in the City including seniors, young people, populations that wish to be transit-adjacent and populations that will benefit from development near an urban core; Meeting Date: July 18, 2023

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D. Retaining the commercial tax base and streetscape character that exists in the City by encouraging neighborhood-serving and pedestrian-friendly commercial uses;
E. Concentrating new housing and amenities near existing and anticipated transportation nodes and stations to encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation to automobile travel; and
Allowing projects that are appropriately designed to achieve the desired neighborhood character, while providing development standards to minimize impacts of commercial uses to adjacent residential zones, and to encourage symbiotic uses.

Public Outreach
As part of the City’s Housing Element Update process, City staff has undertaken various efforts to inform property owners in the MU Overlay Zone of the development potential available to them, either as part of a new development or conversion of an existing building. Such efforts include a direct mailing to all such property owners, as well as an invitation to meet with the City’s Planning Division to better understand the applicable regulations and development standards and how they may apply to their property. An email to the City’s mixed use interested parties list was also sent prior to this meeting to inform them that the MU Overlay Zone would be discussed by the City Council.

In response to the email to interested parties, the Beverly Hills Initiative for Reasonable Development (BHIRD) submitted a memorandum for the Council’s consideration. The memorandum, including its appendices, is included as Attachment 3.

FISCAL IMPACT
Since this item is a discussion of existing regulations and potential changes, and there are no proposed actions at this time, no fiscal impact is anticipated. In the event that the City Council decides to move forward with any proposed changes to the MU Overlay Zone, there could be a need for consulting services, which would be funded through existing budgetary allocations or through additional budget requests.

Jeffrey Lambert, FAICP
Interim Director of Community
Development
Approved By
Attachment 6
Article 18.7 (Mixed Use Overlay Zone)
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10-3-1871: MIXED USE (MU) OVERLAY ZONE CREATED:

There is hereby created and established in the City an overlay zone, designated as the Mixed Use (MU) Overlay Zone. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020)
10-3-1872: PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE:

The purpose of the MU Overlay Zone is to provide areas of the City where mixed use development is allowed in order to encourage vibrant, walkable neighborhoods and increase the availability of housing in the City, while preserving the vitality of existing commercial corridors and minimizing displacement of existing residents. The objectives of the MU Overlay Zone shall be as follows:

A. Expanding the options and opportunities for certain commercial property owners and developers by allowing for combinations of commercial uses, and multi-family residential uses subject to specific standards, rules and procedures;
B. Creating the potential for more intensive development in certain neighborhoods, while maintaining realistic buffers between commercial and residential zones to ensure there is harmonious development in the area; C. Expanding housing options for diverse socioeconomic populations in the City including seniors, young people, populations that wish to be transit-adjacent and populations that will benefit from development near an urban core; D. Retaining the commercial tax base and streetscape character that exists in the City by encouraging neighborhood-serving and pedestrian-friendly commercial uses; E. Concentrating new housing and amenities near existing and anticipated transportation nodes and stations to encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation to automobile travel; and F. Allowing projects that are appropriately designed to achieve the desired neighborhood character, while providing development standards to minimize impacts of commercial uses to adjacent residential zones, and to encourage symbiotic uses. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020) 10-3-1873: APPLICATION OF THE MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE:

The Mixed Use Overlay Zone shall be applied only to commercially zoned properties located in the following areas:

A. Properties fronting on Wilshire Boulevard between San Vicente Boulevard to the east and Rexford Drive to the west;
B. Properties located on the southern side of Wilshire Boulevard between Rexford Drive to the east and South Santa Monica Boulevard to the west;
C. Properties fronting on La Cienega Boulevard between the northern and southern borders of the City; D. Properties fronting Robertson Boulevard between the northern and southern borders of the City; E. Properties fronting on Olympic Boulevard located between the eastern boundary of the City and Rexford Drive to the west;
F. Properties fronting on South Doheny Drive between Wilshire Boulevard to the north and Charleville Boulevard to the south;
G. Properties fronting on San Vicente Boulevard between Wilshire Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard; H. Properties fronting on Santa Monica Boulevard (south roadway) between Wilshire Boulevard to the east and South Moreno Drive to the west; and
I. Properties fronting on South Beverly Drive between Wilshire Boulevard to the north and Charleville Boulevard to the south. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020)
10-3-1874: DEFINITIONS:

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall govern the construction of this article:
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ADJACENT TO A
RESIDENTIAL ZONE:

A site that shares a property line with a residentially zoned property or is separated from a residentially zoned property by a public alley.

GROUND FLOOR:

The story or floor level within a building that provides direct access to and fronts on a public street, and the elevation of the floor level along the street frontage is an average of three feet (3') above or below the adjacent curb.

MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT:

A project that includes commercial and multi-family residential uses within the same structure. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020) 10-3-1875: PROCEDURES FOR APPROVAL:

No mixed use development shall be constructed without approval of a development plan review by the Planning Commission in accordance with article 31 of this chapter.

A. A public hearing shall be held by the Planning Commission on all development plan review permits for mixed use developments. Noticing shall be completed in accordance with article 2.5 of this chapter and the City's public notice guidelines.

B. Any decision made by the planning commission pursuant to this article may be appealed to the city council in the manner provided in title 1, chapter 4, article 1 of this code. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020) 10-3-1876: USES PERMITTED:

Except as otherwise provided or restricted by this article, no lot, premises, building or portion thereof in the MU Overlay Zone shall be used for any purpose except the following:

A. Uses permitted in the applicable underlying zone that meet the development standards of the underlying zone.

B. Uses conditionally permitted in the applicable underlying zone that meet the development standards of the underlying zone for which an applicant has received a conditional use permit.

C. Multi-family residential housing units as part of a mixed use project and the usual and customary accessory and appurtenant uses thereto. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020) 10-3-1877: RESTRICTED USES:

The following restrictions shall apply to mixed use development in the MU Overlay Zone:

A. No medical uses may be included in a mixed use development.

B. No entertainment uses including, but not limited to, cabarets, nightclubs, and adult entertainment businesses, may be included in a mixed use development.

C. Residential uses included as part of a mixed use development shall be permitted in all portions of the development regardless of the underlying zone, except that residential uses shall not be permitted within the first forty feet (40') of depth from any street-facing property line of the first floor, except as otherwise allowed through the development plan review request.

D. Commercial uses included as part of a mixed use development shall only be permitted in those portions of the development in which the underlying zone is a commercial zone unless otherwise approved through a zone text amendment request. Further, no commercial uses shall be allowed above the third story of a mixed use development.

E. The planning commission shall have authority through conditions imposed on a development plan review permit to prohibit uses not specified herein, on a use by use basis, if it finds that the proposed uses will have a significant adverse impact on adjacent uses, or will not promote harmonious development of the area. (Ord. 20-O2825, eff. 12-18-2020) 10-3-1878: APPLICABILITY OF UNDERLYING ZONE REGULATIONS:

Except as otherwise specifically provided in this article for mixed use developments, development in a MU Overlay Zone shall comply with the zoning regulations applicable to the underlying zone.

Nothing in this article shall require a development to comply with the provisions of the MU Overlay Zone if the development fully conforms to the requirements of the underlying zone. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020) 10-3-1879: GROUND FLOOR RESTRICTIONS:
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A building in the MU Overlay Zone shall not be constructed, altered, or enlarged so that it is taller than the heights set forth as follows and as displayed in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone Height District Map maintained by the Department of Community Development:

A. Height District A: A maximum height of forty five feet (45') and three (3) stories is permitted for properties adjacent to any single-family residential zones and/or multi-family residentially zoned properties located in multifamily height district A, as noted in section 10-3-2804 of this chapter.

B. Height District B: A maximum height of forty five feet (45') and four (4) stories is permitted for properties adjacent to multi-family residentially zoned properties located in multi-family height district B, as noted in section 10- 3-2804 of this chapter.

C. Height District C: A maximum height of fifty five feet (55') and five (5) stories is permitted for properties adjacent to multi-family residentially zoned properties located in multi-family height district C, as noted in section 10-3-2804 of this chapter, or other properties in existing mixed use overlay zones.

When a mixed use development is located adjacent to more than one residential zone, the residential zone allowing the shortest height shall dictate the maximum height allowed for the mixed use development. The height of a mixed use development shall be measured pursuant to the definition of "Height of Building" for Multiple-Family Residential Zones in section 10-3-100 of this chapter.

For the purposes of applying the provisions of Government Code Section 65915, the height limitations and story limitations set forth in this article shall be considered separate requirements. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020; Ord. 22-O- 2860, eff. 6-10-2022)
10-3-1881: RESIDENTIAL DENSITY:

Maximum Density Of Residential Units: The number of residential units that may be included in a mixed use development in the MU Overlay Zone shall not exceed one unit per five hundred fifty (550) square feet of site area. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020)
10-3-1882: MINIMUM AND AVERAGE FLOOR AREA OF DWELLING UNITS:

The following floor area requirements shall apply to multi-family residential dwelling units within a mixed use development:

A. Efficiency And One Bedroom Units: Efficiency and one bedroom units shall have a minimum floor area of five hundred (500) square feet each.

B. Two (2) Or More Bedroom Units: A dwelling unit with two (2) or more bedrooms shall have a minimum floor area of eight hundred (800) square feet.

C. The average of the floor areas of all residential units in a mixed use development shall not exceed one thousand seven hundred fifty (1,750) square feet.

D. Outdoor Living Space: One-half (1/2) of the square footage of outdoor living space required by section 10-3- 1886 of this chapter may be counted as part of the floor area of a dwelling unit if such outdoor living space does not project into any required yard, is contiguous to the dwelling unit, and is designated for the exclusive use of the dwelling unit. However, the outdoor living space shall not be counted as more than ten percent (10%) of the required minimum floor area of the dwelling unit. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020) 10-3-1883: PARKING REQUIREMENTS:

A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, parking requirements for the commercial portion of a building located in the MU Overlay Zone are located in 10-3-2727 through 10-3-2736 inclusive of this chapter.

B. A mixed use development shall provide parking for the commercial and residential components that can be physically separated. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the planning commission may permit, as part of a development plan review permit, access between parking facilities for the commercial and residential components, such as instances in which the site is physically constrained so that separate facilities are not practical nor feasible.

C. Parking for the residential portion of the building shall be provided per the requirements of section 10-3-2816.

D. Guest parking for residential units in the MU Overlay Zone shall be provided per the requirements of section 10-3-2817.
9/20/23, 9:22 PM export.amlegal.com/api/export-requests/cf966097-a777-4d2b-a10a-d97450ea8066/download/ https://export.amlegal.com/api/export-requests/cf966097-a777-4d2b-a10a-d97450ea8066/download/ 4/4 E. If parking is provided above ground, all parking, except for driveways and access to loading areas, shall be located behind building space that is dedicated to a permitted use other than parking, and that building space shall be a minimum of forty feet (40') deep as measured from the building facades facing public streets, to prevent direct visibility from adjacent streets unless otherwise approved by the planning commission through a development plan review permit, such as instances in which the site is physically constrained by the depth requirements and unable to provide sufficient parking areas.

F. The parking component of a mixed use development in the MU Overlay Zone shall be as approved as part of a development plan review.

G. Parking spaces for the residential component of the building shall be assigned to specific residential units, and shall not be used by patrons of the commercial uses in the building. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020) 10-3-1884: SETBACKS AND MODULATION:

Mixed use developments in the MU Overlay Zone shall have the same setbacks as established in the underlying zone, except no setback shall be required at the property line between two (2) zones if the project is proposed across those property lines.

If a building is constructed across two (2) different zones, and modulation is required for buildings in one of the zones, the modulation shall be provided on the portion of the building located in the zone in which the modulation is required. The width of the building for the purpose of calculating modulation shall be the width that is located within the zone that requires modulation. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020) 10-3-1885: LOADING FACILITIES:

Except as otherwise provided in this section, loading facilities for mixed use developments in the MU Overlay Zone shall be provided in accordance with sections 10-3-2740 through 10-3-2744, inclusive, of this chapter, or as otherwise approved by the planning commission as part of a development plan review permit such as instances in which the site is physically constrained and unable to provide such loading facilities. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18- 2020)
10-3-1886: OUTDOOR LIVING SPACE REQUIRED:

The residential components of all mixed use developments in the MU Overlay Zone shall provide outdoor living space in accordance with the requirements of section 10-3-2803 of this chapter. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020) 10-3-1887: APPLICATION OF TRANSITIONAL OPERATIONAL STANDARDS:

Unless otherwise provided in this article, all commercial uses in a mixed use development shall comply with the general operational requirements set forth in section 10-3-1956 of this chapter. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020) 10-3-1888: CONVERSION OF EXISTING COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS:

Existing commercial buildings may obtain a development plan review permit to convert to a mixed use building if located in the MU Overlay Zone. Such a project may request relief from the following mixed use standards, if it is not physically feasible to comply with these standards. To determine feasibility, the commission shall evaluate whether the site is physically constrained, with regard to depth and width, whether the existing commercial building does not conform to mixed use standards, and/or whether the existing commercial building would be rendered structurally defective by providing such features.

