The No. 1 top luxury group in the world could have worked within the confines of the Beverly Hills property it now owns, to build within height and density and parking ratios. It could have come up with the most amazing development.

But why bother, when for the very same price, it is getting double?

That is why we elect our council members, the responsible adults, to make sure that when life seems too sweet to be true and the drip of drugs directly into our veins cloud our judgment, they will be there to stop us and say, “It is not good for you, you deserve better, you can easily get so much more from life.” They are here to protect us from making costly mistakes that will forever change the character of our city.

LVMH can pay the city $1 billion for all the extras it wants, and likely recoup it in no time. Thus, years of construction inconvenience, loss of required parking and giving up air and underground rights will turn into a war chest of $1 billion that clearly will come in handy in the future.

Let us not undersell our assets and rights. When a seller does not respect itself, why would the buyer? Conversely, a buyer is able and will be willing to pay a fortune to be in Beverly Hills. Why would Beverly Hills residents demand any less?

Ari Bussel

Beverly Hills