CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS
Council Chamber
455 North Rexford Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION
July 15, 2025
2:30 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.
PRESENT: Sharona R. Nazarian, PsyD, Mayor
Lester J. Friedman, Councilmember
Craig A. Corman, Councilmember
Mary N. Wells, Councilmember
Nancy Hunt-Coffey, City Manager
Ryan Gohlich, Assistant City Manager
Keith Sterling, Deputy City Manager
Laurence Wiener, City Attorney
Michelle Ramos-Vergara, Deputy City Clerk
Jessie Holzer Carpenter, Transportation Planner
Mark Stainbrook, Police Chief
Daren Grilley, City Engineer
Renato Moreno, Police Lieutenant
ABSENT: None
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Nazarian at 2:30 p.m.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
AUDIENCE COMMENTS. Any person wishing to address the City Council on any matter may do so in writing, through email or in-person. However, the State open meetings law (Government Code Section 54950 et seq.) prohibits the City Council from providing a detailed response or acting upon any item not contained on the agenda 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 an in-person speaker card to the City Clerk prior to or during the meeting. 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. The City Clerk will read only the first three minutes (approximately 350 words) of a written comment. In the 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.
E-3
A – DIRECTION
1. Benedict Cañon Drive Safety Improvements
Provides an update on planned lane striping modifications to address safety concerns that will be implemented as part of the City’s annual pavement marking project in Fiscal Year 2025-
26. Transportation Planner Jessie Holzer Carpenter presented information related to this item.
Speaker:
1. Bing Sokolsky
Zoom Public Comment:
1. Brian Rodier
Police Chief Mark Stainbrook provided his comments.
Council provided their questions regarding studies, striping, light timing, lane width, collisions, and various other topics. Transportation Planner Jessie Holzer Carpenter, City Engineer Daren Grilley, Police Lieutenant Renato Moreno, and City Attorney Laurence Wiener responded to Council questions.
Council did not support the lane striping modifications at this time. There was support for the addition of a turn lane at the intersection of Tower Road and Benedict Cañon. This topic may be revisited in the future.
B – ADDITIONAL ITEMS TO CONSIDER (TIME PERMITTING)
None
C – INFORMATION
2. National Night Out
The Beverly Hills Police Department invites the community to attend the annual National Night Out event on Tuesday, August 5, 2025; National Night Out is held every August nationwide to promote various crime prevention programs and the development of safer communities.
Informational report only, no action taken.
3. New Statutory Exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act for Housing Development Projects (Public Resources Code Section 21080.66) This information item alerts the City Council and the public to a new statutory exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which will exempt most housing development projects in the City from CEQA. This exemption was signed by the Governor on Monday, June 30th and became effective immediately.
Written Public Comment:
1. Darian Bojeaux
Informational report only, no action taken.
PASSED, Approved and Adopted
this 5th day of August, 2025
HUMA AHMED, City Clerk
SHARONA R. NAZARIAN, PSYD, MAYOR
This meeting was broadcast on live television, on City of Beverly Hills municipal government television access Channel BHTVIO Spectrum Cable.