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BEVERLY HILLS VOLUME: LV
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SINCE 1965
July 19, 2019
City Council Begins To Examine Housing Displacement In Late-Night Discussion
THIS ISSUE
Brooks Brothers will open a new store on Canon Drive in fall. 12
CHLA received an anonymous $25 million gift this week. 15 •Real Estate •Health & Wellness •Birthdays
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George Christy, Page 6 According To The Producers Who Are Predicting The Future, We’re Told That There Will Be A Cut Off After Fifty Fast And Furious Films And Spin-offs. Although, There’s Also Word, That It Will Most Likely Be Sixty.
CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More
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Beverly Hills Police Officers Show Support For Chief Sandra Spagnoli By Victoria Talbot In an unprecedented effort to declare their support for embattled Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli and to dispel rumors of poor morale in the BHPD, two sworn officers used the public comment segment of the formal City Council meeting to express their support with prepared statements. “I represent an overwhelming majority of the Beverly Hills Police Department’s Professional Management Association’s 13 members,” said Lt. Scott Dowling, who has worked for the department for 35 years, one of the longest-serving members in the Department. “PMA is the bargain-
ing unit for all sworn Lieutenants and Captains. On behalf of these members, I want to thank the council for their unwavering support of Chief Spagnoli. Chief Spagnoli inherited a challenged organization, which faced a lack of strong and focused leadership for many years. We are proud of the changes thus far and our Association supports our Chief’s efforts to modernize, diversify and improve the Department.” Dowling’s comments also addressed a persistent element with ties to former disgraced Chief Dave Snowden and his posse of officers, most of whom are (see ‘SPAGNOLI’ page 14)
Spagnoli Updates City Council On Beverly Hills Crime Stats: Crime Down, Arrests Up By Victoria Talbot In a report Tuesday, Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli updated the Beverly Hills City Council on her strategic plan, and crime statistics and policing in the City. Crime is down, including residential burglaries, and arrests are up. Total crime has dropped 11% in the 12-month period from July 2018 – June 2019, compared to July 2017 – June 2018. Statistics include total violent crimes, down from 110 to 98, a drop of 11%; and residential burglary down from 296 to 214, a drop of 28%. Total property crimes
dropped from 1,846 to 1,637; 11%. Total crimes dropped from 1,956 to 1,735; -11%. Since 2011, California has sought to reduce the prison population by enacting AB 109, the prison realignment; Prop 47, the “Reduced Penalties for Some Crimes Initiative” which recategorized some offenses as misdemeanors rather than felonies to keep some repeat offenders out of jail; and Prop 57, which allows parole consideration for nonviolent felons. With these new sentencing laws, many in law enforcement (see ‘CRIME STATS’ page 14)
Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie
COMMUNITY AND COPS TOGETHER – Beverly Hills’ finest turned out for a group photo Tuesday morning at Coffee with the Cops at GREENDOOR Coffee on Robertson Boulevard. Community members and cops enjoyed the great outdoor seating and the fine coffee and donuts. Pictured, from left: Lt. Elisabeth Albanese, Officer Michael Downs, Officer Anne Marie Lunsman, Community Service Officer Emma Nica, Detective Audra Alatorre, Acting Captain Renato Moreno, Sgt. Sean Smollen, K9 Officer David Rudy, Officer Michael Garrido, Chief Sandra Spagnoli, Planning Commission Vice Chair Peter Ostroff, Planning Commissioner Lori Greene Gordon, Capt. Mark Miner, Lt. Max Subin, Capt. Michael Hill, Acting Lt. Blake Nance, Det. Sergeant Chris Coulter, Lt. Scott Dowling, Field Training Officer Joshua Cudworth and Sgt. David Dimond.
By Victoria Talbot With a City Council agenda that was filled mostly with consent calendar items, it seemed the City Council was destined to have a short night Tuesday. That was not to be. Following a lot of nit-picking over items such as the renewal of a shared bicycle contract, councilmembers, fresh from a six-week hiatus, seemed refreshed and ready to go back on camera at City Hall. Only two items fell into the “Continued and New Business” Categories: a resolution to authorize refinance obligations to save the City millions of dollars and a request by Mayor John Mirisch to discuss housing displacement and inclusionary housing issues. “Inclusionary Housing” programs tap the economic gains made from rising real estate values to help to create more affordable housing for lower income families. It is also sometimes referred to as “Inclusionary Zoning” because some cities use zoning restrictions or obligations to create affordable housing. As Senior Planner Timothea Tway began her staff report, Mirisch stopped her when she began to discuss mixed-use solutions, insisting that he did not wish to discuss mixed-use or development standards as a holistic approach to housing, without first discussing displacement
and inclusionary housing. Beverly Hills does not have a mixed-use ordinance; the Planning Commission has formed an ad hoc committee to examine mixed-use. With less than 10% of commercial space producing 70% of the City’s revenues, agreeing to allow residential development in commercial areas could potentially have a significant impact on City revenues. Since he was installed as Mayor in March, Mirisch has been extremely vocal regarding his opposition to several Sacramento housing bills that would supersede local zoning laws in favor of a one-size-fits all state-wide approach to increase housing, without necessarily increasing affordable housing. Mirisch has publicly taken on one senator, SB 50 author Sen. Scott Wiener, in social media and press. Mirisch seeks local solutions that will be a custom-fit for Beverly Hills. What followed at City Council was a sort of free-forall, more of a discussion between the public, staff and councilmembers, and even Planning Vice-Chair Peter Ostroff, without appearing to close the public comment period. Mirisch freely invited public comments throughout the discussion. Those comments began with four residents who came to council because they had (see ‘DISPLACEMENT’ page 17)
SURPRISE! SURPRISE! — Idris Elba is a newcomer who joined the cast of the Fast and Furious franchise in the Hobbs and Shaw spinoff. With Idris are Sabrina Dhowre Elba and Isan Elba. Idris claims that he considers himself … the hot “black Superman.” For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.