A. Parking requirements;
B. Loading facilities;
C. Outdoor living space;
D. Commercial-residential transitional setbacks, if such buildings have legally nonconforming setbacks; E. Height limits, if buildings have legally nonconforming heights. (Ord. 20-O-2825, eff. 12-18-2020) Attachment 7
Adopted ND

CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS

MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE

INITIAL STUDY/NEGATIVE DECLARATION
Table of Contents

INITIAL STUDY

1. Project Title............................................................................................................... 3

2. Lead Agency Name and Address ............................................................................. 3

3. Contact Person and Phone Number ......................................................................... 3

4. Project Location........................................................................................................ 3

5. Project Sponsor’s Name and Address ...................................................................... 4

6. General Plan Designation......................................................................................... 4

7. Zoning ...................................................................................................................... 4

8. Project Description.................................................................................................... 4

9. Surrounding Land Uses and Setting ......................................................................... 7

10. Necessary Public Agency Approvals ........................................................................ 7 Environmental Factors Affected ................................................................................................. 8 Determination ............................................................................................................................ 9 Environmental Checklist............................................................................................................10

1. Aesthetics................................................................................................................10

2. Agricultural And Forestry Resources .......................................................................12

3. Air Quality................................................................................................................13

4. Biological Resources...............................................................................................16

5. Cultural Resources..................................................................................................18

6. Geology And Soils...................................................................................................20

7. Greenhouse Gas Emissions....................................................................................23

8. Hazards And Hazardous Materials ..........................................................................25

9. Hydrology And Water Quality ..................................................................................28

10. Land Use And Planning...........................................................................................31

11. Mineral Resources ..................................................................................................33

12. Noise.......................................................................................................................34 Beverly Hills Mixed Use Overlay Zone Project
Initial Study/Negative Declaration
2 13. Population And Housing..........................................................................................37

14. Public Services........................................................................................................38

15. Recreation...............................................................................................................40

16. Transportation/Traffic ..............................................................................................41

17. Tribal Cultural Resources ........................................................................................43

18. Utilities And Service Systems ..................................................................................44

19. Mandatory Findings Of Significance ........................................................................46 References ...............................................................................................................................47 List of Figures
Figure 1: Regional Location …………………………………………………………………...6 Figure 2: Areas eligible for overlay zone …………………………………………………..…6 List of Tables
Table 1: City Noise Compatibility Guidelines……………………………………………….35 APPENDIX A – RESPONSE TO COMMENTS
Beverly Hills Mixed Use Overlay Zone Project
Initial Study/Negative Declaration
3 Initial Study

1. PROJECT TITLE:

Beverly Hills Mixed Use Overlay Zone Project

2. LEAD AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS:

City of Beverly Hills
Community Development Department
455 N Rexford Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

3. CONTACT PERSON AND PHONE NUMBER:

Timothea Tway, AICP, Senior Planner
Community Development Department, City of Beverly Hills (310) 285-1122

4. PROJECT LOCATION:

The City of Beverly Hills is bordered by the City of West Hollywood to the east, the City of Los Angeles neighborhoods of Carthay to the south, Century City to the west, and Holmby Hills and Brentwood to the northwest and north. The City is 5.7 square miles and is home to a resident population of approximately 35,000 people.

The project includes a General Plan Amendment and zone text and map amendments for the creation of an overlay zone in the Beverly Hills Municipal Code (BHMC) that would be applied to certain commercial properties in the City. This overlay zone would allow mixed use development (residential and commercial uses in the same structure) as an allowed use. The parcels upon which the overlay zone is proposed are located throughout the City, mostly along major commercial thoroughfares including commercially zoned parcels:
● fronting Wilshire Boulevard between San Vicente Boulevard and Rexford Drive ● fronting Wilshire Boulevard on the southern side of Wilshire Boulevard between Rexford Drive and South Santa Monica Boulevard
● fronting La Cienega Boulevard between the northern and southern borders of the City ● fronting Robertson Boulevard between the northern and southern borders of the City ● fronting Olympic Boulevard located between the eastern border of the City and Rexford Drive to the west
● fronting the 100 block of South Doheny Drive
Beverly Hills Mixed Use Overlay Zone Project
Initial Study/Negative Declaration
4 ● fronting San Vicente Boulevard between Wilshire Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard
● fronting South Santa Monica Boulevard located between Wilshire Boulevard and Moreno Drive
● fronting the 100 block of South Beverly Drive

5. PROJECT SPONSOR’S NAME AND ADDRESS:

City of Beverly Hills
455 N. Rexford Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

6. GENERAL PLAN DESIGNATION:

Commercial

7. ZONING:

Currently: C-3, C-3T-2, C-3-T3, C3-A (Commercial)
Proposed: C-3-MU, C-3T-2-MU, C-3-T3-MU, C3-A-MU (Commercial with mixed use overlay)

8. PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The proposed project involves a general plan amendment to enable mixed use development in certain commercial areas and the addition of an overlay zone into the BHMC to allow mixed use development. Mixed use development would make residential units an allowed use in mixed use projects in commercial zones where the overlay zone is applied. The overlay zone would be applied to certain commercially zoned parcels in certain areas of the City including commercially zoned properties located:
● fronting Wilshire Boulevard between San Vicente Boulevard and Rexford Drive ● fronting Wilshire Boulevard on the southern side of Wilshire Boulevard between Rexford Drive and South Santa Monica Boulevard
● fronting La Cienega Boulevard between the northern and southern borders of the City ● fronting Robertson Boulevard between the northern and southern borders of the City ● fronting Olympic Boulevard located between the eastern border of the City and Rexford Drive to the west
● fronting the 100 block of South Doheny Drive
● fronting San Vicente Boulevard between Wilshire Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard
Beverly Hills Mixed Use Overlay Zone Project
Initial Study/Negative Declaration
5 ● fronting South Santa Monica Boulevard located between Wilshire Boulevard and Moreno Drive
● fronting the 100 block of South Beverly Drive
The overlay zone would regulate the uses allowed on the property as well as establish the zoning standards that must be followed including density, height and setbacks. The project does not include any proposal for new construction at this time. In general, the overlay zone contains the following regulations:
● Commercial uses that are permitted or conditionally permitted in the BHMC in existing commercial zones would be allowed in mixed use buildings ■ Medical and entertainment uses would not be allowed
■ Any use that requires a Conditional Use Permit in the BHMC in the commercial zone would require a Conditional Use Permit in a mixed use project ● Residential uses would be allowed in mixed use buildings ■ Generally the residential uses would not be allowed in the first 40 feet of street frontage facing a street on the ground floor, with limited exceptions, to preserve this space for commercial uses.
■ One residential unit would be allowed per 550 square feet of site area. ● Allowed height would vary based on adjacent residential zoning ■ for mixed use buildings adjacent to single-family zoning, the height limit would be 45’.
■ for mixed use buildings adjacent to multi-family zoning, the height limit would match the adjacent height limit of the multi-family zone as outlined in the Beverly Hills Multi-family Height District Map (these districts allow three, four or five story buildings).
● Any proposed mixed use development would be subject to the City’s existing Development Plan Review Process, including review and approval by the Planning Commission of the City of Beverly Hills. Conditions of approval could be required for projects as part of the approval process.
● Mixed use projects would have the same setback requirements and commercialresidential transitional zone operational requirements as currently exist in the commercial areas of the City.

The addition of this overlay zone in the municipal code will not directly result in construction on any particular property at this time. Any building or project proposed after the creation of the overlay zone would require discretionary review by the City of Beverly Hills development plan review process and would be subject to environmental review as appropriate under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) at that time. Figure 1 illustrates the regional location and Figure 2 illustrates the commercial areas that could be eligible to request the mixed-use overlay zone.

Beverly Hills Mixed Use Overlay Zone Project
Initial Study/Negative Declaration
6 Figure 1 Regional Location
Figure 2 Areas eligible for overlay zone
Beverly Hills Mixed Use Overlay Zone Project
Initial Study/Negative Declaration
7 9. SURROUNDING LAND USES AND SETTING
The mixed use overlay zone would be applied to certain parcels in the City that are currently zoned for commercial use in specific locations throughout the City as illustrated in Figure 2. The land uses surrounding these commercial parcels include single-family, multi-family, institutional, commercial, and park uses. The City of Beverly Hills is a built out urbanized area and the areas where the mixed use overlay would be established are within fully urbanized neighborhoods.

10. NECESSARY PUBLIC AGENCY APPROVALS:

The proposed zone change and General Plan amendment require review and approval by the City of Beverly Hills Planning Commission and City Council.

Beverly Hills Mixed Use Overlay Zone Project
Initial Study/Negative Declaration
8 ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTED
The environmental factors checked below would be potentially affected by this project, involving at least one impact that is a “Potentially Significant Impact” as indicated by the checklist on the following pages.
☐ Aesthetics ☐ Agriculture Resources ☐ Air Quality
☐ Biological Resources ☐ Cultural Resources ☐ Geology/Soils ☐
Greenhouse Gas
Emissions ☐
Hazards & Hazardous
Materials ☐ Hydrology/Water Quality
☐ Land Use/Planning ☐ Mineral Resources ☐ Noise
☐ Population/Housing ☐ Public Services ☐ Recreation
☐ Transportation/Traffic ☐
Tribal Cultural
Resources ☐ Utilities/Services Systems
☐
Mandatory Findings of
Significance
9 DETERMINATION
On the basis of this initial evaluation:
☑ I find that the proposed project COULD NOT have a significant effect on the environment, and a NEGATIVE DECLARATION will be prepared.
⬜ I find that although the proposed project could have a significant effect on the environment, there will not be a significant effect in this case because revisions in the project have been made by or agreed to by the project proponent. A MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION will be prepared.
⬜ I find that the proposed project MAY have a significant effect on the environment, and an ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT is required.
⬜ I find that the proposed project may have a “potentially significant impact” or “potentially significant unless mitigated” impact on the environment, but at least one effect 1) has been adequately analyzed in an earlier document pursuant to applicable legal standards, and 2) has been addressed by mitigation measures based on the earlier analysis as described on attached sheets. An ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT is required, but it must analyze only the effects that remain to be addressed.
⬜ I find that although the proposed project could have a significant effect on the environment, because all potentially significant effects (a) have been analyzed adequately in an earlier EIR or NEGATIVE DECLARATION pursuant to applicable standards, and (b) have been avoided or mitigated pursuant to that earlier EIR or NEGATIVE DECLARATION, including revision or mitigation measures that are imposed upon the proposed project, nothing further is required.

JUNE 9, 2020
Signature Date
Timothea Tway, Senior Planner City of Beverly Hills
Printed Name For
10 ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKLIST

1. AESTHETICS
Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
Would the project:
a) Have a substantial adverse effect on a scenic
vista? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
b) Substantially damage scenic resources, including,
but not limited to, trees, rock outcroppings, and
historic building within a state scenic highway?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
c) Substantially degrade the existing visual character
or quality of the site and its surroundings? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
d) Create a new source of substantial light or glare
which would adversely affect day or nighttime
views in the area?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
a) Less than Significant. Generally, scenic vistas are limited in commercial areas of the City due to the fact that these areas are built-out and urbanized. The Project, which is the creation of an overlay zone, would not result in development at this time. There are views of the hills north of the City from several commercial corridors as well as views of some prominent landmark buildings, such as the Saban Theater on Wilshire Boulevard, however height limits for projects proposed in the future set forth in the mixed use overlay zone would not allow for buildings that are substantially taller than other existing buildings in the vicinity, and would be limited to five stories in areas where the tallest buildings would be permitted. Buildings of this scale would fit into the existing commercial development patterns of the City, which range from one-story to ten-story buildings, and are unlikely to block any scenic vistas that may exist.

Further, any buildings proposed as a result of this overlay zone will be considered Projects under CEQA and will require review prior to approval. Therefore, there is a less than significant potential for the establishment of the mixed use overlay zone to have a substantial adverse effect on a scenic vista.
b) No Impact. There are no state scenic highways in the City of Beverly Hills. (California Scenic Highway Mapping System, 2016). Therefore, no scenic resources would be damaged by the implementation of the proposed project, no significant impacts would occur, and no mitigation measures would be required.
c) Less than Significant. Areas where the mixed use overlay zone would be established are urbanized, built-out commercial corridors in the City. The project analyzed in this document is the establishment of an overlay zone in some commercial areas of the City. There is no development contemplated as part of the project at this time and any analysis of a hypothetical project would be speculative in nature. Any future temporary construction activities could result in changes to the visual quality of a property. These activities could include excavation 11 of soil to build subterranean parking and storage of construction materials and equipment.

