Beverly Hills Planning Commission exercises new powers by rejecting spec home application

Spec home builder Jason Somers has a dirt-y problem on his hands.

The Beverly Hills Planning Commission rejected his preliminary permit application for the construction of 1260 Lago Vista Drive, an eight-bedroom, 10,228-square-foot spec home near the Franklin Canyon Reservoir.

The construction of the property would require the export of about 2,950 cubic yards of earth.

The Commission’s rejection is the first of its kind since the Hillside Ordinance passed last August, the Beverly Hills Courier reported. The ordinance requires any project on a hillside street less than 24 feet in width to undergo commission review if it needs to export 1,500 or more cubic yards of earth. Three additional projects in the pipeline will undergo a similar review this summer.

Opponents of the project, who collectively wrote more than 300 pages of letters to the commission, cited their main concern as the potential for traffic congestion caused by hauling trucks. Former Mayor Nancy Krasne joined the opposition.

The spec home has already hit the market — now prematurely, it seems — according to a listing by Hilton & Hyland’s Tyrone McKillen. It’s asking $7.9 million. [BHC] — Cathaleen Chen