Benjamin M. Reznik

As chair of his firm’s government, land use, environment and energy group, he is a significant force in the Los Angeles political environment, representing clients and their businesses and projects before various city agencies, including the airport, harbor, planning commissions and the city council.

At LAX, he represents off airport parking company The Parking Spot in a lawsuit challenging the airport’s environmental impact report and traffic study, which could limit access to the central terminal area due to alleged design flaws. “It only analyzes traffic reduction by eliminating all commercial shuttles but allows single passenger commercial vehicles access,” Reznik said. “Denial of access for The Parking Spot shuttles will negatively impact the over 140,000 regular, local LA residents who rely on it and hundreds of thousands of others who use other airport off-site parking facilities.”

Reznik is also deeply involved in a Wilshire Boulevard project that will place a new building atop an existing structure to be known as the Beverly Hills Media Center. He represents Eldridge Industries, the owners of assets and companies that will occupy the place, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dick Clark Productions Inc., The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard magazine. Reznik’s task: obtain the necessary entitlements to keep the project moving.

“This will be an iconic new structure,” Reznik said, “a high-profile project focused on the media and entertainment world. It’s not just another office building with lawyers and accountants and doctors. It’s what Hollywood is all about. We will take it to the planning commission in the fall.”

Reznik also represents the Beverlywood Homes Association, a community of 1,300 homes, along with JPMorgan Chase & Co. as owners of the Twin Towers in Century City and the Watt Companies as owners of two office towers nearby. They are opposing a high-rise office project, which allegedly violates a provision of the Century City North Specific Plan.

“We’re against it,” he said. “It exceeds the size of buildings allowed there. When my clients did their buildings, they lived by the plan. This project is three times the size, and we think the trial court committed legal error by approving it.” Reznik’s appeal is currently before the 2nd District Court of Appeal. Beverlywood Homes Association v. City of Los Angeles, B280620 (2nd Cal. App. Dist., filed Jan. 27, 2017).

“We say you can’t change the rules and 30 years of precedent,” Reznik said. The case is expected to be set for argument in 2018.

— John Roemer