These activities would be temporary in nature and would not permanently impact the visual character of the neighborhood in which it was located. In addition, any future proposal for mixed use development would be required to comply with CEQA because a discretionary approval would be required.

The Beverly Hills Municipal Code regulates the height of buildings constructed in each zone and height limits are established in the mixed use overlay zone. Any future building proposed on a property would be required to meet the height limit as established in the overlay zone (either three, four, or five stories). Any future development project at the site would be subject to development plan review and approval by the City’s Planning Commission for the scale and size of the development proposal and by the City’s Architectural Commission to ensure the quality of the design and construction material. Such a project would be required to comply with CEQA. Therefore, the current project will not impact overall visual character and quality. d) Less than Significant. The creation of an overlay zone would not introduce a new source of light and/or glare. If, in the future, new structures are proposed in commercial areas due to the overlay zone, they may introduce new sources of light and glare. Any new building proposed would be subject to review by the City and would be required to comply with CEQA.

Potential new sources of light and glare from a future project could include windows, lighting of entrances, exterior illumination of the building, and lights from vehicles entering and exiting the building. The overlay zone would be applied to commercial corridors in the City, which are urban and generally have high levels of existing light. Any new source of light would require compliance with the Beverly Hill Municipal Code Section 5-6-1101 (Excessive Lighting Prohibited), which prohibits the installation, use, and maintenance of lighting that creates an intensity of light on residential property greater than one foot-candle above ambient light level.

Additionally, pursuant to BHMC Section 10-3-3012.G, the Architectural Commission will review any lighting proposed for a new project. Because of this, the proposed project is not expected to substantially change the lighting in the area or create a new source of substantial light or glare that would adversely affect day or nighttime views in the area. 12 2. AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTRY RESOURCES
In determining whether impacts to agricultural resources are significant environmental effects, lead agencies may refer to the California Agricultural Land Evaluation and Site Assessment Model (1997) prepared by the California Dept. of Conservation as an option model to use in assessing impacts on agriculture and farmland. In determining whether impacts to forest resources, including timberland, are significant environment effects, lead agencies may refer to information compiled by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection regarding the state’s inventory of forest land, including the Forest and Range Assessment Project; and the Forest Legacy Assessment project; and forest carbon measurement methodology provided in Forest Protocols adopted by the California Air Resources Board Would the project:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Convert Prime Farmland, Unique Farmland, or
Farmland of Statewide Importance (Farmland), as
shown on the maps prepared pursuant to the
Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program of the
California Resources Agency, to non-agricultural
use?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
b) Conflict with existing zoning for agricultural use, or a Williamson Act contract? ☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
c) Conflict with existing zoning for, or cause rezoning of, forest land (as defined in Public Resources
Code section 12220(g)), timberland (as defined by
Public Resources Code section 4526), or
timberland zoned Timberland Production (as
defined by Government Code section 51104(g))?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
d) Result in the loss of forest land or conversion of
forest land to non-forest use? ☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
e) Involve other changes in the existing environment
which, due to their location or nature, could result
in conversion of Farmland, to non-agricultural use
or conversion of forest land to non-forest use?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
a-e) No Impact. The project area is located in an urban setting and does not contain any agricultural resources as defined by the state farmland mapping and monitoring program (State of California Department of Conservation, 2012). The project is not located on or adjacent to any agricultural resources or forest land. Further, the proposed project would not require any changes to the existing environment that would result in the conversion of farmland to non-agricultural uses. The project site is not enrolled under a Williamson Act contract and it is not located on or near a site with timberland or other forestry resources, nor does the property have any zoning or General Plan designations for forest land, farmland, timberland or timberland production. Therefore, no significant impacts to existing agricultural resources, forest land, farmland, Prime Farmland, or Unique Farmland would occur from implementation of the project and no mitigation measures are necessary. 13 3. AIR QUALITY
Where available, the significance criteria established by the applicable air quality management or air pollution control district may be relied upon to make the following determinations.

Would the project:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Conflict with or obstruct implementation of the
applicable air quality plan? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
b) Violate any air quality standard or contribute
substantially to an existing or projected air quality
violation?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
c) Result in a cumulatively considerable net increase
of any criteria pollutant for which the project region
is non-attainment under an applicable federal or
state ambient air quality standard (including
releasing emissions, which exceed quantitative
thresholds for ozone precursors)?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
d) Expose sensitive receptors to substantial pollutant
concentrations? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
e) Create objectionable odors affecting a substantial
number of people? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
a,b,c) Less than Significant Impact. The City of Beverly Hills is within the South Coast Air Basin (SCAB), south of the Santa Monica Mountains, and east of the Pacific Ocean. Air quality in the South Coast Air Basin is managed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). The SCAQMD has an Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) to outline a strategy to meet state and federal air quality standards. A project is considered to have a significant adverse impact to air quality if it individually or cumulatively interferes with progress toward the attainment of ozone standards or results in the exceedance of state or federal ambient air quality standards for criteria pollutants. The air quality analysis included in this report conforms to the methodologies recommended in the SCAQMD’s California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Air Quality Handbook (1993).

SCAQMD has established the following thresholds for project operations within the SCAB:
55 pounds per day of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC)
55 pounds per day of Nitrogen Oxides (NOX);
550 pounds per day of Carbon Monoxide (CO);
150 pounds per day of Particulate Matter (PM)10; and
55 pounds per day of PM2.5.

SCAQMD has established the following thresholds for temporary construction emissions for projects within the SCAB:
14 75 pounds per day of VOC;
100 pounds per day of NOX;
550 pounds per day of CO;
150 pounds per day of PM10; and
55 pounds per day of PM2.5.

Because the project is the creation of an overlay zone that will be applied to certain commercial properties in the City, it would be speculative to analyze potential air quality impacts of any one hypothetical mixed use development project at this time. Any air quality impacts of any proposed project will be considered if a project application is submitted to the City in the future.

Further, the creation of the overlay zone would result in a less than significant impact because it does not involve a physical project or development on any project site. The AQMP also discusses the impacts of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on air quality in the SCAB. Allowing residential uses within existing commercial corridors through the mixed use overlay zone could reduce regional air quality impacts due to the fact that it would be lessening the jobs housing imbalance that exists within the City and could provide housing for workers in the City, thus reducing the need to commute and the VMT.

Appendix IV of the 2016 AQMP discusses the South California Association of Government’s (SCAG) Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS), which projects 46 percent of housing to be located in areas served by high quality transit, such as the corridors proposed for mixed use development as part of the Project. As a result of this high percentage of infill development near transit, SCAG is projecting that daily per capita VMT will decrease in 2040 by 7.4 percent (AQMP Appendix IV, 2016). Further, the document recognizes that new development projects will be constructed in compliance with Title 24 regulations that “greatly reduce construction and operational emissions compared with existing air emissions standards” (Pg. IV-A-121). Appendix IV part C further outlines land use strategies that were developed as part of the RTP/SCS to integrate the transportation network with land uses to achieve a sustainable region. One of these strategies is focusing new growth around high quality transit areas and transit, which is one of the anticipated outcomes of the Project.
d) Less than Significant Impact. In general, projects are considered to have significant impacts to sensitive receptors if they expose sensitive receptors to substantial levels of toxic air contaminants. Nearby sensitive receptors include places where children, the elderly and people with health problems would congregate or frequent. This includes parks, hospitals, community centers, schools, and residential areas. The project is the creation of an overlay zone to be included in the city’s municipal code, and no physical development is contemplated at this time. The creation of the overlay zone could result in redevelopment of sites in the City, and all demolition of buildings would need to comply with regulations related to asbestos and lead paint, which are considered to be toxic air contaminants. Rule 2403 of the SCAQMD requires that the applicant obtain an asbestos abatement permit from the City of Beverly Hills if toxic air contaminants are found prior to demolition. Any proposed project would also have to comply with California Code of Regulations Section 1532.1, which requires that lead based materials are handled such that exposure levels do not exceed standards set forth by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (CalOSHA). Because any project constructed under the mixed use overlay zone regulations would be subject to the above regulations and would be required to undergo further CEQA review at the time of a specific project proposal, it would not emit substantial levels of toxic air contaminants. 15 e) Less than Significant Impact. If, in the future, the creation of the overlay zone were to result in future development activity, some objectionable odors may be temporarily created, as they are during most construction activities, such as diesel exhaust. These odors would not impact a substantial number of people and would occur in localized areas during construction.

Further, diesel emissions are highly diffusive. Any projects proposed in the future as a result of the creation of this overlay zone are not expected to increase localized air pollutant emissions during operations as they would be commercial and residential in nature and industrial uses would not be allowed. Any proposed project would be required to undergo further CEQA review at the time of a specific project proposal. Therefore, the implementation of the current project would not expose sensitive receptors to substantial pollutant concentrations.
16 4. BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES
Would the project:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Have a substantial adverse effect, either directly or through habitat modifications, on any species
identified as a candidate, sensitive, or special
status species in local or regional plans, policies, or regulations, or by the California Department of Fish
and Game or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
b) Have a substantial adverse effect on any riparian
habitat or other sensitive natural community
identified in local or regional plans, policies, and
regulations or by the California Department of Fish
and Game or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
c) Have a substantial adverse effect on federally
protected wetlands as defined by Section 404 of
the Clean Water Act (including, but not limited to,
marsh, vernal pool, coastal, etc.) through direct
removal, filling, hydrological interruption, or other
means?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
d) Interfere substantially with the movement of any
native resident or migratory fish or wildlife species
or with established native resident or migratory
wildlife corridors, or impede the use of wildlife
nursery sites?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
e) Conflict with any local policies or ordinances
protecting biological resources, such as a tree
preservation policy or ordinance?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
f) Conflict with the provisions of an adopted Habitat
Conservation Plan, Natural Community
Conservation Plan, or other approved local,
regional, or state habitat conservation plan?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
a) No Impact. The City of Beverly Hills is an urban, developed area, and the commercial areas where the new overlay zone would be applied are all currently developed. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act states that it is unlawful to “pursue, hunt, take, capture, or kill” a migratory bird except as permitted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The commercial areas of the City currently contain minimal landscaping. The creation of the overlay zone does not include physical development and would not include removal of any existing street trees. 17 b,c,d) No Impact. The project area is a fully developed urban area. The project involves the addition of an overlay zone to the BHMC and the application of the overlay zone to certain commercial properties in the City. All commercial land that is part of this Project is either improved with structures and/or located within an entirely urbanized area. No significant habitats or migratory wildlife corridors would be directly affected by the project, and the project does not propose any policy changes that present significant impacts to endangered, threatened, or rare species or their habitats. The project area site is not within the vicinity of identified natural water courses. Wetlands are defined under the federal Clean Water Act as land that is flooded or saturated by surface water or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that normally does support, a prevalence of vegetation adapted to life in saturated soils. Wetlands include areas such as swamps, marshes, streams, lakes, and bogs. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wetlands Mapper, the project is not located within a wetlands or riparian habitat. The proposed project is located in an urban area developed with a mixture of residential and commercial developments that do not contain any wildlife or wetlands. No wildlife species would be impacted by approval of the proposed project. The project site is not considered a migratory wildlife corridor due to the existing surrounding urban development. Therefore, there is no potential impact to any protected habitat or wetlands.
e) No Impact. The potential overlay zone would only apply to certain commercial properties in the City. The City does not have any local policies or ordinances protecting biological resources in commercial areas. Therefore, the project will not conflict with any local policies or ordinances protecting biological resources and no impacts would result from the project implementation.
f) No Impact. The potential overlay zone would only apply to certain commercial properties in the City. There are no natural habitats or natural biological communities in the vicinity of commercial areas in the city. As the project is not of such a scope as to have a significant, wide-ranging effect on the natural environment, it appears to be consistent with all habitat conservation plans and natural community conservation plans that may be applicable to the area.
18 5. CULTURAL RESOURCES
Would the project:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Cause a substantial adverse change in the
significance of a historical resource as defined in
§15064.5?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
b) Cause a substantial adverse change in the
significance of an archaeological resource pursuant
to §15064.5?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
c) Directly or indirectly destroy a unique
paleontological resource or site or unique geologic
feature?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
d) Disturb any human remains, including those
interred outside of formal cemeteries? ☐ ☐ ☒
☐
a) Less than Significant Impact. CEQA requires an evaluation of project impacts on historic resources, including properties “listed in, or determined eligible for listing in, the California Register of Historical Resources [or] included in a local register of historical resources.” In analyzing the historic significance of properties located within the study area, various criteria for designation under federal, state, and local landmark programs were considered and applied. However, pursuant to CEQA Section 15064.5(a)(4), “[t]he fact that a resource is not listed in, or determined to be eligible for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources, not included in a local register of historical resources…or identified in an historical resources survey…does not preclude a lead agency from determining that the resource may be a historical resource as defined in Public Resources Code sections 5020.1(j) or 5024.1.” The City of Beverly Hills adopted Ordinance 12-O-2617 in 2012 to establish a Historic Preservation Program. As part of this program local landmarks can be designated in the City.

