AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: December 10, 2024
Item Number:
To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Masa Alkire, AICP, Assistant Director of Community Development/City Planner
Judy Gutierrez, Senior Planner
Subject: AN APPEAL OF STAFF'S OCTOBER 18, 2024 INCOMPLETE
DETERMINATION, PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA
GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65943(c), PERTAINING TO
THE REVIEW OF AN APPLICATION FOR A PROPOSED 14-
STORY RESIDENTIAL BUILDING AT 211-217 SOUTH
HAMILTON DRIVE
Attachments: 1. Public Notice
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Continue the public hearing to consider the appeal of staff’s October 18, 2024 determination that the application for a proposed 14-story residential building at 211-217 South Hamilton Drive is incomplete to a date uncertain.
DISCUSSION
On December 4, 2024, the City received written correspondence from Murray D. Fischer, on behalf of Flamingo Investments and 18 Hamilton LLC (the “property owners”), waiving the State’s 60-day time limit1for the City to make a determination on the appeal.
Government Code Section 65943(d) allows an applicant and public agency to mutually agree on extending the State’s 60-day time limit for the City to make a determination on 1 The appeal was filed pursuant to Government Code Section 65943(c), which provides a process for an applicant to appeal to the City’s governing body the City’s determination that an application is incomplete. Pursuant to this section, the governing body is required to provide a final written determination within 60 days of receiving the appeal. If a final written determination is not issued by the City within 60 days, as may be extended by agreement of the parties, the application would be deemed complete and eligible for processing.
Meeting Date: December 10, 2024
the appeal. The appeal is related to City staff’s October 18, 2024 incomplete determination regarding a housing development project that consists of two distinct applications:
1. A Development Plan Review (DPR) to allow for the construction of a 14-story, 145’
2 tall housing project.
2. A General Plan Amendment (GPA), Zone Change (ZC), Zone Text Amendment (ZTA) to modify citywide land use regulations that would be applicable not only to the project site but broadly across the City’s commercial, multi-family, and mixeduse zones.
Based on the applicant’s continuance request, staff recommends that the City Council continue consideration of the appeal to a date uncertain.
PUBLIC OUTREACH AND NOTIFICATION
The Notice of Public Hearing for the appeal hearing was mailed on Friday, November 15, 2024, to property owners and residential occupants within a 500-foot radius (extended to the block face) from the project site (Attachment 1). An on-site notice was also posted on the project site on Friday, November 15, 2024. Additionally, the appeal hearing was also noticed in the Friday, November 15, 2024 edition of the Beverly Hills Courier and the Thursday, November 21, 2024 edition of the Beverly Hills Weekly. Courtesy emails were sent to all interested parties as well.
If the City Council continues the public hearing to a date uncertain, additional noticing will be required.
FISCAL IMPACT
The recommendation in this report does not have significant budget or fiscal impacts for the City beyond staff time. Costs associated with this appeal have been paid for by the appellant.
Michael Forbes, AICP
Director of Community Development
Approved By
2 The applicant’s July 26, 2024 resubmittal package of the formal project application included an increase in the building height to 160’.
ATTACHMENT 1
Public Notice
City Clerk’s Office
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
The Council ofthe City of Beverly Hills, at its meeting to be held on Tuesday, December 10, 2024,at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, in the Council Chamber of the City Hall, 455 N. Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, will hold a public hearing to consider:
AN APPEAL OF STAFF’S OCTOBER 18, 2024 INCOMPLETE
DETERMINATION, PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODESECTION 65943(c), PERTAINING TO THE REVIEW OF AN APPLICATIONFOR A PROPOSED 14-STORY RESIDENTIAL BUILDING AT 211-217 SOUTH HAMILTON DRIVE.
The proposed project is a new 14-story, 160’ tall, residential building at 211-217 South Hamilton Drive. The proposal consists of 210 dwelling units inclusive of 42 units allocated for lower income households. 155 proposed parking spaces would be provided within a three-level subterranean parking structure. The project site is located within the City’s R-4, Multiple Residential Zone. The applicant has filed applications to initiate the review of the proposal as a “Builder’s Remedy”project, which relies on the provisions of the Housing Accountability Act (HAA), codified in Government Code §65589.5, and the related filing of a preliminary application pursuant toGovernment Code §65941.1.
