AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: March 24, 2026
Item Number:
To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Magdalena Davis Jones, Community Outreach Manager Subject: RECOMMENDATION OF THE BEVERLY HILLS CITY COUNCIL
LIAISON / CVB MARKETING COMMITTEE REGARDING THE
REQUEST FOR STREET CLOSURES AND PERMIT WAIVERS, AND
UTILIZING A FREE-USE DAY OF WALLIS FOR SUNSET DINNER, A
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CONFERENCE AND VISITORS BUREAU,
ON SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2026
Attachments: 1. CVB Presentation for Sunset Dinner
2. Liaison Report from February 23, 2026 (without attachments)
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends City Council approve the proposed event and street closure, and the requested fee waiver of $11,628, as well as one free-Wallis use day for the Sunset Dinner, in partnership with the Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau, on May 23, 2026.
INTRODUCTION
This report provides the recommendation of the City Council Liaison / CVB Marketing Committee of Mayor Nazarian and Councilmember Friedman (Committee) regarding the request street closure approval of N. Crescent Drive, and a waiver of permit fees for Sunset Dinner, an elevated pop-up dining event to be held on Saturday, May 23, 2026.
The event is in partnership with the Conference and Visitors Bureau, in alignment with the goal to bring more elevated food and wine experiences to Beverly Hills.
Council is requested to review and approve a waiver of approximately $11,628, and the applicable street closures from 7am through 12am on Saturday, May 23, 2026.
Additionally, Council is requested to approve the event utilizing one of the City’s free-use Wallis dates for the event, for use of the Motor Court.
DISCUSSION
The Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has been working with the organizers of Sunset Dinner – a one-night showcase of our iconic Beverly Hills City Hall backdrop to a group of over a thousand diners. The event’s distinctive features include fashion, entertainment and tablescapes, alongside the culinary dinner. These Sunset
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Dinners have been held worldwide, and they have a database of approximately 1.8 million fans. A similar program has successfully been done in 2013, including with a Rodeo Drive street closure, without incident and to much international acclaim (Attachment 1). The event garners significant media attention after each dinner, as well as a strong online presence.
The event is a pop-up style dining event, slated for Saturday, May 23, 2026, that typically takes over different locations adjacent to iconic landmarks like Beverly Hills City Hall, for one evening of food and wine, tablescape and fashion competition, dancing and joy. The CVB is partnering with the Sunset Dinner as part of Council’s goal to attract more experiential events and programs to the City, with this particular event aligning well with our brand of unique, attainable, luxury. The guests, uniquely, arrive to the event by shuttle, and are invited through a membership-style system, where previous guests of former events get first dibs on the tickets.
The event is expected to attract over 1,000 diners, and plans to utilize the Wallis Motor Court for shuttle drop-offs and check in, N. Crescent Drive and the front of City Hall for the event, and Municipal Gallery for back-of-house catering staging and staffing. Organizers include chef and hospitality professionals from Wolfgang Puck Catering.
On February 23, 2026, the CVB Marketing Liaison Committee of Mayor Nazarian and Councilmember Friedman heard the proposed request as part of the CVB’s quarterly update (Attachment 2). The CVB brings quarterly updates to Liaisons for review, and typically includes special programs and events for recommendation, such as their involvement in the Golden Globes, or partnership with the Milken Conference. They recommended the event waivers and free use Wallis date move forward to Council approval, noting that these type of food and wine dining events are exactly the high-end experiences that Beverly Hills would like to attract, both for the experience, and the media coverage that aligns with our brand.
Charitable Component
Notably, Councilmember Friedman asked that the event, as a for-profit entity, update its charitable component to include a local charity. Although as the event partner the CVB is a nonprofit membership organization, given the City’s policies of approving waivers for nonprofit organizations, both Liaisons agreed it was best they seek a local partner to support, in order to provide additional community benefit.
With that, the proposal has been updated to partner with, and support, the Culinary Arts program at Beverly Hills High School. In discussions with the school, the partnership would be two-fold: students would be afforded the opportunity to participate in the dinner behind the scenes, integrating the students into the event operations so they get real-world experience of catering a largescale event alongside the chef professionals from Wolfgang Puck catering, and the receive a donation of $2500 to their program.
Street Closure Request
Council is requested to review and approve the requested event components. The event partners with the CVB to close N. Crescent Drive from S. Santa Monica Blvd. to N. Santa Monica Blvd. (directly in front of City Hall) from 7am-12am for the one-day event. This timeframe is inclusive of setup, event and tear down, and one-day use of the Wallis motor court from the City’s “free use” days.