The following properties are located in the Project area and are designated local landmarks:
● 325-333 S. La Cienega Boulevard, Beverly Hills Water Treatment No. 1 ● 8440 Wilshire Boulevard, Saban Theater
● 8423 Wilshire Boulevard, Clock Drive-in Market
● 8554 Wilshire Boulevard, Fine Arts Ahrya Theater
● 9101-9111 Wilshire Boulevard, Gibraltar Square - Kate Mantilini Building ● 9145 Wilshire Boulevard, Ahmanson Bank and Trust Building, Millard Sheets ● 9300 Wilshire Boulevard, Wilshire-Rexford Office Building ● 9528 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Wilshire Hotel
A search of the California Register of Historic Resources “California Historical Landmarks” lists the following site that is located in the Project area as a landmark:
● No. 665 Portola Trail Campsite, 2, 325 S. La Cienega Boulevard between Olympic and Gregory
19 Historic districts are unified geographic entities which contain a concentration of historic buildings, structures, objects, or sites united historically, culturally, or architecturally. Historic districts are defined by precise geographic boundaries. Therefore, districts with unusual boundaries require a description of what lies immediately outside the area, in order to define the edge of the district and to explain the exclusion of adjoining areas. The potential district must meet at least one of the criteria for significance required for listing in the California Register of Historical Resources. Those individual resources contributing to the significance of the historic district will also be listed in the California Register. For this reason, all individual resources located within the boundaries of an historic district must be designated as either contributing or as noncontributing to the significance of the historic district.

None of the areas that would be subject to the mixed use overlay zone are currently within a historic district at this time. Additionally, the proposed project does not include any physical changes at this time, and it would be speculative to attempt to analyze the potential cultural resource impact of a hypothetical future mixed use project. Any future proposal that may contain physical changes on any property would be subject to review under CEQA to determine if there is a potential cultural resource impact. Therefore, the project as proposed would not cause a substantial adverse change in significance of a historical resource as defined in CEQA Section 15064.5 and the impact would be less than significant. b-d) Less than Significant Impact. California Assembly Bill 52 (AB 52) and California Senate Bill 18 (SB 18) outline formal consultation processes for California tribes during the CEQA process. The City of Beverly Hills conducted tribal outreach pursuant to the regulations set forth by the state and no requests for consultation were submitted to the City. The window currently remains open for comment and the City will consult with tribes if requested. Please see. Section 17: Tribal Cultural Resources of this report for additional information.

The commercial properties in the Project area are developed and have been previously disturbed by the construction of the buildings existing on the sites. The project area is not located within a cultural/agricultural sensitive area as identified in the Beverly Hills General Plan and there is no evidence to suggest that the site has ever been used as a cemetery. The project area is located in a developed setting containing no unique geologic features or any identified paleontological resources. Therefore, the project as proposed would not have a significant impact on an archaeological resource and would not destroy a unique paleontological resource or site or unique geological feature as defined in CEQA Section 15064.5.
20 6. GEOLOGY AND SOILS
Would the project:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Expose people or structures to potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury or
death involving:
i) Rupture of a known earthquake fault, as
delineated on the most recent Alquist-Priolo
Earthquake Fault Zoning Map issued by the
State Geologist for the area or based on other
substantial evidence of a known fault? Refer to
Division of Mines and Geology Special
Publication 42.
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
ii) Strong seismic ground shaking? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
iii) Seismic-related ground failure, including
liquefaction? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
iv) Landslides? ☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
b) Result in substantial soil erosion or the loss of
topsoil? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
c) Be located on a geologic unit or soil that is
unstable, or that would become unstable as a
result of the project and potentially result in on- or
off-site landslide, lateral spreading, subsidence,
liquefaction or collapse?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
d) Be located on expansive soil, as defined in Table
18-1-B of the Uniform Building Code (1994),
creating substantial risks to life or property?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
e) Have soils incapable of adequately supporting the
use of septic tanks or alternative wastewater
disposal systems where sewers are not available
for the disposal of wastewater?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
The City of Beverly Hills is located in a region that is subject to high seismic activity. There are several active faults in or near the city.
a) Seismic hazards.
i. Less than Significant Impact. The project site is located in an area that is known to have Alquist-Priolo fault zones, however, no known active faults cross the project area 21 (State of California Department of Conservation, 2018). According to the most recently released map from the State of California, an “earthquake fault zone” runs through the City of Beverly Hills, crossing portions of Wilshire Boulevard, which are part of the proposed Project area. The nearest known “potentially active” fault is the Hollywood Fault, located approximately 1.7 mile to the north. The California Building Code (CBC) regulates the design of buildings to resist forces generated by strong earthquake. It is not possible to conclude that the building and its inhabitants would never be at risk of significant adverse impacts due to the rupture of a known or unknown earthquake fault, but compliance with the CBC can reduce the potential for the exposure of people or structure to substantial risk of seismic hazards to a less than significant level. The project will not expose people or structures to potential substantial adverse effects, including the risk of loss, injury or death involving the rupture of a known earthquake fault. ii. Less than Significant Impact. Southern California is a seismically active region and prone to earthquakes, which may result in hazardous conditions to people within the region. Earthquakes and ground motion can affect a wide-spread area. The potential severity of ground shaking depends on many factors, including the distance from the originating fault, the earthquake magnitude and the nature of the earth materials beneath the site. The most serious impacts associated with ground shaking would occur if the structures were not properly constructed according to seismic engineering standards. If in the future a project is proposed, all buildings will meet the CBC and be designed to withstand strong earthquakes. All future development in the Project area will adhere to the applicable building codes and undergo engineering checks in compliance with State and City standards. These necessary compliance strategies will reduce potentially significant impacts to less than significant levels.
iii. Less than Significant Impact. Portions of the Project area are located in a mapped liquefaction area (State of California Department of Conservation, 2018). If in the future a project is proposed, all buildings in the Project area will be required to produce a liquefaction study and full geological report that will meet the CBC and be designed to withstand strong earthquakes. All future development in the Project area will adhere to the applicable building codes and undergo engineering checks in compliance with State and City standards and therefore the impacts are expected to be less than significant. iv. No Impact. The commercial areas that are located in the Project area are all mostly level and there is no evidence of potential landslides in any commercial areas of the City. The Beverly Hills GIS system shows that there is minimum grade change within the project area as a whole. The Beverly Hills General Plan indicates that the project site is located several miles from the nearest area subject to landslide (City of Beverly Hills General Plan Safety Element, 2010). Therefore, the project is not expected to have any potentially significant, adverse impact from landslides.
b. Less than Significant Impact. The project area consists of commercial streets in the City of Beverly Hills that are improved with existing structures. The highest risk of erosion would occur during grading and excavation of a site in the project area, if a project were constructed.

If, in the future, a construction project is proposed in the project area, it would be subject to the California Stormwater Quality Association Best Management Handbook, which requires that erosion control measures be implemented through the use of effective Best Management Practices (BMPs) per BHMC Section 9-4-507. With implementation of the Best Management Handbook and compliance with South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 403, which 22 regulates fugitive dust control, future project implementation would result in a less than significant impact regarding soil erosion or the loss of topsoil. c. No Impact. The project area is generally flat and not located in an area that is prone to landslides. Landslides are a type of erosion in which masses of earth and rock move down slope as a single unit. Susceptibility of slopes to landslides and other forms of slope failure depend on several factors. These are usually present in combination and include, but are not limited to, steep slopes, condition of rock and soil materials, presence of water, formational contracts, geologic shear zones, and seismic activity. The parcels that are the subject of the proposed project are flat lots that would not be susceptible to landslides. Additionally, there are no hills or slopes near the subject properties that could pose a landslide danger to the project area.

While Beverly Hills has experienced limited subsidence (Beverly Hills Technical Background Report, 2005), any development in the City and on the project site would be required to meet the CBC and Uniform Building Code (UBC) requirements. These requirements would govern the design and construction of excavation and building elements to mitigate any effects related to hazardous soil conditions.

The proposed project area includes properties that are within a liquefaction zone that is located on the eastern side of the City (Map 11 of the City of Beverly Hills Hazard Mitigation Action Plan, 2017-2022). These properties have a high water table and therefore it is possible for the buildings to settle or tilt in an earthquake. These properties are on portions of San Vicente Boulevard, La Cienega Boulevard, Robertson Boulevard, Olympic Boulevard, and Wilshire Boulevard. The potential for liquefaction is considered for all new construction in the city and all new construction must comply with the City’s building codes and groundwater and dewatering requirements per the City of Beverly Hills Municipal Code, which addresses any potential liquifaction issues.

Therefore, implementation of the proposed project or future construction would not have an impact regarding unstable soil and no mitigation measures would be required. d. No Impact. The proposed project is not anticipated to result in impacts involving expansive soils. If in the future a project is proposed in the project area, all buildings will meet the CBC and a soils report would be required by the City of Beverly Hills. All future development in the project area will adhere to the applicable building codes and undergo engineering checks in compliance with State and City standards. Therefore, no impacts are anticipated. e. No Impact. The use of septic tanks or alternative waste water disposal systems are not proposed since the entirety of the project area is fully served by the City’s wastewater disposal system. Therefore no potential exists for soil incompatibility with septic systems and no impact is expected to occur.
23 7. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
Would the project:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Generate greenhouse gas emissions, either
directly or indirectly, that may have a significant
impact on the environment?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
b) Conflict with an applicable plan, policy or regulation adopted for the purpose of reducing the emissions
of greenhouse gases?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
In 2006, the State passed the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32), which requires the California Air Resources Board to design and implement emission limits, regulation, and other measures, such that feasible and cost-effective statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are reduced to 1990 levels by 2020. In 2008, the State passed SB 375, which creates regional planning processes designed to reduce GHG emissions in accordance with AB 32. These processes, tie GHG reduction targets to the region’s land use and transportation strategic plans. Senate Bill 97, passed in 2007, requires analysis of climate change in CEQA documents and the California Resources Agency adopted amendments to the CEQA Guidelines for mitigation of GHG emissions. These guidelines give lead agencies the ability to set thresholds for the assessment and mitigation of Greenhouse Gases and climate change impacts.
a,b) Less Than Significant: The SCAQMD has not adopted GHG emissions thresholds that apply to land use projects where the SCAQMD is not the lead agency. In addition, the City of Beverly Hills has not adopted local GHG emissions thresholds or a qualifying local GHG reduction plan. Therefore, the GHG emissions associated with the proposed project are evaluated based on the SCAQMD’s “recommended/preferred option threshold” for all land use types, including residential projects, of 3,000 metric tons CO2e per year (SCAQMD, 2010).

This threshold identifies that a project’s contribution to cumulative impacts related to GHG emissions and climate change would be cumulatively considerable if a project produces in excess of 3,000 metric tons CO2e/year. Due to the fact that no physical improvements or development are contemplated as part of the project at this time, and that a number of uses could be allowed in the project area pursuant to the regulations governing commercial properties and potential mixed use projects in the City, it would be speculative to attempt to calculate the expected GHG emissions from a development project in the project area at this time. Any proposed development project would require review by the City’s development plan review process to obtain a discretionary permit and therefore, would be subject to additional CEQA review. Any such project would be analyzed by the City to determine construction and operational emissions upon project submittal. The creation and application of an overlay zone would not result in any change to the physical environment at this time and therefore, would not result in significant impacts related to GHG emissions. 24 As discussed above in the Air Quality section, the SCAQMD Air Quality Management Plan and SCAG’s RTP/SCS contemplates development near transit and in high quality transit areas as a desirable patterns of development in the region in order to address GHG emissions and air quality issues. One of the goals of the Project is to facilitate infill growth and housing near transit in the City, which is in line with the RTP/SCS and AQMP. Thus, it is expected that adoption of the ordinance and general plan amendment would not result in any significant indirect impacts because future development would be infill in nature, in keeping with local and regional goals of reducing vehicle miles traveled, and consistent with the RTP/SCS and AQMP.

Existing Plans and Policies
The City of Beverly Hills has an adopted Sustainable City Plan (2009) for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. SCAG has an adopted Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS) that is a long-range plan that addresses mobility, housing, economic, environmental, and public health goals for the region.