This project is currently under review by the City and no action regarding a decision on the projecthas occurred. The applicant (Flamingo Investments, 18 Hamilton LLC) has filed an appeal of City staff’s determination, that the project application is incomplete and related determinations as detailed in the City’s letter issued on October 18, 2024.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Pursuant to the State CEQA Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Section 15378(b)(5)), administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment, including determinations of application completeness, are not considered projects under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
City ofBeverly Hills 455 N. Rexford Drive Beverly Hills, California 90210 p (310) 285-1141f(310) 858-5966 BeverlyHills.org The project is currently under review and the City has not performed an environmental analysis of the project, as project details may change in response to the City’s comments during project review. Environmental review ofthe project will be performed and publicly available prior to any decision on the project being issued.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Please be advised that pre-entry metal detector screening requirements are now in place at CityHall. Members of the public are requested to plan visits accordingly. Members of the public may participate in the meeting by attending in-person or telephonically, and may view the meeting through live webcast or BHTV Channel 10 on Spectrum Cable. City Council meetings are broadcast on local Beverly Hills television and on other media platforms. Anyone who participates at the meeting and/or enters the City Council Chamber is subject to having their image displayed.
These recordings will remain publicly accessible in perpetuity.
Public Comment Participation:
• Oral Comment/Listen only: (310) 288-2288
• Email: [email protected]• Video (during public comment only): http://beverlyhills.org/comment • To Watch Video Live: http://beverlyhills.org/live or
• On-Demand: http://beverlyhills.org/citycouncilmeetings • In-Person: Submit a Speaker Card to the City Clerk at the meeting How to Submit Public Comment (Email/Video):
It is recommended that public written comments be submitted to the City Clerk’s office by 12:00 p.m. on the meeting date. Public comments will also be taken during the meeting when the topic is being reviewed by the City Council/Parking Authority. Written comments should identify theAgenda Item Number or Topic in the subject line of the email. The City Clerk will read only the first three minutes (approximately 350 words) of a written comment. In the event of a largenumber of written comments on one item, written comments may be summarized by the CityClerk’s Office. The entire written comment shall be archived in full as part of the record.
If a comment is received after the agenda item is heard, it will not be a part of the record. Publiccomment via video conference will be no longer than three (3) minutes per each individual comment, subject to City Council discretion based on the anticipated length in the meeting. Inperson speaker cards may be submitted to the City Clerk directly during the meeting.
Any interested person may participate in the meeting and be heard or present written commentsto the City Council. According to Government Code Section 65009, if you challenge the Council’s action in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the City ofBeverly Hills I 455 N. Rexford Drive Beverly Hills, California 90210 t (310) 285-2400f(310) 385-0862 I BeverlyHills.org public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City, either at or prior to the public hearing.
In Person Participation:
All interested persons are invited to attend and speak on this matter in person. Please see the above information on the location and time of this meeting.
If there are any questions regarding this notice, please contact Judy Gutierrez, Senior Planner in the Planning Division at (310) 285-1192, or by email at [email protected]. Please also contact us to add your email to the interested parties list for this proposal, so that important updates and notifications may be sent to you.
HUMA ARMED
City Clerk
Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Beverly Hills will make reasonable efforts to accommodate persons with disabilities. If you require special assistance, please call (310) 285-2400 (voice) or (310) 285-6881 (TTY).
Providing at least forty-eight (48) hours advance notice will help to ensure availability ofservices. City Hall, including the Council Chamber and Room 280A, is wheelchair accessible. The City Hall Council Chamber and Room 280A are also equipped with audio equipment for the hearing impaired.
City ofBeverly Hifis 455 N. Rexford Drive Beverly Hills, California 90210 I t (310) 285-2400f(310) 385-0862 BeverlyHills.org