Banned Buses

Beverly Hills is out

Just as Gray Line Tours Driver Richard Pierson called his passengers' attention to the Beverly Hills Hotel during a tour of the fabled neighborhood of the stars, a policeman stopped him for invading the exclusive area. That incident in July and others like it sent three tour companies to court in protest. Last week Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Leon Savitch allowed Beverly Hills to continue barring buses carrying tourists eager to glimpse the likes of Gary Grant or Lucille Ball, or at least to see where they lived.

The dispute between Beverly Hills and the tour companies involves a 1922 city ordinance outlawing heavy buses from prowling streets designed for lightweight traffic. The bus companies had been operating under an exemption from that ordinance, but that was canceled in December 1982 when the state deregulated the tour industry. On Aug. 29, Judge Savitch restrained the city from issuing any more tickets until his hearing last week that reaffirmed the ban on buses.

Loads of tourists invade the privacy of residents, damage streets, create noxious fumes and endanger children, says Kenneth Williams, the attorney for Beverly Hills. "If people want to see something, they'll see it anyway," retorts Vahit Sapir, president of Starline Sightseeing Tours. "If they don't go by bus, they'll go by car, get out and walk, knock on doors. It'll be worse." While continuing their lawsuit, the companies have rerouted their buses to nearby Bel Air to allow the star-struck to look for such celebrities as Burt Reynolds, Barbra Streisand or Gregory Peck. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.