The project is consistent with the City’s Sustainable City Plan, including Goal 5 “Land-Use, Transportation and Open Space,” which calls for the City to foster an energy efficient, walkable community. The proposed project would allow for the provision of more housing units near mass transit and commercial areas, which could reduce the need for commuting via private automobile. It would also encourage residential development in a job-rich subregion.

The proposed project is also consistent with the SCAG Regional Transportation Plan / Sustainable Community Strategy (RTP/SCS). This plan calls for the identification of areas that are suitable for infill development and also contemplates the development of jobs and housing near transit and along high quality transit corridors as a desirable pattern of growth in the region. The project analyzed in this document is the creation of an overlay zone that would allow mixed use development in existing commercial areas of the City, and does not include any physical development at the site. If, in the future, a site in the project area is developed with additional housing units or other uses allowed in the commercial and mixed use overlay zone, this would represent infill that would provide more housing units along a transportation corridor in an urban core that would be consistent with the RTP/SCS.

Conclusion:

The proposed overlay zone would not produce GHG emissions because it does not involve any physical changes on the project site. Any project proposed in the future will be assessed for potential impacts under CEQA at the time of project. Therefore, the GHG impacts of the ordinance and general plan amendment are less than significant. 25 8. HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
Would the project:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Create a significant hazard to the public or the
environment through the routine transport, use, or
disposal of hazardous materials?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
b) Create a significant hazard to the public or the
environment through reasonably foreseeable upset and
accident conditions involving the likely release of
hazardous materials into the environment?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
c) Emit hazardous emissions or handle hazardous or
acutely hazardous materials, substances, or waste within one-quarter mile of an existing or proposed school?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
d) Be located on a site which is included on a list of
hazardous materials sites compiled pursuant to
Government Code 65962.5 and, as a result, would it
create a significant hazard to the public or the
environment?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
e) For a project located within an airport land use plan, or where such a plan has not been adopted, within two
miles of a public airport or public use airport, would the project result in a safety hazard for people residing or working in the project area?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
f) For a project within the vicinity of a private airstrip, would the project result in a safety hazard for people residing or working in the project area?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
g) Impair implementation of or physically interfere with an adopted emergency response plan or emergency
evacuation plan?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
h) Expose people or structures to a significant risk of loss, injury or death involving wildland fires, including where wildlands are adjacent to urbanized areas or where
residences are intermixed with wildlands?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
a) Less Than Significant Impact. The proposed project would not involve the routine transport, use, or disposal of any significant quantities of hazardous materials. No hazardous emissions will be associated with the proposed project. Three properties located in the project area are included in the list of hazardous waste facilities as established by Government Code section 65962.5. These properties include: 243 North Robertson Boulevard, which is listed as a “tiered permit” program type, 8955 West Olympic Boulevard, which is a “voluntary cleanup” site with no further action needed, and 8816-8818 West Olympic Boulevard, which is an “evaluation” with no further action needed. Any buildings proposed to be demolished in the project area in the future would be required by the City to be tested for asbestos and / or lead paint. As 26 outlined in BHMC 9-1-104 Section 102.9, the City would not issue demolition permits until the applicant has submitted an asbestos abatement completion certificate by qualified contractors. California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (CalOSHA) regulates any lead-based materials exposure. The applicant would be required to comply with California Code of Regulations, §1532.1 to test, monitor and dispose of any lead-based materials to ensure they do not exceed CalOSHA standards for exposure. These regulations would reduce any risk of exposure to hazardous materials to less than significant. b) Less Than Significant Impact. The project neither proposes nor facilitates any activity involving significant use, transport, or disposal of hazardous substances. A proposed project allowed in a commercially zoned property with a mixed use overlay could involve the use and storage of landscape maintenance supplies such as herbicides and/or pesticides. The use of such materials is regulated by a number of agencies including the Los Angeles Department of Environmental Health, The City of Beverly Hills Fire Department (BHFD) and CalOSHA.

The rezoning of the project site would allow multi-family residential units and commercial uses and would not allow industrial uses of the site. Therefore, the impacts would be less than significant.
c) Less Than Significant Impact. Portions of the project area are located immediately adjacent to Horace Mann Elementary School and within one-quarter mile of Beverly Hills High School, Beverly Vista Middle School, and Hawthorne Elementary School. The proposed project would create and apply a mixed use overlay zone to certain existing commercially zoned properties.

There is a small potential for the use of hazardous materials during any potential construction that may happen in the project area in the future, but as described in subsection a) of this section, the handling of hazardous materials would be controlled by State and local regulations. The uses and operation of a multi-family project do not normally include hazardous materials. Any hazardous materials used on the site would be regulated by State and local agencies and standards. Therefore, a less than significant impact would occur. d) No Impact. A review of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control EnviroStor website indicates that several properties that are located in the project area are or were cleanup sites, as established by Government Code section 65962.5. These sites include:

Address Site/Facility Name Program Type Status
8955 West
Olympic Blvd.

Beverly Hills Lincoln
Mercury
Voluntary
Cleanup
No Further Action
243 N.

Robertson Blvd.

Beverly Hills Plating
Works
Tiered Permit Referred to LA County. LA
County entered into a
correction action
agreement with the facility
8816-8818 West
Olympic Blvd.

Former Beverly Hills
Dry Cleaners
Evaluation No Action Required
27 No properties in the Project area are hazardous waste facilities and no properties in the project area are subject to inspection, compliance, and enforcement. The proposed project does not include demolition or construction and any project proposed in the project area in the future will be subject to all rules and regulations that apply to cleanup sites and will be subject to further CEQA review at the time of project proposal.
e) No Impact. The project is not located within an airport land use plan and is not located within two miles of any airport. There would be no impacts to any airport land use plan or airport. f) No Impact. The project is not located within the vicinity of an airstrip. Therefore, there would be no impacts associated with any private airstrip.
g) No Impact. Allowable uses in the mixed use overlay zone would not involve any uses that would interfere with the City's emergency operations plan or with any major emergency evacuation routes out of the area. If projects are proposed in the future, prior to construction, any development access would be required to obtain plan approval by the City Fire Department. In addition, per existing City Fire Department regulations, evacuation plans and procedures would be required to be incorporated into building and site design. Upon implementation of the City Fire Department regulation, no impact would occur. h) No Impact. The project is located within a highly urbanized area with limited flammable brush, grass, or dense trees in the vicinity. Any construction proposed in the site area would be subject to review and approval by the City to ensure compliance with all applicable codes and regulations for fire protection. Approval of the proposed project would not expose people or structures to a significant risk of loss, injury or death involving wildland fires, including where wildlands are adjacent to urbanized areas or where residences are intermixed with wildlands.

No impacts to the public or the environment would result from the proposed project and no mitigation measures are required.
28 9. HYDROLOGY AND WATER QUALITY
Would the project:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Violate any water quality standards or waste discharge requirements? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
b) Substantially deplete groundwater supplies or interfere substantially with groundwater recharge such that there would be a net deficit in aquifer volume or a lowering of the local groundwater table level (e.g., the production rate of pre-existing nearby wells would drop to a level which would not support existing land uses or planned
uses for which permits have been granted)?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
c) Substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river, in a manner which would result in substantial erosion or siltation on- or off-site?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
d) Substantially alter the existing drainage pattern of the site or area, including through the alteration of the course of a stream or river, or substantially increase the rate or amount of surface runoff in a manner, which would result in flooding on- or off-site?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
e) Create or contribute runoff water which would exceed the capacity of existing or planned stormwater drainage
systems or provide substantial additional sources of
polluted runoff?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
f) Otherwise substantially degrade water quality? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐ g) Place housing within a 100-year flood hazard area as mapped on a federal Flood Hazard Boundary or Flood
Insurance Rate Map or other flood hazard delineation
map?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
h) Place within a 100-year flood hazard area structures, which would impede or redirect flood flows? ☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
i) Expose people or structures to a significant risk of loss, injury or death involving flooding, including flooding as a result of the failure of a levee or dam?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
j) Inundation by seiche, tsunami, or mudflow? ☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
a, e, f) Less Than Significant Impact. The properties in the project area are currently improved with commercial structures. The project involves the creation and application of a mixed use overlay zone, which would allow residential uses as an allowable use in certain commercial areas in the City. No development project is proposed at this time. Future development in the project area has the potential to degrade water quality by exposing surface runoff to exposed 29 soils, dust, and other debris and construction equipment. The City would require any new development to implement best-management practices (BMPs) that meet or exceed local, State and Federal mandated guidelines for storm water treatment to control erosion and to protect the quality of surface water runoff during the construction period. In addition, any project would be required to comply with the regulations established under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program to control storm water discharges.

Implementation of BMPs would ensure that project-related water quality impacts during construction would be less than significant. Additionally, any proposed development would be required to meet the BHMC 9-4-508 (Planning and Land Development Program) requirements for new development and redevelopment. These requirements apply to construction activities and facility operations and are meant to lessen the water quality impacts of development by using smart growth practices, and integrating Low Impact Development (LID) standards for stormwater pollution mitigation into projects. Therefore, the proposed overlay zone and any future development will not substantially degrade water quality and have less than significant impact that would result from approval of this project and no mitigation measures would be required.
b) Less Than Significant Impact. The project involves the creation of an overlay zone to allow mixed use development in certain commercial areas of the city. Since the project does not include development, it would be speculative to attempt to determine the impact of a hypothetical project on groundwater supplies. Should an applicant propose a development project in the project area in the future, the City would confirm that adequate water supply exists. The overlay zone and associated general plan amendment would not deplete groundwater supplies.

Any proposed dewatering of the area requires a dewatering permit and requires any project to use all extracted groundwater rather than causing the dewatering of the water table. The proposed project does not include any construction at this time. Any future projects in the proposed Project area would be required to meet the regulations in BHMC § 9-4-610 which requires a dewatering permit.

The City of Beverly Hills 2015 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) provides a framework for long term water planning for the City’s water service area, which is approximately 6.35 square miles. This plan states that due to water conservation measures, water use has decreased in the service area by 21.5% since 2005. Further, per capita water supply in the service area has also decreased. This UWMP contemplates an 8.7% growth in population by 2040 in the water service area, or increase of nearly 4,000 residents in that time. Further, the UWMP illustrates the actual demands for potable water of various uses, and shows that multifamily dwellings require less than half the water that single-family dwellings use on an annual basis and that multi-family development uses approximately the same amount of water per year as commercial development (Table 4-1, 2015 UWMP). Given these parameters, it is expected that allowing multi-family residential as an allowed use in the overlay zone areas would have a less than significant impact.
c, d) Less Than Significant Impact. The proposed project will not result in changes in absorption rates, drainage patterns or the rate and amount of surface runoff. Properties in the Project area are already currently developed with commercial structures with minimal landscaped areas that have proper drainage to enter the storm drain systems. If, in the future any development is proposed in the Project area, it would be required to meet the regulations in BHMC § 9-4-508: “Planning and Land Development Program Requirements for New 30 Development and Redevelopment; Low Impact Development.” This would require the project to comply with the current municipal NPDES permit to lessen the water quality impacts of development by using smart growth practices, and integrating low impact development practices and standards for stormwater pollution mitigation. Therefore impacts would be less than significant.
g,h,i) No Impact. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has classified the City of Beverly Hills under Flood Zone C, which does not require flood mitigation enforcement.

Some portions of the project area are located in a portion of the City that has historically experienced flooding (City of Beverly Hills Hazard Mitigation Action Plan, 2017-2022), however no recent flooding has taken place in this area and the flood risk has been minimized through the completion of the Los Angeles County Flood Control District’s Holly Hills Unit 7 Storm Drain Project. Portions of the City north of Carmelita Drive (north of the project site) would be in the inundation path should there be a breach of the Lower Franklin Canyon Reservoir (City of Beverly Hills General Plan Update Negative Declaration and Environmental Initial Study, 2010), however as stated, the project is not located in this area. Therefore, no impact would occur.
j) No Impact. The project site is located approximately 5 miles east of the Pacific Ocean, and is not located near any lake, river or large body of water, making the risk of damage or endangerment from seiche and mudflow minimal. The City’s Safety Element does not identify mudflows and seiches as dangers in the City. Any future development in the Project area would be required to comply with City permit requirements to ensure soil stability and flooding.

