Beverly Hills Montage likely to face 2005 referendum.

THE Campaign to Save Beverly Hills, a group of residents and merchants seeking to bring a halt to the planned Montage Hotel Beverly Hills and Public Gardens, appears to have secured the signatures needed to put the proposal on a city ballot.

The group collected in excess of 4,000 signatures, more than twice the required amount, and submitted petitions to the Beverly Hills City Clerk on Aug. 23.

The signatures have yet to be certified, but Thomas A. White, who is leading the opposition, said he expected more than enough would be accepted. The initiative came too late to make the November ballot, and White said he hopes it will go to voters on March 2, 2005.

The referendum effort comes in the wake of the Beverly Hills City Council approving plans by Phoenix-based Athens Group and Montage Hotels & Resorts LLC for a 228-room hotel on July 28. Plans also call for 25,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space surrounding an acre of park area and an underground garage that could hold as many as 1,500 cars.

The signature-gathering effort succeeded despite attempts by the Athens-backed group, Sensible Merchants and Residents Together, to convince voters not to sign the petition. The war of words between both sides has led to angry confrontations and accusations by both sides.

Marina Meltdown 

Despite hitting choppy waters in their quest to sell the Marina Hotel in San Pedro, officials with MeriStar Hospitality Group said they remain optimistic that their sale to Westmont Hospitality Group would go through.

In voting earlier this month not to approve the transfer, the Board of Harbor Commissioners expressed concerns that the new ownership would not offer a first-class hotel and that a key clause assuring labor peace was absent from the agreement. The commission controls the ground on which the hotel was built.

The Plasencia Group, a hotel investment and consulting operation in San Diego, is representing MeriStar, which has been trying to sell the property for nearly eight months.

"The market has not been very strong for it," said Bill Reynolds, executive vice president of Arlington, Va.-MeriStar. "It's a pretty little spot with a marina, it's got nice meeting space and places to sit outdoors and look at the marina, and it's convenient to the freeway. It needs a major renovation, which we and the port are both aware of."

Westmont was planning a $4 million rehab and to reflag the property as a Doubletree. Officials at Houston-based Westmont declined to comment on whether they would pursue the property.

Poached Gift

The rivalry between the region's competing home furnishing and gift showrooms has taken another turn.

Tracy Stier, who spent the last two years as director of leasing at the California Market Center, has been hired to fill the same post at the competing L.A. Mart.

Stier, whose specialty will be leasing for gift display space, has joined the Mart's five-person leasing department and reports to Gerry Seibel, vice president and general manager.

"We've been very aggressive in both our leasing and marketing activities," said Joan Ulrich, L.A. Man's vice president of leasing and marketing lot the gift industry.

Before joining the Market Center, Stier was regional sales manager at Hoyt Publishing Co., which produces L.A. Mart's directories.

"She was familiar with our showroom through her work on the advertising space in the directory, which certainly was very attractive to us," said Ulrich.

Golf Gear

Gear-to-Go is set to inaugurate a rental service for golfers seeking to avoid the hassles of dragging clubs through airports, yet unsatisfied with the loaners offered by most courses.

The Westlake Village company's service allows golfers to rent their favorite equipment and pick up the clubs near an airport or have them delivered. A standard set averages $33 a day for a three-day rental, with an additional charge for mixed sets. Delivery and pickup are each $10.

"Traveling with golf clubs is a real pain in the butt, especially since 9/11," said Gear-to-Go Founder Bob Klingensmith, noting that clubs can cause a delay at the security checkpoint.

Gear-to-Go has signed agreements with Callaway Golf, TaylorMade-adidas Golf Co., Nike Golf. Adams Golf and Ben Hogan Golf, as well as Van's Pro Shops, a golf retail chain in Arizona owned by Worldwide Golf Enterprises Inc. The company will provide new golf clubs and replace them within six months to allow customers to demo newer products, Klingensmith said.

The service will debut November in Phoenix. If successful, Klingensmith said Gear-to-Go service will be available in the spring in California.

Staff reporter Rebecca Flass can be reached at [phone], ext. 230, or at [e-mail].