15-Story Camden Project Wins Beverly Hills Approval

The Beverly Hills Planning Commission has approved a 15-story residential development at 140 S. Camden Drive, clearing the way for a Builder's Remedy project that became the subject of a legal fight between the applicant and the city.

The project, approved on July 23, would replace an existing eight-unit apartment building with a 194-foot tower containing 27 residential units, including six deed-restricted affordable units. City records describe the proposal as a mixed housing development submitted under California's Builder's Remedy law, which applies to certain housing applications filed when a city does not yet have a state-certified housing element.

The 140 S. Camden application traces back to 2024, when Wilshire Camden LLC submitted the project before Beverly Hills received state certification of its housing element. The city later determined the application was incomplete, and the City Council upheld that position in March 2025.

The dispute then moved into court. In June 2025, the applicant filed a writ petition challenging the city's action. City records show the parties later reached a settlement, and on April 21, 2026, the City Council rescinded its earlier denial and agreed to continue processing the project.

That reversal set the stage for the Planning Commission hearing, where commissioners ultimately approved the development. The project is one of multiple large Builder's Remedy proposals filed in Beverly Hills during the period before the city's housing element received state certification.

The proposal has drawn attention because of both its size and its location in a low-rise residential area just south of Wilshire Boulevard. Supporters point to the city's obligation under state housing law, while critics have raised concerns in similar Builder's Remedy cases about scale, neighborhood compatibility and traffic impacts.

The approval marks another example of how state housing law continues to reshape local development decisions in Beverly Hills, even after the city regained housing element compliance.