To the City Council adjourned regular meeting and parking authority meeting today is December 10th, 2024 a little after 7 p.m. And we will start with the pledge of allegiance and if I could ask lead traffic officer Jeff Grigaudet to please come up and lead us in the pledge allegiance. A pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under the government. And it is a good thing that we're really in justice for. Good evening. Two roll calls. First one is for the city council. Councilmember Wells. Councilmember Corman. Councilmember Mirish. Vice Mayor Nazarian. Mayor Friedman. The next is for the parking authority. Director Wells.arian, here. And Mayor Friedman. Here. The Nexus for the Parking Authority, Director Wells, here. Director Cormin. Here. Director Mirish. Here. Vice Chair Nazarian, here. And Chair Friedman. Here. OK, if I could have my colleagues meet me down by the lectern and we have some presentations. I think he has the paper. Yeah, I do. Thank you. Okay, we got everybody here. Yes, we do. So tonight we are proud to recognize Breathe Southern California as part of our people helping people initiative. Founded in 1903, Breathe Southern California, also known as Breathe SoCal, is a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals with respiratory and other related health challenges, providing them with education, resources, and advocacy. By providing vital resources, organizing health education programs, offering emotional support, and raising awareness about respiratory health, Breathe SoCal has brought hope and tangible assistance to so many. Their programs like the Breathe Easy Campaign and community workshops on managing asthma and COPD have reached hundreds of individuals ensuring they have the knowledge and tools to lead healthier lives. Some of their key achievements, including providing free screenings and consultations, distributing educational materials, and advocating for better air quality standards in our region is their hallmark. Tonight we're honored to welcome representatives from Breeze SoCal and recognize their dedication to enhancing the quality of life for individuals living with respiratory challenges and helping us foster a healthier, more connected community. For more information about what they are doing, visit breathesoCal.org. So I invite Marco Carell from BreatheSoCal and anyone else to accept our appreciation and share a few words about their impactful work. Please come up. Thank you. Mark Carroll. I'm the president and CEO. I'm here with Gilmar Flores, who's our director of programs and research. And we're thrilled to be honored. I'm Beverly Hills resident, been here. My kids go to the horseman and Beverly Vista dole school. And I've been with Breathe SoCal for over seven years. We've been building our programs not only to serve people with respiratory illness, but also to work to clean the air in Southern California. We have programs that encourage volunteerism to plan trees and do other things that will clean the air. We have also a lot of efforts recently to promote clean vehicles and the transition from internal combustion engines to a cleaner zero-emission engines and so we are thrilled that we're being honored here, recognized for the work that we're doing and we appreciate that Beverly Hills which is at the forefront of efforts on respiratory health by their efforts on banning cigarette smoking and encouraging a healthier and promoting health and wellness to its residents. We're thrilled that that's the city that is giving us attention tonight. So thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And we told it about the stuff. I'm going to take that back. That's what I'm going to say. Up to the center of the road. The road. The road. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I might begin my direct and I go there. OK, now this is my great honor. Today we would like to recognize a truly outstanding individual, lead traffic control officer Jeffrey Graghalva for his remarkable 32 years of dedicated service to the city of Beverly Hills. If we can have Jeff come up. So I'm going to go off script for a second. So Jeff and I believe it or not share the same type of job, used to share the same type of job as a recreational job. Jeff always was the score, scoreer for Beverly Hills basketball and I do a similar job for UCLA. So that is a connection that we've always always had. So as mayor of Beverly Hills it is a joy to celebrate Jeff's commitment and the invaluable role he has played in keeping our streets safe and our community running smoothly. Over the past three decades, Jeff has exemplified the highest standards of professionalism, responsibility and dedication. His unwavering commitment to his duties has not only contributed to the safety of our residents, but has also enhanced the quality of life for everyone in our community. As a traffic control officer, his role is not always visible, but it is vital. He has managed some of the business intersections, navigated traffic around high profile events and responded to emergencies with quick thinking and great skill. Beyond his technical skill, Jeff has shown extraordinary leadership in his role as lead traffic control