Therefore, no impacts would occur as a result of the project and no mitigation measures would be required.
31 10.LAND USE AND PLANNING
Would the project:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Physically divide an established community? ☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
b) Conflict with any applicable land use plan, policy, or regulation of an agency with jurisdiction over the project (including, but not limited to the general plan, specific plan, local coastal program, or zoning ordinance)
adopted for the purpose of avoiding or mitigating an
environmental effect?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
c) Conflict with any applicable habitat conservation plan or natural communities’ conservation plan? ☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
a) No Impact. The project is the creation and application of an overlay zone to certain commercial parcels in the city and does not include physical construction. It will not physically divide an established community. Any development project proposed in the future would be required to adhere to the development standards for projects located in the mixed use commercial overlay zone, which establishes maximum heights and densities for various uses and requires review by the Planning Commission to ensure that it is compatible with surrounding development and neighborhoods. Further, the creation of the mixed use overlay zone, which can provide more opportunity for housing and address the demand for housing, is being pursued, in part, because it would not significantly change, or divide, existing residential neighborhoods. Due to the built-out nature of the property and the surrounding area, implementation of the project would not physically divide an established community. b) Less Than Significant Impact. The project involves the creation and application of a mixed use overlay zone, which also requires an amendment of the City’s General Plan. The change of allowing multi-family residential as an allowed use in commercial areas would not introduce incompatible land uses to the neighborhood. All future development at the project site would be in compliance with the General Plan if this regulatory change is approved. The project is consistent with goals and objectives in the General Plan including “Land Use 3.2 Fair Share of Regional Housing Needs,” which calls for the accommodation of the State requirements of the City’s fair share of regional housing needs. The addition of multi-family units in commercial areas could provide additional housing units in the City. Additionally, Housing 2.8 “Transit Oriented Housing” calls for new residential developments near existing transit stops and near anticipated subway stations. A number of bus lines and rapid bus lines provide service along Wilshire Boulevard, within the project area and two Purple Line subway stations will be located within the project area. Allowing mixed use development would encourage new housing near transit stops. The proposed project does not conflict with any adopted plan, policy, or regulation, and thus would not have a significant impact in this regard.

The proposed project will not conflict with any applicable land use plan, policy, or regulation of an agency with jurisdiction over the project (including, but not limited to the General Plan, Specific Plan, Local Coastal Program, or Zoning Ordinance) adopted for the purpose of 32 avoiding or mitigating an environmental effect. Therefore any impact would be less than significant.
c) No Impact.

The project area is located in a highly urbanized setting with no local habitat conservation or natural community conservation plans. The proposed project would not conflict with any applicable habitat conservation plan or natural community conservation plan area. Therefore, no impact would result from implementation of the project and no mitigation measures would be required.
33 11.MINERAL RESOURCES
Would the project:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Result in the loss of availability of a known mineral resource that would be of value to the region and the
residents of the state?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
b) Result in the loss of availability of a locally-important mineral resource recovery site delineated on a local
general plan, specific plan or other land use plan?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
a, b) No Impact. There is no mining activity in the Project area. In addition, no known mineral resource appears to be present that would be valuable to the region or state residents and that would be lost due to the project. The majority of the Project area is located in Mineral Resource Zone MRZ-1 and a portion of the Project area is located in MRZ-3 as defined by the Division of Mines and Geology Mineral Classification System (City of Beverly Hills General Plan Conservation Element, 2010). MRZ-1 areas are areas of no mineral resource significance. MRZ-3 areas are areas that have undetermined mineral resource significance (California Department of Conservation). Further, no mineral resource of value to the region and the residents of the State are known to be within the project area (other than petroleum), and the project proposes no policies that would have any effect on the petroleum resources located in the vicinity. Therefore, there will be no impact or loss of availability of a known mineral resource.
34 12.NOISE
Would the project result in:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Exposure of persons to or generation of noise levels in excess of standards established in the local general plan or noise ordinance, or applicable standards of other
agencies?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
b) Exposure of persons to or generation of excessive
groundborne vibration or groundborne noise levels? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐ c) A substantial permanent increase in ambient noise levels in the project vicinity above levels existing without the project?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
d) A substantial temporary or periodic increase in ambient noise levels in the project vicinity above levels existing without the project?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
e) For a project located within an airport land use plan or, where such a plan has not been adopted, within two
miles of a public airport or public use airport, would the project expose people residing or working in the project area to excessive noise levels?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
f) For a project within the vicinity of a private airstrip, would the project expose people residing or working in the
project area to excessive noise levels?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
a,b,c,d) Less than Significant Impact. The City of Beverly Hills General Plan contains noise policies that address unnecessary, excessive, and annoying noise levels and sources, such as vehicles, construction, special sources (e.g., radios, musical instrument, animals, etc.) and stationary sources (e.g., heating and cooling systems, mechanical rooms, etc.).

The following table shows City noise compatibility guidelines for various land uses. 35 Table 1 City Noise Compatibility Guidelines
Source: appendix 2 (based on the office of Noise Control California Department of Health, Land Use Noise Compatibility Matrix) of the City of Beverly Hills General Plan (2010) As illustrated in the table, the normally and conditionally acceptable levels for multifamily and commercial land uses are similar. Noises caused by multifamily uses can include traffic, conversations, playing children, trash hauling, and ventilation and heating systems. These are similar noises that one might expect in the urbanized neighborhoods that contain single family, multifamily and commercial uses, where the overlay zone is proposed to be applied.

Introducing multifamily uses onto the existing commercial corridors via the proposed overlay zone would not create a new significant noise source.

The City’s noise ordinance (Beverly Hills Municipal Code [BHMC] Section 51-201 through 5- 1-210) also includes noise standards and regulations. Title 5, Chapter 1, Noise Regulations, of the City of Beverly Hills Municipal Code contains the following regulations that would apply to the Project:
5-1-201: SOUND AMPLIFYING EQUIPMENT:

It shall be unlawful for any person within any residential zone of the city to use or operate any sound amplifying equipment between the hours of ten o'clock (10:00) PM and eight o'clock (8:00) AM of the following day in such a manner as to be distinctly audible at or beyond the property line of the property on which the equipment is located. (Ord. 11-O2613, eff. 10-31-2011). 5-1-202: MACHINERY, EQUIPMENT, FANS, AND AIR CONDITIONING:

It shall be unlawful for any person to operate any machinery, equipment, pump, fan, air conditioning apparatus, or similar mechanical device in any manner so as to create any noise which would cause the noise level at the property line of any property to exceed the ambient noise level by more than five (5) decibels based on a reference sound pressure of 0.0002 microbars, as measured in any octave band center frequency, in cycles per second, as follows: 63, 125, 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, and 8,000 and for the combined frequency bands (all pass). (1962 Code § 4-8.206).

Previous studies have been done in the City that indicate that mixed use developments adjacent to residentially zoned properties will not result in a significant long-term noise impact to surrounding areas. A noise impact analysis was completed for the mixed use project 36 located at 9908 South Santa Monica Boulevard, which is a mixed use project similar in type, and location to project that could be constructed in the overlay zone. This project includes approximately 90,000 square feet of floor area with 27 units above ground floor retail in a five story building that is located immediately adjacent to existing residential uses. The results of the analysis completed indicated that “onsite and offsite noise associated with the Proposed Project would not generate significant long-term noise increases due to operational noise” and it was found that impacts of the proposed project would be less than significant (9908 South Santa Monica Boulevard Condominium Project EIR, pg. 4.6 -14).

The project of creating an overlay zone does not involve physical development. Any potential future mixed use projects constructed in the mixed use overlay zone will be residential and commercial in nature, and will not significantly increase the noise that exists along commercial corridors in the City. Any short term construction impacts due to any future development would be required to be in compliance with a city approved construction management plan and would be subject to city rules and regulations regarding noise.

As proposed, the project consists of the creation of an overlay zone for certain commercial properties in the city and a related general plan amendment. No development is proposed as part of the project. Any future development in the project area will be assessed for potential noise related impacts. In addition, any future project would be required to adhere to local regulations pertaining to noise. BHMC Section 5-1-205 prohibits construction activity between the hours of 6:00 PM and 8:00 AM Monday through Saturday and prohibits construction activity on Sundays and on public holidays, unless an after-hours construction permit is obtained. Further, construction work within 500 feet of a residential zone is prohibited on Saturdays unless an after-hours construction permit has been issued. The Project area is generally immediately adjacent to residential uses. Therefore, construction work within these residential areas (including the Project area) would be prohibited on Saturdays or would have to adhere to conditions of any after-hours construction permit issued for the Project.

BHMC Section 5-1-206 prohibits the creation of noise on any street, sidewalk, or public place adjacent to any school, hospital, institution of learning, or church while in use where the noise substantially and unreasonably interferes, disturbs, or annoys the workings at such places.

The Project does not involve construction on any street, sidewalk, or public place adjacent to a school, hospital, church, or institute of learning. If in the future a project is proposed in the project area, it would be subject to the BHMC Noise Ordinance and therefore, it would cause a less than significant impact.
e,f) No Impact. There are no public or private airports within two miles of the project site. The nearest aviation facilities are the Santa Monica Airport, located approximately three and a half miles from the western most portion of the project area, and the Los Angeles International Airport, located approximately ten miles to the south of the City. The City does not fall within either airport’s land use plan. There are no private airstrips located within the City of Beverly Hills or within its immediate vicinity. Therefore, no impacts would occur in the vicinity of a public airport or private airstrip and no mitigation measures would be required. 37 13.POPULATION AND HOUSING
Would the project:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Induce substantial population growth in an area, either directly (e.g., by proposing new homes and businesses)
or indirectly (e.g., through extension of roads or other infrastructure)?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
b) Displace substantial numbers of existing housing,
necessitating the construction of replacement housing
elsewhere?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
c) Displace substantial numbers of people necessitating the construction of replacement housing elsewhere? ☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
a) Less than Significant. The project area currently generally contains commercial uses with minimal housing uses. The creation of an overlay zone and general plan amendment project does not include development at this time. Future development proposed in the Project area will be analyzed for impacts to population and housing, as it is likely that future development could represent a change in potential population growth if the development were mixed use in nature. Any development resulting from the Project would provide for the creation of housing units in a jobs and transit rich area, which would accommodate growth in a way that has been identified as being desirable in the region. Further, this pattern of development represents a response to the regional demand for more housing, and a mix of housing types in urbanized areas where there are adequate services, transit, and jobs available. While this overlay zone could enable more housing in specified areas, the development would be in furtherance of the City’s housing needs and its assigned Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) requirement. This would result in housing growth in the City that is planned for in regional and city plans because they are near transit, and in amenity rich urbanized areas. Therefore, this is not a new impact and the impacts would be less than significant.
b,c) No Impact. The creation and application of the overlay zone and general plan amendment would not displace existing housing or people. Should a mixed use project be proposed in the area in the future, there would be a net increase of housing units in the project area.

