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Policy Projects

Below is a brief summary of policy projects currently underway, recently completed projects, and information on other related Long Range Planning efforts. For more information on any of the projects listed here, please contact the Long Range Planning team at: longrange@beverlyhills.org, or (310) 285-1141.

 


ongoing projects

 

Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Ordinance Update
  • Upcoming City Council Meeting: ADU Code Update Ordinance - At their next meeting on Monday, March 11, starting at 7:00 PM, the City Council will consider a draft ordinance to amend the City of Beverly Hills Municipal Code (BHMC) regulations pertaining to ADUs. The draft ordinance is both consistent with state law ADU regulations and reflects direction provided by the Planning Commission during public study session discussions that occurred in 2022 and 2023.  On January 25, 2024, by a unanimous vote (4-0), the Planning Commission of the City of Beverly Hills adopted a resolution recommending that the City Council approve the draft ordinance. The draft ordinance includes, but is not limited to, amendments to the BHMC that would:

    • Repeal and replace the existing ADU code sections [BHMC §10-3-409; §10-3-603.5; §10-3-702.5; §10-3-803.5; §10-3-902.5; §10-3-1002.5; §10-3-1102.5] with a new Article 50 (Accessory Dwelling Units and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units) in Title 10, Chapter 3 (Zoning) of the BHMC to comprehensively regulate single- and multi-family ADU development consistent with state law, including local standards beyond state law minimums;
    • Amend the Definitions section [BHMC §10-3-100];
    • Create a discretionary review path for ADUs located on any residential property developed with a single-family residence to allow ADUs that do not conform to the proposed by-right objective standards. [BHMC §10-3-3600].

    For more information, please refer to the City Council Public Notice for the ADU Ordinance and the City's ADU webpage

  • The meeting agenda is now available here and the staff report is now available here. As noted on the agenda, there are several ways to participate in the meeting and provide public comment:

     

    How to Participate and Submit Public Comment:
    Oral Comment/Listen only: (310) 288-2288
    - Email: cityclerk@beverlyhills.org
    - Video (during public comment only): http://beverlyhills.org/comment
    - To Watch Video Live: http://beverlyhills.org/live or
    - On-Demand: http://beverlyhills.org/citycouncilmeetings
    - In-Person: Submit a Speaker Card to the City Clerk at the meeting
Conversion/Adaptive Reuse Ordinance (Update to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone)
  • At their regular meeting on September 28, 2023, the Planning Commission reviewed a draft ordinance and General Plan Amendment (GPA) to change the density calculation applicable to conversion/adaptive reuse mixed use developments in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone (MU Overlay Zone). The proposed density calculation would be applied to a residential conversion project by taking the existing building floor area (calculated pursuant to BHMC §10-3-100), minus the ground floor footprint and dividing this by the minimum unit size, 500 SF.  This differs from the existing maximum density calculation applicable to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone, which allows 1 dwelling unit per 550 square feet of lot area (or 79.2 dwelling units per acre). This also necessitates a clarification on the General Plan Land Use map to identify the density calculation that is applicable for conversion projects, and therefore, requires a GPA.
  • The City Council conducted a first reading of the draft ordinance and GPA at their regular meeting of January 23, 2024.

 

Private Residential Security Camera Regulations
  • The Planning Commission recently discussed whether regulations should be developed for private residential security cameras at their regular meeting of October 12, 2023. The Commission provided additional direction to return for a subsequent discussion regarding these regulations, which is tentatively scheduled to occur in January 2024. 

 

affordable housing guidelines update
  • Staff is currently working to update the Affordable Housing Guidelines, which outline the affordable housing placement process to fill income-restricted affordable housing units in the City. Please review the Affordable Housing webpage (www.beverlyhills.org/affordablehousing) for more information on this program, and contact: affordablehousing@beverlyhills.org with any questions about the program.

 


Mixed Use Overlay Zone Update

In 2020, the City established the Mixed Use Overlay Zone (MU Overlay Zone), which allows the construction of mixed use residential and commercial developments within certain commercial areas of the City.  More information is available on the Mixed Use Overlay Zone webpage (www.beverlyhills.org/mixeduse), and the regulations are contained in Beverly Hills Municipal Code (BHMC) Article 18.7 of Title 10, Chapter 3.  Staff has periodically provided updates to the City Council regarding the implementation of the MU Overlay Zone, including reports on the projects applied for under the MU Overlay Zone regulations.

