LA committee deadlocked on Bulgari Hotel proposal in Benedict Canyon

A Los Angeles City Council land use committee is at loggerheads over the controversial Bulgari Hotel planned for Benedict Canyon.

A motion requesting the director of planning reconsider land use designation for 9704-9712 West Oak Road in Beverly Crest received a 2-2 vote in the Planning and Land Use Committee, and will now move to a full council vote, City News Service reported in the Daily News.

“Colleagues before us today is a motion that I introduced last week to put an end to development that many in my district and I have been fighting against for years,” Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky said. “And, I have been fighting against it for years.”

Gary Safady, a real estate developer and movie producer, filed plans to build a 59-room hotel on a 33-acre hillside. It was initially proposed in 2018 with 99 rooms.

But the vision for the Bulgari Resort Los Angeles and eight luxury homes has drawn fire from movie executives and celebrities who have squared off over the future of one of L.A.’s richest neighborhoods.

In the center of the debate is the 33-acre former home of billionaire businessman Kirk Kerkorian. The property was sold in 2015 for $19 million.

That’s where Safady plans to build his luxury resort, which would include a 10,000-square-foot spa, gym, theater and an eight-seat sushi bar, along with a restaurant from Michelin-starred Italian chef Niko Romito.

The hotel portion would include 18 buildings with 59 guest rooms, a stand-alone parking structure, funicular railway and a main hotel building with outdoor features, shops and restaurants and underground parking.

The residential portion would contain eight single-family homes between 12,000 and 48,000 square feet with associated garage parking.

Yaroslavsky said her district is overwhelmingly opposed to the project, as is Mayor Karen Bass and environmental groups from the Sierra Club to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

“And from a land use perspective, allowing an intensive commercial use in a very low density, fire-prone residential area is a terrible idea,” Yaroslavsky said. “Nowhere in Los Angeles are we allowing new commercial uses in low-density hillside communities, specifically because of the wildfire and landslide risks.”

More than 30 speakers called in to express their opposition to the project and most reiterated the same concerns as Yaroslavsky.

A few Benedict Canyon residents and representatives from labor unions encouraged the PLUM committee to support the hotel project, saying it would create job opportunities and allow for more Angelenos and visitors to experience the beauty of the canyon.

Councilman John Lee voted against the motion, while asking for clarification on whether the city had ever rescinded an amendment to the general plan for a development project. Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez also voted no, in favor of the hotel.

Safady called in during the meeting’s public comment period, urging the committee to allow for due process, and asked for accurate details about the project to be made public.

“This is why it’s critical for the process to continue to allow the public and responsible agencies to continue to review CEQA process and safety features,” he said.

If completed, The Bulgari would be one of eight hotels operated by a hospitality firm under LVMH, a French holding company created by the merger of fashion house Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy. 

— Dana Bartholomew