Beverly Hills retreats in fight against builder’s remedy

Beverly Hills’ line in the sand against state-sanctioned builder’s remedy projects is being wiped away by a grand compromise with developers.

The affluent city has cut deals with a handful of builders who have employed the state loophole to bypass local zoning laws, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. The city is also considering giving ministerial approval for applicants who agree to whittle down the height of their projects.

The reversal marks a sea change for Beverly Hills, which for two years has fought the once-obscure provision in state housing law that has empowered developers, while frustrating cities and counties across the state.

The builder’s remedy allows housing developers to skirt local zoning in cities such as Beverly Hills that failed to certify their state-mandated housing plans, provided their projects include 20 percent affordable housing.

Beverly Hills tried and failed three times to gain certification for its housing element plan before getting the nod from state housing regulators in March.

But a failure to sign off on its required development blueprint opened the door to a flood of builder’s remedy applications aimed at sidestepping planning commission and city council approvals.

Among the first to pounce was Ukrainian-born developer Leo Pustilnikov, a pioneer in the work-around remedy to slash red tape and skirt zoning rules. He rattled the city in October 2022 with a preliminary proposal, now a 19-story, 165-unit tower and 73-room hotel at 125-129 South Linden Drive.

Pustilnikov wasn’t the only developer with eyes on Beverly Hills, which received 19 builder’s remedy applications, ranging from eight-story apartment blocks to 20-story high-rise buildings, which the city had long refused to accept. Until now.

City planners and elected officials now appear willing to compromise with developers with projects pending before the city, according to Urbanize. Between December and last month, the city has signed off on at least six builder’s remedy applications.

They include an eight-story, 90-unit apartment building at 214-216 Hamilton Drive; a 12-story, 65-unit highrise at 346 North Maple Drive; an 11-story, 25-unit project at 401 North Oakhurst Drive, an eight-story, 55-unit building at 232 North Tower Drive; a 14-story 116-unit tower with a 60-room hotel at 9229 Wilshire Boulevard; and a 20-story, 200-unit tower at 8844 Burton Way.

Some 14 building remedy applications are pending, in addition to Pustilnikov’s proposed 19-story building on Linden Drive, which the City Council voted to reject last year. The project is now the subject of a legal battle.

Last month, the Beverly Hills City Council began considering a ministerial approval that could be offered to builder’s remedy applicants in exchange for reducing the scale of their projects. It would require City Council approval.

Currently, all mixed-use and multifamily residential projects in Beverly Hills require discretionary approval — despite the support by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta, as well as state lawmakers, for the decades-old builder’s remedy provision in state housing law.

While specific design standards haven’t been established, city staff have suggested upper limits similar to what is now achievable through state density bonuses. The exception is a proposed maximum building height of 85 feet.

The City Council directed staff to consider a requirement for prevailing wage or union labor on any project making use of the ministerial approval, or an automatic sign-off on projects in lieu of current builder’s remedy applications.

— Dana Bartholomew