Meeting Date: March 24, 2024
A required Fire Lane will be maintained at all times for safety. Access to the City’s Crescent garage would only be maintained from its S. Santa Monica Blvd. entrance, and the event organizers will work with the Wallis and any other parking tenants if need be. Uniquely, for this event, the diners are dropped off by shuttle, and park elsewhere, so the Crescent parking garage will be left open for the public and event staff.
Permit Waiver Request
The CVB, as a City Partner, is requesting City Council’s formal approval of the street closure fee and permit fees to be waived. The Event is not requesting the waiver of any hard costs, such as the required Police, Fire, Public Works, and Park Ranger personnel, no-parking signs, dumpsters, etc. Noticing adjacent businesses and residents will also still be required, at the event’s costs, with the City amplifying the messaging about the oneday closure as well. Additional notifications through the City’s social media channels and website will alert the public to street closures for the event.
The event organizers would typically pay for permit and personnel costs for the event. For this event, the CVB is requesting the street closure fee and other flat-rate permit fees that are typically collected, be waived. The total fee waiver will be determined based on the approved layout by City staff, including BHPD and City Engineer, for the footprint of the event. The table below lays out the approximate fee waiver of $11,628 according to the City’s FY25-26 Fee Schedule. There is no monetary contribution from the City requested.
Fee/Cost Amount
Application Fee $69
Large Scale Event Permit Fee $4,083
Special Event Encroachment $184
Municipal Gallery Rental
(Resident/Local Business rate)
$175/hour
$2,800 total
Street Closure Commercial Locations (non-Rodeo
Drive or Business Triangle) Beverly Hills Nonprofit 6-24 hours $4,205
Special Fire Permit & Public Assembly Permit $96 & $191 Total $11,628
Wallis Free-Use Day
Additionally, the CVB and organizers request one free-use day of the Wallis Annenberg Performing Arts Center, specifically for use of the motor court for drop-offs. Through the City’s lease agreement with The Wallis, the City may sponsor or host up to ten (10) daytime events and up to ten (10) evening events in the Theatre, the Studio, or any other interior portion of the property, or the exterior Promenade or other grounds of the property, during each calendar year. To date, no free-use days have been approved for this calendar year.
This event plans to utilize the Wallis Motor Court and any related facilities (potentially restrooms), and other related areas for logistical purposes. While the City’s agreement with The Wallis permits free use of the space, there may be additional costs for labor and production associated with the event, such as private security or cleaning, that the organizers of Sunset Dinner would bear.
Meeting Date: March 24, 2024
It was noted from the Wallis that other activity may preclude use of the entire Motor Court, and potentially valet services for their patrons would be moved into the Crescent Garage.
Should the event organizers not be able to proceed with the Wallis use as planned for May 23, 2026, the organizer proposes approval of a backup date of September 5, 2026, that would be reviewed by them and the CVB, the Wallis and City staff, administratively.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is not a budget request associated with this event request; the total amount shown above represents waivers of $11,628 of flat-rate permit fees and street closure fees only.
Event organizers would still be responsible for submitting all permit applications, and for payment of hard costs for personnel, signs, dumpsters, and event noticing to adjacent businesses and residents.
Keith Sterling,
Deputy City Manager
Approved By
Meeting Date: March 24, 2024
Attachment 1
Sunset Dinner Beverly Hills
2026 Edition
Meet the Host Team
Elana Leaf
With over 20 years of globe-trotting experience in
live events—from high-energy concerts and massive
festivals to major sporting events and splashy brand
launches—Elana knows how to put on a show. A
proud Los Angeles native, she’s bringing that worldclass expertise home to lead the production charge for Sunset Dinner LA, turning big ideas into
unforgettable live experiences. Her LinkedIn can be
found here.
Monica Castaneda
Also, the Miami Host for 2025 & 2026 with over
12 years experience in the mega event sector.
An expert in vendor management, logistics
coordination, and building strategic partnerships
to maximize event impact and profitability. A
recognized professional in the curation of largescale event operations for national and international clients- consistently delivering
exceptional attendee experiences.
Josellyne Del Rosario
With over 20 years of experience producing
dynamic food and wine festivals and major
live events, she brings unmatched energy and
expertise to every experience she touches. A
passionate food and beverage operations pro,
she blends big ideas with sharp operational
know-how to create seamless service, strong
teams, and truly memorable guest
experiences. Her LinkedIn can be found here.