Creating and implementing a mixed use overlay zone will allow additional housing in the City without the demolition of existing housing, which would displace populations. Analyzing a hypothetical project at this time would be speculative in nature due to the fact that no development project is currently proposed for the project site. Because there are generally not residential uses in the commercial areas of the City, future mixed use development would allow for an increase in units without displacement of existing housing or people. There would be no impact due to the fact that no people or housing units would be displaced as a result of this Project.
38 14.PUBLIC SERVICES
Would the project result in substantial adverse physical impacts associated with the provision of new or physically altered governmental facilities, need for new or physically altered governmental facilities, the construction of which could cause significant environmental impacts, in order to maintain acceptable service ratios, response times or other performance objectives for any of the public services:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Fire Protection? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
b) Police Protection? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
c) Schools? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
d) Parks? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
e) Other public facilities? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
a) Less than Significant. Fire protection at the project site is provided by the City of Beverly Hills Fire Department. The project being analyzed in this document is the creation of a mixed use overlay zone that would be applied to certain commercial areas in the City and an associated general plan amendment and does not include any physical changes or development. Impacts to public services, including fire protection, will be analyzed for a specific project at the time a project is proposed in the project area. The overlay zone would be applied to areas of the City that are already developed, and any development that happens as a result of the overlay zone would be replacing existing buildings. Any project proposed in the area would be required to meet all applicable fire codes, building codes, and local fire codes including the California fire Code, Uniform Building Code and Beverly Hills Fire Department standards. This includes any regulations pertaining to fire safety, egress and other design requirements. Therefore, any impacts to fire protection would be less than significant.
b) Less than Significant. Police protection for the site is provided by the City of Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD). The BHPD has a ratio of 3.6 officers per 1,000 residents. The Department achieves a response time of approximately 2.4 minutes (BHPD, 2019). The project being analyzed in this document does not include any physical changes in the project area at this time. Impacts to public services, including police protection, will be analyzed for each specific project at the time a project is proposed in the project area, however. Impacts would be less than significant.
c) Less than Significant. The project is located in the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD). The project being analyzed in this document does not include any physical changes or development at this time. Impacts to public services, including schools, will be analyzed for a specific project at the time a project is proposed in the project area. Any future developer would be required to pay City of Beverly Hills school fees. As outlined in Section 65995(3)(h) of the California Government Code, the payment of such fees should be 39 considered complete mitigation of the impacts of any legislative or adjudicative act and thus the payment of these fees is considered mitigation of any possible project impacts under CEQA such that there would be a less than significant impact. d) Less than Significant. The Beverly Hills Recreation and Parks department is responsible for the parks in the vicinity of the project. La Cienega and Roxbury Parks are near, or immediately adjacent to the Project area analyzed in this report. The project being analyzed in this document is the creation of a mixed use overlay zone that would be applied to certain commercial areas in the city and associated general plan amendment and does not include any physical changes or development at this time. Impacts to public services, including parks, will be analyzed for a specific project at the time a project is proposed at the site. Beverly Hills Municipal Code Section 3-1-703 requires developers to pay a Parks and Recreation Facilities Tax to fund public parks and offset any impacts associated with new development. Therefore, the impacts would be less than significant.
e) Less than Significant. The project being analyzed in this document does not include any physical changes or development in the Project area at this time. Impacts to public services, including storm drains, public parks, solid waste, water usage and wastewater disposal, will be analyzed for a specific project at the time a project is proposed at the site. It would be speculative to attempt to analyze the impacts to public services at this time; however, due to the types of uses that are allowed, the project would contribute incrementally toward impacts to City services such as storm drain, public parks, solid waste, water usage, and wastewater disposal. Any development project proposed in the project area would result in minimal demands on services, and as such, the project would cause a less than significant impact to other public facilities.
40 15.RECREATION
Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Would the project increase the use of existing
neighborhood and regional parks or other recreational
facilities such that substantial physical deterioration of the facility would occur or be accelerated?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
b) Does the project include recreational facilities or require the construction or expansion of recreational facilities, which might have an adverse physical effect on the
environment?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
a) Less than Significant. The nearest parks to the project area are: La Cienega Park, which is located immediately adjacent to a portion of the project site, Roxbury Park, which is located approximately one half mile from the Project area. The proposed project, which does not include any development at this time, does not include, nor require, the construction or expansion of recreational facilities. Per the proposed regulations contained in the overlay zone, all multi-family units developed in the Project area would be required to provide private open space for residents. If, in the future, mixed use development projects are proposed in the Project area, Beverly Hills Municipal Code Section 3-1-703 would require the payment of a Parks and Recreation Facilities Tax to fund public parks and offset any impacts. Therefore, no significant impacts would occur and no mitigation measures would be required. b) Less than Significant. The proposed project does not include, nor require, the construction or expansion of recreational facilities. If, in the future, a development project is proposed on the project site, the developer would be required to pay the Parks and Recreation Facilities Tax to offset any potential impacts to parks and recreation. Therefore, no significant impacts would occur and no mitigation measures are required.
41 16. TRANSPORTATION/TRAFFIC
Would the project:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Conflict with an applicable plan, ordinance or policy establishing measures of effectiveness for the
performance of the circulation system, taking into
account all modes of transportation including mass
transit and non-motorized travel and relevant
components of the circulation system, including but not limited to intersections, streets, highways and freeways, pedestrian and bicycle paths, and mass transit?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
b) Conflict with an applicable congestion management
program, including, but not limited to level of service standards and travel demand measures, or other
standards established by the county congestion
management agency for designated roads or highways?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
c) Result in a change in air traffic patterns, including either an increase in traffic levels or a change in location that results in substantial safety risks?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
d) Substantially increase hazards due to a design feature (e.g., sharp curves or dangerous intersections) or
incompatible uses (e.g., farm equipment)?
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
e) Result in inadequate emergency access? ☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
f) Conflict with adopted policies, plans, or programs
regarding public transit, bicycle, or pedestrian facilities, or otherwise decrease the performance or safety or such facility.
☐ ☐ ☐ ☒
a,b,d,e,f) No Impact. The project being analyzed in this document is the creation of a mixed use overlay zone that would be applied to certain commercial areas of the City and an associated general plan amendment and does not include any physical changes or development at this time. It would be speculative to attempt to assess the potential transportation impacts related to the hypothetical development of projects in the Project area at this time. Impacts to transportation and traffic will be analyzed for a specific project at the time a project is proposed at the site. In general, the proposed overlay zone would allow multi family housing as an allowed use along several commercial corridors in the City. Residential uses typically generate fewer vehicular trips than commercial office uses, which could mean that the development of mixed use buildings could add fewer trips to the local street network as opposed to commercial buildings that are currently an allowed use. In addition, the City of Beverly Hills has a jobs/housing imbalance, with significantly more jobs in the City than housing units, resulting in a large percentage of workers commuting in to the City on a daily basis. Allowing housing units along commercial corridors, and along corridors such as Wilshire and La Cienega Boulevards, where there is existing rapid transit and future subway 42 rail, could reduce the number of workers in the City that rely on automobile travel to get to and from work.

The California Office of Planning and Research Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impacts in CEQA (Dec 2018), lists numerous strategies that may reduce vehicle miles travelled (VMT). The project meets two of these strategies on a broad scale, while individual projects will be able to address more specific mitigations. First, the overlay zone is located near the major transit of the future Metro Purple Line Extension train stations and/or near express bus routes. Second, the project increases the mix of uses within the project surroundings. The Project would create an overlay zone in an already urbanized area near high quality transit. This area currently experiences a jobs/housing imbalance, with more jobs in the City of Beverly Hills than housing units available for workers. The Project, which would allow the construction of more housing in this area, could help alleviate the jobs/housing imbalance, and would likely reduce VMT by providing housing units near existing jobs and existing and future transit that would provide access to jobs.

In 2019, the City of Beverly Hills adopted local CEQA thresholds of significance for transportation impacts per Senate Bill 743. At this time, the City approved thresholds to “screen out” certain projects from requiring VMT analysis due to the fact that they would not cause significant impacts based on state guidance, data, and the characteristics of the City.

The majority of mixed use projects that could be constructed in the overlay zone would be “screened out” of requiring VMT analysis due to the fact that they are located in low VMT generating Transportation Analysis Zones, and that they would likely include less than 50,000 square feet of local serving retail uses. Further, the State guidelines state that when mixed use projects are evaluated they should consider “internal capture” or trips between uses in a mixed use development.

Approval of the project would not conflict with an applicable plan, ordinance or policy that establishes measures of effectiveness for the performance of the circulation system. The proposed project does not include physical development and does not contain any features that would alter the alternative transportation provisions of the Circulation Element, conflict with an applicable congestion management program, increase traffic hazards, or result in inadequate emergency access. The General Plan Circulation Element contains Goal 1, Policies 1.1 through 1.5a, which concern the safe and efficient roadway circulation system within the City. All future potential development in the Project area will be reviewed in accordance with these requirements and any proposed changes to the circulation system would be evaluated at the time of proposal. Therefore, no impacts would occur and no mitigation measures would be required.
c) No Impact. The project does not propose any use which could cause any changes to air traffic patterns or a change in location which results in substantial safety risks. Santa Monica Airport is approximately three and a half miles west of the project area. Development allowed under the regulations set forth in the overlay zone would not be taller than existing buildings in the vicinity, and would not affect air operations, alter air traffic patterns or conflict with Federal Aviation Administration flight protection zones.
43 17.TRIBAL CULTURAL RESOURCES
Would the project cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a tribal cultural resource, defined in Public Resources Code section 21074 as either a site, feature, place, cultural landscape that is geographically defined in terms of the size and scope of the landscape, sacred place, or object with cultural value to a California Native American tribe, and that is:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Listed or eligible for listing in the California register of Historical Resources, or in a local register of historical resources as defined in Public resources Code section
5020.1(k) or
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
b) A resource determined by the lead agency, in its
discretion and supported by substantial evidence, to be significant pursuant to criteria set forth in subdivision (c) of Public Resources Code Section 5024.1. In applying
the criteria set forth in subdivision (c) of Public
Resources Code Section 5024.1, the lead agency shall
consider the significance of the resource to a California Native American Tribe.
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
a,b) Less Than significant Impact. The project area is a fully developed urbanized area. In order to determine if the project would cause a substantial adverse change to the significance of a tribal cultural resource the City conducted outreach to several tribes per the requirements of Assembly Bill (AB) 52 and Senate Bill (SB) 18. Staff sent letters to a total of nine tribes that requested consultation with the City through the AB 52 and SB 18 process. Staff requested a tribal consultation list from the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) per the requirements of AB 52 and was provided with a list of seven tribes with traditional lands or cultural places near the project site. On May 29, 2020, the City of Beverly Hills mailed letters to all contacts provided by the NAHC. Therefore, impacts will be less than significant. 44 18. UTILITIES AND SERVICE SYSTEMS
Would the project:

Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Exceed wastewater treatment requirements of the
applicable Regional Water Quality Control Board? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐ b) Require or result in the construction of new water or wastewater treatment facilities or expansion of existing facilities, the construction of which could cause
significant environmental effects?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
c) Require or result in the construction of new storm water drainage facilities or expansion of existing facilities, the construction of which could cause significant
environmental effects?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
d) Have sufficient water supplies available to serve the project from existing entitlements and resources, or are new or expanded entitlements needed?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
e) Result in a determination by the wastewater treatment provider, which serves or may serve the project that it has adequate capacity to serve the project’s projected
demand in addition to the provider’s existing
commitments?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
f) Be served by a landfill with sufficient permitted capacity to accommodate the project’s solid waste disposal
needs?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
g) Comply with federal, state, and local statutes and
regulations related to solid waste? ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
a,b,e) Less Than Significant Impact. Because the parcels in the project area are already developed with structures, mainline water and sewer infrastructure is in place. The Beverly Hills Department of Public Works maintains the sewer collection and distribution system throughout the City. All wastewater generated in the City of Beverly Hills is collected and treated at Los Angeles Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant located near LAX in Los Angeles. The Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant treats an average of 275 million gallons of waste per day, which is 175 million gallons per day lower than their capacity of 450 million gallons per day (LA Sanitation, Water Reclamation Plants, 2020).

The project being analyzed in this document is the creation of a mixed use overlay zone that would be applied to certain commercial areas of the City and an associated general plan amendment and does not include any physical changes or development at this time. It would be speculative to attempt to analyze the wastewater impact of a future mixed use development in the project area, as none have been proposed at this time. As currently proposed, the project does not include any mixed use development in the project area, therefore, less than significant impacts would occur and no mitigation measures would be required. 45 c) Less Than Significant Impact. Any development that resulted from the creation and application of the overlay zone would be required to comply with applicable regulations to ensure that stormwater is adequately handled. Best Management Practices would be required during construction and operation of the project. The City also requires urban runoff mitigation plans for new projects that comply with the most recent Standard Urban Stormwater Mitigation Plan (SUSMP) and the current National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. This is meant to reduce the amount of stormwater discharged from the site by requiring an increase in pervious surface area on the project site thus reducing the amount of runoff.

Further, the uses that would be allowed in a mixed use zone (general commercial and multifamily residential) are not uses that would generate a large amount of wastewater. At this time, there is no physical development proposed in the project area and no development is included in the scope of the project being analyzed in this document. Therefore, no significant impacts would occur and no mitigation measures would be required. d) Less Than Significant Impact. The City receives 90% of its water from the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) and 10% from groundwater pumped from the Hollywood Basin.

The project being analyzed in this document does not include any physical changes in the project area at this time. It would be speculative to attempt to analyze the water supply impact of any future mixed use development projects in the area, as none have been proposed at this time. As currently proposed, the project does not include any development, therefore, no significant impacts would occur and no mitigation measures would be required. f,g) Less Than Significant Impact. The City of Beverly Hills achieves the state requirement to divert at least 50% of solid waste from landfills. Over the past decade, the City has achieved a 78% diversion rate (City of Beverly Hills Website, 2017). The solid waste in the City is collected by the City of Beverly Hills Public Works Department, which contracts with Recology Los Angeles. Solid waste from the City is sent to one of three landfills: Chiquita Canyon Landfill, Sunshine Canyon Landfill, and the Calabasas Sanitary Landfill. The existing capacity of the three landfills, are permitted to receive 21,600 tons of waste per day (LA County Solid Waste Information Website). The project being analyzed in this document is the creation of an overlay zone that would allow mixed use development in certain commercial areas of the City and an associated general plan amendment and does not include any physical changes on the site. It would be speculative to attempt to analyze the solid waste impact of any future development projects in the project area, as none have been proposed at this time. As currently proposed, the project does not include any development on the site; therefore, no significant impacts would occur and no mitigation measures would be required. 46 19.MANDATORY FINDINGS OF SIGNIFICANCE
Environmental Issues Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
With
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Does the project have the potential to degrade the quality of the environment, substantially reduce the habitat of a fish or wildlife species, cause a fish or wildlife population to drop below self-sustaining levels, threaten to eliminate a plant or animal community, reduce the number or
restrict the range of a rare or endangered plant or
animal, or eliminate important examples of the major
periods of California history or prehistory?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
b) Does the project have impacts that are individually
limited, but cumulatively considerable? (“Cumulatively
considerable” means that the incremental effects of a
project are considerable when viewed in connection with the effects of past projects, the effects of other current projects, and the effects of probable future projects.) ☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
c) Does the project have environmental effects, which will cause substantial adverse effects on human beings,
either directly or indirectly?
☐ ☐ ☒ ☐
a) Less Than Significant Impact. Based on the preceding analysis, the proposed project does not have the potential to degrade the quality of the environment, substantially reduce the habitat of a fish or wildlife species, cause a fish or wildlife population to drop below selfsustaining levels, threaten to eliminate a plant or animal community, reduce the number or restrict the range of a rare or endangered plant or animal, or eliminate important examples of the major periods of California history or prehistory.
b) Less Than Significant Impact. The project being analyzed in this document is the creation of a mixed use overlay zone that would allow mixed use development in certain commercial areas of the City and an associated general plan amendment and does not include any physical changes or development in the project area at this time.