Most recently, at their regular meeting on July 18, 2023, the City Council reviewed the MU Overlay Zone, and discussed whether the MU Overlay Zone regulations should be modified in the future. As part of this discussion, staff identified an existing issue in the conversion section (Beverly Hills Municipal Code (BHMC) §10-3-1888) of the MU Overlay Zone regulations, which allows the conversion (or adaptive reuse) of existing commercial buildings to mixed use residential developments. Staff is currently working on an ordinance to change the maximum density applicable to conversion mixed use developments from a calculation based on lot area to a calculation based on the existing building floor area. In addition, the City Council provided direction to staff to explore changes to the MU Overlay Zone regulations, and staff will bring forward proposed changes to the MU Overlay Zone regulations in the future.

 


2021-2029 Housing Element Update 

To view the Housing Element Update FAQ, please click here. For important information on this project, please visit www.beverlyhills.org/housingelementupdate.

 To sign up for the Housing Element Update email notification list, please email: longrange@beverlyhills.org.

 


Recently adopted ordinances 

 

Open Air Dining Permanent Program Changes (Open BH)
  • The temporary Open BH program was established during the Covid-19 Pandemic to ease the City’s existing regulations related to open air dining on public and private property on a temporary basis, in order to respond to the public health emergency and more easily allow open air dining to be established more easily.  Since the temporary Open BH program will expire in December 2023, two City Council Ad Hoc Subcommittees (the Code Changes and Fees Subcommittee, and the Design and Operating Standards Subcommittee) were established to develop updated open air dining regulations and parklet dining regulations, as well as updates to the schedule of open air dining fees. The Planning Commission recently considered a draft ordinance to update the regulations and review process applicable to open air dining at their July 13, 2023 regular meeting. At the December 11, 2023 City Council meeting, the City Council adopted the ordinance to update open air dining regulations (Ordinance No. 24-O-2885), which is effective February 11, 2024. 
  • More information on the new permanent Open Air Dining Program can be found here: https://beverlyhills.org/openairdining/.
 
Cannabis Ordinance (SB 1186)
  • The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 23-O-2881, which became effective on November 17, 2023. The ordinance was developed based on changes to state law (SB 1186) in 2022, which prohibits cities from adopting or enforcing regulations that prohibit "retail sale by delivery" of medicinal cannabis, including prohibition of deliveries by a licensed non-storefront retailer.  The ordinance creates a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process to allow the establishment of a non-storefront (i.e. no public-facing storefront), delivery-only medical cannabis retail use in the C-3 zone. This type of use is not permitted in the pedestrian oriented area. The ordinance also establishes Article 21 of Chapter 2, Title 4, which requires a regulatory permit be issued for this type of business, and sets forth application requirements and operational criteria.
 
Urban Lot Split and Two Primary Units (SB 9) Ordinance
  • The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 23-O-2880, which became effective on November 3, 2023. The ordinance was developed in response to a state law (SB 9) that became effective in 2021, which requires that cities ministerially approve both urban lot splits (two-lot subdivision) and/or two-primary unit projects in single-family residential zones. The ordinance creates objective standards for these types of projects, including lot size, unit size, unit height, setbacks, screening, but unless otherwise specified, the units must comply with all other R-1 zoning standards.

 

Fractional Ownership Ordinance
  • The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 23-O-2877, which became effective on July 7, 2023. The "Fractional Ownership" ordinance creates regulations to prohibit certain types of fractional ownership arrangements in both commercial and residential zones.  Prohibited fractional ownership arrangements are those in which there are multiple owners of a property whose ownership is correlated to a time-based occupancy of the property, since this type of ownership scheme could function similarly to a short-term rental. The ordinance also creates a process by which a person can request a hearing with the City Council to determine if their circumstances would be considered a prohibited fractional ownership arrangement.

 

Lot Line Adjustment Ordinance 
  • The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 23-O-2870, which became effective on February 3, 2023. The ordinance prohibits lot line adjustments in single-family residential zones that would create or expand lots across the jurisdictional boundaries of the City. The ordinance also prohibits lot line adjustments that would adjust a lot line that is coterminous with a boundary of the City to be adjusted away from the City boundary line.

 

 

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