Beverly Hills To Newsom: Can We Open Yet?

BEVERLY HILLS, CA —The City Council of Beverly Hills sent a letter Friday to Gov. Gavin Newsom that requested that the city’s non-essential retail and restaurant establishments be able to safely reopen on June 1.

The letter, which was signed by Mayor Lester Friedman, Vice Mayor Robert Wunderlich, and Councilmembers Lili Bosse and Julian Gold, argued that the city has long been a leader in public health and has the necessary resources and expertise to responsibly reopen its businesses.

“The City of Beverly Hills is a proactive leader in promoting public health. We were the first City in the region to mandate face coverings during the COVID‐19 pandemic. In addition, as one of the first cities to restrict tobacco use more than 30 years ago and soon to become the first City in America to prohibit the sale of tobacco products, we have demonstrated a true commitment to the health of our community,” the letter reads. “We are prepared to dedicate all available resources to execute this reopening campaign at the highest level along with the continued requirements of face coverings and physical distancing.”

The council sent the letter after hearing the recommendations and requests of the COVID-19 Business Recovery Assistance Task Force, which is composed of some of the city’s leading restauranteurs, hoteliers, and business owners. The taskforce has met several times since it was formed in April to discuss the best ways to reopen the city’s businesses. On Friday just before the letter was sent, members of the Tourism, Restaurant, and Hospitality Subcommittee implored Councilmembers Bosse and Gold to do whatever they could to help the city’s devastated businesses reopen as quickly as possible.

“It is imperative for the life of the hotel to be able to open up the restaurants and there’s a way to do it in a very cautious way, with physical distancing, with sanitary and hygiene at the forefront,” said Peninsula Beverly Hills Managing Director Offer Nissenbaum. “We can do it. It’s been proven, and it has to be done. The hotel will never come back to life without the proper amenities.”

Nissenbaum went on to ask whether Beverly Hills could in some way bypass state and county health regulations, worried businesses would continue to suffer while they wait. City Attorney Laurence Wiener replied that even if the city were to pass some sort of ordinance, it would not offer businesses immunity from any of the rules, and the state would likely be eager to make an example of the high-profile city by penalizing it and shutting down all of its non-complying businesses.

“So we’re not in control of our destiny, basically?” Nissenbaum asked.

“With regards to this, yes,” Wiener replied.

But there are certain things the City Council can do other than writing a letter. On May 19, the Council met to consider the taskforce’s various requests, which included: deferring payments from the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) for another few months; requiring restaurants to the temperature of customers before they enter (part of a larger campaign to market the city as one of the safest in the area through various enhanced safety protocols); capping the delivery service commission taken by third-party delivery apps like Grubhub and UberEats; and relaxing signage restrictions so that stores can put out banners letting customers know that they’re open; and expediting permit processes related to social distancing.

The Council unanimously agreed to work with each hotel to determine a fair TOT repayment plan. Issues like capping commission fees and required temperature-taking will be taken up by the Council at its regular June 2 meeting.

According to city spokesperson Keith Sterling, the state has not yet given any formal reply to the city’s letter.