CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS
Council Chamber
455 North Rexford Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Mayor Lester J. Friedman will participate remotely due to just cause:
he is attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING
Councilmember Mirisch,
January 16, 2025
4:30 p.m.*
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.The City Council may act on any item listed on the agenda.
The City Council Regular Meeting was called to order by Mayor Friedman at 4:33pm A. ROLL CALL
Present: Councilmember Wells, Councilmember Corman,
Vice Mayor Nazarian, Mayor Friedman
Absent: None
B. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
1. TELEPHONE CALL-IN: (310) 288-2288 Members of the public are invited to listen to the meeting telephonically or share oral communications on this phone line.
2. AUDIENCE COMMENTS. Any person wishing to address the City Council on any matter on the agenda may do so in writing, through email or in-person. However, the State open meetings law (Government Code Section 54950 et seq.) prohibits the CityCouncil from providing a detailed response or acting upon any item not contained on theagenda posted 72 hours before a regular meeting and 24 hours before a special meeting. If you wish to address the City Council at this time, please email or provide anin-person speaker card to the City Clerk prior to or during the meeting. The City Clerk will read only the first three minutes (approximately 350 words) of a written comment. Inthe event of a large number of written comments on one item, written comments may be summarized by the City Clerk’s Office. The entire written comment shall be archived in full as part of the record. Public comment via video conference or in-person 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.
E-1
City Council Special Meeting
January 16, 2025
C. CITY COUNCIL CONTINUED AND NEW BUSINESS
1. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS TEMPORARILY SUSPENDING
RESTRICTIONS ON SHORT TERM RENTALS TO ADDRESS EMERGENCYHOUSING NEEDS AND FINDING THE ORDINANCE EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA).
Comment: The proposed Urgency Ordinance would temporarily suspend the City’s restrictions on short term rentals of single-family and multi-family residential units. TheBeverly Hills Municipal Code currently limits short term rental of single-family homes to no more than two times per calendar year and prohibits the rental of multi-family units for periods shorter than 30 days. The proposed Urgency Ordinance would suspend these restrictions to address the immediate need for short term housing for people displaced by the wildfires.
Director of Community Development Michael Forbes presented information related to this item. City Attorney Laurence Wiener briefly reviewed updates to the draft ordinance.
Speaker:
1. Michael Tenner, Peninsula Hotel
Council provided their questions and comments.
Director of Community Development Michael Forbes, City Attorney Laurence Wiener, Assistant City Manager Ryan Gohlich, Director of Finance Jeff Muir, and City Manager Nancy Hunt-Coffey responded to Council questions.
The Council majority directed to substitute the City Council for the City Manager in Section 3 as well as to say that the transient occupancy tax is suspended for short term rental units and hotels subject to the provisions of this ordinance in Section 11.
MOVED by Vice Mayor Nazarian, seconded by Councilmember Mirisch to approve item C-I as follows:
THAT THE FULL READING OF THE URGENCY ORDINANCE
BE WAIVED AND THAT THE URGENCY ORDINANCE
ENTITLED, “AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY
HILLS TO SUSPEND SHORT-TERM RENTAL RESTRICTIONS
TO ADDRESS THE IMMEDIATE NEED FOR SHORT-TERM
HOUSING AS A RESULT OF THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY
FIRES AND WINDSTORM EVENT OF JANUARY 2025 ANDDECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF, AND FINDING THE
ORDINANCE EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA)” AS AMENDED BE
ADOPTED
Ayes: Councilmember Wells, Councilmember Corman,
Councilmember Mirisch, Vice Mayor Nazarian, Mayor Friedman Noes: None
City Council Special Meeting
January 16, 2025
CARRIED
ITEM C-I: ADOPTED AS AMENDED, ORD #25-0-2908
2. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS TO EXTEND THE DELINQUENCY DATE FOR PAYMENT OF 2025 BUSINESS TAX FOR PERSONAL SERVICES BUSINESSES UNDER CLASSIFICATION A OF SECTION 3-1-219 OF THE BEVERLY HILLS MUNICIPAL CODE THROUGH MARCH 31, 2025 AND DECLARING
THE URGENCY THEREOF
Comment: The proposed Urgency Ordinance would extend this date to March 31st for Classification a Personal Services businesses, many of whom have clientele affected by the Los Angeles County wildfires.
Director of Finance Jeff Muir presented information related to this item.
Council provided their questions and comments.
Director of Finance Jeff Muir responded to Council questions.
Council directed to amend the final sentence in Section 1 of the ordinance to say ‘ThisOrdinance must be adopted and must become effective immediately in order toadequately respond to the continuing mental and emotional burden imposed on personal service businesses and their owners created by widespread destruction and economic loss associated with the Fires and Windstorm Event.”
MOVED by Vice Mayor Nazarian, seconded by Councilmember Wells to approve item C-2 as follows:
THAT THE FULL READING OF THE URGENCY ORDINANCE
BE WAIVED AND THAT THE URGENCY ORDINANCE
ENTITLED, “AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLYHILLS TO EXTEND THE DELINQUENCY DATE FORPAYMENT OF THE 2025 BUSINESS TAX FOR PERSONALSERVICES BUSINESSES UNDER CLASSIFICATION A OF SECTION 3-1-219 OF THE BEVERLY HILLS MUNICIPAL
CODE THROUGH MARCH 31, 2025 AND DECLARING THE
URGENCY THEREOF” BE ADOPTED AS AMENDED
Ayes: Councilmember Wells, Councilmember Corman,
Councilmember Mirisch, Vice Mayor Nazarian, Mayor Friedman Noes: None
CARRIED
ITEM C-2: ADOPTED AS AMENDED, ORD #25-0-2909
City Council Special Meeting
January 16, 2025
D. ADJOURNMENT
Fire Chief Gregory Barton provided a brief update on the City’s response to the recent fires.Deputy City Manager Keith Sterling reminded the community where to find information about the fires.
Vice Mayor Nazarian reported on her meeting with Assemblymember Rick Chavez and other officials to discuss issues related to the recent fires.
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for January 28, 2025.There being no further business, Mayor Friedman, with the consent of the City Council, adjourned the meeting at 5:57 p.m.
PASSED, Approved and Adopted
this 4th day of March, 2025
HUMA AHMED, CITY CLERKlSecretary
LESTER J. FRIEDMAN, MAYORIChair
This meeting was broadcast on live television, on City of Beverly Hills municipal government television access Channel BHTVIO Spectrum Cable.