What’s ahead for Beverly Hills? On September 10, the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Greater LA Association of REALTORS® (GLAR) to bring Mayor Craig A. Corman together with members of both organizations for an evening of candid conversation about the city’s future.

Held at The Maybourne Beverly Hills, the Mayor Meet & Greet paired an evening of networking, food, and drinks with a fireside-style discussion between Mayor Corman and GLAR Regional Advocacy Chair Ian Brink. The event gave Chamber members, REALTORS®, and local business leaders a rare chance to hear directly from City Hall on the issues shaping Beverly Hills’ next decade, and to ask questions in a relaxed, off-the-dais setting.

Setting the scene

Mayor Corman was sworn in this past April, taking the lead at a moment described as a turning point for the city. In his inaugural address, he presented to residents and business leaders. Their framing carried through to the evening at The Maybourne, as the conversation moved from state housing mandates to transit to the practical realities of doing business in a rapidly evolving Beverly Hills.

SB 79 and the future of housing near Metro

A central topic of the evening was Senate Bill 79, the state law requiring cities to allow higher-density, multi-family housing near major transit stops. For Beverly Hills, that means the areas surrounding the city’s two Metro D Line stations: the Wilshire/La Cienega station, and the future stop planned near Wilshire and Beverly Drive at the edge of the Golden Triangle

Mayor Corman walked attendees through the city’s response: a locally-crafted Transit-Oriented Development Alternative Plan, or TODAP, approved by the City Council earlier this year. Rather than allowing SB 79’s density requirements to fall broadly across single-family neighborhoods, the plan concentrates roughly half of the mandated housing density into the mixed-use corridor near the La Cienega station, an area already built for larger-scale development.

The state mandate isn’t going away, and Beverly Hills retains meaningful say over where that growth lands, and the city has used that leverage to protect its residential character while still meeting its obligations.

The Metro station and what it means for business

With the Wilshire/La Cienega D Line station now open and a second station near the Golden Triangle expected in 2027, business owners and REALTORS® in the room had real questions about foot traffic, parking, construction timelines, and how the city plans to manage the transition. Mayor Corman connected this to his broader “Metro with the Mayor” initiative, an effort to help residents and the business community get comfortable navigating the new transit system as it becomes part of daily life in Beverly Hills.

Development fees and long-term planning

Looking further ahead, the Mayor previewed the city’s work on a nexus study that could allow Beverly Hills to charge new fees on future large-scale developments, funds that would go toward roads, utilities, parks, and other infrastructure needed to support a growing population. He was careful to note that any new fee structure would apply to future projects rather than developments already entitled or moving forward under the state’s Builder’s Remedy provision, an important distinction for developers and business owners tracking the city’s regulatory pipeline.

A conversation, not a speech

What made the evening distinct was its format. Rather than a formal address, GLAR Regional Advocacy Chair Ian Brink led Mayor Corman through a fireside-style conversation, allowing for a more candid back-and-forth on the issues above, as well as the relationship between the city and its business and real estate communities.

The discussion also touched on how REALTORS® and business leaders can plug into public service directly, whether through commissions, advisory roles, or ongoing dialogue with the city.

For the Chamber, moments like this are exactly why partnerships with organizations like GLAR matter. Real estate and small business are deeply intertwined in Beverly Hills, and events that put city leadership in the same room as both communities help ensure our members have a voice in decisions that will shape the city for decades.

Interested in future events like this one? Chamber members receive first access to city leadership briefings, networking receptions, and policy discussions throughout the year. View the original event listing for more details.

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