Beverly Hills : Hilton Expansion Urged

The Beverly Hills Planning Commission has unanimously recommended that the City Council approve the expansion of the Beverly Hilton despite residents’ objections.

The commission Monday imposed certain conditions, such as additional parking and landscaping, on the hotel at the west corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards.

Residents living just north of the hotel objected to a proposed wing facing Wilshire Boulevard, claiming that the resulting noise, traffic and loss of privacy would be intolerable.

The hotel must angle the three-story wing to the west, set it back an additional five feet, soundproof the rooms and add 100 more parking spaces, according to the conditions imposed by the commission.

Proponents of the expansion claimed the city needs the tax revenue that the additional rooms would bring in under the city’s 11% transient occupancy tax. In 1986, the city collected $4.5 million from hotels, about 5% of the city’s total revenue.