-
CONFERENCE & ¥' VISITORS BUREAU
Proposed Event Site
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CONFERENCE &
VISITORS BUREAU
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Other Hired Staff: Restroom attendants and cleaning crew Set-Up: Depending on the infrastructure already in place, access to public restrooms or other, set-up could start as early as 9:00 on the day of the event. The Installation can include:
• Catering distribution area(s) - Estimated noon
• Speakers and sound equipment, - Estimated 9 am
• Lights and Decorations (marquee letters or other) - Estimated 2pm • Activations (Photobooths or other activities) - Estimated 2pm • Portable toilets - Estimated 9am
• Media Area (furniture) - Estimated noon
• DJ booth, dance floor - Estimated noon
• Dumpsters - Estimated 7am
Logistics
SecurityNeeds:
Depending on the permit requirements, pedestrian re-route, security staff or off duty police officers will be hired for the evening.
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CONFERENCE & ¥" VISITORS BUREAU
Below is our deployment in New York at South Seaport. This will be customized based on our footprint in Beverly Hills. T he catering and wine pickup area (wine and champagne are the only alcohol served and is all pre-ordered) is combined for efficiency.
Guests present a QR code to collect pre-ordered items. Multiple lines and ample staff help minimize wait times, with a separate line for beverage-only orders. A help desk may be set up for guidance based on event size.
Food Distribution
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Event History &
Engagement
Last Event Date:
October 12, 2019
It was the 6th Edition
Current Social Media Stats:
Fan list (aka waiting list): has 19,080 people on it
*102 people added themselves to our list since January 1, 2026* Facebook: 8.3K Followers
Instagram: 2,191 Followers
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Pages /Session
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Event History &
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Fairly long campaign as save the date wassent out
on May 7, 2019 for an October event…
Historic Social Media Audience & Campaign
May-19 Nov-19
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Los Angeles 9 387 461
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VISITORS BUREAU
788
74 42%
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Growth # Growth %
Historic Survey Overview
Respondents Participants % respondents Very good + good Indifferent Poor + Very
poor
% # % %
Edition # Date Overall rating
6th Sat, 12 Oct, 2019 168 2838 6% 87.22% 142 7.14% 8.34% 5th Sat, 29 Sep, 2018 199 2628 8% 73.87% 147 15.08% 11.05% 4th Sat, 14 Oct, 2017 109 1956 6% 82.57% 90 13.76% 3.67% 3rd Fri, 4 Nov, 2016 131 1994 7% 79.39% 104 16.79% 3.82% 2nd Thu, 27 Aug, 2015 31 1806 2% 80.65% 25 19.35% 0.00% 1st Thu, 1 Aug, 2013 209 1182 18% 89.00% 186 2.39% 8.61% TOTAL 847 12404 6.83% 81.94% 694
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Net Likes
Net likes shows the number of new likes minus the number of unlikes. ■ Unlikes Organic Likes ( Paid Likes Net Likes
MAY JUN JUL AUG
08 15 22 29 06 13 20 27
SEP OCT NOV
Total Views By Section
14 21 28.05 12 19 28 02 09 16 23 30 07 14 21 28 04 11 18 25 -
CONFERENCE & '¥ VISITORS BUREAU
Total Views
622
415
207
0 Apr 15 May 9 Jun 3 Jun 28 Jul 22 Aug 16 Sep 10 Oct 4 Ocl 29 Nov 23 Community Partnership
Beverly Hills High School Hospitality Program:
• Donation to program of $2500.00
• Students will assist Wolfgang Puck Catering
create the food and do the distro onsite.
• Students interested in operations will work
along with our leaders onsite for set-up,
operations, and breakdown.
Future Opportunities:
• We would work alongside Cindy to integrate students into our operations for real life experience.
• We will offer internships with our different departments for students to get a realistic gage on the hospitality industry and all that it entails. ..
CONFERENCE &
.. VISITORS BUREAU
ELEGANT
MULTICULTURAL BON
VIVANT
45%
OF O U R GUESTS HAVE
ATTENDED 2-4 OUR DINNERS &
EVENTS INONE OR MORE
CITIES
Our database has over
1.8 Million Fans
on global waiting
lists.
Our Guests
Likes
TRAVEL
PHOTOGRAPHY
FASHION
DRESSING UP
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5:30 pm (dependent on sundown time) Guests meet
up all around the city with their tables, chairs, and
picnic baskets. Except for the volunteers who will lead guests to the event site.
ARRIVAL
6:00 pm Guests reach the secret location ina
stunning wave of white.
They come from all over!