officer. His dedication, integrity, and work ethic have inspired his colleagues and made him a role model within the department. Jeff's character and commitment to excellence truly embody the spirit of public service and the values that make Beverly Hills such a special place. Jeff, on behalf of the City of Beverly Hills and his residents, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude for your service. Thank you for 32 years on my wavering dedication and hard work. You are an example of the very best of public service and we are incredibly fortunate to have had you as part of our team. We wish you continued success in all your future endeavors, and we are proud to recognize you today for your extraordinary service. I'm not going to do anything. I'm not going to do anything. I'm not going to do anything. I'm not going to do anything. Come on. That's right. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm not leaving. He's a bozer. He's a bozer. Thank you. Yeah, I'm free. I'm free. No one has it. Well, this is hang on down the on the streets. I don't know if I can tell you where to park. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. Yeah. Okay. Text B.H. Text messages on any city-related topic. Maybe sent to 310-596-4265. City staff will acknowledge receipt of the text message within one business day, however resolution of issues may take longer. If you would like to receive updated text alerts from the Beverly Hills Police Department, please text BHPD alert to 888-777. Text alerts will keep you informed of any police activity within the city. Telephone call in number is 310-288-2288. Members of the public are invited to listen to the meeting telephonically or share oral communications on this phone line. So we will now start with audience comments. If there's anyone in chambers who would like to address us on any non-agentized item, this would be the appropriate time. Not seeing anyone, we'll go to electronic means. We do have one non-agentized comment. Please. This one is from Auree Blumenfeld. I am a former three term chair and commissioner of the Human Relations Commission for the City of Beverly Hills. I represent Attic Concept A.K. a retail store at 350 North Cannon that is adjacent to Shion's Parklet that continues to operate and profit from its non-code compliant Parklet. Beverly Hills Municipal Code 10-3-3501A specifically bars the use of open air dining in the public right of way or on private property. That section provides, quote, no open air dining use shall be established in the public right of way or on private property unless on an open air dining permit is approved pursuant to this article. And quote, since September 23rd, Director of Community Development, said, quote, although the ordinance provides a deadline of October 1st, 2024, the city's enforcement approach with Shion has been to seek voluntary compliance. And quote, Shion has failed to obtain the necessary approvals, permits and inspection for the parklet. The city noticed Shion with the code of violation provided until November 1, 2024 to comply. Shion hasn't. On December 3, 2024, Forbes stated that the city did not have a firm timeline as to when it intended to enforce the December 1 deadline regarding noncompliance. Even more disappointing, the city intends to quote likely pause enforcement activity during the holidays to give businesses an opportunity to act in response to the initial citation and then ramp up enforcement after the first of the year with escalating citations on a weekly or more frequent basis followed by referral to the city prosecutor and quote. AK has waited long enough for action. As a small business, it should not have to wait any longer. The violation causes irreparable harm by blocking a storefront and obstructing valuable parking. AK has lost foot traffic sales where approximately 80% of sales comes from walk-ins. The parklet obstructs approximately 90 degrees of AK's view because of the south end of Canon Drive is blocked. The majority of driving customers arrive from the north and AK becomes nearly impossible to locate. The city appears to disproportionately favor major restaurants to the detriment of small businesses. The city must protect its small business unless it is contancy seeing vacancy signs and enforce code. That concludes public comment. We're looking into that. Is someone looking into that? Yes. I mean, I think it's referred to in the email, but we have issued a administrative citation related to this case, and we will continue to ramp that up and take appropriate actions. So, yes. And there are appears to be one more non-agentist comment. I will. I believe it's Alma or Das, but she's online. Is Alma online? Can you hear me? Yes, go ahead, Alma. Oh, hello. Good evening, Mayor Friedman and Honorable Council. I have to tell you, I'm so sorry that I was missed the meeting two weeks ago. But Dr. Fitterman and I were very surprised to hear Mayor Freigman referred to us with being participants in the facilitated dialogues and I understand the reasons why the Rent Civilization Ordinance Commission was then said it, but I just really want to emphasize that there are still many challenges facing the renters in our