BHCourier E-edition 081117

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Welcome Back To School Beverly Hills Students!

BEVERLY HILLS VOLUME: LII

NUMBER 32

www.bhcourier.com

SINCE 1965

August 11, 2017

Rent Ordinance Funding Decision Postponed As City Awaits Singh Report

THIS ISSUE

King Charles Spaniel mix Holly is this week’s Adoptable Pet. 4

Beverly Hills resident Don Koskoff celebrates 100 years. 4

Back To School In Beverly Hills: BHUSD Prepares To Welcome Students Monday By Laura Coleman On Monday morning, some 4,004 enrolled students are expected to begin classes at the Beverly Hills Unified School District’s five public school campuses. Spread out across the City, the four K-8 schools may well complete their last year as such before the Board of Education ultimately decides on changing that model’s future. The possible

reconfiguration to create a dedicated middle school and three K-5 schools is just one of a multitude of district-level changes expected to take place over the coming school year. On Thursday morning Superintendent Michael Bregy, who officially took the reins as district leader Jan. 31, addressed (see ‘BACK TO SCHOOL’ page 17)

The late Jerry Perenchio’s estate has hit the market for $350 million. 8 •Health & Wellness •Sports •Letters to the Editor

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George Christy, Page 6 Dark Chocolate, Heinz Ketchup, Gin With Dubonnet Are Favorites Of Queen Elizabeth II, According To Her Former Chef Darren McGrady, Who Says Her Main Interests, However, Are Her Horses And Dogs

CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More

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SCHOOL STANDOUTS — Beverly Hills Unified celebrated the work of longstanding staff at Thursday’s back-to-school program. Pictured (from left) are employees who have been with district for 15 years: Michelle Buckley, Brad Harris, Michelle Sterne, Andrews Greenleaf, Sarah Kaber-Pottebaum, Christian Fuhrer, Elizabeth Cherniss, Sherri Margolin and Norman Ysaguirre.

Appellate Court Sends BHUSD’s Metro, FTA Fight Back To Federal Court By Laura Coleman Beverly Hills Unified School District’s legal battle against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) running a subway tunnel under the high school will return to Federal Court following this week’s opinion by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals not to currently make a ruling on the case of BHUSD vs. the Federal Transit Administration. “While the Ninth Circuit

declined to rule at this time, it reiterated that when the District Court reviews the FTA’s supplemental EIS (Environmental Impact Statement), it may evaluate whether the Full Funding Grant Agreement and Design/Build Contract infected the FTA’s analysis of alternatives under review,” said BHUSD attorney Jennifer S. Recine, with (see ‘METRO’ page 17)

Deputy Director position and that it be located within the Community Development Department or the Community Services Department. Funding would come from fees paid by tenants and landlords, but the cost was not the issue Tuesday. The City Council was unwilling to fund the proposal without first hearing from Sukhsimranjit Singh Assistant Professor of School of Law and Practice, Associate Director Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution, who has conducted six facilitated dialogues with the parties to try to reach a consensus on the future of the RSO. The department’s staffing requirements will be largely determined by the number of units in the program and the program requirements, according to the staff report. Those (see ‘RENT ORDINANCE’ page 13)

Lago Vista Appeal Moved To October By Victoria Talbot Despite an impassioned plea on behalf of his client, Ben Reznik failed in his effort to have an appeal heard for the embattled project at 1260 Lago Vista Dr. at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The project seeks to export 2,498 cubic yards of earth, exceeding the 1,500 cubic yards permitted on a street less than 24-feet wide in the hillside area, for the construction of a residence with a basement, and thus requires an R-1 permit. The Planning Commission denied the Applicant a permit on May, in a meeting attended by dozens of residents, with more than

Photo: Government of Alberta/Flickr

LIGHTING UP THE SKY — Fireworks lit up Rodeo Drive last Thursday night to kick off a ‘BOLD’ summer in the City. With Beverly Hills Open Later Days (BOLD), every Thursday, Friday and Saturday in August, shopping in the Golden Triangle will be open until 8 p.m. and will be accompanied by live entertainment, fashion events and restaurant specials. Photo by Sam Schwartz

By Victoria Talbot Dozens of tenants and landlords cordially addressed the Beverly Hills City Council until the wee hours Tuesday night, re-hashing the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO), and once again, trying to rewrite or defend the ordinance passed Jan. 24, though it was not on the agenda. What was on the agenda was a $1.5 million proposal developed by Management Partners for the City to fully implement all the elements of the program, with the bulk of the expense going to the maintenance of the Rental Registry and the eight employees recommended for the operating budget, staffing, program costs and implementation of the stand-alone department. The recommendation is that the Rent Stabilization Division be headed by a

100 written and spoken objections. The appeal has taken on an additional level of complexity, as Reznik is representing two adversaries on either side of the Hillside Ordinance. Reznik represents one client in an objection to a proposed project on Loma Linda Drive, another street that is less than 24-feet in width, that arguably, launched the Hillside Ordinance. He is now representing the developers on Lago Vista. Resident Debbie Weiss and her family hired Reznik in 2014 to advocate for the passage of the Hillside Ordinance (see ‘LAGO VISTA’ page 16)

FOUR HEIRS — Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip have produced four heirs of the House of Windsor. Prince Charles (born 1948); Princess Anne (born 1950); Prince Andrew (born 1960); Prince Edward (born 1964). Prince Charles tells his biographer he will not step aside for Prince William to ascend the throne. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.


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