SET-UP
6:20 pm In justa few minutes of organized chaos,
thousands of guests set up their tables, chairs,
and place-settings. Dinner is almost served!
THE NAPKIN WAVE
7:00 pm Once the scene is set, guests
wave their white cloth napkins in the air,
in unison, to signal that The Sunset Dinner
is about to commence.
SPARKLER MOMENT
8:30 pm Marks the end of dinner, and
the opening of the dance floor, making
for one of the most spectacular
moments of the evening.
LE DÎNER
7:05 pm Guests enjoy their Dinner
with friends in the enchanted
setting.
DANCING
8:35 pm Guests mingle and let loose on
the dance floor under the stars.
AU REVOIR
11:00 pm As the magical evening comes
toa close, guests gather all their
belongings and leave the site as if they
were never there..
The Evening
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Proposed Dates
& City Asks
Proposed Dates:
May 23, 2026
September 5, 2026
City Asks:
Waiver of permitting and street closure
fees. We will pay for everything else.
Street Closure Time:
7am to 12am on event day only
Teardown will take place immediately after the event.
-
CONFERENCE & ¥' VISITORS BUREAU
@lovebevhills @visitbeverlyhills @lovebeverlyhills
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Attachment 2
CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS
POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
MEMORANDUM
TO: Beverly Hills City Council Liaison / CVB/Marketing Committee Meeting FROM: Magdalena Davis, Community Outreach Manager
Chad Lynn, Deputy Director Special Projects, Public Safety DATE: February 23, 2026
SUBJECT: Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Updates on Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Programs and Initiatives through Quarter 2 ATTACHMENT: 1. Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Presentation FY 25/26 Quarter 2
INTRODUCTION
The Beverly Hills Conference and Visitor Bureau (CVB) will present the City Council CVB / Marketing Committee Liaisons, Mayor Nazarian and Councilmember Friedman (Liaisons), with an update to their programs and initiative for Quarter Two (Q2) of Fiscal Year 2025-2026. As part of this update, the CVB is requesting review of the progress on approved workplan programs, a requested partnership experience that includes a street closure, and approval to move forward with the proposed office renovation.
DISCUSSION
The CVB is contracted by the City to conduct a variety of tourism and marketing programs promoting Beverly Hills. They receive City funding to promote Beverly Hills domestically and worldwide as a stay, shop, and dine destination through marketing programs, press, travel trade, consumer and professional education, and events that build awareness to drive consumer revenue to the City. Each quarter, an updated is provided to the Liaisons. This update will include the review FY 25/26 through Q2. Attachment 1 details the updates and requested approvals for new partnership experiences.
Review of CVB Workplan for FY 25/26 Q2
The CVB FY 25/26 workplan was approved by City Council in June 2025, and the following programs and updates through Q2 are requested for review by the CVB (Attachment 1):
• Fall Marketing Results for Luxury with a heart, City with a Soul • Fall 2025 Microsite Meet the People who make your visit special • Fall 2025 Visit California Global Leveraged Media & Expedia Co-op Results • 2025 Holiday Results
• “Always On” website campaign & e-newsletter
PAGE 2
• Public Relations through Q2
o Luxury Lab Pop-Up & FAM
o Press Highlights
o New York Sales Mission Media Lunch
• Travel Trade – Group Sales & Leisure Sales
o Q1 & Q2 Group Sales Leads included 2,318 room nights with $1,338,437 in estimated value (calculated at destination average of $425/night; actual rate may be higher)
o International Travel Market Asia Pacific
o Virtuoso Travel Week
o Mexico City trade lunch
o Visit CA Tokyo and Visit CA Korea
o New York Sales Mission
o Connection Luxury Americas
o Mobile Travel Agents Webinar
o PROST Los Angeles Holiday Luncheon
• Tracking and Research update
Looking Ahead – Upcoming Programs for FY 25/26
The CVB will also present a look at the upcoming programs, including:
• Spring Campaigns: “A World Away” and FIFA Travel Like a Champion • PR Focus on World Cup programming
• April Group FAM
• Northstar, Virtuoso, California Luxury Forum travel trade for leisure • Middle East Sales Mission
• Concentration on Group sales
Additionally, new partnerships to bring and support exciting experiences in Beverly Hills continue to be a top priority. The following are proposed as future programs:
Beverly Hills Film Festival (BHFF) – April
The BHFF, now in its 26th year, will kick off with an opening night party at Two Rodeo and a closing night party at the Beverly Hilton. To support and celebrate the BHFF, the CVB will be cosponsoring banners with the support of the RDC and Two Rodeo, for a campaign down Rodeo Drive. The CVB will work with staff on art approval, and also support the festival with marketing content, such as a drone shoot.
