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BEVERLY HILLS NUMBER 16
THIS ISSUE
BHUSD honored its Apple Award winners this week. 4
Christie’s Auction House opened its flagship hub in Beverly Hills. 4
One loyal reader takes the Courier below sea level in the Philippines. 5
The BHPD unveiled its new, state-of-the-art Mobile Command Center. 5
Ethel and Fred are this week’s Adoptable Pets. •Real Estate •Sports •Birthdays
21 8 14 22
$135 PER YEAR - $1.25 PER COPY
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www.bhcourier.com
The Annual Easter Fete At Ann And Jim Gianopulos’ Estate Attracts Fellow Greeks To Share In The High Spirits Of The Holiday. The Greek Dancing Proves That Jim Is “A Real Gone Hoofer”
CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More
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April 21, 2017
LET’S MEDITATE— The City of Beverly Hills is teaming with Deepak Chopra, M.D., the renowned leader in alternative health and well-being, for a free, public meditation session on the Crescent Drive grounds of City Hall on May 12. For more information, see the full story on page 4. Pictured: Chopra with Mayor Lili Bosse.
Beverly Hills School Board Begins Process Of Declaring School Land Surplus Property By Laura Coleman On Tuesday, the Board of Education approved taking steps to transform its 3.5-acre administration complex triangulated by Lasky, Moreno and Young Drives into a mixed-use development with Beverly Hills Unified School District office space and around 300,000 square feet of apartments. In anticipation of entering into a long-term ground lease (up to 99 years) with a non-BHUSD entity to develop the site, at a study session on Tuesday attorney Andreas Chialtas with Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Rudd & Romo (AALRR) recommended that the board immediately undertake efforts to have the State Board of Education waive provisions of the Education Code and the Government Code that dictate surplus property procedures. As a first step, he recommended the district establish a “7-11 Committee” to make recommendations regarding district-owned land that could become surplus properties in anticipation of a
board resolution authorizing a property lease. The committee, which would include up to 11 Beverly Hills residents, in addition to one paid expert to “guide” the volunteer members, will be tasked with examining at least three specific school properties–namely, the land on which the Beverly Hills High School Oil Well sits; the Beverly Vista parking lot; and the district’s administration complex. Chialtas estimated that it would cost BHUSD $150,000 for AALRR to get a waiver to repurpose the land, create a ground lease scenario and craft an option for the bid package. “We will do our best to craft a really good option and ground lease agreement,” Chialtas assured the board. “I’m thinking, maximize the lease, let someone come in here, figure out what building they can put here and how they can generate a lot of money for it.” At a January board meeting, board member Howard Goldstein (see ‘BHUSD LAND’ page 13)
Hadid Could Be Nearing Guilty Plea On 901 Strada Vecchia George Christy, Page 6
SINCE 1965
By Matt Lopez Mohamed Hadid could be nearing a guilty plea in the criminal trial over the 901 Strada Vecchia megamansion he developed in Bel Air. Thursday morning in Van Nuys Superior Court, attorneys for both Hadid and the L.A. City Attorney’s office met in private for close to an hour. After emerging from the meeting, Hadid’s attorneys indicated that their client was nearing a guilty plea, with a few more conditions to still be worked out. It is believed that Hadid would seek conditions saying that in exchange for a guilty plea, sentencing would be delayed for a
yet-to-be-decided period of time, within which he can bring the property into compliance with Los Angeles building code. In that scenario, if Hadid does bring it into compliance within that time frame, the criminal conviction would be erased. If not, he would then face sentencing. Hadid’s attorney Robert Shapiro argued Thursday in open court that sentencing would need to be delayed because of concerns that, with a criminal conviction on his record, Hadid would be unable to secure a construction loan to bring the property into compliance. (see ‘901 STRADA VECCHIA’ page 13)
Lago Vista R1 Permit Shot Down 5-0 By Beverly Hills Planning Commission By Victoria Talbot In a midnight decision following hours of testimony, the Planning Commission unanimously voted not to approve an R-1 permit to allow more than 1,500 cubic yards of earth to be exported at 1260 Lago Vista Dr. in the City’s first test of the effectiveness of the new Hillside Ordinance. The ordinance, adopted last August, provides that any project on a hillside street under 24 feet in width that exports over 1,500 cubic yards of earth triggers an R-1 review. The single-family Lago Vista residence involves a request to export 2,948 cubic yards of soil on Lago Vista, which is only 22 feet wide. Wednesday’s meeting was packed with residents, representing hundreds of opponents to the project, including Steven Weinglass for the Municipal League of Beverly Hills and
former Mayor Robert Tanenbaum of the Beverly Hills North Homeowners. Former Mayor Nancy Krasne, who was instrumental in getting the Hillside Ordinance through City Council, also spoke eloquently on behalf of the opposition. The applicant team was led by Jason Sommers of Crest Realty and represented, surprisingly, by Attorney Ben Reznik of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP. No one but the applicant team spoke in favor of the development. Reznik had represented leading project opponent Debbie Weiss in her fight against the massive Aquilini Project on Loma Vista last summer, which became the poster child for the creation of the Hillside Ordinance. Also of note, Commissioner Craig Corman (see ‘LAGO VISTA’ page 18)
Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie
VOLUME: LII
SCANDALOUS— Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington, and Betsy Beers celebrated the 100th episode of ABC’s Scandal at Fig & Olive. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.