BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, 2004
Project Description
As part of the General Plan update process, the City Council created a Community Character Committee to consider how character might be protected and scenarios for the future of the City. The process was carried out with the overall goal of informing and directing future development. The Committee considered three main areas: Character Defining Elements of Streetscapes, Historic Preservation, and Gateways.
While residential areas were important, the Committee primarily focused upon important commercial areas within the City. The Committee’s work was guided by three main goals: enhancing the quality of life by creating and sustaining attractive buildings and open spaces, walkable areas, outstanding community facilities, and cultural opportunities; maintaining and encouraging commercial development that is compatible with residential neighborhoods; and maintaining urban design standards with respect to scale, materials and uses.
Finance and Support
As a component of the General Plan update, this Committee’s work was completely funded by the City and mandated by the City Council.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders included all residents of the City, as well as businesses currently operating and those seeking to enter. The Committee itself was made up of 19 citizens, who consulted with the general public and the City government throughout the process.
Methods
The Committee went through three initial briefing sessions and then twenty regular meetings. The briefing sessions consisted of a bus tour of the city, a presentation of the Planning Commission’s design proposals for residential areas, a panel discussion from experts on historic preservation, and educational sessions by City staff.
The Committee then brought in images of the City that members felt represented existing community character (good and bad), and then brainstormed a list of qualities of Beverly Hills in its current state. The group then turned these into categories and qualities the city would like to promote, and that would improve the City environment. The Committee identified baseline conditions describing the current community character and then moved to discussions on ways to turn current character into ideal.
Finally, the Committee developed recommendations—both specific and general—for each area of the City. Most recommendations dealt with aesthetics, ranging from planter boxes to painting street lights and creating landscaped medians. In several cases, recommendations included strategies for implementation, such as incentives to business owners for meeting design guidelines.
Throughout the process, the Committee undertook three efforts to involve the community and gather feedback. The first effort was a joint meeting with other committees working on the General Plan update, at which the Community Character Committee shared initial recommendations and gauged areas of overlap and conflict. The second initiative was the Farmers’ Market Outreach Campaign, at which residents were given a questionnaire with photographs, allowing them to choose aesthetic qualities they wanted to see in Beverly Hills. Finally, a short survey was mailed to each household in the City regarding gateways and historic preservation. Residents ranked how important it was to them for the City to devote resources to preservation and aesthetic improvements.
Outcomes
The Committee submitted recommendations for each of the three topic areas described above. They included:
- Character Defining Elements—Creating distinct segments of Wilshire Boulevard dedicated to certain industries (i.e. entertainment/arts district); encouraging mixed-use development in certain areas; encouraging creation of business associations on a street-by-street basis; coordinating lighting and design techniques to create attractive streetscapes; using design guidelines for all development
- Historic Preservation—Updating 1985 Historic Resources Survey; developing a City Landmarks Ordinance; developing a public repository for ownership history of historic buildings
- Gateways—Improving signage, architectural statements, lighting, and landscaping in gateway areas; considering gateway statements at important locations that may not be entry points to the City.
The Committee also outlined resources needed for implementation of the general objectives. Resources include staffing (including consultants) and time for development and implementation of design guidelines, updates to zoning, and funding for physical improvements in the City.
Evaluation
Aside from community surveys and informal consideration of overlap and conflict with other committees, the Community Character Committee did not evaluate the methods used in this study.
Innovative Ideas
Educating the Committee on Beverly Hills, historic preservation techniques, and the General Plan process was an important way of bringing the group up to speed on the topic and the needs of the community.
http://www.beverlyhills.org/presence/connect/CoBH/Homepage/For+Residents...
BEVERLY HILLS AT A GLANCE
COMMUNITY TYPE
Suburban/urban
AREA
5.7 square miles
POPULATION
35,078 (2005 est.)
LOCATION
Southern California
PROCESS
Traditional planning
PROJECT LEADERS
City of Beverly Hills
General Plan Topic Committees
PROJECT THEMES
Community Character
Development
Design Standards