Beverly Hills Wins Hotel Fight

Handing Beverly Hills a final legal victory in the fight over the $200-million Montage resort, the California Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a request by opponents to review the city’s handling of the luxury hotel and condo project.

“This is the end of the litigation,” said Beverly Hills City Atty. Larry Wiener. “There are no more appeals available.”

The eight-story, 214-room Montage project, which is under construction in the ritzy commercial district known as the Golden Triangle, generated years of debate.

Supporters view the resort, which includes 25 condos and 33,000 square feet of public gardens, as an economic boon that would bring in millions of dollars in revenue a year.

Opponents said the city was investing in a financially unsound project. The city committed about $32 million to help build a garage that would serve hotel guests and customers of nearby shops and restaurants.

Beverly Hills voters approved the project in March 2005. Opponents filed suit, alleging that the city had not adequately analyzed the cumulative effects of other projects in the area, including a medical building.

The opposition’s legal efforts were funded in large part by Probity International Corp., a real estate development company owned by the family that also owns the 200-room, five-star Peninsula Beverly Hills.

“Our major thrust is and has always been traffic,” said Thomas A. White, a longtime opponent of the project. “We live with it every day.... Commercial overdevelopment is the overarching theme.”

Still, he said, “We must accept the finality of the court’s decision.”