Letters to the Editor: A luxury resort tearing up the Santa Monica Mountains would be worse than obscene
To the editor: In my 45 years living in the canyon, I have never seen a more bold and naked proposal that flies in the face of planning and zoning laws. All for the sole profit for an extremely rich company. It gives obscene a bad name. This proposal should never have gotten this far and it now appears this may only have happened because of some questionable backroom shenanigans.
The City of Los Angeles deserves better. Once you start carving up the Santa Monica Mountains for commercial use, there is no turning back. Let our better selves prevail and fully protect one of our only links to nature. In the City of Angels, some must be guardian angels.
Rodney Kemerer, Beverly Hills
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To the editor: The issue at hand is the rezoning of the Santa Monica Mountains from low-density residential to a special commercial zone. This is not a question of jobs, though the developer surely would like to deflect to a new narrative. One retreat in Benedict Canyon is not going to grow union jobs — that would take multiunit permanent housing in properly zoned areas near transportation hubs.
Rezoning the Santa Monicas to allow commercial development will be catastrophic to our city’s very fabric. Traffic, wildfire safety, underdeveloped infrastructure and the environmental impact are just the tip of the iceberg.
Elizabeth Parry, Beverly Hills
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To the editor: The excellent editorial on the proposed Bulgari hotel project makes a clear case for the City Council on Tuesday to end any possibilities of it being considered for approval. But there are two issues not fully discussed that make it even more untenable. One, should it be approved, it would set a precedent that the Santa Monica Mountains were now open to commercial development. No longer would zoning have any meaning. Two, there’s visible corruption in City Hall.
Bruce Goldsmith, Beverly Hills
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To the editor: How can the city in good conscience grant a zone change in an already high-fire-risk area, where wildlife are struggling to survive, and risk compromising all the L.A. hillside areas? We have many luxury hotels close to the proposed site — we do not need another.
Caroline Fleck, Beverly Hills
