Beverly Hills Measure H Still Too Close to Call
Monday, Jan 26, 2009 | Updated 1:25 PM PST
Los Angeles Times
One week after the election, Measure H in Beverly Hills is still too close to call. The Beverly Hilton Redevelopment Project is losing by just nine votes, with more than 1,700 ballots left to be counted.
Measure H would allow a new luxury hotel, The Waldorf Astoria, to be built at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards. Two condominium buildings, housing more than 100 condos would also go up at the site. The project was approved by the Beverly Hills City Council in the spring, but residents opposed to the project gathered enough signatures to place it on the November 4th ballot.
More than 13,000 ballots have been counted so far, but by state law, provisional ballots and vote by mail ballots dropped off at polling places must be counted by hand after signatures and addresses are verified. That is why the final count has yet to be tabulated.
Those in favor of Measure H say it will bring additional revenue to the city in the form of hotel room taxes, increased property, business and sales taxes and a $10.2 million cash contribution from the developer. Those opposed say increased revenue could just as easily be generated from a much smaller boutique hotel and the large size of the project will generate too much traffic in the area.