community. We still have apartments that are being rented and leased, that have broken appliances. I know this not because I've been told, but because I've seen it. A friend who moved back into our community after being gone for about 20 years, rented what we thought was a lovely apartment, only to find out that the heater had been red tagged. It wasn't just merely broken, it had been red tagged. By the time it was finally replaced and they came to inspect it, they found that it had a gas leak. By then, after spending thousands of dollars to move in, it's too late to move out. And it's not a mere dispute, so I'm not sure what can be done to make sure that when we're leasing and renting apartments, that everything must be decode and they must be compliant with safety standards. Also in issues of standard of habitability, it's very interesting to me that, you know, being in one of the premier cities of not just Los Angeles, not just California, but the United States and some would argue the world. I like to think that we live in a pretty special place. That, you know, we have the highest standards for police and fire, some might even say schools, but yet our habitability standards do not meet those same standards. We have one of the highest rate rents in California, and yet again, our habitability standards do not meet those standards. So I would urge, I don't know where these issues will eventually go to whether it will be health and human health and services safety, services or human relations. But these are issues that still need to be addressed even though this commission was censored. And, you know, I understand that the issues that they were tasked with, it was felt that they had been met. But there are other outstanding issues that are critical to the safety and well-being of the renter community in Beverly Hills. So I hope that we can look forward to some information from Council down the line. And thank you so much for your time. Thank you, and I'm not gonna go out on a limb. I'm gonna say that on behalf of all of us, we are all committed to the fact that those issues that renters have will be dealt with in our system. I can give it to our city manager who can give us some details on that. Yes, so just this afternoon, we reviewed priorities for the upcoming year and some of the things that council agreed on as priorities for our work plan are pending further discussion, implementing a proactive rental unit inspection program which would, you know, as it sounds, we would have some ability to go into units and inspect them and ensure that everything is working properly, there's no issues with mold or water, you know, whatever it is. We also discussed, and these are just a couple of things, implementing a means test, it means test, it rent subsidy program. So assisting renters who are, you know, struggling with paying their rent, that sort of thing. So the work, I guess, my message is just because the commission may be sunsetting, the work is not done. Some of the work that the commission did, in fact, will feed into these programs. So I want to assure the council that we will continue to, and I know that you will as well, continue to work on these issues related to our rental stock and ensuring that they are habitable and properly maintained, that sort of thing. Okay, and again, thank you, Elma, for your comments. Okay, going on now to our consent agenda for the parking authority. If I could ask councilmember Wells to read items one and two and then I'll ask one of my colleagues to consider a second. I move the adoption of the consent agenda as follows number one budget amendments under the authority of the executive director or designate for fiscal year 2023-24. And number two, at least with Patrick Lennart and associate's physical therapy ink at 439 Canon Drive Suite 207. Second. And if I could ask the clerk to please read the rule. Director Wells? Yes. Director Corman? Yes. Director Mirish? Yes. Vice Chair Naz Wells. Yes. Director Cormin. Yes. Director Mirish. Yes. Vice Chair Nazarian. Yes. Yes. Uh, and I'll now go to any public comment. Well first of all, let me ask if there's any polls on our consent agenda. Not seeing any will go to public comment on consent. I just have a comment for E2 under the City Council minutes. There was a typo for the August 20th minutes. There was a misspelling on a person's name. We corrected that and that's the only correction. We need to say as amended on that or as amended. So I'm going to ask Council member Korman to read items number one through nine and consider adding the words as amended to number two. Okay. Oh, and then after that, council member Miers reading ten through 19. I move the adoption of the consent agenda as follows. One consideration by the City Council of the Minutes of the Study Session Meeting of August 2020-24. Two consideration by the City Council of the Minutes of the regular meeting of August 2020-24 as amended. Three review of budget demands paid covering dates November 22, 2024 to December 2, 2024. Four payroll dispersant report covering dates November 22, 2024 to December 2, 2024. Other business five amending the Beverly Hills municipal code regarding public contract bid limits. First reading for introduction. Six, for acceptance resolution of the council of the city of Beverly Hills for acceptance of a grant under the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice programs,353.77 from the law enforcement grant fund to purchase ballistic vests. 