City of Beverly Hills Architecture Commission

(Two vacancies, one for a Building Construction/Landscape Architecture/Visual and Graphic Design Professional)

The Beverly Hills City Council is seeking qualified individuals to fill two upcoming vacancies on the Architectural Commission — one for a Building Construction, Landscape Architecture, or Visual and Graphic Design Professional. The initial term of office is for two years each. At the discretion of the City Council, the Commissioners may be reappointed to a second term of four years each. The appointees will be required to file an initial and an annual “Statement of Economic Interests” (Form 700) financial disclosure.

The Commissioner positions are “volunteer” positions and are not paid. A two-year residency in the City of Beverly Hills is required for one of the vacancies but not on the building construction/landscape architecture/visual and graphic design professional vacancy. More information about the positions, along with a description of the duties of a Commissioner, are on the application form, which is available for pickup in the City Clerk’s Office, Room 290, 455 North Rexford Drive, or call (310) 285-2400 to receive an application and information by mail or by e-mail.

The deadline for filing applications for these vacancies is Friday, September 7, 2018 at 5:00 p.m.

Serving on the Beverly Hills Architectural Commission

The Architectural Commission is one of eleven (11) Commissions appointed by the City Council to carry out a variety of delegated functions.  The City Manager, Department heads, and other City staff who work for the City Council provide staff support to the Commissions.  The Community Development Department provides primary staff support to the Architectural Commission, the Design Review Commission, Cultural Heritage Commission, Traffic and Parking Commission,  and the Planning Commission.  As with the other City Departments, Community Development staff also provides support to other Commissions and to the City Council.

There are five (5) Architectural Commission positions serving staggered, two-year terms with a single, four-year reappointment possible.  Commissioners generally serve until their replacements are appointed.  It is recommended that those seeking appointment attend at least two Architectural Commission meetings to familiarize themselves with some of the current issues and to see how the meetings are conducted. 

When there is an anticipated vacancy, the City Council announces and advertises the upcoming vacancy and invites interested persons to submit application forms.  A subcommittee of City Council and Architectural Commission members will interview all interested candidates and will make recommendations to the full City Council.  The City Council makes its final selection and appointment at a formal public meeting.  The City Clerk swears in the new Architectural Commissioners sometime before their first meeting, generally immediately prior to their first meeting.

Operation, Staffing and Time Commitment

The Architectural Commission meets the third Wednesday of each month with additional meetings as necessary.  Meetings are open to the public and are held in Room 280A, which is adjacent to the City Council Chamber on the second floor of Beverly Hills City Hall.  Meetings begin at 1:30 p.m. and  typically end by 5:30 p.m.; however, depending on the number of projects and their related scopes of work, a meeting may run into the mid-evening hours.  The meetings are conducted by the Chair, or in his/her absence, the Vice Chair.  From time to time, Commissioners may serve on Ad Hoc committees or subcommittees of two  members appointed by the Chair to study particular issues and make recommendations to the full Commission.  The Chair and Vice-Chair positions are rotated on an annual basis.  On those occasions where a Commission decision is appealed to the City Council, the Chair or Vice Chair represents the Commission at the hearing by the City Council.

Approximately one week before each meeting, Commissioners receive an agenda and binder of staff reports including plans of those projects to be reviewed by the Architectural Commission.  Depending on the length and complexity of the agenda, Commissioners can expect to spend between four to ten hours reading the reports and visiting sites in advance of the meeting.  The average agenda has approximately 5-10 new or continued cases, plus minutes and other study items brought by staff.  In general, Commissioners can expect to spend 10-15 hours per month on meetings and related activities.

The presence of at least three Commissioners constitutes a quorum.  The Commission must conduct its meetings and formulate its decisions in accordance with its  Rules of Procedure and with State law (“Brown Act”) which requires all meetings to be open to the public.  All meetings of the Architectural Commission are video recorded and available for viewing on the City’s website.  Minutes of the meetings are taken by a staff recording secretary.

State law requires compliance with conflict of interest requirements, which involve filing a financial disclosure form with the City Clerk, which is available to the public to inspect.  Interested persons may contact the City Clerk’s office to inspect a sample report.  A Commissioner may not deliberate or participate in any case in which that Commissioner has an interest.  The City Attorney’s office, which also provides staff support to the Commission, can provide guidance to individual Commissioners who may have questions on a case-by-case basis. Commissioners will find that interested parties to an application (both pro and con) will attempt to engage them in conversation about a pending case. It is  important for Commissioners to maintain an impartial distance from those interested in applications coming before the Commission and must maintain this impartiality, sometimes in the context of impassioned pleas from their fellow residents, business colleagues, friends, and acquaintances.

Helpful skills for Commissioners to have include: the ability to read plans and visualize three-dimensional buildings from two-dimensional drawings; an awareness of the basic principles of design (e.g., form and color); the ability to apply general principles to a variety of specific circumstances, and lots of diplomacy and patience! 

Service on any City Commission is a responsibility, which may involve a significant time commitment, and should not be undertaken lightly.  Aside from attending regularly scheduled meetings, preparation for meetings and special meetings sometimes warrants an additional time commitment, especially during  service as Chair or Vice Chair.  Commissioners may also be requested to attend certain City Council meetings, community meetings and/or other City functions, such as Team Beverly Hills. 

Resources

• Beverly Hills Municipal Code

• City Commissioners’ Handbook

• Architectural Commissioner’s Handbook

Community Development staff provides each new Commissioner with a thorough briefing and copies of the above materials.

For more information, please CLICK HERE.

Or contact the City Clerk at the info below:

Lourdes Sy-Rodriguez, MMC, CRM, CCS
Assistant City Clerk
City Clerk’s Office
City of Beverly Hills
455 N. Rexford Drive, #290
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 285-2404