The proposed project would redesign the historic Saks Women’s building at 9600 Wilshire Blvd. (photo by Tabor Brewster)

Southwest Beverly Hills residents made their voices heard after a draft environmental impact report on the proposed two-block Saks Fifth Avenue development on Wilshire Boulevard was presented to the planning commission on April 25. Many residents expressed both opposition and support for the project in public comments during the hearing.

The proposed 642,000-square-foot development would include four entirely new buildings – two primarily commercial and two primarily residential – and the rehabilitation of the historic Saks Women’s building at 9600 Wilshire Blvd.

Three of the new buildings will be six stories tall, and one will be seven stories tall. The buildings would contain new retail space, residential units, offices, a social club, boutique hotel, spa and restaurant. The development would also include an underground parking lot with 937 spaces. Additionally, the project would transform the end of Peck Drive into a cobblestone street with an adjacent public terrace.

HBC Properties and Investments’ real estate development division Streetworks Development created the plans for the project. HBC is the majority owner of luxury department store Saks Fifth Avenue.

“Saks Fifth Avenue has been here for 86 years. It’s part of the fabric of Beverly Hills. It’s part of the fabric of Wilshire Boulevard,” said Douglas Adams, senior vice president of Streetworks Development. “Our commitment to being a good neighbor is real. We feel this report reflects efforts that we’ve made to date, working with our professionals and with the city to try to minimize impacts on the community.”

But many nearby residents oppose the project.

“The southwest [Beverly Hills] is under siege. It’s under siege now. Adding one more square foot of development is not really tenable,” Peck Drive resident David Gottlieb said. “Rehab the Saks building, absolutely. But make it something inclusive for the city. Not a private club and another boutique hotel that has nothing for the residents.”

The EIR is a document required by the California Environmental Quality Act, and commissioned by the city to examine the potential impact a development will have on the surrounding environment. It is meant to inform the public and decision makers on the environmental effects of a project. The EIR also identifies ways to mitigate the effects and proposes alternatives to the project. The version presented to the planning commission on April 25 is the first draft of the EIR, which will now take into account public comment and be revised before finalization.

Engineering consulting firm Rincon Consultants was hired to assist the city in drafting the EIR. Rincon project manager Ryan Luckert presented the findings to the planning commission. He said the report studied the potential effects on 13 different “environmental topic areas.” The topic areas include air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, energy, geology and soils, greenhouse gas, hazardous materials, land use/planning, noise, population/housing, transportation, tribal cultural resources and utilities.

Potential impacts on the environmental topic areas are split into three different categories, “less than significant,” “less than significant with mitigation” and “significant or unavoidable.” The report found that five of the impacts were less than significant, seven were less than significant with mitigation and one – construction noise – was significant and unavoidable.

The significant and unavoidable effect related to noise from nighttime construction. The report found that the development will include 27 days with construction between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Ken Goldman, president of the Southwest Beverly Hills Homeowners Association, criticized the development for being too large and having negative impacts on the surrounding community.  He said the draft EIR was not a sufficient examination of the negative effects the project will have. Goldman brought up concerns with effects that were deemed “less than significant” by the draft EIR, including 120 delivery truck trips per day of construction, a four-year construction timeline and increased traffic after the project is completed.

“Only one [impact] was deemed significant, that’s just unfathomable,” Goldman said.

While the Southwest Beverly Hills Homeowners Association – representing 400 homes directly south of the development, according to Goldman – and other residents opposed the project, it also drew support from many neighbors during the meeting, and there appeared to be significant resident disagreement.

Proponents of the project said it would boost the local economy and revitalize a stretch of Wilshire Boulevard that needs attention.

“My wife and I live in a home that my family built 90 years ago … We are the next generation of Beverly Hills. What I’m hearing tonight is very concerning. There’s a strong element of NIMBYism which is not a message that I think the community wants. I would urge this commission to find a middle ground, and I would urge the members of the community who are strongly opposed to this project to be open minded to a middle ground,” South Cañon Drive resident Charles Smith said. “As someone who plans to stay with my family in the city, I am thankful that there are developers … who are still interested in this city, in our city.”

Resident and former City Council candidate Russell Stuart echoed Smith’s sentiments.

“In the end, I do not want to see another Cheval Blanc that goes to vote and then nothing happens, and we have a dead corner and we have no economic growth and no exciting new projects. I live in the southwest, I’m going to be there for decades to come,” Stuart said. “I do like the project as a whole. It definitely needs changes, but to automatically shut down these projects, eventually these big companies are not going to want to come to our city and we’re going to have no one left who wants to play here.”

Some residents also said the project would have a positive effect on safety by bringing activity to an otherwise dark and quiet area that is currently home to two parking lots.

“Having a residential area, having restaurants, having shopping, having just a sense of activity around will be fantastic,” South Camden Drive resident Mike Lloyd said.

CEO of the Los Angeles Conservancy Adrian Scott Fine and director of sales and marketing for the Beverly Wilshire Hotel Chris Gleeson also expressed support for the project.

Members of the planning commission echoed the community’s concerns over traffic and noise.

“I think I speak for my colleagues when I express concern and share some of the neighbors’ concerns about noise and traffic impacts,” Planning Commission Chair Gary Ross said. “I would want to see at the appropriate time – whether it’s now or at the entitlement phase – a good, reliable, independent, thorough study on noise and the same as to traffic impacts … There’s lots of interesting things that are good and valuable about a project like this and I thank the community for coming out and sharing their legitimate concerns. We paid very close attention to everything that was said.”

City staff will now finalize the EIR. After the EIR is finalized, the next step in the process includes hearings on entitlements, which will happen in late summer or early fall, according to City Planner Masa Alkire.

“We’ve heard the public comment, we’ve heard the commissioners’ comments and we’ll incorporate that into the final version of the EIR,” Alkire said.

To read the full draft environmental impact report, visit beverlyhills.org/environmental.

The public comment period for the EIR runs until May 20. To submit a public comment, email project planner Alvaro Gomez at agomez@beverlyhills.org or call (310)285-1142.