Campaign to Annex 12 Properties Advances

Owners of a dozen Los Angeles properties got closer to their eight-year goal of annexation into Beverly Hills this week after the City Council passed a resolution approving the transfer of property taxes from one city to another.

Another recently approved resolution amended the Beverly Hills zoning map in anticipation of the possible annexation of 12 parcels on Hillgreen Drive, near Pico Boulevard and Century Park East.

City officials in Los Angeles have made similar approvals already, said Larry Calemine, executive officer of the Local Agency Formation Commission, which has the final say over whether the annexation is approved.

The commission will consider the issue no sooner than November, Calemine said.

Under an agreement with Beverly Hills officials, the property owners on Hillgreen who petitioned to be annexed will pay expenses associated with the change, such as possible litigation, sewer and utility hookups, and the cost on acquiring Heath Avenue, a street parallel to Century Park East.

The petitioners, who live on a cul-de-sac at the end of a street that begins in Beverly Hills, want the services of the Beverly Hills Police and Fire Departments, said Beverly Hills Mayor Les Bronte.

The value of the properties will no doubt appreciate if the annexation occurs, Bronte said. Residents would also be able to send their children to Beverly Hills schools and be served by other city departments.

Some Beverly Hills residents oppose the annexation, saying that their city should be able to claim the amount of the increased value of the Hillgreen properties.

Bronte said that practice would not be legal.

Beverly Hills, incorporated in 1914, last annexed property in the mid-1970s, when some partial lots were merged into the city, according to city planning officials.