Beverly Hills Waldorf Astoria and Measure H
In April 2006, plans were unveiled for a $500-million expansion to the Beverly Hilton property. The plans require an amendment to the Beverly Hills general plan's three-story height limit in order to build two 13-story condominium towers and a 15-story condo hotel, where rooms would be rented to guests when their owners are away. One intent of the plan was to position the upgraded hotel as a less-expensive 4½-star alternative to nearby five-star rivals such as the Peninsula.
Two new three-story buildings on Wilshire Boulevard would house 96 guest rooms and shops. The Beverly Hilton will be renovated into a smaller, 402-room hotel, renamed the Beverly Hilton Oasis. A 120-room Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills hotel, designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, will be included in the project. The Waldorf-Astoria Beverly Hills will be the first new hotel for the brand on the West Coast. The Beverly Hilton and the Waldorf-Astoria would be separate premises, with both operated and managed by Hilton Hotels Corporation.
The Beverly Hills City Council approved the $500 million project by a 3-2 vote. Local resident opponents led by a group called Citizens Right to Decide Committee gathered enough signatures to place the referendum (Measure H) on the November 4, 2008, ballot with the argument that "It's Just Too Big." Measure H authorized the Beverly Hills City Council to amend the city's general plan to allow a "luxury hotel, condominiums and open space" to be built on the site of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Resolution No. 08-R-12601, “Resolution of the Council of the City of Beverly Hills amending the General Plan to enable the revitalization of the Beverly Hilton Hotel site with a new Luxury Hotel, Condominiums, and Open Space,” Los Angeles County election officials reported a week after the vote that local Measure H was losing by 68 votes, with provisional ballots yet to be counted. On December 2, 2008, yes on H passed by 129 votes out of over 15,000 cast.
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