STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: May 6, 2025
To:
From:
Subject:
Honorable Mayor & City Council
Patty Betancourt, Special Events and Filming Coordinator Request from Local Business Owner Shallom Berkman to
Host Golda Zahra Concert Event on Saturday, May 24, 2025 and to Hang Event Banners Around Beverly Cañon Gardens
Attachments: 1. Proposal from Shallom Berkman, local business owner
2. Proposed Banner Design
INTRODUCTION
The Beverly Hills City Council is requested to review a request from Shallom Berkman, local business owner of Urth Caffe Beverly Hills to host Golda Zahra Community Concert Event as summarized in the following table. The City Council is also requested to consider having the City be a co-sponsor of the event. With the exception of 501(c)(3) organizations, the City must be a co-sponsor of the event in order to hang banners in the City regarding the event. In this case, banners are to be hung around Beverly Cañon Gardens. A special event permit is required per Beverly Hills Municipal Code Section 4- 8-1.
Event Name Golda at Beverly Cañon Gardens Community Concert Event Sponsor/Host Shallom Berkman, Urth Caffe Beverly Hills Prep/Setup Time Saturday, May 24, 2025, 3pm – 6:30pm
Event Time Saturday, May 24, 2025, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Strike/Cleanup Time Saturday, May 24, 2025, 8:30pm - 10pm Location Beverly Cañon Gardens – 241 N Cañon Drive
Number of Attendees 200
Fee Waiver Requested Beverly Cañon Garden Rental Fee $2,914.50 Event Activities Golda Zahra returns to her hometown to perform a free concert to bring the community together.
Meeting Date: May 6, 2025
DISCUSSION
The following table provides discussion and analysis of the features, logistics, and potential impacts of the proposed event.
Tents/Structures All tents and structures including, but not limited to: tents, truss and lighting structures will go through the standard Building and Safety plan review and inspection.
Generators All generators including, but not limited to: all electrical requests will go through the standard Building and Safety plan review and inspection.
Fire Permits All fire permits including, but not limited to: public assembly and fire code will go through the standard fire plan review and inspection.
Amplified Sound All amplified sound will be turned off by 10pm following the City’s noise ordinance.
Other Equipment,
Fixtures, or Furniture
The proposed community concert will have a riser,
speakers and microphones provided by the applicant.
Parking All guests will be parking on their own. Parking Services will be notified so that they can staff public parking
garages accordingly.
City Staffing Three (3) Community Services Park Rangers and two (2) Public Works Facilities staff will be assigned to the event, similar to the City’s Summer Concert series “Concerts on Cañon”.
Insurance The City’s Risk Manager recommends requiring General Liability Insurance of at least $2 million per occurrence, naming the City of Beverly Hills as an additional insured as a requirement to be provided by applicant.
Banners The City’s banner policy requires that the City be a sponsor of an event to allow for the hanging of banners related to the event. As such, the applicant requests that the City be considered a sponsor of the event for the
purpose of allowing the requested banners.
Banner design will be pre-approved by City’s
Communication team and location of banners will not
interfere with any current banner campaign. Applicant
would be responsible for all fabrication, installation, and design of banner cost.
Applicant will use contracted City banner vendor for
fabrication and installation of banners. However, fees will not impact Annual City Purchase Order since applicant will pay vendor directly.
Meeting Date: May 6, 2025
FISCAL IMPACT
Applicant would be responsible for all non-City related costs including event equipment and banners. Applicant would also be responsible for additional permits including, Building and Safety, Public Right of Way, and Fire permit fees.
Applicant has requested that the City Council waive Special Event Permit and Beverly Cañon Garden rental fees. Applicant would be responsible for staff costs.
The following table shows the estimated fees and costs based on the current fiscal year 2024/25 fee schedule.
Fee/Cost Amount
City permit fees (includes app fee, Beverly Cañon Garden Event Fee)
$2,981.50
City personnel costs
(Park Rangers and Public Works Staff)
$1,885
Total $4,866.50
The City Council has the discretion to recommend as follows:
x Waive permit fees totaling $2,981.50(applicant would be responsible for personnel costs totaling $1,885); or
x Waive no fees.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council approve a request by Shallom Berkman for the proposed Special Event Permit and Beverly Cañon Garden Rental Fee Waiver and that the City be a Sponsor of the event for approval to hang banners around event space.
Michael D. Forbes,
Director of Community Development
Approved By
Attachment 1
04/10/2025
RE: Request for Partnership with City of BH for a Free Community Concert at Beverly Canon Gardens
Dear Beverly Hills City Council,
My name is Shallom Berkman, co-founder of Urth Caffe, and I am requesting your approval and support for a partnership with the City for a free community concert at the Beverly Canon Gardens with Beverly Hills’ own award-winning classical singer Golda Zahra (my daughter), who will be joined by her 6-piece jazz ensemble band performing under the stars an enchanting set of opera, jazz standards, Broadway favorites, and more on Saturday, May 24th at 6:30pm. The community will be encouraged to arrive early with blankets and low chairs for seating on the lawn (first-come, first-served) and are welcome to bring a picnic to enjoy during the show.
I believe this concert will be a great joy and benefit to the community bringing together our neighbors, amazing BHUSD teachers and administrators, the great staff of the City of Beverly Hills; and we would like to invite and honor on stage our new Mayor Nazarian and introduce our City Council members to the community to celebrate and kick off summer 2025 in Beverly Hills together!
Golda Zahra was born and raised in Beverly Hills and attended Kindergarten through High School at BHUSD. She was inspired to become a classical singer by Judith Chan (our incredible middle-school choir teacher) while at Beverly Vista. Golda performed many times over the years at Beverly Hills City Hall, BHUSD, and BHEF fundraisers. In 2015 at the age of 16, she performed at the Saban Theater for the Beverly Hills Centennial and was critically acclaimed as “a promising young opera singer” by the Los Angeles Times for her angelic voice with remarkable vocal range. Upon returning from Italy in 2024, where she moved following BHHS to pursue her craft and study with some of the greatest Italian opera masters, Golda made a triumphant return and dazzled Angelenos with three diverse SRO concerts throughout the city and was hailed as “the rising star of the opera world.” Golda Zahra returns to her hometown to perform a free concert to bring our community together at the Beverly Canon Gardens.
Thank you for considering this partnership request and for your support.
Kind regards,
Shallom Berkman
g ,
Shallom Berk
Attachment 2