“Sunset Dinner” – May, June or September
The CVB has been working with the organizers of a “Sunset Dinner” event – a showcase of our iconic City Hall backdrop to a group of over a thousand diners. The event’s distinctive features include fashion, entertainment and tablescapes, alongside the culinary dinner. These Sunset Dinners have been held worldwide, and they have a database of approximately 1.8 million fans.
A similar program has successfully been done in the past, including with a Rodeo Drive street closure, without incident and to much international acclaim.
PAGE 3
The proposal includes partnering with the CVB to shutdown Crescent Drive from 7am-12am for one event day (inclusive of setup, event and tear down), and one-day use of the Wallis motor court from the City’s “free use” days. The CVB, as a City Partner, is requesting a Liaison recommendation to the City Council for formal approval of the street closure fee and permit fees to be waived. The Event is not requesting the waiver of any hard costs, such as personnel, dumpsters, etc. Noticing to adjacent businesses and residents will also still be required.
Route 66 – June and beyond
A centennial celebration of Route 66 was approved as part of the CVB FY25-26 workplan. The CVB has been working with City staff on a variety of projects, including a caravan from Santa Monica through Beverly Hills to Pasadena on June 6, 2026, an online collaboration with Beverly Hills Historical Society, a display during Concours d’Elegance on Rodeo Drive, and programing with our Community Services Department, Arts & Culture division.
As part of the efforts to connect with regional celebrations happening around the Route 66 Centennial, staff is working in collaboration with the City of West Hollywood to participate in an RFP process that will select artists contributing towards a Route 66 Centennial Temporary Public artwork light pole vinyl wrap installation. The selected artwork designed to celebrate Historic Route 66 (Santa Monica Boulevard), would transform the route into a temporary public art corridor, reflecting themes of travel, connection, and cultural exchange. City staff and CVB representatives will participate with a subcommittee of the City of West Hollywood Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission (Art on the Outside Subcommittee,) by providing recommendations of artists for selection in advance of the review and approval by the City of West Hollywood Arts and Culture Affairs Commission. Cities will be eligible to utilize the selected artworks to produce their section of the Route 66 Centennial light pole vinyl wraps installation, for display in June 2026 through the 100th anniversary of Route 66 in November 2026. City staff are also exploring opportunities to incorporate Route 66 activations within or around Community Services events, including potential collaborations with organizations or entities with strong ties to the emblematic themes of Route 66, such as the Petersen Automotive Museum.
Office Renovation
At the October 2025 Liaison meeting, the CVB requested the use of unspent funds in the amount of $79,252 from FY 24/25. Liaisons approved the one-time use; however, the Liaisons requested that BHCVB provide greater detail related to the use of those funds once bids were secured.
The proposed project will consist of new paint, flooring and electrical. The CVB currently has three (3) bids for all but the electrical, which will require engineering and permitting.
Based on the timing of the remaining term of the Liaisons, the CVB is requesting approval to work with the City architect to finalize bids and being work.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City has maintained a policy of funding its tourism and marketing programs from a specific allocation of the transient occupancy tax (TOT). The City collects a total of fourteen percent TOT PAGE 4
based on gross room sales from hotels. One-seventh of the total TOT revenue has been the basis of calculating the funding for the Tourism and Marketing budget in Beverly Hills for approximately 27 years.
The Finance Department forecasted a TOT revenue of $46,364,000 for FY 25/26. Using the $46,364,000 estimate, the one-seventh budget amounts to $6,623,000. The TOT funding has been allocated during this fiscal year for various Council-approved programs beyond the Conference and Visitors Bureau work plan, including the Rodeo Drive Committee work plan, a portion of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce work plan, intellectual property legal services, landscaping on Rodeo Drive, the Concours D’Elegance, and 2025 Rodeo Drive Holiday Decor and Holiday Lighting Celebration.
There is no fiscal impact from reviewing the workplan items as the funding has already been accounted for in the FY 25/26 CVB contracts. The total not to exceed amount for FY 25/26 is $4,663,863, with the total available funding, including the use of prior unspent funds is an updated total available funding of $5,199,599.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Liaison Committee review and provide direction for the following:
• Review of CVB FY 25/26 workplan items through Q2
• Recommendation to proceed with the partnership for the Sunset Dinner, including a waiver of street closure and permit fees
• Approval to move forward with the office renovation new paint, flooring and electrical, with the previously approved $79,252 in funding, and the City architect reviewing the three bids