Nearby past, current, and future probable projects include the 8600 Wilshire Project, which involves the development of up to 26 residential units and commercial space on a property within the project area, the 8633 Wilshire Project, a proposed new three-story commercial building, as well as the nearby Metro Purple Line Subway Extension, which will provide subway service from Downtown Los Angeles to west Los Angeles along Wilshire Boulevard through the City of Beverly Hills. The proposed project that has been analyzed in this document does not include any physical development on the site; therefore, no significant impacts have been identified and no mitigation measures are required. c) Less Than Significant Impact. Based on the preceding analysis, the proposed project does not have the potential to cause substantial adverse effects on human beings. Therefore, no significant impacts have been identified and no mitigation measures are required. 47 References

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13. City of Beverly Hills Hazard Mitigation Action Plan, 2017-2022 https://www.beverlyhills.org/cbhfiles/storage/files/14034044101897999639/BeverlyHillsFinal HMAP.pdf

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15. City of Beverly Hills Local Register of Historic Properties. May 2020. [online]:
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48 16. City of Beverly Hills Municipal Code [online]:
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19. City of Beverly Hills, Sustainable City Plan (2009). [online]:
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20. City of Beverly Hills Urban Water Management Plan. 2015. [online]:
http://www.beverlyhills.org/cbhfiles/storage/files/111351990244297813/5-31- 16CityofBeverlyHills2015FinalDraftUWMPReport.pdf

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22. Federal Emergency Agency, Flood Insurance Rate Map 00059C0036H

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https://www.lacitysan.org/san/faces/wcnav_externalId/s-lsh-wwd-cw-phwrp?_adf.ctrl-state=kmg8bbhqx_164&_afrLoop=11185908893302867#!Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, Solid Waste Information Management System. [online]:
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24. Los Angeles Flood Zones, ArcGIS [online]:
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25. National Pollution Discharge Elimination System NPDES https://www.epa.gov/npdes

26. South Coast Air Quality Management District 2016 Final AQMP [online]:
http://www.aqmd.gov/docs/default-source/clean-air-plans/air-quality-managementplans/2016-air-quality-management-plan/final-2016-aqmp/final2016aqmp.pdf?sfvrsn=15

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28. South Coast Air Quality Management District – Rule 403 Fugitive Dust [online]:
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29. South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), Asbestos Demolition & Removal. [online]: http://www.aqmd.gov/home/regulations/compliance/asbestos-demolition-removal.

30. South Coast Air Quality Management District CEQA Air Quality Handbook. 1993:
https://www.aqmd.gov/home/rules-compliance/ceqa/air-quality-analysis-handbook 49 31. Southern California Association of Governments, 2012. Adopted 2012 RTP Growth Forecast. [online]:
http://rtpscs.scag.ca.gov/Documents/2012/final/SR/2012fRTP_GrowthForecast.pdf

32. Southern California Association of Governments, 2016. Adopted 2016 RTP Growth Forecast. [online]: http://scagrtpscs.net/Pages/FINAL2016RTPSCS.aspx

33. State of California Department of Conservation, 2017. Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Map. [online]:
http://maps.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/informationwarehouse/index.html?map=regulatorymaps

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35. State Water Resources Control Board, Standard Urban Stormwater Mitigation Plan (SUSMP). [online]:
https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/losangeles/water_issues/programs/stormwater/susmp/sus mp_details.shtml

36. State of California Department of Conservation, 2016. Guidelines for Classification and Designation of Mineral Lands. Department of Conservation, State Mining and Geology Board, and Department of Conservation Division of Mines and Geology. California Mineral Land Classification System Diagram. [online]:
https://www.conservation.ca.gov/smgb/Guidelines/Documents/ClassDesig.pdf

37. State of California Department of Conservation, 2012. Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program – Los Angeles County Farmland 2012. [online]:
https://www.conservation.ca.gov/dlrp/fmmp/Pages/LosAngeles.aspx

38. State of California Office of Historic Preservation, California Register of Historic Places [online]. Accessed 2020: https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21238

39. Transportation Project-Level Carbon Monoxide Protocol, University of Davis, 1997.

California Department of Transportation. https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dotmedia/programs/environmental-analysis/documents/env/co-protocol-searchable-a11y.pdf

40. United States Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Table DP-1 profile off general population and housing characteristics: 2010. [online]: https://data.census.gov/cedsci/ accessed February 2017.

41. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2017. National Wetlands Inventory Wetlands Mapper. [online]:
https://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Data/Mapper.html
Attachment 8
Public Correspondence
Mixed Use Amendment
Arnold Rosenstein
Thu 9/21/2023 5:34 PM
To:CommentPC <[email protected]>
CAUTION: External Sender
Use caution when clicking links or opening attachments
________________________________
It would be helpful if analysis/discussion is provided of the parking requirements that would apply to a conversion to assist in determining the feasibility of attaining the density with a minimum unit size of 500 s.f.

Note that newer commercial buildings probably have parking in the amount of 1 space per 350 s.f., but many older buildings have less than that.

Thanks,
Arnold Rosenstein
Memorandum
To: Beverly Hills City Council
From: The Beverly Hills Initiative for Research & Development (BHIRD) Subject: Adaptive Reuse of Office Buildings within the Mixed Use Overlay Zone Date: September 22, 2023
Summary:

The aim of this memorandum is to present an analysis of the potential benefits and challenges associated with the adaptive reuse of existing office buildings into multifamily housing in Beverly Hills. We conclude that the City of Beverly Hills should take studied and careful approach to legislating for adaptive reuse projects that considers the location and condition of each building rather than a single standard for the entire Mixed Use Overlay Zone (let alone the City). Additionally, to achieve substantial gains in housing from office conversions will require major additional incentives that currently do not exist within state or municipal law.

Background:

During the MUOZ-focused City Council meeting of July 18, 2023, there was a question about the cost differential between upgrading a class B or C office building to class A and converting from office to housing. It is important to note that an office building does not have to be upgraded to class A in order to boost occupancy but could instead be upgraded aesthetically to give it more of a “creative” feel which for many users is more desirable than typical class A building.

Example:

Using a 50,000 square foot building as an example, we estimate the cost associated with a conversion as follows:
• Convert a dated but architecturally desirable office building to creative office, $3,750,000 or $75 per square foot.
• Convert a dated class B or C building to class A (if possible), $7,500,000 or $150 per square foot.
• Covert a class B or C building to housing (if possible), $17,500,000 or $350 per square foot.

While demand for office space has certainly diminished as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak and a pending recession, pricing for office buildings in Beverly Hills has not dipped anywhere near a level where it would make adaptive reuse feasible in most cases. This memo lays out the benefits and challenges associated with adaptive reuse and looks to draw conclusions on how many buildings are actual candidates for this process. As the housing crisis across the country has worsened, states and local municipalities have tried many different approaches to create more places for people to live. One of the more innovative approaches is repurposing underutilized office space for residential purposes.

At first glance, it seems rather straightforward: take office space, where there is a glut of vacancy due to the work-from-home trend that has emerged from the Covid-19 period, and convert it to much needed housing. However, as we’ll discuss in more detail below, adaptive reuse from office to residential can be very costly (that’s before factoring in the “land” cost, which can be prohibitively expensive in places like Beverly Hills), challenging from a construction perspective, and result in a very mediocre product.

As the analysis below demonstrates, not all office space is the same. Accordingly, providing a one-size-fits-all approach:
(1) will be materially less effective than a more nuanced methodology to adaptive reuses in Beverly Hills and
(2) will potentially undermine the creditability of Beverly Hills legislative efforts to provide housing.

Analysis:

I. Challenges
A. Zoning and Regulations

1. Zoning Restrictions
Adhering to building code and zoning regulations can be complex when transitioning from commercial to residential use. The building must meet safety, accessibility, and occupancy requirements, which may demand substantial upgrades, including fire safety measures, structural retrofits, insulation, and soundproofing. Generally, the conversion is considered a change of use, which creates significant challenges for developers.

B. Infrastructure Upgrades

1. Structural Modifications
a. Load-Bearing Capacity: Converting office spaces into residential units may necessitate accommodating heavier loads due to additional furniture, appliances, and more residents. Reinforcement of the existing foundation and structural elements may be required to ensure the building can safely handle the increased load-bearing demands. b. Seismic Considerations: Office buildings and apartment buildings are subject to different earthquake design requirements. Converting an office building will likely require significant strengthening the structure to meet the specific seismic code requirements for residential buildings. c. Floor-to-Ceiling Heights: To create comfortable living spaces with appropriate ceiling heights in the apartments, adjustments to the floors might be needed, including raising or lowering floors or ceiling heights. d. Vertical Circulation: Unlike office buildings that might have limited vertical circulation needs, residential buildings require efficient staircases, elevators, and utility chases to serve multiple floors and apartments. Incorporating these elements into an existing office building might necessitate cutting through existing slabs and walls, which can significantly impact the structural integrity. e. Light: Residential units require considerably more natural light than office space. One of the biggest challenges with adaptive reuse from office to residential is getting enough light into units with deep floor plates. You could end up with window-less bedrooms and undesirable floor plans.

2. Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing Upgrades
a. Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning: Office buildings generally have different HVAC and mechanical systems than residential structures. Adapting the existing systems or installing new ones to meet the comfort and ventilation needs of apartments is a significant undertaking that requires careful integration with the structural modifications.
b. Electrical: Office building systems may not be up to current code standards. This can require extensive electrical upgrades, which can be costly and time-consuming. Office buildings and residential buildings also have different electrical loads. Office buildings typically have higher lighting loads, while residential buildings have higher power loads for appliances and other equipment. This can require changes to the electrical distribution system, as well as the installation of new electrical panels and equipment.

Plumbing: The cost of putting in new kitchens and bathrooms is significant, especially in older office buildings that may require significant upgrades. This can make it difficult to make the project financially feasible.
c. Office buildings are not typically designed with the same plumbing infrastructure as residential buildings. As such, installation of new systems or costly upgrades of existing ones are needed to accommodate the needs of residential tenants. This is a complex and expensive process, especially in older buildings.

3. Exterior Facade and Cladding
a. Changing the exterior appearance to suit residential aesthetics while maintaining structural stability can be a challenge. This may involve adding or modifying elements such as balconies, windows, or decorative features.
b. Adapting the exterior to blend with the upscale and luxurious residential environment of Beverly Hills requires careful consideration and expert architectural input.
c. The first aspect to address is the incorporation of balconies and windows that enhance the residential feel while also maintaining the integrity of the building’s structure. Balconies and residential windows are essential for housing. Balconies not only provide additional outdoor spaces for residents but also contribute to the aesthetic appeal. However, their additions can create structural and building code challenges. In upscale locales like Beverly Hills, the exterior of the building will need to have a luxurious and well-designed appearance. This can be difficult to accomplish even when dealing with the tabula rosa of new construction but even more so when restricted to the bones of an old office building.

C. Financial Constraints

1. Renovation Hard Costs The ballpark cost to convert office to residential is around $350 to $400 PSF. That number could be even higher depending on the layout of the building and the age/type of mechanical systems. That compares to around $500 to $600 PSF for new construction. The challenges of adaptive reuse make it financially unviable for most buildings. All the more so in places like Beverly Hills where the prices of office buildings are not cheap since there isn’t the glut of vacant office space like in DTLA and elsewhere.

See sales comps below:

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Beverly Hills City CouncilJanuary 23, 2024

Beverly Hills City Council
January 23, 2024