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BEVERLY HILLS NUMBER 19
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Trendy Alfred Coffee will open this summer in Beverly Hills. 4
VROOM VROOM — Everyone was at Greystone Mansion on Sunday checking out the classic cars at the Greystone Concours d’Elegance, including comedy legend Jay Leno. Pictured: Leno with the grandchild and great grandchildren of Lucy Doheny, who along with husband Edward, lived in Greystone Mansion. From left: Clover Estelle, Zack, Lulu and Zee Griffin. Photo by Reggie Sully
BHUSD Creates Surplus Property Advisory Committee A community meeting on the 100 Crescent Dr. project is set for May 15. 15
Yorkie pup Caesar is this issue’s Adoptable Pet of the Week. 17
Shawn Bayliss has been named Bel-Air Association Executive Director. 19 •Fashion •Birthdays •Letters to the Editor
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George Christy, Page 6 We Fell In Love With The Snapshot Of Our Beverly Hills Royals – A Young Prince And Four Young Princesses With Good Parenting And A Promise For A Future With Better Tomorrows
CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More
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May 12, 2017
Beverly Hills Pays Out $32.5M To Settle Loma Vista Lawsuits
THIS ISSUE
Supermodel Christie Brinkley joined the City’s “WELLTH” event. 5
SINCE 1965
By Matt Lopez The Beverly Hills school board on Tuesday finalized plans to create a Surplus Advisory Committee to assess the future use of three district-owned properties. The formation of the committee doesn’t necessarily mean that any changes are happening imminently. In general, the committee, which has been titled a “7-11 Committee,” will be tasked with studying, assessing and making recommendations regarding district-owned properties: the 0.908acre district office at 255 S. Lasky Dr., the 0.557-acre property being used as a parking lot for Beverly Vista staff and the 2.5-acre oil well property at 9865 W. Olympic Blvd. The stated goal for the district office is to turn it into a four-story mixed-use development with office and apartment space. “We’re not making any money on that building,” Board VP Lisa Korbatov said. “It’s an energy hog and an embarrassment. If you assemble a smart room of people,
they can figure out [what to do with these properties.]” Not everyone was on board with the plan. Board President Mel Spitz expressed doubt that the district office – which was originally estimated by the district at 3.5 acres – was a big enough property to create an attractive mixed-use development. Spitz agreed that the properties needed to be looked at, but said he felt it could be done without the cost of forming a committee. “You can still look, you can still call in realtors or experts or anybody you want, to give us their opinion of the value,” Spitz said. “It’s not a huge cost, but there is a cost involved here.” Two weeks ago, attorney Andreas Chialtas of Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Rudd & Romo (AALRR), who consulted with the district on the formation of the committee, told the board he believed construction on the district office site could begin in the next two-to-three years.
901 Strada Vecchia Heads To Jury Selection Phase By Matt Lopez It appears that Superior Court Judge Eric Harmon has seen enough of the delays in the criminal trial over developer Mohamed Hadid’s 901 Strada Vecchia megamansion. In a hearing Tuesday at Van Nuys Superior Court, Harmon shot down attempts to further delay proceedings and set a May 30 date to begin the process of jury selection. Despite the request of Hadid’s
attorney Robert Shapiro to have it moved to chambers – as the majority of hearings in the case have been – Harmon made Tuesday’s hearing open to both the media and public for the first time. Harmon said it was important for the hearing, which was wellattended by many media members and Bel-Air residents, to be conducted in a way that would help the public better understand the (see ‘901 STRADA VECCHIA’ page 19)
By Victoria Talbot The City of Beverly Hills has agreed to a $32.5 million settlement in lawsuits arising from two accidents that occurred on Loma Vista Drive in 2014. “The insurance companies negotiated the settlement and the City had very little to say about the negotiation,” said Beverly Hills City Attorney Larry Wiener. Attorney Brian Panish represented the family of LAPD Detective Ernest Allen, Sr., who
was killed May 9, 2014, when a cement truck careened down the steep street out of control, mowing his private truck down before climbing up a tree and falling back to the street. The detective, who was off-duty, was doing privateduty work in the area when he was struck down. He was only months from his retirement following a distinguished career in law enforcement. Panish also represented the driver of the truck, Brandon (see ‘LOMA VISTA’ page 20)
Pictured: The Loma Vista cement truck accident.
‘Phase 2’ Work On Parcels 12-13 Will Not Replace Missing Trees By Victoria Talbot The City of Beverly Hills is set to begin “Phase 2” work on the maintenance of Parcels 12 & 13, including the relocation of fences to allow the City to access its approximately 18 inch right-of-way on the north side of the parcels, and an additional two feet to plant vegetation and groundcover that is more attractive – but not the replacement of the trees that were cut down. A public meeting to dis-
Alex J. Berliner/ABImages
VOLUME: LII
cuss the City’s plans was led by Deputy Building Official David Yelton. In attendance to answer questions were Senior Scientist at the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Tedd Yargeau, who manages the project for the agency. Owned by the Beverly Hills Land Company (BHLC), the approximately five-acre site was a railroad right-of-way from 1926-1998, though it had ceased to operate decades (see ‘PARCELS 12 & 13’ page 16)
A DAY WITH THE COLLEAGUES — The Colleagues’ Annual Spring Luncheon benefiting the Children’s Institute honored Carol Burnett. Mistress of ceremonies Mary Hart and Carol had the crowd laughing at The Beverly Wilshire. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.