7. Authorizing the application for an acceptance of a grant under the fiscal year 2023 Urban Area Security Initiative that's UASI-23 and appropriating funds for various equipment purchases, disaster preparedness and response activities training, and appropriation of $260,074 in the law enforcement grant fund for various equipment purchases, disaster preparedness, and response activities training. Eight, approving the blanket authority to file applications for grant funds in Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District for measure A funding projects and programs and approval of the measure A annual allocation grant agreement between the City of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District. It's RPOSD. 9. I'm mending the conflict of interest code for various city departments. Approval of 10, architectural and design review commission appointment Jeffrey Daniels FAAI-A. 11. Reappointing members to the Public Works Commission, Huma Yoon Mark Neharae, Human Relations Commission Pam Kraussar, and Recreation and Parks Commission Deborah Termay DDS-12. Request for Los Angeles Marathon for special event street closures on Sunday, March 16, 2025. 13. Acceptance of settlement funds from the National opioid litigation settlement and appropriation of $334,066.04 from the settlement received to the Police Department grant fund to fund police, opioid-related programs, training supplies and related operations and authorize the chief of police to administer the opioid settlement funds, including the authorization to approve agreements, programs and purchases. 14, broker leasing commission agreement with CBRE Inc. for the lease of tenant space at 331 Fodill Road. 15, an agreement with Horowitz and Levy, LLP for special counsel services. 16, an encroachment permit and covenant. With BH luxury residences, L LLC owner of the property located at 900 Wilshire Boulevard and Roxbury managers limited owner of the property located at 9900 North Santa Monica Boulevard to allow temporary pedestrian bridge connecting the two properties to encroach over North Santa Monica Boulevard to facilitate construction of the one Beverly Hills project continuing this matter to the January 9th, 2025 City Council meeting. 17, amendment number five to the agreement with AAAA Flag and Banner Manufacturing Company Inc. For banner and signage fabrication and installation services for the Metro Purple Line Extension Project. And approval of an appropriation of $451,000 from the General Fund, all costs and furtherance of the project will be reimbursed by Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and approval of a corresponding change purchase order for $451,000 for a total not to exceed amount of $1,605,000. 18 appropriation of $375,000 from the Law Enforcement Grant Fund, City Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund's Citizens Option for Public Safety Allocation to Fund Frontline Municipal Police Services. enforcement services funds, citizens option for public safety allocation to fund front line municipal police services 19 a purchase order to Dana safety supply ink for a total not to exceed amount of 176,714 $61 for the purchase of three police department Patrol vehicles and authorize the city manager to approve purchase orders to various vendors for the necessary hardware software and related IT equipment and the not to exceed amount of $90,000 and appropriation from various funds totaling $192,000 for vehicle purchase and upfitting costs. And I second time. I have to go ahead with the role, please. Council Member Wells? Yes. Council Member Corman? Yes. Council Member Mirage? Yes. Vice Mayor Nazarian? Yes. Vice Mayor Nazarian. Yes. And Mayor Friedman. Yes. Okay, moving on to our next item. F1, an appeal of staffs. October 18th, 2024. In complete determination, maybe we have an oral report on this matter from the Assistant Director of Community Development City Planner, please. Or no, somebody totally different than that. I am filling in for a for for masa this evening a good evening mr. Mayor members of city council Michael Forbes director of community development I'll be very brief You were scheduled to have a public hearing this evening to consider an appeal of staff's determination that the application for this project is incomplete The applicant has requested that the matter be continued to a date uncertain and staff is recommending that the council continue it accordingly I'm happy to answer any questions Okay, thank you. Is there anyone in council chambers would like to be heard on this matter? Not seeing anyone is there anyone on the phone or video who wishes to be heard? No one's on phone and video and we did receive an email, but it was forwarded to this council because it was too long to read today, okay but it was forwarded to this council because it was too long to read today. Okay. So are there any questions of City Council, by City Council of staff or members of the public not seeing any? Any comments from members of the council, not seeing any? At the request of applicant and staff, an absent objection, the appeal of this matter is hereby continued by order of the mayor to a date uncertain staff will re-notify hearing in accordance with city requirements for a future hearing date. Going to item G1 report from the city attorney on closed session items, there's nothing to report this evening. Report from the city attorney on closed session items. There's nothing to report this evening Report from the city manager nothing this evening mayor. Are there any city council member and committee? Brief reports and comments starting with council member wills. Thank you. I'll be brief on their report liaison committee meetings that I attended with couple of things to do with the committee meeting. I have a couple of things to do with the committee meeting. I have a couple of things to do with the committee meeting. I have a couple of things to do with the committee meeting. I have a couple of things to do with the committee meeting. I have a couple of things to do with the committee meeting. for their awards program for 2025, as well as with Dick Clark Productions, with the request for permit fee reduction, which we heard today during our study session, as well, we had a next Beverly Hills Committee meeting yesterday with the next Beverly Hills Committee talking about their plans for the upcoming year. And that's it, I leave for our mayor to talk about the upcoming year. And that's it. I leave for our mayor to talk about the mayor's anti-Semitism conference and our flags. Thank you. Thank you. Council member, a comment please. I'll be even briefer. We had the mayor and I had a litigation at Huck committee meeting last week. That was the only meeting I had. Council member, Mayor. the only meeting I had? Councillor Meir Miers. So tomorrow is Qatar's national day. And while the well-appointed guests are at the Mayborn Hotel dining on caviar quiche and enjoying sparkling drinks, the hostages, including Americans, are wasting away in a Gaza dungeon. They remain hostages because of Hamas and because of Qatar, which has funded, hosted, and propagandized for Qatar because Qatar owns the racist propaganda outlet Al-Jazeera. Not only should we boycott Qatar owned entities, but I propose that we designate Qatar as a state sponsor of terrorism, that we sanction Qatar, including freezing Qatar assets and using them to compensate the victims of Qatar-funded terrorism, and that we ask the State Department to expel the Cotari Consulate from Beverly Hills. The Cotari Consulate is not welcome in Beverly Hills as one might expect of terror supporting Jew hating racists. Thank you. Thank you, and vice mayor Natharia. Yes, I just want to take a moment to congratulate the new opening of Rolex store on rodeo drive. I had a SCAG transportation and committee meeting. We have our Miami mission coming up and I'll let the mayor speak to that as well as the mayor's conference, which is very exciting. So looking forward to a wonderful time of learning. My brief comments are now a little bit longer since I've been deferred to. So first of all deal with the Miami mission. One of the things that we do is try and promote businesses to come to the city of Beverly Hills and Vice Mayor Nazarian and myself were in New York and had quite a successful trip there in terms of leads and in fact a couple of leases that are very close to being signed with people that we have met in New York. And hopefully we'll have the same type of success in Miami going there in February. Starting really a small event this evening and then starting tomorrow evening and Thursday and Friday the City of Beverly Hills is hosting the camp combat anti-Semitism movements mayor's conference. There'll be over 200 either mayors or city officials elected coming to Beverly Hills including from Miami. Including from Miami. Not from New York, I don't think. Not from New York City, but I think from New York State, yes. And there will be discussions regarding anti-semitism. What we from city hall can do to fight anti-semitism and to educate. Looking very much forward to that. All of my colleagues are gonna be there and in fact, I'll have a speaking part tomorrow evening as we welcome all of the mayors to the city of Beverly Hills. Yeah, I think I'm just trying to think if there's anything else I need to do. Oh, well, yeah. And that's, of course, true. We're going to be welcoming, as I said, over 200 mayors to the city of Beverly Hills. And our art installation of 1,400 flags was put up again today. It is as part of the combat anti-semitism movement and one of the things that we are going to be discussing is what Beverly Hills has done in its efforts to combat anti-semitism and that's just one of the many things that we will talk about as well as the concept that we have of a permanent memorial for the October 7th massacre. So with that, I wanna wish everybody a happy new year. Our next meeting is in the new year. It will be a special meeting. So with that, it's gonna be continued to January 9th, 2025. I wish everybody a happy and healthy new year and a good evening.